TOOLS OF THE TRADE

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the Good News ..." Luke 4:18

For those of you who have never traveled to Landisville, Pennsylvania--this is my desk at the church. A planner and a computer, along with my NIV study Bible make up the key tools of my trade as a pastor. Periodically, the telephone, more likely a cell phone. As long as I have these things near at hand I can do at least 50-60% of my work as a pastor. When one of these tools is missing, my work gets more complicated.

It's interesting that the Apostle Paul ministered for decades and had almost incomparable impact on the lives of so much of the world without a single one of these tools. Yes, before you correct me, he had the scriptures--most of which he carried around in his head. His scrolls would have been drenched with the first shipwreck.

His tools were not inferior to mine nor were they superior. They were simply the tools available to and appropriate for the times he was ministering in. I strongly suspect if he had a lap top, he'd have used it. if he could have downloaded the Torah and the Prophets to an I-Pod, he would have jumped at the chance.

What makes both of our sets of tools effective is not the technology or the convenience, it is the Presence. By that I mean, the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Tools are man-made and always have a limit to their usefulness. But tools used by a man filled with God's Spirit take on a supernatural force. A memory, empowered by the Spirit--whether embedded in a human brain or in gigabytes of a machine--can be used to change lives as they connect people with the life-transforming Word of God.

So here's the question of the day--are the tools of your trade plugged into the Spirit?

This devotional is published on behalf of the Church of God of Landisville and its friends. (C) 2009 by Stephen L. Dunn. All rights reserved.