Three Ways to Minister on Social Media

“She is like the merchant ships bringing her food from afar.” Proverbs 31:14

This blog post is intended for the Christian Entrepreneur who uses social media as a platform to conduct business.

Although most of the time, this passage is misunderstood, many of us are all too familiar with the woman of Proverbs 31. In this specific verse, it shows that she did not mind going the distance for high quality because back then, all of the exotic goods were brought by ships after months of travel. She was committed to doing things with excellence, even if that meant she had to wait for months.

For the past two weeks, La Distinction Co has been studying Christian entrepreneurship according to the Bible through the series called Faith and Dreams. In this short article, we share three important lessons to consider when considering yourself a Christian Creative on social media.

Ready?

1- Quality Content: As Christian Creative/Entrepreneur, we are ambassadors for the Kingdom of God on social media. When someone comes across our page, they should feel edified. It is not a problem to share Bible verses, but at some point, we have to ask God to bless us with the holy spirit so we can start to translate the verse we post into a language that our population can understand. We need to give others the desire to open a Bible and study the word for themselves. We need to encourage, motivate and educate.

2- Valuable Services: Are we walking the talk? When people book our services, do they really receive value for the price that we are asking, or do they feel duped? As Christian Entrepreneurs, we cannot be involved in quick schemes, baiting, or deceiving (like saying things are on sale when they’re not or leading people to believe one thing and do another). We have to show integrity because our boss is omnipresent, and he sees our hearts. We should have boundaries and maintain them. Other people need to see the difference between us and the world in our services.

3- Show Up as Yourself: How can we share the good news of the gospel with others when they see us on social media constantly sharing something negative or full details of our debauch the night before? This is not to encourage anyone to pretend to have a perfect life, but if you are going through some difficulty, ask God for discernment on whether or not you can be public with it. Because when we show up on a social platform in plain crisis, we might actually discourage other people who already think choosing to follow Jesus is all about misery. If you wouldn’t share it at work or wear it to work, why would you wear it or share it on your platform as a Christian business person? We need to be disciplined and distinguished in the way that we conduct business in the name of Jesus Christ.

Do you have a business that God is calling you to start but you still feel undecided about?

Order the Faith and Dreams planner and join the 21-day invitation to pray about your venture.

Five Lessons on Maximizing Your Talents

“Not using your talents out of fear is an insult to the Creator who gifted them to you.”

Lesson 1- God gives according to your abilities.

Every talent you have is actually double what you see on the surface. Your talent to connect people may be a dream to own a PR firm. Your gift to quickly solve complex math problems may be a gift of invention. Before minimizing what you have, make sure to put it to work.

Lesson 2- God expects you to invest in your gifts.

Are you investing in things that align with your values and natural gifts? Remember, you will have to explain to God why is it that you spend your whole life chasing other people’s dreams instead of building yours. He gave you the blueprint so you can create your own action steps. Get to work.

Lesson 3- If you can’t pursue it, teach it.

God expects you to use the gift that he gave you no matter what your situation is. The worst thing that you can do is to bury it and not take the time to properly develop your gifts. Maybe you are not ready to start a firm, but can you teach people how to network? God’s return on investing in you is the expansion of his kingdom on earth. How many people have you impacted with your gifts thus far?

Lesson 4 – He gives you creative freedom.

God does not control your creative process. He gives you the freedom to stretch your abilities as far as you can perceive. Whatever massive dreams go on your vision board is up to you. You will accomplish what you along believe you have the ability to accomplish.

Lesson 5 – He will not cuddle laziness.

yes, God is compassionate. But, he will not tolerate prayers about things that he gives you the power to control. If he gives your the land, he expects that you will wake up every morning to plow and sow. He went through the same process while creating the universe – he speaks into existence one part of the universe every single day for 6 days and then he rested (Genesis 1). Take one step toward your dream every day.

Are you aware of your gifts? Do you know how many bags of gold you were given? These lessons were taken from the parables of the master and the three workers from Matthew 25. I encourage you to read this passage for yourself today.

