~ by Terry Walters
Ephesians 4:11-16
I have done some carpentry work over the
years, both framing and finishing. I've never felt
I had the need or the money to buy a variety of good
tools, though. Good ones can be expensive!
However, I often struggled to do the quality
of work I wanted to do because
I just did not have the right tools.
When it came time for us to remodel our
new-to-us church building, several men
brought tools to the site and left them
there for others to use. I finally had
the right tools to do some of the jobs!
The work was done more easily and correctly,
and finished up looking better, because
I had the right equipment for the job.
So it is with God's people-business.
It goes much better when we have the right
equipment and we are trained well in using it.
The “business” of reaching and developing people
for Jesus is too serious to take lightly.
We must do our best.
According to our passage, that means we
are to learn, use our God-given abilities, and
continually grow in our faith and ministries.
It is also a part of the pastor's work
to help others get equipped
for their part of the ministry.
Providing these devotions, sermons, Bible studies,
resources, networking, and opportunities of service -
those are some of the ways I try to help
us all have the right equipment for the job.
We are all supposed to be ministers.
Are you well equipped? What else do you need?
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to realize that
Your ministry is the business of us all.
Give us the wisdom to take advantage
of the many things you have offered through
the church to equip ourselves for your work.
P.S. When we bought our church building,
many of us agreed that it ought to have a steeple.
We felt it would look more like a church and
help point people to our building and ministries,
which would in turn point them to Jesus.
God provided the money to buy one and
our men said we would install it ourselves.
I asked, “How in the world we could do that?”
One said with a crane. I asked,
“Where in the world could we get a crane?”
He said he had one at his house!
Who has a crane at their house? Anyway, we had
the right equipment for the job, so we did it!
Similar things happened time and again in our building
program, but then they happen like that all
the time when you follow God’s leadership!
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