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I wanted to talk with my fellow Officers for a moment today.
Just a simple dialogue.
Success:
Spoken or unspoken there is, within our officership, this need to prove ourselves worthy of more responsibilities and ministries to the point of unholy ambitions in our Army. I am not saying don’t work hard, don’t do your best but if our intention is to “outshine” other fellow officers…If our intention is to “look better” than everyone else…if our intention is aimed at solely pleasing our leaders regardless of how we do that…we will have aimed at the wrong goals.
Outcome Based Success…
Much of the time, our success seems to be based upon “goal oriented” outcomes. In a business world this is understandable because in the business world they deal with numbers and figures. Our primary purpose as an Army and as officers is for people and helping those people with the physical and the spiritual needs. We cannot simply use goal oriented outcomes. There is a danger of seeking success solely through these means of outcomes. The danger is that we can lose focus on the very people we are attempting to save and serve. It is often a fine line to walk.
What if we feel Unsuccessful in an Appointment? 
What happens, dear officers, when all that we feel about the place that we have been appointed to is failure and defeat? What occurs in our hearts? Is our self-worth tied up completely in living and dying by some sort of “success” meter in Officership? If we do not have 100+ people coming to Holiness meetings on Sunday mornings then we are utter failures as officers? Is that how we are to view appointments? More than likely, on average, your Sunday services are a lot less than 100 people. But why do we play the numbers game and think this is our measure of self-worth? Were we misled to think this way?
I do remember coming out of Training College sort of living and breathing the song “We’re gonna fill, fill fill the world with glory! We’re gonna smile, smile smile and not frown…” But then the real world hit me square in the face. The world, where in order for some people to receive the glory, hard work and love needs to take place first. We serve in a mighty army but many that we serve are hurting, broken, spiritually wounded and stunted. Miracles do happen but we cannot expect this calling to be a cake walk either.
But Be Encouraged…
Although we face a lot of difficulties as Officers and often times we take the burdens of others home with us, we are not alone in this fight! We are soldiers and we serve, first and foremost, the Commander of this Army – Jesus Christ! He has commissioned those Christ-followers to make disciples…and in our Army, perhaps this translates to one or two people in our corps right now. Perhaps it’s not so much about absolute victory in our communities right now, but rather the healing and restoration of a few hurting souls that we already know.
Let earthly success worry about itself…take off that heavy burden that sometimes has been thrust upon us by misleading notions of heavenly success. Let’s do our best, but don’t forget to keep the main thing the main thing in the process. Losing sight of our principle relationship to the Lord can will cause us to lose sight of every other priority!
We are One Army…be encouraged dear Officer, we serve a mighty God who will provide us the means and direction for the future with and sometimes in spite of those who lead the way.
Something more to ponder today in our Army.
To God Be The Glory!
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
“Mama said there’ll be days like this
There’ll be days like this mama said” -(by Luther Dixon & Willie Denson)
Are you having one of THOSE days?
Our Troubles…
Our frustrations and troubles within this world look vastly different from the early church and that of Jesus’ disciples. Yet, this verse is for you and for me today. All too often we engage souls in these ministries that we are responsible for. All too often we hear other people’s problems and they become ours. It becomes a shared burden. We provide care, support and guidance to many within our flock. We feel the burden of these cares, and sometimes they weigh heavy on us.
Other times our troubles come by way of our calling. Sometimes the ministries we have been called to or placed in suddenly become a “dry and thirsty land” with very little by way of encouragement, support and hope. Sometimes instead of a passionate, flowing river of a numerically “successful” ministry we face a slim trickle of moderate or rare numeric success which makes us ponder the questions: “am I cut out for this?” and “what have I done wrong?“…and we face discouragement, disillusionment and even depression.
Still, on other occasions these troubles come by way of outward pressures in our communities or individualistic persecutions. Perhaps we face false teachers, or we must confront immorality within our church and when we do, we’re blasted as “judgmental” and shouted at with curses and graceless comments such as “how dare you, what gives you the right?” We question if we should have just let sleeping dogs lie but in our hearts we know it was the right thing to do and we did so with grace and love. Still…troubles from without and from within have left us wounded and discouraged.
