Working Confidently

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV)
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

There are many Christians doing the work of ministry in churches across the land that are beat down, discouraged, disheartened and ready to give up. They have encountered many bumps and bruises along the journey of life. Bruised from personal issues and trauma, bruised from the betrayals of others, bruised from the attacks of the enemy, and even bruised by the insults of other believers. The enemy has used all of these things to cause many of us to fall into a state of emotional despair and stagnation. Various ministries within our churches have begun declining in fulfilling their purpose and meeting the needs of the people, because those over them have lost sight of who they are, why they work and the power that’s in them. Some people have even begun to believe that what they do no longer matters.
I want to encourage anyone that may be in this current state, know that whatever you do in the name of the Lord matters! While we all face a number of issues in life we must be secure in knowing that we can accomplish God’s will for our lives. At times of great hardship it is difficult to hold onto the fact that you have a great purpose. When you are rejected or betrayed by loved ones, when others discourage you from completing God’s vision for your life; it’s hard to imagine that God has something great for you, but He does!! We must learn to resolve that no matter what happens to us that God will manifest in our lives all that he placed in us. Being reminded of Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; (NKJV). Know that no matter what we face in life, God has promised to finish what He started in us and through us!

This knowledge is what gives us the strength and wisdom to get through the hard times. When we are assured that it’s God who started the work and will complete the work, then it gives us the strength to continue to do the work; regardless of what happens to us we can remain strong in HIM, rejoicing in the fact that He even allows us to work alongside HIM!!


Be Blessed

Determined Despite Distractions

3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner. (Nehemiah 6:3-4 NKJV)

Ever set a plan in place to accomplish a goal in life, only to seemingly face obstacles on every hand? Things seem to fall apart, resources run out, or people rise up against you; and you have no idea why? Many times in life the journey to walking in our God-given purpose is a long one, therefore it seems unfair and unwarranted that we face these things while attempting to pursue them. However, we must understand that whenever we are trying to move forward with what God has given us; that distractions will soon follow.

Distractions are designed to keep us from completing what God has so graciously given u to us.
The story of Nehemiah teaches us very valuable lessons in learning to keep our determination despite distractions

First we learn we cannot get started doing a work for God without talking To God. We learn in the first chapter of Nehemiah, that he was greatly distressed over the condition of the city and Was moved to do something. You see Nehemiah was the king's cupbearer and when it came time for him to serve the king, he asked what was wrong. Instead of Nehemiah immediately answering the king, he prayed first. Many of us would do well in learning to make prayer the first order of the day in fulfilling our purpose.

Secondly as Nehemiah began fulfilling his assignment he remained determined to complete it despite the distractions he faced. Everyone will not be on your side when you decide to walk in your purpose. However when others come against you don't fall to pieces but stand your ground. Nehemiah teaches that we cannot allow the presence of naysayers or distractions get us off track No matter what they said Nehemiah recognized that what he was doing was a great work, and allowed that resolve to keep him focused. No matter what others do, don't allow them to cause you to waver or get off track. Realize your doing a great work, ignore the distractions & don't give up.

WHERE'S YOUR ATTENTION?

Proverbs 4:20-22 20 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh. (NKJV)

Day in and day out we give our attention to so many things. Our attention is easily divided between our loved ones, family, work, personal and even church issues. We spend countless hours conversing with others, reading various entertainment materials wanting to “be in the know”. We give our attention and energy to almost everyone and everything that present itself , that at the end of the day find ourselves in a state of depletion.

While there is nothing wrong with wanting to garner knowledge , or in spending time building relationships and managing the affairs of our lives; none of these should replace investing in spending time with God. When we invest and give our attention to those things that do not fill us we wind up in a state of spiritual depletion.

Spiritual depletion occurs when there is a constant pouring out while neglecting the necessity of a constant and proper re-filling. Further when the wrong type of re-filling methods are used, we do further damage because we fill ourselves with information and knowledge that only give temporary fulfillment. We are in a day and age where self-help books and websites are easily available to us. While I do believe God has gifted individuals to help us in various areas of living, their knowledge and resources are not meant to replace the Word of God, in the life of believers.

Many times we face so many challenges in life that we allow our thinking and emotions to lead us away from God’s word. Our flesh wants answers to appease it, so we look to sources to do just that; while our souls are malnourished because we aren’t feeding ourselves properly. As Christians nothing and no one should have our attention, our ears, and our heart more than God’s word. It saddens me that as children of God we have the tendency to muddle through life half-hearted and defeated, questioning God on what, when how and why; while we have the answers readily at our disposal.

However if we would just give attention to God’s word and to Lean (incline) towards what He has and is saying, we would receive the proper answers and re-filling needed to not only get through life but enjoy it!

DON'T LOSE YOUR FAVOR OR YOUR FOCUS

Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. (I Kings 11:11 NKJV)

We are all blessed to have gifts, talents and abilities to carry out the purposes God ordained for our lives. God has allowed us to be divine partakers in His kingdom work here on earth. There are many things we face in life that have the potential to mold and shape our lives if we follow after them. Some things are for our good, some things are detrimental to our good, and only what God has is for our best. The problem often occurs because we do not seek God for direction, and we lack the ability to discern which is which. It's not that we don't know, it's not that God doesn't have the power to show us; instead it's usually because we have allowed other things to draw our hearts away from God, and block our view and hearing. We make the mistake of allowing what we see, think and feel to cloud what we know God has said.

