Sharing the Gospel is Not Always a Day at the Beach

When I was about eight years old, I remember my family going to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for the day.  We picked a nice sunny spot on the beach to settle down, and then my mom let my little sister and I loose to go play in the water.  Deb and I found a water way under the boardwalk to play in, but we stayed near the shallow end at our mother's instructions.  You see, Deb and I still did not know how to swim.   However, it didn't take very long for my Deb, who was six years old at the time to get nosy and venture to the deeper parts of the water.  Within seconds of stepping into the deep end, she began to cry for help as her head began to go under. She frantically flapped her arms and began splashing in the water as she tried to come up to the surface for a breath of air.  When I realized what was happening, I initially froze in fear. I wanted to help, but I couldn't swim and yet my little sister was drowning.  All of sudden, courage hit me like ton of bricks and I knew what I had to do.  Without knowing how to swim, I jumped into the deep end to rescue her.  As I went under, I realized that there was a possibility that I might drown too, but I didn't care anymore.  I had to save my sister. Within seconds of my heroic act, a slicing pain shot through my foot as it met the floor underwater. The pain took hold of me as I realized I has stepped on something very sharp. The pain in my foot was so intense that it caused me to give up and surrender to the waters. 

 

Then, I felt his hands.  They were strong and mighty and in one quick second, he swooped in and grabbed me from the deep.  As I came up out of the water in one of his arms, I saw my sister in his other arm. Realizing that we were being rescued,  I never felt such relief in my life.  The man sat us on the sand as my little sister was crying uncontrollably. I was still in shock.   Then the pain from my foot hit me like a thousand needles while the  bloody sight of my foot  did not help the situation. I too began  to cry.  My mom who had seen the whole thing from far off ran towards us frantically while a lifeguard was summoned. When we finally stopped crying, my foot was bandaged up by the lifeguard and we went on a trip to the  hospital so I could get stitches.  It turns out I had stepped on a broken beer bottle under water.   To this day, I still have the light scar on my foot, although it has almost disappeared for good.  However, the memory will always stay with me.  

So what is the point of my story?  This morning as I got ready for work, God reminded me of this experience  to show me what sharing Jesus with others can be like for many Christians.    I'll keep it simple for you.  There is a dying world out there that needs Jesus and they are frantically calling out for help.  They are drowning in pain and sadness just like my little sister was drowning in the Santa Cruz Beach waters that hot summer day. As Christians, we are the only hope for many, but we are too scared to do anything because we feel unequipped for the task at hand.  Just as I felt unable to help my little sister because I could not swim, we feel helpless to share Christ with the unbelievers.   However, there is moment when the Holy Spirit gives us a boldness and courage that only comes from God just like the courage that came upon me in my sister's moment of need. This courage allows us to take the risk and jump into the unknown waters of life so that we can help those who so desperately need the Jesus who lives inside of us.   Just as I was unsure of the final outcome with my leap of faith that summer day, there also comes the possibility of failure and obstacles when we make our spiritual leap of faith.  In my situation,  I was met with the pain of stepping on glass and almost drowning along with my sister. However, just like the stranger on the beach  came to our rescue, our Heavenly Father is ready to take us up in his own arms and rescue us too.   So here is my advice today- Take the risk, step into the deep, and be ready to see God work because of your faith and obedience.  God honors both. You might mess up, you might stumble, the words may not come out as smooth as you would like.  You may get some who don't want to hear the Gospel.  You may even feel rejected by those who you speak to, but just know that God will honor your efforts.  Like the title of this post says, "sharing the Gospel is not always a day at the beach."  However, watching God work through us and accomplishing his task DESPITE us is amazing.  

 

April

God, Teach Me to Have Joy

"In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  I Thessalonians 5:18

For the longest time, I didn't know how to have fullness of joy.  It was almost like I didn't know how to be happy simply "being" me everyday. If I wasn't working on some new endeavor, some goal, or I didn't have some new adventure before me, I felt like something was wrong with me. It's not that I like being this way, but I didn't know how to be different.  As a matter of fact, God spoke to me about being in a new season of favor  and guess what, I began to ruin it with murmuring and complaining about what wasn't right in my life or what was still lacking.  Nevertheless, God kept speaking and pushing me along.  I asked Him, Please teach me to have joy in simply "being." Teach me joy in the everyday tasks of life and even in the not-so-exciting times.  He spoke ever so gently (as always) and replied, The key to having joy is being thankful for what you have and being thankful for those things that make you feel most uncomfortable.

