Communications Gap

It's amazing how well our spiritual ancestors communicated. Written letters and personal visits were how they found out what was going on down the road and across the country. Letters and visits created unity and without them, what would we have in the way of impartation of what the original disciples learned from Jesus and each other? Today we have letters, internet, TV, ad infinitum! And we still don't know what's going on. Now maybe it's just me, but I'd love to know what "the church" is up to. And when I say "church" I don't mean the building you go to on Sunday/Wednesday or any of the other buildings folks go to once or twice a week. When I say "church" I mean the Body of Christ.

But the Body of Christ has become crippled because its members are disjointed and therefore lame and impotent. How did we get that way? The answer's evident...we got that way because each "church" has its own agenda and that agenda often has no place for Jesus. It seems to me that everyone is doing their own thing instead of doing His thing! Churches seldom work together in unity to take a region for the Kingdom of God. Why?

'Cause if I help you, you might steal some of MY church members. Pathetic. We should be helping each other, we should be working together, we should be praying together to determine what it is the Holy Spirit needs for us to DO in our region...and then we should be joining forces to get the job done.

Do you know why people ridicule us? Because they see us for who we really are. They don't see signs, they don't see wonders. They often only see a bunch of self-serving, well-dressed, Bible-ignoring, sin-as-much-as-the-next-guy preachers telling them they're going to Hell but not giving them one reason at all to go to Heaven.

Here's a novel idea: why don't we get together as a region - whatever region it is you live in - and pray and see what God wants us to do!?! How about we give it a shot in Brevard County, Florida?

Let's see what happens...

God's Mercy, God's Grace, God's Power

Without His mercy, I'd still be dead in my sins, not even knowing I was filthy and going to hell. Who knew? Nothing in my Catholic upbringing ever said anything about being born again!  Nobody ever told me that Jesus was no longer nailed to the cross but had risen. Nobody ever told me that the reason He was nailed to the cross in the first place was because of my sins...not the sins of mankind...MY sins. But it was His mercy that saved me, that let me hear His voice calling me even when I was deaf and blind in my sin.

And it was through His grace I was saved. Believe me, it was nothing I ever did on my own, I sure as heck wasn't good enough, smart enough, nice enough or rich enough to have figured out that I needed saving, and I sure couldn't have made it happen on my own! Yup, it's by grace I was saved. I give Him all the credit! I wasn't even listening for Him when He let me hear His voice call me! How cool is that? That's grace...nothing but grace. Grace that got me through the struggles of my life, grace that got me down on my knees, and grace positioned me to receive His resurrection power into my life.

But how do we get God's power? First, you have to believe that He died for YOUR sins and receive His forgiveness. Then make Him the Lord of your life which simply means obeying Him. But how can you obey Him? Power! When He dwells within you, you receive the resurrection power that enables you to overcome temptation, to overcome sin, and to overcome the stuff that the enemy uses to try to kill you, steal from you, and destroy you.

Beloved, don't fall for the lie that says "God loves you so much that He allows evil, horrible, despicable, heartbreaking things to happen in your life." It's a LIE. don't, don't, don't fall for it!!! The biggest lie the enemy tells those who are willing to hear is that he doesn't exist and that it is God, not the devil, who brings tragedy and sickness into your life. God says very plainly that Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly; that by His stripes you are healed; that when we confess our sins, we're forgiven; that we should cast out demons; we should lay hands on the sick and they'll recover; and that we should tell people about the good news.

Seriously, does rape and murder and childhood death sound like good news? Does financial ruin sound like good news? Nope. Doesn't sound like good news to me either. Beloved, don't get tricked into believing the very prevalent lie that is being taught in many of our churches. Believe what you read for yourself in the Bible...believe in the finished work of Jesus...believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,.

Allow God's mercy to cleanse you from all unrighteousness; let His grace lead you into a life of service and obedience to Him; and let His power be evident in your life by living the Word, not just hearing it, but actually getting out there are doing what He has commanded us to do. Arise, beloved, to your high calling in Christ Jesus!

Soooooo Frustrating

Have you ever noticed that life can be just the teeniest little bit frustrating? As Christians, we encounter the same frustrations that the rest of the world encounters. It's inevitable. Nowhere in the Bible does it say our days on earth will be frustration-free when we give our lives to the Lord.

But it's actually not unGodly to be frustrated; it's how we handle the frustration that deems Godliness or unGodliness! What's your first line of defense when you run into a brick wall of frustration? Your first line of defense has to be what it is in every situation: the Word. What does the Word say about the situation that's causing frustration or irritation or anger in your life? If you don't know what the Word says, you'll have nothing to stand on to regain your balance when you hit that wall full force! If you don't know what the promises are, how can you believe they'll occur in your life?

You know, there's a line from a song in the movie "South Pacific" that I've never forgotten: the song was "Happy Talk" and the line goes something like this: "You've got to have a dream, if you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?" It's almost the same theory: unless you have God's Word within you, how you gonna trust Him to see His Word come true? If you don't know what His promises are, you'll never be able to trust Him to fulfill His promises...at best all your prayers will ever be is wishful thinking!

