What Seeds Have You Been Planting?

I overheard a young girl say to a friend "I ain't coming to this school next year". I walked closer to her and asked her to repeat what she said. She put her head down and replied "nothing". I took two steps in the direction away from her and again I heard "I ain't coming to this school next year". I quickly turned around and told her "don't poison someone else with your negative thoughts". Her face showed her surprise, but I knew she understood completely what I was saying. In essence, stop planting negative seeds.

Witnessing the exchange between the two girls made me reflect on the role of an apostle. Apostles are called on to build up the church. They are charged with depositing the word of God in others. They must speak in a way that edifies God and strengthens the hearers faith. An apostle ensures that the word of God is heard and works to make sure that the foundation for a new congregation (group of believers) has  been established. Essentially, an apostle plants the words of God.

What seeds have you been planting? Have you found yourself whispering negative thoughts to others like the young girl? Perhaps you are unhappy at your job and thought it was alright to share this with a coworker. Maybe you spoke your displeasure with your spouse to a trusted friend. What seed were you planting when you talked your unwillingness to support the work of the ministry? 

Consider what it would be to embrace the work of an apostle. Take the time to purposefully deposit the word of God into another. Speak words of praise to God. Carefully consider the building of someone else's faith. For example saying "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" requires the same number of words as "I'm so tired of living from paycheck to paycheck". The difference is in the seed that is planted. What seeds have you been planting?

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.

1 Corinthians 3:6

Preach, Preacher

When was the last time you said "preach preacher" in the middle of a service? Was it the time when pastor was laying out those people who are always cussing and fussing and pretending to be saved? Or was it when he was preaching on how the crooked men are always finding a way to talk somebody out of their money? "Preach preacher! Go ahead and lay 'em out" you said. That is until the preacher started talking about how y'all unmarried women need to keep them men out your beds. At that moment, you didn't say a word or nod your head. It was as if the preacher's words were suddenly filled with lead. God ahead and yell "Preach preacher!" The word is true even if it pushes you to the edge.

But, that's not what we want to hear. That's not what we want to cosign or line our thoughts up with. We think the role of the preacher is to call everyone else to the carpet. We are saved and they are sinners. We are set aside. We are called. We are too holy to ever be the subject of a message that pulls back the cloak and exposes our sins. "Preach preacher!" is our war cry just as long as it does not require us to look within.

We challenge what the preacher says about our faults because it is the preacher who says it. In those moments, he is just a man or she is just a woman. We forget that if the preacher's words line up with the word of God, then the preacher is only God's messenger. The preacher exposes our wrongs to give us the space to seek God. The preacher delivers the good news that cussing is wrong, being dishonest with money is wrong, sex before marriage is wrong. It is up to each of us to receive the correction that we are given. The pastor can not save you, but the pastor's message should lead you to seek salvation from God.

Adayinthelife :-)

The Prophet Spoke, But Did You Hear Him?

If you are even a casual church goer, you have at some point heard a word of prophecy. You have heard someone speak concerning the things of God. You yourself may have even stood to share what God had placed in your spirit. It could have been that you were called on to lead devotion or recite a certain scripture. Words of prophecy are delivered in so many ways and God truly does use various people to share His word. My question for you today is when the Prophet spoke, did you hear Him?

Did you perceive His voice? Did you hearken to His command? When He spoke, were you motivated to act? Were you able to receive the message that was delivered? Did you know that a prophecy was going forth? A prophecy is a prediction or a forecast of what's to come. When the Prophet speaks, His words transform all who hear them.

So, if I asked you to open the bible and read the words, would you be able to hear the Prophet? Would you be able to hear the Lord laying out the plan that He has for this world? Would you understand that His word from "in the beginning to Amen" is the prophecy and He is the prophet? He is the one who sees beyond our present circumstance. He is the one who delivers warnings. He is the one who is guiding us. He is the Prophet.

God has uniquely equipped some to serve as prophets, but it is at His command that they speak. Prophets are called to share His Word, provide insight, and tell of what is to come. Not one can operate without His Spirit. Not one can share what He has not allowed them the sight to see. Each man or woman that God calls has called to serve , though uniquely gifted, has only one voice when they are speaking on behalf of God. As you sit listening intently to the word from your leader, pastor, preacher, and or teacher, remember the Prophet has already spoken. Did you hear Him?

Adayinthelife :-)

The Master Teacher

Master teachers will sacrifice themselves for the benefit of a student. Jesus showed us many examples of this. One of my favorite examples is Jesus' relationship with Judas. Through this relationship, Jesus taught us to love a person regardless of what they had done. He knew that Judas would betray Him, but He still walked with him. Jesus still shared the truth of who God was with Him. He still sat with him over a meal and washed his feet. The scripture could have simply said Jesus was betrayed, however the master teacher wanted to make sure that we had a clear lesson of what love looked like. He wanted to make sure that we learned that love requires us to be open, humble, and forgiving.

Another example of Jesus being a master teacher, is when He commanded Peter to walk on water. Jesus was teaching Peter how to have faith in the impossible. He was teaching Him how to believe in the power of God. Peter had already witnessed miracles performed. He had already heard Jesus speak. Jesus commanding him to walk on water was personal. In this, Peter (and all of us) were taught the importance of making the lesson personal. Peter believed that Jesus could do wondrous things for others. Jesus commanding him to walk on water taught Him how to believe in wondrous things for himself.

Jesus, the master teacher, taught us many other lessons throughout the bible. He taught us how to be calm in the midst of a storm. He taught us how to speak boldly when the house of the Lord was being disrespected. Jesus also taught the importance of a listening ear and a servant's heart. If we, who are called to teach, would only follow His example. We would understand that sacrificing our time for the good of the lesson is required. We would embrace the length of time spent preparing because we would understand it's positive impact on those receiving the lesson. We would seek God's direction and not conform to the teaching standards of man. We would live lives as Jesus did realizing that our actions are where our lessons begin.

Adayinthelife :-)

The Church Has Left The Building

There are two types of people who are universally avoided. These people are door to door solicitors and Jehovah's Witnesses. I haven't met anyone who gladly welcomed either into their home. We were told to run and hide or just ignore them when they came to our door. Imagine what it would be like if you were the person standing on the other side of the door. Would you remain standing if you heard the pitter patter of feet running to hide? Would you keep knocking if you knew you were being ignored?

Regardless of how many of you say yes, the real answer is no. We are too comfortable with the status quo to subject ourselves to being ignored. We are too comfortable sitting next to our saved friends in our air conditioned churches to even consider going outside to witness let alone going door to door to deposit the word of God. We are too comfortable to be seen anywhere spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, but that is exactly what we have been commanded to do.

Every Christian has been given the charge to go into all the world and spread the good news. That means we are to go door to door soliciting (entreating/pleading) with people to accept the gift of salvation through Christ Jesus. I know I just received a collective side eye so let me help you. This means we are to knock on doors, strike up conversations in the elevator, send text messages, emails, or place calls. We are to hand out bibles, encourage others with daily scriptures, or write inspirational messages on our blogs ;-)

There are so many ways to spread the good news that none of us have to be limited to the confined reach of one or overwhelmed by the large scope of another. The important thing is to get up out of the comfort of your church and share. Find a way to let everyone know that Christ our Savior lives.

Adayinthelife :-)