The Ministry of Ducks

I was seven years old. It was picture day at school. I didn’t enjoy picture day. My unruly, naturally curly hair was not very cooperative. This morning was no different. I knew almost all of the kids would be wearing their nice new clothes. I lived with my grandma. We had a lot of love in our home. There was not much of anything else. I was standing on the porch waiting for time to leave. I saw Aunt Lillie walking up the road to our house. She had a bag in her hands. I knew that meant that somebody was in for a big surprise! You can imagine how happy I was when she handed the package to me. Aunt Lillie did not have children. She loved all of the kids in our family. She treated us as if we were her own.Inside of the bag was a new dress she had made for me. The pattern was bright yellow cartoon ducks. I loved it! I wore my new dress with pride that day.

There was something special about Aunt Lillie. We all knew that she was a Christian. Sometimes she would take me to church with her. I often asked her questions about God and the Bible. She was always patient to answer me. I remember her telling me to listen to my heart. She told me that God spoke to little girls there. Aunt Lillie probably never knew that I saw the love of God in that dress. She showed me the love of God in many ways. It is not always the big stuff that leads someone to Jesus. It may be something as simple as a cartoon duck dress on picture day. Aunt Lillie is in Heaven now. My little grandson asked me one day how big God is. I told him that God is big enough to hold the whole world in one hand, and small enough to live inside of a little boy’s heart. See Aunt Lillie, I was listening all along.

Luke 18:16 “But Jesus called unto him,and said, suffer little children to come unto me,and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”

. ~Connie Robinson

Image Credit © Tammy Sanders

Servant Angels

This past week I’ve been reading in the book of Judges, particularly about the story of Gideon. Gideon was the least in his family, who was the least in their tribe in the nation of Israel. He was the low man on the totem pole. He was so afraid of the oppressing Midianites stealing his wheat, that he was threshing his wheat in a wine press. Yet God sent an angel to tell Gideon that he was a mighty man of valor who would deliver his people from the hand of the Midianites.

Many of you know the story, but as I kept reading, something struck me. God commanded Gideon to destroy the idols of his father. To do this, Gideon went in the middle of the night with his ten most loyal servants and destroyed the idols…

Whoa! Wait a minute. You mean that the low man on the totem pole had servants who helped him to do what God had called him to do? Actually, most people of wealth or authority in the old testament had servants, but I was fascinated to see that Gideon had servants as well.

Now most people in our culture  do not employ people to serve their households. But did you know that you do have servants! Hebrews 1:14 (Amplified) says, “Are not the angels all ministering spirits (servants) sent out in the service [of God for the assistance] of those who are to inherit salvation?” We are kings and priests of the Most High God and just as all kings have servants, we too have been provided servants, the angels of God! And just like Gideon, God wants us to utilize our angels to assist us in accomplishing the things God has called us to do. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited to begin exploring and discovering how we can use God’s angels as servants! How about you?

~Dr. Matt

Image Credit Angel © Olga Poreda via sxc.hu

The Journey of Trust

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ~John 8:32 (Amp)

Here at Gateway we work on building relationships with each other. What is the importance of building a relationship with those you fellowship with? For me, it is building up trust with those I work with and interact with. As a child, I was considered too trusting in people, mainly adults and those older than me. I believed in them and what they said. They were older, and they were supposed to protect the younger generation.

Over the years many, many things happened to cause me to change that outlook. I remember one instance when I went to a good friend of mines house a few blocks down. We were living in Dayton, Ohio in Wright Patterson Air Force Base housing at the time. This friend and I were in middle school/junior high together. I was at her house a lot. This one particular time, her older, high school, brother called me to come into the dining room. I can’t remember what for. We were upstairs, and I had been alone with him in rooms before so there wasn’t any reason to question anything this time. When I came into the room, he cornered me and tried to take advantage of me. I hollered, and he let me up. I never went into a room alone with him again. Trust in men was diminishing. I found myself trying to second-guess motives in people, but mainly men. My whole life has been full of episodes where the men in my life could not be trusted. You could not depend on them to keep their word and do what they said that they would do.

When I was pregnant with my first son, my husband and I lived in a small trailer that we rented from the father of a good friend of mine here in the county I live in now. I went camping with them. I spent summers with them. Well, when I kicked my husband out for cheating, I decided that I would move in with my parents. I was about 8 months along. Well, my landlord, who was a deacon in his church, came to me to and said that we could come up with some type of an arrangement so that I can stay with him. I was shocked because this man was a deacon in his church. People who go to church are not supposed to do things like that. Secondly, I was shocked because I was eight months pregnant and married. Thirdly, I was shocked because my parents raised me differently than that and for him to assume I would do such a things was appalling! Needless to say, I moved out but not until after my son was born.

