One of the greatest things to insure the longevity of revival is being able to withdraw for a period of time to refresh and renew our body, mind, and spirit. Believe it or not, there is a limit to what our body, mind, and spirit can endure. Sadly, we fail to remember that. This produces the casualties of the ministry that we read about in the headlines. When we over extend ourselves, we become vulnerable to being blindsided by the enemy.
So, during this Thanksgiving holiday season, come apart. Put down the book. Turn off the CD player. Push aside the curriculum. These will all still be waiting for you next week. Go ahead and watch the Dallas Cowboys football game. Enjoy a fantastic meal with your family. Do a WHOLE LOT of nothing for a few days and enjoy every minute of it. It's just what the Great Physician ordered.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Maximizing Your Ministry
Have you noticed how watching just a few minutes of the local and national news programs can leave a person feeling depressed and fearful? After watching Charlie Gibson on ABC's World News Tonight, I asked Vickie, "Isn't there any good news to report?" The media’s cry of recession and gloom can leave a person feeling so helpless.
What is my answer to their report? I refuse to become fearful. If there is a recession, I have chosen to not participate in it. Instead of being fearful, I have chosen to maximize life. I have chosen to consciously examine how to maximize my money, time, and resources. It's too easy to be wasteful with what we possess. By maximizing, I can get the most for my money, accomplish more in the same amount of time, and do more with the same amount of fuel. By maximizing, recession is a non-issue!
Have you ever stopped to examine whether or not that you are maximizing your ministry? Each week, we have an allotted amount of time to impact children's lives. For many children, the 60 or 90 minutes that we have with them is the only ministry that they receive all week.
How can we maximize our ministry? The answer is found in 1 Corinthians 14:2.
“For one who speaks in an [unknown] tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the [Holy] Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things [not obvious to the understanding].” (The Amplified Translation)
As we prepare throughout the week looking for new, fresh ways to communicate the Gospel, we can maximize our efforts by praying in our heavenly prayer language. By praying in a language that bypasses your mind, the Holy Spirit is enabling you to pray divine secrets (Moffatt translation) that brings heaven into the preparation process. The Holy Spirit is helping you to pray by giving you utterance in your spirit, utterances that the devil can’t understand or prepare to thwart.
Can you see how this opens up a whole new dimension of preparation? The mysteries (KJV) spoken from your spirit are opening the door for God to prepare you and the children for His Spirit to manifest. Your limitations are pushed aside. Your creativity is heavenly enhanced. Your anointing is increased. The children are prepared for the upcoming ministry. By taking advantage of this maximizer, the fruit of your preparation will grow exponentially.
What is my answer to their report? I refuse to become fearful. If there is a recession, I have chosen to not participate in it. Instead of being fearful, I have chosen to maximize life. I have chosen to consciously examine how to maximize my money, time, and resources. It's too easy to be wasteful with what we possess. By maximizing, I can get the most for my money, accomplish more in the same amount of time, and do more with the same amount of fuel. By maximizing, recession is a non-issue!
Have you ever stopped to examine whether or not that you are maximizing your ministry? Each week, we have an allotted amount of time to impact children's lives. For many children, the 60 or 90 minutes that we have with them is the only ministry that they receive all week.
How can we maximize our ministry? The answer is found in 1 Corinthians 14:2.
“For one who speaks in an [unknown] tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the [Holy] Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things [not obvious to the understanding].” (The Amplified Translation)
As we prepare throughout the week looking for new, fresh ways to communicate the Gospel, we can maximize our efforts by praying in our heavenly prayer language. By praying in a language that bypasses your mind, the Holy Spirit is enabling you to pray divine secrets (Moffatt translation) that brings heaven into the preparation process. The Holy Spirit is helping you to pray by giving you utterance in your spirit, utterances that the devil can’t understand or prepare to thwart.
Can you see how this opens up a whole new dimension of preparation? The mysteries (KJV) spoken from your spirit are opening the door for God to prepare you and the children for His Spirit to manifest. Your limitations are pushed aside. Your creativity is heavenly enhanced. Your anointing is increased. The children are prepared for the upcoming ministry. By taking advantage of this maximizer, the fruit of your preparation will grow exponentially.
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Holy Spirit on Assignment - Part 2
Confession time ... one of my greatest frustrations each week is that I want to communicate my passion for the Holy Spirit and help enable children's ministry leaders to know Him and flow together with Him and yet I know that people's reading capacity can't keep up with the level of my passion. I could write pages and pages each week and just scratch the surface of what I want to communicate. I guess that my only recourse is to get to work on the books that I have hidden inside of me. I would LOVE to have one or two published by the 2009 Ignite the Supernatural Conference in February.
I concluded last week's blog promising that I would continue discussing the assignment of the Holy Spirit in the next posting. Before I continue, let me direct you to two previous posts that show other portions of the Holy Spirit's portfolio. They are a part of a teaching that I do in our conferences under the The Holy Spirit on Assignment teaching. Please take a few minutes and read the post on August 10, 2008 Lessons from a Gardener and the August 5, 2008 post The Holy Spirit Will Show You Things to Come.
