Keep pressing!

My pastor (Bishop Edward H. Stephens, Jr.) has many great sayings. Having him as a great source of guidance in my life has afforded me the opportunity to hear them on a regular basis. In fact, his impact has been so pervasive in my life that I can almost hear what he would say in various instances as I encounter them. One saying that continuously comes to mind is the phrase, "Keep pressing." I can honestly say that I have heard him say this hundreds of times. Granted, many of these were not audible statements but rather memories within that resurfaced in my mind right when I needed to here it. This simple phrase, "Keep pressing." has been a lasting source of encouragement for me so I wanted to share it with you. Just as Ricky Bobby held on to the phrase, "If you ain't first you're last" in the movie Talladega Nights, I have held on to the phrase "Keep pressing" as I have encountered challenges that have made me want to give up along the way. As a result of this tendency to keep pressing I have made a fantastic discovery. Things tend to work together for your good if you don't give up (Didn't God say something about that in Romans 8:28? Check it out.). I have found that most of success is wrapped up in one's ability to continue to stand in the face of adversity. Eventually, if you resist the enemy long enough, it flees.

What does that have to do with you? Perhaps you've been thinking about throwing in the towel on your marriage and have been wondering what to do. Maybe you've been considering giving up on the pursuit of a life-long goal and have been wondering if now is the time to quit. Maybe you have been depressed about the job market, your financial standing, your children's conduct or your professional and/ or personal prospects; what do you do when you want to give up? Two words... KEEP PRESSING! Keep pressing through the pain. Keep pressing through the problems. Keep pressing through the difficulty. Keep pressing through the discouragement. If you can find the courage to continue to trust God and keep pressing forward in faith that His plans will come to pass in your life, sooner or later you will see why the opposition wanted you to give up along the way. After all, the only way to prevent you from seeing the peace of God in your marriage and the provision of God in your life is to try to convince you to stop pressing toward it because the Word of God says that, "you shall reap if you faint not." So it makes sense that the enemy would want you to faint (give up, become passive, etc) because that's the only way to prevent you from possessing what God promised you. You may be thinking, "Jessie, but you don't know what I'm up against." You're right...but what I do know is that if you can overcome the temptation to be weary in well doing "you shall reap if you faint not." (Galatians 6:9) So KEEP PRESSING!

Hey Church! What are we doing?

I truly enjoy the courses that I'm taking this semester. One of my favorites is a class that discusses the role of the pastor. Believe me when I tell you that there should be an A/V booth in the back of the classroom selling Cd's of the lectures. Good stuff! It's always a thrilling experience because either my classmates or professor is sure to say something profound on a weekly basis. This week's "words of wisdom" came in the form of a testimony from a classmate who had just returned from a mission trip to Guiana. She shared how the Christians there had such a pure passion for God that they would worship for hours in the dark (due to the lack of electricity) and with bats & bugs flying through the loosely constructed building. The pastor of the local church had to leave home on Fridays to travel on foot, by boat and by taxi to the church on the banks of the river. The parishioners would literally travel by boat through piranha infested waters to worship God together. Talk about dedication!

As I listened to her experience with the worshipers in the wilderness I couldn't help but wonder what in the world we're doing here. Here... where we often complain about having to stay in church for more than an A & B selection and an entertaining message. Here... where we fuss about sound systems, room temperatures and dress codes. Here...where we don't want to travel through traffic to worship together even though the other drivers on the road probably wouldn't try to bite us if we got out of our cars at the wrong time (Although, I can only speak for Memphis). But really, what are we doing here? Are we truly following Christ? Are we truly attempting to get people to see how amazing and awesome He is and how He deserves our undivided attention? Are we more focused on becoming the Church than convincing people to start coming to our church. I honestly don't know; or maybe just don't want to admit the answer. The truth is that we can all learn something from the worshipers in the wilderness and while we pray for them in our prayer vigils and on our missions trips perhaps God is moving on their hearts to pray for us as well.

Something is going to suck!

I have learned that no matter who you are, how much you pray, read your bible, or try to have a positive mental outlook on life you are going to encounter something just about everyday where you could honestly say, "That sucks.". It may be the attitude of the person who sits in the cubicle next to you at work. It may be the way your spouse reacts to a gesture that you thought would make their day. It may be the phone call that you received from the teacher saying that your child disrupted class, again. It may be the bad news that you saw in the headlines this morning or the person you know who is on the losing end of a battle with sickness. Perhaps its the friend that you know is getting abused or the child who is doing without. Maybe the person who is still unemployed or the problem that still hasn't moved. There are millions of things that can pop up in life that, for lack of a better term, "suck" and it will be up to you to choose whether you will let them cause you to live a discouraged, depressed and defeated life or whether you will rise above them and embrace the peace and joy of a new life with Christ. Notice that Christ promised peace in spite of the chaotic circumstances that come our way in the world. We are to "take heart for I (Jesus) have overcome the world."

Living with Christ is not a free pass to a life that is exempt from all things that suck, but rather an empowerment that will enable one to pass through sucky situations with a strength that only God can provide. Next time you encounter something and think, "That sucks!" remind your self that "I'm sure glad to have a Savior."