Thursday Ponderings

7th June 2012 Be Loving! Love does not boast, it is not proud. I have linked these two together because I think they are related but also because I do not know many Christians that have a problem with boasting or pride. Culturally it is not acceptable to boast, if asked if I can cook and if I was born in Germany, I could say yes I'm an excellent cook! But being English, I could be the winner of Masterchef and I would have to reply "Well I'm not a bad cook", or something similar! I pray constantly that if I ever get good at preaching that I will not become proud of that. I know I've got a long way to go but I believe God has called me into a teaching and preaching ministry so I'm kind of assuming that I will be good sometime in the future, but I want to give God the glory and not become arrogant. It's much more difficult to become arrogant when you serve behind the scenes as I have done for the first 40 years of my life. If God uses you to raise people from the dead or heal people miraculously, there is a much greater danger that you might forget that it is God doing the work . As people we do look up to the folk whom God uses, we put them on pedestals and we want them to pray for us rather than another member of the congregation. It is the same God who works through us all! If God is using us it is because He chooses to, it is His power that heals, it is His power that casts out evil spirits and it is His power that raises people from the dead.- In my experience, God tends not to use people who are not listening to Him, so if He has told you to forgive someone or love someone that has hurt you and you are saying No - don't want to, won't do that- He is unlikely to choose you to raise people from the dead - until you are back walking in obedience. If you have a powerful job, if you earn a high salary, if you are particularly beautiful, handsome or intelligent - BE CAREFUL. Make sure you don't consider those in humble jobs, those who are less attractive in the worlds' eyes, those who earn next to nothing as less valuable, make sure you treat them as an equal - make sure you invite them round to dinner and to your yacht in the Bahamas.

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