I quit!  I’m tired!  I quit!

This is the sentiment I have heard expressed a lot lately from Christians who’ve grown weary in their church service and fellowship.  I understand that sentiment all to well because one day almost three years ago, that was my sentiment. The scripture below depicts the primitive church in its earliest stages and sadly enough in its time of greatest innocence:

⁴² All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper^[a]), and to prayer.

⁴³ A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. ⁴⁴ And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. ⁴⁵ They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. ⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity^[b]— ⁴⁷ all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

It is very apparent that the early church joined together frequently, shared the Lord’s supper often, were fervent and continual in prayer and praise.  And the result was that God added people daily to the fold.  Perhaps you are saying, “people join my church every Sunday”. The real question is are the number of servants growing so that the load of service carried out in church is spread adequately over the population of the church.

There are so many reasons why those of us who have been in church all our lives “quit” and tell ourselves “let them do it”.  One of the greatest is burnout.  Another is hurt feelings. I know this all too well-for this was me.  A few years ago, I decided to “quit” my ministry of singing in the choir and I was confident “God would give me a break.” One day in my prayer time, God dealt me in a way I did not expect concerning my decision.  He showed me I was weak! He showed me a picture of myself.  I was walking with a radio in my hand and the batteries in my pocket and I was confused as to why the radio would not come on.

The point-God was trying to show me that He has left me with everything I need to be successful and victorious over the enemy of distraction and discouragement in the church.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can cast down and destroy “every lofty (high, tall) thing that rises itself above the knowledge of Him.  This implies that we MUST grow in the knowledge of Him.  If the teaching is going on in the sanctuary, how do we stay away and grow at the same time?  If everyone who is a child of God grows weary, gives up the fight and allows the enemy to win, who will be left to run the church, to serve in ministry?  What does a large church, operating with a large population of people who don’t have a mind like Christ and heart of love look like?  Can you really be comfortable “quitting” your calling and “sitting” on the gifts God has given you? Perhaps there are other areas of your life where you don’t have peace and God may be allowing that because He wants you totally surrendered to Him.  If we can endure hardships on the job, why can we not endure them in the church? I ask you today, where is your heart?  where is your faith?

For some reason, we come to church and we want everything to be comfortable, to fit, to just work.  We feel entitled to “quit” when we are faced with opposition.  We fail to see that the purpose for the opposition is because we are right where God wants us to be-to serve and make a difference in the lives of others. If your service is a threat to Satan, of course He is going to use anybody or anything to get to you to discourage you. I’m praying today that if this is you, you will get back in the game and tell Satan and all of His supporters that TODAY, I “quit” being defeated in ministry.

In 1934, an episode of Popeye the Sailor was entitled “Can You Take It” where Popeye desired to join a club of fighters. In this episode, it was questionable if Popeye would be able to take the club’s grueling initiation test. Ironically, it was also questionable whether the club would be able to take Popeye’s rough-housing.

What is it that you feel you have to “take” to fit in to the world’s fast pace? Today I come with bad news, good news. Bad news- you can never take enough, be enough or do enough to fit in with the world’s fast pace. Trying to keep up becomes burdensome and amounts to a “heavy yoke” of oppression because no amount of “keeping up” can make our sinful nature measure up to God’s holiness.

Good news! Jesus gives us the solution but I wonder can we take it? Will we take it?  In Matthew 11:28-30, He says, ²⁸ “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

This picture above is a yoke.  It is a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow, cart or other device they are to pull.  In a practical sense, it seems most efficient if both animals would be capable of carrying their share of the load.  In contrast, the scripture above symbolizes the ease for us when we make a decision to yoke up with our sacrificing Savior!!!!

What makes this possible for His yoke to be so easy for us, especially when it seems in our own eyes, that living a life for Him means giving up so much?  It is made possible by simply believing that Jesus has already done for us what we could not do for ourselves and our only responsibility is to believe this in our hearts.  When we truly understand what He has done for us, we are persuaded to live a life that is holy and acceptable to God-completely in all that we say and all that we do.

That’s why I ask, “Can you take it?”-Why does it seem that we work so hard to fit in and to be accepted by others who can’t bring us peace that surpasses all understanding-when we can much more easily accept what Christ has offered, “an easy yoke and light burdens”?  Can you take the easy road or will you continue to work hard expending yourself beyond yourself for an ongoing quest for acceptance and affirmation from those who are incapable of doing only what God can do?

Typically, behind the phrase, “You Did it” is a “Congratulations!” to signify a great accomplishment or feat!

