service – Page 8 – The Jesus Chick

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The Mess of Success. Its bull.

Written by talk2shari Published November 13, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

Every day I strive to be a better Shari. Every day I feel like an epic fail. I have the grandest of intentions (the road to Hell is not the only one paved with them). Whatever project that I’m involved with chaos quite often ensues, just ask my church family. My house and my car are organized clutter. Meaning I know it’s there, I just often have to dig for it. My husband says if I’m in an accident it won’t be what’s outside the car that will kill me. I’m blessed with family and friends of high tolerance, but why do they do it? I think their reason is because among the mess has been an occasional success.

Proverbs 14:4 says Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

This verse was pointed out to me through a sermon I listened to a few weeks ago and I’ve not been able to get it out of my head. Mainly because every time I get in my car or walk into my house I think “Oh yeah, I meant to take care of that.” But the flip side of that is when my feet hit the floor at 4:30 a.m. each day my mind is on the ministry. I’m not saying I’m a super saint, it’s just who I’ve been since salvation in 1996. And this verse summed it up for me… there’s a mess in the ministry.

Your mess is likely different. But I can almost guarantee if you’re serving God there’s a mess around you somewhere. Relationships get messy in the ministry, even though you’re supposed to have all the answers. If you have children they’re likely imperfect and highly visible to church critics. Your finances are not what they should be, even though you try to live life biblical. Perhaps your issue is a quick temper or lack of discipline in your life. The point is if you’re in the ministry there is likely a mess somewhere in your life that makes you wonder why God chooses to use you at all. Or am I the only one?

It’s not hard to imagine what the stall of an ox is filled with or what it smells like. It has to be shoveled out and even then it leaves a trail of nastiness behind. But the labor of the field wouldn’t be getting done if the ox wasn’t in the stall. So before you (or I) are too hard on ourselves for the messes in life, remember… that mess just might be what equals success. The world doesn’t need to see perfect people in the ministry (Hallelujah!!!!). They need to see real people working through their day.

So, shovel out the barn and head to the field. You know what the Lord says, “for they are white already to harvest.” – John 4:35

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Are You Among the Chosen?

Written by talk2shari Published November 11, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

If you are a child of God, then yes. But chosen for what?

As a child I was not the most athletically inclined child in the school. As a matter of fact I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with a ball of any kind. I wanted to be; I just didn’t have it in me, nor did I have the willpower to work for it, I didn’t like it that much. So needless to say when it came to picking teams it was a sad time. I wasn’t the last to be chosen, hallelujah there were a few kids worse than me, but I ranked among them.

I grew up with a few internal scars from having not been one of the “chosen” in many different peer groups. One of which I really wanted to be chosen for was singing. And to top it all off, God paired me with a best friend who could bring the house down when she opened her mouth. I on the other hand was at or below average so I was content at being a friend of the chosen. Batman’s Robin so to speak. If I couldn’t be the hero, the hero’s best friend would suffice.

And then I grew up thinking that no more would I be in constant competition for this role or that. I would be free to be me. The trouble with that, I’d spent so much of my life being a sidekick that I didn’t know who I was. So I resorted to the familiar and went the way the wind blew with little guidance or direction, while deep within me beat the heart of passion for venues yet explored for fear of failure or rejection.

I was the frozen chosen. Not cold… just immovable.

Then I met the Team Captain.

Tears still well up in my soul when I think back to the day Jesus dislodged my sidekick mentality. The idea that I could actually be one of the elect with purpose. No way! The idea was so foreign to me. I was the nobody. Now, all of a sudden out of nowhere, I found myself standing before hundreds of people, belting out songs, teaching the gospel, making people laugh and more importantly, love. Not love me… that wasn’t as important as getting them to know and love the One who loved me.

I wanted them to understand that they too were chosen.

Acts 9:15 speaks of Paul.

But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

Paul probably was the cool kid in school. But there’s a vast difference between being chosen by the people, and chosen of God. The people will turn on you in heartbeat and their love is vane and fleeting. But when you’re chosen by God, it’s for a lifetime and with purpose unimaginable!

I fully believe, and quite often share it with youth, that there are talents that God refuses to allow the world to have.

