Learn the Lesson!

You may have read in earlier blogs that we have to be patient to hear God’s voice and for God to move in His timing and not ours.  Both of those things is true.  However, this does not take away our responsibility to be learn and master what God has given us to do right now.  If we’re sitting around waiting for God to move and not giving our current job or situation our best effort, we may be prolonging the process for God to move because He will not bring anything to us until we’re ready for it.  God knows everything, including who we are and what we can do.  Remember, He gives us the power to get wealth (Deut 8:18) and everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).  He know us!

Wherever we are right now, He knows if we are giving it our best.  He knows if we’re ready for the next assignment (1 Sam 17:32-37).  He knows if we are handling our money appropriately.  He knows if we’re making good decisions.  He knows if we’re practicing what we say.  If we are poor money managers, we will not get more money to manage – in fact we may lose some (Matt 25:14-30).  If we are too lazy or scared to learn our current job, we may miss out on the next promotion or opportunity because we missed learning a skill we need (Prov 10:4-5, 12:24).  If we are inconsistent with what we say and do, our integrity comes in question and people will not believe us – we damage our ministry and testimony (Prov 12:22, Psalm 15).  All of these things prevent us from moving forward. 

How do we counter these obstacles?  Master your craft, whatever it is.  I don’t mean be perfect (none of us are), but do whatever it is in excellence. Be not only a hearer of the Word, but a doer also (James 1:22-25).  If you paint, be the best painter you can be.  This might require you asking questions and taking a class.  I may require you working with a couple of other painters so you can see what works and what doesn’t.  It would mean being honest about the work and going the extra mile to get a job done.  If you work on cars, it would mean actually doing the repair you say you can do and not cheating someone or indicating work needs to be done that doesn’t.  If you work for someone, it would mean doing your job and not having them have to tell you to do what you know needs to be done – it means anticipating what they need before they know they need it.  If you’re an accountant, it would mean handling someone else’s money with integrity and accounting for every cent – not taking what you can get away with.  In all of these instances, it would mean working for men as if you are working for God (Col 3:23).  This is important because at the end of the day, we are.  He is the one we have to give an account to for all we do – every thought and every decision and every action – Everything Matters! 

We have to remember for those of us who know better, we will be held accountable to do better (James 4:17).  When you look at your life, think about whether are you waiting for someone to hand you something, or are you taking every opportunity afforded to you to learn everything you can where you are?  I’ve learned over my life until you learn the lesson being taught whatever it is, you will not move forward. It’s sort of like having to repeat a class in school when you fail.  The lessons may look different (different scenarios or situations), but it is still the same one and until you learn what the lesson being taught it stays on repeat (Prov 26:11-12).  If you’re in a situation that appears to keep repeating and you keep doing the same things, ask the Lord to help you identify what you should be doing and what lesson you need to learn.  God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.  He is patient where we are not.  He has all the time in the world and we do not.  Learn the lesson and be ready.  

Train Up a Child!

I’m sure I’ve mentioned that I work with the middle and high schoolers at my church through a couple of ministries.  By the time they get to us, they have fully formed personalities and they know what they like and don’t like.  They are already well on their way to being who they will become.  I always wonder what has shaped them…..some are very intuitive and thoughtful and some are bit quiet and reserved.  Some of them are eager to read scripture or to prayer during class or outings and some are not.  It’s always a bit of struggle to figure out where they are.  

One thing that comes across clearly is that the families who pray and have bible study together raise children who are comfortable talking about Jesus and expressing what they have learned.  They are more comfortable praying in a group and not concerned about what others think.  In families where they have dinner together and talk about what is going on in their lives, the children are much more likely to discuss when they are having a problem at school and the parents are more likely to recognize something is going on and address it early.  

Don’t get me wrong, I get that parents and guardians are busy going to work and taking care of a household.  I just want to encourage you, where you have influence and participate in a child’s life, to remember that they do what they see (Prov 22:6).  If they never see an adult praying or reading their bible, that is what they will do.  If it’s not important to the adults in their lives, it won’t be important in theirs (at least until they have an experience for themselves).  We show the children around us what is important by what we do.  

