The Ministry of Reconciliation

Sometimes when I think about how long I have been saved and been in church I am ashamed to admit my lack of knowledge or the things that I have felt. But I believe that there are other young Christians who feel the same way. God commands us to "Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed." I have a desire to tell others some of the things that I have been insecure about in my Christian walk so that others may find motivation and determination to give their all to God. Just reading these articles will not help you find the answer to your problems, but they may show you how much clearer things are when your life is lived for and through Christ alone.

Over the years I have struggled with not knowing who I should befriend and who I should kindly avoid. Most of the people I am around are Christians, but I wasn't sure if I should befriend those Christian's who aren't actively serving God or committed to doing what's right. I realize this may sound very judgmental, but since I am already an introvert I was really looking for an excuse to stay to myself and the few people that I was drawn to. I also had an overwhelming desire to do everything right and to look right to everyone around me, thus I was very conscientious about who I was associated with.

On the other hand, sometimes there were people that I enjoyed talking to casually, yet almost felt guilty for doing so because they weren't a Christian or they were living their own life totally unconcerned about what God wanted. I've heard so many people say that most of the time you don't bring them up, they bring you down, that I really believed that. I had a hard time finding the balance between being someone's friend and being friendly to them and nothing more. Many times my soul was in turmoil over this.

For the past several weeks my mind and heart have been fixed on God more than ever before. I finally came to a point in my life where I was tired of being inconsistent and struggling every day to do what was right. I decided that I was going to serve God and I was not going to give up no matter how hard it would be. My mind has been so focused on learning the scriptures and learning how to develop a better prayer life that I no longer worried about who I should befriend. God had filled my soul with joy so that everyone I passed at work I smiled at and gave a hearty greeting. At church I was more confident in myself and actually had a desire to talk to others a little more than I had in the past. Without even trying I began to be a friendlier person in small ways.

During this time of renewed fellowship with God, a missionary from Palou visited our church while on deputation. One of the scriptures he preached out of was II Corinthians chapter 5:17-18. "Therfore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;" These scriptures have stuck in my mind and I've read them over many times because the meaning behind them is so great. When the missionary read this passage I felt like God pointed straight at me and said, "That's your ministry" and truly it is because the scripture says so itself.

To reconcile is to to "call back into union and friendship the affections which have been alienated or to restore to friendship or favor after estrangement." (1828 Webster's Dictionary) I believe this ministry of reconciliation is two-fold. Primarily, we are to introduce the lost world to Christ by the words we say and the way we live. Secondly, I believe we are also responsible for drawing wayward Christians back to Christ. Many have gone astray, and if we pull them back into fellowship with the good Shepherd our efforts to reach the lost will be stronger.

Since God has shown me this I look at every person I meet as an opportunity to serve God through this ministry. Every chance I get to talk to someone is a chance for me to speak God's name. Saved or lost, there is opportunity to serve the God that I love. I no longer wonder if God wants me to be friendly to the co-worker who is living in sin. I don't question if befriending that lady at church is "worth it". At first glance it may seem like most of the friendships or friendly acquaintances I have do not benefit me, but they most certainly do. Every time I speak God's name to someone, in person or in e-mail, my soul is thrilled because I love to brag on my God! I love this ministry of reconciliation.

Preaching that Convicts

"The greatest gift God ever gave man kind was conviction." - Bro. David Harrison

 This past fall I went to a revival at a local church and heard Bro. David Harrison preach along with several other preachers. His preaching was some of the best I've heard in my life. After hearing him I didn't leave with a good thought or new jokes and illustrations to tell, I left with conviction and tear stained eyes. Bro. Harrison has a heart for the lost to be saved and for Christians to stay in the race and live a life truly dedicated to Christ. I still feel conviction when I think about the sermon he preached called, "Do Not Disturb" which was preached to Christians who have placed a sign on their heart that says, "Do Not Disturb". I haven't found it on the internet, but he preached a similar one called, "A Conscious Seared, a Cold Heart, and a Wounded Spirit."

Whether or not you are looking for good preaching, I encourage you to go to his website, Voice of Hope Ministries, or Old Path Sermons. I hope it blesses your heart and gives you a desire to live every day for Christ.

Giving the Glory for Answered Prayers

Answered prayers very rarely come in the shape and form I expect them to be. Sometime I wonder if they ever turn out as I think they will. There are times when the answered prayer is greater than I could have imagined, other times I find myself thinking, "God, couldn't you have found a better way to make it happen?"

But the important thing is that God does answer our prayers. One of my favorite verses speaks of this: "I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live." Psalms 116:1-2 When God answers my prayers it makes me want to pray even more! It makes me want to give God the glory He deserves, which reminds me of a verse I was reading the other day which said, "Be thou exalted, O God, above the havens: let they glory be above all the earth." Psalms 57:11 That is a lot of glory! If I were to give Him all the glory due to him I wouldn't have time to speak of anything else. "Let thy glory be above all the earth."

Over the past several months I have seen many of my prayers answered. Some were desires that I didn't have the faith to pray for, others were specific request that I asked God to meet. Both were amazing.

