Cry, Pray, Get Up!

1 Samuel 30:6 “David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk about stoning him.  But David found strength in the Lord his God.”

In this chapter, David and his men returned to Ziklag after being turned away by Achish and the princes of the Philistines.  They did not trust him because David had a reputation.  The Philistines knew God was with David so they refused his request to fight alongside them in fear they would fall like the ten thousands.

As the men traveled home, they probably imagined shouts of joy from their neighbors as they entered the city, squeals of excitement of their children and looks of relief on the faces of their wives. When David and his men got to Ziklag after a three days journey they discovered the Amalekites had invaded, burned Ziklag, and taken captive the women and children.

The men were devastated to the point they wanted to stone David.  The men were warriors that believed in David, fought alongside him, bled with him, ate and slept with him but none of that mattered when grief struck.  Wait a minute!  His wives were taken captive too, but the men were not thinking about him.  All they could focus on was their own pain.  Since they were hurting, they wanted to hurt him.  Sometimes miserable and hurting people will attack you for reasons beyond your control, but you have to turn to God for strength.  Do not give evil for evil or attack those who attack you.

People who know me know that I love what I do for a living.  Being a property manager is not a profession I chose but God chose me for it.  So last week when a resident spoke some hurtful words about the way most residents felt about me it took me by surprise.  She was not angry when she spoke, that is why I did not recognize it as a spiritual attack.  She spoke the words like a proven fact, but it was only her opinion.  I knew what she said was not true but I could not shake the words of hate.  My peace was disturbed and I woke up three mornings with heart palpitations.  I thought the way I felt was due to just allergies.

Every morning this week I cried, prayed, read my devotions and then got up.  I also questioned my purpose and effectiveness to the point I grew distracted and made mistakes I would not ordinarily make.  Every evening after work and for the past two weekends, I retreated to my quiet place.  Shutting out the world, I played games on my tablet, ate healthy snacks and binge watched TV.

This morning, after watching Pastor Michael Todd preach “Marked,” the Lord revealed to me the words the resident spoke over a week ago were the cause of my distress.  He then reminded me of the dream I had Wednesday morning between my alarm and getting up.

I dreamed I was in a room surrounded by women singing.  I felt myself trying to be composed but the presence of the Lord was so strong I leaned over and began to worship God in the spirit.  One of my cousin’s was there and she wrapped her arms around me and held me.  Although it was her arms holding me, I sensed the presence of my Savior.

I woke up praising the Lord in the spirit and enjoying the embrace, which I could still feel.  I got out of bed feeling free and ready to face the day.  The weight of the words had been crushed by love.

I could not pinpoint exactly what was causing the disruption in my life, even after I had the dream and God did not reveal it until today.  Attacks will come from expected and unexpected places, but do not allow the enemy to bully you.  Stay connected to God.  Encourage yourself in the Lord, cry, pray and get up.  My feelings were hurt and I reacted the way most would, but I got up.  I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be and I am not going anywhere until He tells me it is finished.

You Do Not Live Here Anymore

Depression came to my door last Wednesday, as it’s done from time to time in the past 30 years since I was delivered from depression. It tested the knob but found the door locked and sealed by the Holy Spirit.

Also as in the past, it did not come alone. Depression never traveled alone, with it came anxiety, fear, torment, lies, paranoia, and suicide.

The enemy started the attack with lies trying to make me open the door. When the lies didn’t work, anxiety stepped in and began to fill my heart with dread and imagines of defeat and disaster filled my head. I began to feel myself slipping. I’m going to lose my job, my home and my car is going to break down. I’ve been to so many doctors this past year, I’m never going to get better.

Torment, which was peeking at me through a window began yelling out my weaknesses. Knowing how private I am, it illuminated all the things wrong with me, telling me that when people found out they would not want to be around me. Paranoia and fear took turns, whispering that people were planning my destruction and that I should not trust anyone. Wave after wave the attacks kept coming. My emotions were out of control, but I knew they could not be trusted.

