Consider the Lilies!

This blog post isn't intended to ridicule, belittle, or insult the dress of other Christians. It is merely a result of personal reflection. 

 I am not normal. I don’t care for fancy dresses or lavish shoes. I do like comfort and cool in the summer. And warm and toasty in the winter. I don’t want to look like a slob, but shopping for the latest styles isn’t high on my priority list. If I find a skirt on sale that I love (5$ for a skirt a Goodies!), then of course I snap it up.

 Recently, I overheard a group of ladies gushing about a certain type of dresses. How perfect they were. And if what they say is true, I have to admit that that style does sound appealing. So I checked them out.  $$$$$ Seriously!

$100s for one dress? 

If I had a bunch of Franklins laying around, I couldn’t do it.
Does that make me weird? Yes. Different, yes.
But is that a good thing or a bad thing?

I admit that I don’t fit in anywhere, and sometimes that gets me down. I want to be normal, but my brain can’t justify spending over $100 for a dress when there’re homeless people roaming the streets. Yes, we should look our best for God, because we are His representatives. But even though I have heard negative remarks from people, God’s opinion should be the only one that matters. So I took my self-doubts to Him.

Why don’t I have a closet full of nice clothes? 

Why isn’t it higher on my priority list? 

Why does it bother me that other people judge me lack of stylish clothes? 

Should I care more about clothes? 

Am I a bad Christian because I don’t have a new Easter dress every year? 

And why do Christians judge each other based on what we wear? 

God led me to Luke 12. He reassured me that heavenly treasures should be my focus.

The work of ministry is more important than its appearance. 

Because we ourselves are judgmental, many Christians are more concerned with how they appear, that what they are actually accomplishing for the Lord.

The number of souls won for His kingdom, is far more important that the number of dresses I have in my closet. 

So when you see me at camp, revival, or conference, and I’m wearing the same dress I wore last year, it's okay. Souls are more valuable than a dress. And I'd rather be clothed like the lilies in the field.

This post isn't intended to condemn. If God has blessed you with beautiful things, enjoy them. But don’t neglect the Great Commission. Don’t let things take the place of your calling.

Consider the Lilies.

No Excuses

I was a born a sinner.

But then, praise God, I was reborn.

I loved the atmosphere of church. I loved the people. The adults. The teens. The kids. Their potential for impacting the world was limitless. God had given them something that I longed for and I was proud to join their ranks.

A good rally or campmeeting would revive my soul with an atmosphere of worship and a message straight from the throne of heaven.

Over the years, I heard some pretty amazing sermons. They all had one of two messages.

1. Repent.
2. Go to work.

God would miraculous poor out his spirit and empower his people. He forgave us of our transgressions and called us to “go unto all the world and preach the gospel.” We would hear, get excited and promise to do something for the Lord.

Afterward when we realized that He called us to the Samaritans and the sinners our enthusiasm waned. We don’t mind helping saints, but we can’t associate with "those half-breeds" or those “uncircumcised gentiles”. 

Shame on us!

We don’t mind singing in church, teaching a Sunday school class or preaching a sermon to good people. But we turn our nose up to the prostitute that is looking for a love that only our Savior can give. What about the addict that’s a slave to their addiction? Or the homeless man lost in a bottle?

Who are we to choose who hears the gospel?

At one of the churches mentioned above, I caught a child breaking the rules, when I confronted them I was shocked at their answer.

“I’m a preacher’s kid. I can do whatever I want.”

Most church goers have a similar mentality. “My grandfather started our church.” “My mom is the song leader.” My grandmother was a great prayer warrior.”

But can we really do whatever we want? At the end of this life and we will stand before God, alone. Our grandparents will not stand with us. Our parents, our children, our spouse, the preacher? None of them will answer for us. We will be judged by our own obedience to God.

What will he say when our excuses are null and void?

I recently had a vision from God. I was standing alone, in front of God’s throne waiting for him to say “well done.” 

Instead an awkward silence fell and conviction gripped my soul. 

Then God asked, “Why didn’t you do what I told you to do?” 

