Fellowship of the Believers

I've had this phrase, the "fellowship of the believers," in my head for the last two weeks. I finally sat down to write this post and wanted to see where it was in the Bible. It's not there! I guess that is just one of those church phrases that has been coined and used over the years and you just assume it's in the Word. Well, I can't say I did an absolute exhaustive study but I'm pretty confident it is not there. If you can find it I would love to know where it is!

Back to the reason for the post. I recently went on a turkey hunting trip to Missouri with my husband. (I think ladies I may have slipped into first place in the running for "wife of the year" with the points I earned on this one! jk) After riding 17 plus hours in a motor home with 4 men I was ready to get out and do something different. We arrived on Saturday afternoon. I had found this AG church in a small town just over the Iowa line and planned to attend church there on Sunday while the men were hunting.

I got up and had a wonderful time with the Lord in prayer that morning and said to God, "Lord I just want to be in Your presence this morning and share fellowship with other believers." I went to this church and the Lord was there and I had wonderful time of worship. The people were so sweet, the young preacher so full of passion for the Lord, and he preached a great sermon. It was one of those services where I just sat in tears most of the time because the presence of the Lord was so strong.
After the service, the lady I was sitting by, struck up a conversation with me and we talked about the Lord and what He was doing in our lives. I left that church revived and refreshed in the Lord. That started this whole thought process about the fellowship of believers.

Many churches today use Acts 2:42 as their ministry model. "And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Sometimes churches fall into a trap of emphasizing one over the other. Anyway, I know the Lord designed us for fellowship with Himself and other believers.

Fellowship with other believers is so critical to our growth as a believer. My pastor last week in teaching through 1 John 4:12 which talks about God perfecting His love in us, made this comment. "If you want to perfect that love, talk to other believers about Jesus." It occurred to me in my 50 years of church life most often the term fellowship involves people, food and talking. Unfortunately it doesn't always involve talking about the Lord or sharing spiritual food.

I crave true fellowship, I love talking about the Lord. I have come to understand and realize that is where most of my growth occurs. When the Lord speaks to me or teaches me something from His Word, the process of sharing it with others establishes it in my own heart. When they share their experiences with me it causes my faith to grow or confirms things the Lord is teaching me. Last week I spent time talking with about 8 different friends talking about the Lord. I felt like I had been sitting at a banquet table with one course after another of spiritual food. Each person and conversation left me feeling nourished and full. Now that to me is the fellowship of the believer! I pray we will all devote some time to fellowship this week as we continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord!

Waiting On the Lord

Sunday we sang the chorus, Everlasting God. It starts with the words, "strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord." It reminded me of the words God spoke to me on New Year's Eve.

For the past two years I have asked God to give me a direction or vision for the new year. Last year the Lord woke me up on New Year's morning and told me it was going to be a year of freedom. It was most certainly was that, as He set me free to retire.

This year I sensed the Lord saying this would be a year of waiting. I was thinking last week about how I've had to wait about so many areas of my life. I also realized how much the Lord has taught me in the wait. Not long after the Lord told me this would be a year of waiting, I received the David Wilkerson newsletter and he talked about waiting on the Lord. He referred to one scripture where the word wait meant to "bind together," or gather together." Because the Lord set me free to retire He has given me time this year to gather together with like minded friends who sense the Lord's return is near. We have encouraged one another, lifted one another up in prayer, and shared scripture.

As I continue to wait for the Lord to reveal the next step, I know I have been strengthened in the waiting. I've learned lots about myself but much more about God. I'm beginning to have a deep appreciation for the verse in Isaiah, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall walk and not faint, they shall run and not be weary." I am being renewed in the wait.

I look forward to the promise in the verse David Wilkerson referred to in his newsletter. Isaiah 64:4, "For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

So I wait......

On Turning 50

Wow, it's been so long since I've updated my blog I was afraid I might forget my password! I've been much too busy working (the retirement lifestyle is much more to my liking!) and having computer issues so I just haven't spent much time at the computer. I have a post or two rolling around in my head so I'll get to it.

