“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23 NIV)
Now, lest some people take Paul’s words here out of context and apply them in ways in which he did not mean them, let me say upfront that we must interpret Paul’s words here in light of his testimony that he shared all throughout all of his writings. Therefore, since Paul taught against Christians adding on to their salvation the works of the flesh and the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, and dietary laws and restrictions, and the requirement for circumcision, he is not saying that he did that to save people’s lives.
And since Paul taught against Christians still making sin their practice, and he taught that we must obey our Lord’s commandments under the New Covenant, and he taught on holy living and us being separate (unlike, different) from the world, he also was not saying that he became like the world to win the world nor that he compromised truth and righteousness to win the world nor that he returned to sinful practices to win the world, etc. For he was not a hypocrite who lived the opposite of what he taught.
So, how can we interpret Paul’s words here in a way in which we can apply them to our lives, as followers of Jesus Christ? Well, I believe the Lord Jesus is leading me here to share some of the ways in which he has done and is doing that in and through my life. And the purpose here is never to brag, for I give all the glory to God for all that he does in and through my life for his purposes and for his glory, and which I am only able to do in his power, strength, and wisdom, as he directs me in the way he wants me to go.
And this all began about 20 years ago, first with me gaining possession of my grandmother’s journals – a grandmother who died when I was only 2 years old, so I don’t remember her at all. But when I began reading her journals I began to cry, for I found the person in my life who was like me in so many ways. She expressed herself in so many ways like I express myself, and she loved sharing the gospel, and she loved ministering to other people’s needs, and she loved the Lord Jesus and serving him.
But beginning with her journals the Lord began calling me to this present ministry. And that led to me reading the Bible in context from beginning to end, and then again, and again. And the Lord began opening my eyes to so much truth I never knew before. And then he called me to write down what he was teaching me through his word each day and to post these writings on the internet. Now, at first, he was teaching me much I had no understanding of previously and he was helping me unlearn some things, too.
But then the writings began to form into daily devotions and he expanded the area of opportunities for sharing these writings with the public over the span of these 20 years. But here is where it applies to what Paul was talking about, I believe. Well, first of all I was writing and posting on the internet what the Lord was teaching me each day. So this was something new in my life I had never done before, that I recall, and so I was now able to reach people with the gospel in nations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
While I served as a Bible teacher just in my local church congregation, that was the limit of my outreach. But now that I was on the internet, I could reach people all over the world. So I became an internet devotion writer so that I, by the grace of God, might save some. Then seven years into that the Lord gave me the gift of writing simple but biblical songs of faith to also share on the internet with the people of the world. Seven more years passed, and then he had me begin writing poems to share with the world.
That was in 2018, and that is when he led me to write my first (short) book (internet only), which is my testimony of my life experiences and what the Lord taught me through those experiences, and for the encouragement of others who have gone through or who are presently going through the same kinds of experiences in which I had, some of which I am still going through. And then in 2023 the Lord had me write a second book, this one much shorter, on the subject of some of my church experiences.
In March of 2020 the Lord had me record my first talk video which was during the time of the Covid crisis and the shutdowns and the year of elections in the USA. There was a lot of emotional upheaval during this time, and so the fifth talk video was on the subject of God being in control over all things, and so it was for the purpose of encouragement in those troubled times. And this was not preplanned out. The Lord just gave me a Scripture and then I talked on that Scripture just as the Lord taught me then.
And then, within the last year, I believe, the Lord had me begin writing Christian memes, which are very short devotionals captured in a form of a picture so that the whole thing can be read without having to scroll down through a longer document as is this one. And then more recently he has led me to record myself reading these memes and posting them on the internet, as well. And so what began as me writing my personal devotions each day and posting them on the internet, led to writing songs, poems, books, Christian memes, and then to recording devotions and memes in videos.
So, how does all this relate to what Paul said?
Well, I used to just teach the Scriptures to a small group of women and I sang in a choir and sometimes did special music, but I only reached a small group of people and a limited venue and means of communication. Since we live in a day and time where the world is on the internet and where many people like videos over reading, or they prefer poems over prose, or they like things short and not long, and where “memes” are popular, as well as videos, and where they like listening to music and not talking, these six different forms of communication the Lord has led me to do are reaching so many more people of different likes and locations. All glory to God!
Now, this video talk below was the fifth talk video that I did in 2020, and it encouraged my heart listening to it again today, so if you like watching videos instead of reading, and if you like things simple, then I would encourage you to watch it, for our God is absolutely in control over all that he has made, and he is in control of all that he has called me and equipped me to do these past 20 years in all the different areas of ministry to which he has called me so that more people could be reached with the message of the gospel of our salvation.
God is in Control
No comments:
Post a Comment