“…our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord,” 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6

Yesterday, an interesting thing happened on the way to a point! For the Church service, I had asked 2 of our young folks to read Scripture. It’s a good way to teach kids how to speak in public and gets them involved. When they finished, a slightly devilish joke popped into my head. “Now Church,” I said, “let’s have a vote as to which one did the better job!” The entire church cried out, “NOOOO!” And a devilish grin came to my face! “Gotcha!”

Teaching is a difficult and tricky business. ESPECIALLY today in this ‘pandemic’ culture. Some excuses for NOT learning are pretty wild. I know because I also live with the greatest Pre-School teacher of all time! It’s one thing to hear a student say, “the dog ate my homework!” It’s another when those kinds of excuses come from the PARENTS! So what does a teacher do?

It is readily stated AND accepted that Jesus said, “Do not Judge or YOU will be judged.” Except that He didn’t MEAN it the way they say it! Surprise! In fact, without judgment and grades as means for comparison, NO one truly learns! So a methodical and deliberate process develops for the betterment of EVERYBODY!

To get a person to grow from 1 place to another demands a tactfully acceptable form of judgment to convince a change in a different direction. It is often, and to the teacher’s sorrow, that the judgment part is all the other parties ever hear! But if a person is to GROW UP…it requires they realize and accept that doing it their way ISN’T really in their best interest!

In the verse today, deeply convicted ‘outsiders’ became ‘insiders’ and lived among them differently! And SURPRISE!!!! The ‘insiders’ ultimately changed to look more like the ‘outsiders!’ They call that ‘ministry!’ APPARENTLY our Lord expects ALL of His children to do the very same thing… AND to expect the exact same level of antagonism and persecution as HE did! Welcome to Ministry!   Call out when you start to sweat blood!