I am grateful that I never have to fight those spirit bullies on my own. As they, all took turns bombarding my mind and trying to pry open the door for depression, scriptures began to flood my mind:

Philippians 4:6 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (NIV)

Philippians 4:7 – “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (KJV)

A line from a William Murphy song, “We Set Our Hope” repeated in my mind repeatedly, drowning out the lies and taunting. It was taken from Psalm 27:13, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”

As I was thinking about sharing this, I was reminded of something Jesus said in Matthew 12:43-45 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Those spirits keep coming back thinking they will find my house unoccupied, but each time they discover they are wrong, my house is filled with the Holy Spirit. I cannot stop them from popping up and they may never stop coming, but each time my answer will be the same, “You Don’t Live Here Anymore.”

I know that He who began a good work in me is faithful to complete it. I’ve also learn my limitations. When I stress, don’t eat right, and don’t get enough sleep, I’m vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy.

I am so grateful for my mama who constantly reminds me to take better care of myself, stop working 24/7 do something fun and rest more.

As I get older and as I go deeper in the Lord, the attacks don’t last as long. I used to stay in bed and cry for days. Last week I cried out to the Lord I praise and thanksgiving. I quoted scriptures until I fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning, I felt revived, restored and ready for the day.

As far as I’m concerned, depression and all its companions can stay homeless. As for me in my house, I will serve the Lord.

Spots and Blemishes

I purchased a toilet seat to replace the plastic one that came with the oblong toilet I purchased several months ago.

I wondered why the new seat was so inexpensive at the time I bought it, but since I am used to getting good deals I didn’t think it might be defective. After I opened it the package I saw the reason for the price. There was a tiny nick on the seat, revealing the wood.

It may not have been noticeable to others, but that was the first thing I saw after I put it on and it’s the first thing I see every time I enter the bathroom. I am going to paint that tiny spot because its stands out and it reminds me that I purchased defective goods.

I believe the Lord pointed that small imperfection out to me because He purchased damaged goods as Well with the life of His son. Jesus is coming back for a church without a spot or wrinkle. Just as the defect in the toilet changed the value of the toilet, a church that is not complete may cause the bride of Christ to be viewed as defective.

Just as I plan to paint that spot, our Savior has washed his bride with the water of the word (Ephesians 5:26) and yet covers her in his blood.

Any person in the body, which refuses to be cleansed and covered, is illegitimate and will not be allowed to remain. The price Jesus (Yeshua) paid on the cross is too high for him to ignore nick, spots, and blemishes. They stand out in the Kingdom, become a distraction, and hinder unbelievers from accepting the precious gift of salvation.

We must be careful and not try to cover ourselves as Adam and Eve did if we sin or should I say when we sin. (Genesis 3:7) We must admit our fall, repent, and submit ourselves to our Heavenly Father for restoration, whatever that looks like. It is different for each individual.

I’m glad I can go to Father for deliverance and healing because I don’t want to be a blemish or spot on Christ’s beautiful bride.

I’m also grateful the washing and cleansing of the church is the responsibility of our Savior. He is the author and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

We can’t mess it up, praise God! The bride of the Savior must be ready when he returns.

Heavy Burdens

Today while on the way to my senior property, I was driving behind a construction forklift. Of course, he was driving slowly and of course, I was in a rush to get where I was going. That’s the story of our lives right?

Anyway, as I was driving at 15 mph I watched through my rear view mirror the line of cars increasing behind me. That caused me to whisper, “hurry up dude!”

Why is it we look back and allow what we see behind us making us anxious instead of keeping our focus on where we are going?

After about three minutes of driving behind the vehicle, he pulled off to the grass. As I passed him, I saw the large cement block that he was carrying. All I could hear in my spirit was, “Heavy Burden.”

Many around us are carrying heavy burdens and instead of us supporting them, or trying to understand what they are going through, we become impatient, critical and try to rush them along. It may be in the area of deliverance, a time of mourning, growing spiritually, health issues or some other area of life, people have the tendency to look at another person’s life and totally miss what is really going on.

Immediately after seeing the heavy cement block the guy was carrying, I began to thank God that he took his time. I imagined him looking behind, seeing the long line of cars, and panicking. In order to please those behind him, he increases speed only to cause the heavy block to falls causing a horrible and possibly fatal accident.

The Word of God instructs us to bear one another’s burdens because this fulfills the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

No, we cannot physically take on other peoples burdens, but when we see them struggling and dealing with a heavy load, we can be understanding, compassionate, prayerful, loving, and kind.

I thank God for Holy Spirit and the loving way he checks me and then helps me to learn a lesson to share with others.

We all carry heavy burdens at different times in our lives. Let us not forget that sometimes what we see is actually different from what is.

Withholding Nothing

William McDowell sings a song, “Withholding Nothing.”  This song should be the anthem of every believer.  It is a very anointed and intimate song.  Only radical, true worshippers can throw their heads back, lift their arms towards the Lord and sing this song of intimacy to a Holy and Awesome God.  Only those who experienced hard knocks through life, exhausted all avenues of trying to be good and have come to the end of self can lose them in this song of worship.

The very idea of opening oneself and allowing a Holy God see the good, bad and ugly in us is very intimidating.  Some people believe that if God saw everything, He would not want them.

Beloved child of God, He does see all and He yet loves you.  Psalm 139 is an awesome Psalm.  The writer expresses his inability to get away from an omnipotent, omnipresent God.  He acknowledges that God knows everything about him; yet, nothing makes God turn his head away in disgust.  I encourage you to read the entire chapter it is very inspiring.

Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (NLT)

The Prophet Isaiah received a great gift, the ability to see our God in his Holy temple.  Due to the purity of God’s presence, the man of God could do nothing else but see the filthiness of his being.

I believe this is the reason so many of us try to keep God out of those dark places in us because we know how dirty and filthy some things in our past are.  We are ashamed to allow a Holy God into such places, but it is only in allowing the Spirit of God to shine the light in those place will we ever be able to worship Him in spirit in truth.

By holding on to guilt, shame and fears the prison doors remain shut, preventing the Holy Spirit from bringing the healing balm of Jesus.

1 John 1:17 “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” (NLT)

Psalms 103:12-18 “God makes everything come out right; he puts victims back on their feet. He showed Moses how he went about his work, opened up his plans to all Israel. God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love. He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins. As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear him. He knows us inside and out, keeps in mind that we’re made of mud. Men and women don’t live very long; like wildflowers they spring up and blossom, But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here. God’s love, though, is ever and always, eternally present to all who fear him, Making everything right for them and their children as they follow his Covenant ways and remember to do whatever he said.” (MSG)

By stepping out in faith and choosing to trust that our heavenly father knows what’s best for us, we can throw open those doors we’ve been ashamed to let him in, lift our faces towards heaven, and sing, “I surrender all to you, everything I give you, withholding nothing…withholding nothing, withholding nothing.”

Perfectionism is Not A Virtue

Matthew 5:48   “You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (AMP)

I heard the above scripture preached many times as a child and thought, “How in the world can I be perfect?”  Like any other child, I had naughty thoughts, I was mischievous and prone to pulling pranks on my friends.  I was very outspoken and hated to be told what to do.  There was no way I could really be perfect or was there?

I wanted to be obedient to God.  He was actually the only one I cared about pleasing.  Therefore, I began my search for perfection.  My search for what Jesus commanded slowly morphed into an obsession with perfectionism.  I didn’t have access to other bible translations until much later in my walk with Christ, but by then I was bound in chains of perfectionistic thinking.  Simply put, I set extremely high standards and rigorously demanded perfection no matter the cost.

The cost was oftentimes very high.  Trying to be a perfectionist caused irreparable damage to relationships because no one ever live up to the lofty standards set.  My obsession was slowly building a wall around me, suffocating the life out of me. I wanted a perfect life, a perfect job, a perfect church, a perfect husband, perfect friends and perfect children.  I developed obsessive-compulsive behaviors and eating disorders.

I had no idea that what I was striving for was totally opposite of what Jesus commanded and it was destroying my life.  Perfection (the state of being without flaw or defect) can only be found in the born again life through Jesus Christ.  It is very ironic that only by relinquishing completely that thing we strive to obtain, will we actually obtain it.

As I began to study, meditate on, and apply the word to my daily life, I learned that for most of my life I was chasing bondage and not freedom.

