Introduction
“And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Gen. 1:26-27 kjv Contrary to popular belief and conjecture the foundation and purpose of the church was also etched in the D.N.A. of man. I can say this with complete confidence based on the scripture found in Genesis 1:26-27 where God said” Let us make man in our own image…”. This statement affirms that all things were created by God and for God and we know what the purpose and process for church is. The church is where man is to commune, worship, praise, pray, and train others to know God for themselves. We accomplish this task by being the very image of God we are created to be. The church is usually defined as a building made of brick and mortar of various style designs dependent on the financial status of the collective body or size of the lot. Also, it can be defined as the place where people gather to worship God or their god. Before moving further, I feel it is necessary to understand how God’s original concept of the church was and is to this very day. The word church is derived from the Greek word ecclesia, which is defined as “an assembly” or a group of individuals called out from the population for a specific purpose. While the general definition does not specify a Christian only perspective for the purpose of this discussion the term church will be used in the setting of the Christian church. As being Pastors, we must do the work of God as described in the 1st chapter of the Bible. “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.’’’ Gen. 1:28 This verse is crucial to the foundational building principals for the church and to understanding the purpose of the church. So, we must take it to heart that from the beginning of time God had a design for the body of believers to assemble and do His will. This moment in time was man’s initial calling out from everything else. It is our identity fueling our purpose and source for our confidence in being created. The church is built on relationship, trust, and faith not a building or a location. Thus, we can assess that when a person elects or is called to lead a body of believers, they must know not only what the church is but, more importantly intent, purpose and capabilities of the church given by the one who created the church God Almighty. Furthermore, we must consider that being fruitful is language to be interpreted as having a working relationship that is continuous and intentional also the multiplication statement of the verse is explained as reproducing the relationship, we have with God in others by being living examples, teachers and disciplining others to have a relationship with God. Jesus himself affirms this by giving the great commission found in Matthew and the 28th chapter. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and I earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Amen” Matthew 28: 18-20 kjv The church has changed drastically from what it was intended to be as the original mandate of God’s design to what we have become institutionalized to live by and believe in. The manipulation and heartache of deceit by factions masquerading as agents of God having instituted their own beliefs and compromising the integrity of the church to appease their social and personal agendas accompanied by the cultural acceptance of the world which is led by the agents of the enemy. The tragedy of it all is they are all deceived by the guise of imagery and history muted with social and financial agendas. The question we must ask ourselves is how do we build and/or rebuild the “church of God”, how do we influence current financial culture of the church and life to have a working relationship with God without compromising ourselves? IMAGO DEI “And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Gen. 1:26-27 kjv Contrary to popular belief and conjecture the foundation and purpose of the church was also etched in the D.N.A. of man. I can say this with complete confidence based on the scripture found in Genesis 1:26-27 where God said” Let us make man in our own image…”. This statement affirms that all things were created by God and for God and we know what the purpose and process for church is. The church is where man is to commune, worship, praise, pray, and train others to know God for themselves. We accomplish this task by being the very image of God we are created to be. The church is usually defined as a building made of brick and mortar of various style designs dependent on the financial status of the collective body or size of the lot. Also, it can be defined as the place where people gather to worship God or their god. This quiescent movement that plagued the church for years especially when the Israelites wanted to be like every other nation and have a King rather than continuing to be subject to God. This act along with continued disobedience brought forth a major part of the dissension between God and man. However, the true church is built and sustained by the faith and revelation man has in the triune God which exudes the sweeping empowerment of confidence, trust, and authority. The efficacy of this statement found in the 16th chapter of Matthew verses 13-18. “When Jesus came to the region of Casarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still other, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. And I tell you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” This declaration of Jesus emphasizes the importance, requirement and covenant of the sustainability, focus, and life force which is the revelation of the Holy Spirit to the called and chosen of God. Also, it demonstrates that whom God choses must have a intimate relationship with Jesus the Christ and the confidence, courage and integrity to profess with a certain surety that is the mortar strengthening the foundational stones of the church which is the Temple of Faith. Searching even deeper in this informative instruction there is yet another ingredient that every pastor, leader and parishioner should posses in their