"7" Minutes Alone with God

Are they [ministering] servants of Christ [the Messiah]    (2 Corinthians 11:23 Amp) Are you a ministering servant of Christ?  If you are allowing Him to meet the needs of others through your love, your words, your deeds, you are one of His ministering servants.  As such, you will sometimes encounter difficulties and setbacks.  Scripture teaches that part of God’s plan for His children is to allow such times to come into their lives. Why would He do so?  Is it to discourage us or render us ineffectual in our spiritual walk?  No, not at all.  As our loving Father, He does not enjoy seeing us hurt or hurting.  Rather, He allows difficulties to come into our lives in order to make us stronger. In the same way weights and devices of resistance are used to develop physical muscles, so our spiritual muscles – faith, courage, confidence, contentment, hope, joy – are built up and made stronger each time we use them. This is what Paul was ...

I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work  which You have given Me to do  (John 17:4) Hours before Jesus’ arrest, trial, and death, He spoke these words to His Heavenly Father.  Reading them now I wonder if, when I am facing my last days on Earth, I will be able in all honesty, to say them to Him.  It is a sobering thought. God has plans for what He wants each of His children to accomplish during their lifetime.  Generally speaking, He does not reveal them all at once.  It is as we are living day-to-day, He presents opportunities for service.  Whether or not we recognize such occasions depends on how closely we are in communication with Him through prayer and study of His Word. Often, caught up in the whirlwind of daily life, we fail to recognize His urging.  It may be as simple as sending a card of encouragement to someone going through a difficult time; stopping to converse with someone when we are shopping; h...

She, out of her poverty, gave all that she had  (Mark 12:44) The couple with their two young children had recently arrived on the mission field in Papua New Guinea when this verse came to life for them in a very unique experience.  Not yet having learned the native language, they were able to converse only with those natives who knew Pidgin English, the trade language.  Later, the wife related their experience this way: “It was a beautiful, sunny morning as we headed down the road to the native market to buy fruits and vegetables.  As we rounded the last corner, we saw the women sitting beside the road, their wares stacked in piles before them.  We made our way all the way down the row, looking at the variety, shaking hands and saying ‘Morning’ to the crowds of children and adults who followed us as we went.  Native talk was all around us. By the time we had made our purchases of corn, bananas, peanuts, and kaukau (sweet potatoes), the plastic bags ...