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!

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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.

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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."

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What I've learned from Bishop Eddie Long (Part 1)

As I have watched the media storm surrounding the allegations against Bishop Eddie Long I have learned much more about the media and human nature than I have about his innocence or guilt in the situation. I have seen a man who poured his life into others being ripped to pieces by people that he has undoubtedly prayed for in his years of service to humanity. After giving away cars to those in need and working to feed the hungry Bishop Eddie Long has found himself in the middle of a heated debate concerning his integrity as a result of the unconfirmed accusation of others. So what can one learn from this as we endeavor to live out our "New Life Now"? Personally I have learned to not to be decieved by the applause of the crowd. We have recently seen how quickly the cheers of the crowd can turn into a cry for a cricifixion. People are fickle so we would be foolish to build our goals and ministry efforts on such an unstable foundation. Our efforts must be centered on the foundation of Jesus Christ and our love for Him because "all other ground is sinking sand." People can easily disappoint, discourage, and distract us so we would benefit from keeping them in the proper perspective. Keep your eyes on Christ and you'll be able to rise above the taunts of the crowd and trust me when I tell you that if you desire to do anything great for God you better look good on wood because the same crowd that lifts you up one moment will have the capacity to try to tear you down the next.

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Can you read the bottom line?

It is almost time for me to renew the prescription for my glasses and with such being the case I thought about the exam as I reflected on what to share with you. If you have never had an eye exam let me begin by encouraging you to do so as soon as possible. The thing about vision is that sometimes you don't know how much it needs to be corrected until you see how it feels to see the way God designed for you to see. (My goodness, that will preach!) Much in the same way when we drift through life with no vision for the future we flow to where ever the winds of life take us instead of clearly seeing which routes to take and which decisions to make because we have our destination in view and recognize (through divine vision) how to get there. Vision can be tricky though, because even though I went this time last year to have it examined I have to go again this year. I believe that such is also the case with our spiritual vision. We could all benefit from periodically taking a moment to step back to examine whether or not we're seeing God's plans for us clearly (according to His Word) and whether or not we're actively advancing toward that end. As I considered the routine of the optometrist during the exam one particular phrase came to mind; they often ask, "Can you read the bottom line?" This is a powerful principle because many times in life as we pursue our dreams we risk losing sight of the "bottom line." What is the bottom line you ask? For a Christian living a new life the bottom line is Jesus Christ and whether or not we're using our energy, effort, and expertise to accomplish the plans that He spoke of in the Bible. Can you read the bottom line? Do you remember that everyday is an opportunity to do something that will make Jesus' Name more famous in the earth? Can you see that there is more to life than acquiring the hottest possessions and being liked by the most people. Can you see that there is more to life than watching other people live it? Can you read the bottom line?

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The Password

Today is the first day of classes for the fall semester. The professor passed out some reading material and told the class to familiarize ourselves with it before we reconvene at 8:00. I immediately jumped right in so that I could be sure to finish reading it during the allotted time and the power of the Lord was present to help me to do so with time to spare. Having an extra 30 minutes left I thought about you and how I hadn't spoken with you in a while so I popped out the Mac and prepared to start typing but as I attempted to log in I realized that I had forgotten one key component in the process. I had my computer, I had an idea to share and I had a moment to spare but what I didn't have was my password. Some how I had forgotten the one thing that could give me access into the medium that allows me to share thoughts and inspirations with you. Since I didn't have the password it really didn't matter how great my thoughts were because I couldn't share them. It didn't matter how I wanted to bless you because I couldn't reach you. It didn't matter that my precious time was ticking away and the opportunity was quickly passing by. The only thing that mattered was that there was only one way to get in and I didn't have it. Friends this is not too unlike the necessity of having Christ in our lives. Our access to God is not based on all of our great intentions, on our lofty ideas or on the fact that we plan to connect when the time is right. Our access is based on our having received and internalized "the password". Just in case you have forgotten the password or no one has been so kind as to share it with you let me save you the trouble that I had to go through recovering mine...the password for eternal access to a personal relationship with God is JESUS. Write it in a safe place (in your heart) and don't forget that through a personal relationship with Him you can have 24 hour access to the God who sent Him to die for all of us so that we might connect with God in spite of our many short comings.

If you have never accepted Jesus as the Lord, leader, center or your life I'd encourage you to do so today because as disturbing as it was to be prevented access to this blog for a moment I believe that is nothing when compared to being denied access into the greatest resting imaginable for eternity.

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Stay Tuned for the Feature Presentation

You walk up to the counter, pay $10 and make your way to your seat. You stop to get a few snacks at the vendor before settling in for the moment that you've been waiting for. You can't believe that you're finally about to see it...you heard it would be awesome and here you are. All of a sudden the lights are dim and your excitement has increased but you quickly realize that what you're seeing is not what you expected. You're forced to sit through several previews before you can enjoy what you've paid to see so you sit and wait patiently for the feature presentation. Life can be like that sometimes as well. You graduated from college sure that you would walk right into the career of your dreams but now that's not what you see. You walked down that aisle believing that you had found the love of your life but now that's not what you see. You thought that you could just pay your dues and have that child, get that car, buy that house, get down to that size or achieve that goal but as you take a look at your life you're forced to see experiences that you didn't want or expect. What do you do when life is showing you scenes that aren't apart of the image God showed you (in the Bible)? I would suggest that you do the same thing that you would do in the movie theater. Do you get impatient? Maybe. Do you get up and leave? I hope not. You probably grin and bear it knowing that after a while the previews will subside and you'll hear "We now present to you the feature presentation." In life it would benefit us to do the same. Don't let a bad preview cause you to bail on the feature presentation. Stick it out and you just might see that it was well worth the wait.

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