Last Saturday I turned 50! Today in exercise class their was a new lady and someone made comment about her being young. She said she was 53 and they all said "how does it feel to be considered a kid at 50?" That made me think. Most people dread 50, we put up black balloons, etc. for decorations and talk about "going over the hill." However, I can't think of a birthday in recent history where I've been more excited.

During my 49th year I came across an article that talked about turning 50 and that being the Jubilee year (see Leviticus 25). That led to many conversations with the Lord about my Jubilee year. I heard a pastor in the last couple of months who said there were 3 major things that happened in the Jubilee year.
1. Debtors are freed from their debts (Jesus did that for me on the Cross)
2. Slaves are set at liberty (Jesus blood and the power of the Holy Spirit set me free.)
3. Land was restored to it's former possession or original purpose.

Number 3 was the exciting part. I sensed the Lord telling me that at 50 He was going to now set before me the purpose for which He created me. I've spent the last 50 learning and growing, making mistakes, figuring out who I was, learning to listen and obey God's voice, failing miserably and then getting up to try again. I want to spend the next 50 serving the Lord with all the knowledge from lessons learned.

I'm so excited to see what God has in store that indeed I do feel like a kid full of excitement about the journey to come. I'm so glad I didn't get one single black balloon or over the hill card because I'm not sad. I'm excited to see what's over the crest of that hill!

Whiskey Girl or Proverbs 31 Woman

I know the title is strange but it is what went through my mind while riding my bike in a cycling class at the fitness center the other day. We were riding for an hour to a selection of songs with varying speeds, tempos, etc. There was a country song in the group and I'm assuming the name would have to be something like Whiskey Girl. The chorus had a line that went, "she's my little whiskey girl, my rough around the edges, but I like em rough."

The writer of the song apparently didn't have a mother like King Lemuel. His mom gave him some good advice when it came to women. Her advice is recorded in the Bible and is commonly called the Proverbs 31 Woman. The kings mom started by saying "don't give your strenght to women or your ways to that which destroys kings. It is not for Kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire strong drink. She then goes on to describe the wife she would desire for him and the wife God wants women to be to their husbands.

The description starts with the words, an excellent wife who can find? For her worth in far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. The description ends with these words, "charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates."

Something tells me the man who chooses the "whiskey girl over the Proverbs 31 woman will not tell the same story. I suspect his heart will never quite trust her whiskey clouded heart and she won't get much good accomplished while nursing a hang over. The whiskey might help her pull off a fake charm, but it will eventually destroy the beauty and she won't be praised in the community.

I don't have sons to warn about avoiding the whiskey girl. I do have a young woman for whom I pray everyday that she becomes a P 31.

Observations from the Deck

Before I get into my comments let me say just for the record, that I did enjoy the cruise my husband and I recently completed. We went to Cozumel, and the Port of Calica. As with the other 2 cruises I have taken I love the service, the never having to cook or make up my bed, or pick up after myself. I also loved the beautiful scenery. The water in around Cozumel was so incredibly gorgeous it left me in awe of my Creator God!! There is something about both the vastness and power of the Gulf of Mexico that causes me to walk around the deck and offer praises to God.

It was fun to spend time with family, play cards, laugh, and explore new places. One really cool place we toured were the Mayan ruins of Tulum. What an interesting place. As we listened to the tour guide relate the history of the people and the ruins I was thinking, did these people know about God and Jesus? I was reminded of the verse in Romans 1:19 - 20, "...because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." I guess that is one of those things we'll finally understand in Heaven.

I must confess though that there were things about the cruise that caused me to grieve. As with most cruises they really cater to alcohol, gambling, and the flesh (eating, drinking, sunning-while exposing too much flesh, and some adult only entertainment.) Again, know that overall I really enjoyed the trip, enjoyed the family centered entertainment, etc. What stood out to me in the Cozumel was how so much of their tourist dollars come from American indulgence in alcohol and spending on stuff (see previous post on Treasure or Ash Heap.)

