When Storms Come

Here are some lessons I've learned when times are tough, whether it's with finances, emotions, marriage, family issues, friend drama, stress, whatever!

#1 Set your hope in Christ alone
God allowed me to be rejected by several christian women, and by a family member who meant a lot to me, to get me to that point where I was no longer able to put my hope in them. All I had left was to put my hope in Christ, where it should've been in the first place. 
"..hold fast to the hope set before us. ¹⁹ We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, ²⁰ where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever.." Hebrews 6:18-20 (ESV)
Is there someone or something else that you are putting your hope in? Why? What makes you think they would be a better answer over Jesus?

#2 It's either a storm of Perfection or a storm of Correction
We are either walking with the Lord in obedience (perfection) and the enemy wants to knock us down with storms OR we are not walking with the Lord and so He allows a storm of correction to try and get us back on the right path with Him. Seek His Word and ask Him which storm you are in. If you are in complete obedience with Him then it's a storm of perfection and you just have to keep your eyes on Jesus. Do not give in to the enemy's attempts! If it's a storm of correction, then you have some sin in your life that you need to turn from.  Get that sin into the light so it can begin to heal. In doing so, the storm of correction will soon turn into a rainbow of promise. 
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
 Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,and chastises every son whom he receives.” Hebrews 12:5-6 (ESV)

Do you have sin in your life that you need to turn from?

#3 Let praise be your battle plan

No matter what trial you face, you can choose praise over worry or fear. Choose to praise Him and watch as your worries fade and your faith grows. Read the story of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20 to see what happened when he sent the worshipers before the army.  There are so many verses of encouragement in this passage, like, This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2 Chron. 20:15 (NLT)

How can you turn your worries into praises today?

#4 God has already conquered your battle, you just have to walk through it in obedience!

God has already defeated our battles for us, we just have to walk through it trusting and obeying Him. Look at what the Lord told Joshua about the battle before him, And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. ³ You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. ⁴ Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵ And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” Joshua 5:2-5 (ESV) God had already delivered Jericho into Joshua's hand, Joshua just had to follow through on what the Lord instructed him to do in order to experience the victory. 

How can you view your trial as a battle already won? What do you need to do to walk through it in trust and obedience?

When storms come, set your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith. He will never leave you nor forsake you! God Bless!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-3 (ESV)

 

 

Church Is Not the Answer.

There. I said it. Church is not the answer.

Hear me out.  I love a good Bible teachin', Spirit-filled, disciple makin' body of believers. That being said...

Have you noticed how church-focused Christians are these days? If you have an unsaved friend that you want to "witness" to, then you invite them to your church. In fact this is most likely what your church promotes and encourages you to do. Is it possible that church leadership thinks that because they have the answers, then they ARE the answer?

Wake up churches: YOU are not the answer.

Jesus is.

If you were to take all the believers OUT of a church, then it would just be an empty building. Jesus wouldn't be there because He's IN you.  So why do we focus so much on church?

Now, if we are talking about big "C" Church, as in the body of Christ- you and me, then yes, WE are the answer because Christ is in us. Ya followin'?

The modern day church has created a fun-loving, seeker-friendly environment with an aesthetically pleasing design that is comfortable to go to. The atmosphere is great, probably because believers are worshiping and the presence of God is there. It's all good and fine, I am NOT against this.

The Bible tells us, 

²⁴ And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)

Meeting together. Did the Apostle Paul intend for this to be interpreted as "checking in" to church on Facebook, hearing an inspirational message and then literally not even speaking Jesus' name out loud for the rest of the week? 

I don't think so.

Church is not a country club my friends! Let me break down Hebrews 10:24-25 for you:

²⁴ And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

We should be actively thinking about how to spur each other on to love one another and to do good in this world. 

 ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

We should meet together to encourage one another, because everyday that goes by is a day closer to Jesus coming back. Some Christians have stopped meeting with other believers altogether! The Church should start asking why?

Question: Did you see anything about Sunday church in this Hebrews passage?  "Meeting together" literally means gathering together. It's not indicative of a certain place. It can be any day and anywhere. And yes, a church service qualifies as meeting together...IF you are actually engaging with others, spurring them on and encouraging each other to serve CHRIST. Not slipping in late, leaving early, and only saying, "Hi, how are you? I'm fine." And for the church leaders, "meeting together" did not mean promoting the business of church because you want more members and more tithe to redecorate the church foyer to "attract" more people.

I believe Paul was encouraging us to live out this passage EVERYDAY. 

Every. Day. What a concept!!

And with today's technology there is no excuse.

There has never been an easier time in all of history to do what this verse tells us to. One of the ways you can "meet together" is by hopping on instant messenger or FaceTime. You can take 5 minutes out of your day to pray and ask the Lord  to show you who in your life needs encouragement. Ask Him to show you a Bible verse (on your Bible app of course) to share with them, then share it! Text it. Post it. IM it. Whatever! Just do it. Be intentional about your friendships and be open for what God wants you to do. Spur each other on. Make bags together for the homeless and go deliver them. Or get together for a bible study and/or prayer time. Disciple one another, reach out to the lost. ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. And you will be doing what this verse says and more.

And here's a crazy idea. What if once a month on a Sunday morning you decided to take the "church" to someone who would never step foot in a church building? By "take the church" I mean take yourself to a friend or a person in need and BE the church. Be the hands and feet of Jesus. Provide for a need they have. Ask them how you can pray for them. When they say, "Why aren't you at church?" You can say, "I am. I have Jesus inside me, so church goes where I go. He doesn't need a building, just me." If that doesn't perk up their interest to know more about THIS Jesus then I don't know what will. 

You see friends, I believe that the enemy has infiltrated our borders. He has twisted the idea of church into the very thing Jesus fought so hard against. Christ died to redeem it. So why are we letting the enemy mess it up again? Right under our noses??

In Bible times, "church" was the Temple and the synagogues. The Temple was where you brought sacrifices to atone for your sins and the synagogue was a place of worship and teaching. The Temple had the presence of God in it, but there was a very thick, floor to ceiling curtain separating man from God's presence.

But once Jesus came, gave us the ultimate example of how to love others and then died for our sins, that curtain was torn! It tore from top to bottom to prove no human could've done it. The curtain that separated God's Holy presence from us, the unholy sinners, was torn in two. No more separation.

Then God chose a new temple. His new temple was YOU. 
And me. And every believer ever made. 

1 Corinthians 6:19 says,
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, (ESV)

We are the temple. We are the church. He dwells in us. So how did church turn into a place that you just go to on Sundays?? Or the only place where you act like a follower?

Everyday is an opportunity to live as the church God intended us to be. Like I said, it's fine to go on a Sunday and enjoy fellowship with other believers. But when doing THAT becomes your only definition of being a follower of Christ then you are missing it. Completely. 

Last verse and then you can either get defensive about this post or you can allow the veil to be removed from your eyes.... Matthew 12:6-8: (Jesus speaking to some Pharisees)

I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. ⁷ And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸ For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Something greater than the temple is here. That something greater is Jesus. It's not about church, it's not about religion, it's about Him. If your church or religion makes it more about you (or them) and less about Him, then it's time to ask God what He wants you to do on a Sunday morning. He desires for you to show mercy, not sacrifice. How can you make your Sunday morning more about mercy than sacrifice? 

Believers, there is something greater than the temple here. It's Jesus. Don't let the temple overshadow Him. 

5 Quick Questions before you go:

#1 Have you ever thought that your church or pastor is better than any other church or pastor? Read 1 Corinthians 3:21

#2 If you were invited to join a friend at their church one Sunday would you decline because you already "have a church"? Read 1 Corinthians 12:21-26

#3 Do you feel like you could never go serve the homeless on a Sunday morning because that's when you're supposed to go to church? Read Matthew 12:9-13

#4 Does your church sell anything within it's walls? Read Matthew 21:12

#5 If you are part of church leadership, do you feel competitive with other churches in your area? (Is your church sign on the street corner sitting right next to another church's sign??) Read Romans 12:3

 

If you answered YES to any of these questions then you (or your church) might actually be part of the problem. There should be no division in the body of Christ. There should be no "business" in church. We are all part of One Body! We are all on the same team. Team Jesus. Not Team My Church and Team Your Church. Let's start playing as a team! Let's stop putting bumper stickers for churches on our cars and start putting on Bible verses instead.

Church-Goers: Start going to church with the intention to love and serve others, and apply what you learn there into your everyday life.

Church leadership: Stop promoting your church and membership MORE than Jesus and the Great Commission. He didn't say, "Stay and become a member", He said "Go and make disciples." (Matthew 28:16-20)

The answer is not church. The answer is Jesus.

Be the church so those around you can see Jesus!

**Disclaimer** For those of you that think I'm attacking churches and pastors or trying to cause division, you missed the entire point. I am the wife of a Pastor. The point of this post is to try and help you switch your thinking from depending on the church to do what YOU are called to do. Too many Christians rely on their church or their pastor to do all the discipling and witnessing when that is ALL of our "call" and responsibilities. I also wrote this to call out churches that have been deceived into operating more like a business than a ministry. Thank you and God bless!