God

Serving God: Excellence In Knowledge
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Serving God: Excellence In Knowledge

It is my prayer that every Christian recognizes the importance of serving God through the way we serve others.  There are few things, if any, that are as emotionally exhilarating, and draining, as the task of serving others.  Having worked in a variety of ministry settings, including various roles within Christian camp ministry, I understand the excitement that often comes with the beginning of a new ministry or ministry season.  I also understand the weariness than can develop when our focus begins to drift away from the ministry of serving and onto ourselves.

This is day four in the fifth week of devotions from the book, “Serving God: Devotions for Active Worship”.  This devotional book is laid out in thirteen weeks of daily devotions with each week wrapped around an aspect of how we can serve others.  Each of these devotions are designed to help a person spend time with God to see how serving others is an act of worship.

Serving God:
Excellence In Knowledge

“Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.“
2 Peter 3:17-18 (NIV)

How much do you know about God?  How well do you know God?  What is the difference?  How is knowing about those you serve different than knowing those you serve?  What value does each of those forms of knowledge have in serving?  How much effort do you put into growing in the knowledge that will help you serve?  Do you know people who have excelled in knowledge?  Why do you think they have?

It is good to know people who excel in knowledge.  It is even better to be one.  Information is good, but knowing what to do with the information at hand is even better.  Serving well requires that you excel in many things, but nothing is more important than excelling in your knowledge of God.  While that must come first, serving well also requires that we excel in a knowledge of those we serve.  It is through a desire to be like Christ, and to know what that looks like, that we learn to serve with an excellence of knowledge.

As you pray, ask God to fill you with an overwhelming desire to know Him.  Pray that you would use your knowledge of God to help you serve in all that you do.  Pray that you would take the time to grow in knowledge of those you serve.

In prayer,

Tom

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Encouragement and Prayer: Excellence In Speech (02/09/21)

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This is the audio from the February 9, 2021 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

In prayer,
Tom

Serving God: Excellence In Speech
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Serving God: Excellence In Speech

It is my prayer that every Christian recognizes the importance of serving God through the way we serve others.  There are few things, if any, that are as emotionally exhilarating, and draining, as the task of serving others.  Having worked in a variety of ministry settings, including various roles within Christian camp ministry, I understand the excitement that often comes with the beginning of a new ministry or ministry season.  I also understand the weariness than can develop when our focus begins to drift away from the ministry of serving and onto ourselves.

This is day three in the fifth week of devotions from the book, “Serving God: Devotions for Active Worship”.  This devotional book is laid out in thirteen weeks of daily devotions with each week wrapped around an aspect of how we can serve others.  Each of these devotions are designed to help a person spend time with God to see how serving others is an act of worship.

Serving God:
Excellence In Speech

“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.  For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.  He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.“
1 Peter 3:9-11 (NIV)

How difficult is it to guard your words?  Does that answer change based on how you are sharing your words?  Do you find it easy to share something on social media that you would never say out loud?  Does your mouth seem to have an automatic response that says things you later regret?  How often do your words get you in trouble or come back to haunt you?

James tells us that “everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.”  Sometimes when serving others we allow familiarity to spill out of our mouth in words that are not helpful or loving.  Particularly in today’s culture, our speech is much more than the words we speak, we must take care to be excellent in every manner of using words.  We serve best when we pay attention to our words and are known as one who is excellent in speech.

As you pray, ask God to help you examine every form of the words you use.  Pray that you would be careful to use excellent words which build up the listener according to their needs.  Pray that you would be a good listener, both to God and others, as  you learn to speak with excellence.

In prayer,

Tom

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Encouragement and Prayer: Excellence In Faith (02/08/21)

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This is the audio from the February 8, 2021 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

In prayer,
Tom

Be the ONE (Sermon Audio)
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Be the ONE (Sermon Audio)

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This is the audio from the February 7, 2021 sermon, “Be the ONE”, shared by Tom Lemler at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.

Text:  Mark 2:13-28

Many times people look around and desire some type of change.  We want our home to be different, our workplace to be different, our community to be different, our nation to be different, and our world to be different.  Yet in all of our desire for things to be different, we often look for someone else to be the agent of change or to step in and accomplish all that we want with little to no effort on our part.  When we live as kingdom citizens, God calls us to be the one who lives for Him and represents Jesus in the midst of every area we live life in.

In this message we will look at three different interactions Jesus had with people as He calls us to be the ONE.

We act like Jesus when we choose to be, and call others to be the . . . 