It is only by allowing Holy Spirit to have complete and total control can we begin to mature into the person worthy to share God’s state of holiness.  It is only in Jesus we become complete.  When I read Colossians 2:10 the chains began to break, “So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” (NLT)

“And you ^[a]are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].” (AMP)

Further studies uncovered these treasures:

• Philippians 3:12 [Pressing toward the Goal] “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.”
• Galatians 3:3 “How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?”
• Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

The Lord set me free from the bondage of perfectionism but I still have to remind myself of this every day when the spirit of ‘nitpicking’ tries to take hold of me.  It is true that when Jesus frees us, we are totally free, but we must partner with Him in order to maintain that freedom and not slip back into bondage.

I still have high standards, but I try not to drive myself, or those around me crazy, trying to reach them.  I fall back on Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”  I allow the Holy Spirit take me to that place of peace and sweet release as I trust God to have His way and complete His purpose in the situation.

Proverbs 3:3 “Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.”

Forgetting Those Things

Philippians 3:12-14 “^12-14 Yet, my brothers, I do not consider myself to have “arrived”, spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect. However, I keep going on, grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasped me. My brothers, I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now. But I do concentrate on this: I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal—my reward the honor of being called by God in Christ.” (Phillips)

Is there something wrong with me because I have forgotten a lot of my past?  It drives my friends crazy when we are reminiscing and they bring up a particular event, place or people that I do not remember.

Is it selective memory or a defense mechanism?  A blessing in disguise?

I sometimes look at my forgetfulness of past things as a blessing because I used to dwell on hurts and wrongs done to me to the point it damaged my relationships and it caused me to become cynical and hard.  I did not believe I could trust anyone.  I thought people around me were sabotaging my life.  To my dismay, I discovered it was I.

I was the one too afraid to love.  Too afraid to trust someone because I believed ultimately they would let me down or leave me.  It seemed as if death followed me because so many family and church members were dying.  People that I felt I needed to help me grow.  When they died a part of me died with them.

There were abuses that I chose to bury along with hurtful memories, thinking they would go away only to discover that they had made themselves a home deep in my subconscious.

There was a turning point in my life where I had to take a hard look at the woman in the mirror and admit that I needed help.  My life was a sham.  I pretended all was right with my world when it was not.

I began to fast and pray because I wanted God to fix me.  I wanted a clean heart as well as a clean life.

A therapist helped me face the ugliness, guilt, shame, and self-destructive behavior and the Holy Spirit worked on healing me from the inside out.

There are chunks of things I still do not remember, some good and some not so good. I ask my friends to remind me of the things that have meaning and affect our current relationship, not our past.

We cannot change the past, but we can repent and make amends.  We can ask for forgiveness if necessary, but we must not allow anyone to hold the past over our heads like thick black rainclouds.  We cannot allow anyone to do anything, which will hinder our journey.

As needed, I pray and ask Father to help me remember, that which is important to my spiritual growth and to those close to me.  The rest I am leaving in the past so that I can become the woman God created me to be.

Heaven is my goal and I will not weigh myself down with the past.  I must run this race with my eyes forward, not looking in my rear view mirror.

LOVE COVERS

Proverbs 10:12 – “Hatred starts fights, but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.” (MSG)

“Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. (KJV)

“Hatred stirs up contentions, but love covers all transgressions.” (AMP)

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          Another translation that expresses the essence of what I am trying to convey is the Good New Bible.  “Hate stirs up trouble, but love overlooks all offences.”  No matter what translation I read, the message is the same.  Hatred causes arguments, fights and damages relationships.  Hatred also opens doors to negativity.

Love on the other hand, overlooks offenses, covers all sins and pulls a quilt over bickering.  What does it mean to pull a quilt over bickering?  Kind words and words of love can stifle harsh words.  An argument isn’t an argument unless more than one person engages.

There is a difference between covering and covering up.  Love does not cover up or sweep sin under the rug.  Love cannot pretend as if sin does not exist.  It must address sin, no matter who commits it.

