Author: theministrymama

Taking Time for Bartimaeus

Jesus is leaving the town of Jericho with his disciples and other people following Him. As they are walking along the highway a blind man starts crying out “Jesus, Son of David! Have mercy on me!! Jesus! Have mercy on me!”

Many of the followers were very familiar with Bartimaeus. He had sat in the same place for years begging money from people as they passed by so they immediately began to try to force him to be quiet. They were familiar with his ratty hair and dirty clothes, how he held his hands out begging for money in the same way each time they passed him. His eyes were a distant light blue that could not focus on anything but just looked in the general direction of what he could hear was coming his way. The crowd assumed Jesus would not want to have anything to do with him.

One man yelled, “Shut your mouth old man!” Another man walked over to him, glared at him and in a hushed tone said, “Be quiet, he doesn’t have time for you.”

The crowd trying to get him to be quiet only motivated him yell out to Jesus louder,”Thou Son of David have mercy on me!”

Jesus heard him and asked the people to bring Bartimaeus to Him.

A kind person came to him and said “Be of good comfort, rise, he calleth thee.” The kind person assured him that it was alright to go to Jesus when others had discouraged him. The crowd parted and they watched along with the disciples as he held on to the person that brought him to Christ. He stood before Christ, with his glazed eyes looking only in the direction of His voice.

Jesus said, “What would you like me to do for you?”

Bartimaeus immediately replied, “Lord, I want to receive my sight.”He confessed his heart’s greatest desire to the only One that could help him.

Kindly Jesus responded, “Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole.” “Because you believe in me, you’re healed.”

Bartimaeus was healed and healed completely! In one instant his sight was healed, he was no longer dependent upon the help of others to assist him through every day life. He no longer had to sit along the side of the road or ask for assistance to walk like he had for years. This was probably the best day of his life! His physical and spiritual eyes were opened on the same day. He would no longer have to grope around in the darkness of life or the darkness of his sin. He was a new creature both inside and out.

Jesus instructed him to go his own way, but he did not obey. The miracle Christ performed obligated him to follow Jesus with the rest of his disciples. (Mark 10:46-52) He followed with revived senses, the great and wonderful Saviour!

My heart is touched by this account of a real event, a real person that Jesus our Savior changed.

Notice two different kinds of people in the group following Christ that day, the ones telling Bartimaeus to be quiet, and the one that comforted him and lead him to where Jesus was. Which one are you?

Bartimaeus is a representative of all those people we consider rejects in our society: The person that doesn’t fit in, that does things awkwardly outside of the acceptable box of right actions. He represents the people in the world that are hard to love because they are different.

  • He’s the man who stands outside on summer days with a cardboard sign that we avoid eye contact with as we approach the stop light.
  • He’s the strange person that bags your groceries and pushes the cart out to your car and makes weird comments.
  • He’s the short person at school that keeps to himself, eats nothing in the school cafeteria, and makes comments about hating everyone around him.
  • He’s the person with fuzzy teeth and greasy hair that constantly laughs at their own jokes, hoping to be accepted.
  • The foreigner that has made desperate attempts to understand the culture and still cannot figure out how to say the words correctly or understand the lingo in order to rightly converse with people.
  • The senior citizen that has a gripe about everything and won’t let anyone have their own opinions.
  • The furious co-workers angered at each situation throughout the work day.
  • He is any other person that we might not see as acceptable to spend time with or worth investing in.

Did you notice what Jesus did? He heard that man’s cries and He took time apart to listen to his needs and help him.

Even though people were trying to keep Bartimaeus from crying out he could not be stopped from yelling more loudly. Jesus did not ignore the cries even as they shifted into a more desperate attempt to reach Him. He stopped specifically for Bartimaeus.

The word Christian means “little Christ.” We only become a true Biblical Christian after we’ve accepted Him as our Savior. Then the true test comes!

Are you being like a little Christ in regard to others?

Have you ever taken time for someone who isn’t socially acceptable? or difficult to love?

People are crying out in desperation, perhaps not loudly, but they long for attention. If you took the time to stop and listen to someone’s needs, as Christ did in this actual event that was recorded in His Word, would it lead them to Him for the healing that their soul needs?

They want mercy from someone, anyone that can show them the way to be whole by God’s standards. The world holds people to a standard they are already rejected by. The law of God’s Word holds them to a standard they can not live up to because of their sin.

It would be false for me to say that will not be a difficult task. It sometimes means we must spend time with someone that makes us feel awkward, uncomfortable, and causes us to breathe a sigh of relief when we are finished working with them… when God prompts us to stop for others, we should consider Bartimaeus and the value of his life to Christ.