Please don’t misunderstand what I’m about to say as a boast, because believe me when I tell you I’m my own worst critic. But no one heard my voice as anything but at or below average until I got saved. And someone once said to me what I also thought when I opened up my mouth to sing for the Lord, “Where did that come from?” Nobody was as shocked as me when I discovered that I was a vessel of purpose.

It is why I now am so passionate to tell others that they too have been chosen. For what? I have a feeling you know.

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Where is God in the Tragedy?

Written by talk2shari Published October 31, 2013November 23, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

Making sense of nonsense

There’s no shortage of it. Turn on the evening news and from start to finish it’s full of heartache and sorrow with an occasional “feel good” story thrown in in a vain attempt at balancing it out. Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, he too tried to figure it out and I was again blown away by the profoundness of his faith as I read his words this morning in Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3

Ecclesiastes 3:14

I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

This morning a dear family in the faith is on my heart. The most unthinkable of tragedies has struck their family and for them there is no sense in it. There is total innocence on one side and utter degradation of man on the other, so how do we find God in the middle of this mess… we remember that we are made for eternity.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

As they say, “This too shall pass, right?” Though the words roll easily off the tongue, the season of “passing” is not the greatest of times, it alone sometimes feels like an eternity. I’ve had those moments in time when I wondered “How can ‘this’ possibly ever get better? ‘This’ doesn’t feel like a seasonal thing, it’s life altering. And when I read the second half of that verse… that there is “purpose;” it can make even less sense to me. How could God have a purpose in that? I don’t think the tragedies of life are the purpose. God is good (Mark 10:18). God’s not “in” the tragedy, He’s at the end of the tragedy. He’s the One that’s waiting for this to all be over; this mayhem that Satan set into motion in the Garden of Eden. He’s at the end waiting for us to get home, to the land He created where there is no night, no sorrow or sadness. Life is a season.

Ecclesiastes 3:13

And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

From now until the day that God welcomes us home is our time of reasonable service. Romans 12:1 That reasonable service includes serving God through the times that make no sense to help everyone get to the land of perfect sense. We can’t make sense out of evil, but we can serve and trust in God who is nothing but good.

Ecclesiastes 3:15-17

That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

There have been so very many “why’s “in my life, until I get to a verse like this and then I realize that there is no righteousness in me. I’m going to stand before a righteous God knowing that I am there solely because Christ’s blood allowed it. In earth’s perspective I can view the wickedness of the day and think that I’m not as vile as they, but in the reality of God there is no degree of sin. It all separates us from Him and life on earth is nothing without the Salvation of Christ. It’s a fleeting fraction of time that’s gone before we can get turned around. And where is God? Waiting.

There is so much to do to get our friends and family prepared for eternity. Let’s get busy!

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Confessions of a Church Thief

Written by talk2shari Published October 28, 2013October 28, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

It’s absolutely true.

I was perusing the aisles.

I eyed every single one until that one caught my eye. The one I didn’t have.

Before anyone at Victory Baptist Church begins to wonder if it happened at our church, it didn’t. It didn’t even happen at church. It happened on Facebook for cryin’ out loud. I’m so ashamed! Okay maybe that was a bit dramatic… I’m not really ashamed, just embarrassed for my Lord. You see… I was perusing the aisles of another church coveting their membership. It was a certain person that I love and I just thought to myself, “Wow, I wish they’d come to our church.” And then I happened to think about the cost of them coming to our church. They’d have to leave theirs, there would possibly be hurt feelings; I know how it’s been when someone has left our church who I loved. So in affect, I’d be wishing heartache on another congregation of believers. And then the harshest reality of all hit me… if every church in our community did what we were supposed to be doing, evangelizing the area, they’d be no need to wish for what another church had.

Mark 16:15

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

William Chadwick’s book Stealing Sheep sums up well when he said “Jesus did not say, ‘Go into all the world and shift the sheep’ He also said a very wise thing when he said modern day churches were less about church growth and a little more about rearranging the ecclesiastical furniture. I almost laughed out loud when I read that, and then I thought, wow… that’s sad and true. Most church growth that we see does not come from seeing new souls saved for the Kingdom of God, but more about disgruntled or unchallenged church members who leave one church for another. Truth?