What?????  Ok,  Lord, I get being thankful for the good things, but I also have to be thankful for the yucky things?  You mean I have to be thankful for the disagreement I just had with someone, the fact that I don't have any extra money to spend this month, the fact that my ankle  is still feeling injured, the fact that I'm still plugging away at school after so many years,  that I'm still adjusting to recent changes in my life, and the fact that I'm always so exhausted?  Hmm.  Sounds kind of hard Lord.  

Yes, April, he replied.  He continued, There is power in thanksgiving.  There is power is your daily proclamations.  Exchange your murmurings for thanksgiving and watch me work. 

So my journey started and it wasn't easy.  Every morning I got up and I began to thank God for the good and the bad.  Instead of complaining that I was exhausted after work,  I spoke to God and said, Lord, I'm so grateful for the rest that you've given me.  Instead of complaining that I had so much homework, I instead said, Lord, thank you for letting me return to school to get my Masters. I know not everyone has this privilege.  Instead of complaining about my disagreements with people,  I instead said, God, thank you for putting that person in my life to help me grow as a person. They are blessing me and challenging me to be a better person.  

I am so serious when I say that this attitude of thankfulness changed my life and continues to do so. I don't feel so tired anymore, I'm not so sensitive anymore, I feel more financially blessed than ever before, my health is improving, and I smile more than ever. I wish I knew this secret a long, long, long time ago.  There is such peace and joy in my life like never before.  Now, I want to invite you to join me in sharing in it.  But watch out because once you start, you are going to see the blessings of God pour out on you like never before.  So many times, we want to know God's will for our lives, but the Bible clearly tells us what His will is, "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (I Thessalonians 5:18). So the real question is, are you ready?  If so, then repeat after me, Lord, thank you so much for  _________________ (you fill in the blank).

On a side note, I created a "thankfulness" jar and every time I receive a blessing or God speaks to me in some way or another, I record it on a piece of a paper, fold it, and put it in the jar.  My plan is to open the jar on New Year's Eve of 2013 and review all the blessings that God has poured into my life throughout the year.  I can't wait!  

Passionate about your spiritual success,

April

Spiritual Leanness

"They [Israelites]soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." Psalm 106:13-15

If God gave us everything we wanted when we wanted it, I do not believe that we would be truly happy. What we think is best for us is not always what God thinks is best for us because He sees the entire picture when we don't. However, I do believe that God sometimes gives in to our foolish requests, even though it might not be His best for us, because of our stubbornness to have it our way. The Israelites experienced this when they were in the wilderness, murmuring about how hard they had it. God had just done an amazing work by parting the Red Sea and allowing them to cross over when they began to complain about the manna that God provided for them. They wanted meat to eat. Psalm 106:14 says that the Israelites began to lust exceedingly and tempt God. You know what God did? He decided to give them what they wanted. Verse 15 says this, " And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." What does this mean? God sent them flesh to eat. He gave them what they wanted. As a matter of fact, He gave them so much quail that it literally came out of their nostrils (Numbers 11:20). Gross, right? The verse goes on to say, however, that with their request, he sent "leanness to their soul." What is leanness? Leanness means thinness. In some commentaries, leanness equates to starvation. So, what this means is that although God honored their request and gave them what they wanted, He left their souls starving. They were fed with their immediate physical need, but they missed out on seeing God truly provide for them which left their souls spiritually wanting.

Here's what I'm trying to say. We chase after experiences, hobbies, money, careers, jobs, education and entertainment in hopes of satisfying that nagging sense of longing we feel on a day-to-day basis. Some even chase after relationships in attempt to satisfy that longing and emptiness, but even after that new relationship has begun, the soul is still starving for something more. Our stubborn desire for immediate gratification and God allowing it leaves us spiritually bankrupt, or spiritually "lean" because although we are getting our physical desire answered, our soul is still starving for Him. The human soul longs to be satisfied by God and God alone. Our flesh may deceive us into thinking that other things can satisfy us, but we quickly see that once those wants are met, we still feel the same, or worse.

What is the remedy? Trust that God's manna is better for you than anything else this world can offer. Eat from His table daily. Eat of Him daily (John 6:51). I leave you with our bishop's words to us a couple of weeks ago. He simply put it this way, "God is most glorified when we are satisfied in Him." Allow God to satisfy you and feed you with the fatness of his presence. Then, and only then, will your soul be content.

