Thank You for Being a Friend!

Everybody wants a friend. Everybody wants to belong somewhere…anywhere. I grew up on Air Force bases around the world. I was a quiet person and it took quite a while for me to make friends. I was very selective in who I chose. I wanted a friend who would always be there. I wanted someone that I could talk to about my deepest dreams, no matter how silly they were. I wanted someone I could entrust my deepest fears who would help me get through them. I used to envy the girls where I would go to school that had a best friend since kindergarten. I wanted that and badly! Military life was not bad but the changing stations and starting to a new school was hard on a quiet, shy little girl.

As I was driving home the other day from Atlanta, I got to thinking about friends…about my friends. I was thinking about the things that I share with them. Not one of my closest friends knows everything about me. It seems that I share some things with one friend, other things with another, and so on and so forth. If they were ever to combine forces and compile what they know then they would have almost a complete picture. I love them all dearly but I have not brought myself to trust one single person with everything about me.

Have you ever had the spiritual V-8 head smack? Well I experienced that while sitting in the wonderful Atlanta traffic (trying hard not to nut up and step out in the flesh at some of the drivers!). I could almost visualize God’s hand smacking me in the head!

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you] as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set  you apart, consecrating you; ]and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1: 5 (AMP) Even though God is speaking to Jeremiah in this verse, don’t you think it applies to you? He may not have called you to be a prophet. However, He knew you before He formed you in your mother’s womb. I think it does apply to me. He is no respecter of persons. He has given us a purpose in life. We are part of His Kingdom. He has approved of us and has appointed us to preach the gospel, His Word to set forth His Kingdom here on Earth.

The revelation that I received was that He WAS my best friend throughout my whole life, and He is STILL my best friend! He knows EVERYTHING about me. He also knows EVERYTHING about you! He wants and desires that BEST FRIEND Relationship. He will listen to you and give you the advice that you need. He will not lead you astray. It is okay to have your really, good friends. Just don’t forget to spend that time with your best friend.

~Ronda Sullivan

An Unlikely Adventure

Several people I know hate the monotony of life. If I’m being honest, waking up and knowing I have to do exercises each week doesn’t exactly thrill me either. But my mom said something to me this morning as I was working on interview questions that struck me. She simply said, “What if the adventure is right in front of you?” I thought about that and realized how true that is. Lots of times we are so busy complaining about something in our lives that we fail to see what we really have.

I don’t have to hop on an airplane to go visit California, New York, or England. I am fortunate enough to get to meet people from all over the world thanks to email! Since I have started my internship, I have had the opportunity to start building relationships with some amazing women without leaving my bedroom! What opportunities are you missing because you just want to get away from it all? There could be something wonderful right around the next corner if you’ll just hang on and have a little faith! When I request interviews with people, there’s a chance I won’t hear back from them. I have to at least try.

For example, I woke up kind of drowsy this Saturday morning.  I had emailed someone for an interview late Friday night, so I really wasn’t expecting a response until Monday.  To my surprise, the woman did email me back and was willing to be interviewed.  My spirit leaped with excitement!  My brain was firing off questions quicker than I could type them.  The thrill of pursuing something is a feeling like no other. Just the sheer possibility of what could happen was enough for me to quickly respond to the email.

I encourage you to ask God to let you see things from His perspective. He has given you everything you need to be a success, but YOU have to make the choice to act on it!

~Madison Sanders

Thirsty for God’s Love

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

~John 4:14

Jesus was sitting by a well one day when a woman came up to get some water. She was just going about her daily life like she always did, but this day would be different. A few words from Jesus, and she realized that what she had been looking for would never quench her thirst, but what Jesus offered… love and forgiveness of sins… would change her life. Jesus knew that she was living with a man who was not her husband. He knew that she had five husbands before that man. He knew that she had failed in her relationships and was in sin. But He offered her a new chance at life anyway, and she took it.

I can relate to that woman so well. When I first came to this church, I didn’t have a clue about anything. I was just living day-by-day, flowing whichever way the wind blew, because that’s all I knew. I had no focus in my life…no purpose that I could tell. At a very young age, I had already been in more relationships than I like to admit and had my first child when I was still very young. I believed that anyone who messed up so early in life certainly couldn’t have much to look forward to. The best I felt I could do was just hope to make it through each day.

But God had a different plan for me. When I came to Gateway, I had just gotten out of a bad relationship and jumped right into a new relationship, which usually doesn’t work out very well. But this time, my boyfriend brought me to church where I soon learned that God loves me regardless of all the mistakes I’ve made. I realized that my relationship with Him quenches that thirst for love and acceptance that once drove me in the wrong direction. Not only have I learned how to receive God’s love, but I have also learned how to receive true, Godly love from other people. Coming to this “well” has changed my life. I realize I have purpose and that God really cares about my life and my relationships. That boyfriend who brought me here is now my wonderful husband of 12 years and one of the many blessings God has given to me.

