Over the last few months I've been supporting another ministry. I have been providing my comments, teaching, and heart for 128 hours and 9 minutes. I've been on the website constantly throughout the day, sending messages to new members and answering various questions (on and off the forum pages). I enjoyed the opportunity afforded to me to reach God's people with the gospel and I saw it as an extension of my own ministry as a pastor and teacher.

I'm on the site so much that my wife has nicknamed it myspace.

A few days ago I logged onto the computer and checked on the site (one of the first things I do in the morning). As I was viewing a new image placed on the site, the Lord spoke to me. He said that this (the site) was not my ministry.

You see, while I was spending so much of my time on the other site, I wasn't giving Spiritual Combatants a lot of my attention. Within the last few months, I probably wrote three or four original journal entries for Spiritual Combatants. Many of the entries I had were messages I wrote on the other site - supplementing Spiritual Combatants.

Spiritual Combatants is a writing ministry with a heavy emphasis in discipleship. God has allowed it to be formed around the actions of my life to share with the world (the good, bad, and ugly). On most days, God would give me a list of messages, topics, and book ideas to write, but over the last few months, I had very few. I even struggled with the daily quotes - God's grace was sufficient!

Before I go any further, I want it to be known that I have no animosity toward the other site or any of its members. The events that transpired were because of my own actions and my own desires.

When I started writing on the other site, I thought it would be a good way to share my life and teachings...and boy did I! I quickly racked up 315 messages. My purpose was to provide solid teachings and responses that were edifying, but the Lord sought to correct something I neglected - the specific work He called me to do through Spiritual Combatants.

My first priority is to fulfill the mission He has called me to do...all else is secondary. The same goes for you as well. There are so many things we would like to do and seem noble (and done with a pure heart), but we must always remember to stay true to our calling and purpose in Christ.

Within an hour of His message to me, I received about eight topics to write about and I've continued the next book I'm writing for young ministers.

...first things first...