Can I Get a Amen!

I go to a predominantly African American church and I love it! With high-spirited worship and fervent expressions of prayers and praise it’s always a good time. My all time favorite part of any service is the sermon. This is my favorite part mostly because of the word of God being taught but also because of the responses that come from the congregation. At any given time during the sermon you are sure to hear a “Preach Pastor” or “ That’s Good Pastor” maybe even a “You preaching that word Real good Doc.” (you probably know a few more) All of these responses and much more offer the preacher encouragement and it ultimately gives him the needed support to continue in his discourse. I’m wondering though why is it that the preacher/pastor is the only one that receives this type of encouragement on his/her job. Shouldn’t more people receive this type of encouragement while performing their specific job duties. For example the Bank Teller would love to hear “You counting that money right there Doc” or the McDonald’s worker I’m sure would enjoy, “You betta Flip those Burgers” maybe even the cable man would like to hear “That’s real Good cable you installin.” OK maybe this would be a little absurd but my point is we all need an amen section, which is a group of people or a person who continually supports and encourages us throughout this journey of Christian life.

In Hebrews 3:13 the writer instructs us in this way, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” We all know that this life gets tough and having a good support system is necessary for our growth and maturity. Sin is deadly and if not corrected, challenged, or rebuked can lead to a hardened heart before the Lord. Friends who support us and provide daily encouragement prevent us from this type of deception while also pushing us to stay the course of a holy and righteous lifestyle. The Apostle Paul understood the importance of believers encouraging other believers( that is mostly why he wrote so many letters to the early churches) because he knew that encouragement would give the believers that additional drive to run the race of faith diligently with great perseverance.

I believe next to knowing Christ and having a relationship with God being in Godly relationships with other believers is one of the best aspects of Christianity. Positive relationships have great possibilities for me to grow and develop as a lover of Christ. Encouraging and reinforcing Gods love and heart to His people should be a part of our daily behaviors. I know for me the encouragement that I receive from my friends and family really allows me to see the love of God in a tangible way. Additionally, it empowers me to take hold of God’s love so that I might share that with other people. So try to be in the amen section of someone’s life you never know what impact it could have. Ultimately, the next time you see a brother or sister doing the thing in Christ let them know and encourage their hearts with a “You betta go ahead boo” but in the spirit of course.

A Good Waiter

Growing up Christmas was my favorite holiday (it still is!) for basically all the wrong reasons. My excitement was never over the birth of Christ but the fact that I would be getting all types of great gifts. Now since I was a very anxious child a couple of weeks before Christmas I would always snoop around the house looking to find one or more of my gifts. And occasionally as luck would have it I found those gifts. One year in my snooping, I found my brand new bike and I was so happy. Immediately I pictured myself riding this bike looking exceptionally cool and having a great time with all my friends. However, that day had to wait because I had at least two more weeks before I could ride it never mind let anyone know I knew it existed. Have you ever felt this way before in Christ? It’s like you know He promised you some cool gifts and maybe He actually showed you what they were but now you are left waiting to see them happen. Well I have been there before and actually I’m there right now and I think as Christians we all are waiting to ride our new bikes. The question now becomes how do we practically wait for these promises not our way but God’s way.

There are tons of scriptures in the Bible that speak on waiting and its benefits. In Psalms we are told to wait on the Lord and take heart have courage and wait. Psalms 27:14. In Isaiah 51:5 we are encouraged to wait on the Lord with hope in His strong arm. Then in Isaiah 40:31 the word instructs us that those who wait upon the Lord shall have renewed strength. All of these scriptures and much more offer us hope in our times of waiting and then encourage us to believe that God is good and He will fulfill his word concerning our lives.

As a lady in waiting, I continually have to remind myself the promises of His word and why I am waiting. With the world and all of its promises I must remain focused as not to stumble into old ways of sin, deception, and compromise. Please let me tell you this has not been easy especially in this season of my life where waiting is essential to my progress. Truthfully, I have never been a good waiter (as you can tell from my Christmas story) and in the past I have allowed fear, worry, and anxiety to take over my good intentions of waiting. But I must conquer this season of waiting with great hope in my heart because the truth is as long as I’m alive I will be waiting for something!  So as we continue to venture into this year please ask yourself am I a good waiter? Am I waiting with great expectancy that God will do the thing that I am waiting on? Or alternatively, have I chosen to wait in fear, doubt or contempt because it may be taking longer than I anticipated. Personally, I am choosing to wait with patience believing that God loves me and He only wants the best for my life. The bible says that no good thing will He withhold from them that walk upright before Him, Psalms 84:11

Now since I understand that waiting is not for the faint of heart I have a few tips that the Lord is showing me on how to wait His way:

1)      PRAYING  without ceasing  1Thessalonians 5:17

2)      Cultivating an intimate Relationship with the Lord

3)      Getting involved in church ministry or community activities serving as often as I can

4)      Having an accountability/prayer partner

5)      Continuously renewing my mind with God’s word

6)      Living my Life enjoying every day free of fear and worry

Also a few scriptures on waiting, Psalms 27:14, 37:7, 46:10, 130:5-6, 62:1-12,

Isaiah 40:31 & 51:5, Lamentations 3:25, Galatians 6:9

Be Blessed!