The Word is preached and taught each time the doors open at Gateway. The truth that God wants us to know so that we can be set free is not sugar coated, watered down, or altered to be digestible to those in the congregation. It is the truth of the WORD that GOD wants us to know. For me, I desire the truth. I hate it when people run around the bush in trying to get a point across. In order for me to grow as a person, I need the truth. Do I trust completely? Not by a long shot. I can say that I trust more now than I did before I started to attend Gateway. As long as I continue to move forward,  I will learn to trust more and to grow into what God wants for me.

It is the truth of His Word that will make you free and cause you to grow and carry out your destiny in the Kingdom of God. It is His truth that will help you get through the hard times that we all go through at some point in time. I’m still working through my trust issues, but God is faithful to complete the work He has started in me!

~Ronda Sullivan

Image Credit © Tammy Sanders

Rekindle the Fire

 

We as the church should be filled with the compassion of God to reach out to a lost and dying world. This world is filled with sin. Sin everywhere you turn. Instead of gossip, strife, and hate, I want to be filled with the love of God, so He can touch this lost world we are living in. We have to be willing to see other people as God sees them. Oh, to be used as His hands, mouth, feet, and eyes. To go where He says go, and do what He says to do.

Rekindle the fire. Rekindle the flame. Burn within me, Lord; A hot flame. A burning desire to live for you. Rekindle the fire in me. I release your power that you’ve given me. I receive your power to set men free.

God needs to be rekindled not just in me, but in everybody that’s in the Body of Christ. The fire use to be in the church like in the days of John G. Lake, and Lester Sumrall. It needs to be rekindled today through prayer, fasting, and seeking Him.

Forgive me, Father, for letting my heart become hard before you. Cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Make me just like you. Let my heart be full of compassion and love for people as never before.  You went to the sick, ungodly, and brokenhearted. You went to places that religious people would never go. Let us get to the place that we are so hungry for you, so all that matters is to please you.

~Tammy Sanders

Image Credit © Tammy Sanders

The Eyes Of A Child

I recently had the pleasure of spending the day with one of the most important people in the world. She is very smart. This person is more entertaining than the most famous movie star. Her antidotes could hold the attention of kings! She is almost two years old. I once heard that the nearest thing to Heaven is a child.

You learn so much from observing her. She loves to explore this world that is new to her. I allow her to run ahead of me. She will often look over her shoulder for the assurance that I am still close by. I am always found within reach.  She smiles as our eyes meet. I celebrate with her when she learns something new. We laugh together when something has filled her with joy. I am there to hold her when things don’t work out like she thought they would. She comes running to me. My arms are always open wide for her. She knows I will be delighted to hold her.

This person never has to wonder if I am pleased with her. There is unconditional love between us. If she is a mess, she knows I won’t mind. I don’t even seem to notice unless she asks me to help clean her up. I accept her just as she is. My little granddaughter is sure I am always there for her. She trusts my love for her because it has been proven time and time again.

Psalms 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with my eyes.

God watches our progress. His eyes are always on his children. We are free moral agents. He allows us to make our own paths. God is never too far away. He is quick to hear us when we call. His arms are always open to hold us. His love for us has been proven over and over. Sometimes the most important lessons can be learned from the eyes of a child.

~ Connie Robinson

Image Credit © Connie Robinson

We Remember

The Lord instructed Joshua to build a memorial so the children of Israel might look back and be reminded of their miraculous entry into the Promised Land. The memorial was a reminder to look back, not to go back. So often, we get those two things confused.

Consider gravestones. They are markers, memorials, for the purpose of looking back and honoring a life. But you can’t live there at that marker; there’s no room there for the living. Nor can you dig up that past and carry it with you.

On this Memorial Day, we pause to look back and honor all of the American service men and women who have given their lives for the cause of liberty. We acknowledge their sacrifice, understanding that we owe a debt of gratitude to them. But at the same time, we celebrate those who remain. In celebrating the living heroes in our midst, we draw from their wisdom and experience.

