Change of mind and direction

All flows from the fullness of the heart. A heart that is right with God is like a pair of parallel tracks that the train of God’s power can run across. Except as a conduit I am helpless, and useless. Humbling. Therefore the single most important task of a believer is to “seek first the kingdom of God.” It is by the grace of God that the believer is changed and the world around him is changed.

In order to minister to the needs of the humble flock in my care, I must make their needs my own and allow the response of Christ to fill my heart. Then not in excellency of words, or programs, but by the Spirit working heart by heart, he will minister through me. This informal ministry is a flow from the heart, an integrated lifestyle of ministry flowing from an integrated lifestyle of devotion.

God has been leading me to a greater, less formal, fully integrated life with him. No area of my life can remain untouched by the Spiritual Disciplines, or by his presence. Devotions cannot be relegated to an hour of this or that; rather they are delighted in at every step of the day. The time I do set aside is as a consistent informal “hanging out” with God.

Today again I found solitude and access to God at Blue Monday. For the first time in many weeks, some one struck up a conversation with me. Paul is 30, has a B.A. in philosophy from Carleton, repairs electron microscopes, volunteers as a Big Brother, enjoys a hobby of counseling. And he seeks truth. He doesn’t feel it is possible to see much of it though. For a few hours we talked of what stirs us, society and spirituality. A young lady jumped in at one point moved by our conversation of God. To Paul, a pastor’s greatest responsibility is to be a seeker of truth. Truth that will end through tradition and doubt will end in faith – true faith. As an agnostic he was more of a universalist. I encouraged him to continue seeking and I am confident he will find the Truth. “I am the way the truth and the life.”