Overcoming Spiritual Roadblocks; Devotion #10 – The Enemy’s Camouflage

The apostle Paul often found himself contending with the enemy throughout his ministry. The devil established strongholds, which are human systems compromised by the enemy. These strongholds attempted to hinder Paul from preaching about Jesus. They blocked Paul’s efforts and even tried to take his life. God empowered Paul to see beyond the physical reality of the human systems to the spiritual forces at work, as it were, behind the scenes.

While Paul was able to discern what was happening, most of the people around him were unaware. The enemy blinded them, so they could not see the truth of what was happening or what the enemy was planning. It was as if the enemy had…

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Overcoming Spiritual Roadblocks; Devotion #9 – Mindsets, Worldviews & Strongholds

Close your eyes and imagine a piece of pizza with all of the best toppings on it.
So, did you see pineapple on your pizza? For some people, pineapple goes on pizza, and for others it does NOT belong there. People have different mindsets when it comes to pineapple and pizza.
Together, a series of mindsets form a worldview, which influences how we see and react to our surroundings. Most of the time, we are not conscious of the mindsets that make up our worldview. Just as we don’t go through life constantly aware of whether we believe it’s appropriate to have pineapple on pizza – until confronted with the issue.

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Overcoming Spiritual Roadblocks – Devotion #8; The Dynamic Duo in Ministry

There is a vital relationship between prayer and action, which is essential for any kind of ministry that advances the Kingdom of God. Prayer needs to be a foundational component of the work that is done, and it needs to be ongoing to sustain the ministry work.

The story of the battle at Rephidim (Exodus 17) is a beautiful illustration of how prayer and action work together to advance God’s kingdom…

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Overcoming Spiritual Roadblocks; Devotion #7 – Dancing with the Holy Spirit

Ballroom dancing is an excellent picture of how we cooperate with the Holy Spirit to do ministry. The Holy Spirit leads and guides us, and as we cooperate with him, he moves us effectively in ministry. He shows us step-by-step how to fulfill God’s plans and purposes in a given situation. In his sovereignty, God has chosen to partner with us in building his kingdom.

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Overcoming Spiritual Roadblocks; Devotion #6 – Resistance

Read: Acts 17:1-9 Often when we start a new ministry project, we find that we run into resistance. Sometimes, resistance happens as minor irritations, like communication challenges with people missing emails or text messages. Misunderstandings can occur within the organizing team. Sometimes it seems that there is challenge after challenge which has to be overcome,…

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Overcoming Spiritual Roadblocks in Ministry – Devotion #3; Why Pray?

What exactly is prayer, and how does it fit into the work which the Lord calls us to do?

At its heart, prayer is a form of communication. It is a conversation with our Heavenly Father. But dialogue is only the start. Just as in earthly relationships, communication is essential for growth and health. It is the same with our relationship with God. As the apostle John reminds us, we need to abide or remain in Christ. As we remain, we grow in relationship with him.

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Overcoming Spiritual Roadblocks in Ministry – Devotion #2: Prayer Changes Things

When we step into the place of prayer, it is often to ask the Lord to change circumstances. We pray for healing for someone who is sick, comfort for someone who is grieving and for the Lord to change the heart of someone who is walking away from God’s kingdom. Prayer changes things, and the Lord is able to move in people’s lives and circumstances because we pray.

But prayer does not just change a situation…

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Overcoming Roadblocks in Ministry – Devotion #1

STEPHEN – FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Acts 6 describes the establishment of the role of deacon within the community of believers. A dispute over meeting the needs of the Greek and Hebrew widows led to the leadership making the decision to find people who could meet the needs within the community.

The leaders looked for people who were described as being full of the Holy Spirit. They found Stephen who is described as being “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5)…
The fact that the apostles specifically looked for people who were full of the Holy Spirit suggests that some of the congregation were not! So were some only half full? Were others empty? Just exactly what did the apostles mean when they looked for people full of the Holy Spirit?

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