The Promise: Meaningful action and won't he do it!

What a refreshing word today at Shiloh Church.

I will admit to you that I have been feeling pretty sour about the whole church and evangelical Christian scene lately.  If it isn't the lax and sorry response to the demonic attacks in Charleston, South Carolina or the hateful and mean spirited response by "Christians" to the SCOTUS decision of marriage equality, I have been frustrated and discouraged with the so called body of believers.

It just seems that people aren't interested in taking meaningful action but spewing mean comments about gay people without ever reflecting on the trainwreck that is their marriage and family or just these passive and mealy mouth responses to just pray and do nothing after the people were shot dead in church.  Where is the rebuke against demons?  Where is the self reflection on why many do not see Christians as credible and loving?

Anyway I've been frustrated and just tempted to say that's it!  I'm here for God and his purposes and to make an impact.  I will not be involved with this foolishness.  But today I decided to get up and go to Shiloh Church and I was blessed.  They weren't spending their time with fear mongering sermons or let's just pray about it and do nothing.  No that was the opposite message of today's sermon by Pastor Javier!

God's Promise

I am reading a book by Bob Sorge called Loyalty.  One thing he talks about is how do we know who to follow?  How can we be sure we place our loyalties with the right people?  He said to look for God's promise with people.  Has God given this person a promise?  Is this person loyal to the promise God has given them and is determined to see it through God's way.  I really liked this.  As someone who is holding on to the promises of God, I find comfort that when we are making choices with whom to be loyal to, it's not about the person's perfection or any of these superficial qualities.  It is "Has God promised them something and are they being faithful to seeing his promise through?"  

That is my season in life and I can only hope that those who I would hope to put my loyalties with would be on similar paths instead of simply drifting.

Last night motivated by Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean in, I wrote down my Long Term Dream and 18 month Plan.  For the first time in years I didn't include anything about a husband or children in my 18 month plan.  It was about what I hoped to accomplish in my business and side project of Women's Empowerment.  I of course HAD to point that out but the reason I didn't include that is because I left it on the altar.  God has promised it to me and it's on him when it happens.  He is providing the ram in the bush.  He has given me directions in my business and side projects so that's my job right now.  Worrying about a husband and kids is not on the agenda.

I am very excited about my business plans and side projects and I believe they are all doable with God and his anointing but for the first time, I didn't think:  Oh no...I just can't get married or have kids because it will mess all of my plans up.  I thought:  Wow!  The husband that God has for me will only make this better and my message even more relevant!  Add a baby coconut into the mix and I will have even more hilarious material of how I am trying to be a Mommy and do all of these things.  It made me smile because for the first time I realized:  I trust God with my future.  Before I did not.  I wanted to worry that if I didn't do something it wouldn't happen.

I thought about how he keeps telling me through others and through his word that he has already gone before me and he's already done it.  I just have to get on my job.

Taking Meaningful Action

Our sermon today was about when the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan.  I assume most of the people were looking around like "Now how in the world are we supposed to get across this?"  We know that the waters were high and I'm sure even though folks had heard about how moses had parted the Red Sea, they were still doubtful that could help them now.

I look at some things in my life and think, "How in the world is this going to happen?"  Even this month I have testimonies of God's faithfulness but there's still some doubt like "Well I don't know..."  Even though God has told me to just stand still and watch, he's also let me know that when it's time to move I have to move without hemming and hawing.  I did that when I decided to quit my job and the fitness competition and I haven't looked back.

I sometimes think people think Waiting on the Lord's rescue means not taking meaningful action.  Quite the contrary.  The only way you can take meaningful action is to have enough faith to take the step forward when he calls you.  All the Israelites had to do was take a step and that was their meaningful action.  Sometimes all we need to do is take a step and let God know we trust him with it.

That's my meaningful action:  I've quit my job, I'm taking risks, I'm working on projects that have no distributor, no nothing, but I believe that the meaningful action God wants me to take right now is to get started.  As I did my 6 month review of 2015, my biggest accomplishment was over 100 pages written!  It is what I am most excited about.  Working on it every day whether reading or writing was my step into the Jordan.  It's what I've always wanted to do and now I'm taking meaningful action on it.

As Pastor Javier said, "This is the time.  This is the season.  God will do it."

Amen!

Leaving it Up to God

I'm going to say this here and I just feel compelled to share it:  I have seen the type of man I would like to marry one day.  Prior to this, I had never once seen somebody that I would want to place any loyalty in or believed for one moment that God had tremendous promises for his life but I have seen a glimpse of it and because of that it has been easy to put that prayer about a husband on the altar. I want nothing less than that and there is no way on this earth that I can manipulate it or make it happen.

Pastor Javier shared this scripture using the Message version today and it is precisely how I feel:

Luke 18:27

“No chance at all,” Jesus said, “if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.”

I wrote down in my notebook:  AND WON'T HE DO IT????

To God be the Glory!