This week I was sitting outside catching up on my Bible reading.  There was something special about it, I encourage you to do the same.  Yes, I’m an outdoor person, but even if you aren’t, you will still benefit from taking time to read scripture outside.  If you get a nice day, the sun is shining, it’s not too cold out, the colors are enjoyable, go for it.  Take you Bible or Bible app on your phone and go sit somewhere off the beaten path.  Get out and be alone with the scripture God has spoken.  Quiet your day and mind of the hectic pace of life.  Spend time with just the Lord.  Take out your Bible.  Read it. Pray God reveals his word to you.  Take a time out and refresh your soul.

So anyhow, there I was, sitting outside in the forest reading Mark chapter 4.  Then I realized something very special, something that now made so much more sense, especially after the last blog post I wrote.  Ding. . . the lightbulb went off inside my head.  Ever have that happen?  

What I had just read was a very intense principle of life!

In the Cider Day post, that I wrote last time, I challenged everyone to look inside, find where they fit in the body of Christ, and get out and do it.  There are too many Christians sitting on talent, too gun-shy to let your gifts and abilities, passions and interests, or skills and talents be exposed in public.  Being good at something, but never using it, is a creative nightmare the Lord doesn’t want to have happen.  When his people inaccurately think that what they can contribute to God’s kingdom isn’t good enough to actually use, or is too small or too insignificant to use it for his purpose, well. . . that is just plain nonsense.  Many people are bound in these chains of fear, thinking that if they ever use what they know, it will only make them more vulnerable to people’s criticism or make them look small or silly in front of others. Yet the Words of God himself says clearly that those members of the body who seem to be of less honor are actually of greater honor.  

1 Corinthians 12:23-24

and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require.

Ever clip your fingernail too short?  If so, how well does your finger work then?  We sometimes don’t realize how important the unspotlighted parts of the body are until we find ourselves lacking them. Think of the eyes, which many call the windows to the soul, and how vital they are to our daily functions. Really important to the body, right? Well what if we lacked eyelids, or better yet, eyelashes?  You really want to go outside without either of those when the wind is blowing?  Your eyes wouldn’t be very effective, or very practical, without the aid of the lesser known parts of skin and hair keeping them protected.  In such a way we must learn to accept that everysingle member of God’s body is important.

I hope that there were many challenged to take action in the last blog post, because actionis the one requirement needed if the body is going to be whole and successful.  If we don’t take a stand to do something with our faith and take the necessary action with it, what good are our gifts, talents, and abilities to anybody else?

James 2:15-18 explains this mentality perfectly.

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Simply put, if all of us don’t get up and work together, the body of Christ will not function smoothly and properly.  We won’t be effective.  We won’t flow with the natural beauty, grace, and form God knows we have the potential of possessing.  We won’t be able to reach everyone, minister as we should, or help where God needs us most. The parts of the body who actually are trying to do things for the kingdom will get frustrated, held back, and stifled by the missing pieces to the system that won’t get up and take action. Main point?  Get up, get rolling, and don’t look back.

Which brings me to what I read out in the woods this week.  It is a principle that I might not have understood fully until taking the time to be with the Lord in the quiet of the moment.

Mark 4:21-25

And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

What I want to suggest today is this, the simple principle of how we roll.

I often tell my wife, “I want things to be falling into place.  I want to be used.  I want to be effective.  I want to share the message with the whole world over.”

Do you know who God decides to pick to be in that spot?  The person who seems to have everything going for them, their ministry effective, and opportunities for more ministry occurring one after another?

The one who gets up and starts.  The ones who puts one foot in front of the other and is determined to do something with what God has given them.  I’ll repeat it again.  Mark says “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

How can you be effective in using your gifts and talents to do awesome things for the Lord?

Start!!!

My eyes were opened wide sitting out in the woods this week.  It was like blinders were taken off and I could finally see this passage clearly. Why do some people seem so successful at what they do?  Because of this principle.  God is going to bless the person who diligently wants to use what he made them to be.  What about the person who never gets off their fanny to try?  Well. . . the Bible says that even what he doesn’t have will be taken away from him.

Call me simple, but I think these verses speak volumes. The people in life who are not afraid to stick their neck out on the line and be used, they will be used more. Doors will open up for them to be used in ways they didn’t dream of.  Things will fall their way because God knows that they are willing and faithful to take action, using what he created inside of them to do and be. They are counted as worthy of whatever talent they have been given, and God will line up people at their door who need a touch of even the small service they can provide.

I cannot shout this loud enough.

Are you an organizer?  Organize for the Lord.  Get involved with the body of Christ and let your gift of organization be used to collaborate works to reach the lost.  

Are you someone who builds things?  The church needs things built every day.  Physical construction must be done so that others can stand and preach, teach, illustrate, and demonstrate.  The children’s ministry might need a puppet backdrop.  The outreach team might need wheelchair ramps built for their new office that will help those who use chairs.  

Are you gifted in mechanics?  Fix someone’s car so that a widow with children can get to church on weekends.  You know what?  Let me take that a step further.  Forget about making the target to get her to church on weekends.  Just fix her car.  Maybe the kind and simple act of getting the old Volkswagen Jetta running will enable to get her to work so that she can provide for her family.  The kindness of a gesture without asking anything in return will show her the love of Christ, something that will beam like a bright beacon in the night.  Fixing her car might be the “lamp” that Christ says is meant to be standing on a hill, not under a basket.  The love you could do for someone like this, would demonstrate what Jesus himself did- he healed, never requiring them to go to church ten times a week afterwards.  

Jesus simply saw needs that needed met, met them, and loved the person in the process.

Take a look inside of you today.  Do you want to be a roller but are too afraid to start? Do you wish that you could be a mover and a shaker for Jesus but don’t know how to take the first step?  Do you realize that you could be doing something for the children’s ministry in the church but think what you can offer is too significant?  What gift or talent are you sitting on today?  Can this be something you can do as an active member of the body of Christ?

If so, you won’t ever be rolling with it. . . 

Without taking the first step.

Ask God today how to take that step.  Ask him what you should be doing.  Being fit into the body of Christ will bless everyone, not just yourself.  Be that light on a hill.  Be the beacon in the dark of night.  Then, and only then, 

You will roll with it.

By Chuck Carr