Minister Moose Tracks

Do not allow the usual holiday hectic schedule and activities rob your joy of celebrating the birth of your Savior this Christmas season. Whether it's the shopping, the traveling, the gatherings, or whatever else, turn your eyes to Jesus Christ. This time of the year reminds me of when I was in the Middle East. Being in a foreign land with a vastly different culture and religious ideals, I often wondered about what my friends and family were doing back at home and I yearned to be with them, especially my wife and children. I remember looking out into the desert, praying to God that He would fill them with His presence, producing the joy of celebrating the birth of our Savior.  It seems though, at that moment, joy sprung up in me; all of a sudden, my melancholy state turned in a well of great joy, since God reminded me of the reality of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ. There I was, in a part of the world which is often hostile to people like me, praising my Lord for His wonderful gift

"God doesn't call those who are equipped, He equips those whom He calls." It is not the intellect of a Christian that makes him ready to serve God, but rather the power of God working within that person. Although I generally encourage formal education if the opportunity presents itself, it merely supplements the gifts given from God. Sadly enough, there many churches in the world that will not accept a pastor to lead them unless he has a seminary degree. A seminary education doesn't make a minister of the gospel; the calling from God and the church body to confirm this calling is what makes a minister of the gospel. Of course, we read that God uses people from varying educational backgrounds, considering Paul who was a "Hebrew of Hebrews" and a "Pharisee" (Phil. 3:5), while Apollos was "an eloquent man, competent in the scriptures" (Acts 18:24). Yet, we read in Acts 4:13 that no matter the education of those whom God calls for His purpo