  • Obedient: Mark 2:13-17 — In this text we see that when Jesus called Levi to follow Him, the calling was obeyed.  Jesus taught throughout His life on earth that obedience was an expression of love.  When we choose to obey God, we become the one who can represent Jesus to the people around us each day.
  • New:  Mark 2:18-22 — For those who were caught up in the traditions of men, Jesus made it clear that He was making all things new.  Because we have been made new, we no longer fit in the old container which was once our dwelling.  When we live as the new creation God has called us to be, we become the one who can call others to a changed life so that they also can be made new.
  • Equipped:  Mark 2:23-28 — To those who held fast to their interpretation of God’s laws and demanded that people served the law, Jesus called them to be equipped by the law rather than enslaved by it.  When we are able to gaze into the perfect law of God’s Word and find freedom, we are equipped to help other both find the one they need and be the one God calls them to be.

As you live life each day, spend time asking God to help you be the ONE who makes a difference by His power and Spirit.  Pray that you would be obedient to God in all things.  Pray that you would put aside the old self and live as new.  Pray that you would be a student of God’s Word in order to be equipped by it. 

In prayer,
Tom

Serving God: Excellence In Faith
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Serving God: Excellence In Faith

It is my prayer that every Christian recognizes the importance of serving God through the way we serve others.  There are few things, if any, that are as emotionally exhilarating, and draining, as the task of serving others.  Having worked in a variety of ministry settings, including various roles within Christian camp ministry, I understand the excitement that often comes with the beginning of a new ministry or ministry season.  I also understand the weariness than can develop when our focus begins to drift away from the ministry of serving and onto ourselves.

This is day two in the fifth week of devotions from the book, “Serving God: Devotions for Active Worship”.  This devotional book is laid out in thirteen weeks of daily devotions with each week wrapped around an aspect of how we can serve others.  Each of these devotions are designed to help a person spend time with God to see how serving others is an act of worship.

Serving God:
Excellence In Faith

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’  He replied, ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.’“
Luke 17:5-6 (NIV)

When you think of faith-filled people, who first comes to mind?  Why?  Do people consider you a trusting person or more of a skeptical person?  What part of serving seems to require the most faith for you?  Why?  Have you ever not served in a specific way because you didn’t trust God to work — either through you or in the one you needed to serve?   Do you ever ask God to increase your faith? 

Many times we are like the father in scripture who exclaims to Jesus, “I believe, help my unbelief!”  We have faith but we’ve not yet excelled in faith.  When serving others we begin to doubt if we could ever make a difference.  Or we doubt if the person we are serving will ever change.  At the heart of either type of doubt is a lack of faith that God will come through with the power, ability, and/or desire to make a difference.  We believe but at times our unbelief is stronger.

As you pray, ask God to help your unbelief and increase your faith in Him.  Pray that you would be filled with a willingness to serve however and whoever He says, as you trust Him for the results.  Pray that your practice of belief would make you one that is known for excelling in faith.

In prayer,

Tom

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Encouragement and Prayer: Excellence In Everything (02/06/21)

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This is the audio from the February 6, 2021 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

In prayer,
Tom

Serving God: Excellence In Everything
by

Serving God: Excellence In Everything

It is my prayer that every Christian recognizes the importance of serving God through the way we serve others.  There are few things, if any, that are as emotionally exhilarating, and draining, as the task of serving others.  Having worked in a variety of ministry settings, including various roles within Christian camp ministry, I understand the excitement that often comes with the beginning of a new ministry or ministry season.  I also understand the weariness than can develop when our focus begins to drift away from the ministry of serving and onto ourselves.

This is day one in the fifth week of devotions from the book, “Serving God: Devotions for Active Worship”.  This devotional book is laid out in thirteen weeks of daily devotions with each week wrapped around an aspect of how we can serve others.  Each of these devotions are designed to help a person spend time with God to see how serving others is an act of worship.

Serving God:
Excellence In Everything

“But just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us — see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
Hebrews 3:4-6 (NIV)

What things are you good at doing?  Are you usually more excited about doing things that you already excel at or doing things that take effort to be good at?  Are there areas of serving that you are okay with just getting by in?  Should there be?  How would the way you serve change if you were determined to do everything you could to excel in all things?  What is one area of excellence that you need to work on today?

It can be very tempting to let our excellence in some areas of life keep us from pursuing excellence in all things.  Other times we equate excellence with perfection and conclude that since perfection isn’t possible then excellence can’t be either.  It is when we approach every task we face with an attitude that we are doing it for the Lord, we begin to pursue excellence in all things.  God desires excellence from us in all things not because He is keeping score, but because He deserves our best.

As you pray, ask God to fill you with a desire to serve Him through whatever task is before you.  Pray that you would seek to honor God by giving your best as you serve.

In prayer,

Tom