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God said, don’t quit

Hebrews 12:2 (MEV) Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

About eight years ago, around this time of year, my husband and I went through tremendous heart ache due to the church that we are leading. Some people that we love dearly decided that they did not want to be with us any longer. They had led and were very much a part of our life. They just did not want us to be their pastors, and it was due to an offense. We knew there were issues but did not know what. It was a punch in the gut, because they were not just a part of the church and leadership team, but they are also family.

My husband and I were at breakfast and talking about it just being too hard, and we decided to quit. We were going to give it up. We had taken on a financial giant, in running the church, and were paying for it personally, as the church did not have the funds to meet the needs. Not even five minutes after the agreement to quit came a phone call from a very trusted leader in our life. “God said, don’t quit.” Someone hundreds of miles away, not knowing the situation we were in, and God told him to tell us not to quit.

Daniel 7:25a (AMP)  He will speak words against the Most High [God] and wear down the saints of the Most High

The enemy wants to wear us down. I have to tell you, he has been busy at work lately. However, I put it together. He does not have a new trick, he wants to use the same ones and he will do them around the same time. Just like the seasons are there, so are the enemy’s schemes. This time of year again, I have been in a battle to not quit. He does it through the avenue of wearing us down. I have had two instances in the past two weeks of having to love through the hurts. Praying not to take an offense, to not take account of a suffered wrong, to not allow how others treat me determine how they treat them. Why? I am deeply loved and rooted and grounded in the love of Christ.

Did I have a moment to entertain what it would be like to quit? Yes. I imagined what it would be like and I grieved. I grieved because those thoughts were not full of faith. I had to cast them down and repent.

1 Corinthians 9:16-19 (AMP) For if I [merely] preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for I am compelled [that is, absolutely obligated to do it]. Woe to me if I do not preach the good news [of salvation]! For if I do this work of my own free will, then I have a reward; but if it is not of my will [but by God’s choosing], I have been entrusted with a [sacred] stewardship. What then is my reward? [Just this:] that, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge [to everyone], so as not to take advantage of my rights [as a preacher and apostle] in [preaching] the gospel. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to everyone, so that I may win more [for Christ]. 

I have heard it stated that when it comes to quitting church attendance, “my life is so much better.” When I imagined life without it, my heart ached. I cannot quit. Woe, is a word of grief. I have grieved because I have a deep love for people. I desire them to grow closer and deeper in this love that Christ has for us. I grieve when self wins over the life He desires for us.

Why do you think I have been challenged lately? I know. Just a couple of weeks ago I praised God for answered prayers. I encouraged you all to be patient in the waiting, but to also be faithful in what He has called you to right now. Don’t rush the solution, was a praise report of the faithfulness of our God. The enemy hates our praise. He wants to shut it down. Do not settle in for a pity party. Get you some confetti and start a praise party.

1 Corinthians 4:1-2 (AMP) So then, let us [who minister] be regarded as servants of Christ and stewards (trustees, administrators) of the mysteries of God [that He chooses to reveal]. In this case, moreover, it is required [as essential and demanded] of stewards that one be found faithful and trustworthy.

Faithfulness is one of the fruits of the spirit. I will not be very good at producing this fruit if I am not rooted and grounded in the love of Christ. I want to be trustworthy. I am reading Daniel and some of the things God revealed to him were because he was trustworthy.

Daniel 10:19 (AMP) He said, “O man, highly regarded and greatly beloved, do not be afraid. Peace be to you; take courage and be strong.” Now when he had spoken to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

The Lord has strengthened me. I am persevering in this time and looking forward to what lies ahead. I desire all that God wants for us in this life. The part that wants to quit, is a part of me that is still living and against the new life in Christ. I am asking the Holy Spirit to search within me. Reveal the areas that are broken and put them back together. I do not want to be deadened to what He calls glorious, His church. I am pressing forward. So here is a prayer I took from Habakkuk:

Creator, Abba, Father You are Holy. You are worthy of all Honor and Praise. Thank You for Your Son and the gift of the Holy Spirit. As with Habakkuk, though there seems to little fruit yielded and it is hard to see the blossoms, what has yielded looks to fall dead to the ground and rotted. We choose to focus on what has bloomed. We repent for making it all about us and self-focus. We choose to focus on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We choose to rejoice in the Lord. We choose to shout in exultation in the victorious God of my salvation! The Lord God is our strength, our source of courage, our invincible army. He has made our feet steady and sure like hinds’ feet and makes us walk forward with spiritual confidence on the high places, of challenge and responsibility. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose love today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

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Do not rush the solution

Psalms 16:5 (AMP) The Lord is the portion of my inheritance, my cup [He is all I need]; You support my lot.

I am a stay-at-home mom to a twenty-one-year-old and a seventeen-year-old. That transition happened for me nearly seven years ago. The reason this is the season I am in is because my husband is BI-vocational pastor, as he works at a manufacturing plant for our income. He leads but I am his helper and am referred to as co-pastor. This works for us, because I know his heart and we trust each other. Being helper is not that I am less than, nor does it mean I take on his role. In Hebrew, the word for “helper” used in Genesis 2:18 and 20 is ezer, it means strong support and powerful rescue.

What happens when trust is not in a marriage? What happens when trust is broken? What happens when you want to keep secrets from each other? The Word says that any household divided against itself will not stand (Matthew 12:25). It takes both of us to have a strong marriage. It is the most important covenant that God ordained other than our new life with Christ.

I have quite of few responsibilities that I have taken on so that my husband does not have to worry about them. One of them is managing the business aspect of running the church. I have accountabilities put in place with board members and I seek council before major changes occur. Anything that my husband wants done I have a great support group that helps me with implementing things. That includes managing the church calendar. I also make sure to surround myself with those who seek the best for others, and not just for a particular group, when seeking counsel.

I recently had three big things on my plate to take care of. One thing to know is that we are not going at anything alone. Do not be rushed, but do not be lazy. I dedicated some time to each item each day. Above all, I sought wisdom from the Lord. I am also keeping my husband informed but not overwhelming him with the mundane. When I got to a place that I could not do on my own, I did not push, I waited. I listened. I did not become impatient. Patience has a lot to do with our attitudes in the waiting. God will even empower those we are meant to do life with for the next portion.

Isaiah 25:9 (AMP) It will be said in that day, “Indeed, this is our God for whom we have waited that He would save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us shout for joy and rejoice in His salvation.”

This has been such a shift of peace in my life. I am in awe of how God works things out behind the scenes. I tell Him of what I am trying to accomplish. I do not stop doing my research, but I do not make the next move until my mind has become clear. What happens when we know things need to be done, but we do them in haste? We make mistakes. We can become easily irritated. We can even take on offense easier. This is something I had to grow in. I am growing in it because I have become rooted and grounded in His love. Knowledge of the Word without application of the Word is not doing much transformation. I want to be transformed. Here are two scriptures to get your mind around:

Lamentations 3:20-26 (AMP) My soul continually remembers them and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind, therefore I have hope. It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion and my inheritance,” says my soul; “Therefore I have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait [confidently] for Him, to those who seek Him [on the authority of God’s word]. It is good that one waits quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Psalms 37:3-7 (AMP) Trust [rely on and have confidence] in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed [securely] on His faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him also and He will do it. He will make your righteousness [your pursuit of right standing with God] like the light, and your judgment like [the shining of] the noonday [sun]. Be still before the Lord; wait patiently for Him and entrust yourself to Him; do not fret (whine, agonize) because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

Yesterday, we had movement in all three areas. It was an answer to prayer. Today, I was able to be productive because of the peace that God provided in the waiting. Through putting prayer of thanksgiving before I see the promise fulfilled. I am not rushing the solution to get there. I have to put my trust in God that He is working everything out, and I still have to do my part. There is not strife, there is no uneasiness, there is just peace. I continue to put Him first and foremost in my mind. We continue to seek the best for all those that are involved. We know where our trust lies. We are not in a rush; we want His solution at His time. There is peace in the waiting. Will problems arise? Yes, but I do not have to fret. My God is my portion. My God knew that this would happen. He has the solution, so do not rush it, be patient in the waiting. Do not get fixated on the issue, but on the God who sees the end from the beginning.

