Mindy, called office manager....

by the will of God.

In the opening lines of I Corinthians, Paul explains why he is still working with a church that has essentially rejected him, by telling them that he is "a called apostle, by the will of God".

This morning we talked about the word "calling" and how our reactions should not be based on our perceived circumstances but on what God has called us to. If He hasn't given you your "call" yet, then wait, and realize that what you are doing while you are waiting is what you are currently "called" to do.

In the last few weeks I have been slowly realizing, and even more slowly accepting, that God is calling me to be still at More Than A Teacher, and work there every day as though I were working for Him, not for man.

This has been hard for me to accept for one reason....the root of all sin....PRIDE. I think that I have been given higher training, and have more capabilities than to answer phones and take messages. Granted, I do a LOT more than that at MTAT, but in light of 7 years of higher education culminating in a Master's degree, I was really getting frustrated that God wasn't opening more doors for me to "do something" with my life.

But I am doing something. First of all, there is merit in what I do at MTAT. I have the opportunity to be light not only to our customers, but my co-workers. Instead of thinking "Man, I have to go to work today" I should be thinking "Who can I bless today?".

All of that is to say, no matter where you ARE, what you ARE doing, where you think you SHOULD be, or what you think you SHOULD be doing, God is well aware of where you are, and He has allowed, if not ordained it, for this season in your life. How sweet it is to rest in total trust of Him and His soverienty. It's much nicer than fighting against it I can tell you from experience!

I challenge you (as Matt challenged us this morning) to take I Corinthians 1:1 and insert your name and your role. Mindy Clow, called office manager, by the will of God. It is not a mistake.

In my humanity I have completely butchered Matt's sermon. It's really worth a listen, especially if you find yourself frustrated or discontent in your current circumstances....whether it be a work situation, a relationship, or life in general. You can access the sermon online by clicking the picture ------>

Not a Corinthian....a child of God

I Corinthians 6:9-11 is an amazing group of verses. I have to admit that upon first reading it I was not inspired. I felt like it was condemning and just reminded me that God is a God of wrath and judgement.

9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do
not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor
male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor
drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And
that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you
were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our
God.

But then, a small word was pointed out to me: were. The past tense of “are” meaning….no more. Once you WERE these things, but now you are washed in the blood and sanctified by God. I have a hard time separating myself from the things that I once was. Satan is good at making me believe that when I struggle with sin the old me is not really gone and that God knows I’m a hopeless case. This is NOT what scripture says. According to Paul we will all continue to struggle against the flesh, but it is that struggle that sets us apart. This is not a license to sin….do not misinterpret what I am saying. But it is FREEDOM in knowing that we are still God’s children and He is still perfecting the good work He began in us….even when we sin. News flash: we are all going to continue to sin. Just because daily it isn’t huge sin doesn’t mean we are perfect.

Recently I have fallen back into some of my old habits. I admit that this was due in large part to me not trusting the Lord to make me happy for fulfill my desires. As a side note to any of you who think you can make yourselves happy: YOU CAN’T. I knew I couldn’t. The decisions I was making were fun in the moment, but even then, and especially later that night or the next day when I was alone and quiet, my heart was in turmoil. Scripture tells me that turmoil was caused by the Holy Spirit grieving my spirit.

How amazing! Amazing that my God cares enough about my relationship with Him that he has the Holy Spirit GRIEVE me when I am at odds with Him so that He can bring me back into relationship with Him.