On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. (Galatians 2:7-8)
God spoke to my heart while reading this passage. He revealed the importance of defining one’s ministry. God is at work in every Christian, entrusting a task or tasks to enlarge his kingdom. My ministry is to help people discover God’s love not only by writing this blog but by interacting with family, friends, and strangers.
Defining my ministry enables me to pray about it, plan my day around it, and execute my goals. Today I’m going to Jacksonville to visit my son and his family. My son asked me to stop at the store and get orange juice. I’ll pray for opportunities to show God’s love and the joy I have from knowing God to my son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and a stranger at the store.
This is my first day praying for and executing goals outside of my writing. I went to Winn Dixie in a small town just past noon. I complimented an older woman behind me in line. She was dolled up with perfect makeup and linen clothes—dressed up for God—she told me. The woman in front of me was packing well over $200 of groceries—a perfect opportunity to slip the cashier money. But she caught me and told me she was buying supplies for her church to send to south Florida. I had prayed earlier for God to show me how I could help those in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
I had fun at my son’s house watching the Gators win and playing with my grandson. I complimented them on their new house, their hard work decorating, the food, and being good parents. I smiled all day—even when they mentioned the holidays. Their plans weren’t what I had hoped for. I kept smiling. Now I’m praying for a solution. What if I had blurted out what I was thinking? I would’ve ruined the day.
Because I had defined the daily goals for my ministry and prayed about them, I was able to spread God’s love as Paul did to the uncircumcised. Praise be to God.
Father, I praise you for revealing the importance of defining my ministry, setting daily goals, and praying. Help me reveal that my acts of kindness are because of you. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
It is always a good thing to have a plan, especially when you are pretty sure things won’t go the way you would like them to. I’m sorry to hear about this, as I know you were hoping that it would be different this holiday season. It is really hard for me to understand why that they won’t allow communication about all this. I feel that the lack of communication is because they know what they are doing is wrong, which brings on a whole bunch of guilt. An inability to communicate eventually ruins the relationship. I just found out that two friends, that I NEVER thought would be divorced, are now divorced and it was because they could not communicate. I know what it did with our relationship with my husbands family. There must be an answer to these problems and communication issues. I will be praying for that to happen.
Haha. The devotion was about spreading God’s love. I am thankful I was able to do that. There is a right and a wrong time to communicate and that day was the wrong time. Blessings, Jody
Superb blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m totally confused .. Any tips? Cheers!
I am happy with WordPress. I know others like Go Daddy! I have a website designer (lightwayweb.com). Thank you for your encouragement. I prayed for you and your family. Blessings, Jody