Ministry is to be carried out by the entire church, by both the lay people and those who are ordained. In fact, in one sense we can say that the lay people are to be the primary agents of ministry. There are only a few who are specially gifted and ordained by God with the ability to equip other believers. These other believers, these lay people, are the ones who help to carry God’s Word to the world at large whether through missions, ministries of mercy, Christian education, or any of the other means that God may use to build His kingdom.

Our Lord has given us the grand task of making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). But we cannot do it alone. No one servant of the Lord can do all that is necessary to lead, equip, and send out His people. That is one reason God has given us the church. He ordained a community to work together to build His Kingdom.

In Numbers 11:14, overwhelmed by the burdens of ministry, Moses cries out to the Lord: “I can’t take care of all these people alone. It is too much for me.” God responds by telling Moses to appoint Spirit-anointed elders to help him deal with the people (Numbers 11: 16–30). This foreshadows our own day, the day in which the Spirit has been poured out on all of God’s people for the purpose of ministry and service to God.

One of the many burdens that church leaders face is the difficulty of recruiting volunteers in the church. Sometimes it can be like pulling teeth to get people to sign up to do the work of ministry. Take some time to look at your church, and see where the needs for ministry are. Then, go volunteer where you can use your gifts in ministry.                                                                    (LIGONIER MINISTRIES)

Susan lived “the good life”. One filled with prosperity and love. For years, she and her husband    owned   a thriving   business   that  allowed them and their children to be surrounded with beautiful material things. They had a glorious lake home, a lavish boat, and luxury cars. Everything the world counts as gain.

In spite of their earthly wealth, when faced with the truth of the Gospel, Susan and her husband realized that they were spiritually bankrupt and in desperate need of a Savior. Within months of each other, Susan and her husband both accepted Christ and began to thrive in newly found faith.

A few years into faith, Susan was squeezed by difficult circumstances. The family business took a turn for the worse and had to close its doors – leaving many friends and employees jobless. Then the IRS audited her husband. Scary legal ramifications threatened to crush them if large amounts of money were not paid to accommodate accounting debt. They lost everything. Financially ruined and emotionally stunned, Susan and her husband were forced to sell all that they owned.

Years later, they still waded through the deep waters of financial strain. Their debts were far from being forgiven and the economy had grown progressively dim. Through the turmoil, Susan learned to trust in God as her Provider. As she trusted Him, God faithfully filled her with supernatural peace, strength, and joy. She experienced God’s provision through His Word, through His presence, and through her friends. When her pantry had been empty, God knew. He sent friends to her home with bags of groceries and gift cards. When her soul had been discouraged, God knew. He sent reminders of His promises and love through Scripture and through the encouragement of godly women.

Despite the fact that her bank account was still bare and the days were still complicated, Susan considered herself to be wealthier post-loss than ever because she knows the soul-level unshakable peace that is found in Jesus.

No matter what you go through, you can experience unshakable peace, and declare, “I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken!” as the psalmist did in Psalm 16:8. God knows what you have been through and what you are going through. He promises peace to each believer through Jesus.

Part of our unsettled nature is that we try to cling to the things of earth. When we put our trust in things of this world, we give anxiety, fear, jealously, discontentment, greed, and insecurity open access to our lives. Let go of what doesn’t matter. Even let go of those things that seem worth your worry.

Seek God first, friend … above and before any earthly thing, large or small. Have faith that He will meet you at your need. He wants us to trust Him. When we do, He promises that we can live with an unshakable peace that passes understanding.                                                                                    (GWEN SMITH)

The Bible tells the Parable of the Shrewd
(but Dishonest) Manager in Luke 16:1-13.

In the parable, Jesus doesn’t praise the manager’s dishonesty, but He does praise his shrewdness. What is shrewdness? To be shrewd means you’re smart, strategic, and resourceful. You see a problem clearly, you know what needs to be done, and then you figure out how to do it. God wants you to learn how to be biblically shrewd with your money for the rest of your life.

From the story, we can learn four things that we shouldn’t do with our money.

1.    Don’t waste your money. Luke 16:1 says, “A report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money.” Since everything you have belongs to God and is a gift from Him — including your money — then you have to be careful not to waste what belongs to your master.

2.    Don’t love your money. You’ve got to decide if God is going to be number one in your life or if making a lot of money will be your number one goal in life. You cannot serve both. “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Luke 16:13).

