Trade your personal agendas for a heart that is abandoned. This is the only way to discover fullness of life and freedom in the Lord.

“Let me emphasize this: As you yield to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life. When your self-life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit you hinder him from living free within you! And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your self-life from dominating you! So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self-life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit.”

Galatians 5:16-17 TPT

Are you willing to let the Holy Spirit hinder you?

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Matthew 16:24-25 NKJV

What has chasing after the things of this world done for you?

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord].”

Matthew 6:24 AMP

“If the Spirit is the source of our life, we must also allow the Spirit to direct every aspect of our lives.”

Galatians 5:25 TPT

The upside-down kingdom doesn't make sense from the worldly perspective. But I've found that Your way is better so let not my plans hinder Yours God.

The way that we spend time with God directly impacts what we can do for His kingdom and how effective we are in ministry. Spending time with Him causes us to be surefooted (confident and competent), as we stay in step with Him at all times.

I see serving/ministry/moving in the calling as a time where I simply report for duty “Here I am for You to use God”. This causes His yoke to be easy and His burden to be light because I’ve realised that it has always about Him and never about me. The outcome of our labour is based on His sovereignty and not our own abilities.

“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””

Matthew 11:30 NKJV

“Yet we don’t see ourselves as capable enough to do anything in our own strength, for our true competence flows from God’s empowering presence. He alone makes us adequate ministers who are focused on an entirely new covenant. Our ministry is not based on the letter of the law but through the power of the Spirit. The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit pours out life.”

2 Corinthians 3:5-6 TPT

How are you spending time with God and how do you think God can use that to overflow onto others?

Worship is based not on feelings and favoured circumstances. It is about giving God what is due, what He is worth. Know your reasons, purpose, and what offering you are bringing to the altar. Choosing to exalt God in our prison circumstances is the loudest praise we can give. What is your costly everything?

“Paul and Silas, undaunted, prayed in the middle of the night and sang songs of praise to God, while all the other prisoners listened to their worship. Suddenly, a great earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. All at once every prison door flung open and the chains of all the prisoners came loose.”

Acts 16:25-26 TPT

“Then David danced before the Lord with all his might… David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight.…”

II Samuel 6:14, 21-22 NKJV

“But I will rejoice even if my life is poured out like a liquid offering to God over your sacrificial and surrendered lives of faith.”

Philippians 2:17 TPT

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:16 NKJV

Read More: Luke 21:1-4 and Luke 7:37-38