One of the things Bishop talked to us about is how God progresses us. He talked about his first congregation: there were 10 faithful members. Then, that 10 turned into 30. And the 30 turned into more and more until now, decades later, there are literally MILLIONS who follow Bishop's ministry.
"You cannot bypass the ten," he said.
I remember what Bill Day, my theatre mentor of many years, told me time and again before the curtains would open for a show: "It doesn't matter how many people you see in the audience. Whether there's 30 or 300, you give it all you've got."
And that's what Bishop is talking about. We've got to have what it takes to give it all we've got, no matter who is or isn't there. We've got to BELIEVE in what we're doing and convey that to WHOEVER God sends our way.
We mustn't ever bypass the ten...Because it's with the ten that we really know what's motivating us. It's not the glitz and glamor. It's the CAUSE within us, the MOTIVATION, Christ alone.
And, with ten, we must rely on God to see us through. And if he sees fit to bless our seed, our fruit and give us massive harvest, if we've gone through the process, we will be better for it. We will have strength and character and identity.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Process Produces Product
Bishop Jakes talked about how there is a PROCESS that is necessary to produce any product. And sometimes, we can be ultra-impatient about waiting on the process.
We live in an "Instant Society." We like to order something and get it immediately--or shortly--thereafter. We have come to expect "instant" from almost everything we deem desirable. And when we have to wait--or are told that obtaining something requires a lengthy process, we don't like that.
If there's a long process involved in something we'd like to have or see happen in or lives, we have to determine (1) If it's worth the effort, time, investment, or (2) If it's not. Shall we give up? Or shall we dig in our heels and go for it, no matter what?
In ministry, Bishop cautioned, it's easy to think that "you're ready to get started" when there's more processing to be done. And we have to trust God to know the timing. If we push open doors, cut corners, disregard the warning signs? We're opening ourselves to MAJOR problems.
The older I get, the more I realize that I really MUST trust God. For everything.
And trusting God in the process means committing to the "long haul." Because I know it's going to be worth it. Worth it all.
We live in an "Instant Society." We like to order something and get it immediately--or shortly--thereafter. We have come to expect "instant" from almost everything we deem desirable. And when we have to wait--or are told that obtaining something requires a lengthy process, we don't like that.
If there's a long process involved in something we'd like to have or see happen in or lives, we have to determine (1) If it's worth the effort, time, investment, or (2) If it's not. Shall we give up? Or shall we dig in our heels and go for it, no matter what?
In ministry, Bishop cautioned, it's easy to think that "you're ready to get started" when there's more processing to be done. And we have to trust God to know the timing. If we push open doors, cut corners, disregard the warning signs? We're opening ourselves to MAJOR problems.
The older I get, the more I realize that I really MUST trust God. For everything.
And trusting God in the process means committing to the "long haul." Because I know it's going to be worth it. Worth it all.
The Acorn and The Oak Tree
"An acorn doesn't look like a tree, but it is."
--Bishop Jakes
God uses the seemingly insignificant things in this life to demonstrate His love and show His glory. He alone knows what is inside the smallest seed--He alone knows what that seed is capable of. Sometimes, all the smallest seeds need? Soil to grow in. And time. Lots of time.
It's really incredible, amazing, how God is. He can look on the heart of a man or woman and know the potential that lies within it.
As I was thinking over this quotation today, I thought about what God has done in me over the past three decades. I wonder at what He must have seen when I was going "my way" or exploring "on my own." And I can't help but be amazed by His love and grace, His provision, His safe-keeping. And His belief in me.
If every man is an acorn, I wonder at what God can do in each heart--including my own!--if we continue to be planted in the correct kind of soil and given time.
------------------------Prayer
Lord, You alone see the heart of me. You know what lies within me--You alone know the potential I have still yet to realize. Help me to dig in, seek Your face, hold Your hand...no matter what. Help me to realize the potential You have placed within me. I don't want to miss Your will for my life. I don't want to be satisfied with anything but ALL of what You have for me. Grow me, Lord, as You grow that acorn into an oak tree. Please, Lord, may I live to please You.
--Bishop Jakes
God uses the seemingly insignificant things in this life to demonstrate His love and show His glory. He alone knows what is inside the smallest seed--He alone knows what that seed is capable of. Sometimes, all the smallest seeds need? Soil to grow in. And time. Lots of time.
It's really incredible, amazing, how God is. He can look on the heart of a man or woman and know the potential that lies within it.
As I was thinking over this quotation today, I thought about what God has done in me over the past three decades. I wonder at what He must have seen when I was going "my way" or exploring "on my own." And I can't help but be amazed by His love and grace, His provision, His safe-keeping. And His belief in me.