"...I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness..." Psalm 63:4-5

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51

I am passionate about your spiritual empowerment,

April

No Fear! A Testimony for those Who Experience Panic Attacks

Starting when I was nineteen years old, I struggled with panic attacks every single night for 2 1/2 years.  Ask anyone who knew me, I slept very little and dreaded going to sleep.  I would go to sleep, but would wake up as if someone had scared me out of sleep, my body would shake uncontrollably, and my heart would race. Sometimes, it would take hours to get back to sleep.  I was so shaken up that it was even hard for me to call on the name of Jesus at times. Although I don't believe that the enemy caused these attacks, I do believe that he tried to use these attacks to make me feel timid and lose my confidence in God. I was tired (as you could imagine) of experiencing these attacks and in my prayer time, asked God to help me.  The help did not come right away.  I believe that God was trying to force me to be bold and commanding against the enemy, which I was not.  The enemy had me right where he wanted me, scared and intimidated. I didn't have the strength to command the fear to leave me. One night I went to a church service at a United Pentecostal church in our area and the preacher brought forth a word on fear.  He invited anyone up who was experiencing fear to come up and be delivered. I knew that word was for me.  The moment this man of God laid his hands on my head and prayed for me, I believed in faith that God had healed me.  I went home, and for the first time in years, I slept like a baby, God's peace saturating my mind.  Then God started working on me.  I began to hear his voice speaking to my spirit telling me that He was not done with me yet.  He may have relieved the anxiety for the moment, but I still had not learned the lesson He wanted for me.  He wanted me to learn that I had power over the enemy and his tactics of fear and I had the right, as a daughter of the most high, to cast out that fear and command peace into my life.  In my prayer time, I began to ask God for boldness in the spirit and I believe God began to answer me.  A short time later, the panic attacks came back, but this time, I was ready.  I spoke to the fear that tried to overcome me and commanded it to leave in the name of Jesus.  Guess what?....The fear LEFT.  From that point on, I went to sleep every night knowing that God had my back and that I had the power to overcome.


Panic attacks are usually a result of our poor habits like not getting enough sleep, allowing stress to come into our lives, and sometimes,  not giving problems we are facing to God like we should.  When I first began to experience panic attacks, I was in college, and therefore, was very stressed, did not have a consistent sleeping schedule, and was pulling all-nighters writing papers etc.  I know that my own bad habits caused the panic attacks.  However, the enemy will take what he can to paralyze us and that is exactly what he did.  He used these attacks to put fear in me and he does the same in others.

 We must find the courage to use the spiritual authority that God has given us to bind that fear and cast it out.  It has no place in our lives.  It's been years since I've had those attacks, but just a couple of weeks ago, they tried to sneak back  into my life.  In one night, I had two attacks.  Just when I was about to get discouraged, I remembered what I learned. I told God, this is not your will and I speak peace into my life right now.  I laid down and closed my eyes.  I don't know exactly when it was, but I remember dozing off, still feeling tense, when all of a sudden, I felt something so peaceful enter my room and saturate itself in my spirit.  I literally felt like a spiritual tranquilizer hit my body.  I knew God was right there with me and I knew that everything was ok.  I learned the lesson and I'm glad that God didn't just take away the problem, but allowed me to learn how to deal with it.    I pray that this will encourage someone to take up the authority God has given you and live in the peace that God has for you.

Side Roads and Detours

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren<sup>.

 Romans 8:28</sup>


God has a plan for every single one of us.  Some would even call it the "perfect will of God."  My question has always been,  is it possible to miss out on God's will your life?  Are there ever times when we live a life (whether for a short season or for a long season) different than what God has planned for us?  I have come to the conclusion that yes, we can miss out on his will for our lives.  Why?  Because the will of God requires our obedience. It requires us to be sensitive to his still small voice directing our path. 

Queen Esther is an example of a woman that followed God's plan for her life.   Esther was called to save her people from destruction by interceding for them before the king, but she became fearful and almost refused to do so.  Her uncle Mordecai told her that if she didn't do what God wanted her to do, God would raise someone up in her place.  She had a choice and she finally obeyed. God's will was done and her people were saved. 

Now, what happens when we choose to not obey God's plan for us?  What happens when we miss out on something He has for us and even disobey Him?  Is everything over?   David is a great example of this.  David was called by God to do a great work for His people.  David sinned with Bathsheba and committed murder, however, David asked forgiveness and God continued to use Him and bless him.  Although David did face consequences for his actions, that did not change the fact that God had a plan for David.  That plan was finally accomplished through Jesus Christ who was from David's lineage.

