Fitly Framed

God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here–in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.Ephesians 2: 19-22 (Message Bible)

The church has to be built according to the pattern that God gives. God is in the process of building His church. Once we are saved then we have to be fitly framed into God’s kingdom. That means you may have to team up with people you don’t get along with. This is where the chipping, cutting, and polishing begins. As you begin to mature you will be able to work with your teammates and get more done together than alone.

Fitly means in a proper manner, place, or at a proper time. To be fitted takes time. You might be fit in children’s ministry, but God may be fitting you somewhere else as well. Just fill in the blank with whatever area you are in. God has to do more work on us to get us ready for what He wants us to do.

Jesus had to be fitted to the cross. Someone had to nail His hands and feet. That was part of His assignment. He endured the cross as a man. He could have exercised His free will, and said He didn’t want to do it. What if Judas had not betrayed Jesus? What if Peter had not denied Jesus? It goes back to the message Apostle David preached, and how we can apply it to everyday life. I had been frustrated because God had not given me all I needed to finish this article. I was stuck!  I read what I had to my daughter, who said one thing, and it triggered the rest of my article. How awesome is that? God does not get in a hurry. He is always on time!

Don’t grieve God. Don’t break His heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted. Ephesians 4:20-22

~Tammy Sanders

Image Credit: Tammy Sanders

Receiving Holy Spirit

  When I was growing up, my family attended a small Evangelical Methodist Church.  We sang the traditional hymns, memorized the Bible in Sunday School, and had inspiring messages about God’s Word from the pulpit.  I was born again at age three, but  I don’t remember anyone teaching about Holy Spirit.  The only time He was mentioned was when the Trinity was mentioned:  Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  That is how I remember Him as a child.

When I was fourteen, I attended church with an elderly neighbor.  She attended a Fire Baptized Holiness Church.  While there, I experienced the first person I had ever heard speak in tongues.  When we got home, I asked my neighbor what happened.  She told me that the Holy Ghost spoke through the Sister.  I asked her how He spoke and she replied, “He just comes and speaks sometimes to help people through life.  When my son died in Vietnam, Holy Ghost spoke to me through my daughter.  That was what helped me to bear the pain.”  I still did not understand, but I was even more curious now.

I rebelled against God for a few years, but when I was eighteen-years-old, I came back to my first love.  The very next day, a friend of mine told me that her mother wanted to invite me to church that night since they were having revival.  Perfect timing!  I knew I was born again, but I also knew that this church was different because it was a Church of God!  I went and –  you guessed it – the evangelist gave an invitation for anyone who wanted to be filled with Holy Ghost.  I went up, and despite one little lady telling me to “Hold on” and another one telling me to “Let go,”  I received the infilling of Holy Spirit that night.  I left that place speaking in tongues.  Even though I did not understand what I was saying, I knew inside that He was a good gift.

Ever since that night, my life has been different.  Don’t get me wrong, it has not been perfect by a long shot.  I am still human and miss it daily. However, I have a personal teacher who lives on the inside of me and His name is Holy Spirit.  He has guided me in rough places. He has comforted me through sad times and has helped me through many times when I goofed up so badly, no one else would stick with me.  Holy Ghost is all of this and more!

Holy Spirit is for every born again believer today.  Jesus said in Luke 11:11&13 “If a son shall ask bread of any of you, that is a father, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?  If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father, give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”

Let Him help you. Speaking in tongues is the key to praying out God’s plan for your life, so what are you waiting for?

~Lisa Brannen

Image credit: ©Tammy Sanders

A Look at Discernment

I heard a word recently that caught my attention. That word was discernment. The definition is keeness of judgment; insight. It is a spirtual, God given gift. There is a counterfeit to discernment. It is suspicion. Suspicion is fleshly, of the soul. It is emotional.

People have been hurt when one has been mistaken for the other. I remember a time when this happened to me. I had been invited to hear a man who was said to be spiritually gifted. He was going to be ministering at someone’s home. My friend and I were going to dinner earlier in the evening. The restaurant had a dress code. We dressed accordingly.

Later, we went to the house meeting. I immediately felt out of place. Everyone else was in jeans and sneakers. The service had not yet started. The speaker approached us. I assumed he was going to introduce himself. He then said to me, “You are full of yourself. You think you have arrived.” Nothing could have been futher from the truth. I was fighting a battle at the time. I had come hoping to be ministered to.

Maybe on the outside I appeared to have it all together. On the inside, I was broken and hurting. I can’t judge this man. I have been guilty of being suspicious of others. I have mistaken it for discernment. There has been more times when true discernment has kept me from being deceived. I am in no way saying not to operate in this gift. I don’t think it has ever been more needed in the body of Christ. It is important we learn to recognize the difference. How do we do this? We learn from others who practice true discernment. We check our spirits. We cover ourselves with mature leaders who can help us develop this area of ministry. Most of all, we pray. God will give us this good gift.

