Let God Fight Your Battles
When was the last time you allowed God to fight your battle? In 2nd Chronicles 20:15, we see how God spoke to Jehoshaphat saying, “Thus saith the Lord unto you, be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of the great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” As humans, we don’t always become cognizant of our limitations until God reveals to us that all the battle’s we face in this life, God says it’s not ours, but the Lord. Whatever battle you are going through today, asks God to give you His strength to work through your weaknesses and fears.
Everyday you and I fight the battle of temptation and against the rulers of the darkness of this world whose only mission is to get God’s people to not obey Him. If you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have God’s Spirit in you. Begin to ask God daily for His help when you are going through struggles. God will fight for you and He will always win! Before King Jehoshaphat prepared for battle, scripture says that he began by bowing his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. (2nd Chronicles 20:18)
No matter how much Satan rage against you, it’s your faith and trust in Jesus that will deliver you. Rest in God’s promises and expect God to bring you out of your situation. Psalm 46:6 says, “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth.” Hold fast to your faith and continue to trust in Jesus. Be still, and know that He is God and He will be exalted among the heathen and in the earth.
Where is your battle? Is it in your finances, in your family, in tithing, in your marriage, in your health or at your workplace? I challenge you to take time each day and be still and exalt your Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ and see His mighty power move in your life. God will give you the strength as we begin to “We walk by faith, not by sight!”
Serving the Lord With Gladness,
Deacon Terri McFarlane
Transitioning into Leadership Roles
In Joshua chapter 1, verse 2, we see God gives a charge to Joshua saying, “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.” Joshua had walked besides Moses for many years making him well prepared for leading the nation of Israel. When new leaders are fully trained, transitions go so smoothly.
A change of leadership in any organization, congregation or ministry is not always easy. But when you allow God to work through your transitioning, He will make everything go smoothly. Transitions can become frustrating to people when they don’t take the time to craft timelines for transitioning individuals into their roles in the church or organization. Too often, we don’t wait for God to work everything out and take matters into our own hands.
As leaders, we must know that the only one who is in charge is God Himself. There is much wisdom when you take the time to listen, observe and learn. If God has placed someone in your heart to take your place of leadership, begin praying for him or her. Start preparing them and train them and wait for God’s timing in placing them.
God’s transition has a bigger blueprint than what you and I will ever see. Allow Jesus to work in every heart that is part of the transitioning process. Jesus love His church more than we do and is concerned with the hearts and minds of His people. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).”
Serving the Lord with Gladness,
Deacon Terri McFarlane
Mission Minded Leaders
The greatest mission that happened to mankind was when Jesus came to save this world. In Philippians 4:15-16 (NLT), the apostle Paul expresses his thankfulness and gratitude to the Philippian church, “As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then on from Macedonia. No other church did this. Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once.” Paul had just moved to Athens and Corinth and found himself in paucity of shelter and food.
As a child, I remember my mother would delay eating until all of her children had enough to eat first. Paul had already set-up in his mind that he’d forbear food even to death if he had to, for the cause of Christ. Thanks be to God, the Philippians came and supported him right on time. We can’t all leave our places of Macedonia’s and travel to the utter most parts of this world. However, we can play an integral role in fostering and promoting mission support in your churches today.
Printed below is a short excerpt from one sub-chapter of the book – it is titled ‘2001 Key Events: Two Major Gifts Open A Mission Door’.
“No Mission, No Church. The church exists by mission, just as a fire exists by burning. Where there is no mission, there is no Church; and where there is neither Church nor mission, there is no faith (Emil Brunner 1889-1966).”
Missions are not something you do or think about just on your church Mission Sunday calendar. If your church has a designated organization that needs your support, asks God to help you make a conscientious effort to support those missionaries who are willing to make a sacrifice, like the apostle Paul and participate in missions through your church. Missional minded leaders are able to set benchmarks for all those who are willing to make the sacrifices. Jesus assures us in Matthew 28:20 that we will never be alone, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
Serving the Lord with Gladness,
Deacon Terri McFarlane
A Seeking Savior
All through the bible, we find God seeking those who are lost. In Ezekiel 34:16, God spoke to him and said, “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the weak.”