So what do we do about it? Well for starters, I can stop creeping on Facebook pages and start creeping up the hills and hollers of my community in search of creatures. Creatures? Maybe I should paraphrase that for clarity by saying “Creations.” Those who God created with purpose, who’s not only not fulfilling their potential for the cause of Christ, but are heading to Hell and will never know Him because we were too busy shifting sheep. This thought zinged my heart this morning. What about you?

I’m sending this out as a word of warning today to people in my path. I’m on a super sheep search. (say that three times fast). I’m looking for wild sheep! The ones that have never made it into anyone’s fold. This is my prayer… that God help them cross my path, help me to recognize them and then give me the boldness to ask, “Do you know my friend Jesus?”

No more thievin’. I’m turning over a new leaf.

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Smack Dab in the Middle!

Written by talk2shari Published October 27, 2013October 27, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

Revelation 21:6

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Right smack dab in the middle, that’s where I want to be. Yesterday was another crazy day in life of the Jesus Chick. Early morning rising and then off to a new mission work that’s going on in our community (Eagle Ranch Mission and Revival Training Center). We spent the day with youth who sat outside in the cool of October and soaked up the gospel desiring their part of the middle. I left in the late afternoon to go back to the church to pass out candy and gospel tracks to community children in hopes that I could plant more than a seed of candy corn in their home.

I loved this thought today. God created the beginning and the end, but the middle is ours. God set a plan in action from day one with a designed end in His sight. It’s not ours to know the day or the hour of the end, just that it’s a done deal for which we need to be prepared for. Before I finish this writing the trumpet could sound. There’s an end to this story, but the middle… that’s now. That’s the awesome part!

That’s why I get up early, 4:30 a.m. (ish) sometimes earlier, sometimes later. I don’t want to miss the middle, and for me the middle starts early. That’s why I gave my Saturday to a new mission work, because being in the middle of something that could be life altering for someone is exciting stuff. It’s why Sunday mornings are a treat and I can’t wait to get to the house of the Lord. I’m hoping that in the middle of the message someone there will discover that fountain of the water of life, and I’ll get to watch them take their first drink.

Satan’s lie that serving Jesus is a chore has deprived so many Christians of their piece of the middle. It’s like eating the crust of an apple pie and leaving the gooey delicious cinnamon and sugar filled fruit in the bowl. How crazy is that? But that’s what Christians do when they fail to be in the middle of an active church.

It’s another crazy day in the life of the Jesus Chick. I’m up early, and preparing my heart for the services in the house of the Lord, afterwards I’m taking a group of youth to another service out of town called the Judgment House. I don’t say this to boast “look what I’m doing for Jesus!” I say this because I want you to understand how exciting it is to be in the middle and that you need to take every opportunity to be there.

The middle, it’s the awesome part. The end… woah baby! It’s going to be beyond awesome. Don’t miss out.

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In Need of Anointing

Written by talk2shari Published October 20, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

Psalm 52:8-9

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

It’s Sunday. I’m humbled and grateful that I can go into the house of Almighty God and be used by Him in the manner for which He chooses. The world doesn’t understand the grandeur of being in the presence of He Who created the earth, else the house would be full today. Like David, I too want to be like the olive tree in the house of God. A fruit bearing tree that God looks upon with favor, planted and rooted by the river’s edge and soaking up the Water of Life. As I read through scriptures this morning related to the olive tree, its importance in biblical history was evident and so was my need to reflect upon it.

The Oil of Anointing

In Leviticus, Chapter 8, Moses anointed the tabernacle, the vessels, and the people who were used of God in service. If this morning you are found in the service of God you need to understand the importance of having that fresh anointing that comes through the Holy Spirit; whether it’s the nursery, the music, the sound booth, the pianist, or the Pastor, each one needs the anointing of God upon their lives to reach the full potential and effect that God desires in a service. A church service is not an afterthought. Much preparation is needed to usher in the Holy Ghost. Preachers and teachers study, the people pray, those in service study their chosen field of service so that they may do it well and orchestrate the service in a manner that pleases God. I fear that the excitement in many services today is only a fraction of what it could be because it was a fraction of time that was given in preparation. I know I speak truth, because I’ve seen the effect of my fraction of time in times past.