3.    Don’t trust your money. I don’t care how much money you’ve got — you can always lose it. The manager learned this pretty quickly in Luke 16:3: “Now what? My boss has fired me.” If you want to be secure, the center of your life has to be built around something that can never be taken from you. And there’s only one thing that you can never lose: God’s love for you.

4.    Don’t expect your money to satisfy. If you think having more will make you happier, more secure, or more valuable, you are seriously misguided, because money will never satisfy: “Whoever loves money will never have enough. And whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with his income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). That’s why Jesus says in Luke 12:15, “Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

For Your Reflection
•    What would you do differently with your money if you considered with every purchase that you were spending someone else’s money?
•    If others looked at your life and how you used your money, what would they say is most important to you?
•    How can you be ambitious and satisfied with your income at the same time?                                                                                  (RICK WARREN)

In 2 Timothy 2:22 Paul tells us to flee and pursue.  We are to flee youthful lust. Now think about that for a minute. Why would he specify youthful lusts, and not just lust in general? (And by the way, have you ever heard of elderly lusts? I’m sure they exist, but the contrast is fairly obvious – as people get older, generally speaking, they grow in wisdom and see their once youthful pursuits to be really not that important after all.) In response to the specificity of youth, it is good to remember that Timothy was still fairly young, and was probably facing the temptations that every younger person faces – the temptation to pursue things that could shipwreck his faith. Paul tells Timothy to FLEE those lusts.

In our youth, we often lack wisdom and pursue things that may seem important, things that seem as though we can’t live without. It is often not until we are older that we see those pursuits as fleeting and foolish. Experience often has a way of filtering out bad choices. But let’s be clear here: Paul is not asking Timothy to wait until he is older and more mature to figure it out. He is telling Timothy to run away NOW from those lusts. It means making the wilful choice to do what perhaps in our immaturity draws us so powerfully away from a healthy and growing relationship with God. We cannot wait until the enticement goes away on its own. It may never go away. Plus, age does not guarantee maturity. Maturity comes when immature people make wilful choices to do what is better or best despite the draw of immature enticements. Maturity is product of discipline.

By telling him to flee, Paul is telling Timothy to run to a place of safety. Imagine a hand grenade being thrown at your feet. What would you do? You could pick it up and throw it away, but chances are you would instinctively run away as fast as you could. Youthful lust is like a hand grenade. It initially looks harmless, but in time, its effects are tragic. We are to flee youthful lusts and run to a place of safety.

Paul says the best way to flee evil is to pursue good. It is not enough to stop bad practices; one must flee and pursue good practices. And take note that these are to be pursued – an active chasing after, taking initiative. We are called to pursue: Righteousness – that which is right in the eyes of God. This speaks of moral integrity; Faith – that which trusts in God enough to follow Him even when we can’t see the results; Love – that which expresses the love of God to others. It means pursuing others as God pursued us – a love in which God sacrificed His only Son; Peace – that which expresses God’s value of relationship with a spirit of reconciliation and peacekeeping.

Consider each of these areas in your life. How are you PURSUING righteousness? Faith? Love? Peace? If we spend our time pursuing these godly qualities, we will find little time to pursue youthful lusts and other things that are destructive and displeasing to God.                                                    (MIKE KURTZ)

Make us like everybody else. That was Israel’s essential request. They had been led out of slavery by God… redeemed by God… brought to a new land by God… established their nation by God… forgiven by God as they forsook Him over and over again… they belonged to God!

The very purpose for which He had saved them was so that they might be different from all the other nations of the world… set apart as His people… a holy nation. Exodus 19:6, “…you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

But they did not want to be a city set on a hill for all the world to see and behold the light of God through His people. No… they wanted to be in the valley where they could hide their light under a bushel and party with everyone else.

They rejected the kind of community their King had created them to be.

And they were warned.

Through the prophet Samuel, God warned His people that there is no such thing as life without a king, and any option aside from Himself will eventually fall short. But they didn’t care… and all too often neither do we.

Life without a king simply doesn’t exist.

Everyone has a ruler, even if they believe it to be themselves. As Christians, we have been recreated as a community of King Jesus! We’ve been set apart, made a city on a hill, that through our sacrificial love for one another the world might see a reflection of the sacrificial love of God most clearly displayed through the cross.

But how strong is the temptation to want to be like all the other people of the world. In our own post-modern culture, that temptation specifically takes shape in the desire to be our own king and captain of our soul.

