Rev. Deb

We need each other part 2

This post is a continuation of the post I did on Tuesday of this week.  This morning I was reading a blog by a Pastor in SC and he said this "Jesus never apologized for asking people to make a commitment".  I started to think about this and realized the kind of commitment that was required from his disciples.  These men actually gave up life as they knew it to follow Jesus.  He never promised them large salaries or high positions.  He told them "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" Matthew 4:19.  I am not suggesting that anyone quit their job to follow Jesus.  What I am saying is that we all need to make time to work in the Kingdom.

Sometimes we say we don't have time to do certain things, but we all make time for what is important to us.  I have always tried to remember the truth that only what is done for the Kingdom of God will matter in eternity.  It is so important that we use our gifts and talents for Him.

There have been a few times in my life that I have felt a little down about life.  At those times I realized I was too focused on me. To get out of this I would have to get my focus off myself and go help someone else.  It is amazing how this can turn your attitude around.  

We have such loving and faithful people at VWC, I am always so grateful for the diligence and excellence I see in our leaders and teams.  If you haven't gotten involved yet there are so many opportunities.  You will be blessed.  

We need each other

This morning I was going over some of the Scriptures in Romans that tell us who we are in Christ and I really took some time to focus on these verses.

Rom 12:4-5
 5 so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.
NLT

Rom 12:6-9

6 God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. 7 If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

9 Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them.
NLT
I like how these verses start out reminding us that we are all part of Christ's body and that we need each other.  In verses 6-9 it goes on to explain more about why we need each other.  It says that God has given each of us abilities to use for the Church.  Notice that it says "each of us" not just certain ones or a few, this includes everyone that is part of the family of God.  He has given each of us ability that He expects us to use to bless His Church and His family.

Verse 9 says don't just pretend you love others but really love them, I think we can do this by serving each other with the abilities that have been given. 

It is so important that everyone is involved in their Church.  We need every gift and ability in action.  If you are not involved in your Church, I hope you will find a place to get involved right away.  If your Church is not quite ready for what you think your gifting is then get involved where there is a need.

You will be so blessed when you serve your Church. 

Just a reminder

I am so glad Pastor is home, when he is gone I get a new appreciation for all the things he does.  I did enjoy ministering two Sundays and a Wednesday for him.  I was reminded of how much study it takes to do services every week.

The first Sunday that I ministered we talked about looking up the Scriptures that tell us who we are "in Christ".   I encouraged our congregation to read through the NT letters again and look for Scriptures with phrases like, "in Christ, in Him, in the Beloved, in the Lord, in Whom, By Christ, By Him, by His blood, through Christ "  etc.  As you begin to find these verses write them out and begin to meditate on them. 

One lady gave a testimony about how she did this a few years ago and it changed her life.  This morning I was meditating on some of these Scriptures and it was such a powerful devotion time.  The Word just began to flow out of me about his blessings and benefits.

This is quite a project, I know but it you will do it  it will make such a difference in your life. 

Love in action

A couple of weeks ago I was driving a familiar route here in Salem and something caught my attention.

I had passed a row of Crape Myrtle trees at least hundreds of times and never noticed them until this one day.  Why did they stand out on this particular day?  Because they were in full bloom. 

This beautiful row of trees had been there all along, yet they remained invisible to me until they were in bloom.

Last night at Church I touched on a scripture in Acts 9 where a lady named Tabitha had died and people were so upset that they sent for Peter.  Tabitha had a gift to make beautiful clothes and she didn't just do this for herself and her family but for the poor and her friends.  Tabitha was in full bloom with God's love.  She didn't just talk about love, she demonstrated love.

 The Bible tells us that they will know we are Christians by our love.  We can't just talk love it has to be love in action.  What are you doing that will make people stop and take notice of God's love in your life?  Let's be so in action with God's love that people will notice and will be drawn to Him.

Missions Trip

I talked to Pastor this afternoon and he was just coming in from a long travel day.  Pastor Solomon and his wife took him to see the mouth of the Nile River.  He said it was very beautiful, I hope he is getting lots of great pics to share.

Tomorrow is Rocky's birthday so they are planning on having a party for him.  They are finishing up their work there and the team will also get to do some sight seeing before they return home.