Today’s blog is a challenge to ensure that we are clear about the things that we do (and don’t do) for others.  Every reader should imagine himself or herself in conversation with God as he evaluates God’s response to him.  Often times I blog and share one verse of scripture.  Today’s blog is more scripture and my words of inspiration take a back seat to what the word of God has to say today:

³¹ But when the Son of Man^[d] comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. ³² All the nations^[e] will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

³⁷ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

I guess the real question today is-is your “You Did It!” worthy of God’s compliment or conviction? You be the judge, after all, You did it!

If you are like me, you thought commitment in relationships was the key.  I truly did until recently.  I love the way the urban dictionary defines commitment:

Commitment is what
Transforms the promise into reality.
It is the words that speak
Boldly of your intentions.
And the actions which speak
Louder than the words.
It is making the time
When there is none.
Coming through time
After time after time,
Year after year after year.
Commitment is the stuff
Character is made of;
The power to change
The face of things.
It is the daily triumph
Of integrity over skepticism.

What a powerful view of commitment!  Yet, there’s just one problem. If we are honest with ourselves each of us at some point in time has failed to hold up some aspect of a commitment.  Whether it was a legitimate distraction, an oversight, lack of resources or some other unexpected interruption, we all have failed to keep a commitment at one time or another.

If commitment in our relationships were key, then we’d always find ourselves disheartened and discontented when others we are in any type of relationship with fail to maintain their intent to give something, say something, be here, be there, etc.

So, what is key? Understanding and forgiveness-that’s the key!  It may seem easier to make your own assessment of the reason for the failed commitment.  I warn you with the word of God:

“Judge not and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37.

Reality is unless we walk a mile in the shoes of someone else we will never fully know why things turned out the way that they did-why some things happened, why some things never happened.  But one thing is certainly for sure, if each of us will “commit our ways to the Lord, put our trust solely in Him, He will act on our behalf.” Psalms 37:5

This we can consistently rely on. This commitment is the key!

One of my all time favorite songs is Diana Ross’s  Theme from Mahogany, -it’s first stanza beginning with these questions:

Do you know where you’re going to?

Do you like the things that life is showing you?

Where are you going to?

Do you know?

Soo…do you?  Do you know?  I think that before you can even get a clue, you have to be sure you know where you are at this very moment. Be honest with yourself and ensure that you are living in the present.

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.  Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19

Some practical things that you can do to ensure you are “here” in the present and looking toward the future are:

1. Use present or future tense-for example, “This is what I will do” instead of “This is what I should’ve done”

2. Prepare responses to things coming up and not fixes to things which have already been deemed as broken beyond repair.

3.  Always speak positively, knowing that your worth is not determined by your performance.

4. Seek contentment right where you are.

So I ask you again, do you know where you are?  I pray that you will identify that place immediately and begin to navigate to the place you desire to be or even better, the place God wants you to be.

Yep I said it-to the one who will read on a little further you are sooo darn sorry! Well, my hope and prayer is that you are and that you say you are often!

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4)

Let’s be clear-repentance is witnessed by sincere and deep remorse and/or regret. In evaluating this, “actions speaking louder than words” and “lip service” must be intensely discerned.

Much like the weather changes quickly from hot to cold, we  must be quick to say I’m sorry. I encourage you not to waste a lot of time trying to assess who did what. After all, an apology doesn’t condemn a person as being wrong or uplift another as being right. It rather indicates that the relationship is more valuable than the egos of those involved.

I hope and pray that you will always be so very sorry!

Yep I said it-to the one who will read on a little further you are sooo darn sorry! Well, my hope and prayer is that you are and that you say you are often!

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4)

Let’s be clear-repentance is witnessed by sincere and deep remorse and/or regret. In evaluating this, “actions speaking louder than words” and “lip service” must be intensely discerned.

Much like the weather changes quickly from hot to cold, we  must be quick to say I’m sorry. I encourage you not to waste a lot of time trying to assess who did what. After all, an apology doesn’t condemn a person as being wrong or uplift another as being right. It rather indicates that the relationship is more valuable than the egos of those involved.

I hope and pray that you will always be so very sorry!

I recently had a revelation about myself.  I’m not a wall climber!  I have tried to be this role for a long time and it’s as if God finally showed me-You are not a wall climber.  So what does that mean?  For much of my adult life, I have been attempting to climb walls that weren’t meant for me to climb.  Walls built primarily from rejected childhoods of many kinds.  A father who was never home because of his inability to be committed to one woman.  A father who courted two, yet married the woman the babies weren’t by and stopped participating in the children’s lives as if they never existed.  But not just fathers but mothers also who, being depressed and hurt, shut out their children trying their very best to cope with their own life hurts.

I wish I could tell you that my own childhood was perfect, that I never longed for the love of my father, but that would not be true.  What I can tell you is that I purposed to love and forgive often, never allowing my life circumstances to reshape my openness to a healthy love relationship.  Unfortunately, I never expected others to come to me with that openness.  Instead, I saw their great “potential” and I spent lots of time and energy  trying to “help” them overcome, trying to peel back layers of hurt, trying to climb walls that had been built by others-walls which could only come down by the willingness of the one who built them in the very first place.