Likewise, we recognize that we have a great heritage of faith in the Body of Christ, the foundation of which has been laid by those who have gone before us. We look back and honor the saints who laid down their lives so that we can possess the territory God has called us to. It is what they died for, but it is what we live for.

So we look back; we don’t go back. There is no room back there for the living. We build the Kingdom from here, not stuck where they were, but moving forward. We honor those saints who are part of our great cloud of witnesses, but we run our race, pressing on towards our prize. And how do we press? Through praise! Yes, we acknowledge the victories of the past, but we don’t hang around the memorial stones and live there. We praise God for what He is doing in our lives today! We praise Him for His goodness and mercy, for His glory and presence. We praise Him because He is good to us…all the time!

So, we give honor to whom honor is due. We pause to remember the lives that they gave. And through praise, we lay hold the victory that has already been appropriated to us and we keep pressing on!

~Linda

Commitment

I remember twelve years ago when I heard God ask me to leave where I was at, and go to Gateway Believers Fellowship. It was decision time again. I had a choice to make to either follow God, or be rebellious and act like He never spoke to me. I chose to follow Him. You may ask was it easy? No!

I fought for two weeks before I made that commitment. I can tell you when I stepped foot into where God had called me to be, there was such a peace of knowing that I had had obeyed Him. It did not matter what all the other voices I heard was saying.

I wanted more of God, but I had to be willing to pay the price, and do what He told me to do. There will always come a time to go your own way.  Commitment is a continual process, and you will always need His grace to go where He wants to take you.

God told us we are in a new place.We have to be willing to do what is necessary to occupy this place. Making a commitment involves dedicating yourself, to someone, a thing, or a cause. It will require you to do something that you’ve not done before. Before you make a commitment count the cost, because it will cost you something.  Many are called, but few hear His voice. When you hear His voice, it will sustain you to persevere.

You may ask yourself, “What is keeping you from committing your  life fully to His cause?”

~Tammy Sanders

Image Credit: ©Tammy Sanders

Senioritis

Senioritis [seen-yer-ahy-tis] noun A crippling disease that strikes high school seniors. Symptoms include: laziness, an over-excessive wearing of track pants, old athletic shirts, sweatpants, athletic shorts, and sweatshirts. Also features a lack of studying, repeated absences, and a generally dismissive attitude. The only known cure is a phenomenon known as Graduation. – The Urban Dictionary

You probably know people affected by a complex disease known as senioritis. This disease makes it appear that the afflicted have completely lost their minds. Teenagers once content with their environment and circumstances are suddenly angered by them. Carefree children are suddenly worried about what lies around the next bend. Responsible young people make outrageously bad decisions. Apathy seems to abound.

It’s baffling, really. Right when you think they KNOW better, their actions lead you to believe that maybe they’re not really ready for that next big step after all. You start to wonder what they missed, how they got as far as they did, and if it’s even possible for them to succeed at the next level. They appear destined for complete and utter failure. Why don’t they care? You stand around, scratching your head, wondering, “Who ARE these people?!” They are certainly NOT the people they were even one short year ago…

… and THEN…

Graduation occurs! Graduation – the miraculous cure to senioritis. The calm that comes as they step across the threshold is akin to the noiseless cockpit of a plane after it has broken the sound barrier. Breakthrough has been achieved. Yes, it’s a busy time for planning and preparing for the new experiences at hand, but the noise and nervousness are gone, replaced by a fresh determination and sense of purpose. Apathy and lethargy become distant memories in the thrill and excitement of embracing this new season. Senioritis is gone!

“Now wait a minute,” you’re thinking. “All that happens with one lousy piece of paper slapped in your hand?” No, of course not. It’s not the paper or even the ceremony of graduation that signals the breakthrough. It’s the awakening to a new season that occurs when the mind grasps the accomplishment that has just taken place. It may not happen in an instant, but ask any of our high school or college graduates in a couple weeks or a month, and they’ll tell you that SOMETHING has changed. They will tell you they know they are not in the same place anymore and that there is NO GOING BACK NOW!

We all go through this process. We become seasoned experts on one level – the top dogs of our group. We get so good at what we do that we become overqualified to stay where we are, so we must move on to the next level. Once we realize that, things start shaking… all hell starts breaking loose in our emotions, in our circumstances, in our relationships. We fumble. We make mistakes trying to juggle a past that we’ve fulfilled with a future that is unfamiliar. We turn to see if there’s a way to stay put, but it’s too late… we can’t make it work out here and going “there” seems impossible. We have become officially infected with Senioritis. We get frustrated and angry at the helplessness we feel. We try to undermine ourselves by slacking off and coasting along. We distance ourselves from important relationships in our lives. We are plagued by thoughts of impending failure. “I can’t do it. I’m scared. What if I don’t make the right decision?” All these thoughts and emotions whirling around make us appear to those on the outside as though we’ve lost our minds! They may even wonder who in the world we are. We don’t look like or sound like the person we were even a short year ago…

…and THEN..

