Dear Friend,
While working on the final details of an upcoming
event, I thought, “Is this event really imitating Jesus Christ?” Jesus’ ministry was predicated upon accepting people. He erased the artificial boundaries of culture and status, looked beyond people’s sin, and accepted them. He touched
lepers, ate with sinners, visited the homes of tax collectors, and washed the feet of the betrayer. Through countless loving acts, Jesus made a clear
statement: “I will never withhold my love from you; regardless of the circumstance, I will always love you!” I sat quietly meditating over the agenda, wanting to make sure it reflected the attributes of Jesus Christ. Many times, if we are not careful, we put on an event that brings attention to us
instead of our Lord. We want people to leave our function talking about US instead of the Lord. Often time we refuse to change anything about our projects because we are afraid it will take the spotlight off of us. I am honored to say, when our staff members are putting together event formats or publicity strategies, one of the things we spend lots of hours praying about is; does it send the message of all inclusive? Those who work with us in the planning and development area of the ministry understands we are trying to reach all sectors of society. God has blessed us. We have been very fortunate to offer “free” or very cost effective projects to the communities that we are called to serve. I’ll be the first to admit, there have been times when we’ve felt like we were completely in over our heads! But we’ve learned, “Every vision from the Lord has a voice, and IT will call its own resources!” In fact, God moves so quickly and mightily that sometimes we
don’t know the full cost of something until it’s over! I will share this with you; A couple of years ago God chose our ministry as an instrument to bring into existence a powerful tool for reaching young girls. From a human standpoint it was a tremendous task! Not really financially, but the level of spiritual attacks that were launched was horrendous!!!! We had “major players” in the
Christian community going behind our backs trying to sabotage what God wanted to do. The only problem with fighting a vision is; you would have to think that you are bigger than God. There were leaders we thought would support us 100%,
and it was very disheartening to discover they were the main ones sowing discord behind closed doors. Little did they know the people they were
soliciting to help them hinder us-were never a part of the ones called to help us? To make a long story short, the project went over BIG and God got all of the glory! To date, it is one of the biggest multi-cultural events for girls in the State of Alabama. I personally believe that the burden of any Christian event should be Christ-centered and Gospel boasting! We should always make it a
priority to exalt Jesus Christ. I know we like hanging out with people who look like us, act like us, like what we like, and are similar to us; however, the Christian life is not that neat. The point of the gospel is not to unite people
according to the flesh, but rather to unite people in Jesus Christ. If our events are “cliquey” then we are enjoying exclusive relationships with folks
while excluding others whom Christ wants to bring together. To be honest, we unwittingly undermine a major aspect of what Jesus Christ wants to bring in through the gospel. For so long ministries have promoted their personal agendas to a position of supremacy and put the gospel in a position of submission. This should never be!! My friend, the heart of any event should be unity. And it is
emphasized when God calls people from various backgrounds, cultures and ages to come together and display the harmonious message of Christ’s supremacy.
In closing, any project from the Lord is always
designed to serve the people. The greatest example and teacher of servant hood projects is of course the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said of Him in Philippians 2:7 that He took "the very nature of a servant,” and Jesus said of Himself in Matthew 20:28 that "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Although Jesus' entire life’s projects were one of service, the most notable example of His service projects was that
of washing His disciples' feet on the evening of His betrayal. The instance was notable both because of the setting and because of the mundaneness of His service. Jesus of course knew that it was the night of His betrayal and that the very next morning He would suffer on a cross for the sins of the world. He would, from our viewpoint, have had every reason to be preoccupied with His
imminent sufferings. Yet Jesus took time to tend to a duty—that of washing the feet of guests—that was usually left to the lowest servant in a man’s household. He did this under full awareness of His own Divine dignity. John says of Him in John 13:3-5, "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that,
he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him." Doesn’t that bring tears to your eyes? It was not in spite of His greatness but because of His greatness that Jesus served His disciples on that evening. Through His own attitude toward servanthood. He taught us that true greatness in the Kingdom of God consists not
in position or authority but in serving one another.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power. Jesus recognized that He was the sovereign God, that He was both Creator and sustainer of the universe. His Incarnation and humiliation did not alter the fact that He was the eternal God the Son. And in full knowledge of who
He was and the authority that was His, He arose from the table and began to wash the feet of the disciples. In the mind of Jesus, acts of mundane service were not inconsistent with authority and greatness but rather part of it! So, the next time you are planning an event, ask yourselves, “Does this vision serve God’s people?” If the answer is no, trash it and start over with Christ being
the main attraction! Remember, no one ever gets to a place within society as a whole or the Body of Christ in particular where he or she is too important to serve others in the ordinary tasks of life. In fact, the true test of whether we are servants is that we don't mind being treated like
servants!
Let’s pray:
“Father in the Name of Jesus, I yield everything that I have and everything I am to You today. I resolve in my heart to center my love on things above, and by the reviving power of Your Spirit to keep my flesh disciplined, laying aside every sin and weight that would hold me back. I set myself to do Your will. I'm asking You to make clear to me MY heart, speak to me and tell me what needs to become different in my life. I position myself now to hear and obey Your voice. I ask this in Jesus Precious Name, Amen!"
A Simple Nugget: “He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed!” Proverbs 11:25
Have a great weekend and be intentional to add value to every person you meet!"