I replied, “Someone told me that I couldn’t.” 

Silence reigned and God opened my eyes. 

I had no excuse. God is the ultimate authority in my life and when he says “Go unto all the world and preach the gospel.” He means it. 

At the end of this life, I will have no excuse.

All through history, when someone stood for God and began calling in sinners, the church didn’t like it. Why? Because they didn’t want their holy ranks polluted? Because seeing someone work for God convicted their own lack of obedience? Or because it made them look bad in comparison?

Opposition will come. Satan will remind us of all the souls we failed to harvest. Some good-intended person will point out our mistakes. Church leaders may believe the great commission is only for them. But when we stand before God, these excuses aren’t going to fly. God has called us and there is a dying world out there waiting for someone to bring them Jesus.

So we have two choices.      

1. Recline on a pew while the harvest rots off the vine. Or,
2. Save those that we can.

We need church. We need the forgiveness in the blood of Jesus. We need an atmosphere of worship where we can bask in God’s presence and be filled with His power. But then, we need to take that power into the rotting fields and save those souls that would be saved. We need to give them Jesus.

No excuses.

Christian Mythology

Allow me to explain the meaning of the the above social media meme. 

Salvation isn’t magic words you utter once, 

do what you want and somehow end up in heaven.

Did Jesus say, “Repeat after me, go to the temple
and all your problems will be solved”?

“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent,
ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3

Repeat   or   Repent?

=

Talk   or   Change?

We all want to go to heaven, but to get there, we must follow Jesus who is The Way. So let’s change course and follow Jesus.

Read your bible, do what it says. God’s commandments are for our protection. This world is full of heartache and death, but His Word promises blessings to those who endure to the end.

Fall in love with Jesus. He gives joy unspeakable, provision and travels with us through this journey of life.

And yes go to church as Jesus himself went to the temple. Find strength with other believers and encourage one another to keep pressing on. 

And one day we’ll have eternal fellowship with our God and creator.

How to measure Godly success!

How many souls did Jeremiah win? 

Was he in the will of God? 

If so, why didn’t anyone heed his message?

Sometimes we measure our success by the success of others. 

Sometimes we measure our success by the number of souls that we see won. 

God has been dealing with me lately on obeying by faith.

In other words, I have been guilty of measuring success by the results that I see. 

But what about the results that I can't see? 

What about the seeds that I planted, but someone else reaped the harvest? 

Or the souls given the opportunity for salvation?

What about you?

How do you measure your ministerial success? 

Do you mentally add up the souls that have prayed in your altar 

and feel like a failure?

Think about Jeremiah. 

With the exception of maybe Baruch, he didn’t see positive results from his weeping. 

However, we can’t count the number of lives impacted 

by the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations today.

Was Jeremiah successful? 

The third chapter of Lamentations shows that 

the prophet believed he had failed. Did he?

No. Because of his obedience to God’s calling, Jeremiah fulfilled his mission.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world,

 and preach the gospel to every creature. ~ Mark 16:15

Have you gone where God has lead you? Are you preaching the gospel?

Then congratulations! Your ministry is a success.

It doesn’t matter if you pastor a church running 5 or 5000, if you preach on the street corner, in a Sunday school class, or on the aisles of the grocery store. If you are doing what God has called you to do, then you are a success in His eyes.

Yes, we should pray. We should love. We should hunger. We should have burdens.

 But those are all things done in obedience. 

Don’t slack up if you aren’t seeing results.

Obey God’s calling and let Him tally up the harvest.

WANTED: Godly Vessels

Churches needed for Ladies recovering from addictions!

Several ladies, in several different communities are searching for a “passionate” church. In their own words, they are looking for a church where they can “feel” what they felt during salvation.

These ladies are babes in Christ. 

They need an atmosphere of worship. 

They need mentors to help them grow spiritually.  

They need a church filled with the gifts and power of God 

that set them free from addiction.

______________________

___________________

If I sent one of these women to you, will they find what they need?

__________________

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Will they experience God’s presence during worship? 

Will they have liberty to pray? 