Here's a way to ease my frustration and still be somewhat brief. I won't share the teaching on each portion of His portfolio. Rather, I will share the list that I use in my teaching and supporting scripture and allow you to complete the teaching yourself. Hopefully, I will have this teaching available by CD (this will include the audio teaching, my teaching notes, and a handout for your students) in a few weeks.
As you and I learn to commune with the Holy Spirit and learn the importance of praying in our heavenly prayer language, the Holy Spirit will be allowed to fulfill His assignment. He will:
I concluded last week's blog promising that I would continue discussing the assignment of the Holy Spirit in the next posting. Before I continue, let me direct you to two previous posts that show other portions of the Holy Spirit's portfolio. They are a part of a teaching that I do in our conferences under the The Holy Spirit on Assignment teaching. Please take a few minutes and read the post on August 10, 2008 Lessons from a Gardener and the August 5, 2008 post The Holy Spirit Will Show You Things to Come.
Here's a way to ease my frustration and still be somewhat brief. I won't share the teaching on each portion of His portfolio. Rather, I will share the list that I use in my teaching and supporting scripture and allow you to complete the teaching yourself. Hopefully, I will have this teaching available by CD (this will include the audio teaching, my teaching notes, and a handout for your students) in a few weeks.
As you and I learn to commune with the Holy Spirit and learn the importance of praying in our heavenly prayer language, the Holy Spirit will be allowed to fulfill His assignment. He will:
- Prepare you for the ministry. Jude 20 (See last week's blog)
- Prepare the children for your ministry. Romans 8:26 (See the Aug. 10, 2008 blog)
- Be your co-teacher. John 14:26
- Be your guide. John 16:13 (See the Aug. 5, 2008 blog)
- Be your super-charger, super-energizer. Acts 1:8
- Be your prayer limit breaker. 1 Corinthians 14:2, 14
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Holy Spirit on Assignment - Part 1
As I travel and teach in our Ignite & Unite Conferences, I LOVE teaching about working together with the Holy Spirit and seeing children's ministry workers begin to understand how to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. For far too long, we haven't understood that the Holy Spirit was sent to this earth with an assignment. He isn't just biding time until Jesus returns. This Paraclete (the One who has been assigned to walk alongside us) is looking for opportunities to manifest His presence and power in us and through us. He has been assigned to each and every one of us to enable us to fulfill our God-given assignments.
This week, allow me to briefly share His first assignment in those of us who work in children's ministry ... the Holy Spirit is assigned to prepare us for the ministry that is set before us.
Every great athlete knows the value of preparing their body before they attempt their physical feat. Before competing in a race, you will see the athlete bending, twisting, and loosening up their body. Why? They know the importance of having a body ready for the upcoming race. Every great vocalist knows the value of preparing their voice before they walk onto the platform to sing. Why? They know that the greatest performance will come as their vocal chords are warmed up.
Sadly, many children's workers have failed to learn this lesson. They haven't learned that just being animated and having a war chest of brilliant ideas aren't enough. These alone won't produce lasting fruit. Preparation isn't complete until the Holy Spirit is allowed to prepare us for what God has prepared for that time of ministry.
How is this accomplished? As we pray in our heavenly prayer language throughout the week, we are working together with the Holy Spirit as He builds us up (Jude 20) and edifies us (1 Corinthians 14:4) preparing us for the ministry task that lies ahead of us. Each time of praying in tongues fortifies our inner man. The end result is that we walk into the ministry session fully prepared, Satan is pushing his panic button, and great results are just minutes away!
I'll continue this next week with the next assignment of the Holy Spirit … the Holy Spirit is assigned to prepare the children for the upcoming ministry.
This week, allow me to briefly share His first assignment in those of us who work in children's ministry ... the Holy Spirit is assigned to prepare us for the ministry that is set before us.
Every great athlete knows the value of preparing their body before they attempt their physical feat. Before competing in a race, you will see the athlete bending, twisting, and loosening up their body. Why? They know the importance of having a body ready for the upcoming race. Every great vocalist knows the value of preparing their voice before they walk onto the platform to sing. Why? They know that the greatest performance will come as their vocal chords are warmed up.
Sadly, many children's workers have failed to learn this lesson. They haven't learned that just being animated and having a war chest of brilliant ideas aren't enough. These alone won't produce lasting fruit. Preparation isn't complete until the Holy Spirit is allowed to prepare us for what God has prepared for that time of ministry.
How is this accomplished? As we pray in our heavenly prayer language throughout the week, we are working together with the Holy Spirit as He builds us up (Jude 20) and edifies us (1 Corinthians 14:4) preparing us for the ministry task that lies ahead of us. Each time of praying in tongues fortifies our inner man. The end result is that we walk into the ministry session fully prepared, Satan is pushing his panic button, and great results are just minutes away!
I'll continue this next week with the next assignment of the Holy Spirit … the Holy Spirit is assigned to prepare the children for the upcoming ministry.
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