Not Glamorous
Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –
Jesus gives us something to think about after a weekend of serving God and His people:
And Jesus said to him,
“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Matthew 8:20)
A scribe came to Jesus and said he wanted to follow Him. “Scribe” means that he was an educated, professional man – something like an attorney today. Maybe he looked at the unimpressive and uneducated men who made up the 12 disciple and figured he would be the natural leader among them – an impressive addition to team Jesus.
Jesus responded to the scribe, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. Jesus didn’t tell the man “No, you can’t follow Me.” But Jesus told him the truth, without painting a glamorized version of what it was like to follow Him.
There is often very little glamor and a fair amount of hardship in following Jesus and serving Him. I don’t think it is helpful to focus on the things we give up for the sake of Jesus and serving His people, but it is good to remember from time to time that it is normal. It doesn’t mean that we are failures or are doing it wrong.
Many pastors and Christian workers I know are exhausted. They have been giving their all in these strange times and have done so for a long time. If that’s you, please find a way to take some rest. In your time of resting (whether it is long or short), remember that a not-glamorous ministry is doing it just like Jesus did.
I’m sending this with a prayer for you and all who read this email!
Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik
Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers
Dear brother David, what a great blessing these encouraging words.
I am a young pastor of a small congregation in Barcelona, Spain and the Lord has been so merciful to us in the past years and his mercy is still keeping us on track. We started a christian library and received thousands of books from around the world as donations the library project, and just a few days before going public, we go into the quarantine, then construction work in the building where we have the library and the church hall. We have not been able to open the library to the public yet and the free-will donations from the church members has not been enough to cover the expenses.
Though being pastor,my wife and I are both having circular jobs, if not we won’t be able to meet house and church expenses. We don’t force, nor manipulate the members to give, since we best know it’s not biblical, but we encourage the few who have jobs and with little earnings, to joyfully support the church if they can.
Recently I have been tempted to close the library hall and reduce expenses. I have praid over it and had some hard times trying to explain to my wife to wait unto the Lord, for there is surely a reason for having all these books, donated from different ministries, publishers and bible scholars and opening a Christian Library.
Your email has encouraged me alot. It is indeed a blessing. I will wait unto the Lord and follow the Master’s steps.
Also, I wanted to personally thank you for Enduring Word. It is blessing my life and God’s people here.
Remain bless brother David and please keep us in your prayers.
In Christ,
Alex Stanley
yea jesus is really not want tell this man not to follow him.but he was really tell the true.