2 Corinthians 3:4-6 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

This is an enormously important passage for anyone in Christian ministry, and I can’t begin to do it justice, really, in a morning devo­tional time. However, I will try to touch on the main points. The first is that we should minister with assurance (the NIV says confidence). This is not being cocky, but it is not being timid, either. Paul had to remind Timothy that the Holy Spirit is not a spirit of timidity! ( 2 Timothy 1:7) In America today it is politically correct to say, and act like, there are no absolutes and we can’t be sure of anything. That’s a lie from the pit of hell! A minister of Jesus Christ needs to be able to say, “I know whom I have believed.” (2 Timothy 1:12) The second thing is closely tied in with that, and that is that our competence, our assurance, doesn’t originate with us, but with God. That’s why being cocky doesn’t fit. The assurance of a true minister of Christ is based on deep humility, an awareness that they can’t possibly do anything right on their own. (John 15:5) Only when we get self out of the way can we have the rock-solid assurance that is available in Christ. The third thing is that all of this is by the Holy Spirit. The line, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life,” is quoted a good bit, and with good reason. I have seen so many ministries and ministers try to operate on some sort of rules-based system, and it simply doesn’t work. It’s not that rules in themselves are bad, it’s just that as soon as we get them codified, we tend to rely on them instead of on God Himself. There are indeed absolutes, as I’ve already said, but without the Living Water of the Holy Spirit, legalism is dry, dead, and deadly. (Maybe this would be a spiritual zombie, because though it is dead, legalism still kills those it entraps!)

This is something the Lord has been working into me over the years. I have had a lot of trouble with thinking I was competent on my own. I have a high IQ and a wide variety of abilities of various sorts (just not in sports). I knew that God loves everyone equally, but I still thought my “gift package” put me in a special category. Sadly, it’s not been very many years since God finally got it through my head that He’s smart and I’m not. My challenge now is in communicating the understanding I’ve been given to those in my flock who are called into full-time ministry. (There are two at the moment, and two others are currently pastoring other flocks.) I started to say this isn’t Sunday morning sermon material, but then that might not be bad either, because every believer needs to understand that God can, wants to, and will use them as His ministers if they will allow Him to do so.

Father, the challenge is huge, but the possibilities are exciting. Help me be an open channel to transmit everything You pour into me, so that the Body of Christ may be built up indeed, as a mighty army to destroy the works of the devil and bring multitudes into Your kingdom, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!