We all find ourselves in high anxiety our trouble…we ought to find the strength and courage to cast it all on our Lord who can help us through it all!
We all find ourselves in high anxiety our trouble…we ought to find the strength and courage to cast it all on our Lord who can help us through it all!
Haters be hatin’
Are you a people pleaser? Do you struggle with finding approval from your peers or church members? Is that the way God wants us to live?
Of course not! We are to live a life worthy of our calling, so accountability is important in this process, but our first priority shouldn’t be to please everybody! Pleasing everyone is probably the quickest route to disappointment and loss of mission. Don’t mistake working within the body and living in unity with others to be the same as pleasing everyone. It’s not the same thing.
We can all agree that each person that God has created is unique and different. In so saying we should also acknowledge that our vision and means to attain this vision can and probably will differ from person to person. This isn’t to mean that the vision differs, just the method of fulfilling that vision. So what happens then when our roads that we travel upon in our mission for God differs from others? Sometimes we face conflict and disagreement.
Understanding how we differ within the body of Christ can assist us then to understand that our primary goal isn’t to please everyone…it just won’t happen! Our primary goal should always be to do the will of the Father who sends us into the world through Christ’s great commission (Matt 28:16-20).
We won’t always see eye to eye with everybody along the way. We won’t always agree with one another in our varying points of view. In essence, there will be times when “‘haters be hatin'”…but if you are pleasing the Lord in what you’re doing and you have others within the family of God backing you up, shake off the haters and forget trying to placate them or please them…it’s just not worth your time and effort.
“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 (NIV)
Make it a point in your life to stop focusing on what others (not friends) are saying about you. Don’t lose sleep over these haters, they just aren’t worth your time and effort! Don’t seek to please them either, after all as the Apostle Paul puts it, who is more important to please God or man?
There is certainly something to be said about others and elders affirming your work, and I’m not denying that at all, but others who aren’t there to support you but rather judge, condemn, criticize and who will take joy in your failure and demise, just ARE NOT WORTH your time.
There will always be the nay sayers among us…don’t let them burden you with their hate and negativity. Instead surround yourself with God pleasing people who will help you in your mission and vision. After all, aren’t we all better off if we first seek to please God in all that we do and say?
-Just a thought for today.
Finding Encouragement:
Let’s face it, we are all accustomed to disappointment and discouragement. Some days we might even ask ourselves ‘why did I even get up this morning?’ Yet I do know that there is comfort in the knowledge that we aren’t alone in our disappointments and troubles. Though these times come to us all, we can recognize that we don’t have to endure these difficult moments alone.
Are you facing trouble today? Are you downcast, disillusioned, weary? Allow me an opportunity here to share with you an encouraging passage of scripture:
Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Did you catch that? Let me break it down for you:
1. The Lord God is here in your midst:
He’s not far away, or distant. He is with you in your good days, your bad days, your indifferent days. God is near! How encouraging is that?! We serve a mighty, all knowing God that isn’t distant but personal with each of us. He care for you. He wants to be involved intimately in your life! And despite our struggles, God is here in your midst.
2. He saves us!
He doesn’t wear a red cape like superman, but He saves us! His love doesn’t end with being near, He desire fellowship with us and for our deliverance from sin and death! In Christ’s suffering and death, God provides salvation! Our redemption comes through Christ, and now we not only long for Eternity but we have the Kingdom of God here on Earth with us! We have been redeemed! We have been saved! Hallelujah!
3. He will quiet us with His love!
Have you ever gotten bent out of shape? Have you ever found yourself panic stricken, stress laden and crying out for relief from it all? In your despair God is there and He, with His loving arms, will quiet our manic lives. How amazing is that? I can’t tell you how often stress gets the better of me. Or how often my mind won’t turn itself off at bed time because I’m so consumed with worry or fear. Yet when I allow God access to these emotions and these situations, I am not only comforted but I am reminded that His strength is enough! There is nothing, absolutely nothing too difficult for Him to handle! He will quiet us and our distress…if we allow Him access to our lives!
