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Two Paths, One Savior: Conversations with Glory / Journey and Calling, Week 3 by Patti Greene

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Welcome to my NEW Blog Series: Two Paths, One Savior: Conversations with Glory / Journey and Calling

If you are receiving this blog via email, clicking the post title will show the best version.

About This Series:  This new series shares the story of my friendship with Glory. She is Nigerian, and I am from the United States, yet God tied our hearts together in a beautiful way. We met at a Bible study in Lagos, Nigeria, and her love for Jesus was clear from the very first day.

Glory later moved to Canada, and during a recent visit, I interviewed her about her life and faith. I’ll be sharing one topic each week:

Glory and Patti, Calgary, 2022

Week 1 – Our Connection and Story: greenepastures.org/two-paths-one-savior-week-1/

Week 2 – Early Life and Faith: greenepastures.org/two-paths-one-savior-conversations-with-glory-early-life-and-faithweek-2/

Week 3 – Journey and Calling – This blog
Week 4 – Singleness and Ministry – Being Single in Ministry
Week 5 – Writing and Ministry Together – Be Inspired
Week 6 – Reflection and Encouragement – Be Encouraged: You’re Not Walking Alone
Week 7 – Friendship and Connection – Enjoy Christ-Centered Friendships

GLORY’S JOURNEY AND CALLING, Week 3

Q. When did you first feel called into ministry?

A. From the time I gave my life to Jesus and through my friendship with Jonathan, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life serving God, so I knew ministry would be my life and my life would be ministry.

Q. What moments or experiences confirmed that calling for you?

A. In those early days of faith after I gave my life to Jesus, I was deeply in love with God and His Word. I was eager to share His Word and His love with everyone I met. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life serving Him. God also gave us—God and me—the gift of healing. I would pray for people, and He would heal them. I remember friends comparing me to a well-known Christian evangelist at the time. As a new believer, I did not know much about her, but I knew she served the Lord and had a ministry marked by bold acts of faith. So yes, I looked forward to serving God for the rest of my life as a full-time minister.

Life is a Journey

Q. How has God surprised you along the way?

A. Even though I was studying engineering at the time, my dream was to serve God in full-time ministry. How God has surprised me along the way is that He made clear then that He wanted me to continue in my field as an engineer, to continue in my work while serving Him with all that I am and all that I have. It is totally different from what I had thought because I wanted to go to Bible school and go into full-time ministry, but God held me back from going to Bible school. He did not want me to go. He wanted to teach me on the path of walking with Him and how He wanted me to serve Him in the way He wanted me to serve, in the places He wanted me to serve Him. What He’s done is provide opportunities for me to serve Him through my job. My job has provided opportunities for me to travel to different parts of the world where I go to work, and I am serving God outside of the church or with people that typically will not go to church. I have been blessed with opportunities to take people who have never been to church to church for the first time. I’ve been blessed with opportunities to lead people to Christ in huddle rooms, in corporate offices. I have joined people in holy matrimony and done all kinds of things for God at work, in places where God is not typically preached. And that is not by hitting everybody on the head with the Bible, but by walking with Jesus and letting people see my walk with God and reach out to me to be a part of their life and their journey. Those are ways I have been able to serve God. Also, my work has provided me with the means to do the things God wanted me to do, like publishing my books, going on mission trips, among others, and paying for things that people typically look for others to support them with. I have been able to support myself and pay for those things without having to look for external support.

Fact:

While Glory worked full-time as an engineer, I could never describe her as someone in part-time ministry. Knowing Glory, I have seen that ministry is not something she turns on and off depending on the setting; it is woven into who she is. She carries the presence of the Lord with her into her workplace, into conversations, into ordinary routines, and even into her weekends. Her faith is not reserved for church walls. God is on her mind throughout the day, and because of that, He has used her in places where some people may never have had the opportunity, interest, or courage to attend a church service or Christian gathering. Glory’s life reminds me that ministry can happen in conference rooms, offices, work trips, casual conversations, and quiet acts of obedience. She is well respected, sincere, dependable, and hardworking, but what stands out most is her genuine love for God and her desire to let others see Him through the way she lives.

Bible Verse: 

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry (1 Timothy 1:12 NKJV).