Think of your value to Christ, how He took the time to seek you out from the crowd and rescue you from  your sin. Ask God to help you find someone who seems socially unacceptable so that you can be a blessing to them. Ask Him to give you the grace to be able to invest what they need so they can know Him as their  Savior or grow in their relationship with Him.

YOU can make a difference in the life of a modern-day Bartimaeus, just do it!

Confession #2: Some Days I Want to Quit

Our boys recently learned to ride their bikes without training wheels. Our oldest, Uno, who is 7, took off after only a few spills very successfully. Our second, Dos, who is 6 years old has excelled in many areas over his brilliant big brother recently. We were expecting Dos to leave Uno in the dust and take off with gusto. Boy, were we wrong!

Dos struggled with maintaining his balance, his wobbly arms had him going in circles and toppling into the pavement repeatedly. He cried and looked at his palms, I encouraged him to get back up and going. His face reflected fear and uncertainty but he would pick up the fallen bicycle and try again. He was obviously discouraged and I pictured God encouraging me in the same way.

The Ministry Papa helping our son, Dos, learn to ride his bike without training wheels.

The Ministry Papa helping our son, Dos, learn to ride his bike without training wheels.

I went and helped him for 10 minutes as he fell and would look up at me with his sad eyes. I would pick up the bike for him and wait for him to straddle the seat and try again. I eventually went about my other business as he continued to try. Then, Dos was done, he was ready to quit and I let him. Enough was enough for that day. I knew he was not going to master his skills in a day so he wheeled his bike into the garage. I felt for him and knew the enjoyment he had while riding his bicycle with training wheels was in the past. He was growing up a bit that day. Two weeks later he is still struggling to be steady and fast and he still crashes often. I believe it is only a matter of time before he is sailing happily down the sidewalks of our neighborhood.

Sometimes I feel like my son, so weary from trying things and failing. Tired of falling and having to regroup and straddle the life God has called me to again… God knows my heart and knows I want to quit but He encourages me to get back up. Sometimes I really wish He would just let me lay there and get run over by a car, surely it wouldn’t hurt as bad as the failure and the hurts of this life.

The days I want to quit ministry are usually the times where our ministry is so busy that we have no time to sit down, spend quality time with our children, or even rest. It’s the times when people are down your throat about factors in ministry that are beyond your control or critical of the things I have invested time and heart in; the times I have neglected my family to finish the task. Some days, my weariness in well-doing and conflict make me want to pack a few bags, drive off in our mini-van, wave sayonara, and move to a life that does not involve so much heartache and frustration. I just don’t have the guts to really do it… Quitting is not really an option, it’s only a temptation.

The times I have quit in the past have really come back to bite me in the you know where… and God has quickly given me His chastisement. I hate to hurt, so back to God’s path I go, like the little plow donkey with its blinders on. Asking for forgiveness and choosing to repent. No more looking around into the world for what I need to fulfill the longings in my heart, I must choose to put my blinders on and look at His path for the life of our family.

So, I stay where God has called our family. I stay in the Lord’s work. And I stay for the sake of His testimony through my life.

We are thankful for the vacation weeks that we have, but honestly, sometimes with our busy church schedule, it just does not seem like enough. I get tired of pedaling and moving forward, and my bike crashes. Our church has a pretty busy schedule, busier than some, not as busy as others I realize… then again, I don’t know if it is the combination of having 4 young children, homeschooling, ministry responsibilities, and just life or my inability to be able to manage them all properly.

I admit, the emotional female creature that I am, my bike crashes a lot. But God always stands beside me and encourages me. He reminds me of Proverbs 24:16, “for a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” I get up and get going because deep down I do not want to be a quitter. In my strength though, that is exactly what I am…

I think of how wonderful God’s grace is to give me enough love to help me, patience enough to stand the bike up for me, the strength to walk and run beside me in all that He has called us to do. The long-suffering to know that I will probably just fall down in a few moments, the love to dust me off and kiss my hurts. The kindness in His eyes when I look at Him crying and the gentle comfort He provides as He speaks to me through His Word.

The only thing that really keeps me from quitting is God.

Without the Holy Spirit speaking to me before I pack my bags and wave sayonara, I would have ditched this gig a long time ago. He is my reason for living, His beautiful and perfect Son gave me eternal life, I must not quit, I must go on, for His sake. He lives, so that I may have life more abundantly. He called me, I must remain faithful.

So, there you go… you now know that naturally I am a quitter, but God is my greatest cheerleader in this bicycle ride of life so that I can live and do His will. Although some days I want to quit, He is my reason for living and for staying.

Thank you Lord for never giving up on me!