4. He will exult over you with loud singing…
um, ok that sounds kind of funny doesn’t it? Yet think about it? And don’t envision God with a megaphone singing loudly in your ear either! But think of it like this: God spoke the world into being with just mere words. He will comfort us with these same audible words that formed the very stars that we look at! How encouraging is that? God will remind us of His might through this as well! If He could do all of these marvelous deeds, how tiny our problems must seem to Him. He will bring to us His songs of peace and deliverance. He will declare His majesty through the music of Eternity.
-Put it all together-
Think of it again…in every season God is there! He wants to be involved in our lives and He will be there in our discouragements and in times of despair. Take comfort in this verse, though it was originally intended for Israel at a time of exile, this verse is for all those who are called children of God through faith in Jesus Christ!
Discouraged? Find Encouragement today!
-Just a thought.
transMission: New Offerings ‘We Believe’ (Music Review)
I wasn’t asked to give a review of this new offering of the band transMission by anyone, but I’ll give a review anyway. transMission is a Praise/Christian band from Atlanta GA, through The Salvation Army’s Southern Territory’s Music Department, and its band members are also Salvation Army members. transMission is inexplicably linked to The Salvation Army both in word and deed and their latest offering ‘We Believe’ truly strives to link music with doctrinal belief. This may sound boring to some or too lofty of a project but taking one listen at their latest album one will hear the depth and breadth of what ‘we believe’ is all about.
It is a unique and very ambitious venture yet is consistent with the band’s ministry and mission. Never have I before heard a group put together an entire album based solely on doctrinal principles…and it works! Their sound is unique to each song, and unlike some bands, transMission takes some musical/lyrical risk to present both gospel and personal conviction while maintaining the quality of praise/rock standards.
If you haven’t yet heard transMission, check out their website: http://transmission.virb.com/ and sample their latest offering on your web player or mobile device! Here is the link for the ‘We Believe’ web player and list of songs too: http://transmission.virb.com/webelieve
Check them out, then support their ministry!
High Council – Generals Videos:
(Thank you Salvation Factory)
God’s love for us shatters us so that our imago dei can be mended in us all.
Ever stopped to consider what it is about God’s love that makes it so powerful and effective?
Modern Social Media and the High Council
Well it was bound to happen.
It was some what realistic last High Council and now even more effective and timely. Never have we as an Army had great access to the day to day workings of the High Council. You can find their Facebook page as well as their twitter page, and even the literary department at IHQ will be providing electronic updates to their printed/periodicals:
http://publications.salvationarmyusa.org/
I will do my best in this process as well to keep these updates going, and as news breaks I will attempt to post them here also.
Introducing the New General of The Salvation Army…
I don’t mean to set you up for disappointment here. I am just as curious as you in this process. In just 10 days now those called to the High Council will officially gather. Some have already made the journey are awaiting the start of the High Council. Delegates will consist of our leaders, that much we already know.
Who will be our next General? Will it be a European? Will it be an American, Canadian or South American? Will the next General be from Africa or Asia? Male or Female?
I have been praying for this new leader…have you?
I have been praying for each leader who will be in attendance at the High Council…have you?
It will be a tough office to fill…that much is most definitely true. The international pressures from both position statements and mission within an ever changing culture is certainly mounting.
Here are some truths that I pray our next General will uphold:
1.The inerrancy of scripture.
2. Continuation of the Great Commission in God’s name.
3. Continue to meet human need, not because we’re a social service, but because we serve the Lord and we serve others in His name.
4. Brokering and working with nations to continue to the fight for social justice throughout the world.
5. Growing Saints and Soldiers in our Army…we need more forces for the war ahead.
So who will it be?
Who will our Next General Be?
Here’s my selection…the next General will be…________________________.
Who do you think it will be and why?
Pastor's Ponderings 