Next Week: Singleness and Ministry

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Books by Patti Greene

Coming Soon: Luke 2: The Christmas Story: Discover the Birth of Jesus in Scripture

Unstoppable: Go the Distance with God ISBN: 979-8284335017 

Answer Me: Developing a Heart for Prayer ISBN 978-1512760453

Bible Word Search Puzzles: The Gospels ISBN 979-8218070465

Bible Word Search Puzzles: Acts and Epistles ISBN 979-8218092696

Bible Word Search Puzzles: Epistles and Revelation ISBN 979-8363612046

Christian Caregiving: Practical Advice for a Happy Ending ISBN 978-0692115381

Awaken Me: A Devotional Prayer Journal ISBN 978-1490893181

Anchor Me: Laying a Foundation in Prayer and Bible Study ISBN 978-1490893174

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Voices: Four things help us find God’s call in our lives

Reprinted from The Baptist Standard

 

I hesitated for a few weeks about posting an article I wrote for The Baptist Standard on my blog, mainly because I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. However, today in my quiet time, the Lord impressed me to post it because it might just be what someone needs to read. My prayer is that it will touch someone’s heart today. God bless you.

 
APRIL 11, 2023
Patti Greene

The Baptist Standard

After many years of working outside the home, I “retired.” With time to serve God more fully, I appealed to my heavenly Father and cried: “Lord, how can you use me? I don’t play the piano, and I don’t like hanging out at the gym.”

God said: “Patti, I have been preparing you all these years. I allowed you to grow up in a family that loved books. I surrounded you with books all the time. You have created your own library of prayer journals during 40-plus years. Now is the time to write a book and share with others what I have let you experience. This is your destiny.”

So, I penned my first prayer journal, and a new call in my life evolved, that of writing.

People all over the world ask the question, “Lord, how can you use me?”

Once we genuinely believe Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, we can ask God confidently what his will for our lives might be. Through our obedience in doing the small things, he will show us more ways we can serve him.

Four things help us find God’s call in our lives: (1) preparation, (2) practice, (3) prayer and (4) Bible reading.

Preparation

I wanted to prepare myself for ministry. I needed God to direct my path and mold me to be used for his purpose. A series of books on spiritual maturity helped establish the foundation of my Christian beliefs. I also deepened my obedience to whatever God had in store.

All the while, I wondered how God could use someone like me—someone who failed my first English essay in college, was terrified of being called on in Bible study classes and was still learning sin had consequences. But God cared for me and was preparing me to be used for his glory, and I knew it.

The foundations of my faith grew through Christian books and my first two churches in the Baptist faith. God led me to University Baptist Church in Fort Worth, where I was baptized, and First Baptist Church in Houston, where my faith deepened beyond measure.

To know where God wants to use you, experiment in different gift areas, listen to what others think you do well, take a spiritual gifts inventory survey, read books that address the topic, and pray for God to show you where you fit in the body of Christ. Then practice what you have learned.

Everyone has at least one spiritual gift. Romans 12:6-8 gives us a partial list of spiritual gifts—prophecy (explaining Scripture), service, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading and mercy. You might consider these.

I read the Bible continually during my time of discernment, wanting to know more about God and how he could use me. I began to serve in little ways, such as writing notes, putting short Bible studies together and organizing biblical materials.

Reading materials written by solid Bible-believing authors opened the door to a deeper dependence on the Holy Spirit through prayer. The Bible and these books confirmed God loved me, and in his infinite wisdom, he had a spiritual plan for my life. God does for you, as well.

Prayer

While I have read many books on prayer, it differs from carving out time daily to give praise and worship to our heavenly Father. God loves us as no one else can. He wants us to pay attention to him. Prayer gives a person time to think, meditate, confess sins and share burdens.

Sometimes we limit our call, believing only pastors and those in ministry can be used by God, but God wants everyone to seek his kingdom and to engage intimately in prayer with him.

Bible reading

The primary way God speaks to us occurs by reading the Bible. Through God’s word, we recognize what is right and wrong, what is honorable and what is not, and what he wants us to do or not do.

A new life of salvation, hope and trust opens for us when we continually read the word of God. God desires to show us his will and direction, and we can find that in his holy word.

Get Ready to be used by God

We are on a journey, and God has a purpose for us. Don’t allow fear, laziness or perfectionism to stop you from seeking God’s will.

While my passion for reading is what God uses to show me how he can use me, it may be different for you. God has given us all diverse backgrounds, passions, personalities, talents and quirks. Look at your experiences, hone your skills, prepare yourself, practice ministry, pray and read God’s word. Don’t expect to be good at everything at once. Wait for God’s timing.

When God revealed to me it was time to write a book, it occurred in my messy bedroom closet. Not only did he show me what to do, but he also confirmed it by prompting me to look at the top shelf to see my prayer journals.

That’s when he said: “Now is the time to write a book and share with others what I have let you experience. This is your destiny.”

What is your God-given destiny?

Patti Greene is a graduate of Baylor University and Dallas Baptist University, a member of Second Baptist Church in Houston, and the author of seven books. The views expressed are those of the author.
 
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