A VISION FOR MINISTRY

Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation has very little to do with today’s Scriptures. Instead I’ve included something written in 1999 for a lady who was trying to find her ministry. Over the past weekend I came across a couple of people seeking for theirs. So I thought it was time to include it for today’s meditation.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Tuesday, 23 October 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	A VISION FOR MINISTRY
Written in 1999, this parable was written for a lady looking for her ministry. I’m going to tell a parable, to help folk understand, The thing that they already know as what, for them, I’ve planned. There was a little lady who wondered what to do. She said she had no training. At least, none that she knew. She didn’t have much learning. She didn’t know My Word. She’d spent her days in service. And yet her heart was stirred. She wanted to do something. A very special task. But she had little money and felt she couldn’t ask, Her neighbours to assist her to start a ministry. But in her heart, she longed to do a lovely work for Me. She hunted round her humble home but couldn’t find a thing; Except some different scraps of wool she tied like balls of string. There were so many colours. Some red, some green, some pink. “The colours of the rainbow” is all that she could think; And all the lengths were different. Some short, some very long. And some of them were very weak, with others very strong. “What can I do,” she wondered. “I can’t buy any more. I haven’t even got the time to travel to the store”. And so she took her needles and started on a quest; To knit a rainbow garment and make a small child’s vest. She knitted in the mornings and in the afternoons. Whenever she could find the time, her knitting she’d resume. She started with the strongest lengths, and with the weaker strands, She braided two together with her kind, loving hands. Eventually she finished. She looked at what she’d done. It didn’t look impressive. But she’d had lots of fun. She giggled as she looked at it because it looked so odd. It really seemed the strangest thing for her to do for God. The next day, in the market place, she came across a child. He was a homeless urchin. He looked at her and smiled. The cold wind blew upon him and what he wore was thin.			63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you--they are full of the Spirit and life. John 6:63 TNIV 45 The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last Adam--that is, Christ--is a life-giving Spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45 NLT 6 When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch--the Spirit--and becomes a living spirit. John 3:6 MSG 5 He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5 NLT 11 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:9-11 ESV 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 TNIV 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11 TNIV	And so, she took the rainbow vest and handed it to him. He looked at her with great big eyes and pulled it o’er his head. His eyes expressed a thankfulness which words could not have said. The child looked quaint and interesting and suddenly she knew, That she’d performed a ministry that no one else could do. The meaning of this parable is very plain to see. It isn’t very difficult to find your ministry. Take a look around you and see what you can find. Look for what you like to do and what inspires your mind. This lady loved her knitting. The wool was close at hand. She didn’t have to emigrate or leave her native land. She didn’t go to Bible School. She didn’t need matric. She only did what she could do; and did it double quick. She didn’t use excuses; she didn’t cry or mope. She wasn’t sure of anything. She wasn’t sure she’d cope! She simply took her talents and her abilities, And set off on a venture into her ministry. So tell this to my children. This parable of Mine, To show them that their ministry is forged in their design. It isn’t going places, or being seen by men. It’s doing what they like to do, no matter where, or when. So if they want a vision of what they need to do. Take a little look around and they will get a view, Of what there is available, to meet another’s needs; And then put into action their own God given deeds. Whatever they can find to do, just do with all their heart. For that is where they’re sure to find their ministry will start. So, tell them to take courage and tell them not to wait. The time is now! The place is here! Today’s the perfect date, For them to put in motion that which now must be done. To glorify the Father, the Spirit and the Son. Jim Strickland – Written 1999