A little over a year ago I stated e-mailing a girl named Katie who lives in Pennsylvania. Through the 100+ e-mails we have been encouraged through each others battles and victories and have been able to see each other grow in the Lord as we grew closer together. Ever since last October I have been planning on going to meet her and her family for the first time while they were in North Carolina on vacation. At first I was really excited, but as the time got closer I began to get nervous about driving so far with only my little sister in the car to "protect" me should disaster come. I told Katie about this and she assured me it would be okay if I didn't come, but I really wanted to meet her. I was torn between two decisions.

So I did what I've been taught to do all my life but seldom put to practice. I put it in God's hands. I believe that is the key to prayer: telling God what I need and trusting Him to supply it as He sees fit. If I were to continue to search for an answer myself or try to fix a problem on my own after I have prayed about it, I haven't really given God the chance to answer my prayer. So I didn't do that this time. I left everything up to God.

A few weeks later I heard that our church was going to Bible camp in Pennsylvania. Now honestly, my first thought wasn't "Oh, I can meet Katie while I'm there!" No, I thought the same thing that most girls of my status would. "Hmm, maybe I'll meet a nice young man up there!" Followed by, "Lord please forgive me for my vain thoughts, I know you'll send me a man right when I'm not expecting it." ☺I didn't say that I trust God all the time, now did I?

I felt God impressing on my heart to go to this camp. Without God's "nudging" I probably wouldn't have left my job for a whole week based on my own wants especially when I didn't even know if my younger sibling were going. But since I felt Got telling me it was okay to go, I signed up right away. It wasn't until the next day that I realized Katie and I might be able to meet. In a few short days we had the place and time picked and we were counting down the days!

Here's the great part: Not only did I get to spend 2 wonderful hours with Katie in Pennsylvania, but I also got to go to the most amazing Bible camp with my siblings and church family and experience God's presence in a whole new way and watch Him move in so many people's lives. I prayed for a way to meet Katie without having to travel by myself and I ended up spending a whole week going to church twice a day and falling even deeper in love with my Savior right there with my brothers and sisters who were doing the same thing!Later I found out that Katie and her family are no longer going to take vacation in North Carolina, so if God hadn't worked it out for me to go to camp I might not have met her at all this year. I expected God to give me only what I had prayed for and he more than tripled the blessing! My expectation was so low, yet he proved to me that He does answer my prayers and in a way that I could never have planned myself.

So now we're home from camp and energized more than ever! All the youth in our church are eager to see God move and God is doing just that. So Bethany and I decided to start having a Bible study once a week at home. But even in the midst of all the excitement, having that study time doesn't always look easy. We've had a three day revival last week, my room is in serious need of dusting, we were invited to a game night at a friends house, and I still haven't written in my journal about the week of camp. So this morning as I walked out the door on the way to work I whispered, "LORD, please help me find time to prepare for Bible study." Once I was at my desk answering phones, typing as fast as I could, and helping my co-workers find emergency room charts, I didn't give my hurried prayer any thought. Then mama called. None of my brothers and sisters wanted to go to our friends house for game night so mama and daddy were the only ones going and since the game we all love to play requires an even number of people, I wouldn't be able to join the fun. I was disheartened. I wanted to go, but under the circumstances the only thing I would be able to do is sit there and watch. So I said I would stay home with my brothers and sisters and let the adults have a fun night.

Then God so gently reminded me of my prayer for time. What better time to study than when mama and daddy are away and my brothers and sisters are watching a moving with brownies and ice-cream? Yes, I wanted to play games with our friends but obviously God thought I needed to stay home and study. After all, I did pray for it.

Even though that is not the way I wanted God to give me more time He should still receive the glory for answering another one of my prayers. And if he chooses to answer another (like I know He will) I will give him the glory for that one too no matter what the outcome is. For if He is to be glorified above all the earth I still have a lot of  praising to do, but plenty to praise Him for!

God is Good!

Why is God so good?

Because he let me, my brothers and sisters and church family have an amazing week of Bible camp

He spoke to my heart in great ways

I've got to see my brothers and sisters grow in the Lord

A friend of mine got some much needed help

He lead many Christian conversations

He saved our friend in the car while we were on the way home

He lead a friend of mine to rededicate herself to the Lord

He let me meet Katie who I've been e-mailing for a year

He kept us safe

He gave us joy

He brought us closer together

He gave us zeal to serve Christ

He has blessed us beyond anything we could ever deserve

For this, God is good!

Desires Fulfilled

This week I've learned the difference between having my desires fulfilled and having my prayers answered. God gave me something I really wanted, (concerning work and education) but I never thought it was within my reach, so I didn't expect it. I didn't pray for it, but God knew I wanted it and he, in His infinite power, made a way. He gave me something very special to me even though I didn't ask for it.

Then God made a perfect situation seem even more wonderful. His blessings kept coming until I knew beyond a shadow of a dout that this is from God. Everything is too amazing to be coincidence. God has opened this door for me and all I have to do is walk through it. I feel loved!

"Delight thyself also in the LORD and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy ways unto the LORD; trust in him; and he shall bring it to pass." Psalms 37:4-5

"The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips." Psalms 21: 1-2