“Omitting Nothing”

Scripture

This past week I pondered the question, “Which are worse: sins of commission or sins of omission?” Is it worse to do things you should not, or to not do things you should? The obvious answer is: all sin is harmful. But I was challenged by James 4:17 “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Every sin I commit brings death to my life spiritually and to my relationships. Those sins certainly should not be treated casually. But have you ever considered what the possibilities are when someone places their life in God’s hands? What would be the potential for one person who did everything God intended? How many people would be blessed? How many ways would God’s kingdom expand? How many new believers would have their eternal destinies forever altered? To imagine all God wants to do through each life and then to realize how many of those things we omit to obey is tragic. I suppose one of the most painful points of accountability in the Christian life is to face the reality of all those things God would have accomplished through our lives—if only we had done what we knew to do. Sins of omission: may you have extremely few of them!

Ministry

The month of May was extremely full. I had the joy of ministering to a group of church leaders from across Kentucky. They were a great group. Every time I am with church leaders, though, I find some who are deeply discouraged. During the lunch break, a pastor handed me a note. It said he had come that morning desperately wanting to not be a pastor any more. However, that morning, the Holy Spirit had reminded him of his call and of God’s promises, and he was encouraged to continue ministering.

I was also in Brazil speaking to around 1,400 church leaders. I challenged them to ask God to take them to a higher level in their ministry. It was tremendous to see the altar overflowing with people on their knees asking God to do whatever it took for Him to use their lives to a greater degree for His kingdom than He had ever done before. I believe Brazil will dramatically feel the impact of those commitments.

Then I was in Sydney, Australia. The executive director for the Disciples of Christ denomination in New South Wales asked me to come and speak to his church leaders about being spiritual leaders. It was gratifying to see a denominational leader who was dissatisfied with merely rolling out next year’s denominational programs and agendas. He wants to see his churches on God’s agenda. For that, the churches must be led by spiritual leaders, not religious administrators. Pray for BMI as we look for ways to help them continue in this direction. We may eventually need people to go to Australia to help lead some Experiencing God weekends.

Finally, I taught a class on revival and spiritual awakenings at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary in Cochrane, Canada. Every time I study revivals, I am reminded of our human tendency to depart from an intimate relationship with God. We must be constantly fighting against that. Just because we were walking closely with God yesterday does not mean we are today. I was also challenged to see how God raised up ordinary individuals to being revival to their church, denomination or nation. My prayer is that there will be many people in our day who are prepared for God to use their lives to bring revival. If you have never read it, I would encourage you to read, Brian H. Edwards, Revival! A People Saturated with God. It is one of the finest books on revival available. I am hoping to teach an Online class on revival this Fall.

Reading

I have been preparing to teach a Ph.D. seminar on spiritual leadership. Two of the books I have read recently are: Deborah L. Rhode, Moral Leadership: The Theory and Practice of Power, Judgment, and Policy. It is a secular book that looks at how to have integrity and morality in the marketplace. It raises some interesting points and makes it obvious how desperately we need Christian businesspeople to be on God’s agenda in the business world today. I also read, Geffrey B. Kelly and F. Burton Nelson, The Cost of Moral Leadership: The Spirituality of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It is a challenging read as you see how one man sought to follow through on his moral convictions in an extremely immoral and ungodly time. It will challenge you to ask how God wants to use your life to impact your society and culture as well. I trust you have been experiencing God working powerfully through your life this month. I pray you will find that these summer months provide times of spiritual refreshing as well as new opportunities to serve your Lord.

Posted by Richard Blackaby at 9:35 pm