lives and that is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which can only be present if the person has accepted and follows the character, attributes and instructions of Christ; believing it not robbery or beneath them to be baptized, live like, humble like and subject to Jesus the Christ. The apostle Paul wrote under the guise of the Holy Spirit in his letter to the church at Philippi: “let this mind be in you that is also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in the earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 kjv In this passage of scripture, we are I instructed that it is the heart of the selected one to be pure and focused on the heart of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. To immolate Christ in every aspect to be the disciple and ambassador we were originally intended to be. It is critically important that as we take the helm of leadership we are thinking clearly and operating from a Holy position. Which, in turn will allow us to lead as Christ loves and leads the entire body of Christ which is the church. “For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth.” Leviticus 11:44 kjv “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”” Leviticus 19:2 kjv Separation and Compromise When anyone is called to pastor a congregation there must be some research done from the onset to assess the situation of the church as to why they have no pastor. There could be several reasons why there is a change of leadership being done and it is your responsibility to find out what the reasons are so you can be the most effective leader you can be. Many people have different methodologies of how they arrive at the truth, however I believe if we follow the plans God has preset in the Bible, we can arrive at a position for information to gain inspiration to promote change to re-establish a relationship with God. The plan I place before you I believe will aid all of us who seek to be the best servant leaders we can be. I urge you to remember that the Bible is written in such a way that God uses several ways to communicate not only how to initiate change but also the reasons for and how to implement change to completion for the desired result of restoration and regeneration of individuals, communities, and congregations. In study we can trace the example of God not only exposing the cause but also implementing the plan for change in the 3rd chapter of Genesis. Please read and study the whole chapter but for the purpose of time and focus I challenge you to look intensely at the following verses: “And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, “Where art thou?” And he said, “I heard thy voice in the garden, I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And he said, “Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” And the man said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” Genesis 3:9-12 kjv Let it be understood that we are not dealing with the gender specifics of mankind but the spiritual representation of the pastor and the church. Let us begin with our first investigative position where did the church or the pastor go wrong on in other terms what caused the breach of covenant between God and the people involved. Usually and breach of an agreement is either deception, personal intention for gain or assimilation of acceptance to the masses. Either way it breaks the trust and assignment between God and man. It is important to understand the Bible also speaks to the church as well as man in what I like to call the kaleidoscope effect meaning one source (God’s Word) which has more than enough power to be applied to all situations. God’s Kingdom Knowledge is to be understood and applied to all situations. Psalms 37 is a great example of the spiritual integrity that a pastor should have for the office which is the support of the qualifications found in Titus and 1 Timothy 3 but, this psalm gives an explanation and a look into the heart of the man chosen by or desiring to be used by God. I encourage you to read and study this psalm because it will challenge you to take a full deep inventory of your external representation of God but, more importantly an examination of your character and motives to preach, pastor or serve. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” Psalms 37:23 Examining the Structure and is it Still Viable One of the first things I believe a pastor should do when leading a church especially when dealing with the finances is to have them audited to know how the finances are being managed and used, also by whom. This will also allow you to have a record to safeguard you witness if the finances have been previously mishandled or excellently managed. Some factors that have hindered the church and its finances is the lack of sufficient teaching, record keeping, personnel, record keeping and divesture of investments. These hinderances have led to churches living like most of the parishioners live check to check or as it pertains to the church offering to offering. The overall structure of how a church’s finances are set up will also allow for theft, deceit, and or simple over site of deposits and expenditures. These general and common mistakes have left so many churches and pastors at a disadvantage and in a unfavorable position with God. I believe much of the disparity with the church and its finances are from tradition and doing the best you can with what you have and just not having the right people in the right place. But ignorance is not a defense with man and especially not with God. If the pastor is not careful, he will find himself victim to being held accountable for the issues of the church and the viability of the church’s finical stability. It must always be in the mind of the pastor to remember that anything that happens in the church spiritually is his responsibility and it can not be forgotten that the physical character of the church is also his responsibility even if he is directly handling the finances or not. He must know how much is coming in and what is going out, how the investments are doing and a visible record of trends of financial strengths and weaknesses. If the pastor does not have insight of the finances, he will find himself in violation with the Word of God and may lead to being chastened by God Himself. I encourage you to study Jerimiah the 7th chapter. Here you find God speaking to the “Weeping” prophet about how His temple was being used and perceived. The displeasure of God is evident, and the prophet is being held accountable directly and directly because he is the chosen of God Almighty and he is responsible for relaying the message and teachings of God to properly manage the things of God. As you read this chapter of Jerimiah focus on verses 11 through 15. “Has this house which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching declares the Lord. Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.” Jerimiah 7:11-15 kjv Jesus Christ later has the same message with the people of the temple but, in this account the disobedience is not met with just words Christ Himself shows His dissatisfaction with the temple that bears His Name. “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.”” Matthew 21:12-13 kjv Rendering I truly believe that once the current position of the church’s finances is established, we must make sure that there we understand the process by which the church pays its bills and make sure that they are paid in a timely fashion. It is very important to note that a church’s financial reputation is just as important as the spiritual reputation. It can be a tremendous cause of dissention and infighting within the leadership of the church. Look briefly at portion of scripture found in Matthew the 22nd chapter. It is a discussion between n Jesus and the those sent by the Pharisees and the Herodians to catch Jesus in a ethical and spiritual trap. They knew who Jesus was at this point and they were looking for a way to get Him to compromise on who is the ultimate authority in. And life. The verbiage used in the conversation acknowledges Jesus as being a master referring to His popularity and position as a leader and public figure. They knew that if they could get Him to deny the system of the world Jesus would be in direct violation of the very social and economic construct of the world He came to serve. The manner which Jesu addresses the setup is crucial and informative to the pastor as he begins and continues his journey leading the body of Christ. “Shall we give, or shall we not give?” “But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, “Why tempt ye me? Bring me a penny, that I may see it.” And they brought it. And he saith unto them, “Whose is this image and superscription?” And they said unto him, “Caesar’s” And Jesus answering unto them, Remember, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” And they Marveled at him.” Matthew12:15-18 It is important to note that Jesus is teaching pastors an important lesson to follow. Pastors should always have a firm grip and awareness of whom the church owes money to and pay accordingly to avoid the downfall of being in debt. Decidedly when we pay on time and keep accurate records pastors can operate freely and judgement free to do the work of God’s kingdom. Preparing for the Future Every pastor should research the viable legal options to position the church to not only be self sufficient but also a benefit to the parishioners and community. Pastors cannot count on people solely but be willing to invest in people, because people will turn and deny the church at any given time to survive in the world, we live in. However, if the pastor makes sure the church is properly identified for governmental tax filings, invested in stocks, bonds, CDs, and other healthy investments the church will continuously have a stream of oncome that can assist in paying the expenses of the church. Also, the pastor should be aware that there are numerous grants and federal aid that can also help the church stay economically healthy. The pastor should not rely just on the finance team to be researching the investment market. It would also be very wise to establish business entities where the church receives income from as well as teaches the congregation to invest and support in themselves rather than the world at large. It will also teach the younger generation very important business acumen and provide jobs for those who need assistance. While the pastor may what to always be the pastor, he must make sure that all the church’s financial business is for the next pastor. This is just good stewardship. Conclusion There are so many factors that are needed to run a church but, the finances of the church are so vitally important that the pastor must be focused, determined and steadfast in their knowledge and willingness to serve God first and do all business according to God’s plan. Pastors can quickly become envious and competitive with each other forgetting their first loves God and His people. To run a church’s finances with compromise is simple and yet complex. You must know and understand your salvation. You must know who you are and your strengths as well as weaknesses. You must be willing to ask for help knowing that you cannot do it all by yourself nor should you. You must be aware of the current financial situation and have a plan of action to either sustain or grow. The pastor must be willing and astute to position the church for the future just like Christ did for you through His Word. the pastor in heir quest to manage the finances of the church should always remember it is not their church its God’s and they are responsible for the wellbeing and the life of the church’s finances. Finally, I always keep my mind focused on the Word of God and for this discussion it is brought to my memory the parable of the ten talents found in Matthew the 25th chapter verses 14-30. Pastors are given the opportunity to do a work for God it is our responsibility to manage the assignment in a manner that is pleasing to God.