Our heavenly Father frowns on those who are able to see a fellow believer uncovered and do nothing to cover them.  Galatians 6:1 “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly (spiritual) should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.” (NLT)

Those of you who are spiritual (godly) should reach out to those who have stumbled or fallen.  Some people fall and do not know how to get up.  Some fall because they like the attention they draw.  Some people struggle with issues that cause them to repeatedly misstep and fall on their face.  No matter what causes a person to fall, those who are godly should be in place to restore them and not kick them while they are down.

Let’s look at a biblical example.  (Read Genesis 9:20-23)  After the flood Noah planted a vineyard and one day drank some wine, got drunk and lay naked in his tent.  Ham, Noah’s son did the unthinkable.  He went into his father tent and saw him lying drunk and naked.  Instead of covering his father, he ran out to tell his brothers, Japheth and Shem possibly making fun of his father’s condition. The brothers took a robe, placed it on their shoulders and backed into the tent to cover their father.  They went in this way so that they would not look at their father while he was naked.  They did not want to see their father in his state of vulnerability.  They had too much respect for their father.  If you continue to read Genesis 9, you will discover Noah’s response to Ham’s action once he woke up.

This story is a perfect example of how important it is to cover a person’s faults instead of criticizing or joking about them with others.  If we do nothing else upon discovering a person’s weaknesses or faults, we should cover them in prayer and show them respect.

I don’t need anyone turning up his or her noses at me or their backs on me during my times of weakness. I need someone who loves me enough to pull me to the side and correct me in love on the days they see my temper getting the best of me.  I need someone to pray for me on the days I am withdrawn. I am thankful the Lord’s strength is made perfect in weakness.

The Lord delivered me from depression years ago, but every now and then the darkness returns and tries to overtake me.  It is during those times I need my brothers and sisters to be patient with me, because as I fight against the darkness I may act out of character. It is during those times I feel disconnected from my Lord and need someone who is spiritual to cover me.  I’ve had people tell me, “I was thinking about you.”  My response is, “I hope you were praying for me.”  I don’t tell them why because that is between God and me.

As believers, we should not want to know the ugliness of someone’s past.  Nor should we be nosing around trying to uncover the cause of people’s struggles.  Let us cover each other, not uncover them.

It grieves my spirit when I see people posting very intimate details about their lives on Facebook.  There are some things that are too personal for public viewing.  If you are hurting, seek godly counsel after praying and seeking God.  Sometime people ask for prayer without revealing intimate details and that’s good.  I seek the prayers of family and friends because I know the effective prayers of the righteous are powerful and get results.

Hatred stirs up contentions, starts fights and stirs up strife.  There is far too much of this on Facebook.  Therefore, brothers and sisters, lets pull the blankets up.

HONOR OUR LEADERS – PART TWO

The fourth chapter of Ephesians is a very inspiring book.  It is also sobering because it teaches so much about being a child of God and a follower of Christ Jesus.  Paul begins this passage of wisdom by appealing and even begging the believers to walk or rather lead lives that are worthy of the divine calling of God.

Verses 4-7 “We are all parts of one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. ⁵ For us there is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ and we all have the same God and Father who is over us all and in us all, and living through every part of us. ⁷ However, Christ has given each of us special abilities—whatever he wants us to have out of his rich storehouse of gifts.”

This calling led captives to freedom and opened prison doors to those in spiritual chains to the enemy.  The Apostle Paul instructs us on the way we are to conduct ourselves.  He also talks about Jesus’ victory over captivity and announces that our victorious Lord gave gifts to men. (v.8)

When you read Ephesians 4 and meditate on scriptures 1-10 they shed light on God’s plan for the body of Christ and how a people who were once deep in sin and on the way to hell can live pure and righteous lives.  They also reveal to us the ones that will help the believers grow up spiritually in order to go out and show the unsaved world what God is like.  Every believer is responsible for maturing in order to fulfill God’s ways and purposes, not just for personal growth but for the growth of the universal body of Christ.

Verse 4 clearly pointed out that we are all parts of one body that means we are interconnected and what affects one affects the whole body.  If you do not believe me, look at the condition of the church as a whole.  “There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.” Proverbs 30:12 (KJV)

Jesus gave gifts to the church to teach us how to effectively live out the calling of God and not live as pigs wallowing in our own filth.  Our ways are not God’s ways!

” ¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. ¹⁴ Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. ¹⁵ Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” Ephesians 4:11-15 (NLT)

Without Godly, leaders the children of God will never grow up and fulfill the purposes of God.  It is time to stop fighting the leaders that are teaching the pure word of God and support them. Leaders with only a form of Godliness but are clearly serving the enemy will be judged by God.

The unaddressed sin in the church only prolongs the return of Christ.  Judgment will begin in the house of God, but in the meantime, people are content following leaders, which support them in their sins and do not hold them accountable.

Verses 14-16 in The Message translation says, “No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.”

I don’t know about you, but with everything that is taking place in our world, and the risky chances our government is taking, the return of Christ Jesus is imminent. His bride needs to be healed from the inside out. She will stand before her husband without a spot or wrinkle.  That is so hard to believe when you look at the church now, but I do believe it and  I want Jesus to find me doing my part in His body and supporting those He has placed as spiritual leaders over me.  I leave these words with you from 1 Thessalonians 5 (NLT) “¹⁴ Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.  ¹⁵ See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. ¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.  ¹⁹ Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Do not scoff at prophecies, ²¹ but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. ²² Stay away from every kind of evil.

HONOR OUR LEADERS – Part One

“¹²Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. ¹³ Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.” 1 Thessalonians 5:12 & 13 (NLT)

We are instructed to honor our leaders because they work hard, not just on Wednesdays and Sundays but every day of the week.  Being in a leadership position in the church is not easy.  I was an associated pastor at the last church I attended before moving from Illinois and I saw firsthand the burden that leaders carry.  I was privileged to go behind the pulpit scenes and see how a true man of God lived.  He wasn’t perfect and he made mistakes, but he confessed them and got back on track.  He sometimes needed guidance and advice from those close to him and he humbled himself to receive it.  The man of God also needed protection from those who would take advantage of him because he had a big heart and would help anyone.

I’m sick of people lamenting on and on about how they have been hurt in the church.  Listen to me ministers of the Gospel are being hurt far more than members are.  People can leave and go to other churches when they get upset or don’t like the way things are going, but Pastors and leaders continue to stand in the pulpit and hide great pain in order to minister to you!

I grew up in a Baptist church and I remember how church leaders were celebrated.  Each year anniversary services were held to celebrate the pastor and his wife.  Pastors and their wives received gifts from the members and from other church pastors with which we had fellowship.  Men and women of God were held in high esteem.

How should we treat leaders whose lives exemplify Christ and are dedicated to serving God and His holy people?  They are to be shown GREAT respect and wholehearted love according to verse thirteen.

People are speaking against the leaders of their churches and have no fear of God.  Church leaders are human and subject to making wrong choices. Look at King David, a man after God’s heart and dearly loved by God.  Look at any of the bible greats and you will see people selected by God for His purposes, who at some point messed up big time.  God did not throw them to the wolves He corrected them and set them on their feet again.

It is foolish to think a person in leadership will never make wrong choices because everyone at some point will.  What a person does AFTER taking a wrong path shows them to be either a child of God or a child of the enemy.

Stop putting your pastor and church leaders on pedestals they are not worthy.  Stop putting them under microscopes and crucifying them, that is not your place.

Do you understand God’s purpose for leaders in the local church?  Do you know your purpose? If not, it is time for you to study your bible and seek the face of God.

Every believer that belongs to a local church body is responsible for praying for their leaders.  We are to pray also for spiritual leaders worldwide.  We don’t pray just when everything looks good or if we agree with everything leadership does.  Pray without ceasing.  Pray harder when the leaders are under attack or seem to be going in a way that may potentially harm the ministry.  Don’t join in with the attacks, PRAY!!!    Prayers are like fire that keeps the coals of the ministers spirits stoked.  If there are no prayers, the fire may go out.  Prayers also protect leaders from attacks of the evil ones.  Just as pastors spend hours studying the Word of God and planning messages to feed the people, the people should spend hours praying that the anointing of God rest on their pastor and keep them from harm.     We are all part of the body; this includes the leadership as well.  They are not the head; Jesus is the head of the body.  Let us lift up, encourage, and support those in leadership over us and live at peace with each other.