10 Guideposts for Wholehearted Living by Brene Brown: 10 Matching Verses to Deepen Your Perspective

Last week for my assignment at MUIH, I had to write a response to the “10 Guideposts for Wholehearted Living by Brené Brown”, and I thought this is exactly the kind of reminder our world needs right now. Although the world’s events challenged our #mentalhealthawarenessmonth on a weekly basis, let’s try to end it with a hopeful note with these gems.

The 10 Guideposts for Wholehearted Living by Brené Brown and 10 Verses to match

#1- Cultivating Authenticity: Letting go of what other people think.

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Do not let any external factors intimidate the potential within you.

#2 Cultivating Self-Compassion: Letting go of perfectionism.

2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Flaws can be beautiful. What you see as incomplete could still empower so many people.

#3 Cultivating a Resilient Spirit: Letting go of powerlessness.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

When you feel hopeless, look at your situation from a different angle. There’s always another solution.

#4 Cultivating Gratitude: Letting go of fear of the dark.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

When the thought of the future ruins our present, the future becomes a guaranteed failure.

#5 Cultivating Intuition and Trusting Faith: Letting go of uncertainty.

Mathew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Enough said.

#6 Cultivating Creativity: Letting go of comparison.

1 Peter 4:10 “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

If we all did the same things in the same way, the world would be boring. Your uniqueness matters!

#7 Cultivating Play and Rest: Letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth.

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.”

Sometimes going to sleep is the best way to solve the challenge. Do your best and give God the rest.

#8 Cultivating Calm and Stillness: Letting go of anxieties as a lifestyle.

1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

The time you dedicate to smelling the roses may lead to your life’s greatest accomplishments.

#9 Cultivating Meaningful Work: Letting go of self-doubts and “supposed to.”

Proverbs 18:15 “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge,  for the ears of the wise seek it out.”

The most worthwhile study is the study of ourselves. The whole world relies on it.

#10 Cultivating Laughter, Song, and Dance: Letting go of being cool and always in control.

Proverbs 17:22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

Pray Ugly Prayers

Arise, Lord, in your anger;

rise up against the rage of my enemies.

Awake, my God; decree justice. Psalms 7:6

When I was little, my relationship with God was always unclear. It was like I had this one great friend who swears to protect me and says that he loves me, but I always have to tip-toe around him because if I say or do the wrong thing, he might just leave me alone and scared.

If this sounds like your relationship with God, I am inviting you to dedicate some time to pray until you start to feel God’s entire, peaceful presence.

Yes, God is almighty. But, he is also a father, a provider, a nurturer, and a friend.

Reading the Psalms of David in the Bible (which is most of the Psalms), you will realize that David was not afraid to ask God to punish people on his behalf. He had a lot of respect for God. He spent a lot of time praising, dancing, and writing songs of love and honor to God. However, in times when he was targeted, rejected, or pursued, he placed it all without reservations in front of God.

God can see beyond your facades, but he wants to hear how you express yourself to him and see how comfortable you feel around him. As an earthly parent, you may feel offended if you find out that your kids are not comfortable telling you everything. What makes you think God will be okay with your generic prayers?

Ugly prayers are unfiltered, unedited, fresh-out-of-the-angered-soul prayers. They are crying prayers, wordless prayers, long sighing, and suffocating prayers. God wants to hear them all. He wants to hear about your anger, temptations, annoyance, desires, and oppressions.

David had no issues expressing either of these emotions to God, and God crowned him the man after his heart. God wants to be in the mess with you, to help you piece your puzzle together. Just like when you see a therapist, you have no problem sharing your discomfort because you know the session is confidential.

Well, guess what? Confidentiality with God is 100% guaranteed.

So why should you pray ugly prayers, like David? Simple answer: to be closer to God.

If you want to start digging in the word and really master your Bible, check out this journal with a Bible reading tracker from La Distinction Co.