We serve a seeking Savior of those who are lost. In Genesis 3:8-9, we see the seeking nature of God. In the Garden of Eden, we find Adam and Eve playing “Hide and Seek” with our Omnipresent and All-Knowing God. Isn’t it comforting to know that we serve a God with a sense of humor? God spoke to both of them saying, “Where are you?
The story of Zacchaeus is found in the Gospel of Luke 19:1-10. It’s a great paradigm of God seeking the lost. The more you read the story you will find that this story is really about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We see God’s analogy of His plan and purpose for sending His only begotten Son. Jesus came to save sinners like you and I. Jesus meets the sinner. Zacchaeus meets the Savior and then we find that Zacchaeus life was never the same after they had dinner that night.
At the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, an angel appeared proclaiming His birth and purpose. In Matthew 1:21, the angel announced, “Call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” The apostle Paul said, “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners among whom I am chief.” (I Timothy 1:15)
I John 4:19 say, “We love God because He first loved us.” When you first meet Jesus, He brings you into His marvelous light. You are no longer the same. We see Zacchaeus life changed in the text because he finally saw himself as a sinner. He wanted to make things right for all his past wrongs. We serve a God who says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
There’s a Zacchaeus at your workplace, in your family and in your church. Invite them to meet our Savior and let God do the rest.
Serving the Lord with Gladness,
Deacon Terri McFarlane
Waiting on the Lord
There are times in our lives that we seek the Lord urgently to answer our prayers. Waiting on the Lord is easy for some and not so easy for others. Some of us are waiting for that promotion, a child to come back home or healing for our loved ones. James 1:3 say, “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”
Patience is a fruit of the Spirit and a great virtue. Webster defines it as “the bearing of suffering, delay with self-control and calmness.” Waiting is also God’s way of testing our Faith and at the same time it produces endurance. In Genesis chapter 8:6-16, God told Noah to wait in the Ark until he hears from God that all the water had evaporated and the earth was dry enough for him and his family to walk the earth again. Noah waited forty-plus days before he even got off the Ark.
Have you ever noticed that when your waiting for an answer from God, temptation begins to escalate in our lives? If you’re not prayerful, you’ll find yourself taking matters into your own hands without realizing that you’re interfering with God’s plan for your life. God uses times of waiting to reaffirm our relationship with him and teaches us to trust and depend on Him even more.
Ps. 40:1-4 comforts us while we’re waiting to hear from God. When you’re going through the trial of waiting, Jesus promises in HIS Word that blessings will follow. God’s timing is always perfect. In the Gospel of Luke 18:7 says, “God’s people cry to him night and day. God will always give them what is right, and he will not be slow to answer them.”
God will give you the answer you’re waiting for at the right time. But, while you’re waiting, be confident that the Lord is in control of your situation. In the book of Job 1:8, God spoke to Satan saying, “Have you considered My servant Job?” If you’re a Servant of God, and you serve the people of God, know that God will reward your patience. Whatever you’re waiting for, use this time reading and studying God’s Word and keep praying. Wait patiently for His answer because He Is worth waiting for!
While you’re waiting, keep Serving the Lord with Gladness!
Deacon Terri McFarlane
Wearing the Right Clothing
Growing up, my mom used to dress my sister and I as if we were twins. Although, we were two years apart, this continued all through our elementary years of school. My brother was exempt from this being the only male sibling. I guess this was moms way of showing us that she loved all of us equally and there was not going to be any divisiveness in our home with her children. The apostle Peter, gives us some wise biblical fashion sense. “All of you clothe yourselves with humility towards one another.”(I Peter 5:5)
In the beginning of Genesis 37, we are introduced to one of Jacob’s twelve sons, Joseph. In this chapter, we also learn that Joseph father Jacob, gives him a new coat/cloak. Everyone had a cloak in those days. They were used to keep you warm, wrap up your child and in some cases it was used as collateral for a loan. The text goes on to tell us that this was not some ordinary coat. This coat had stripes that were very colorful. Joseph other brothers became very agitated. I believe they were not so angry about the coat, but how Joseph wore the coat. The coat that Joseph put on that day was a coat of favoritism.
