Do intellignece and ministry go together?

"You are throwing your life away." "You are so smart, why not do something that demands intelligence." ....

So many times I have heard similar statements made to me and others who have amazing grades and great minds, but who are simply "throwing them away" to go into ministry. But that is not the case at all. The fact is the human mind has more freedom and more to learn about God than anything. With math and science you have rules and laws of the universe which dictate you learning and confine it. With history you have a limited amount of information to consume and work with. But when it comes to the Almighty God, a limitless deity whose power and wisdom none can fathom, there are no boundaries to what you can learn, no laws that decide how far you can go in studying God.

There is no doubt that the intelligence of the human population is rapidly increasing. And with this increase comes the need for intelligent minds to work together with the Living God to form new ways and methods of spreading the Gospel and conveying the Words of God to his people. There is an imminent need for great and intelligent minds to be in ministry and not just to overlook it because it doesn't require it.

God has just been revealing in my life that going into ministry isn't a hindrance to learning and the human mind, but it opens up new doors as we begin to explore the infinite and limitless God. And i am reminded of a quote from an unknown author: More knowledge of God leads to a higher form of worship. As we as humans beings continue to explore the never ending love of God and his power we will be blessed and come to a better understanding of God, and we in turn are able to have a higher form of worship to God.

when the church isnt on a time limit

how many times during a service do you check the time, wonder how much longer the sermon will last, run out the door during the invitation just to beat the crowd, or just sit in the back to get out faster? That's me sometimes, and that's probably most people who attend church in America. We have agendas that are packed to the brim with activities, and if the service runs any longer then the allotted time, we have to run out of there for fear of missing some other event. But in Kenya it was different, people came to church, but they never left, or so it seems. While the service already was 3x as long as our normal one at home, there wasn't a rush out of the door when the service ended. Church wasn't an event it was THE event, the place to be. No one had even considered scheduling anything else near the time block of church because church, God, and the community of believers were placed on higher priority than anything else in their lives. they have nothing else to hold on in their lives, church is it, so they spend as long as they can with their christian brothers and sisters, encouraging them and energizing them for the spiritual battles they will face in the week. So maybe we can take a lesson from the Kenyans and be sure to remember that God is more important that seeing the kickoff on Sunday afternoon, or being on time for the family brunch. So this weekend as you stand up to run out of the sanctuary just ask yourself if food and football are more important than the family of God and fellowship with them.

An overlooked phrase, and the results of obedience

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

1Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 3Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4The Jewish Passover Feast was near.

5When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"

8Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

10Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

12When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." 13So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

14After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." 15Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

John 6:1-15

This is one of the most commonly cited miracles of our Lord Jesus. I myself have heard it many of times, countless probably is the right word to use, but the fact is not till I memorized this text did i find something different, a phrase that seems to be overlooked in the shadow of this miracle. In verse 10 Jesus commands the people to sit down, then it reads that 11Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. Only those who were seated ate, only they received the food, those who obeyed the Lord's commands. Now I wonder if there were people who were following Jesus just to see some great miracle, and who didn't sit down but stood on the sidelines and waited for what Jesus would do, yes they had a better view of the miracle, but they went away hungry. But those who followed the Lord's command were fed with as much food as they wanted. For it is obedience that satisfies. The obedient heart is fed constantly with spiritual food, while the disobedient must fend for itself on the garbage that remains.

I myself have experienced this miracle that takes place when obedience happens. In December I was faced with the choice of going to Kenya on a mission trip, or having a chance to win Bible Bowl nationals. God wanted me in Kenya, I wanted both, but i know it could not happen. Finally I gave into the will of God and went to Kenya. While I was in Kenya my team won Bible Bowl nationals, which i gave up so i could go to Kenya. But my disobedience was not in vain. I was blessed with the trip of a lifetime, a new perspective on life, and a deepened relationship with God, something a simple championship could not give me.

But obedience is not easy, for not one person has every not struggled with it. Jesus Christ himself struggled to be obedient to his father when he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane before his death. But his obedience led to our eternal life. How much more could your obedience in turn bring others to this eternal life?