Abba, Father, our Portion, we value You before anything else in our lives. You are so Holy and Wonderful. Thank You for Your Son to bring us back to right standing with You. He has made us righteous through our faith in Him. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit to be our Teacher and Comforter. Thank You for the throne room of grace and mercy that we can be with You all day long. You are the God who sees and hears us. You are the God of our inheritance, because all we are is through You. We repent for trying to go at life on our own and in haste. Thank You for the promise of the wait and to be still in You, that You speak to us in the Peace. We put our trust and our confidence in You that You are working all things out. You know the end from the beginning. Any problem that arises can be resolved. We choose to wait. We choose to forgive. We choose hope today. We choose love today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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I do not have to live like this

Galatians 2:20 (AMP) I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Currently I am going through a line-by-line study of the book of Galatians. If you use the YouVersion App there are so many tools available to help with your study. When reading in the New King James Version it gave me a list of accompanying verses to look up. I was amazed at how many times Paul wrote about us being crucified with Christ.

Romans 6:6 (AMP) We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.

Romans 6:8-11 (AMP) Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live [together] with Him, because we know [the self-evident truth] that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has power over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin [ending its power and paying the sinner’s debt] once and for all; and the life that He lives, He lives to [glorify] God [in unbroken fellowship with Him]. Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin [and your relationship to it broken], but alive to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4-6 (AMP)  But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us, even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace—His undeserved favor and mercy—you have been saved from God’s judgment). And He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus

Colossians 3:1-4 (AMP) Therefore if you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]. For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Ephesians 5:2 (AMP) and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.

We no longer have to go through the motions of life. What I keep my mind focused on will determine how I feel that day. I choose to focus on the good, not saying there are not problems and trials that will come, but I choose to focus on the good. When we look ahead and think of all the things that can go wrong, what are we putting our trust in? I love reading verses like this. I am no longer a dead being walking this earth (my spirit man is alive). I do not have to go through the endless cycles that lead to being unfulfilled any longer. I am not waiting for something to happen for my happiness. I have everything I could every want now because of Christ.

I do not have to live any certain way anymore. The old way of fulfillment has been done away with. I am secure in Christ. Being crucified with Christ means that I get to walk in freedom. Condemnation comes because our flesh is wanting to defend itself. Conviction comes because the Holy Spirit is alive and is changing me from within. I have died with Christ so that my flesh can no longer rule. I do not have to live in fight mode any longer. I do not have to live in defense mode with those that I am supposed to do life with. I can live in peace and joy. I can have stability in my life. I can live a life of surrender, because that is how Christ lived.

John 14:20 (AMP) On that day [when that time comes] you will know for yourselves that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.

Christ in me. The Passion translation has Galatians 2:20 as this, “My old identity has been crucified with Christ and no longer lives. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives His life through me – we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that He gave Himself for me, dispensing HIs life into mine!” I am not trying to live anymore for myself. I am living this life in Him. I had asked God ‘how can we live our lives worthy of this calling?’ He gave me Ephesians 4:2-3, “with all humility [forsaking self-righteousness], and gentleness [maintaining self-control], with patience, bearing with one another in [unselfish] love. Make every effort to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the bond of peace [each individual working together to make the whole successful].” The possibility of all of this is because we have died with Christ. If we try to do this in our own selves, we will fail time and again and live lives frustrated and unfulfilled. We do not have to live that way.

Father, Adonai, Jehovah, You are so Marvelous and Wonderful. You are Holy and full of Majesty. Thank You for Your Son, we have died with Him so that we may live with Him as well. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, Your voice, our Teacher and Comforter. Thank You for Your Word. We choose to eat of it daily so that we are empowered to fight for the battles of our mind. We repent for living lives with emptiness and looking for other ways to fill our every need. We are choosing to see our identity in Christ and the fullness that He brings. We are choosing to not take on the dead things any longer. We can choose to think differently of others and our situations. You want us full of joy, so we choose joy today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.