Author Archives: Ministry Tools Resource Center

Holiday Resources for Making the Most of Opportunities

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Holiday Resources to Make the Most of Every OpportunityShortly after launching the MinTools.com site in 1999, I decided to provide a few holiday resources links. Site statistics revealed a real interest in finding help over the holidays. What started as one page with holiday resources, turned into many. Go To: Ministry Resources for Holidays, Seasons, and Other Life Events

Since God’s Word does encourage us to “make the most of every opportunity” (Eph. 5:15-16; Col. 4:5), I knew this was a way to further equip believers in their ministries.

Ways Holidays are Used for Ministry

Typically we find ourselves planning special programs, activities, and events for the holidays with emphasis on:

outreach
family time
expressions of appreciation

They can also provide opportunities for sermons and teachings with targeted messages that people may be more receptive to because they’re already thinking about the topic due to the holiday. Check out this tool you can use: Holiday Reflections Discipleship Guides

How to Make the Most of the Holidays for Ministry

When reading the Bible verses about making the most of every opportunity, let’s be sure to note how both of the key passages exhorting us to do so also reference our need for wisdom. Ephesians 5:15-16 begins, “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise …” Colossians 4:5 says, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”

Here are just four issues for which we need wisdom at holidays:

  1. We must be discerning in the type of decorations and activities we use related to the holidays so as not to send mixed messages about Truth. Do they accurately represent God and His Word?
  1. We must be sensitive of those in our midst who find particular holidays difficult or hurtful. How can we keep the good of all in mind by the way we celebrate, the words we say, and the emphasis we put in certain aspects of it?
  1. We must consider the best way to use church communications not only to announce programs but also to engage people about how to keep God central during the holiday. How can we utilize various means to reach people, not just the big events?
  1. We must guard against letting members think that bringing people to big holiday events excuse them from personally witnessing, giving benevolently, spiritually nurturing their own children, etc.. What can we do to equip people to make the most of opportunities in their own spheres of influence over the holiday seasons as well as year round?

Acknowledging the need to be wise during these times, we should consider training ministry workers to at least be aware of the above points. (Example of helping Bible teachers: Holidays & Seasonal Teacher Training Resources)

And, these points certainly suggest our need to pray about the way to make the best use of these holiday opportunities. God promises to give us the wisdom we need if we ask (James 1:5).

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We All Need God’s Power

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God’s power isn’t just for church leaders. We all need God’s power regardless of how we might serve.

That’s why the Steering the Church Toward God’s Power Leadership Guide addresses a leader’s responsibility to not just point people to God’s power but be an example of pulling on that power in all they do. (Click on the link to learn more about that resource.)

God’s power isn’t just for church ministry. We all need God’s power wherever we are, in whatever we’re doing. God’s power isn’t just for “normal” times. We all need His power during whatever the season of life in which we find ourselves.

Availability of God’s Power

God will help us live for Him no matter the circumstances, in whatever we have to do.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him … (2 Pet. 1:3)

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know … his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead … (Eph. 1:18-20)

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us … (Eph. 3:20-21)

Notice in the above verses how the power He makes available is divine (supernatural), incomparably great, and immeasurably more than we could even conceive on our own. It’s the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and will one day raise us as well (1 Cor. 15:51-58).

We All Need God's Power

Tapping into God’s Power

It begins “through our knowledge of him …” (2 Pet. 1:3). Take time to get to know Him better. The more fully we know Him as the Great God He is, — the Almighty One, the Creator of heaven and earth, — the more we will learn to rely on Him. We will cease striving and let God be God in and through our lives (Ps. 46:10).

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Biblical Spirituality Reflects the Spirit’s Work in Lives

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Biblical Spirituality Reflects the Spirit's Work
While biblical spirituality ties into who we are in Christ, it’s the Holy Spirit who makes Christ known to us (Jn. 15:26). Consequently, we need the Spirit’s work, with a capital S, in and through us, to be spiritual.

How the Holy Spirit’s Work is Reflected in Us

First, we must acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is the one who makes spiritual realities known (1 Cor. 2:12-16).

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. (1 Cor. 2:14)

Second, we must walk in the Spirit in order to become who we can be in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the One who bears spiritual fruit in us, those Christ-like traits that enable us to not only “do” what we should do but “be” who we should be (Gal. 5:16-26).