We see from both examples that God's plan was carried out.  It was carried out in obedience and carried out despite disobedience. Romans 8:28 says that "all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose."  This means that God can take any situation, and I mean any, and make it work for good in our lives.  Romans 8:29  goes on to say that he has predestined us to be "conformed to the image of His son."  That is the final outcome that God has determined for our lives. He gets us to this place despite our failures and mistakes and despite detours and side roads that we take.   He even uses our mistakes to mold us into the image of Jesus Christ.

Here's what I'm trying to say.  You may have made bad choices in your life, but God can still use you and transform you into His image.  You may have made a bad choice in marriage, but God can still take your marriage and transform it, and in turn, transform you in the process.  You may have even experienced a divorce, but that doesn't mean that God's through with you, despite what others may tell you.   You may have fallen into a life of drugs and alcohol, but once you've surrendered your life back to God, He starts working on you again to make you like Jesus Christ.  Maybe God was calling you to a particular ministry, but you were too scared to pursue it and now find yourself further from your dream than before.  God can still bring you back to Him.  Maybe you settled for plan B when you knew that God had plan A for you.  God can still use this.  He will take your detours and side roads and lead you to His intended destination for you.

Many life roads will get us to our intended destination, but some side roads are bumpier and windier than others.  Don't let mistakes keep you down. Don't let failure keep you down.  No matter what, keep on traveling and God will ensure that you get where you need to be.

April

From Hard Times to Harder Times

God told Moses that He heard the cry of the Israelites who were in bondage in Egypt and that He was sending him to go and free the people. When Moses spoke to Pharaoh to let the people go, Pharaoh not only refused, but He punished the Israelites by giving them more work and punishing them when they couldn't produce enough bricks.  The Israelites became even more discouraged and angry at Moses because they blamed him for the additional cruelty they had to endure, not knowing that God was planning their powerful and glorious exit from Egypt while they were busy murmuring.   What I find interesting is that from the time that God spoke to Moses about the great exodus and the actual exodus itself, it seems that things got harder rather than easier for the Israelites which seems strange since we already know God was about to deliver them.   Their workload and punishment increased to the point that that Bible says that the Israelites refused to listen to Moses because they were in "anguish of spirit"  (Exodus chap. 6 v. 9).  Even Moses began to get confused.  Why would God tell him one thing then not act on the promise?   God then tells Moses, "Now, you will see what I will do to Pharaoh for with a strong hand shall he let them go and with strong hand shall he drive them out of his land" (Exodus chap. 6, v 1).  Basically, God was saying that the reason the situation became harder because their deliverance would be that much greater.  Here are my main points in a nutshell:

1. Sometimes God allows the situation to get worse before it gets better so that you can trust Him more and His deliverance can be that much more grand and powerful.  The more powerful, the more glory God gets.
2.  Stop complaining.  Your weakness is God's strength. Before you can come forth as gold, you must go through the fire.  Purification and purging come before blessing.

God bless,

April 

From Flawed to Perfected

"So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do."   Jeremiah 18:4

At one time or another, we have all felt flawed and sometimes insecure due to our imperfections.  Instead of beating ourselves up about our many weaknesses and flaws, we need to realize that we are in a perfect position for God to work through us.  His word says that his strength is made perfect in weakness (II Corinthians 12:9).  It is when you acknowledge that you do not measure up,that God is most able to work on us and through us.  

I heard the story of a young artist that was given a piece of marble from which to make a statue. Prior to the commission, the marble had been in the hands of two other artists, but due to a large crack in the center of the block, both of these artists abandoned the stone, deeming it unfit. Somehow this block of flawed marble ended up in the hands the third owner, the young artist, who was able to see past the cracks and envision a masterpiece. He sculpted it in a way that incorporated the flaws in order to produce one of the most famous and beautiful pieces of sculpted art ever.  The artist was Michelangelo and his rare and beautiful masterpiece was called David.  Thousands upon thousands of people flock to Florence, Italy every day to view this beautiful piece of art.  The artist, to this day, does not cease to receive glory for his remarkable work.

You may have had a rough childhood, you may have made mistakes, you may feel like you don't measure up, and you may struggle with feelings of insecurity that leave you feeling discouraged, however,  I challenge you to lift you head up and focus on the master artist- Jesus Christ- who sees beyond your faults and failures.  To him, you are not a mistake, you are valuable.  He loves you with all your imperfections.  As a matter of fact, it is those same imperfections that He will use to mold you.  It is these imperfections, when worked on by God, that will initiate your anointing.  When God is done molding you, you will be a fine and rare masterpiece.   The best part is that God will receive glory for your transformation.  Won't you let the author and finisher of your faith transform you. 

"But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing." James 1:4

April