It has been 4 years since the Lord called me into ministry…..a speaking and writing ministry. He was very clear that this was my calling and even gave me the name for the ministry….The Point Ministries.
I thought today might be a good day to reflect back on why The Point Ministries is so named. In order to do that I am going to re-post an email (with a few modifications) that I sent out in 2003 when I began writing a weekly email devo called The Point.
I pray that I’ve been faithful to the mission of The Point.
The Meaning Behind the Name
I promised to tell you in this first email why I chose the name “The Point” for my ministry….and that it what I feel this is…my ministry for this time.
My husband, Greg, has 2 Brittneys, General and Jake. Brittneys belong to a group of dogs known as “pointing dogs”. Greg, General, and Jake are a team when they are out in the field hunting birds. The job of a pointing dog is to use his keen sense of smell to find birds, and literally, point them out to the hunter. The first dog to locate a bird or birds goes “on point”. His nose points toward the bird, his tail remains stiff and unmoving, and he often lifts his front leg in the characteristic stance of a dog on point. The second dog (if the hunter is hunting a pair of dogs) “backs” the front dog’s point. His job is to honor the point of the first dog and remain totally still so that the birds will not fly off. The hunter now knows that a bird has been located.
 |
| Jake and Blue |
 |
| General( left) and Blue (right) |
 |
| Greg and Richard with Jake and Blue after a successful hunt |
General came to live with us when he was 3 years old. He had been a house dog all his life, never having hunted. Jake came to us from friends as a 6 week old puppy, who obviously had never hunted anything other than his mother. The God-placed instinct in pointing dogs is so awesome. From the time we brought Jake home, when Greg would place a quail wing (from a previous hunt) on the end of a fishing line and dangle it in front of Jake, he would go “on point”. I’m not sure he even knew why he was doing it, but it was so instinctive that he could not do anything else. General and Jake turned out to be fine pointing dogs. I hope each of you, at some time in your life, has the opportunity to watch a pointing dog work. They are such beautiful examples of the Master Creator’s design.
Many months ago, as I watched Greg work the dogs, God showed me that we are very much like a pointing dog. Each of our lives “point” to something. For the Christian, our lives should point to Christ. In John chapter 1, it is very clear that John the Baptist was sent from God for the purpose of pointing out the coming Christ. He was adamant that he was not the Savior the Jews were looking for, but the one who came after him, Jesus, was that Savior. Some of the last words (Matthew 28: 18-20) that Christ spoke on this earth after His death and resurrection were instructions to his disciples to ‘tell the nations about me so that they will believe.’ We, too, are His disciples and our job is to tell others about Him and the eternal life He offers.
Our lives point toward what is most important to us. If that is not God, then we are pointing toward an idol or a false god. Anything or anyone that is more important to us than our relationship with God is an idol. This could be money, our jobs, our families, our position in society, our health….there are many possibilities. So, I ask you……what is your life “pointing” toward today? You will only know true peace and happiness when you are “pointing” toward the One who died to save you.
(Visited 63 times, 1 visits today)