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Forward Thinking for Forward Movement
By Rev. William B.J. Greene If you desire to be more than you were; you can’t stay where you have already been. When we assess the accomplishments and the failures of the past we come to the sum-total of where we stand at that very moment. We can ascertain the value of all our experiences that birthed the many emotions and ideas which construct the strength of our character. We decipher the hidden meanings of the same experiences to fuel a desire to continue the tedious journey to accomplish our obtainable and lofty goals. In positive-thinking there is a multitude of questions opposing the next step of progress to achieve; although you are always looking at the brighter side of life. Positive thinking is fostered by the attitude of if “I just believe I can achieve”. While this sounds good and many from Oprah to Joel Osteen have made it popular and added it to their daily mantra the truth of reality is that “just believing does not equate to actually achieving.” Thinking of a better outcome does not equal nor produce a desired result. You must put forth effort to achieve a different outcome. This is the foundation of Forward Thinking. You must have a plan to get results for the future not just a thought. To advance from positive thinking to forward thinking you must take the thought and put movement behind the thought. The initial process must be planned well with the expectation of various hindrances identified and pre-resolved if they should occur. This will call for some reflection of the past failures. However; it will be the very fuel you need to pour the foundation of the future. Also; this will define the vision into an obtainable mission giving clarity to develop focus. Eliminating the trap of positive thinking. Once we have planned our beginning we must devise and define our process. This statement of truth only means that we must take the collected thoughts and research and organize a step by step process which will lead to a new lifestyle not a temporary habit. You and I in the past have developed new habits only to revert-back to a more comfortable and familiar lifestyle. Only if you are willing to strain through uncomfortable and unfamiliar moments can you and I break through and learn to accept, adopt, and appreciate change. Failure is not your friend. Failure is not an option. Failure is not acceptable. When you begin on this journey of Forward thinking for Forward Movement there is going to be moments when you may not get it right the first time. This is not a moment when you can quit, turn back nor are you allowed to convince yourself that you made a mistake. Rather, this is the moment you continue by becoming and innovator and facilitator of change. You and I must remember that we are the answer to the problem we faced. The key to success is identifying the problem then realizing that for us to reach the outcome desired we must try, try, try each time learning from the past and implementing a different strategy that is built upon the failure of before. When you strive; not giving up you exhaust failure and birth success. This is what all the research was for. Subsequently we give up control of what we can’t control embracing the process of a better outcome. Remember this if you must always have control you limit yourself and others to reach greatness. By the look on your faces I know that you have begun the process of Forward thinking because I know that you have re-evaluated instances that you have given up on and situations you are currently going through. You already have started devising and defined a new crusade to reclaim what you had given up on. You now know that you can which I believe you will think Forwardly to move away from where you have been not settling for where you are, recognizing your future is only defined by your effort. revwog46@icloud.com
kingdomfaithandrevelation.org I Can’t Give Up Now 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 “7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[b] Since we have that same spirit of[c] faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” (NIV) The Message Bible reads this way. “7-12 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!” Life is hard there is no other way to put it; yes, we have moments of joy with family, friends, work successes and happy times at church. But, life over all is hard. Many have learned to cope with life on life terms and just exist to be here knowing that deep down inside there is a need and hope for something more for that unspeakable joy read about in the Bible. Couple that; with the everyday uncertainty of life, with the aches and pains of physical limitations and you have the recipe of “Why me?”. Some people get so weighed down with the constant inconsistencies of being here and the influences of this world that they contemplate leaving before their name is called by God Almighty. I understand your hurt, pain, frustration, confusion, and aloneness. I understand the many days of wanting to lay around the house and close the blinds, drink until you can’t remember and self medicate to forget. I know what it is to look at the one you stood with in front of God, family and friends professing your love for them only to be rejected and disrespected, abused physically, mentally and constantly attacked spiritually. Life gets hard and you want to walk, sometime you see the only way to find peace is throw up your hands, pack your bags, call your local uber driver and just give up. What can you and I do to make it through? Yeah, we know what the Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,and he will make your paths straight.” And we know what Jesus himself said in the gospel of John 14:1 “Do not let your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.” Even still the Apostle Paul said it best for me in my favorite scripture in his famed letter to the Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” We know the Word of God and we can quote it eloquently in three and four different versions at the drop of a dime. We are so sure to tell others “the Lord will make a way somehow” and condemn them if they question God but; when the shoes are on your feet and they hurt to walk and you can’t seem to find the peace of the Gospel. We try and find what we have lost and we pray, pray and pray. Calling on the Lord seems futile and it seems as if we have lost what we hold so dearly on the inside and while life and the influence of this world says God has forgotten all about you. Something on the inside; deep down below all the hurt and the confusion, buried underneath the sorrow and despair you feel a burning and churning and a still small voice is heard encouraging you to fight on. Even though you really don’t see how you can or why you should; you find yourself saying, “I can’t give up now; I’ve come too far to turn around!!!!” We