Jesus was born wearing the right clothing. In the Gospel of Luke 2:7 says, “And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.” Swaddling clothes were strips of cloths used to keep a baby warm and feel a sense of security. Joseph coat was made of different hues of stripes. Each color on that robe in the eyes of his brothers was a symbol of favoritism, pride and boastfulness.
Jesus, God’s only begotten Son was wrapped in strips of clothing. Each strip was a symbol of Humility, Obedient, Patient, Giving, Forgiving, Faithfulness and Prayerfulness.
What are you choosing to wear today?
Serving the Lord with Gladness,
Deacon Terri McFarlane
The Balance of Traditional Leaders
Tradition by all means has an established place in the church. There’s a unique symmetry within tradition. In the Gospel of Mark 7:1-5, we find the Pharisees and teachers of the law in the presence of Jesus. They imposed this question, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the traditions of the elders instead of eating their food with “unclean” hands?” This agitated the religious leaders when the disciples didn’t wash their hands before they ate. But, do know that I am not implying that you should not wash your hands prior to eating your meals!
The bible warns us to not hold too firmly onto the traditions of men and to grasp onto the commands of God. If there’s no balance in traditions, it will create a barrier between you and God. We make traditions even from an area of our churches where coffee/tea/donuts are served. God forbid if one moves it to another location only to find that you are found guilty of breaking a tradition because it had always been served in that particular space. Let’s not get so entwined in our religious traditions that we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through us in our worship services.
When we’re open to doing different things, it allows God to free us from the confinement of doing things the “same old way”. We serve a God who’s not limited in doings things just one way. In the book of Isaiah, 55:8-9, Jesus says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” Tradition can be commanding and it has a special place in the life of every church. However, when will we accept the fact that we are living in a time where change is continual? What a blessing it would be if we could all learn to balance tradition and change in the church. Both are perfect ingredients for allowing our churches to grow and not stifle the Holy Spirit from moving freely in our worship services.
What are you thoughts about balancing tradition and change in the church?
Serving the Lord with Gladness,
Deacon Terri McFarlane
Love Motivates Our Service
When we serve others, we are really serving God. In 1 Samuel, Chapter 2, we see how young Samuel becomes Eli’s little helper. But, on the contrary, he was truly one of God’s helper too. People can’t see the condition of your heart when you are serving the Lord, but God can. We must be careful not to get caught up in our “works” for God and believe that we are giving our heartfelt submissiveness to Him. Working for God and Serving God has two meanings. “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people.” (Eph. 6:7) Scripture reminds us that people will know us by the way we Love each other. Jesus is more concerned in our motivation for service rather than He is in the service itself. It’s the Love of Christ that compels us to serve. If you’re a Deacon, who has lost your passion to serve, or maybe you’re just going through the motions of service and you might even have thoughts of stepping down. You just need a little reinvigoration. When you leave your first love, ask the Holy Spirit that’s inside of you to remind you of God’s unfailing love. That same love that’s in you, because God is Love, will soon motivate you to demonstrate godly service to all those you are serving. Don’t be fallow in serving, asks God to restore that same love you had when you first answered the call of service. He will move you from being dormant to serving to serving exuberantly through His love.
2 Chronicles 19:9, gives us a reflection of what true serving the Lord looks like. It says, “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord.”
Share your thoughts!
Serving the Lord with Gladness,
Deacon Terri McFarlane
Delighting yourselves in the Gospel
How does one delight themselves in the Gospel? In Psalms 37:4-5, David makes a call to all of God’s servants to “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” To delight in someone means that you have experienced one’s greatness or great pleasure. This transpires only when we get to know that person intimately. And when we commit ourselves to the Lord, you’ll find yourself trusting in Him in every aspect of your lives. If you are a leader in the church, you are constantly being observed by your conduct, speech and how you respond in every situation. Don’t delight yourselves in your position, titles or degrees. Let your lives delight in serving and helping others. We must delight ourselves in the Gospel daily and keep it alive for the next generation. If you are delighting yourself in the Gospel, what are you doing with it today? Share your delightfulness with young people with clarity and sincerity. Ask yourself, how am I getting the gospel out? Whether you’re going through bad times or good times, we can share the Gospel because we have already delighted ourselves with the Lord first!
Serving the Lord with Gladness,
Deacon Terri McFarlane
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