All my love and prayers,
Minister Dorothy King
While working on the final details of an upcoming
event, I thought, “Is this event really imitating Jesus Christ?” Jesus’ ministry was predicated upon accepting people. He erased the artificial boundaries of culture and status, looked beyond people’s sin, and accepted them. He touched
lepers, ate with sinners, visited the homes of tax collectors, and washed the feet of the betrayer. Through countless loving acts, Jesus made a clear
statement: “I will never withhold my love from you; regardless of the circumstance, I will always love you!” I sat quietly meditating over the agenda, wanting to make sure it reflected the attributes of Jesus Christ. Many times, if we are not careful, we put on an event that brings attention to us
instead of our Lord. We want people to leave our function talking about US instead of the Lord. Often time we refuse to change anything about our projects because we are afraid it will take the spotlight off of us. I am honored to say, when our staff members are putting together event formats or publicity strategies, one of the things we spend lots of hours praying about is; does it send the message of all inclusive? Those who work with us in the planning and development area of the ministry understands we are trying to reach all sectors of society. God has blessed us. We have been very fortunate to offer “free” or very cost effective projects to the communities that we are called to serve. I’ll be the first to admit, there have been times when we’ve felt like we were completely in over our heads! But we’ve learned, “Every vision from the Lord has a voice, and IT will call its own resources!” In fact, God moves so quickly and mightily that sometimes we
don’t know the full cost of something until it’s over! I will share this with you; A couple of years ago God chose our ministry as an instrument to bring into existence a powerful tool for reaching young girls. From a human standpoint it was a tremendous task! Not really financially, but the level of spiritual attacks that were launched was horrendous!!!! We had “major players” in the
Christian community going behind our backs trying to sabotage what God wanted to do. The only problem with fighting a vision is; you would have to think that you are bigger than God. There were leaders we thought would support us 100%,
and it was very disheartening to discover they were the main ones sowing discord behind closed doors. Little did they know the people they were
soliciting to help them hinder us-were never a part of the ones called to help us? To make a long story short, the project went over BIG and God got all of the glory! To date, it is one of the biggest multi-cultural events for girls in the State of Alabama. I personally believe that the burden of any Christian event should be Christ-centered and Gospel boasting! We should always make it a
priority to exalt Jesus Christ. I know we like hanging out with people who look like us, act like us, like what we like, and are similar to us; however, the Christian life is not that neat. The point of the gospel is not to unite people
according to the flesh, but rather to unite people in Jesus Christ. If our events are “cliquey” then we are enjoying exclusive relationships with folks
while excluding others whom Christ wants to bring together. To be honest, we unwittingly undermine a major aspect of what Jesus Christ wants to bring in through the gospel. For so long ministries have promoted their personal agendas to a position of supremacy and put the gospel in a position of submission. This should never be!! My friend, the heart of any event should be unity. And it is
emphasized when God calls people from various backgrounds, cultures and ages to come together and display the harmonious message of Christ’s supremacy.
In closing, any project from the Lord is always
designed to serve the people. The greatest example and teacher of servant hood projects is of course the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said of Him in Philippians 2:7 that He took "the very nature of a servant,” and Jesus said of Himself in Matthew 20:28 that "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Although Jesus' entire life’s projects were one of service, the most notable example of His service projects was that
of washing His disciples' feet on the evening of His betrayal. The instance was notable both because of the setting and because of the mundaneness of His service. Jesus of course knew that it was the night of His betrayal and that the very next morning He would suffer on a cross for the sins of the world. He would, from our viewpoint, have had every reason to be preoccupied with His
imminent sufferings. Yet Jesus took time to tend to a duty—that of washing the feet of guests—that was usually left to the lowest servant in a man’s household. He did this under full awareness of His own Divine dignity. John says of Him in John 13:3-5, "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that,
he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him." Doesn’t that bring tears to your eyes? It was not in spite of His greatness but because of His greatness that Jesus served His disciples on that evening. Through His own attitude toward servanthood. He taught us that true greatness in the Kingdom of God consists not
in position or authority but in serving one another.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power. Jesus recognized that He was the sovereign God, that He was both Creator and sustainer of the universe. His Incarnation and humiliation did not alter the fact that He was the eternal God the Son. And in full knowledge of who
He was and the authority that was His, He arose from the table and began to wash the feet of the disciples. In the mind of Jesus, acts of mundane service were not inconsistent with authority and greatness but rather part of it! So, the next time you are planning an event, ask yourselves, “Does this vision serve God’s people?” If the answer is no, trash it and start over with Christ being
the main attraction! Remember, no one ever gets to a place within society as a whole or the Body of Christ in particular where he or she is too important to serve others in the ordinary tasks of life. In fact, the true test of whether we are servants is that we don't mind being treated like
servants!
Let’s pray:
“Father in the Name of Jesus, I yield everything that I have and everything I am to You today. I resolve in my heart to center my love on things above, and by the reviving power of Your Spirit to keep my flesh disciplined, laying aside every sin and weight that would hold me back. I set myself to do Your will. I'm asking You to make clear to me MY heart, speak to me and tell me what needs to become different in my life. I position myself now to hear and obey Your voice. I ask this in Jesus Precious Name, Amen!"
A Simple Nugget: “He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed!” Proverbs 11:25
Have a great weekend and be intentional to add value to every person you meet!"
All my love and prayers,
Minister Dorothy King
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