~His Truth, Not My Opinion~ February 28, 2014

Here fairly recently, I had myself a little freak out moment.  I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the number of prayer requests and those who were seeking guidance.  Now don’t get me wrong, I am thankful for the opportunity to minister to others and I consider it a privilege to walk alongside those who are hurting, but not too long ago, I panicked!

I was fretting over what to say and feeling immense pressure that I was going to mess someone up with my advice.  Somewhere in the midst of my crazy, the Lord gave me the most beautiful revelation.  God is not asking me to share my opinion with those who reach out to me, He has commanded that I share His Word.

“Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.” (vs 2)

“Those whose hearts understand what is right get knowledge.  The ears of those who are wise listen for it.” (vs 15) 

The last thing I want is to open my mouth like a blubbering fool and let my own ideas and thoughts pour out.  But if I am scouring the Bible for wisdom, when I give counsel, it will be His truth that comes out and not my personal opinion.  While I could allow this to stress me even further, it actually gave me a sense of peace and freedom in my ministry.  Other translations of verse 15 say the ears of the wise seek out knowledge.  Basically, go look for it!  You can be certain that whatever you pursue, eventually you’re going to find it, whether that be good or evil.

We must constantly remind ourselves that so long as we are seeking the Lord’s face, listening for that still small voice and submitting to His leading, then we can feel confident in the words that we speak to the one in need.

When someone thanks me for my insight, I am quick to point them to Jesus.  It is not wisdom from within that I speak of but Biblical truth that brings about understanding and correction when needed.  I am a vessel for the Lord to work through, just as all others who are answering the call to minister in however the Lord sees fit.  I pray that I would never take for granted the immense honor that it is to be an ambassador for Christ.  May those who seek to glorify the Lord with the work of their lives be emboldened by the power of the Spirit that lives in the hearts of those who diligently seek Him.

*The above Scripture references are from Proverbs 18 as part of the 31 Day Reading Challenge of the Book of Proverbs.

~Story time~ July 25, 2013

There is a story floating around social media about a pastor who posed as a homeless man before beginning his job as the new pastor of a sizable church.  Out of curiosity, I googled it to check the validity of the story.  While I didn’t find any hard evidence to either validate or negate the story, what I did realize is that the point was not whether or not it was a true story, but the message of the story itself.  I have shared the story below for those who feel compelled to read it.  Maybe it is a farce meant to stir the hearts of complacent Christians everywhere.  I’m ok with that.  Didn’t Jesus tell “stories” in order to open our eyes and hearts to how we are to live as Christians?

Pastor Jeremiah Steepek transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning. He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service, only 3 people out of the 7-10,000 people said hello to him. He asked people for change to buy food – NO ONE in the church gave him change. He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit n the back. He greeted people to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.
As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation. “We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek.” The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation. The homeless man sitting in the back stood up and started walking down the aisle. The clapping stopped with ALL eyes on him. He walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment then he recited,
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
‘The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning. Many began to cry and many heads were bowed in shame. He then said, “Today I see a gathering of people, not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples. When will YOU decide to become disciples?”
He then dismissed service until next week.
Being a Christian is more than something you claim. It’s something you live by and share with others.

photo found on momitforward.com

Now, be honest with yourself, would you have been one of the 3?  Just a little food for thought to inspire us all to do a little soul searching today.  I pray we would all have a heart like Jesus, always ready and willing to serve those less fortunate than us.

~Strong Couselor~ May 8, 2013

Today is my daughter, Autumn Rayne’s, 11^th birthday.  As some of you may know, I have not been her mother since birth but God chose to give us each other when she was 4 years old.  When she was named, it wasn’t for any particular reason other than her BM (biological mother) liked the way it sounded.  So when I looked up the meanings of each of my children’s names this year for Easter, I was disappointed when Autumn only meant “born in the fall.”  I wanted them to feel special when they looked at the framed picture and nothing about born in the fall signified importance to me, especially since she was born in the Spring!  Then I looked up Rayne.  Rayne means “strong counselor.”  I could not think of a better name for our beautiful Autumn.

She may only be 11, but she has a heart for God.  Her desire to serve Him has made her a leader among her friends and even in this family.  She prays eloquent, heart-felt prayers over those that she loves and even those she does not yet know.  Her daddy and I have often discussed how we feel she is being called into ministry.  We sometimes joke by calling her our little missionary!

This past weekend, we received even further confirmation of just how God wants to use her.  Seeing as how this is her story, I wanted it to be in her own words.  She wrote about her experience and has given me permission to share with you.

“This weekend I went to a kids retreat with my church.  I had a great time!  There we heard two bands, saw one clown, watched four drama skits and went to four great services.  We even had some fun time where I faced my fear and rode my first ever upside down ride, it was AWESOME!  I want to tell you about one particular service.  It was Saturday night, we had an altar service.  It was AMAZING.  The Pastor said if we would like to we could go up to the altar to pray or we could pray at our seats.  I went up to the altar.  We were praying for the gift of God’s language.  When I was praying I heard a voice saying, “Autumn, I want you to serve my son by preaching about him.  I want you to be a pastor.”  I knew that was God’s voice saying that.  I felt joyful!  Right then I bowed down on my knees and prayed that God would guide my life of being a pastor and I thanked Him for everything.”

I was completely overwhelmed when she shared this with us.  As soon as she started to tell me about it, she started to cry…well so did momma.  I am beyond proud of my little girl for being so open to hear from God.  She wasn’t afraid, she didn’t try to tune Him out and she is already putting in the work to do what He spoke into her heart that night.  If only we would all respond to God’s call with such childlike faith.

So now you can see why the name “strong counselor” is so fitting for my girl.  Her BM may not have known why she named her Rayne, but God most certainly did.  I am one lucky woman to be her mother and I thank God for bringing her to me.  She inspires me to be a better person each and every day.  I pray that she would be abundantly blessed as she matures and grows in her faith.

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl and thanks for sharing your personal experience with us!

“At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, “Who gets the highest rank in God’s kingdom?”

For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me.”

(Matthew 18:1-5 The Message)