Pastor said he would be ministering in the Church there again this Wednesday night. OnThursday he is flying to Germany to minister at a Church there for the weekend.

Pastor said that in between the two services on Sunday, some of our medical team got to answer health questions for the congregation.   

I will try to give more updates as I can.

Company's coming

Yesterday we were expecting company.  Our guest speaker for this Sunday Ron Jackson was on his way to our home.  We were expecting him to call an hour before he arrived and had some idea of his possible arrival time.  So all day we were aware that his arrival was getting closer with each moment that ticked by.  So we spent the whole morning preparing, making sure the house was clean, the yard looked neat, and made sure that everything in the guest room was clean and ready for our guest.

As I was out helping with the yard yesterday, I began to think how anticipating a guest arrival made me think about Jesus return for us.  We don't know the exact time that he will come for us but we do know from the Word and the signs that it won't be long.  The question that I ask myself yesterday, "Am I living like I am expecting Him?" 

I don't want a day to go by that I don't have this on my mind.  I want to make sure that I am continuing to live anticipating his coming and making the most of everyday to accomplish the calling on my life.  Let's let our daily activity reflect the fact that we are anticipating His coming.

Prayer last night

Every first and third Monday night we are having prayer for a "Spiritual Awakening" in our nation, churches, families etc.  Last night we had 14 passionate prayers there.  I really appreciate Rodney for being so faithful to continue these prayer times. 

Once in a while we all need to stir ourselves up concerning prayer.  Personal prayer time is important but it is also good to attend some corporate prayer times.  Praying with others can help keep you stirred up about prayer.  I also like to read scriptures and books about Prayer on a regular basis to keep myself stirred up.  Yesterday I got a Praise report from someone about an answer to prayer to something we have been believing for corporately.  All these things can help you stay faithful to pray.

I hope we are  not just viewing prayer as a duty but as a privilege and something that is part of our everyday life.  I use to think I had to wait until my "prayer time" to pray about things but then I decided to pray about things as they come into my mind and not wait until a certain time of the day and try to remember everything and everyone I want to pray for. 

I like to begin my day with pray, it gets me headed in the right direction and I like to end my day with some time of being thankful before I go to sleep.  As I am going about my day I like to pray for people and situations as I am reminded of them.  Many times as I am driving someone will pop in my mind that I haven't seen for a while and I always take that as a clue to pray for them.

Well I hope I will see many more of you at Corporate prayer soon. 

Quick Update

Can't believe that it has been so long since I posted a blog.  I do have a good reason though.  For about 10 days before I went to Piedmont we didn't have internet at home.  After two modems and two repair people they finally got it up and running after almost two weeks being down.

I have lots of pics I will post of the Campmeeting, may not get to it until next week though.  We are taking a little R & R this week.

Be blessed!  

The Psalms

This morning I got in a quick walk and took my IPod so I could listen to scripture during my walk.  Today I choose to listen to the Psalms.  I had bought the book of Psalms through ITunes and many of them have music to accompany the reading.  I really enjoy listening to these and what I really was paying attention to was how David started and ended many of the Psalms.

Many times David would start out pouring out his heart to God about the troubles he was going through but always by the end of the Psalm he would be praising God for his faithfulness to take care of these things for him.  Sometimes we feel that we are the only one going through things and it is good to be reminded that everyone has challenges.  I like to remember the saying "without a test, there is no testimony". 

It is okay to pour our hearts out to God for a few minutes about whatever your facing, just don't dwell on the problem to long.  Begin to remember God's faithfulness to you in the past.  Remind yourself out loud of His faithfulness, of the grace and mercy He has shown you before.  Remind yourself of the prayers that have been answered and the blessings you have enjoyed.  Before you know it your faith will be rising and you will find yourself encouraged and rejoicing.

It's good for us to rehearse our blessings everyday, God is always so faithful.  

Good times, good friends

We finished a wonderful FCCI Conference today at lunch.  Tonight we had the privilege of taking the leadership to Homeplace for dinner.  They got another dose of southern hospitality before they all leave to go back to their Ministries.  They are still talking about how wonderful our VWC family treated them and took care of them.  We can't say "thanks" enough to all of you who hosted and worked this week to make the Conference a success.  God never forgets our labor of love. 

Be Blessed!