I want to share with you a list of areas that I want to grow in that I think are very important both in my personal life and in my ministry.

1) Worship — I want to grow in this ministry to God because He is worthy of praise. I just want my praise to be worthy of Him.

2) Praying in tongues — This is an important part of every one of my days. The first thing I do every morning is to spend time praying in tongues.

3) Prophecy — Paul said that it was the greatest gift.1 Moses wished that all the people of God prophesied.2 The Spirit Himself goes a little farther in 1 Corinthians where He says that we may all prophesy. The gift of prophecy is very important.

4) Revelation or insight — As a good friend of mine says, the mysteries of God are not understood, but rather, they are revealed.

5) Knowledge — The prophet said that people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.3 Paul prayed every day that they (and we!) would be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.4

6) Faith — I want more faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God.5 Faith moves the hand of God. I want more faith.

7) Generosity — I am an administrator or a steward of another’s property. The owner of all that I have in my charge is very generous. I need to be generous, too.

8) Patience in suffering — We are told that if we suffer with Him we will reign with Him. How am I going to face Him if I have never suffered for Him? I don’t want to be a coward.

All of us Christians surely want to have all of these things on the list in our lives, our ministry and our church. However there is something so much higher than these very important things in the list above, something that is light years ahead of them.

Let’s see what the Scriptures say: “Though I speak with the tongues of men (worship) and of angels (tongues), and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries (revelation — insight), and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor (generosity), and though I give my body to be burned (suffering), and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”7

Loving God above all else is the first and greatest commandment.8 We can enjoy all of the above in our lives and ministries and even in our churches, but if we don’t have the unselfish “agape” love, we don’t have anything, we are nothing. Agape love is so much more important than all of these other things together. Without that unselfish passion, they are literally nothing.

Let’s keep the main thing the main thing.

1- 1Corinthians 14:1 2- Numbers 11:29 3- Hosea 4:6 4- Colossians 1:9 5- Hebrews 11:6 6- 2 Timothy 2:12 7- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 8- Matthew 22:37, 38 Mark 12:30 Luke 10:27