King Solomon is a great example to us of the dangers of allowing other things to draw away our hearts and focus from God, and ultimately causes us to forfeit our favor. Solomon was consider a man of great wisdom and wealth and had favor in the eyes of God. However, along the way King Solomon stopped applying the wisdom he had and dropped the standards that God set for him and the people. God had forbidden the children of Israel to marry people of other races because of their idolatry, He didn't want them influenced by the presence of false Gods, a standard Solomon was fully aware of. Yet for some unknown reason he decided to go with what he felt, instead of what God had determined. This decision led him to have over 1,000 wives and over 300 concubines of all nationalities. This loss of focus wound up costing Solomon everything, and God removed the favor from His life and the life of his children.

We must daily live to follow the precepts God has set for our lives. Choosing to do our own thing can cost us everything we were not expected to lose.

FOR YOUR GOOD, AND HIS GLORY

Many times we face trials, circumstances and issues that seemingly have the power to destroy us. We get bogged down by life that bombards us on every end, we get sidetracked by the opinions of others; and we even allow our own thoughts to go astray from what God has already told us.

As children of God we must always remember to guard our hearts and minds for in them reside the issues of our lives as well as the power to mold our perspective. Proverbs 4:23 reminds us “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (NIV) Situations have the ability to make us see or feel things based on the severity they pose in our lives. That is why it is imperative that we understand we must resolve to guard our hearts and minds before we get in the midst of hardships.

Guarding our hearts and minds enables us to remember the truth of God’s word that will keep us grounded in hard times. One such truth is that God does not allow hardships to destroy us but to refine us. Isaiah 48:10-11 says “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.” (NIV)

Knowing that God uses our hardships to refine us and not allow our hardships to destroy us is one of comforting assurance. God cares enough about us to remove those things from us that do not belong. Refinement is the process of removing impurities or unwanted elements from a substance. The truth of the matter is, no matter how good we think we are, we are all in need of having things removed from our lives so God can use us the way He desires.

We must fully accept and understand that trials and hard times are bound to happen in our lives (James 1:2-8), but having the proper perspective enables us to not only get through them, but learn from them. In our spiritual refinement God uses our hardships and afflictions to remove everything in us that hinders our spiritual maturity, in order to fill is with Christ-like attributes to live holy and bring Him Glory.

Be Blessed

YOUR WHY WILL LEAD TO YOUR WHAT

“And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them.” (Deuteronomy 28:13 ESV)

I remember growing up and greatly enjoying learning in English class. There was just something exciting to me in learning sentence structure, conjugating verbs, and just learning the importance of proper communication was extremely important to me. One of the lessons I learned and held dear was that of "cause and affect". Cause is the reason why something happens, and effect is what happens because of the cause. For example, I did not study well for the exam, therefore I failed it or because the alarm was not set, we were late for work. Cause and effect is a very powerful yet neglected principle of life because your “Why” always leads way to your “What”.

Unfortunately, as believers we consider the law of cause and effect when it comes to every aspect of our lives, except when it comes to our walk with God. We certainly do not consider the principle of cause and effect when it comes to receiving our promises or blessings from God. But as children of God we cannot negate that this principle is at work in our relationship with God.

In this twenty first century so many people want blessings from God without being accountable to God. They want God to do His part without making sure they are doing theirs. Many times you will hear people recite today’s scripture as a declaration to validate who they are. You will hear people say "I am the head and not the tail, I am above and not beneath". However, we must be careful and mindful not to lose the value or accountability of this scripture, by only reciting the first portion of the text. God made these pronouncements of blessings to the children of Israel and us contingent on one thing; if we obey His commandments.

We cannot rightly claim possession to the blessings and promises of God, without first committing to obey the Word of God. We cannot rightfully expect God to move on our behalf, or manifest the promises available to us, if we do not first meet the requirements for them to be fulfilled in our lives.

So remember, “Why” always leads to your “What”.


Be Blessed!

ABANDONED FOR OUR REDEMPTION

Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. (Mark 15:33, 34, 37 NKJV)

This precious time of the Holy Week is significant for believers every where. It’s the time where we collectively remember what Christ did for us on the cross, as He bore the punishment we deserved but could not pay.

Every year during this joyous and holy season we reflect on all of the horrific things He endured on His way to the cross, the betrayal, the mocking, the torture, the nails, His death, His burial and his resurrection. We consider all of the things He endured for our sins and how each facet of the resurrection affects our salvation and living, but rarely do we ever discuss His abandonment.

In Christ’s sacrifice on the cross He suffered many things on our behalf. Yes we are healed by His stripes, yes we are covered by His blood, but we have also been redeemed through His abandonment. Through-ought His ministry on earth Christ was always connected to the Father; there was never a time where He did not have access to God's power or presence. However, while Jesus was still connected, we were still separated. Although we had the presence of Jesus the fact remained that since He had not yet fulfilled God's will for His life, mankind was still stained and separated from an intimate relationship with God. All of this changed on the Cross.

In this last hour right before He took His last breath Christ experienced something He never had before, and something we would never have to again; being separated from God. At this very moment in time a divine exchange was taking place on the cross that would forever change our lives; when God looked at Christ He saw the sins of humanity draped upon Him, as He exchanged His righteousness for our sin and shame. Christ willingly endured being separated from God by bearing our sins; while simultaneously making it possible for us to never again experience the ache of God's absence.

His abandonment secured our redemption.

Be Blessed