must understand that Lucifer has marked each of us for death and separation from God if nothing less. He is a master of deceit and disguise and will use any and everyone he can to deceive you just as he did Adam and Eve in the garden.Please don’t be confused, Lucifer is going to send his team out to attack you spiritually, physically and emotionally. We must be aware that drugs and alcohol are just mere symptoms of a bigger issue and deeper void that we have been set up to mask and hide because he knows that once we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior that our whole perspective of life and ourselves will change and we will be assured that “the battle is not ours but the Lord’s”; and that we can speak to him with the authority that we are innately born with that will cause him to be non-effective in his endeavors. Let me give you a little insight here what Lucifer does. It is to place so much on you in various ways that you loose focus, become frustrated, act out of character to say and do things that will discredit your walk and testimony for God. It is imperative that you and I realize that we must stay focused and operate in truth to walk by faith and not by site. I must disabuse you here the only way God can order our steps is if we are honest with Him and sincerely ask for forgiveness. Don’t fall for the illusion of “did God say that or that man”. The Word of God is Absolute and infallible. What I'm saying is more simply this if Lucifer can distract you then he can control you because you have allowed your defenses and good sense to be compromised. Say it with me: I cant give up now; Ive come too far to turn around!!! We love our families, our spouses who together we make one complete person, our pretty little girls bring smiles to our faces and the desire to be the warrior and protector of the family unit. Our sons who bare all our human characteristics and some of our spiritual awareness causes us to stick out our chest and want to pour all our life experiences into him to carry on the family name and heritage. Our legacy is misaligned with what and where our identity fuels from because they become our identity to the world. This is what leads to the disfunction of families and the spiritual warfare we often find ourselves in. Just listen; because we are so focused on providing and impressing them that we loose focus and break covenant with God; we put them before God. However; just as God spoke to Moses on the Mount Sinai he also spoke to you and I; “Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hives and Jebusites. Be careful not to make any treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their alters, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”” Exodus 34:10-14 You have to be careful how you place the love you give in their lives because the selfness of man will cause even those whom you live with and love so dearly to turn on you and persecute you attacking your very sacred place “HOME”. They whom you have broken your back, sweated for, bleed for and even compromised your integrity for just to make sure they have a better life than you did will come at you with the boldness of saying “what about me, you love them more than you love me, you spend more time at that church and with those church people than you do me”, and the heavy blow “ If they only knew who you really are”. Its hard enough to survive and operate under the weight of our own personal awareness but with the added stress of our so called beloved ones attacking our character and often guilt blackmailing us to do for them and putting them before our call we have a hard life to serve God. Some mornings we look at them and fall down on our knees and have a honest conversation with God; that if He knew it would be so hard to love these people why would He give them to you, for you to care for. Tears form because when your family attacks you aloneness and loneliness sets in and pushes down on your chest. Your chest feels as if it is about to explode and you just want to call out I quit. “I can’t give up now; Ive come to far to turn around.” To persevere in the race of spreading the Gospel we must be assured, walk under the covering of God to stay focused, and spiritually grounded as well as steadfast. Understand what Paul was lead to write in the letter to the Ephesians 4:17-24 “This I say, Therefore you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewedness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not learned so Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God,in the true righteousness and holiness.” We must always be willing to put on the whole armor of God. To always be ready to use the weaponry of the armor by practicing using the armor, staying in shape and building our spiritual muscles and endurance by studying the different components of the armor. I wish I had the time!!! While there will always be a challenge and struggle because the flesh and the adversary doesn’t ever give up we must be ready for an attack at anytime and at anyplace. Whatever happens you have got to hang in there and fight for yourself and the others who are depending on you. Say it with me again, I can’t give up now; I’ve come to far to turn around!!! Walking and working will most certainly provide opportunity to grow and become more aware of the relationship we have with Christ because we become stronger the closer we get to Christ, because we understand and appreciate Christ, because we learn to openly trust Christ. We need to be tenacious in our approach, preparation and understanding of the Word. We must walk in confidence because and the truth of our whole transparent testimony. From living through we have fuel to march on, however we must be willing to tell with the good and the bad. While the good for many is the clebration of testimonies but the power, appreciation and change comes from the struggle before the celebration. We have got to be an open vessel for those whom we come in contact with can see not only that God has brought us out but how he brought us out. By doing so we and others understand the God is the power source, the sustaining force, and the living (moving) force. To realize that God is who called you, instructs you, and orders your steps whether they like it or not. They may not like it but if they have a problem with what you are doing. As long as you are guided by the spirit of God then direct them to God. “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy- meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace be with you…..I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need . I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:8-13 A relationship while complex and often frustrating are so essential to the stability of life that one has a hard time living without one.
Relationships are formed even before we know what life is |
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