We all have our stories and excuses for the reason we are the way we are, but we can’t let those things keep us on the wrong track with the wrong mindset. If we’ll trust Him and act on His word, then we can find His purpose for our life and walk it out. Even though Jesus knew all about that woman at the well and her husbands, He still took the time to speak to her and offer her forgiveness. Jesus knows all my mistakes, but He loves me anyway, has a plan for my life, and has given me purpose. He will do the same for you if you will just trust Him.

~by Guest Contributor  Michelle Parrish

My Not so Lovely Reflection

Love is a four-letter word that we usually want to define on our own terms instead of God’s. If someone is doing something that makes me happy, I say that I love them. But, do I really love them when they criticize something that I say?  My human reaction is usually a resounding NO! Since God says we should love through any situation, it’s up to me to figure out exactly what it is that is in me stopping me from loving them in the moment that they hurt me.

Recently, I had some conflict with my brother. I was so mad at him for criticizing the way I had spoken to someone! It was like he was holding up a mirror, showing me a part of myself that I didn’t want to see. Once I got past the fact that I didn’t like his harsh tone, I realized his words were filled with truth. I do need to look at the way I respond to people, but until that moment, I was in the dark about it. Thanks to him, I had my image reflected in that mirror, and it was not exactly pretty! In fact, I probably looked like an old woman that snubs her nose at people for no good reason! I don’t know about you, but that is not how I want to come across to people!

Now that I’ve shared a “not so glorious” moment of mine, think about this: If someone speaks the truth in love to you, what would those words show you? What does that reflection in your mirror look like?  As you go through this week, I challenge you to think about what you are reflecting to others. Love takes work, but with a little patience and self-examination, we can get there!

~ by Madison Sanders

Get Out of My Way!

I have noticed lately that I have been hitting a lot of animals with my car…more this week than in my whole driving experience. Even though I’ve felt badly about hitting birds or bunnies, I haven’t felt badly enough to stop and go back to check on them.

This got me thinking about how we treat other people, and how we often don’t even take time to show the love of God towards others because we’re too concerned with ourselves. It’s usually all about me, my needs, and what God is doing for me. If you get in my way then you just get run over! I probably won’t even stop to see if you are okay, just like I didn’t take the time to see if those animals I hit last week were okay.

I hate to think about how many times I’ve been so concerned about myself that I ignored my brothers and sisters in Christ, leaving them hurting and needing a hand. Well, the message from God to us right now is “Love one another.” That’s going to require us to pay attention to what we’re doing, so we can stop and help those in need along the way. We’ll really be able to tell how much we’re growing in our love walk by the number of people we help instead of run over!

~ by guest contributor, Michelle Parrish

Powerful Faith

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see…It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him. ~Hebrews 11: 1/6.

It’s not always the BIG things in life that need our faith. Sometimes, it’s the small things. You might look at me and recognize a need for BIG faith…miracle faith…the kind that would totally heal me. See, it was socially and mentally difficult to grow up with facial paralysis, but through it all, I learned how to trust God for the small things that were important to me in my day-to-day life. I knew there was a purpose for everything, even if I couldn’t see it.

When all my friends were dating and doing what teenagers do, I was sitting at home with my parents. I spent many nights in prayer, crying and begging God to send me someone who loved me for who I was; someone who would understand and not judge; someone who would let me love them, and, most importantly, someone to have children with and grow old with.

I wrote God a list of what I wanted in a mate. My heart knew that God already had the perfect person for me, but after a while my head didn’t agree. Time went on. Weeks went by, and nothing. I can’t begin to count the times that I asked, “God, did You forget about me down here? Are You too busy blessing everyone else?”

In my junior year in high school, I added one more request to my prayer: a date for prom. I knew I needed to have a regular date first, but I went ahead and asked Him for a date to the prom. When I was finally asked out on a date, I excitedly spent the entire afternoon getting ready. He was supposed to arrive at seven, but by nine, he still hadn’t shown up. It was supposed to be my very first date, but instead I was stood up. I felt like I was having a total breakdown. Although my heart knew that God was in control, it was like someone else was controlling my mind and emotions.

Not long after that ordeal, a family member set me up on a blind date. This time, I made arrangements to meet him before our date to let him be sure he still wanted to go out with me, and he did! I was finally going out on my first date, and the best part was he had every quality that was on my list to God!

