“Lover of My Soul” is the song with the (?) next to it.

Job 34:22-24
Behold, God is exalted by His power,
Who is a teacher like Him?
Who has appointed Him His way,
and who has said ‘You have done wrong’?
Remember that you should magnify His work,
of which men have sung

The Spirit brings me to these verses frequently. As of late, the weight and responsibility of being a follower of Jesus has rested heavily upon me, especially being recently married and having my primary ministry right here at home. As believers, God has given us something precious and powerful: the gospel, which is the power of God for salvation for everyone who would believe(Rom 1:16). Christ has commissioned and commanded everyone of us to share this message to the ends of the earth(Matt 28:19). While it is true that some are especially gifted with evangelistic talents, and others aren’t’, we may be the only Christians that some people will ever know. I had a daydream at work the other day….Christ came back and the church was raptured. As i was being caught up in the air, I noticed none of my other coworkers were coming along for eternity. Christ looked at me and said, “John, why didn’t you tell them about me?” Heavy. There is so much work to be done for the Kingdom, and I am so small. What can I do? It is with thoughts like these that I begin the feel that weight and responsibility begin to become more heavy..almost to the point of discouragement. In addition to this weight, I know there are others that suffer another weight, which is simply one of stepping out in their faith. Lets face, it can be very socially awkward to share the gospel with others, which keeps some of us from doing it…and thus also left feeling discouraged. It is at these times the Spirit brings me back to these verses in Job. I remember that it is by His Power that He is exalted, not by my own. I am to remember His work, not my own. The very same power of God which healed the lame and blind, cleansed lepers, and raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, is the same power that resides in each of us in the form of the Holy Spirit. God has called us to do some amazing things, but He has also empowered us to do. In fact, it is ONLY by His power that we can. I have been greatly encouraged and amazed at some of the things God has been doing in and through my life as of late, and it is only because I have begun the arduous task of emptying myself to be used by Him. As John the Baptist said, He must increase, but I must decrease(John 4:30). This begs the question, How do I decrease? First, as Chet mentiond las night by being consistely in the Word. The Word is living and active and sharper than any two edge sword (Heb 4:12) Second is by being consistenly in prayer. Some things I pray for consisetently is for God to draw nearer to me, for God to give me His Boldness, and for God to give me opportunites to minister to other as they have need. I have been regularly amazed with the consistency that He puts people in my path to help and to share the gospel with. I believe that this summer has amazing potential for God to be greatly glorified among us here at dcf (or should I say bcf! hehe!). We must remember though, He will be glorified by His own power, not our own.
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.