If we never spend time with them, we tell them they are not important to us.  What ever gets our time and attention is what is important to us.  So, even if it’s a 10 minute conversation that is designated just for them – because you’re working or tied up doing something that has to be done – make time to show them they are important to you.  If you have to work all hours, make sure they understand why.  Give them a voice to express themselves.  When we don’t spend time with the children around us, the devil will surely send others into their lives to spend time with them.  How do you think most children end up in gangs and cults and such?  They offer them something they are not getting at home – a sense of belonging.  

I know it’s not easy having bible study with kids, they can’t be still and maybe picking on their siblings, if they exist, but bible study doesn’t have to be an hour or even 30 minutes.  It might be reading a bible story and talking about a couple of principles, while they color on the floor or sitting at the kitchen table over breakfast and talking about one verse.  Just find a place to start because God’s Word will not return void (Isa 55:11).  

Just as we get our worth and identity from God, our heavenly father (Eph 1:3-14).  Our children get their identity from their parents and guardians.  If parents or guardians aren’t there to give it, they will find it in other places.  I’m not a parent, but if those of us who participate in children’s lives plant the seeds, they will be watered – God will ensure that happens.  We just have to be diligent to make sure the children in our lives are exposed to the only one who can save and protect them – Jesus, the Christ.  

Are you Waiting on the Lord?

The past two weeks, I’ve started a detail that is scheduled to last 90 days.  It’s been a very interesting time getting to know new people who I am expected to lead forward.  In order to do that, I have to lean even more on God.  The higher you get in a career or in life, the more responsibility you have and the more you’re depended on for guidance.  I know that God has already given me everything I need to do this job, but in order to do the job the way God desires, I have to wait on Him to renew my mind and my strength.  

Whenever you are responsible for other people, there will be times they surprise you and exceed all expectations and there will be other times they will do the opposite.  People are fallible and make mistakes.  So when God calls you to lead, you are responsible to be an example to them and love them just as God loves us…..to show grace.  Yes, there are consequences for choices and we all make wrong ones occasionally.  For the Christian, many of them occur when we get ahead of the Lord.  We decide he isn’t moving fast enough or we give ourselves permission to handle something on our own.  

What are you moving too fast on that you now see how your timing was off?  I heard a minister say recently that sometimes we move earlier than we should and birth something that can’t be sustained because it was premature and not fully formed with God’s hand on it.  If we want to succeed at whatever it is we are working to accomplish, we have to wait on the Lord (Psalm 90:17).  Real success looks like whatever God has called us too.  It does not look like having a lot of money or a lot of press.  It looks like God’s favor on our lives (Psalm 5:12, 84:11).  When we wait on the Lord he will renew our strength (Isa 40:31) and He will complete the work He has begun in us (Phil 1:6) – in His timing and not ours (Isa 49:8).  

Are you waiting on the Lord?  Or are you moving in your own time?  I pray you’re waiting on the Lord – it will make your life more meaningful and more abundant.

Tomorrow is Not Promised

Our mortality in this world is never a fun topic, but a necessary one.  While our human bodies are mortal, our souls are not.  They will not die, however they will not all go to Heaven to be with God in Glory.  Some of them, those who die while still living in sin (where Jesus is not Lord and Savior) are condemned to eternal damnation.  

I raise this today, because I see and hear about people passing away at a much more rapid pace than I have in the past or maybe I’m just more conscious of it.  Either way, it is a real thing and we all need to pay attention.  And I’m not just speaking about COVID.  I’m reading and hearing about people dying of cancer after having a recent diagnosis.  People are here today and gone tomorrow – a cliché, but definitely true.  

So we have to take a real look at our lives.  If we die today, where are we going?  Some people say you really don’t know where you’re going.  I beg to differ.  If you have truly accepted the free gift of salvation and made Jesus Lord and Savior of your life, you can rest in confidence that you are saved (John 5:24) and will go to be with Him in heaven.  He said so.  If however, you’ve said you are saved (or know that you’re not), but don’t have a relationship with Jesus, you should be concerned.  