About That Peace?…
Jesus spoke these words to His disciples after telling them of not only His pending death but also of their pending troubles in the world…but there was hope. There is always hope in the Father. There is always hope in the Son. There is always hope in the Holy Spirit who guides us on this path. Have you ever heard the phrase “keep the main thing the main thing?” It alludes to the need for keeping the principle of our mission at the forefront of our minds.
Our Principle: The message of Christ (Messiah), the message of the cross, the message of salvation, of resurrection, of hope, of reconciliation, of love, and victory over sin and death.
When we keep “the main thing the main thing”, we realign ourselves with God and turn away from the problems of this world. Not that the problems of this world aren’t important, but rather, The Author of life itself takes His proper place in our priorities. From this place of understanding we then can look around our world and truly see how things are and how they could be. This is when we begin to see the world through the eyes of Christ because we are striving to live for Him alone. This is holiness. This is surrendering ourselves at the foot of the cross and then picking up our own crosses to follow Him.
Peace? What Peace?
Carrying our crosses and following Him (Matthew 16:24) doesn’t sound “peaceful” does it? Pain still exists. Hurtful accusations, slander and suffering will still occur. How could THIS be peaceful? One might ask. Perhaps “peace” means something differently than what we initially thought it to mean. It is certainly not the absence of conflict in our lives; for there is still conflict. It is not the absence of adversity, discouragement or suffering either; for we still encounter these on our path as well. Then what is this peace that Christ provides to us if it is not the absence of conflict? It is an eternal peace. A peace that transcends this temporal, mortal existence. It is a peace that alleviates the burdens of our former self as we embrace the image of Christ. It is a peace that resides in our lives because His Holy presence brings us assurance and hope. It is a peace that still passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7) yet conveys to us that we are not alone and we will overcome because He has overcome.
Dear Soldier…
Are you in need of that peace today in your life?
Are you facing discouragement, hopelessness and pain? You aren’t alone. You do not have to carry this burden by yourself. There is One who can provide you with this peace. Perhaps there is some realignment that must be done in your heart today. Perhaps we must go before the Father again with a penitent heart. Perhaps it is a simple yet constant prayer of “Lord use me and allow me to see evidence of You in my life.”
Be encouraged today! We are not alone. We are not abandoned. We are overcomers because Christ has overcome the world. Allow this peace to evident in your life today!
Something more to ponder today. To God be the Glory!
…if they aren’t sincere.
Everyone of us have heard these phrases. We’ve probably even used them a time or two…and dare I say half of the time we haven’t truly meant them. So why do we keep using these phrases? To be nice? To sound sincere? Because it’s “church” lingo? Why on earth would anyone come back to us seeking genuine help and support if what we’re saying isn’t actually backed up with truth and sincerity?
The Apostle Paul once said, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11) It sounds as if this church was doing what was necessary to support one another with love and with the correct words with action behind them.
Here’s a thought for us before we explore these four phrases…brothers and sisters in Christ: DON’T SAY THINGS THAT YOU DON’T TRULY MEAN!!! Okay…moving on.
3 THINGS CHRISTIANS SHOULD STOP SAYING…if they aren’t sincere:
1) “I will pray for you”
This is seemingly the most innocuous phrase we as Christians say to each other and to those who aren’t yet saved. It might be within a sentence such as “I am so sorry you’re going through that right now, I will pray for you.” And then five minutes later when we have gone on our merry little ways we completely to forget to follow through with that promise. Let me ask you this; how truthful, honest and sincere is that? Don’t say things like “I will pray for you” if you don’t truly mean it! No one knows if you will actually follow through with your promise…but God will. I don’t say that to scare any of us, but if God knows our hearts why do we say things that we have no intention of committing to? If you or I say “I will pray for you”…then DO IT!!
