Fresh Is as Fresh Does

I read in Matthew 16 a passage that still challenges me. I say “still” because it’s the key verse God used to bring me to repentance in 1971. “What will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul?” (Matt. 16:26 NASB). It’s easy to overlook caring for our own spiritual health while we seek to minister to others. The one can’t be done without the other. Ministering to others must flow out of the life and health of our own spiritual life – what God is currently doing in us, not just what He did in days past. At the same time, a healthy soul finds ways of expression and ministry, otherwise it becomes stale – even putrid (think of the Dead Sea which has no outlet). God, keep me fresh!