Ministry Reflection

I just returned from ministering for two weeks in South Africa. My parents and I were involved in a series of meetings around the country focusing on revival. As you are aware, South Africa is a country facing enormous challenges. Unemployment is massive. Crime is out of control. People’s homes look like armed encampments. In such a time, many of God’s people are asking why the church and God’s people have not made a greater impact on society. Many South African Christians realize they cannot continue living their Christian lives as they have been and expect to see God use their lives in greater ways. It was wonderful to see the people sincerely returning to God. Several of the services had to accommodate overflow crowds. Altar calls saw people streaming to the front of the church to pray and consecrate themselves anew. One Sunday evening I spoke in the 7,200 seat Moreleta Dutch Reformed Church to thousands of young adults. It was heart-warming to see hundreds of them in the aisles and the front of the auditorium on their knees consecrating themselves to Christ and His will. God is at work in South Africa. Be praying for them in these critical days. We believe that if God does a mighty work in that country it will quickly spread throughout the continent. We are certainly praying to that end.

Scripture

As I was speaking on revival in South Africa, I was struck by Jeremiah 3:22: Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding. We all have a tendency to backslide. We have difficulty keeping momentum in our Christian life. We begin to make strides forward in our faith and Christ-likeness, but then inevitably our enthusiasm wanes. Our passion ebbs and we lose that intimacy in our walk with God we had been enjoying. I was recently struck with the thought, “Where would my Christian life be today if I had never lost any ground but had been continually moving forward? What if I had immediately obeyed everything God ever told me to do? What if I had believed everything God promised? What if I kept every promise I made to God? What kind of man of God would I be today?” But we all have a tendency to backslide.

This scripture indicates that the answer to our backsliding is not a fresh commitment or a new promise. We must return to God. Empty promises won’t cut it. Returning is something we have to do. But healing our backsliding heart is something only God can do. We don’t need to return to church or a spiritual discipline or to religious activity. We must return to God. When we do, God will touch our heart in a way only He can. In scripture, the problem was that God’s people didn’t realize they needed to return to Him. They were still involved in church attendance and religious activity. But their hearts had gradually drifted far from God. They no longer had the passion for God and His word like they used to. They prayed out of ritual, not out of a desire to commune with God. God’s call to His people is the same it has always been, return . . . and I will heal.

Reading

This month I was challenged to read James Monti’s book, The King’s Good Servant But God’s First: The Life and Writings of St. Thomas More. It is an interesting look at a man who was willing to face execution rather than compromise his beliefs. Even when his contemporaries were cowing to the pressure placed on them by the most intimidating of kings, Henry VIII, More refused to violate his principles. While the book addresses a lot of Catholic theology as well as issues of the 16th century, More’s life will challenge you to examine how you are living your life with integrity. I also have Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage by Gerard B. Wegemer which focuses on More’s life rather than his writings. I have also been reading two books on the life of William Pitt the Younger: Biographies by John Derry and William Hague have been quite interesting. Pitt served his country during the American Revolutionary war though into the Napoleonic wars. The king under which he served, George III went insane. Pitt faced massive challenges, yet he rose to be a statesman for his times. I am fascinated by those who move beyond being merely leaders to being statesmen. His life will challenge people wanting their leadership to go to a higher level.

I pray that as you enter this Fall season that God is stretching you and taking your leadership as well as your walk with Him to another level.

Posted by Richard Blackaby at 4:36 pm