Will they encounter forgiveness for their past sins? 

Will they find a place at the cross? 

Will you express Godly love to them?

For many of you, I know you would answer, yes. Because I’ve experienced these things in your churches. But most of these ladies live in areas that I’m not familiar with. Some need transportation to and from services.

If you are a vessel that God can use to disciple these ladies and help them with their walk in God, leave a comment with your church name and contact information. Or use the "contact form" on the right side on this blog page and I will introduce you to one of these amazing women.

If you would like to be added to the churches and evangelists that I recommend send your photo along with your contact information.

What I love about Mormons?

 

My daddy was a Mormon. When I was a little girl, we sometimes attended The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I don’t remember a lot about those services, except that we had two books; the Bible and The Book of Mormon. As an adult, I have to say that I don’t agree with their doctrine—or else I’d be a Mormon—but there is something that I absolutely loved about those people.

 

 

 

 

 

What do I love about Mormons?

The elders.

Mormon elders are different than other denominational elders in that they are young men ages 18 to 25. Elders are sent as missionaries into various parts of the world. If I remember correctly they do not have a say in where they go, and are almost always sent out in twos.

Although I don’t agree with their beliefs, I’d like to share my fond memories with the Mormon Church. I grew up in a small town. (Butler, Alabama) The elders would make house visits. I don’t remember why they came to our house. Maybe it was because our church time was divided between Mom’s Baptist church and their tabernacle? Anyway, I remember one Elder in particular. I wished I remembered his name. He had red hair and freckles. He was around 18. I was a little girl, a young tomboy, who hadn’t discovered “boys” yet, but there was something about this man that drew me.

He didn’t look pass me, but took the time to talk to me. Over the period of time he was in our area, he found out that I had a child-sized guitar and wanted to learn to play. He taught me a few basic cords, stretching my small fingers beyond their limits.  Every visit to our home, while the other elder would talk with my parents, he’d bring his guitar and we would play and sing. I can’t remember ever strumming a guitar after he left, but that boy instilled a desire of worship in my soul that never diminished. Even when I was living in sin, I’d find myself worshiping the Lord with songs.

I wish I could find him, to say thank you.

Criticism for Success

Charles Barsotti — The New Yorker — 2000

Recently I participated in a church service via the internet. By participated I mean that I worshipped with the congregation. I amened the preacher, who preached a fabulous message. The sermon encouraged me on my walk with God, Strengthened me to do the work God has called me to do. I was also blessed to see the congregations touched by God’s presence.

Even thought the service started at 7:30 and the preacher didn’t’ take the pulpit until 9:00, I hated to see the service end.

Past my bedtime, I closed that tab and was astonished to see a very negative comment about the same service on social media.

What? How could this be?

I’m relatively new in the Lord. I’ve been saved for ten years and I wondered if others judge me as harshly as this critic judged them. What do they say about my worship? My words? My books? My plays? I tossed and turned all night.

Then, I prayed. I prayed for the church insulted and its pastor. I prayed that he wouldn’t let judgmental people stop the work of the kingdom. I prayed for the so-called saint of God who felt it was their duty to judge. I prayed for myself as I’ve become worried about book reviews lately.

Prayer is a two part conversation. I was elated when God spoke and reminded me what his word says about judging others. “...the tree is known by its fruit." Matthew 12:33

So, dear saints if you feel it is your Christian duty to critique every sermon preached or song sung tally up the souls that are won for God and base your judgment on these numbers. For you see, the church I referred to previously in this post has more new converts than any church I know. Over the years I’ve watched, not in judgment but in jubilation, as God has changed many from sinners to saints, from lovers of pleasure to lovers of God. They’ve become vessels for the King, working in outreach, affecting others with their genuine hunger for righteousness.

I hope when you judge me and my works you’ll take into consideration the sincerity in which they were written and the countless tears shed as I searched after God’s will, not man’s.

The world measures success in numbers. Numbers of books sold, numbers of digits in your bank balance, numbers of square feet in your home.

I choose to measure my success by the number of souls I’ve led to the feet of Jesus.