Monday, August 24, 2009
"The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns
This book is beautifully written. I requested it for review and truthfully was not expecting much...thinking to myself....another "rich man gives back" story. However, the opposite is true. The author of this book was once the CEO of Lenox, a company known for it's fine china and gifts. He finds himself called to the ministry, although he is not even aware of this calling at first. He is approached on several occasions to consider becoming President of World Vision, a ministry that reaches out to orphaned children in Third World countries. Like Jonah in the Bible, Richard runs on several occasions in the opposite direction of where God is calling him to go. He believes that he has nothing to offer this ministry based on the fact that he has never been involved with the orphaned. Once Richard heeds the calling God has placed on his life, life is never the same. He sets aside worldly success for something far more significant and discovers the full power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This book serves a reminder to all believers in Christ that if God calls us to a ministry, we do well to heed His call and go, regardless of what we think our calling is. Richard Sterns urges readers to ask the question, What if? What if all followers of Jesus looked beyond the walls of their churches and worked together in reclaiming the world for Christ's kingdom? What if we demonstrated God's love for the world instead of just talking about it? Let me encourage you, if you are struggling right now because you feel a calling on your life that you are running from, read this book. You will find Richard passionate about a ministry that he once ran from and he will challenge you to listen to our God who knows best.
Stepping Out, Part III (Five things you need to know....)
I ended my last post with a question to ponder: What would you do for Jesus if you knew you could not fail? We are assured that whatever we do in His will, will not fail! We will fail though if we are constantly looking back. Have you ever watched on television the men that run from the bulls through the streets of Spain for sport. The guys that get trampled or stabbed are the ones that are constantly looking back as they are running. God's Word tells us not to look back (remember Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt). Luke 9:62 says, "No man is fit for the plow by looking back." So back to our main subject....
There are five things you need to know before you "step out" for Jesus:
(1) Know where you are going....
I won't elaborate on this point....only you and God know where you are going when you depart from this earth. "Works" alone will not get you into heaven. Are you heaven bound? If you don't know for sure, you don't need to "step out" in service for Jesus until you get that settled. Can I tell you that I taught a church youth group for years as a non-believer myself. I wasn't teaching them anything immoral, but I wasn't teaching them sound doctrine either. If you need to know more about how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please email me at suziqcombs@yahoo.com with your phone number and we'll talk.
(2) Know why you are going.....
John 10:27 says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me." Is God willing it, or are you willing it? Are you doing this act of service to glorify self or glorify God? Nothing is more miserable and humbling then stepping out of God's will. We need to step out because we recognize the Shepard's voice! By the way, stepping out is a command and not a choice if you are a believer.
(3) Know the dress code.....
Ephesians 6:13-18a says, "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication....."
So what exactly is that dress code? According to scripture it is this:
Know truth, live righteously, seek peace, have faith, know that you are a believer, know and study the Word of God, Continuous prayer....If you aren't dressed properly, you'll step out....and then step off into the deep end. Also, if we don't know the proper dress code we'll be drawn to the wrong dress code (i.e., church being a Sunday social, doing our will, the world will inhabit us instead of us inhabiting the world).
(4) Know what is holding you back (from stepping out).....
Ask God to reveal this to you if you don't know already. Here are a list of things (among many) that can hold us back: Lack of knowledge, lack of discipline, lack of compassion or love for others, fear of rejection, laziness, busyness, idol worship (anything more important than God in your life is an idol), insecurity, defeat, fear of change, pride, clinging to the past.
(5) Know your potential thru Jesus Christ!
Phillipians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me".
You didn't take a breath this morning and your heart didn't beat without God enabling it to do so. He knew us before we were formed in the womb! What more potential do we need?
So, I challenge you! Dream a little....what would you do for Jesus if you knew you couldn't fail? This challenge is not for the new babes in Christ....you need milk before you can progress to meat....but if you can no longer be considered a babe in Christ, here is another question to ponder....What is beyond your comfort level but occupies your thoughts and passion? And, secondly, what do you need to start doing today to get there? I would encourage you that if you don't know what your spiritual gifts are to take a spiritual gifts analysis. One that comes to mind is the one my church uses at www.churchgrowth.org. Also, prayerfully consider where God wants you at this season in your life. If your a mother with young children and a husband that works 5 days a week, that may be your ministry at this season. Lastly, don't get grandiose with the ministry that God has for you....start small. Don't get caught up in being grand in the eyes of people, you are already grand in the eyes of an Almighty God :)
There are five things you need to know before you "step out" for Jesus:
(1) Know where you are going....