I am thankful for Gateway Believers Fellowship. I feel safe there. I know that Apostle David and the leaders are gifted with discernment. What a blessing that is.

~Connie Robinson

Image credit: ©Tammy Sanders

Tomatoes and the Anointing

It’s funny what we take for granted. For instance, if you live in Northeast Georgia like we do, you take for granted that you will be able to eat tomato sandwiches every day from June to August if you want to. Homegrown tomatoes are everywhere this time of year. They’re at roadside stands, farmers’ markets, grocery stores, and in friends’ gardens. I can’t grow tomatoes, myself, so I get blessed by the overflow from those friends who can. It’s so easy to get used to having fresh, juicy tomatoes any time you want… until you go somewhere that doesn’t have tomatoes.

I just got back from Seattle where food is in abundance. There are organic, farm fresh fruits and veggies everywhere. I ate fingerling potatoes dug fresh from the dirt and ate salads from lettuce growing right out in the garden. We ate an amazing and delicious variety of the freshest food you could imagine… but no tomatoes. I was so surprised by the number of fruitless tomato plants I saw everywhere. Why? Because tomatoes need lots of sun, and the sunny season in Seattle doesn’t really get started until July. I was shocked by that, and I realized how fortunate I am to live where tomatoes grow easily (except in my yard) and in abundance.

Okay, so you’re probably thinking I got the wrong blog site and what in the world do tomatoes have to do with church or spiritual issues? Well, I’ll tell you… not everyone has what we have. You can grow so accustomed to having something in abundance that you forget how valuable it really is. Maybe you stop being impressed by how much spiritual fruit is popping up in the lives of all the people around you. Healing and deliverence might become commonplace. A powerful sermon and an anointed prayer line could become yawners for you if you get so used to them that you stop celebrating them. Sometimes, one of the best things you can do is go away to a place where what you have does not exist. When you see that other people don’t have what you have, then… THEN…you realize just how priceless and precious what you have really is and you stop taking what you have for granted.

When I walked back into the sanctuary at Gateway on the Sunday morning after my trip, I realized how much I had missed the corporate anointing and the apostolic ministry we have here. I missed worshipping my God with my church family. I felt, in my spirit, revivied and refreshed in a powerful way just by walking through the doors. There isn’t a place like Gateway anywhere close to where my family lives in Seattle. Nothing. I forget sometimes that not everyone has the opportunity to sit under a powerful ministry like ours…. and I’m thankful. I’m very thankful for Gateway and the anointing that is unique to this house.

After my vacation, I’m determined more than ever NOT to take what I have for granted… not in the spirit and not  in the natural. Now for a tomato sandwich!!

~Linda

Image credit: TOMATOES
© Robert Lerich | Dreamstime.com

Is it Walking the Love Walk?

How do you go from being a doormat to a strong man or woman of God who is trying to line up words and actions with the Bible without causing some friction with others? I am still working on this answer myself. Most of my life I have been told what to do and I did it. I did not have any thoughts of my own. Or when I did they were shot down pretty hard. I have always been an easy-going, good-natured person. I never once stood up for myself.

So why is it that when I start to stand up for myself, I am accused of starting trouble or causing strife? You got me. I have grown tired of being a doormat for people to walk all over. There is this really TALL woman of God at our church who taught on Approval Addiction. After listening to her teachings on it, I began to change looking for approval from the people around me. I had realized that my whole life was spent seeking the approval of family members, friends, teachers, and employers. I decided this was going to change. Actually, the change really started when my dad passed away. Change is never an easy thing to do, especially when you are so used to the things the way they are.

There is one person in my life that has always tried to control me. I love this person but I had come to the realization that I cannot always be wrong as I always was with this person. Everything had to be their way. You could have a conversation with this person and they would voice their opinion and shake their head to show me that they were right and I was wrong. I have stood up to this person several times over the last few years but not without conflict and tears from the other person because I was supposedly mad at them. I was not mad at them. I was just tired of being told what to do and what to think. I KNOW how to think for MYSELF, FINALLY!

So, am I walking in love? I think so. I am walking in love with myself because I am worth it. I am a child of God! I have a purpose that HE has created me for! Just because it does not line up with what others think I should do doesn’t mean that I am wrong in doing it. I am also walking in love with the other person by bringing Godly correction and boldness when and where it was needed. Maybe not accepted graciously by the recipient but I think they are starting to respect me.

