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

The Path

 

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and He will direct thy paths. Proverbs 3: 5 & 6

One of the definitions of path is a track or course. Life is a series of having to make decisions or choices.Many times we find ourselves at crossroads having to decide which way to go. Some of our choices are very easy to make. What to wear, what to eat, or what movie to watch? Living life would be so easy if our choices were that simple.

I remember as a young child wanting to go to my grandmother’s house. My mother would lead me by the hand to the path. There was a well worn path through the field between our house to Grandma’s. Mother would tell me to follow the path. It was easy, stay on course till I got there. As I got older I would stray. I remember getting into a sandspur patch, being bare foot it really hurt. My mother heard me crying and came to my rescue. After pulling out the sandspurs, drying my tears, she said, ” thats why I told you to stay on the path.”

The Lord wants us to rely on Him when we have to make decisions. First we have to trust Him, knowing He has a plan and purpose for our lives. The Lord knows the future and what we are going to face because of our choices.How many times have we made decisions on our own and later regretted it? When we let our emotions take over we usually end up in a mess. Our flesh feels good and off we go. We have all cried out, “Lord please get me out of this mess.”

Thank God for His mercy and grace. As we grow older we are suppose to become wiser. We are to profit from our poor decisions. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Maturing in our relationship with the Lord, learning to listen and obey His voice, Life’s decisions will become more clearer. We have to learn to be led by the Holy Spirit. He will order our steps and direct our paths.

~Ricky Robinson

image Credit © Dainis Derics | Dreamstime Stock Photos

The Maze of Life

 

Have you ever gone to the airport and watched and listened to the people coming and going? I recently had that opportunity. I had to pick up my nephew who was flying in from Minnesota. I pictured this little maze with a mouse running around trying to find it’s way to the prize, the CHEEESE at the other end. People were darting here and there to get to where they were supposed to go hoping they do not miss their flight to their destination.  Their eyes are focused straight ahead as they maneuver around people, luggage, and barriers.

I was pondering on this and the thought crossed my mind, “How many times do we run around, darting to and fro, trying to find our way to the end, the grand prize?” Like the mouse in a maze, we try one avenue only to find a barrier or obstacle so we try another way. This process goes on until we FINALLY get on the right path, the one that God had originally wanted us on. We dart through life doing a lot of good things, but are they God things? I don’t know about you but I have traveled paths that were good paths, which I thought were God’s paths, only to find that I missed the flight so to speak. Never loose hope because you have wondered down the wrong trail or wondered down the wrong path. It is so easy to get back on the right trail. All we have to do is ask God to forgive us for making the wrong choice and He does. Immediately we have gotten back onto the right trail towards the cheese.

Satan wants to deceive us. His goal is to steal, kill, and destroy. He can make things look so good that it must be God telling you to do something or go somewhere. Remember that he is the master of deception! In order not to fall for every deception he puts out there we must equip ourselves daily. Not just on Sundays. To equip ourselves we need to build a relationship with God. Spend time in prayer and just communicating with Him. Have a conversation with Him, and then listen to what He has to say because He will respond to you if you listen. The next thing to do is to digest the Word. Not just read it to say you have read the Bible. That would be like buying lunch at a fancy restaurant and just watching the food. It is not until that food gets inside of you that your hunger is quenched. Your body digests the food to energize your body so that it will function correctly. The Word, once digested, becomes part of you. It helps your spirit man grow and become strong.  Meditate on what you read. Make it a part of you not just a once in a while thing. I am talking to myself as well. We have all missed it in this area if we are at all honest with ourselves.

Praise and Worship are two other ways to keep the enemy from deceiving you. Create a lifestyle of praising God daily. Even down to the littlest things you have. All things on this Earth belong to God. God, the creator, inspired everything created, and then had man to create what we have,. Give Him the glory for each day that you have and for the wonderful provision He has bestowed upon you and your family!  God wants us to be prosperous but not to hoard up the prosperity. He wants us to share with others to establish His Kingdom here on Earth. It is never too late to start over. If you miss it, repent, then move on with God. He is waiting for you because He loves you unconditionally!

 

~Ronda Sullivan

Image Credit © Michal Wozniak | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Trust and Obey

God does some strange things at times. The sermon that Sunday morning was on tithing. When it was offering time, I heard God tell me to put my watch in the offering plate. As the plate went from person to person in the sanctuary, I found myself debating with Him. “Why do you need my watch? I need that watch to help me remember to take my afternoon medicine.” All I kept thinking of was the story of Abraham. God tested Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his most prized son, as an offering to him. Just as Abraham obeyed, I sadly and reluctantly flipped it off my wrist and into the plate to sacrifice it to God. With tears streaming down my cheeks, I knew it was best to obey.

It turns out the youth pastor of the church had a metal allergy. He could only wear certain type of watches. Apparently, that particular watch had the right kind of metal for him to wear. God knew he needed it more than I did.

Can you see in the second paragraph above how many times my questions were about me? I must have had a case of me-ismsat that time in my life. God apparently knew I needed a lesson in trusting and obeying in him. I was self-absorbed with my needs instead of what he wanted from me. What I really needed was dependence on him for his help.

