“Profitable Saints” by Kirk Hunt

Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. (2 Timothy 4:11 KJV)

2 Timothy 4:11 KJV

Apostle Paul wrote these words from a prison in Nero’s Rome. Especially under house arrest, Paul would need reliable, capable, productive people around him. From all of the Christian men in the Roman world, Paul chose to ask for Mark.

Paul needed someone who could help. Paul needed someone who would help. A man or woman who’s output exceeds input is always in demand.

Mark had been less-than-profitable at one point. Prior errors do not disqualify you from serving in God’s Kingdom. The more profitable you are, the quicker everyone gets over your mistakes.

Profitable saints are the men and women who serve the Kingdom. They take on the tasks set before them. They do what must be done. With excellence. With grace.

Do you want to serve His Kingdom? Are you willing to be a go-to man or woman for the sake of the Gospel? All it takes is heart and hands that are willing.

You do not need to be perfect. You may have to learn to be effective. You must be a saint of God. After that, profitability will not be far off.

Think: I can be profitable for God’s Kingdom.

Pray: “Father-God, help me to serve Your with skillfully and effectively.”

Copyright © April 2011, Kirk Hunt

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“Running Risks” by Kirk Hunt

But Barnabas took him [Paul], and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

Acts 9:27 KJV

Please read Acts 15: 37-39 also.

Barnabas, the risk taker took a huge risk on Paul. He wagered his good name, and literal life, that Saul the Inquisitor had become the Paul the Evangelist. He took a similar risk that John the Flake had become Mark the Gospel-writer.

They were risks because history spoke against both men. Apostle Paul himself regretted killing and persecuting saints his entire life. Mark had abandoned Paul at Pamphylia. “The facts are the facts.”

Someone needs you to be a risk-taker. They need you to wager your good name and high standing. Not on a paragon of virtue but on a soul with fresh failures and recent faults.

Barnabas put everything on the line to help someone else achieve their purpose in the Kingdom. In the short run it cost Barnabas something. In the long run, Barnabas is a hero among saints. The two men he saved wrote 14 books in Scripture.

Someone around you needs you to take a risk. In the short run, it may cost you. In the long run, you’ll bless the Kingdom.

Think: God’s Kingdom needs saints who are willing to run the risks.

Pray: “Lord, help me to serve Your Kingdom. Even if it is risky.”

Copyright © September 2009, Kirk Hunt

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“A Profitable Worker” by Kirk Hunt

Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

2 Timothy 4:11 KJV

Of all the men available to serve in the Gospel fields, Paul called for Mark. A powerful endorsement, to be sure. Mark did not always enjoy Paul’s high opinion.

Acts 15:37-39 tells a very different story. Paul and Barnabas argued over Mark. For at least a time, their relationship was ruptured. Mark’s imperfect past threatened his future with Paul, and in the Gospel fields.

In the miles and years between the two accounts in Scripture, Mark became a profitable worker. He became worthy of confidence. Somewhere along the line, Mark became a go-to man and a writer of Scripture.

Barnabas wouldn’t let past history kill Mark’s potential. Mark made the investment needed to become profitable. Paul eventually came to understand Mark’s worth to the Gospel.

You can be a profitable worker. All it takes is a willingness to invest your time, talent and treasure in God’s Kingdom. Your past history is not a dis-qualifier.

Maybe you have an unprofitable chapter in your past. Bad credit, or not, get up and start again. You have a profitable season in your future.

Think: I can be a profitable Gospel worker, now and in the future.

Pray: “Lord, help me to be profitable in Your Kingdom.”

Copyright © September 2009, Kirk Hunt