Yemlu Napoleon Ngafi

Many people think that God's work is absolutely about church work such as tithing, cleaning the church and praying for the pastor. While it is true that the things we do in church or directly for the church are services rendered to God, God's work extends beyond that.
The Bible says:
1Cor.10.31 - So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Col.3.17 - And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Col.3.23 - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. 

When we work for our families, government etcetera, with the fear of the Lord, we are serving the Lord. Notice that the above verses all include the word "whatever ". This means that we are to serve God in everything we do. 

This does not imply however that we are to minimize working for the house of God. The church is the body of Christ, and so priority should be given to service that help her to grow. 
Thanks

July 19 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Shantkumar S. Kunjam An Indian, Mennonite Church, Pastor, Administrator, Bishop,

God, family and Church:

God is our Creator and Lord. So God has first demand on our services and ministries. But God brings us humans into the world in a family. So it is God's design for us to faithfully fulfill our obligations towards our families. Jesus our Lord is the example. Untll the age of 30, He took care of His parental family being the eldest among the siblings - and possibly Joseph died during that period. Even at the age of twelve, Jesus our Lord had known His ultimate calling (Lk. 2:49). But then the time had not yet come for that ministry. So He submitted Himself to the family responsibilities (Lk. 2:51). 

If our Lord had entered into married family life of His own then, by necessity, He would have been obliged to be faithful to the family. So He left His parental family, leaving the responsibilities possibly to His younger siblings by now old enough to take the job. At our Lord's baptism God declares, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mt. 3:17). This is God's commendation to our Lord's 18 years of family ministry. In 1 Tim. 3:4-5, 12, it is mandated that anyone who has not been faithful in family ministry cannot be Church minister. According this Scripture the family is a school to train anyone for Church ministry.

When, as it is done in the question, God, family and Church are considered as separate entities for ministries then we are bound to fail in some aspects of our ministry. God is the creator and Lord of both family and Church. And family is a unit of the Church. For ministry in the world and for mutual development and support we need other individuals and families, and thus larger Church is formed. So God's ministry flows from family to larger Church family into the world. Thus God's ministry is in the family that flows into the larger Church family, and through the larger Church family God's ministry is done in the world. Failure in any aspect will bring failure in other aspects also. Please note, Church does not necessarily mean here any formally established Church, but means a larger group of believers.

July 19 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report