I must confess I went in Carlos and Charlies completely innocent to what kind of place this was. I watched as what appeared to be a group of family and friends were celebrating the daughter's birthday. She looked to be in her early 20's and they were cheering her on as she not only took a shot of Tequila but they did the funnel thing and poured it down her throat not only once but twice. I wanted to go to the parents and say , what are you thinking? One day when your child is a full fledged alcoholic you will share part of the blame. The whole place was disgusting as the Mexican people were wildly encouraging the visiting tourists to get nasty drunk. The island of Cozumel has so much more to offer. The whole incident left me feeling very sad.

We had a great time but as usual it is good to get home and sleep in my own bed even though there was no room steward to make my bed or cook my omelet on Sunday morning!

Beautiful Feet

I'm not sure why I have all these thoughts come rushing at me during exercise but for whatever reason here is another thought that came out of my Yoga class. If you are familiar with Yoga you know most people do that barefoot or if you are really into it you buy those expensive Yoga toe socks so you can get a better grip on those balance poses. Since most of us are barefoot and the class was full today, I happen to notice some feet. The interesting thing was they were not pretty feet at all. In fact,I observed some unattractive feet (I won't give you a vivid description of why). Now I have never thought my feet were pretty but I was feeling ok today in comparison.

As usual the Lord doesn't look at things the way we do. In Isaiah it says "His thoughts are higher than our thoughts." He proved that once again today as He reminded me of what He considers beautiful feet. Romans 10:15 says, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tiding of good things." Actually, Paul was quoting a scripture from Isaiah 52:7, "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, "Your God Reigns!"

If we wanted to enter a beautiful feet contest we would think of feet that are narrow, have well proportioned toes, uncallaused heels and well manicured nails. Not so with God. He looks for feet that delivered good news to people, feet that brought peace, brought news of happiness and talked about salvation and encouraged people by reminding them that God is still on the throne and reigns forever.

Humm...I might be due for a heavenly pedicure!

Lasting Treasure or Ash Heap

Yesterday I worked at my old office for the day. I was helping purge old records and materials. We cleaned out 4 filing cabinets and threw away tons of paper. I had the oddest feeling as I was going through the papers. Most of them were things that had been done while I was in that job. I told my replacement that I felt like I was throwing away 6 years of work. No one but me really knew how much time, energy (both physical and mental!) and thought had gone into each of those pieces of paper. Six years of hard work just thrown in a trash can in a matter of a few hours!

Today I talked with a friend whose college aged son is suffering from severe depression and has tried to end his life. I also talked with someone recently who related a story of how a relative worked hard, got a doctorate and was very successful in their field but when they reached 60 realized they had given up and missed so much of life while they pursued something that felt empty at the end.

With all those thoughts swirling in my head, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind several verses.

Luke 12:16-31 Jesus was telling the parable about the rich man who has so much he decides to build bigger barns to keep all his stuff. He says the Lord called the rich man a fool and said you will die tonight and who is going to get all your stuff? I love the New Living Translation of verse 21, ""Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God."

Mark 8:36 - "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?"

Matt. 6:19 - "Do not lay up treasures for yourself on earth where moth and rust corrupt....but lay up treasure for yourself in heaven where neither moth or rust corrupt... for where your treasure is there your heart will be also.

John 15:6 - If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

I want my life to count for more than pieces of paper that will be shredded and burned up. I want to be laying up treasures in heaven that make me rich toward God. I heard a great sermon this week that is great food for thought as I attempt to lay up treasures in heaven. If you are young and just getting started in a career this would be a great sermon for you. The sermon was the first in a series started at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham called "From Here to There." The guest pastor who started the series asked everyone to consider two questions, 1. What makes you righteously angry (that's where your passion is) and 2. If money were no object, what would you do?

When I stand before the Lord I want to have some treasures to lay at His feet not an ash heap.