If every man is an acorn, I wonder at what God can do in each heart--including my own!--if we continue to be planted in the correct kind of soil and given time.
------------------------Prayer
Lord, You alone see the heart of me. You know what lies within me--You alone know the potential I have still yet to realize. Help me to dig in, seek Your face, hold Your hand...no matter what. Help me to realize the potential You have placed within me. I don't want to miss Your will for my life. I don't want to be satisfied with anything but ALL of what You have for me. Grow me, Lord, as You grow that acorn into an oak tree. Please, Lord, may I live to please You.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Stirring in My Spirit
As sick as I have been,
As weak as I have felt today,
I can honestly say
There is a stirring in my spirit.
Although my brain has slowed
To no more than a snail's pace,
I can feel it deep within me,
A stirring in my spirit.
What I can sense through
Cloudy perceptors?
That God is moving, making
A Way, confirming, stirring...
There is a calling from
THE DEEP, a Morse Code
of Sorts--I can't hear the sounds,
But I can detect a faint tapping...
Tap, tap, tapping, on the
Wellspring of my Soul:
It' s going to be okay,
There's an Answer on the way.
With my eyes open, I can't see:
There is chaos and confusion,
A blurring of concrete forms--
And yet, when I close my eyes...
There it is--the Movement of Air,
A distant roar, like a Command;
Something is Coming; Someone
Commanding a divine change.
He is Aware of my situation,
And He has Commanded a change.
With spiritual force, He has Willed It,
And Here It Comeeeees . . . .
As weak as I have felt today,
I can honestly say
There is a stirring in my spirit.
Although my brain has slowed
To no more than a snail's pace,
I can feel it deep within me,
A stirring in my spirit.
What I can sense through
Cloudy perceptors?
That God is moving, making
A Way, confirming, stirring...
There is a calling from
THE DEEP, a Morse Code
of Sorts--I can't hear the sounds,
But I can detect a faint tapping...
Tap, tap, tapping, on the
Wellspring of my Soul:
It' s going to be okay,
There's an Answer on the way.
With my eyes open, I can't see:
There is chaos and confusion,
A blurring of concrete forms--
And yet, when I close my eyes...
There it is--the Movement of Air,
A distant roar, like a Command;
Something is Coming; Someone
Commanding a divine change.
He is Aware of my situation,
And He has Commanded a change.
With spiritual force, He has Willed It,
And Here It Comeeeees . . . .
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Bishop Jakes: "You Came in the Middle of My Movie"
Bishop Jakes emphasized the need for our understanding of THE PROCESS.
He warned that many in this generation expect everything to be BIG and come easy. But that's not how it goes. You have to work for everything. And there's a process to go through.
"You all came in the middle of my movie," he said, "when I was driving a Bentley. You weren't there in the beginning, when we were selling ribs just to keep the lights on in our house."
Again and again, he warned us that it is very dangerous to think that we could or should ever skip the process.
He stressed the reality of the cost of ministry. Ministry affects everyone and everything in our lives. We make mega sacrifices to do it, and he admonished us to think twice before getting into the ministry if we weren't prepared to count the cost.
He warned that many in this generation expect everything to be BIG and come easy. But that's not how it goes. You have to work for everything. And there's a process to go through.
"You all came in the middle of my movie," he said, "when I was driving a Bentley. You weren't there in the beginning, when we were selling ribs just to keep the lights on in our house."
Again and again, he warned us that it is very dangerous to think that we could or should ever skip the process.
He stressed the reality of the cost of ministry. Ministry affects everyone and everything in our lives. We make mega sacrifices to do it, and he admonished us to think twice before getting into the ministry if we weren't prepared to count the cost.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
My Life: An Open Book
Lord, I give You the blank pages of my book--
The days I have left to live on this Earth;
And I ask you to WRITE the entries to come:
Let nothing be written that fails to please You.
Where I will go: Let it be where You SEND me.
Where I will speak Let it be where You NEED me.
Where I will live: Let it be where You LEAD me.
Where I will die: Let it be where You WILL me.
Lord, I give You my life, an open book,
To write as You will on its blank pages;
I dedicate it all to You, my Savior, my Guide,
And submit myself to Your Will and Plan.
Amen.
The days I have left to live on this Earth;
And I ask you to WRITE the entries to come:
Let nothing be written that fails to please You.
Where I will go: Let it be where You SEND me.
Where I will speak Let it be where You NEED me.
Where I will live: Let it be where You LEAD me.
Where I will die: Let it be where You WILL me.
Lord, I give You my life, an open book,
To write as You will on its blank pages;
I dedicate it all to You, my Savior, my Guide,
And submit myself to Your Will and Plan.
