Smallest Seed

Secret Entourage Ministers, especially pastors, should be extra sharp to discern the difference, because a very thin line separates one from the other. Are you Spirit-led or income-led? Did you end up in ministry because of a divine call or because you were looking for profitable work and got one, and then somehow ministry followed? To be sure, income sources are God's blessings. The more the merrier. I love to be in a lucrative business. In fact, the church can be in business as the Acts church was. But we are NOT to be led or controlled by our income source, business or money. All who are led thus end up like prophet Balaam---always bargaining for the right price while pretending to be after God's leading. Abram got wealthy while "in the process" of obeying God. He didn't leave Ur for greener pasture somewhere. He left Ur without knowing where he'd end up. He left simply because he obeyed God. Unlike a lot of pastors today who leave for the US, Ca

Equipment World You are given eyes to see and the spiritual ability to enter God's Kingdom [John 3.3-8] so you can be part of it. Once you're part, then you can share it with others. You cannot share what you do not have. Fact is, you cannot share what you haven't seen. In ministry, you have to see the Kingdom and enter it. So you have to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, first and last. Evangelism Share your Kingdom faith with as many. Ask God's guidance about it, particularly who you'd share it with. Sometimes, God wants specific targets. Only the King knows who is fit for the Kingdom so you have to follow his lead about who to share the Gospel with and who to disciple. Many are invited but few are chosen. The prophet Samuel was sure it was Eliab who would be king but the Lord said Eliab seemed kingdomly only in appearance but not in essence. We should share the Gospel with everyone, but at times the Lord would zero in on an individual

Pinterest Ever wondered why Jesus and John the baptizer assumed radically simple roles in society? Why didn't Jesus come as part of the Sanhedrin or as palace official? Why the son of a poor carpenter? Why be born in a manger? John for one was Zechariah's son, and Zechariah served as priest in the temple. Priests led comfortable and well to do lives, being supplied all their material needs and given special favors by the community as per Old Testament directives. John should have been priest, too, being son of Zechariah. But John gave it up and chose to be an obscure prophet living in the wilderness catching locusts for dinner and risking bee stings just to enjoy a handful of honey. That's beside wearing only camel's hair and a leather belt all his life. Why this radical simplicity? I see it as Kingdom signature. A kind of "company logo" or characteristic mark of the Kingdom. Kingdom people literally care for nothing in this life. Jesus said tha

Study Make sure you're doing ministry in the glorious church of Jesus Christ, a church without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. People who have no knowledge of the Kingdom will just go to any "born-again" church, especially one which has the best facilities.  But a Kingdom person particularly makes sure he attends no less than the glorious church. Non-Kingdom people will tell you not to look for a perfect church. "There is no perfect church!" they insist. But the bible says there is a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle. It's Jesus' church. He died for it. He founded it. And ministry is different in the glorious church. In the glorious church, everyone's ministries are connected and intertwined. And I mean all ministries. Kingdom people know this so well. There is no such thing as "your ministry" or "my ministry" or "their ministry" or "our ministry." More radical Kingdom concepts for

Mustard Seed Faith It's easy to see if a ministry is really failing. Remember, God is spirit. The only way to please him is in spirit and in truth. You cannot please God by your church building, church income, membership size or Sunday worship programs. Actually, the ministry Jesus showed us in the bible was so simple. It's super simple, in fact. It's mainly on preaching, miraculous healing, and discipleship. Just these three. We don't have to add anything to this. Jesus did only these three and he did well. He pleased the Father to the max. To see what really makes us fail big-time in ministry, click here to read the article. Preaching You don't have to be a titled preacher to do this. Just share the Word. All you need is knowledge of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. These two equip you to the max. The Word of God is God breathed "so that the man of God may be adequate, fully equipped for every good work," [2 Timothy 3.17]

Flickr Among clear Kingdom teachings we find in the Gospel is how real happiness is really about compassion. The world often pictures a happy person as one who travels a lot and enjoying posh vacation resorts in the world, eating in fancy exotic restaurants, wearing the best apparels, riding the most expensive cars, owning huge mansions, etc. And all these could be a lot fun, really.  But the Gospel (the good news of the Kingdom) never highlights these things as true fun or happiness. It tells us real fun is what Jesus spoke about in the Beatitudes, which defined the life of Jesus Christ. And foremost among what the Gospel considers real fun is that happy are the poor in spirit . Jesus was the picture of a happy man, although he didn't travel the world or caroused day and night, or shopped till he dropped. Being poor in spirit means you find a lot of happiness in whatever you have or find before you. You're so easy to please. You don't need to look for other thi

Our Happy Cat One day I told a religious church leader that the Gospel was about how to be happy in life. His eyes widened, like he saw a ghost, and he protested: "The Gospel is about how we can be saved from sins!" I was about to tell him that the Gospel was also about being successful in life and career, but I thought I better not. He might have rebuked me like I were a demon. Of course, the Gospel is about how people can be saved from sins. But it's not limited to that. It's about many other things. It can be about how to deal with your boss or your subordinates effectively. Or how to choose the right career for you. Or how to save money and invest to grow it exponentially. Or how to be healthy and fit. God's Word is profitable for everything because it is about LIFE. And LIFE is not just about being saved from sins. Some folks may be shocked at this, but there's actually LIFE after salvation. And God wants that life to be happy. In fact, ano