"Service" (Excerpt)

The Lord bestows blessings upon His children, not simply for our own use or happiness but, to share with, and to serve, others.  We bring glory to God when we use whatever He blesses us with to bless others.  The blessings of God are not simply manifested in the abundance of material possessions or wealth, as some would suppose.  But, God reveals His goodness to us through such intangible blessings as supernatural favor with man (which, at times, includes our enemies), good health, emotional well-being (peace), as well as natural talents, skills and abilities, and supernatural giftings  

"Brokenness" (Excerpt)

Beyond the initial call to relationship, God takes the believer through a series of tests and trials to further break our reliance on our selves.  God’s purpose in allowing trials is to bring us into deeper levels of consecration, or commitment, to Him.  As we acknowledge our helplessness against temptation and our absolute need for His grace to live a life that pleases Him, He will enable us to live a life in which we are victorious over sin and to live a life that is useful for His purposes.  

"Relationship" (Excerpt)

We can never lose our salvation. But, sadly, many believers do not pursue relationship with our Lord after confessing Him as Savior. Such will never experience victory over sin or otherwise experience the supernatural provision and abundant life that our Lord sacrificed His life to secure for us.  Unconfessed sin blocks any fellowship that we might otherwise enjoy with God in this earthly realm.

"Holiness" (Excerpt)

To be holy is to be “set apart” (sanctified or consecrated) for God’s purposes.  Holiness is not a state of mind, but a state of being.  Holiness is not walking around in studied piety, noxious goodness or angelic loveliness.   It’s not halos or attire.  It’s not external, at all.  Holiness is a condition of the heart. The “set apart” heart has been broken and is wholly surrendered to the rule of the Lord Jesus Christ and none other.

Introduction (Excerpt)

Blessed, Broken and Given focuses on our Lord’s process of transforming vessels of clay into vessels of honor.  It is intended to inform and encourage those desiring to embark on the journey to servanthood.  Whether you are called to minister to multitudes or to minister to a few, the fruitfulness of your service depends upon the closeness of your relationship with the Master and your commitment to the process of being made an instrument for His glory.  

This Blog

The purpose of this blog is to publish excerpts from my soon-to-be-published book, "Blessed, Broken and Given: The Making of a Servant of God." It is my prayer that the excerpts may interest you enough to purchase the book after publication. Please continue visiting this blog site for information on the release date. For everyone who subscribes to this blog, you will be entered in a drawing to receive a free copy of the book! Abundant blessings!!

About the Author

After Jesus saved me in 1999, one of the first things that I began to do for the Lord was to write devotionals. I've continued writing devotionals and Bible studies for a few blogs that I've created; but, until recently, I had not written anything more than that. That is, I hadn't written anything more voluminous or significant until the Lord gave me this book to write in 2006. He gave me all the titles for every chapter. The only problem was that I did not know anything about three of the four sections of the book. In other words, I could understand and write about the topic of being "blessed," but I could not even begin to understand the topic of "brokenness." So, I put the manuscript aside. After three and one-half years in a tumultuous second marriage, the Lord allowed me to experience brokenness, for the first time, in my journey of faith. I now understand and can write about that topic. This book is about the Lord's process of turning ordinary believers from being vessels of wood or clay, into vessels of gold; sanctified for His use for the sake of His kingdom. Do you want to be the Lord's servant? Count the cost and press on to the Prize of the "high" calling in Christ Jesus!

Book Intro

Who, or what, inspires believers to serve in Christian ministry?  Do we serve out of gratitude to our Lord for our salvation, or at the prompting of church leaders who have witnessed a particular gifting in us? Whether we serve with hearts of gratitude or out of a sense of duty, many of us serve in ministries that the Lord never intended for us to serve in, or we serve before we are spiritually ready or equipped to do so.  The Bible provides ample insight into the process that God uses to prepare ordinary human beings for His service. That process is unique to every individual, but there are predictable elements of it that Blessed, Broken and Given will explore in great detail by examining the lives of ordinary human beings whom the Lord used in extraordinary ways.