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23)

Third, we must serve in accordance with the spiritual gifts distributed by and empowered by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4-11).

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. … All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. (1 Cor. 12:4, 11)

Biblical Spirituality Results in the Spirit Working Through Us

If you want to assess your spirituality, ask how loving, joyful, peaceful, and good you are but also how patient, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled you are (Gal. 5:22-23). Biblical spirituality affects how we relate with others, not only if we’re engaging in spiritual practices. Remember that who we are also affects how we serve.

The Holy Spirit teaches us and produces Christ-like qualities in us but also empowers us to impact other people’s lives.

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor. 3:3-6)

… our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. (1 Thess. 1:5)

And, the Holy Spirit can bring a diverse group of people together, building us up into a spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5) so we can “stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27).

If we don’t see these results, we have undoubtedly not attained to biblical spirituality. We cannot “grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Eph. 4:30) or quench His work in our lives (1 Thess. 5:19) and call ourselves spiritual from a biblical standpoint.

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Biblical Spirituality Tied into Who We are in Christ

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Biblical Spirituality Tied into who we are in Christ JesusBiblical spirituality is about living in the reality of who we are in Christ who is …

  • our spiritual rock upon which we stand, our firm foundation (1 Cor. 10:3-4)
  • our spiritual drink who alone, as Living Water, can quench the thirst within us for something more, something better (1 Cor. 10:3-4; Jn. 4:13-14)
  • our spiritual food who alone, as the Bread of Life, can nurture and sustain us (1 Cor. 10:3-4; Jn. 6:32)

Who We Are in Christ Grows Out of What We Have in Christ

In Christ Jesus we have been given EVERY spiritual blessing.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Eph. 1:3)

Those blessings of biblical spirituality include but undoubtedly aren’t limited to what we find as we read on in Ephesians 1:3-14.

  • chosen in Him … our relationship with Him is not an accident
  • adoption … we belong to His family
  • acceptance … reconciled to Him we are no longer considered unworthy
  • redemption … don’t have to strive for acceptance as He made it possible
  • forgiveness … sin not held against us
  • riches of His grace … freely given all we need to live in Him
  • knowledge of the mystery of His will … able to come to a better understanding of who we are and what we have in Him
  • inheritance … a future which gives us perspective now and hope for more to come
  • sealing of the Spirit … security

The more we grasp who we are and what we have in Christ, the more our spiritual fervor will increase (Rom. 12:11) and the more willingly we’ll make spiritual sacrifices (1 Pet. 2:5; Ps. 51:16-17; Rom. 12:1).

Attaining Biblical Spirituality

Biblical spirituality isn’t some mystical experience but rather grows out of our knowledge of the Lord. Simply put, to attain Biblical spirituality, we start by getting to know the One who makes it possible. Start with spiritual milk, the basic, elementary truths of God’s Word and life in Christ (1 Pet. 2:2; Heb. 5:12) and then move on to the more solid food of His Word. Not sure where to begin? Check out: New to Bible Reading Discipleship Tool

In addition to reading and studying God’s Word, there are a number of other ways to continue learning and growing. Check out: Getting Spiritually Fit – Engaging in Spiritual Disciplines

Then, who we are in Christ will affect us from the inside out so that all we do with our time and resources reflects our spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.

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All Things Spiritual, Biblical Spirituality That Is

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We may claim to be a spiritual person. Is it, however, biblical spirituality?

How the Bible Defines Spirituality

Biblical spirituality is more than a bent toward God or being a good, moral person. We find a distinction between the natural and spiritual in 1 Corinthians 15:46-49 as that which comes from earthly origins versus heavenly. Hence, biblical spirituality takes us out of the natural and into the supernatural requiring God’s power to be at work in and through us. We cannot be spiritual, biblically speaking, without pulling on His divine power. — “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (2 Pet. 1:3)

Two elements integral to biblical spirituality:

Spiritual - Biblical Spirituality
1) Biblical spirituality ties into who we are in Christ.

2) Biblical spirituality reflects the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.

