Parable of the Ten Virgins - Gotta get your own faith

"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

"At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

"‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’"

~ Matthew 25:1-9

The response of the wise virgins to the foolish virgins sounds rude and selfish, doesn’t it? I’ve often wondered about that and this morning, I saw something different.

The wise virgins couldn’t give their oil to the foolish in the same way I cannot give my faith to another person. Jesus Christ paid the price and he is the only one who can offer each person their own portion of faith.

Faith is being sure of something that we cannot yet see with our physical eyes (Hebrews 11:1). With faith there is a sense of waiting and watching with great expectation. Faith is exciting. It’s not flippant. It’s not something you forget about until you decide you want some.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. ~ Hebrews 11:6

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. ~ Matthew 25:13

What are you living for?

Immediately after the distress of those days 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

Matthew 24:29-31

Is this depressing or exciting to you? I think it depends on what or who you are living for today.

Maybe you feel like your purpose in life is to make this world a better place for the next generation or those you love. That's noble. But if everyone is just going to eventually die and that's it, why bother?

Maybe you do believe in heaven and hell but you think a loving God wouldn't send someone as good as you to hell. Where does he draw the line? Who is good enough? Who is bad enough?

Read all of Matthew 24. May you be able to live for the day of his return for the sake of all creation and pray with excitement Revelation 22:20, "Come, Lord Jesus."

Proper Attire

For many are invited, but few are chosen. ~ Matthew 22:14

Did you know there is a wedding banquet underway? It’s huge and the groom’s Father is generous with invitations.

Reading through Matthew 22:1-14 this morning I was drawn to verses 10-11, and 13:

“So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

“Both good and bad” were in attendance. Yet only the one without “wedding clothes” was thrown out.

My own goodness is looking a bit shabby these days. Of course, it is always shabby compared to God’s righteousness. But in times like these when my shabbiness is so easily visible to those closest to me, I’m even more thankful for the peace that comes from being covered by the righteousness of Christ.

God welcomes us just as we are when we are willing to put on the righteousness that comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.

Are you wearing your own “goodness” to the wedding banquet? If so, you might want to change clothes.

What are you asking?

In a workshop on praying scripture I asked “will the answer to your request cause you to follow Jesus more closely?” One woman appropriately pointed out that we can usually come up with a yes to that question for any request.

I agree. However, she added an additional thought that I have pondered now for a few days. Her request is that her husband would become a follower of Christ.

Second Peter 3:9 tells us “the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

So, we know that she is asking according to God’s will. However, if I could speak with her again, I would ask “Are you asking God what we wants you to do in answering your request?”Maybe my question should be re-worded to ask “will the answer to your request help you see the direction Jesus is going more clearly?”

If our relationship with a person is more dependent on what they do for us rather than who they are independent of us, it’s not much of a relationship. The thrill of the relationship comes in living for a common purpose together.

As Rich Nathan stated at Vineyard this weekend, the Christian life is not a cruise ship experience. God is not a ship steward aiming to make us more comfortable. He is the leader of the army in which every request he fulfills is aimed at equipping us in partnering with him to defeat the enemy, restore life to the wounded, and bring glory to the Father.

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Luke 12:48

Throughout the workshop I used the wedding engagement process as a visual of God presenting faith to us as a gift; our role in receiving that gift not because of the gift itself or the act of the giver but because of who the giver himself is; the promises included with the gift and our part in working toward the dreams and plans of the one who is perfect in this relationship. Shew, that sounds a little complicated. No wonder I’m not sure how it came across.

When we are praying for someone to accept Christ as their personal savior, we are asking that they accept the marriage proposal of Jesus. Well, of course, if we are asking the one proposing, he agrees!

I cannot control the God-given choices of other people. But, I can ask God what he wants me to do as his ambassador. Waiting and listening for the Holy Spirit is absolutely the most essential element here. Approaching our circumstances from our perspective will not accomplish God’s will. The mother of James and John asked for her sons to sit on each side of Jesus in his kingdom. Her perspective was wrong.

Jesus did only what he saw the Father doing. We are to do the same. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal that.

My initial question was based on Jesus’ healing of two blind men in Matthew 20:29-34. They already believed in him and his ability to have mercy on them. Their faith was not determined and probably not altered either way on his answering their request. Remember, Jesus is the giver of faith. We can only accept it or reject it. But, Jesus’ compassionate response of giving the blind men sight provided a new choices for their own circumstances.

Maybe my question should be re-worded to ask “will the answer to your request help you see the direction Jesus is going more clearly?”

If our relationship with a person is more dependent on what they do for us rather than who they are independent of us, it’s not much of a relationship. The thrill of the relationship comes in living for a common purpose together.