I won't elaborate on this point....only you and God know where you are going when you depart from this earth. "Works" alone will not get you into heaven. Are you heaven bound? If you don't know for sure, you don't need to "step out" in service for Jesus until you get that settled. Can I tell you that I taught a church youth group for years as a non-believer myself. I wasn't teaching them anything immoral, but I wasn't teaching them sound doctrine either. If you need to know more about how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please email me at suziqcombs@yahoo.com with your phone number and we'll talk.
(2) Know why you are going.....
John 10:27 says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me." Is God willing it, or are you willing it? Are you doing this act of service to glorify self or glorify God? Nothing is more miserable and humbling then stepping out of God's will. We need to step out because we recognize the Shepard's voice! By the way, stepping out is a command and not a choice if you are a believer.
(3) Know the dress code.....
Ephesians 6:13-18a says, "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication....."
So what exactly is that dress code? According to scripture it is this:
Know truth, live righteously, seek peace, have faith, know that you are a believer, know and study the Word of God, Continuous prayer....If you aren't dressed properly, you'll step out....and then step off into the deep end. Also, if we don't know the proper dress code we'll be drawn to the wrong dress code (i.e., church being a Sunday social, doing our will, the world will inhabit us instead of us inhabiting the world).
(4) Know what is holding you back (from stepping out).....
Ask God to reveal this to you if you don't know already. Here are a list of things (among many) that can hold us back: Lack of knowledge, lack of discipline, lack of compassion or love for others, fear of rejection, laziness, busyness, idol worship (anything more important than God in your life is an idol), insecurity, defeat, fear of change, pride, clinging to the past.
(5) Know your potential thru Jesus Christ!
Phillipians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me".
You didn't take a breath this morning and your heart didn't beat without God enabling it to do so. He knew us before we were formed in the womb! What more potential do we need?
So, I challenge you! Dream a little....what would you do for Jesus if you knew you couldn't fail? This challenge is not for the new babes in Christ....you need milk before you can progress to meat....but if you can no longer be considered a babe in Christ, here is another question to ponder....What is beyond your comfort level but occupies your thoughts and passion? And, secondly, what do you need to start doing today to get there? I would encourage you that if you don't know what your spiritual gifts are to take a spiritual gifts analysis. One that comes to mind is the one my church uses at www.churchgrowth.org. Also, prayerfully consider where God wants you at this season in your life. If your a mother with young children and a husband that works 5 days a week, that may be your ministry at this season. Lastly, don't get grandiose with the ministry that God has for you....start small. Don't get caught up in being grand in the eyes of people, you are already grand in the eyes of an Almighty God :)
Monday, August 17, 2009
Stepping Out, Part II (As it relates to me....)
I ended yesterday's post with this: God calls all believers to step out of their comfort zone and to tell a sin cursed world about Him. Often before we can minister to a person thru God's Word, we must first minister to their needs.
I want to share a small portion of my testimony here.
I grew up in a South Georgia family with nine siblings....praise God we didn't grow up in the same house at the same time, there were two generations of us. My parents divorced when I was 4 years old and my mother assumed the role of both parents at that time. I praise God for a praying mother and grandmother. Both of them instilled a desire in me to know God. I grew up "churched", said the sinner's prayer at a young age and thought that was all there was to it. In those days there was no discipling or mentoring taking place. No fruit ever manifested in me. By the time I was in my 20's, I was married, had 2 children, rebelliously went to church, but served everything but God. There is a saying used in biblical counseling: There's just two choices on the shelf, serve God or serve self. Well, I was serving self big time! I eventually gave my life to Christ at the age of 35 years old when I couldn't stand to clutch the back of the pew any longer and my life has never been the same. I still stand amazed that God could take a sinful, wretched person like me and clean me up and make me new. II Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." Never forget that if you have a personal relationship with Jesus, you are a new creation. Now I am 11 years old. God is continually doing a work in me through progressive sanctification. That is just a $50.00 phrase that means God is constantly moving me forward in an effort to make me holy and set apart. In the simplest of terms it means this: God is daily purging the ugly out of me and often it hurts. I'm a work in progress that won't be perfected or completed this side of heaven. If your a child of God, the same holds true for you....so, quit pressuring yourself toward perfection, you never will be! As a new christian, I could not get enough of God's Word. I would read it and ponder over it most of my days and I believe that is exactly where God wanted me at that moment in time. God wants us to study and love His Word but along with that He wants us to be doers of His word. Early in my christian walk God enabled me to work only two days a week (and I casually tossed the other five days away, didn't see the blessing before my eyes).