So why am I telling you this? Because in order to combat the frustration in your life (which leads to anger, doubt, resentment, bitterness, unbelief, discouragement, and on and on) you have to know what's wrong with the situation you're in. Until you know what you're facing, you can't use that mighty Sword of the Spirit against it to gain victory.

So study! Renew your mind! Gain strength! Learn the word and learn the solutions to life's problems!

Opportunity Knocks

Opportunity in America takes on many different forms. Sometimes we recognize it, sometimes we don't. Sometimes we don't even know that opportunity is knocking!

But what does the Word tell us about opportunity? And what does the Word tell us about knocking?  Let's look at knocking first: ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it will be opened to you. The Greek actually translates "keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking" and so we have to realize that knocking just once may not do it. Now don't confuse knocking with begging or pleading. Loud banging and continual knocking does not change God's heart; knocking to seek God's wisdom changes our hearts and helps us realize that we have nothing and we are nothing without Him. It reminds us that the "keep on knocking" exercise continually brings us into the Presence of God which is where we should be. Scriptures tell us over and over that God hears and answers our prayers. So why do we have to keep on knocking if we've already been granted the petitions we've sought? We keep on knocking to find the wisdom we need to recognize the opportunities surrounding our prayers, to walk out the answers to our prayers, and to continually remain in an attitude of thankfulness.. It is God Himself Who is opened to us.

Opportunity is when God puts something in front of us that's good for us. Opportunity sometimes comes clothed in sheep's clothing (from the enemy or lust or the flesh or the world) and what may seem like an opportunity isn't. Sometimes God will simply say "No" to some opportunities - sometimes we think we want a piece of bread but God knows it's a stone; sometimes we want what we think is a fish but that God knows is a scorpion that will poison us. But opportunities do come and we have to be able to identify them. Again going before the Father in prayer will keep you in a position to be able to identify an opportunity from a temptation.

Pray on, people!

Get Rid of the Stress

Stress is really nothing more than fear. Sometimes you’re afraid of what’s coming; sometimes you’re afraid because you don’t know what’s coming. But no matter what the circumstances, you can always boil stress down to fear. There are numerous stressors, but the most common cause of stress is time constraints. So let’s look at some of the ways you can reduce the stress in your life just by organizing some stuff:

• Make a list of what stresses you; then decide what is and isn’t worth it; then change what you can change and develop work-arounds for what you can’t change.
  
• Use a wall calendar and a pocket datebook. (The operative word is use.
  
• Balance your scheduled activities: work/play; groups/personal; family/couple.
  
• Use your head! Think about what you’re going to do or how to do something.
  
• Don’t buy stuff that isn’t easy to take care of.
  
• Simplify your eating and cooking habits.
  
• Plan your day the night before: clothes, breakfast foods, lunches, money, dry cleaning, homework, etc.
  
• Simplify your schedule: don’t go places you don’t want to go!
  
• Unclutter! Throw it out or give it away.
  
• Make lists!
  
• Make more lists!
  
• Keep home and job separate. Spend quality time in both places.
  

These are just a few of the good ideas that will help take the stress out of your life…no matter where that stress comes from.

Edify by Example

The best way to build a team comprised of people who are loyal, trustworthy and who walk in integrity is to create a role model for them to follow. That’s right…you! The “trickle down” effect is most evident in the integrity of the people within an organization. Generally you can observe the workers to determine the type of leadership they have. If you walk in integrity, so will your staff.

The best way to create such a “dream team” is to work with your team; make sure they know what they’re supposed to know, train them, mentor them, and let them shadow you. As individuals grow, expand their responsibilities to “bridge” over to greater opportunities. We’re not talking about the distraction and fragmentation of “multi-tasking” here; we’re talking about learning one job, doing it well, and assuming additional responsibilities to learn another job.

As a manager, conform your actions to the needs of the organization and to the needs of your employees. Be all things to all people (in other words, do whatever it takes). Be diligent in following through with your team.

Only by demonstrating yourself as a trustworthy, dependable, understanding person will you be able to inspire loyalty and trust from your staff and volunteers.

A Kinder, Gentler Manager

A good leader listens to volunteers and staff with empathy. How do you do that? You ask good questions and respond appropriately. Learning to ask the right questions takes practice and is accomplished by trial and error. Ask the question; evaluate the response.

For example, “What’s wrong with you?” is, on a scale of 0-10, a flat 0! It’s a bad question no matter how you phrase it. Why not try something like, “You seem troubled. Would you like to talk?” Communication as a leader is all about listening. Empathic listening takes time, but not as much time as it takes to correct the misunderstandings you’ll face if you don’t. Volunteers and staff who are not encouraged to express themselves clearly usually repress their problems which eventually manifest as poor performance.

One of the fruits of the Spirit that you already possess is kindness; another is gentleness...wonderfully important traits for a manger!