Graduation occurs! Breakthrough! We step across that threshold into the new level God has prepared us for. SOMETHING has changed. We are not in that same place anymore and there IS NO GOING BACK NOW!

So do a check-up: are you in a state of apathy or lethargy? Are you struggling to maintain your relationship with God and others? Are you frustrated and fumbling around in your spiritual life? If so, it may just be that you are experiencing Senioritis. Don’t be content to stay put where you are! Go ahead and take those qualifying exams and press into the next level God has for you!

By Linda Frederick

Careless Crossing

 

On May 11, 1965, I was in the ninth grade at Hamlet, N.C. High School. Mother would wake me up for school. I would get up, dress, eat breakfast, milk the cow, and catch the bus. I hated to milk our cow. She would usually slap me with her wet tail as I was milking. Since I was already dressed, the muddy tail usually got my shirt dirty. When this happened, I had to change and run to catch the bus.

That morning I got to school at 7:45, so I had fifteen minutes before school started. David, my friend, met me when I got off the bus. He suggested we go to the store across from the school. A bus student wasn’t suppose to leave the school grounds. I was fifteen and a typical teenager, rebellious and hated rules. My parents believed in corporal punishment, which kept my rebellion in check most of the time. Not this morning, I was already mad with having chores before school. I wanted some control over my own life, and was tired of obeying rules.

David and I took off for the store. I saw the crossing guard and didn’t want to get hasseled for leaving school grounds. There was a gate where we exited in the middle of the block. I looked both ways and then back to my left watching the x-ing guard with his back to us. I took off heading for the store. Bam! I was hit by a car. I never saw it.

My next memory was waking up, thinking I had to get up and go milk the cow. Then, I heard people talking and asking me questions. I was in shock in a hospital with a compound fracture and head injuries. Because of my injuries I had to be transported to Columbia, S.C. to a specialist.

It was a long painful ride. My mother rode in the back of the ambulance with me. I know it was her prayers and those of my family that spared my life. Thank God for a praying family and His mercy. One of my favorite verses is,” The Lord is not slack concerning His promises, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”~ 2 Peter 3:9

You might get by with rebellion for a season, but remember your sins will find you out.

~Ricky Robinson

Image Credit ©Tammy Sanders

What Color Is Your Coat?

 

Genesis 37:3 Says, “Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other children, because he was the son of his old age and made him a coat of many colors.”

Awhile back,I bought myself a jacket. I liked the taupe color because it is neutral. I was leaving the house to go have lunch with a friend. I noticed that in the sunlight my coat looked more green than taupe. This made me think of a young man in the Bible by the name of Joseph. His father made him a coat of many colors. He did this because he loved his son very much. It is easy today to run to the mall and purchase a jacket for ourselves. We realize that wasn’t the case in Joseph’s time. I can picture the father working lovingly on the coat for his son. He must have worked for days, even weeks on it. I believe he took great thought into picking each color of fabric.

In my mind I  can see him choosing purple. Joseph would someday be a part of royalty. Maybe he chose a blue. He prayed his son would always walk in revelation knowledge. White could stand for a reminder to Joseph to remain pure until marriage. This story reminds me of how many times my Heavenly Father has covered me. I have walked in some hard places. I know I could not have made it without Gods love for me.

Later on in the story, Joseph’s brothers stripped him of his beloved coat. It didn’t matter. He still felt His Fathers love and presence in his life. Have there been times in your life when struggles have made you feel stripped of who you know  you are in Christ? The enemy has tried many times to convince me God wasn’t there for me in trials. Maybe at times it has seemed like God is far away. Those are the times we must remember how He has always prepared for us whatever we needed. Whatever we may face, He has us covered. There is nothing that gives us strength more than spending time with Him. The world may try to strip us. Nothing can take away the love our Father has for us. What color is your coat today? I can tell you. It is whatever you need from Him. All you have to do is ask of your Father. Remember, he has you covered.

~Connie Robinson

Image Credit @ Tammy Sanders