Connections

Before I call a director to set up their next accreditation date for the coming year, I say a prayer for them and their staff that they would guard their hearts and minds so as not to fall into sin, lose credibility, and have to step down from ministry.

Peter exhorts us to “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). The words “sober” and “vigilant” speak of being clear headed and guarded. Also, by virtue of our position as one of God’s children (John 1:12), Peter reminds us that we have an enemy that zeros in on us every day. In his attempt to destroy the credibility of our witness, the devil knows just the right thing to say to tempt us to go where we never thought we would go in either our emotions or our actions.

If we allow temptation to come to fruition, we lose more than a clean conscious before God. We lose a credible witness that will leave our words sounding empty, hollow, and irrelevant to those who listen.

We need our witness about Jesus in our life to ring true and have God’s power working through it so that those we minister to will see the love that God has for them. Paul reminds us to put on the full armor of God (Eph 6:11) and to fight the good fight (1 Tim 6:12). As his work and journey was coming to a close here on the earth, Paul was able to say “I have fought the good fight…I have kept the faith! (2 Tim 4:7). One reason this was possible is because of an earlier commitment Paul had made which he wrote to the Church in Corinth, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Cor 9:27).

By God’s grace, let us stay clear headed and vigilant about what the devil would tempt us with. He seeks to destroy our witness before those we minister to. By God’s grace let’s fight the good fight and keep the faith! As the Apostle John wrote, “Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward” (2 John 8, ESV). In other words, don’t disqualify yourself!