As Rich Nathan stated at Vineyard this weekend, the Christian life is not a cruise ship experience. God is not a ship steward aiming to make us more comfortable. He is the leader of the army in which every request he fulfills is aimed at equipping us in partnering with him to defeat the enemy, restore life to the wounded, and bring glory to the Father.

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded;
and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Luke 12:48

Deteriorating or developing?

There are two ways of thinking about life and death. The Little Black Book, Six-minute meditations on the Passion according to John puts it this way:

"One is to picture myself walking down a hill, gradually headed for the bottom where death awaits us. Another is to picture myself like a child in a mother's womb, moving gradually towards birth into a new and wider life." (2007, Diocese of Saginaw)

Which do you think was the perspective of Jesus as he lived and died for your sake?

Thoughts on Getting Involved

Here’s a question I attempt to ask with involvement decisions, is it something I feel I “oughta” do or is it something I feel God drawing me to? There are times God calls us to do things out of obedience but even then, I think there is a different sense of drawing rather than sluggish pushing ourselves. Make sense?

I’m also learning that what I picture as the involvement may not be at all what God has in mind. So, it doesn’t do me any good to try to figure out if I have the time because I may not be committing to as much time as I think or it may be way more than I would ever consider possible for my current schedule.

Experience tells me that God generally calls us into relationships rather than time commitments.

So, what is God calling you to today? What are you fretting about because you or another person is pushing on you?

Say yes to God. To everyone else, just say no. You really don’t have to explain it to anyone – it may not make sense to them anyway.

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. ~ Romans 12:2

Team Development Part 5 ~ Healthy Team Meetings

Throughout this series we have looked at your individual role on the team; your ministry’s role in the bigger picture; designing the team; and placing people on the team. Now it is time to talk about how we keep the team moving in the right direction.

Previous articles in this series

Team Development Part 1 - Praying for Clarity of Your Purpose

Team Development Part 2 – Your Spot in the Big Picture

Team Development Part 3 – Flipping the Org Chart

Team Development Part 4 – Work with What you Have

Every team meeting will look different based on the personalities and visions of the leaders. But below are a few elements I have discovered as essential to healthy team meetings.

Healthy Individuals

The words of the old hymn “if one has a heartache, we all shed a tear” fully applies at this point. Either you or a designated “shepherd” should be in touch with team members regularly. Keep personal struggles away from team meetings. Bringing silent heartache into a team meeting will affect the entire team. Team members need to be authentic but caution the women against using ministry as an escape from family or other personal struggles. Seeking godly counsel and prayer support for personal issues outside of ministry team meetings allows the team to focus and function as a healthy united body.

Prayer

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ~ James 1:5

God-awesome results start with prayer. Pray as you plan the meeting. Pray for God to make himself known as you begin the meeting. Pray anytime the discussion seems to get tense or off track during the meeting. Pray as you end that God would release his power through your everyday life and ministry.

Consider including a “Prayer Warrior” on your team whose role is simply to pray quietly throughout the entire meeting. Encourage her to intercede for each subject being discussed with the invitation to interrupt and take the group to prayer any time a spirit of disunity or frustration is sensed. Some prayer warriors may choose to have a prayer team which gathers at the same time but in a different room from the ministry team.

Agenda

Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. ~ 1 Corinthians 14:40

A team meeting is a gathering of gifts intended to function together as one body. The agenda helps everyone move in the same direction at the same pace. Use the agenda as a guide but it doesn’t have to be confining. If you need to break away from the agenda, don’t be afraid to do so. Make sure it is the Holy Spirit - rather than dominate personalities, fears, or appearance of crisis - taking you into unknown territories.

Use the agenda to cast vision and remind everyone of dependence on God’s leadership. Divide your agenda according to various aspects of your ministry vision or goals (i.e. evangelism, spiritual growth, outreach, etc.). Or use headers such as “What God has Done” to hear reports on recent ministry events and activities; “What God is Doing” for the discussion of current projects and ministries recently started; and “Where God is Leading” to introduce new subjects. In all these areas, be sure to include life-changing answers to prayer.

Leadership Development

Use team meetings to develop leadership skills. When the discussion is in a specific team member’s area of ministry, let her lead the discussion. Before you interject with your thoughts remember this Steven Covey quote, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Ask questions of the team member to help her paint a verbal picture of her God-given passion. This will give her confidence in her ability to lead and inspire the rest of the team as they see her enthusiasm grow.

End with Expectation

End on time! Summarize any unfinished discussions and confirm assignments, tasks, and information needed for the next meeting. Have a time of silent reflection allowing God’s peace to settle on the meeting before a few words in a closing prayer time. Create some type of unique team bonding for your departure – a group hug, team huddle with a “yeah God” shout – something that makes you feel like a healthy smiling team, anxious to see what God will do as a result of this meeting.