WHEW, THIS IS GETTING WORDY....LONGER THAN MOST POSTS, BUT BARE WITH ME....WE ARE ALMOST THERE....
I eventually found myself in a job outside of God's will, working 5 days a week! That was such a humbling time for me. There is nothing more painful than knowing you are doing something contrary to God's will. For over a year, I pleaded with God to give me time at home again and I would use it wisely. After much purging, God gave me time again and began to lay ministry opportunities at my feet. I don't do near what I could for God but today He enables me to volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center, co-teach Sunday School class, Witness through my blogs, and a limited amount of biblical counseling (I am mostly just a help mate to my husband in this area). PLUS, God has given me time to boot. ....
So, let me ask....What would you do for Jesus if you knew you couldn't fail? Ponder that question and tomorrow I am going to continue with Part III of this series!
Let me go ahead and assure you, if it is for Him, it will not fail!
I want to share a small portion of my testimony here.
I grew up in a South Georgia family with nine siblings....praise God we didn't grow up in the same house at the same time, there were two generations of us. My parents divorced when I was 4 years old and my mother assumed the role of both parents at that time. I praise God for a praying mother and grandmother. Both of them instilled a desire in me to know God. I grew up "churched", said the sinner's prayer at a young age and thought that was all there was to it. In those days there was no discipling or mentoring taking place. No fruit ever manifested in me. By the time I was in my 20's, I was married, had 2 children, rebelliously went to church, but served everything but God. There is a saying used in biblical counseling: There's just two choices on the shelf, serve God or serve self. Well, I was serving self big time! I eventually gave my life to Christ at the age of 35 years old when I couldn't stand to clutch the back of the pew any longer and my life has never been the same. I still stand amazed that God could take a sinful, wretched person like me and clean me up and make me new. II Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." Never forget that if you have a personal relationship with Jesus, you are a new creation. Now I am 11 years old. God is continually doing a work in me through progressive sanctification. That is just a $50.00 phrase that means God is constantly moving me forward in an effort to make me holy and set apart. In the simplest of terms it means this: God is daily purging the ugly out of me and often it hurts. I'm a work in progress that won't be perfected or completed this side of heaven. If your a child of God, the same holds true for you....so, quit pressuring yourself toward perfection, you never will be! As a new christian, I could not get enough of God's Word. I would read it and ponder over it most of my days and I believe that is exactly where God wanted me at that moment in time. God wants us to study and love His Word but along with that He wants us to be doers of His word. Early in my christian walk God enabled me to work only two days a week (and I casually tossed the other five days away, didn't see the blessing before my eyes).
WHEW, THIS IS GETTING WORDY....LONGER THAN MOST POSTS, BUT BARE WITH ME....WE ARE ALMOST THERE....
I eventually found myself in a job outside of God's will, working 5 days a week! That was such a humbling time for me. There is nothing more painful than knowing you are doing something contrary to God's will. For over a year, I pleaded with God to give me time at home again and I would use it wisely. After much purging, God gave me time again and began to lay ministry opportunities at my feet. I don't do near what I could for God but today He enables me to volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center, co-teach Sunday School class, Witness through my blogs, and a limited amount of biblical counseling (I am mostly just a help mate to my husband in this area). PLUS, God has given me time to boot. ....
So, let me ask....What would you do for Jesus if you knew you couldn't fail? Ponder that question and tomorrow I am going to continue with Part III of this series!