People of God, hear the warning of God through the Word of God… we make bad kings! You have been freely given the greatest King who offers you the greatest joy… Himself! You… we… have been given Jesus! May we be a people, a community who cling to our King!

(SHADES VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH)

(This has been another busy week. I don’t know whether I can focus on worship this morning. Something is nagging at my feelings.)

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

(Life is busy. There seems to be no end to work. I can’t relax.)

He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters.

(I have bad, painful memories. I am hurting inside.)

He restores my soul.

(I struggle with sin. The good I want to do I cannot do. The evil I do I do not want to do. Who will rescue me from this body of death?)

He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

(I am getting older and may soon die. Someone I love may soon die.)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

(My fellow workers look down on me. My boss gives me a hard time. I have few friends at school.)

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

(Life is full of troubles. My health is not as it should be. Where can I find meaningful work?)

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

(I am worried about the future. Will I meet a partner? Can I repay my debts? Is my business going to fail? Will my marriage last?)

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.

(Lord, I believe. Help me in my unbelief.)

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.     (Bert Witvoet)

In 1 Samuel Chapter 3, the prophet Samuel was about 12 years old. Hannah had given her son back to the Lord at about the age of 2, leaving him to be raised in the tabernacle at Shiloh as she had promised God. After 10 years growing up under the elderly chief priest Eli, God called Samuel. Samuel at first thought it was Eli calling him, but Eli realized it was God’s voice. Eli gave Samuel great advice, and anyone trying to serve God could benefit from following it too.

When God speaks, in any way, we should simply respond with these same words: “Speak, for Your servant hears.” “But,” you say, “God doesn’t speak to me that clearly.” No, He doesn’t speak that clearly to most of us. He usually speaks through other people and His Word, the Scriptures. So when we read something that strikes a chord in our hearts or we hear someone speak of God and it seems to be “speaking directly to us,” we should whisper this silent pray as Eli suggested.

There is a great old story about learning how to listen. A Native American and his friend were in downtown New York City, walking near Times Square, during the noon lunch hour. The streets were filled with people, cars were honking, taxicabs were squealing around corners, and sirens were wailing; the sounds of the city were almost deafening.

The Native American suddenly said, “I hear a cricket.” His friend exclaimed, “What? You must be crazy. You couldn’t possibly hear a cricket in all this noise!” The Native American listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across the street to a big, cement container in which was a plant. He looked into the bushes and sure enough located a small cricket. His friend was amazed. “That’s incredible. You must have super-human ears!”

“No,” said the Native American. “My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you’re listening for.” “But that can’t be!” said his friend. “I could never hear a cricket in this noise.” “Here, let me show you,” he replied. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk. With the noise of the crowded street still blaring, every head within 20 feet turned to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs. “See what I mean?” asked the Native American. “It all depends on what you’re listening for.”

If we are tuned in to hear God, we can hear Him speak in spite of all the distracting things around us.                                                                                                    (PASTOR ED REA)

“But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him.” — LUKE 10:33-34

When I think of the parable of the Good Samaritan, the first word that comes to mind is “extravagance.” The Good Samaritan gave extravagantly—much more than just giving the man some loose change; loose change was not his need at that moment. He desperately needed community, somebody to treat him justly, as a person created and loved by God.

And then there’s the priest and the Levite. Like them, we are busy with our religious lives, determined to reach our established goals, worried about the bottom line. We can become easily upset if we are inconvenienced, be it a traffic jam or a drunken man asking us for loose change.

One charity had a rather touching commercial on TV recently. After displaying the plight of various groups, they pleaded with the viewer to “Join in the struggle for justice” just by sending in a donation. It seems to me that the priest and the Levite would have been quite self-righteous about sending in their donations.

I see this as a pretty serious problem within the Church. We can ease our conscience by giving a donation, but then we walk right past the homeless woman on the street without even a thought of concern or compassion. We justify ourselves by our so-called “sacrificial donation.” Having done that, we are then free (or so we think) to do whatever we want in terms of self-centred pursuits. But pity the poor guy who might interrupt us in that pursuit. The Good Samaritan gave extravagantly. How do you give?

REFLECTION:

1. How can we “join in the struggle for justice”? How can we do so without feeling self-righteous?

2. If you were to become a neighbour “to the one who had fallen into the hands robbers” (LUKE 10: 36) what would that look like? What are some first steps you could take as a family or as a church?          (DOUG WIEBE)