God did not design us to seek the approval of man. The only approval that we need is from God and the last time I looked, He has placed His stamp of approval on me. Do I do everything right? Not on your life! I make mistakes all of the time, several mistakes in one day most of the time. That does not change how God sees me or how He feels about me! No, walking in love isn’t easy but it is so necessary in order to grow into the mature ambassador that God has destined us to be. Sometimes that love walk contains the correction that is needed to get us onto the right path or helps us develop a backbone to stand up for ourselves in a Godly way.

~Ronda Sullivan

Image Credit:

WOMAN STANDING
©  Ragne Kabanova  | Dreamstime.com

Noise Pollution

Have you ever just sat and observed what is going on around you in your environment? I have had that opportunity recently on a daily basis. It is amazing what you observe when you no longer have satellite TV. I choose to let mine go last Friday. It is amazing how quiet the house gets now. The noise that kept me so distracted has left. I get more things done. I am finding that on a personal level, I do better in completing tasks, organizing things. The most important thing, I feel, is that my mind is not keeping me up as much at night as it has been. I actually sleep which is a new concept lately. I often wonder if all the signals bombarding my brain constantly have kept my mind from focusing like it should.

One of Apostle David’s recent sermons comes to mind. I was in the nursery and this one statement that I HEARD him say hit me. Just imagine a cartoon light bulb above my head that for the longest time, stayed unlit. Then all of a sudden the switch was turned on and revelation and understanding poured into my brain. The funny thing is that I know he has said this over, and over, and over for years. Not only do we have to line up our words with God’s Word, we have to line up our thoughts as well. We will not make progress until we get our mind thinking the right way, in-tune with God’s Word.

It is not that I did not listen to what Apostle David preached, because I did plus I took notes. The Bible tells us that the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. So many times we have been told that if we are not careful, the devil will steal the Word being served to us each Sunday and Wednesday as soon as we exit the building.  Now, he is not sitting at the door as we leave digging into our brains. What he does is he sends a bunch of noise pollution to infiltrate our brain so that we have a hard time locating the Word. It is still inside but due to the pollution we cannot locate it. Noise pollution can be, but not limited to, the voices of others in our life, circumstances, emotions, or just life in general. It is up to us to renew our minds daily in the Word so that we can filter out the noise pollution bombarding us and preventing us from hearing God. Apostle David cannot do it for us. Our family and friends cannot do it for us. We have to make the decision to dig into the Word and filter through to hear what God is saying for us and for the church.

Romans 12:2 (NIV) “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

 

Philippians 4:7 (AMP), “And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

~By Ronda Sullivan

Image credit:

UNDER ONES OWN COVER
© Peter Gustafson | Dreamstime.com

Why You Should Consider Canceling Your Short Term Mission Trips

We have to re-think the way we “do church”, whether at home or in the mission field. The Do Good Initiative  posted this link to an excellent article, and I wanted to repost it here for you… it may make you mad, but I hope it makes you THINK.

Why You Should Consider Canceling Your Short Term Mission Trip

Image credit: From Do Good Initiative website

Then and Now

The CHOSEN Youth Conference has just ended, and I’ve been reflecting on how things were just a few years ago. When I was a thirteen year old girl, I attended Camp Destiny hosted by Gateway, but it was so much different. Back then, I thought it was all about what I looked like. My mom took me shopping for new outfits, and I was set to go. Of course I was changed by that camp in some ways. I definitely learned where I had more work to do in my faith, and let go of some unforgiveness. I think I was so insecure in myself that I had a hard time trusting God. I definitely didn’t know God like I know Him now.

This year’s CHOSEN Youth Conference was different in so many ways. For starters, all of the speakers came from Gateway. They brought the word and ministered in power during each session. Although I was unable to come during the day, God showed up in the night sessions as well. Even though I knew God was going to do something great during this time, I was still kind of in limbo. In other words, I’m not a teenager anymore and I wasn’t a worker. The enemy really hit me with condemnation saying, “You don’t fit in. What are you doing here? This isn’t for you!” I pressed past how I felt and worshipped in the night sessions anyway. You see, I’ve been in a dry place spiritually lately. Not where I want to be, but not where I’m going, so the devil tried to hit me while I was down.

I can’t write this post without mentioning my sister, Vickie Bowman. Without fail, she came and found me before service silently slipping away from the hustle and bustle for just a moment to give me a hug. She’ll never know how much that meant to me each time. She didn’t have to do it, but it was a powerful reminder that I’m still a part of the Gateway family, even though the past five years have been really hard requiring me to miss more church than I would’ve liked.

I’ve been at Gateway for eleven years, but I didn’t see the speakers as just Ann, Vickie, or Josh. I knew God had something to say, but it was up to me to listen. On the last night of the conference during praise and worship, I sobbed like a baby. I was definitely not concerned with what I looked like or what people thought! It was about experiencing God on a whole new level. The anointing was so powerful that you couldn’t deny it. I left that night feeling refreshed and renewed, knowing God’s not done with me yet. I can truly say there’s nowhere else I would’ve rather been this past weekend than watching those youth and workers lives be transformed. Minute by minute. Session by session. Anyone can get something from God at a youth conference! It just solidified everything that God is doing in and through the people at Gateway, and I’m honored to be a part of this family.