Amen.
25 Years from Now: When Tomorrow Comes
Tonight, our Pastor urged us to contemplate the next 25 years.
He had people stand up if they thought they would not live to see the next 25 years. Several people in the congregation stood.
Next, he had everyone else stand. And then he asked, "Where will you be in 25 years? What will you have accomplished?"
He urged us to think about our lives, what we're running toward, what we're most passionate about, and then he reminded us that at the end of this road, what matters is that we are ready to meet our Maker. "Because, at the end of our lives, that's all that will matter. Not our houses and cars. Not how cute we are. But how we spent our lives. Whether or not we know Christ."
---------------------------------------------------------
As he was talking, urging people to commit the next 25 years of their lives to the Cause of Christ, I did a little addition in the margin of my church notebook.
41+25=66.
In 25 years, I will be 66 years old. Psalmie will be about to turn 30.
I know how quickly the last 25 years have gone, and I can only imagine how quickly the next set will go. It will literally fly by.
What will happen in the next 25 years? Where is God going to take me? Use me?
Will He have come by then to get us?
The Pastor's words began to really sink in. Time really is fleeting.
-------------------------------------------------------
I know I don't have much time left. And I want to serve Him in the capacity He has planned for me. I want so much to fulfill the Divine Destiny He has for my life.
These days, I realize that whatever happens, He will have to do it; he will have to open the doors and lead me there. I am doing my best to think, think, think about how to be on top of things and to be ready, but ultimately, I'm praying my brains out that He will lead me down the RIGHT paths, the BEST paths, for His Name's Sake.
I don't want to make a wrong turn. At my age, I really cannot afford to. I don't have all the time in the world anymore to make wrongs right. I'd like to get it right the first time.
I know that this is impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit. I cannot do ANYTHING without the Lord's help, for sure.
But I just want to do ALL I CAN to be the woman of God He has planned for me. And to give Psalm all the tools she needs to be the woman of God He has for her to be, as well.
My destiny is certainly tied to hers. I feel a great weight of responsibility for her. Every move I make impacts and influences her life.
I am also coming to the understanding of what "being one" means with my husband, Stephen. I am no longer making decisions for myself. Our destinies are linked together--divinely so. So whatever God is calling Me to, He will call Stephen, as well.
I don't know what 25 years will bring in my life...but I hope, when tomorrow comes, it will all be rewarding and TO THE GLORY OF GOD.
Amen.
He had people stand up if they thought they would not live to see the next 25 years. Several people in the congregation stood.
Next, he had everyone else stand. And then he asked, "Where will you be in 25 years? What will you have accomplished?"
He urged us to think about our lives, what we're running toward, what we're most passionate about, and then he reminded us that at the end of this road, what matters is that we are ready to meet our Maker. "Because, at the end of our lives, that's all that will matter. Not our houses and cars. Not how cute we are. But how we spent our lives. Whether or not we know Christ."
---------------------------------------------------------
As he was talking, urging people to commit the next 25 years of their lives to the Cause of Christ, I did a little addition in the margin of my church notebook.
41+25=66.
In 25 years, I will be 66 years old. Psalmie will be about to turn 30.
I know how quickly the last 25 years have gone, and I can only imagine how quickly the next set will go. It will literally fly by.
What will happen in the next 25 years? Where is God going to take me? Use me?
Will He have come by then to get us?
The Pastor's words began to really sink in. Time really is fleeting.
-------------------------------------------------------
I know I don't have much time left. And I want to serve Him in the capacity He has planned for me. I want so much to fulfill the Divine Destiny He has for my life.
These days, I realize that whatever happens, He will have to do it; he will have to open the doors and lead me there. I am doing my best to think, think, think about how to be on top of things and to be ready, but ultimately, I'm praying my brains out that He will lead me down the RIGHT paths, the BEST paths, for His Name's Sake.
I don't want to make a wrong turn. At my age, I really cannot afford to. I don't have all the time in the world anymore to make wrongs right. I'd like to get it right the first time.
I know that this is impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit. I cannot do ANYTHING without the Lord's help, for sure.
But I just want to do ALL I CAN to be the woman of God He has planned for me. And to give Psalm all the tools she needs to be the woman of God He has for her to be, as well.
My destiny is certainly tied to hers. I feel a great weight of responsibility for her. Every move I make impacts and influences her life.
I am also coming to the understanding of what "being one" means with my husband, Stephen. I am no longer making decisions for myself. Our destinies are linked together--divinely so. So whatever God is calling Me to, He will call Stephen, as well.
I don't know what 25 years will bring in my life...but I hope, when tomorrow comes, it will all be rewarding and TO THE GLORY OF GOD.
Amen.
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