Ministering to God

Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –

I pray this email finds you receiving some rest and refreshment as you continue to serve God, His people, and a needy world. Here’s a quick thought from Acts 13:2:

As they ministered to the Lord and fasted,
the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”

I don’t really know if you have noticed that phrase I often use – about serving “God, His people, and a needy world.” I draw the first part of that phrase from the idea found in Acts 13:2. There, it says that the people in the congregation at Antioch ministered to the Lord.

It’s easy for us to focus on the fact that we minister to God’s people – the sheep of His flock. We also minister to a needy world, preaching the gospel to them and loving them in the name of Jesus.

But first and foremost, we minister to the Lord. We serve Him.

This is both a comfort and a challenge. The challenge comes in knowing that we can have a ministry that is praised and popular among men, but doesn’t honor God. We can never be satisfied with such a man-centered ministry.

The comfort comes in knowing that God isn’t impossible to please as people often can be! God knows and understands what others don’t. Even when it seems that we can’t please anyone else, we can please God as we minister to Him.

Don’t ever forget: your first ministry is to God Himself.

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