My Action Plan to Develop Two Areas from “The 10 Commandments of Ministry”
Over the last several weeks I have struggled with an overwhelming sense of chaos, and frustration in my life. I feel as if it has been there for a long time but magnified times one thousand recently. As I start to be utilized more in ministry, and with the cares of life such as parenting, homeschool, work, wife duties, etc. I feel the weight of these changes bearing down on me. As I was reading “The Remnant”, I felt a strong pull towards the commandment of Spiritual Warfare, and Wisdom. As I read the chapters I knew exactly those are the areas I needed more development in.
Spiritual Warfare: I have always been taught to start my day applying the armor of God to myself but for some reason have never really followed through with it. In this chapter it spoke of the figurative attributes of God that really spoke to me. Truth, to keep you from the deception the enemy carries. Righteousness, placed right over your heart, prevents you from condemnation and guilt. PEACE, which spoke to me louder than all of them; allowing you to walk in peace instead of chaos and confusion causing discord and lack of direction. Salvation, placed on your head giving you the mind of Christ and protecting your thoughts. Faith, a shield allowing you to stand confident in times of trials. Finally, the Word of God which is our sword, using it to fight the enemy by speaking it in every circumstance. I have started to pray this in the morning, not just over myself but over my children as well, being that they too as children are being targeted daily by the enemy. I plan to start standing up and standing my ground when it comes to spiritual warfare. I need to realize the power residing within me, that was given to me the day I was filled with the Holy Ghost.
Wisdom: According to the book, Spiritual Warfare and Wisdom go hand in hand. I can't agree more. I plan to ask God for wisdom more routinely as I pray being that I want to pray whatever it is He needs me to pray. As I have been taught, I can pray amiss if I am not asking Him his Will for me to pray. His thoughts are above mine. He knows the exact needs of everyone in this world, and I want to be a willing vessel to pray for the exact needs of others. Wisdom is also so important when discerning others, and knowing exactly what to say to them. Being in children's ministry, it is so important to be discerning. I want to be able to teach them efficiently so that it will stick, so that they will remember the truth that is being taught; and wisdom will help lead me to that.
Finally, the book talks about the Peace of Wisdom, and boy did it hit my heart. The book states “Confusion, the opposite of order, is not of God. Many people, however, live in a constant state of confusion. Lack of planning, punctuality, provision, and purpose leads to continual upheaval. Wisdom, on the other hand, produces peace: “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable James 3:17”. Solomon had wisdom and order , and because of this there was peace within the nation, there wasn't any war, there wasn't any chaos. I plan to strive for this wisdom. I plan to continually ask God for wisdom in every aspect of my life; but in this very moment of my life, I plan to ask specifically for wisdom in how to have order, and peace. With order and peace in my own mind, everything else will fall into place.
References:
Stockstill, L. (2003). The remnant: Restoring the call to personal integrity. Chosen Books.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2017). Zondervan. (Original work published 1611)