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Charles Spurgeon once said, “Do not enter the ministry if you can help it.”  Romans 1:1 led me to ponder the question, “Why are some people set apart for ministry?”  You many say, “Pastor Zack, I am not going into ministry.” The reality however is when we give our life to Jesus, our entire being should be a ministry. In the beginning of Romans, Paul is speaking about being set apart.  He is delivering an idea that he didn’t choose to go into ministry, it chose him. Paul was a murderer and yet when Christ called, he was obedient and went full steam ahead proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord.  All of us are searching for something, for someone, but only Christ can fill that void. Not one of us is too bad or too good for Jesus. When Jesus grabs our heart, we enter into a long term ministry with Jesus as King. We humble ourselves in obedience and trust that God will provide. We trust He will give us the strength to finish the race (2 Timothy 4:7) He has laid out long before we set foot in the timeline of history.  

Throughout history, many have been called to Him. They believed that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy, that He is the seed of David (Romans 1:3).  Salvation has been set out apart for all that believe (Romans 1:16), but the people who have made a lasting impact are the select individuals that refused to back down from the truth.  They decided to not be ashamed of the gospel.  They decided they would rather be beheaded like Paul, crucified upside down like Peter, or burned at the stake like Jan Hus.  These believers had character, they had resolve, they stood for something, and they lived by faith (Romans 1:17).

It is my prayer for the church that we would have a faith that can withstand persecution. It is my prayer we would be a church who lived out our faith every day because we are humbled to be one of God’s children. It is my prayer that our humility would be a light in our community and more people would come to Christ as they seek to fill the void that only Jesus can fill.