Honoring Your Pastor: Free Gifts To Give

Pastors… they are a unique breed of men that have a special calling of God on their life. Not two of them are alike. Their preferences, passions, styles, and even their humanity and mistakes are all combined into one. They are not unlike any other person, just in a different position, to shepherd the sheep of God’s flock in the local church. Our pastor always says that he wants to stand before God one day and say “So & So was a good sheep.” Most pastors will say that they want to stand before God and hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

I’ve heard it said that the pastor has a heavy responsibility because unlike the man of a household having the accountability of his family, the pastor is responsible and accountable for every family in the church he pastors. What a pressure on their heart, soul, and daily living.

On top of that they have the duty to preach the entire counsel of God, whether it is popular or not. A godly pastor will labor in the Word to study, pray and allow God to work in his heart first, so he can execute his sermon with clarity. He desires to clearly present the gospel to the unsaved and feed the people of God at the same time.

Choosing to honor your pastor with gifts is a loving way to show him your appreciation to your church or your family for his service. Not every gift you can give your pastor has to cost you a dime, just demonstration of Christian character.

Honoring Pastor - Free Gifts

The Gift of Spoken Word

  • A Word of Encouragement – A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Proverbs 25:11 I’m not talking about buttering your pastor up with flattery, we’re talking about real words from a righteous heart that will help him when he is discouraged. Affirm the value of the preaching He has provided and tell him specific ways in which God has spoken to you through his messages. These type of words are as much of a blessing as a beautiful painting he could hang in his office.
  • A Good Report – The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat. Proverbs 15:30 Want to fatten up your pastor’s heart? Then you give him a good report about your family and the Lord’s work in your life! Don’t just rain your problems down on him, although I’m sure that he’ll listen, tell him about the good and the funny stuff too!

The Gift of Prayer

Are you willing to use your time to go to spiritual battle for your pastor and his needs?

We’re not talking about simple little prayers, we’re talking about heartfelt cries to God for:

  • His protection spiritually and morally
  • Wisdom for him to see the way of escape during the temptations he faces each day
  • Understanding during his Bible reading and Bible study
  • Ability to have discernment in spiritual matters
  • Love and care for the flock God has given to Him
  • Ability to preach with zeal and genuine love
  • To go home and be the husband and father God has called him to rule well

Many stressors would be taken from your pastor’s shoulders if you would bow the knee and do more asking of God to help him in the serious warfare of being His disciple than a watered down “Please bless him” or “thank you for him.”

You may not agree, but I would bet (if I were the betting type, ha) that if you have been a member of your church for any length of time and maintained a communication line between you and your pastor, that he has spent some time in prayer for your spiritual needs. Go ahead and return the favor! This will be one of the greatest gifts you can ever give him.

The Gift of Public Support

  • At Home – Did you know that even though you think you’re in the privacy of your own home, that you’re actually in public? Yep, each time you talk about your pastor in front of your immediate and extended family there’s a little feeling that goes into their heart about him. When you complain and gripe then a negative feeling goes into their heart. If you compliment and follow his leadership verbally then a good feeling goes into their heart. Publicly show your family that you love your pastor and he will become someone who they will learn to trust and support themselves.
  • At Church – Gossip bash sessions happen every week in every service at your church. There’s always a disgruntled church member sitting somewhere in the service ready to air out their opinions. When complaints come your way nip it in the bud! Yes, your pastor has problems in his life with some type of area that deals with people, and so do you. Please be wise to support his efforts to follow God when others try to throw him under the bus. AND, you can even offer to go with that person to see the pastor and deal with those issues. See what happens when you do that… it usually will stop right there.
  • And Abroad – Want to know a sure-fire way to have people interested in attending your church? You tell them about what you love about your church and the ways in which you enjoy your pastor. When people see that you trust your pastor in a world when it seems that even churches cannot be trusted, they will be more open to consider visiting your church and hearing what he has to preach about. You probably guessed that the sure-fire way to get people to never darken the doors of your church is to complain and murmur about the latest problem you have had with your pastor. Why would they want to attend a service where you hate your pastor?

I know, I know, I know… all pastors are not lovely all the time. I’m not asking you to lie about your pastor, to paint up the truth if you’re really going through a hard time in your church. I’m asking you to reverence his position, to put some of these free gift ideas into practice and see if they won’t allow you to be a better blessing to your pastor. You might even be blessed in return and see prayers answered on his behalf and attitudes of children changed toward church because you’ve decided to support him publicly at home.

Some people say that best gifts in life are free, and well, I think that applies specifically to many of these principles, because…

When you exercise good Christian character and spiritual investment in someone else, then you’re sure to reap the rewards of giving honor to whom honor is due!