So I say what has this behavior profited me?  Nothing.  It has resulted in a lot of mentally exhausting, emotionally hurting and physically draining situations.  What still remains true is my great resolve to love openly, holding back nothing and forgiving often.  Coupled with that now is my expectation that no matter what cards life has dealt a mate presented to me, he must also be willing to put in the work to present himself in that manner -willing to be totally open to love, holding back nothing and forgiving often.  This posture feels most like Jesus’s relationship towards us.

Rev 3:20 (NIV)- Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Jesus’s desire to be with us is clear but so is His willingness to stand and wait for the one that “hears” Him and “opens up” to Him. What a joy to finally get clear on the methods I have had in relationships that don’t line up with the word of God.  Climbing walls, peeling back layers and forcing your way to an unopened heart is downright exhausting.

I’m so excited about the wait.  I’m so excited to get deeper into God’s word and rest comfortably in knowing that He has instruction for me.  Speaker I am, motivator I am, lover I am, forgiver I am, friend I am-Many, many other things I am, but I finally get it-Wall Climber I am not!

I recently had a revelation about myself.  I’m not a wall climber!  I have tried to be this role for a long time and it’s as if God finally showed me-You are not a wall climber.  So what does that mean?  For much of my adult life, I have been attempting to climb walls that weren’t meant for me to climb.  Walls built primarily from rejected childhoods of many kinds.  A father who was never home because of his inability to be committed to one woman.  A father who courted two, yet married the woman the babies weren’t by and stopped participating in the children’s lives as if they never existed.  But not just fathers but mothers also who, being depressed and hurt, shut out their children trying their very best to cope with their own life hurts.

I wish I could tell you that my own childhood was perfect, that I never longed for the love of my father, but that would not be true.  What I can tell you is that I purposed to love and forgive often, never allowing my life circumstances to reshape my openness to a healthy love relationship.  Unfortunately, I never expected others to come to me with that openness.  Instead, I saw their great “potential” and I spent lots of time and energy  trying to “help” them overcome, trying to peel back layers of hurt, trying to climb walls that had been built by others-walls which could only come down by the willingness of the one who built them in the very first place.

So I say what has this behavior profited me?  Nothing.  It has resulted in a lot of mentally exhausting, emotionally hurting and physically draining situations.  What still remains true is my great resolve to love openly, holding back nothing and forgiving often.  Coupled with that now is my expectation that no matter what cards life has dealt a mate presented to me, he must also be willing to put in the work to present himself in that manner -willing to be totally open to love, holding back nothing and forgiving often.  This posture feels most like Jesus’s relationship towards us.

Rev 3:20 (NIV)- Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Jesus’s desire to be with us is clear but so is His willingness to stand and wait for the one that “hears” Him and “opens up” to Him. What a joy to finally get clear on the methods I have had in relationships that don’t line up with the word of God.  Climbing walls, peeling back layers and forcing your way to an unopened heart is downright exhausting.

I’m so excited about the wait.  I’m so excited to get deeper into God’s word and rest comfortably in knowing that He has instruction for me.  Speaker I am, motivator I am, lover I am, forgiver I am, friend I am-Many, many other things I am, but I finally get it-Wall Climber I am not!

I’ve had a tough time lately differentiating my friends from my enemies.  In this world, where we were created to be social creatures, we find ourselves most comfortable and at peace when we have family, friends, and acquaintances by our side.  There is a reality that those who call us friends may cause us grief and hardship and constantly disappoint us.  So to try and learn how to maneuver in all of this, let’s take a look at what the word of God says about friends.

We see many times in the bible where friends were there to console and help in times of sickness, trouble, etc.   Jeptha’s daughter’s friends consoled her before her death.  (Judges 11:37-38).  Not only consolation, but friends may rebuke us in love. “Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy”. (Proverbs 27:6)

There are some negative aspects to friendships.  Supposed friends can lead us into sin as we see in (2 Samuel 13:1-6). Here we see Jonadab persuading Amnon to rape his step-sister Tamar. Friends can provide false comfort and bad advice. much like Job’s friends did him.  Friends can prove to be false pretending affections for their own motives and deserting us when the friendship no longer serves them as seen in Psalm 55:12-14 and Proverbs 19:4-7.

With all of this considered, we should prayerfully choose our friends because scripture tells us “Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)

What are we to do with “Enemies Calling themselves Friends”?

Proverbs 1:1-10 tells us to turn our backs on those that entice us and not to go along with them.  Proverbs 4:14-19 (NLT) says this: