It is not for everybody

It’s Not For Everybody

  Your path is just that "your" path. Not everyone with whom you associate can go with you on your path and your journey. Everyone is not built the same way that you have been built, for the same purposes that you have been built. They've not had the same experiences or even reactions to similar experiences. Regardless of how much you love them, how similar your interests are, how similar your upbringing, or how long you've known them they are not you. We have a tendency to hold on to people after their season in our lives has ended. We often expect behaviors, input, outcomes, insight, and knowledge from them that is particular to our purpose and calling. And, we get disappointed when they cannot live up to what we are asking. There's a simple solution.... 

It's not for everybody, it's for you.

   In the book of Acts 15:36-41, there is much of the story of the friendship of Paul and Barnabas. They are friends, co-workers, church-planters, and they have a very interesting story within their relationship. They started several ministries (churches) and projects together. They ministered together and often traveled together. But, they had to go their separate ways. It's not that they didn't love each other, but as humans do from time to time, they had contentious moments... a disagreement. And guess what, the quarrel was about doing God's work. That's right, they fought about the ministry team. Sound familiar? The bible says (v. 39) that the contention was so sharp that they parted. They had different paths to travel.  And different people with whom to travel.  But, that's okay. They both continued to do ministry, they both continued to preach the word of God, and they remained good friends. But not together, and not the same way. They had similar missions and purposes, but not the same. They both were designed by God to do very important things for His Kingdom, but not the same way, same places, or at the same times.

   God has designed you for an important assignment as well. That's your job, not mine. Nor is it your friend's, or pastor's, or even you wife's job. We should not expect this of others. It puts undo pressure on them. Frankly it gives them a job to do that the Lord has not equipped them for. Those people may be involved with or work with you on the same project, and may have even started the project with you, but their job is for them, and your job is for you.  If a person is held onto for too long, a part of their true mission might be hindered. Think about our example. If they had not gone their separate ways, the gospel would not have spread as it did. If they had not separated, churches and ministries may not have begun. They would have been out of place.  And so will you.

We love you and we are praying for you.

Sis. Pinky’s Prayer:

Father, help us to stay in our own lanes in life and fulfill our mission and not in someone else’s!

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

Test and Testimony

Test and Testimony

Test and Testimony 

I know that you have heard the saying, "there is no testimony without a test."  That certainly can be true, however it is also true even if you fail the test. In that case, you will more than likely have to retake that test.

God is an awesome teacher, and He teaches and molds us through experiences. He is the great Potter (Isaiah 64:8). We must be pliable and porous enough to learn from the experiences and people that God places in our lives. Don't be rigid clay! Allow the Master's hands to shape you into the vase, vessel, pot, or kettle that He desires for you to be. And, don't try to be a kettle if He made you to be a ladle! Glory in the fact that God made you to be a ladle with a particular purpose. 

Don't fail the test and have to retake it. (We have ALL failed a few). But don't worry, either way you will have a testimony to share. You don't have to pass the test to learn the lesson. 

We love you, and we are praying for you.

~Pastor Erroyl and Sis. Pinky

SALT

Sis. Pinky’s Prayer:

Thank you God for being a patient teacher with us. Help us to be porous, pliable, and willing vessels for the kingdom! We love and praise you Lord.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen

Throw your hands in the air!

  In Acts 27 - Paul, other prisoners, and sailors find themselves in the midst of a great storm. There came a point when the winds were so strong that the sailors could only take their hands off of the wheel (v 15), lest the ship be tossed and broken. 

There are many lessons to be learned from this event in history. 

1.Listen to advice from Godly people to avoid the storm.

2. Don't follow the majority simply because they make logical sense.

3. Some storms can be avoided.

4. If you wind up in the storm, lighten the load - extra baggage does you no good in a storm.

5. Know whose you are. There is an abundance of knowledge, protection, relationships, opportunities, and blessings just from that knowledge alone.

The lessons that you can get from this scripture go on and on (The WORD is rich y'all)!

Primarily, but briefly, I want to focus on this one fact;  You cannot drive a ship well while in a storm. Even though smaller storms are easier to navigate through, and the repercussions are not as great, a small storm can seriously injure.  The size of the storm, and severity of the repercussions from the outcome, typically have a directly proportional relationship. In other words, the bigger the storm is, the more damage it can do... potentially. 

The ship in the scripture example represents your life. As with the ship, your life has a purpose, route, and a destination. They both have a captain, a crew, and passengers.You, your family and friends, and those folks that are just along for the ride. They both have luggage, and baggage. Some things you need, and some you do not. And, they both WILL encounter storms.  

Knowing that there are storms coming can be scary. But, knowing that they are coming also gives us the opportunity to prepare for the storms, and the opportunity to learn what to do while in the storm. Here the crew tried everything to make the situation better. Eventually it was realized that the best thing to do was take their hands away from the wheel, and allow the storm to drive them. We have to get to a point, sooner or later, when we realize that God is in control of everything, that includes the storm!  Prov 16:9  says that a man makes plans, but God makes the way. We must realize that the storm was designed by God to accomplish a purpose. Maybe to get your attention, maybe to warn you, maybe to begin or end a relationship, or maybe to call you home to glory. Regardless though, we have to take our hands off and let Him guide. Trusting Him while in the storm might be difficult, but it is vital. We tend to, just like the crew from the scripture, try everything first and eventually release the control. This surrendering is what God wants. It’s obedience. God honors this, and this is when we are in His divine will. Let go of the wheel!

By the way, while your hands are off the wheel go ahead and raise them a little bit higher and give God some praise.

We love you, and we are praying for you

~Pastor Erroyl and Sis Pinky

SALT

Sis Pinky's prayer

Father, 

Help me to take my hands off the wheel in every aspect of my life. Help me to surrender and praise You for being Alpha and Omega! 

In Jesus’s name we pray, 

Amen

Knowing My Purpose, Living Sacrifice

Recognizing who you are in God, and knowing what your purpose is. Two things that are super important, super provocative, and on the minds of many believers. I'll use two Scriptures to illustrate this point. The first, Romans 12:1-2. The second scripture is Matthew 16:15–23. 

Please read both of the Scriptures. The first is the roadmap, the second is an enactment of that roadmap. 

The first scripture basically says that in order to know the Will of God for you life, that you must present yourself as a living sacrifice to God. Holy and acceptable to God. We must give it all to God. In today's life we really do not understand complete and total surrender and sacrifice. We barely sacrifice any time to pray, read the Bible, and fellowship with other believers. Here we are told to give it all up. The worry, the hurt, the power, the control... Everything. 

Think about this; Peter had been walking with Jesus for around two years by the point of the second scripture. That was him being a living sacrifice. Peter following, learning from, living with, and for Jesus; a living sacrifice. 

Peter's constant striving to please Jesus was holy and pleasing to God. Notice that he was not perfect, and that he made mistakes. However, God saw fit to speak through Peter to answer Jesus' question. Peter did not conform to the world when Jesus asked the question, "Who do you say I am?”, but instead he was open to hearing from God the Father. After which, Jesus changed his name from Simon to Peter. This was a transformation, and a renewal of his mind. It was then that Peter understood that his purpose in life was to tell the world who Jesus was. After the living sacrifice. After two years of dedicated living, learning, and communing with Jesus. That is when his purpose was revealed to him. That's not to say that God will reveal your purpose after two years of that sort of dedication... It might come before then, or after then. But, understanding that your purpose is in and with Him is a great place to start.

Having trouble understanding your purpose? Start by being dedicated, committed, and truly following Jesus. And if you still don't hear... Keep serving!!!

We love you, and we are praying for you.

~Pastor Erroyl and Sis. Pinky

SALT 

Sis. Pinky’s Prayer

Almighty God,

Maker of all things, we bless your name. Thank you for giving us Jesus as an example of living sacrificially for the Kingdom. Help us to truly give ourselves away so You can use us on this Earth and in turn our purposes will be revealed.

In Jesus' name we pray,

Amen

Why do evil doers prosper?

At times, we may have a hard time understanding why evildoers or atheists prosper. It just doesn't seem fair. They don't have a set of standards by which to govern themselves. At times they seem to have the best cars, houses, prosperity in their careers, health, etc. While many Christians, who are devout believers, find themselves almost struggling to maintain their livelihoods. It appears as though they rarely pay for their crimes or misdoings, and they live conscious-free in a life of comfort and sin. They even know what sin is, but do not care.

It's perspective.  
Firstly, this type of prosperity is the world’s definition. Our society, especially western civilizations, is corrupt. The things that are valued are material. If we focus on the things of God, His purpose for us, and have a Kingdom mentality then we see the fallacy in that sort of prosperity. Kingdom mindedness focuses on relationships... with God, family, and others. Prosperity in the health of relationships should be sough after, and valued.
Secondly, it is God’s desire that none be lost, so He extends grace to all. (See 2 Peter 3:8-9) In short, we all are given time to recognize who God is. God gives them time to recognize who they are, turn from their sins, and turn to Him. The same passage of scripture talks about the difference between being infinite and being finite. (A major difference between us and God) Because we cannot really understand what eternity means, Peter writes it as "a day is like 1000 years to the Lord and 1000 years are like one day".  Think about that for a moment... Once we get past the fact that we have no clue how God exists outside of, yet throughout time ...the conclusion that one comes to is that we have no clue how patient God is.

We find this written in Nahum 1:3 "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm…” God’s long-suffering is a result of His love for mankind.  He is certainly a loving God.  He is also a just God.  Because God even loves those we consider to be bad people, he affords them opportunities to be saved. When He determines their time is up He punishes them.  Sometimes he uses the whirlwind and the storm as tools. (Can anyone say amen to that?) Our goal as Christians should be to let our light shine as brightly as possible so that they become changed, attacked to that light, and not in that “guilty” number.

We love you and we are praying for you.

~SALT, pastor Erroyl and Sis Pinky

Sis. Pinky's Prayer:

Father, we pray for the lost. We ask that You would soften their hearts and get them to see the error of their ways. Please send us, your ambassadors, to the lost so that all will have an opportunity to repent and have a secure standing in eternity.

We thank you for being a patient and loving God with us all, and for the great reward we'll receive in glory.

In Jesus' Name we pray,

Amen

What God Requires

What God Requires

God never requires more than what you already have... In Genesis 4:7 He asks Cain,  "If you do your best, will not I accept you?" In other words, all He asks of us is the best from what we already have, not our leftovers.  The expectation is found earlier in chapter 4 of Genesis by the mentioning of Cain's vocation. He was a tiller of the soil: a farmer.  Our best is not that time we fit into our schedules, or the offering that we give after having paid our bills, and other expenses. Can we not plan to serve God with our time, talents, and treasure just as we plan parties, a guy’s night out, or to buy expensive items? Why is it that we can boast about work attendance and punctuality, we make sure our children go to school everyday, but we cannot seem to make it to church on time? Is that our best? Is that really what we give to God? 

The adjective used to describe the fruit that Cain gave to God was "some". Is that what we give God "some" fruit? Nothing special, not the best, just "some" fruit. 

God required a calf from Abel, because Abel raised animals. He required fruits from Cain, because Cain was a tiller of the ground. Notice that He did not require Abel to give fruit, nor Cain to give from a flock. If you want to know what God requires of you, look within. He’s already placed it in your care. Be it your writings, cooking, or singing, your listening ear to hurting persons, event organizing, praying, or serving. God did not place that gift in you simply so that you could sustain an Earthly life. Whatever it is remember that you should give a portion to God, and when you give God His portion, it must be your best--in order for it and you, to be accepted by the Lord. Look again at what Abel gave to God. It was the first born from his flock, and the fattest of the firstborn. He gave God the best of the best. And that's what we should do with who we are, and what we give to God.

Another part of that scripture (Gen 4) tells how Cain was feeling after this offering. His countenance had fallen. In other words he felt rejected, and miserable because of it. Don't we feel the same way after we give God less than our best? When we present God with a version of ourselves that is not the best we can be, don't we feel our countenance has fallen? Hmmmm. 

We love you, and we are praying for you.

~SALT, Pastor Erroyl and Sis. Pinky

Sis. Pinky's prayer:

Almighty God, maker of heaven and earth, we thank you for placing spiritual gifts in us. Help us to give you our best at all times, especially when it's sacrificial. Let us not allow worldly things to get us distracted nor self created idols to take the place of You. We thank you for being patient, loving, merciful, and full of grace. 

In Jesus' name we pray,

Amen

Circle of Influence

There are many important things that a Christian must consider in regards to living our daily lives. Among the vast array of things that bid for a high spot on our priority lists is our circle of influence. There is not much to consider that is more important than our circle of influence. We must be aware of our circle of influence. Most of the time when this is spoken of we consider the people who have influenced us, the impact that they have had in our lives and in our character development, etc. 

     But this time I would like to discuss the people that we influence. God has given each of us particular dominion, and that dominion includes those persons that we are responsible for. Those persons can be in our family, our friends, coworkers, and sometimes just persons with whom we are briefly associated. 

     These two scriptures illustrate this point. The first is the story of Jonah. With Jonah we see how his negative actions affected all of the people who were sailing on the ship with him. All of those mariners were in danger of losing their lives, because Jonah decided to run from the Lord. We must understand that when we decide to sin, that the repercussions go beyond just us. The repercussions affect those people within the sphere of our influence.   Think about how your negative actions or poor decisions have affected those persons around you.

     In the book of Acts chapter 27, we see how Paul, while on his way to prison, was on a ship that was going to crash. There's a visit from an angel of the Lord, and the angel told Paul that because of who he was, and whose he was, despite the impending danger of the ships crashing, that no one would lose their life. Now, understand that he was on the ship with a boatload of criminals. These criminals may have deserved to die during the ship's crashing. But, because of how Paul had decided to live his life, they all would benefit from his decisions. They were in his circle of influence. 

   Now, think about how people close to you have benefited because of the good choices and behaviors that you have exhibited. 

   We must try to be more selfless, and make decisions based upon not only how it will affect us, but how it will affect those who are within our circle of influence. We must consider our actions not only for us, but for those over whom we have dominion. The same way that Jesus made a decision to go to Calvary. He thought more about you and me than the pain that He Himself would endure.

– We love you, and we are praying for you. Pastor Erroyl and Sister Pinky

Father,

Thank you for reminding me that my actions affect those around me, be them good or bad. Help me to be cognizant of my actions and to be led by the Holy Spirit in every area of my life.

In Jesus' name we pray,

Amen