Many Terms Used to Describe All Things Spiritual

Living within who we are in Christ and the Spirit at work in and through us involves so much it’s difficult to find one term that describes it all. The following list includes some terms or concepts found in the Bible. We don’t find the word “spiritual” in front of every one of these terms in Scripture but it’s implied if you look in the context showing that these are realities that take us beyond the natural.

spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3)
what we have been given as a result of our life in Christ
spiritual disciplines (1 Tim. 4:6-8)
activities that will help us live within the framework of who we are in Christ
spiritual drink (1 Cor. 10:3-4; Jn. 4:10-14)
the living water that quenches our deepest needs freely given to us in Christ Jesus
spiritual fervor (Rom. 12:11)
the passion or zeal we possess when living in and for Christ
spiritual food (1 Cor. 10:3-4; Jn. 6:32)
the Bread of Life, who is Christ Jesus, that nurtures and sustains us
spiritual fruit (Gal. 5:22-23)
Christ-like qualities developed in us by the Holy Spirit
spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:4-8; Eph. 4:11-13; 1 Cor. 12)
divine empowerments to serve given by the Holy Spirit
spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5)
the building up of all who are in Christ Jesus together as a spiritual family
spiritual milk (1 Pet. 2:2; Heb. 5:12)
the basic, elementary truths of God’s Word and life in Christ
spiritual realities (1 Cor. 2:13)
the truths about life in Christ only known by His Spirit
spiritual rock (1 Cor. 10:3-4; 1 Pet. 2:4-6)
Jesus Christ who is the rock upon which we stand, a firm foundation
spiritual sacrifices (1 Pet. 2:5; Ps. 51:16-17; Rom. 12:1)
our own will laid down in order to live a life in worship of Him

Struggles in Our Quest to be Spiritual as in Biblical Spirituality

While Jesus came to give us abundant life, the devil comes like a thief “to steal and kill and destroy” (Jn. 10:10). While the Spirit leads us into truth, Satan seeks to lead our minds astray from “sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3) with lies (Jn. 8:44; Col. 2:8) and accusations (Rev. 12:10). Some of the lies Satan perpetrates includes confusion about what truly defines spirituality. If we redefine it in accordance with the world or what might be politically correct, being swayed by the spiritual forces of evil, we will fail to live that godly and full life only found in Christ produced within us through His Spirit.

But, in Christ we also have spiritual weaponry that enables us to stand firm against the devils schemes (Eph. 6:10-18).

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor. 10:4-5)

God equips us and empowers us to rise above and view life from our position with Him “in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6). This is no pie in the sky type of spirituality. Rather, it is something that makes a difference here and now.

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Acquiring Wisdom

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No one can dispute the need for wisdom in today’s world. Who doesn’t need it? Needing wisdom, however, isn’t new to our generation or to the times in which we now live. God provided an entire book of the Bible, Proverbs, written for the purpose of “gaining wisdom and understanding” which begins with a process for acquiring the wisdom we so desperately need.

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young – let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance … (Prov. 1:1-5)

Process for Acquiring the Wisdom Needed

Take a closer look at Proverbs 1:1-5 and you’ll find a process for acquiring wisdom that we would do well to follow.

1) Instruction: to know

We will not know how to walk in wisdom without instruction.

2) Insight: to discern

We must get to the root of issues, looking beyond the obvious.

3) Implication: to be prudent

We must go beyond mental discernment, however, to seeing the practical use of truth in our daily life situations and relations.

4) Implementation: to be disciplined

We must actually plan how to realistically apply this good judgment to situations with which we must deal in life.

5) Intake: to add to your learning

We must realize that we will never stop learning, that there is always something new to take in.

Knowing what to do is usually the easy part. Figuring out how to apply it to specific situations and then doing it is where wisdom really comes in.

Starting Point in Our Acquisition of Wisdom

The wisdom we need must begin with God. Otherwise we’ll simply have human wisdom which so often fails us.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Prov. 1:7)

For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Prov. 2:6)

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)

If we don’t start on the right foundation, we might build a structure that seems to make sense but won’t be able to withstand the strong winds of adversity (Matt. 7:24-27).

Acquiring Wisdom to Walk in Wisdom

The Walk the Walk in Wisdom Devotional Study Guide pulls on verses from the book of Proverbs, using the first four “I’s of Wisdom” as a pattern in each of the 30 devotions. It comes with the prayer that you will then continue to add to your learning (the fifth “I”, intake) to keep growing in your walk as a result.

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