Christian blog posts

A story is told about F. B. Meyer, the great Bible teacher and pastor who lived a century ago. He was pastoring a church when he began to notice that attendance in his church was drastically dropping. This continued until he finally asked some members of his congregation one Sunday morning-“why they thought this was happening?. A member suggested, “It is because of the new church down the road. The young preacher has everyone talking and many are going to hear him speak. “The young preacher’s name was Charles Spurgeon ( The man fondly known and called as “The prince of Preachers). Meyer, rather than seeking to discourage this development, exhorted his entire congregation to join him and go participate in seeing this “move of God,” as he described it to them. “If this be happening, then God must be at work.”

Unfortunately, in our days people seem to be doing their best to outdo each other. This cancer has hit the church and killed many-would be better ministries. Majority of the servants of God have never grasped this concept of God using us in our capacity, and using others for specific ministries too, as he did to Charles Spurgeon. The rat race we are seeing today is something to be condemned rather than embraced.”Talking down another preacher to your membership wont attract members to your church.

Like Meyer, John the Baptist encountered such too. His major role in the Kingdom of God was of bringing sinners to repentance by baptizing them and teaching them about the coming Messiah. Over time, he had developed quite a customer base of disciples. Yet when the promised Messiah showed up-the fulfillment of John’s business plan— his coworkers (or disciples) went to him to complain that the one he had testified about was stealing all of his sheep! “Rabbi,” they said, “that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan . . . well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him” John 3:26.John’s response showed clearly he understood his purpose and role in life. He answered them “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. He then reminded them, “You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:27-30.

Meyer, like John the Baptist, understood the principle of receiving from God and was not threatened by the new competition in town. Instead, he joined it. The fact is, there is always someone better than you in something, but that does not mean he is special to God than you! We all have different gifts and callings that are based on our line of persuasion, according to the will of God. God may call some workers to help in the harvest in the evening, but that does not mean that those who labored from dawn are irrelevant. Later, when asked about John the Baptist, Jesus says in Matthew 11:11 “Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” When Jesus said this. John was already in prison because he had spoken truth to those in power.

Saint of God, do you model a Kingdom mindset? Do you rejoice when others succeed? Are you receiving only what God desires you to receive or are you fighting to outdo someone else? Never fight to be like or do something like so and so. All of us have unique gifting from the Lord and it serves him well if we knew our purpose here on earth. May God help us all