I can’t judge your relationship with the Lord, but I can give you some things to consider.  Do you seek after Jesus?  Do you strive to live your life according to His Word?  Are you convicted when you don’t?  Do you have an appetite for His Word?  Do you love (the action word) others as yourself?  Is Jesus on the throne in your life?  If your honest answer to these questions is, “No,” you may want to consider whether you actually have a relationship with the Lord or if you just know about Him.  Book or head knowledge alone is not what salvation is, it is a change of heart and transformation through our personal experience with Jesus.  He saves us from our sins and as a result our lives are changed – we are new creations (2 Cor 5:17) – we are born again.  

This earthly life is short and we have to make the best use of the time we have.  We don’t know when we will be called out of this world (Job 14:5), but we can know where we are going when we are.  It is up to us.  God is not going to force any of us to choose Him.  We determine our fate in that regard.  Yes, God is in control, but He has given us a choice and we have to live with the consequences of our choices.  

If we choose not to accept His gift of Jesus as Lord and Savior, we choose eternal damnation (Matt 25:31-46).  It has nothing to do with how loving God is (and He is) and it has nothing to do with His desire that none would be lost (and He does) (2 Peter 3:9).  It has everything to do with us.  We decide and then we have to live with it.  Don’t let time pass you by.  There is only one way to the Father and that is through the Son (John 14:6).  Tomorrow isn’t promised (for that matter the rest of today isn’t promised), don’t let your right now get away from you (James 4:13-15).  Choose this day whom you will serve, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Josh 24:15).

Who do you believe you are?

If you know me, you know I’m huge on self-reflection.  I believe we all have areas of our lives that are blind spots and only through honest self-reflection and openness can we identify where those gaps are and do something about them.  Whether it is through prayer and meditation so the Holy Spirit can speak to us or through gathering feedback from those around us, we don’t know what we don’t know.  So, it’s really important that we look at ourselves and are honest about who and what we see.  

When I think about who I am?  I think I’m a 50-year old Christian, who is a black woman and a little over weight.  I have fine hair, which I wish was thicker and longer, but love the dark brown color.  I wish I didn’t have the fine black marks on my face, but love the dimples when they show up.  I think I’m pretty smart, but know there are lots of people who are way smarter than me.  I’m a hard worker and there are lots of things that I do well, but there are way more things I don’t. So, I sometimes have mixed feelings about who I am.  Then when I check out social media or read about people who are excelling in something, I sometimes wish I was something more or something different.

Then I’m reminded that I’m what God made me.  He created me (and you) in His image (Gen 1:27).  I’m fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps 139:13-14).  He made me look like I do (maybe not the overweight part - that was me) and He loves me in this skin.  I am part of His church and I’m different than everyone else because He has an assignment for me and me alone.  Does He need me to do it?  Of course not!  He can do anything with or without me, but He did design me for a specific purpose (Pro 20:5) and to touch specific people.  

God knew me before I was formed in mother’s womb, so He knows more about me than I know about myself and still He loves me.  That makes me valuable, even on those days I feel like everything is falling apart.  He says I’m the head and not the tail (Deut 28:13); I’m above and not beneath; I’m a lender and not a borrower (Deut 28:12).  My life doesn’t always line up with that, but the more I know who I am in Him the better my decisions and the more I make them consistent to what He says.  

So, when you look at yourself in the mirror and think about all the ways you wish you were different, think about how God crafted you to be exactly what you are.  Yes, we are all imperfect and have areas that need work, but God still chose us (John 15:16) and He still adopted us into His family (Eph 1:5) making us joint-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17).  

We are important to Him.  How does that make you feel about yourself?  What does that make you think?  You are important to the God who created the Heavens and the Earth (Gen 1:1) and stands outside of time.  Take a moment and bask in that……not to get the big head because we’re still nothing without Him.  But, if you’re feeling down or not enough, think on that.  You are so important that God sent His son to die for you…..and even if it had been only you, He still would have died.  WOW!  

That humbles me.  With all the things I consider as my idiosyncrasies and differences and deficiencies, God made me to be me.  Just me.  Whatever He has for me to do, I’m the only one who can do it.  Whether it be creative or problem-solving or generous, I’m the only one to do what He has for me.  It makes me want to please Him more.  It makes me want to live up to His expectations.  It makes me want to be all that He says I am.  What about you?  Do your thoughts about yourself line up with His (Eph 1 & 2)? I hope so.