We Must Become Servants!

Servant: one who serves others

Ministry: a person or thing through which something is accomplished

We all have a ministry we have been placed here to do / complete / achieve. In case you haven't yet heard, our ministries won't likely to be all about glamour and glory. If the only thing we are looking for is someone telling us how wonderful we are or people commenting on the fabulous things we've done to help others - well then our ministry is already in trouble! A real servant doesn't try to use God for their own purposes; instead they allow God to use them for His purpose. When we are a blessing to others, we don't have to sound a trumpet - God sees all and God knows all. Self gratification is not being a real servant. It's so easy to stay behind our closed doors or live in our own little world but -- when God called us to be His servants; He called us to serve others -- so we must respond to the needs of others as opportunities arise.

At some point in time many of us have said, "I want to be more like Jesus, I want to be a follower of Christ." Well, my friends, being followers of Jesus Christ involves being a servant and what does a servant do? They serve. They are worshipers of God. They are messengers of God. When Jesus was on earth, He didn’t come in His royalty - He came as a servant. So - if we want to be like Jesus, we will have to come as a servant. We should visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction as the bible tells us in James 1:27. Sometimes (dare I say, more often than not), we should go out of our way to be kind to others - give someone a ride on a rainy day; help out at a shelter; help feed strangers. We can't just talk love, we must show love.

Paul said to forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Being a servant also involves going to visit and pray for the sick; staying up late laboring in the word; asking the Lord every morning, "show me Lord who can I be a blessing to today." In order to do these things, we must change our attitude by having a sincere mindset to serve. Things can't be about what a person can do for us, but rather what we can do for someone else.

Let's remember to stay humble and respond to the needs of others as often as we can and to stay faithful, because serving God pays off in the biggest dividends you could ever imagine!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen and... AMEN!

A Mother Will Always Pray!

I heard my Grandmother say many times; "Give me my flowers while I yet live, so that I may see the beauty of them." You know, once our moms are no longer with us, flowers (and anything else we might do for them) are really of no avail to them. So it's important that we be mindful to show the Moms in our lives how much we love and appreciate them everyday - not just this Sunday on Mother's Day!

Today, your showing of appreciation could be a simple phone call that goes like that famous song, "I just called to say I love you!" It could be some kind words like, "Mother, I appreciate you and all the sacrifices you made for me," that are said exactly when she needs them. Or maybe it's a nice surprise she receives in the mail like her favorite perfume or a bouquet of flowers that brings a smile to her face. Of course, you can never go wrong with green backs! Whatever you decide to do, never miss out on the chance to tell your Mom just how special she is - because she truly is. Without her, there would be no you!

With that, I would like to share this poem, written by our resident poet, Ms. Shonta Alexander. Be blessed, my friends and Happy Mother's Day to you all!

MOTHER PRAYED 

When I think of my mom on this Mother’s day

I think of all the things that I would lovingly say

Like thanks for your concerns and all your prayers

Not just for me but for all your heirs

You went without food so that we all could eat

You made sure we came first and you took the backseat

You dealt with so much pain just to get us up and grown

Then by the grace of God you moved out on your own

Everything you did, you did it for us

You never complained; you never caused a fuss

How grateful I am when I look back today

On how you sacrificed and how you made a way

For us to grow strong, Independent and smart

To not just be good but to have a good heart

Late one night thru the crack of your door

I saw you bowed onto the floor

         Down on your knees in a special way             

Thanking the Lord for another day

Another day your children survived

By the grace of God, is still alive

And from then on, I would always say

My mother prayed for me both night and day.

Going from Grateful to Ungrateful in No Time Flat!

Grateful: thankful or appreciative for benefits or kindness.

Ungrateful: not thankful; showing no appreciation.

Have you ever thought about how easy it is to be grateful when things are going your way? I know that I can't just be speaking for just me when I say, "It's VERY easy!!" What about when things exceed your expectations? Have you ever thought about how easy it is to become complacent or even ungrateful? For example, think about some simple things: we know that we need rain in order to have the pretty green grass, beautiful flowers and beautiful gardens, right? So when the rain comes, we are initially so grateful. But what happens when it rains longer than we think it should? Those same folks who were grateful for the rain can become the first folks in line complaining about the number of days in a row that we've had rain! We don't typically mean any harm, but we can easily become ungrateful and we start complaining about the very thing we were so happy to get.

Look at the ten lepers in Luke 17:12-17. When those lepers saw Jesus entering into the village, they (all 10) "...lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us," and Jesus said, "go show yourself unto the priest and it came to pass, that as they went they were cleansed. One of them saw that he was healed, turned back, with a loud voice, glorified God, and fell down on his face.." at Jesus' feet, giving Him thanks. Jesus said "...were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" Surely the nine were very appreciative for being cleansed, but so ungrateful that they did not come back to give thanks.

The children of Israel are another example. They were grateful to be out of Egypt from under the hands of their hard task masters, but by the third experience on their journey, they started to murmur and complain about the very one that had brought them out. They sang God praises after He made a highway in the midst of the Red Sea, but not too far on the other side  they started complaining, "would to God we had stayed in Egypt." They were very grateful in short term, after crying out to be delivered (or ungrateful) in the long term.

But as it turns out, we really don't have to go that far back for an example; most (dare I say "all") can look in our own lives. For instance, some of us might have prayed long and hard for a spouse, but when we get blessed with one, about six months in some of us probably wish that he or she would change, when most of the time it's us that need to change! When we were going to the altar, we were so grateful, but six months later, it's all "woe is me!" We find ourselves becoming ungrateful and we start wondering where did I get this woman or man from and why didn't I see that they were like this before?! 

Let's learn to be grateful, my friends, for the Lord is not under any obligation to even wake us up in the morning! So let's first be grateful for Him, for people, places, things and for the person that the Lord has allowed us to become. Instead of talking about the things we don't have, let's celebrate all the many blessings that we do have in our lives!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen… and AMEN!

Speaking God's Promises Back to Him!

Speaking: to utter words; to express a thought in words.

Words: a comment, an order or command.

It is so important that we speak God’s word back to Him. God gave us His promises and He wants us to use them. The word says in Isaiah 55:11, "So shall my words be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it." Remember, "God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19. It's all up to us, my friends, to believe what God has promised.

When we go through our storms in life - and they are surely going to come - if we don't have the words stored on the inside of us, just pick up your bible; find the scriptures that fit your situation and pray them back to the Lord. For instance, when I was diagnosed with three different types of cancer, I found one of God promises, I typed it out, and I put it on my computer at work where I could see it every day. Each and every day I continually reminded Him of what He said. John 15:7 says; "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." God's word could not return to Him void, it had to accomplish what He promised - and it did - I've been cancer-free for many years now!

Have you ever said to your child; "if you finish your dinner, I'll give you a special treat" and then mess around and get busy? I'm sure if that's happened to you, your child probably hunted you down and say "mom/dad, you said I could have a special treat when I finished my dinner!" Do we not hasten to perform/fulfill our promise? Yes, we do, because we said we would. It's the same way with our Heavenly Father - when He hears His word, He hastens to perform it!

We don't have to worry about His word ever becoming old or obsolete, because as Isaiah 40:8 informs us, "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever." I can't express it enough, friends - Jesus loves us and He wants to show Himself strong in our lives.

With all that said, let the Church say Amen… and AMEN!