Let me go ahead and assure you, if it is for Him, it will not fail!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Stepping Out, Part I (The steps we take....)
We just completed a ladies conference in Lake City, Florida called, "Stepping Out" in which God blessed me to be a small cog in a big wheel. I thank God for each and every woman involved and the pleasure of meeting women that love the Lord. I also praise God for my friend, Barbara.....God gave her a vision for bringing her community of christian women together and she put feet to words! I am excited about what God is doing and is going to do in Lake City, Florida! I met some wonderful women during these two days and was reacquainted with two that I haven't seen in some time. On the first night of the conference we took a "Spiritual Gifts Analysis". I had taken one of these before but it had been several years ago. Not much had changed, I'm embarrassed to say that I scored pitifully low in the area of serving. In my next few posts for this blog, I would like to try to recapture the theme that surrounded the conference. I hope that Donna Sandage and Angie Knight will do the same on their blogs (Donna if you don't have a blog, it's time sister-girl!)So here goes, Part I of Stepping Out....
"The Steps we take"
When Barbara told me what the theme for the conference would be..."Stepping Out", I immediately began to think of all the steps we take in life.
-Our first steps are baby steps. Those itty bitty steps that only take us a short distance. These steps are very unsteady at first but confidence is gained with each new step. We resort to these steps often throughout life when we go further or faster than we should have. I believe God takes us back to these steps to slow us down and enable us to reflect. We've witnessed family/friends resorting to these steps in sickness or as they age. Perhaps you are in these steps right now. God wants us to depend on Him because in reality, we are incapable of changing anything. Psalm 119:133 says, "Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me". Only an almighty God is capable of steadying our unsteady steps!
-Then....there is "stepping in". I think of when you "step into" those cool springs located in various places throughout Georgia and Florida. The water is so crystal clear that these areas appear to be only 2-3 feet deep...but...before you know it, you are in over your head and struggling to gain solid footing somewhere. Life can be like this on a daily basis. As women, we can be notorious for "stepping in".
We step into relationships that God doesn't honor, jobs that are unfulfilling, projects that absorb our time and energy, friendships that suck the life out of us, gossip in the name of a "prayer request", as well as other forms of bondage and sin!
-We can also "step over" or "around" things. These steps are taken in order to avoid something that we would rather not deal with. In the story of the "Good Samaritan" (See Luke 10:30-37) people took great strides to step around a helpless man in order to avoid helping him. We do this too, don't we? We step around the difficult relative, the disorderly neighbor, the unruly teenager. We step around dealing with life many times in an effort to keep peace.
-What about "stepping on"? As when we "step on" the gas to speed ahead and get somewhere quicker. We can "step on" the gas often in life and overstep what God wants for us because we are in such a hurry to get to the finish line, we are desperate to reach the end of the story. After all, we are a society of instant gratification. We may even convince our self that something is God's will because we don't want to wait for an answer or we fear His answer and ours won't line up. We can also feel "stepped on" as we attempt to do and balance more than God ever intended for us.
-We "step through" certain phases of life and may emerge victorious or wounded in the process.
-There will be times we "step up" in a time of need. As a believer in Christ we will take one giant "step up" to see our Savior face to face one day.
-When we "step down", it may be because we realize it's someone elses turn to "step up". By the way, "stepping down" is not always a bad thing. We may need to "step down" before we "step up".
-Then there is "stepping out" and that is our primary theme from the conference we just held. God calls ALL believers to step out of their comfort zone and tell a sin cursed world about Him. In Part II of Stepping Out, I will continue with discussing in more detail, the call to "step out"
"The Steps we take"
When Barbara told me what the theme for the conference would be..."Stepping Out", I immediately began to think of all the steps we take in life.
-Our first steps are baby steps. Those itty bitty steps that only take us a short distance. These steps are very unsteady at first but confidence is gained with each new step. We resort to these steps often throughout life when we go further or faster than we should have. I believe God takes us back to these steps to slow us down and enable us to reflect. We've witnessed family/friends resorting to these steps in sickness or as they age. Perhaps you are in these steps right now. God wants us to depend on Him because in reality, we are incapable of changing anything. Psalm 119:133 says, "Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me". Only an almighty God is capable of steadying our unsteady steps!