In today’s world situation, we need to learn to trust him more with all our needs. Trusting in Him to teach us what we need to learn in life is not easy. and neither is obeying at times. As a child of God, He will take care of us. After all, His Word does promise that He will never forsake us. We must remember that there are others in our own community that do not have that security in God as we do. It is a good time for us to learn to trust and to learn to obey Him. I really believe God will honor us in the process of learning even in the little things of life.

~Gay Dowdy

Image credit:

WATCH
© Paavo Leinonen  | sxc.hu

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

Actions Behind Your Words

 

Lately the word faith has been mentioned a lot at church in prayer and sermons. It’s made me stop and think, “How much faith do I have in God? ”How much do I REALLY trust Him to work in my life? We can all say that we trust God and we have faith in Him and in every area of our life. But faith without works is dead. You have to put some action behind your words. I know I’ve had to challenge myself to put some actions behind my words. And when you have people in your life that won’t let you slack with your actions, you know you can’t hide in the background.

I think many of us actually get to that point that we think we can hide in the background or we just have the mindset that our part isn’t that valuable. But we are wrong! Our individual part is just as important as the next person’s. We can’t take our part for granted or neglect it. We are to lend our supply.

And this is where our “putting action behind our words” takes place. We have to take one step of faith and do our part in the Body of Christ. You won’t get anywhere if you don’t act upon your faith!

 

~Monica Guzman

 

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ORCHID3 © Jozsef Bagota | Dreamstime.com

The Right Fit

 

How many people have had a hair cut? Now how many have stepped out and tried a new cut only to discover it doesn’t suit you or your hair type? Recently I tried a new cut. It looked good on other women, and it was the style. I had been debating on the style for several months. I gave in around mid July. I had it cut in what is called the stack look. When I saw it, I did not really like it but that usually happens after any cut I get. I have always had the attitude that if I did not like it, it will grow out and I could do something else. It was only hair. I have been getting hair cuts for many years now and this is the only cut that never fit, even after waiting a couple of days.

Just this week, I had it fixed to a style that fits with me. I learned that my hair is baby fine and not thick. The other style doesn’t work on my hair type. How many times in our lives have we tried something just because it was the style or the “in” thing to do only to find out that what you thought was a good thing ended up a disaster?

As I was heading out this morning to work in my classroom to get things ready for my students next week, the thought popped into my mind that this is happening everyday in all areas of our lives. We are trying on what other people are doing instead of putting on what God has us planned for, whether it is a career, relationships, hobbies, and education. They are good things to do, but is that what God wants?

For years, I have lived my life with people telling me you need to do this or that. They meant well and the ideas were good ones but they never fit me. I tried some of them but they did not work.

When David was getting ready to face Goliath, the king wanted him to be protected. So, out of his concern for David, he offered his armor for David to use. David tried it on. It was too big and heavy (1 Samuel 17:38-40) . David took off the armor and went with what fit for him, a sling-shot and rocks. The tools he used on a daily basis to defeat lions, bears, and other predators who would go after his sheep. Think about it, if David had decided to go ahead and wear the armor the king gave him so as to not hurt his feelings, would the ending have been the same?

It is important that we find the fit for us. Don’t put on what others are wearing or doing. What fits for them may not fit for you and the results could change the outcome drastically! The wrong fit equals a bad outcome. The correct fit equals an outcome that is victorious no matter what we face.

~Ronda Sullivan

(article image: SLINGSHOT © Paavo Leinonen | sxc.hu )

Going for the Gold

Manteo Mitchell   said, “I felt it break. I heard it. I even put out a little war cry, but the crowd was so loud you couldn’t hear it. I wanted to just lie down. It felt like somebody literally just snapped my leg in half.”

“I knew if I finished strong we could still get it around. I saw (teammate) Josh Mance motioning me in for me to hand the baton off to him, which lifted me. I didn’t want to let those three guys down or the team down, so I just ran on it. It hurt so bad. I’m pretty amazed that I still split 45 seconds on a broken leg.”

Just like the Olympian we have the race of a lifetime in front of us. We have our company of believers cheering us on, plus a cloud of witnesses. ~Hebrews 12:1 (AMP)

Like the Olympians we too must push past our pain and continue our race.  We have people that work alongside of us to get God’s word into the earth. It’s not a one man show; we all have a part to play. When I’m weak and haven’t prayed much, then I know that I can count on people in the body to encourage me.

I have been at a place personally that has been dry. I’ve been in pain physically, but the enemy was trying even harder to stop me in the spirit. He wants to get me focused on my circumstances. I know I can’t quit. I have somewhere to go in the spirit, and it’s not just for me. It’s for other people.

One difference between Christians and Olympians is that we don’t have a huge crowd cheering us on. We have to know that we are pleasing God and one day we will get a reward that will not rust. I don’t have to have a medal all I need to hear is well done thy good and faithful servant.

~Tammy Sanders

Image Credit © Tammy Sanders

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

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WOMAN STANDING
©  Ragne Kabanova  | Dreamstime.com