~Madison Sanders

Kingdom Finances

MONEY CHEST
© Lockstockbob | Dreamstime.com

God is in the building business, but He uses His church to do the building. The Church can’t do very much building without money. Unfortunately, a lot of Christians still sit around waiting on God to rain money from heaven. Or worse, they waste their faith praying for the guy from Publishers Clearinghouse to show up and rescue them. It’s time we, as a church, became more aware of our responsibilities with finances.

Have you ever thought about how critical it is for the Church to maintain financial integrity in the world of banking? As a Credit Analyst, I have seen many churches take out loans that they cannot repay. It breaks my heart to see that lenders do not take churches seriously, but it is hard to fault their viewpoint when church after church tries to tell them that God is their primary source of income, and then they can’t pay their bills. I have seen many churches criticized because they relied on fundraisers to raise money but winded up unable to sell enough chicken to pay their bills. Face it: If God said to borrow the money, He will supply the needs and means to repay it. That means that either the church is not hearing from God or they are not being good stewards of their money.

When a church or individual Christians borrow money from a bank and don’t repay it at all or are habitually late, this causes the loan officer and the other people of the bank to have to do much more paperwork for the banking relationship. What kind of example is this showing them? Are we showing everyone that God supplies all of our needs or are we showing others that we are like the rest of the world and may or may not repay the money?

Kingdom finance means that churches and individual Christians should have the type of relationship with financial institutions that have bankers begging to lend us money. The economy has taken its toll on just about everyone, but God doesn’t depend on the economy to supply our needs. Maybe the first problem isn’t money: it’s that we have not stopped and listened to what God is telling us to do. Maybe we’ve focused on what WE want instead of what HE wants. God isn’t interested in making us look good. He’s interested in us making HIM look good!

~Christi Duncan

What are you Fighting For?

FIGHTING STANCE
© Steven Pepple | Dreamstime.com

On any given, typical day in my life, I am an easy-going, good-natured person. I am so good-natured and easy-going, that I allow myself to be the doormat for others. Then why do I feel so scrappy this week? I almost want to fight something, but I do not know what or why. I have not felt this scrappy since the time in school when some girls were beating up on my cousin and my sister. I jumped in and socked a girl twice and that was that! Who would have thought I would do something like that now…NOT ME!

So…why so scrappy? The world tells you that as you get older your body changes. You cannot do things like you used to. You cannot take things like you used to. Your body is more prone to sickness and injury. Just about everywhere I turn, I am being told things are happening to my body just because I’m getting older, and I might as well just deal with it. WHO SAID? Not GOD! My spirit is getting stronger, making me realize that I really can fight against those mindsets!

The devil will fill your head full of lies. These lies stem from the worldly point of view, not God’s point of view. The Bible tells us that the devil comes to STEAL, KILL, and DESTROY. He will enter through your mind so quietly that, before you know it, you have changed your mind to line up with the point of view of the world. You have taken what other people tell you as the truth. I have been guilty of that a lot over the years, but now I am in the process of realigning my thoughts, actions, and words to line up with what God’s Word tells me. According to the sacrifice that Jesus bore on the cross, I am ALREADY HEALED! My body may not realize it yet, but it has no choice in the matter!

So, I am finding that the scrappiness that I am feeling is more along the lines of a battle going on inside of me to line up with what the Word tells me about ME and not what the world says about me. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am mainly a quiet person unless I know you well. But lately, I’ve been wanting to come out swinging when people start talking about THEIR ailments and how this is just the lot they have drawn in life. It’s the devil that has been telling them lies, and he’s the one I’m mad at!

Am I walking in total healing? Not at this time, but I WILL! I’m doing what I need to do in the natural – hitting the gym daily, confessing healing scriptures, meditating on the good I see in me and not the negative. I try to remember to tell myself that I am created in HIS image, so I am not stupid or ugly. We have to learn to love ourselves, which is a hard thing to do at times. I feel that if we start to love ourselves more, then even when we miss it, we can move on to the next level a lot quicker in God.

Getting past ourselves is a hard thing to do. For me, that is my biggest obstacle. I have to tell myself that I love ME, and God loves me just the way I am. Let the scrappiness that is inside of you come out and fight for what is yours and give back to the devil what does not belong to you. Remember that the plans God has for you are GOOD. He wants you to prosper and be in good health and, most importantly, HE LOVES YOU JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!

~Ronda Sullivan