fruit

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I want my ministry to be fruitful! Don't you? It's something I wish for and desire with every act of service I do in the house of God - and it would be hard to wish otherwise. I imagine there's not a single person serving God who doesn't want to see their ministry bear great fruit, in fact. So why is it, then, that some ministries are wildly fruitful, some less so, and some bear no fruit at all?

"A Handbook of Enemy Strategies" true spiritual warfare

I don't usually use other people's work, however I read this and was blown away by its simplicity, depth, and practicality. It's written by John Piper, one of my personal heroes who have encouraged me tremendously. This is especially for all those of you out there who have ever been interested in the concept of "Spiritual Warfare". THIS is TRUE spiritual warfare, and the way we fight it is through prayer, learning God's word (so that we will not sin against him), vigilance, zeal, and most importantly love.

zeal

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Hmmm.... serving can be monotonous I've noticed! While away at a Model UN conference in Brisbane last week, I found myself sitting outside a lifeless concrete building in the cold one night, plugged into their exterior powerpoint and using University of Queensland's wireless internet, dressed in a suit, because I was meant to be at a ball. All this because I'd not been diligent enough with a church flyer I had planned to do earlier in this week, and so I'd left it to the last possible minute. In a stressful and frustrating moment, the flyer got done, and I was finally free to go to my ball, unencumbered from the tedious work I had to do for God.

The "Problem" of Evil

Okay, this is going to be an interesting one, so no clever rhetorical tricks in this article sorry...
A while back it was requested that I do an article on the problem of evil, or more specifically on the issue of: "If there is a good God, why do bad things happen to good people"

serving

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I've been spending more time serving in my church these past months, always finding that the more time and energy I give, the more I get in return. And I don't mean just from the other people working with me (though they've definitely blessed me a bunch). I'm referring to a trend occurring in the other facets of my multi-faceted life - things are surprisingly, wonderfully, and miraculously falling into place for me. It's encouraging and empowering.

priorities

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So I was up at a rather ungodly hour of the morning today, no earlier than 5:20am (a full five hours before my usual awakening). Things happen in the morning!