That date was not only my first date, but it was my LAST first date! Not only did he go to the prom with me my junior and senior years (answered prayer #1), but he asked me to marry him! Two months after I graduated, we were married (answered prayer #2). We had our first child a year and a half later, our second child 15 months after that, then six years later we had our third child (answered prayer #3). Our marriage and life together has never been easy, but I know that my husband and three children  are God’s answers to my prayers…those “little” prayers that were important to me as a child.

As we strive to have more faith, let’s not forget the little things in life that we prayed for and had faith for. Nothing is too big or small for our awesome God! All I wanted growing up was a husband and children. That’s all I asked for. That’s where all my faith was pointed. And that’s exactly what I got. He blessed me with the best husband in the world. God sent him right to me at His perfect time. My married life started with a mustard seed of faith when I was much younger and flourished into the beautiful family I have today. Our mustard seeds will build mountains of faith for us, and with these mountains, God can change our world. Without faith, God has nothing to work with. We are not waiting on God; He is waiting on us!

~ By Guest Contributor, Christi Duncan

Birds of a Feather

“On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.” ~Act 4:23 NIV

I don’t understand people who claim to be Christians but who isolate themselves from the rest of the Body of Christ. They remind me of spoiled children who scream, “I hate you!” at their parents when they don’t get their way. Or rebellious teenagers who run away from home because they don’t like the rules imposed on them. I know, I know… they’ve been “hurt” in church. They’ve seen “too many Christians screw up.” They accuse “everyone” in the church of being a hypocrite. We’ve all heard the same excuses. Maybe you’ve even made those excuses. But your experience does not negate the Word of God. God is the one who established the church. Not only did He establish the Universal Church, but he set in place the Local Church for individuals to have as family. You know…we’re the Bride of Christ. It’s just like having the entire human race and then individual families within that race. We are designed for relationships, and not just relationships in general, but intimate relationships. You just can’t love God and not love the church that He loves.

People are imperfect; people make mistakes. Stuff happens. But when stuff happens, I am incredibly thankful for my “own people” to whom I can run. When I’m hurting, when I’m tired, when I’m confused or angry…I have a Body of Believers who are family to me. They are the first ones I want to call and share good news with and the ones I can count on when I need help. They have stood by me for years now… they’ve watched me grow. They have helped me grow. They’ve watched me screw up. They’ve cheered, laughed, cried, and challenged. They are my family.

I love God with all my heart, but what I know is that I will never know and experience the full expression of His love apart from His people. I also will never be able to fully express His love without being able to express it to and through my brothers and sisters in Christ first.

So, Gateway family… I love you. I wouldn’t be who I am today without your love and support. For all of you other readers out there… I can only hope you have found such a wonderful group of God’s people to call your “own.” If you haven’t…come visit sometime.

“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.” ~Hebrews 10:25 NIV

~Linda

God is not infatuated with you!

There are so many bizarre “reality” shows on TV these days. The strangest ones to me are “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette”. What exactly is REALITY about that?? Where in the real world do you have a couple dozen guys come and live with one woman in a house and take turns “dating” her so she can find out which one is her “true love”? I mean, does anyone really buy the “true love” part of that? All the role playing, manipulation, back-stabbing to try to get someone’s attention? Yet, for some, this is their idea of “fairy tale romance.” Let’s keep it all in perspective, shall we? It’s all about the money!  But the popularity of these shows and the way viewers get caught up in the illusion of “romance” explains further why we get so caught up with a false idea of “perfection” and relationships in our society.

One of the reasons we don’t believe that God loves us the way we are is that we put Him in the same category as all the other relationships we’ve ever experienced. You know the dating drill…someone meets you, thinks you’re the best thing since sliced bread, decide they’re going to date you, and THEN find out you’re not “perfect.” Then when you don’t measure up to their expectations, they say things like, “Maybe I’m not in love with you anymore,” or “You are just not the person I thought you were.” You didn’t change… you were like that when you first met them, they just didn’t know it because they were caught up in the infatuation and you were caught up in trying to be something you’re not to win their affection.

And here’s the difference…

God is not infatuated with you…God loves you. Agape love. Unconditional and unrestrained love. He knows you…He formed you…He had a plan for you from the foundation of the universe. He’s not merely infatuated with you until He finds out you’re not perfect and He’s not going to dump you because you have flaws or failures… He knows all that up front, even better than you do! You can’t fake Him out! His love for you is the true REALITY. And in that reality of Him, you have already been made perfect! So quit trying to live up to a false idea promoted by television designed by satan to keep you from enjoying the true love God intends you to have for Him AND for yourself!!!

~Linda

Hey, man! Nice shot!!