2) “It’s not the Lord’s timing”
How could we possibly know that? Do you or I have a direct line to God? Have we checked with Him regarding this person? There are many different circumstances that we’ve either said this or heard someone say this to us. At times it’s used to lord power over another or rationalize human/leadership decisions by making it sound as if God planned these human decisions. I’m not saying that God doesn’t intervene, because He does, but don’t try to explain away your/our/others decisions by saying “it’s not the Lord’s timing”…unless you have received true discernment from the Lord Himself. (That last sentence in and of itself is another conversation for another time)
3) “Perhaps God is closing this door in order to open another door”
This one ruffles my feathers. Admittedly this specific phrase is a pet peeve of mine. Does God truly “open doors”? I know He can provide inspiration and direction for our lives and in certain specific people in this world I imagine He calls very clearly…but opening doors? Perhaps you will disagree with me on this and that’s fine, but there are times when we use this phrase flippantly instead of asking the right questions. It can become an escape mechanism for some to bail on the hard path in pursuit of an easier path. If we’re not asking additional questions to fellow Christians about their specific circumstances and instead we use this phrase, we could be giving them a green light to bail.
Secondly, we could use this phrase in order to be rid of a certain person in our lives too. Ask yourself before using this phrase (if you plan to use this phrase) is this what I discern God to be saying to me about this situation? Am I sincere in what I’m saying here, or am I just trying to give permission to a fellow believer to walk away? I do believe, however, that God blesses whatever pathway we choose in life as long as He is at the forefront of that relationship. His plans for us sometimes may be specific and at other times can be left to us to decide upon.
Be a sincere encourager!
If we use these phrases and lack the sincerity coupled with genuine compassion for our fellow believer we could do more harm than good. Be careful how you use words! Be careful how your counsel and offer advice. Consider not only your motivation but also how we can lift each other up and genuinely care for each other as fellow sojourners of the cross!
-Just something else to ponder.
The title I have used today is a quote from one of my favorite Chris Farley movies: “Tommy Boy”. In it he discovers (falsely so) that he has a brother and so he is ecstatic to welcome him into the family. The film is a little crude at times, yet Chris Farley had a way of hamming it up for cameras which made him extremely funny.
Do you know what’s not funny in this world though? Brothers and sisters in Christ facing discouragement and frustrations alone in life. Why does this happen? Isn’t the Body of Christ supposed to uplift and encourage? Where are the helping hands at times to come along those who are suffering through various blights of discouragement?
Paul puts it rather plainly for the early church and for us still today when he says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)
Why then, in times of despair, does it seem as if some are trudging through it alone?
Do you remember the story of the paralytic who wanted to be healed by Jesus? How did he get to Jesus? He certainly didn’t walk there. No, instead his friends took the time to care for him. They took the time to pick him up on his mat and take him to Jesus. In fact they had to go to great lengths to place their friend at the feet of Jesus. When they got to where Jesus was teaching they discovered that the house was full of people, there was absolutely no room for them to carry him in on his mat. So instead of calling it quits or abandoning their friend they instead devised a shrewd plan. The hefted him, laboriously up onto the owner’s roof and tore a hole in it so that they could lower him down to Jesus. (Mark 2:4) What friends! They took the time to encourage and lift (literally) their friend to Jesus.
What of us today? Do we take the time to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ? Or are we too preoccupied with our own worries and our own busy schedules? These friends who lowered their paralyzed colleague down through a roof could have called it quits once they found the house to be too full of people. They could have shrugged their shoulders and said, “well we tried” and carried him back home with no change in his living situation…yet they didn’t. They took time out of their busy schedules. They went the extra mile. They weren’t interested in what they could get out of the situation. It wasn’t about them, it was about their friend, their brother on the mat who couldn’t move.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is sometimes a danger of becoming too comfortable in our lives that we lose focus on others around us. Others who could use some encouragement. Others who need to hear a word of love and kindness from their peers. We can’t afford to be little isolated islands or clusters of Church goers who never engage and connect with other parts of the body of Christ!
The poet John Donne once wrote:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
Today, there are fellow Christ-followers who need your support. Today there are brothers and sisters in Christ who are about to give up because they feel all alone with no one to support them. Today is another shining opportunity to be a brother or a sister to the discouraged and distraught. You can be a source of encouragement. You don’t need to be a professional counselor or a degreed Psychologist to help, you just need to be present and available.
Are you willing? Are you available? Ask the Lord for guidance and discernment and then get involved in the lives of other believers which will extend far beyond the pew on Sundays. Give them a hug, love on them and then allow God’s fellowship of love to penetrate your hearts so that self isn’t number one but Christ is first and others are even before our own wants and needs.
-Just a thought for today.
“and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith...” 1 Thessalonians 3:2
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!
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.
Pastor's Ponderings 