September 25, 2008

Hi Tami,

Well, first let me say that I really like your blouse in that last video. The color looks great on you :) and I have a question - Are you a firstborn in your family? First born daughter? Or are you only child? Just curious, because I wouldn't be very surprised if you are. :)

The works thing only becomes an issue for me when I am pressured by the church to be more involved. I hate to say it, but for me, that's really the case. I serve because I love God, not because I want to be loved by Him. But I do get angry when leadership in church pressures people to serve more and they do it out of manipulation. And I think for me, it makes me want to pull back more, because I don't like to be manipulated.

But here's the thing - if more than 20% of the people in church actually served the Lord in the church setting, then leaders wouldn't resort to the tactics they sometimes do. So, other than that issue, I don't really have the works mentality - I do everything I do in ministry, because I genuinely love to do it.

Tami;

Until my illness in 2000, I struggled with "works". I always felt I needed to do more to please God and others. However, over the last few years the Lord has really shown me how much He loves me regardless of what I can or can't do. Now, it is an honor and privilege to serve Him in the capacity He has given.

I agree with Staci. It is very difficult to get people to serve. And it is very sad because we all have so much to give one another; Oh how the blessings would flow. The only solution I see is to pray for the Lord to reach those who, for whatever reason, are reluctant to serve. In saying that we also must be careful because we don't always know if someone is already serving the Lord in the capacity He has given them. Our service reaches beyond the church doors.

tami,
being an old biker dude and a christian i do not have a major problem with the works issue. i do what i wanta do for Jesus as service to Him and not my church or pastor. Of course being a biker for 32 years now, i never was one that liked being told what to do.What i do is between me and the Holy Spirit, He will direct me as I serve Him and i have never really been a people pleaser for a lot of years. Maybe this is wrong but I was raised to be my own man and make my own decisions and not follow the crowd and to live with the consequences and i have adopted this philosophy in my service to Christ only i pray about some (not all) decisions that i need to make. i need to work on letting Him guide me in everything. Any way God bless you all

It's so hard not to get caught up in works...after all, it seems that the world works that way. Generally speaking, when you work hard, you earn things: good grades, more income, accolades from from peers. It's almost impossible not to want to apply that in some way to our relationship with God. We Americans are taught to be independent, achievers and the successful among us are often those who work almost non-stop. I think that it's very difficult for us to "swallow" the idea that there's nothing we can -DO- to be saved or to be closer to God. It's not surprising that Paul restates the issue of Faith above works to the Galatians and even seems to pound on them a bit by calling them foolish. I guess it's in our human nature to want to be in control and that's why we lean toward a works mentality. Anyway, I'm thankful for Galatians which reminds me that there's nothing I can do to earn God's deep and abiding Love! :-)

Hi Tami:

I can certainly appreciate what some of the others have written about feeling pressured to serve in church. It can easily become a question of serving the church not serving or loving God. Serving in the church should stem from a love for God not a need to fill a vacancy. “Should” is the operative word. It isn’t always the case, is it?

For me the faith/works issue takes on a slightly different twist. We are saved by faith in Christ alone. That was one of the hallmarks of the reformation and of the Christian Church. However part of turning to God in faith involves turning in repentance from sin. So does repentance follow faith or come at the same time as faith or come after faith or all of the above? (I don’t need an answer on that one :)) For me the issue of works becomes a question of “have I repented enough?” I know that salvation is by faith alone, and that we as followers of Jesus will keep repenting of sin as the Holy Spirit brings to mind until the day we die. But this is the issue I wrestle with.

Hello Tami and P4 team.

I think we struggle with works as Christians because we are too caught up with our "personal" works (i.e., family, kids, school activities, sports, etc.) and don't have time or too exhausted to serve the Lord. We are constantly on the go and moving way too fast to even think what purpose all that other busy work serves.

I served in the children's ministry for awhile but got overwhelmed because I have an active 3 y/o. Now, I'm seeking God's guidance for an area where I won't feel overwhelmed and can serve willingly and not feel like I'm on a job. Serving in the ministry should not feel like a 9 to 5.

Hi Stacy,

First off, I want to say thanks to you for your faithful blogging. I appreciate that. You asked about where I fit in my family. Well, I'm not a first born. I have three brothers and one sister. They are all older than me. I'm the baby. Tami W.

Hi Tami,

Christians should serve the Lord in the way the Holy Spirit convicts them. They should never feel pressured to do something in church that the Holy Spirit didn't lead them in. What glory are we giving to God if we are tired or just not interested in what we are doing for the church. When christians feel comfortable with what they are doing for God, I feel that is the way to glorify the good Lord.

In His service,

D