I spend so little time in church compared to the time I spend with my family, friends, and co-workers. In light of that, my mandate is to influence them for the cause of Christ. Luke 14:34 says “Salt [is] good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?” One of my challenges is to determine how I can be “salty” enough so that those around me are left thirsty for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Over the years in my Christian walk, I have been more like the blast of a shotgun shell. I would “follow an unction” ( more accurately, an emotional urge) to fire a shot in someone’s  general vicinity from a long range. Collateral damage was inevitable and, frankly, bloody for everyone in the room. The truth is, while I gleamed over my prey’s demise, the seed sown had fallen on ground that wasn’t prepared for sustained growth (Mat. 13:19-22).

I think I will put down my old splatter gun and invest in some focused sharp shooting skills. On exam day, I’ll part a honeybee’s wings on a hound dog’s hiney at a thousand yards. Expert marksmen know how to breathe properly and squeeze the trigger for improved accuracy.  Mastering the call to love my neighbor, well, that’s a bit more complicated. I need to pray for God’s leading when I am determining the best person to try and reach out to.

Study the Word. God’s very nature is wrapped up in His love for His children. Loving my neighbor naturally follows from our Father’s example.  I find His desire for His children within the pages of His Word.  I will saturate my soul with the scriptures and when my mouth is dry and empty, His Words will pour from my born again spirit and satisfy their thirst.

It is so significant to be sure we are “walking the talk”. It’s cliché and it rolls right off the tongue, but it’s not so easy to do.  Real life is lived outside the four walls of the church. That includes real fill in the blank yourself. I mean real pain, fear, anxiety, emotional vomit, selfishness, etc. You’re with me! Don’t deny it.

After I say the things I believe God expects me to, I have to stand in faith knowing they will come to pass in their life, no matter what the circumstances are. One of my bigger shortcomings has been my lack of following up in a systematic and routine way. I am busy, so putting them on my schedule will help me move from the shotgun attack to the eagle eye, super-shooter God wants me to be. Building relationships with potential believers should require me to organize parts of my day so I can control the scenarios I am led into. Let’s face it, if I don’t follow through and show compassionate interest in them, then they know I am nothing more than a double-barreled blowhard and they are the trophy destined to hang on my wall.

What strategies has God given you for focusing in on some of the people you are in contact with outside the walls of your local church? Let us know by posting a response to this article on The Celebration blog. They will benefit all of us. So, let’s make a deal. I promise to work through these on a greater level. Will you?

(first published 08.16.09)

Terrorist Attack

Ever since I was born, I’ve been living with a terrorist after me. No, I’m not schizophrenic and I am not some top-secret government experiment (although I think some might disagree!). But ever since I was born, I have been ragged, dragged, tagged and chased by a terrorist. He’s tried to stop me in every way possible!

Early on in life, it was to seduce me into self-destructive patterns that put me in relationship with the wrong people in the wrong places at the wrong times.

As I grew through those early stages, the strategy became more subtle. It was still self-destructive behaviors I was lured into, but they became more “controlled” and “acceptable”: self-sabotaging through procrastination and insecurity. He would gradually play mind games that left me paranoid and on the edge of schizophrenia.

Then, as I gradually came through that and he lost his “internal” handles one after another, his terrorist attacks became much more overt. It’s like in 24 (the TV series); at first the terrorist plot is always hidden. However, as Jack Bauer begins to uncover it and it starts to unravel, the terrorist becomes more and more overt and moves to his “endgame”. It’s at this point that he usually tends to stop the hiding and starts the blatant outright attacks.

Thus we enter the final stage of terrorism. As this terrorist of mine loses power over me, he begins to go after others around me. The truth is, he was after them all along. However, at this point he starts to turn others against me because I’m a threat. I’ve lost best friends, mentors, and have been isolated by others who once held me close. This terrorist paints me like they do “Jack” – as an extremist who operates outside the rules. Before long they are ridiculing me (overtly or covertly) and putting themselves in a place to be taken out. He’s a sneaky terrorist. He will sneak his way into your life before you know it and you’re gone… bam!

All of that being said…Satan you can still go to hell! You’re not a very good terrorist, because God always finds a way to out your plan. Come hell or high water (or snow or ice, or lost friendships, or distanced leaders, or whatever it may be)… I think it was Paul that said “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In the end, I’m better than Jack Bauer… I win. Period!

Now, part of this article is to remind me of some things. But part of it is that you need to realize that you are dealing with a terrorist too. Where is he sneaking into your mind? He’s got a war machine; can you handle it? I bet he’s got a plot right now in your life; are you aware of it? The only thing in the world that can stop you is you. And if you can’t trust God beyond the problem, then you are leaning to yourself as the source and not God!

(First published 03.08.09)