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| Next to Payne Theological Seminary, Wilberforce, Ohio |
Jesus tells me that, if I connect with him, if I live the connected life, I will do the things he did.
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me
will do the works I have been doing...
John 14:12
Now that... would greatly help me as a pastor. God would work through me to heal the sick, deliver the oppressed, raise the dead, and speak with an authority that is not from me.
My meager abilities, even when working with excellence, fall short of what Jesus did. If ministry was a game of horseshoes, Jesus is throwing nothing but "ringers," while my tosses are landing a foot in front of me.
More than me is needed.
Stephen Seamands writes:
"Of course, ministry deserves our best-all that we have to offer. But it also demands more than our best, more than anything we have to offer. To participate in the ongoing ministry of Jesus, to do what the Father is doing, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. Only through the Holy Spirit's directing and empowering us can we fulfill our calling."
- Stephen Seamands, Ministry in the Image of God: The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Service, Kindle Locations 248-250