-Then....there is "stepping in". I think of when you "step into" those cool springs located in various places throughout Georgia and Florida. The water is so crystal clear that these areas appear to be only 2-3 feet deep...but...before you know it, you are in over your head and struggling to gain solid footing somewhere. Life can be like this on a daily basis. As women, we can be notorious for "stepping in".
We step into relationships that God doesn't honor, jobs that are unfulfilling, projects that absorb our time and energy, friendships that suck the life out of us, gossip in the name of a "prayer request", as well as other forms of bondage and sin!
-We can also "step over" or "around" things. These steps are taken in order to avoid something that we would rather not deal with. In the story of the "Good Samaritan" (See Luke 10:30-37) people took great strides to step around a helpless man in order to avoid helping him. We do this too, don't we? We step around the difficult relative, the disorderly neighbor, the unruly teenager. We step around dealing with life many times in an effort to keep peace.
-What about "stepping on"? As when we "step on" the gas to speed ahead and get somewhere quicker. We can "step on" the gas often in life and overstep what God wants for us because we are in such a hurry to get to the finish line, we are desperate to reach the end of the story. After all, we are a society of instant gratification. We may even convince our self that something is God's will because we don't want to wait for an answer or we fear His answer and ours won't line up. We can also feel "stepped on" as we attempt to do and balance more than God ever intended for us.
-We "step through" certain phases of life and may emerge victorious or wounded in the process.
-There will be times we "step up" in a time of need. As a believer in Christ we will take one giant "step up" to see our Savior face to face one day.
-When we "step down", it may be because we realize it's someone elses turn to "step up". By the way, "stepping down" is not always a bad thing. We may need to "step down" before we "step up".
-Then there is "stepping out" and that is our primary theme from the conference we just held. God calls ALL believers to step out of their comfort zone and tell a sin cursed world about Him. In Part II of Stepping Out, I will continue with discussing in more detail, the call to "step out"
Saturday, August 1, 2009
The Countdown begins.....
I have not blogged in over a month because I am just overwhelmed and haven't been able to turn to the right or the left, often not even able to form a sentence that makes sense. So, I'll give it my best shot today. The countdown begins for two special events in my life that will take place in the next couple of months. The first event to take place is a women's conference in Lake City, where my friend Barbara (www.theivypath.blogspot.com) has asked me to be one of the guest speakers. I will be writing more on this later. But for now I just want you to know that I don't take this task lightly. I am so unworthy to do this and have confided in Barbara that I have felt completely defeated on more than one occasion since she first asked me to be a part of this ministry. Can I just stop right here and ask you to pray for me....pray for God to keep me ever humble during this time and to anoint any words that would come out of my mouth, for those words to only be words that would glorify and honor our Savior. Aside from being overwhelmed by this, I'm also excited. Several of the women that are helping with this ministry and that will be attending this ministry, knew me before I knew Him. The whole theme of my blog "Who I am Instead" is that I know who I was presalvation, but that through Christ, I am a new creation...and even though I haven't "arrived" anywhere (I am a continuous work in progress), God is constantly purging the "ugly" out of me and for that I am thankful. The second event will take place on October 24th when my only daughter will be marrying a beautiful man named Joe! I absolutely can't wait to have him and his wonderful family in our lives. BUT, those of you that know me, know that I'm a "Mary", usually content to sit and listen and soak up life, not "do" (as Martha).....I'm working hard to incorporate some "Martha" in me and I pray daily for God to make me a "doer" but I am also very much a work in progress there. So, as excited as I am about this special day (that will take place in 84 days to be exact), I am also terrified that I'll fail my daughter with all my inadequacies. Starting today, me and her have a task to take care of every day until "the big day"...Many members of my church family and friends outside of my church have asked if they can do something to help me. I haven't contacted you to help because it feels like we've got to eat an elephant. As a matter of fact, I wrote in my journal recently, "I've got a whole elephant to eat, guess I'll start taking a bite at a time". Please don't think because you haven't heard from me that I've got it all figured out, quite the opposite. O.K., so this post is starting to sound a little frazzled....let's just suffice it to say that I covet any prayers you send my way right now and that I know that even though I am not able or capable of doing many things, my God is able.
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