The Oil of Offering

In Leviticus Chapter 7, verses 11-12 the various offerings of Thanksgiving were “mingled with oil.” Whatever it is that you bring to the table this morning in the house of the Lord needs to be “mingled with oil,” an attitude of gratitude for what the Lord has done in your life. Thanksgiving can also mean confession (of sin, of faith in response to God’s goodness and mercy that He’s extended to you) of the blessings in abundance we take for granted. One thing certain to get the attention and presence of God in your life and in your service today is a humble thankful heart.

The Oil of Healing

Isaiah 1:6 says ~ From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

Believe me when I say I understand the wounds of ministry. I’ve got a few battle scars of my own. But there is one thing for certain; if you do not apply the healing balm of the Word of God your wound will stay infected with the world. You see, I also understand that whether a wound is self-inflicted, saint inflicted or sinner inflicted, it hurts just the same. But in reading and hearing of the Word of God there is soothing that occurs and mends that brokenness in a supernatural way. I can’t explain it, I just know its truth because I’ve experienced it.

I hope you experience the fatness of the olive tree anointing in your life today. I pray that from the beginning to the end of your day your thankful heart will feel the Holy Spirit flooding your soul with His anointing. If there is pain in your life I pray that you feel the balm of Jesus healing that brokenness and that your servants heart will be restored. ~ Blessings! From the Jesus Chick.

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What Prompted that?

Written by talk2shari Published October 13, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

The memory is a funny thing, not funny haha but in the peculiar sense of the word. Out of the blue I’ll have a crazy thought come into my mind, a blast from the past so to speak, and I’ll wonder what on earth prompted that thought. A flood of emotions often comes along with it and a renewed sense of happiness, sadness or fear depending upon the memory. Spiritually I do the same. Sometimes it’s a scripture I’ve read, or sermon I’ve heard; other times it’s a failure that I’ve committed and my heart twists and breaks again as if I’d just done it again. Other times I’ll grapple with remembering even the smallest of things and think I’ve lost my mind all together. That’s a pretty frequent occurrence.

One of my favorite bible characters that I identify with on so many levels (mostly of failure) is Peter. I “get” his “leap and the net will appear, speak before you think, I’ll never forsake you Lord” attitude. It really does define me.

Matthew 26:75 ~ And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Peter remembered his promise; he remembered the friend he said he’d be. And now look….what a mess he was in. What a failure. What a friend? Why could not his memory have failed him this time? Why did he have to recall that day when he had so boldly proclaimed his dedication to the Lord? Peter failed Christ just as we all do and God brings it to mind not to reprimand us again, He forgave it when it occurred; but more as a catapult to launch us forward and to keep us from a repeat performance. Peter wept bitterly that night, but later Peter won thousands to the Lord!

My Dad went home to be with Jesus several years ago, and just weeks before he did I was visiting him in his hospital room with my Mother. Dad’s memory never failed him, God was so gracious with us on that. He sat on the side of his bed and recalled being five years old and sitting beneath an apple tree looking down on his parents who were working in a field. As a five year old he told God, “If you let me keep my parents until they’re old, I’ll serve you.” With tears in his eyes he told us of how God reminded him of his childhood prayer when he was 30 years old and he heard the words of God prompt his memory by saying “You promised.” Dad gave his life to Christ and began serving the Lord and what a servant he was! That memory launched him. Yes he had failed God. He’d not lived for Him as he’d promised, but he would then.

Peter failed. Dad failed. I’ve failed and you’ve failed. It’s a fact of life. Use that error in judgment as a catapult to service. God knows you’re better than that because it is He created you better than that. Peter continued on, still making mistakes because he was human, but God used him to win thousands to the Lord and we’re still talking about him today. Satan will take a failure and remind you again and again of who you were; remind him of who he is. A fallen angel with a future in hell. You are child of God with a future in Heaven.

Memories are sometimes painful. Make them purposeful.

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Sunday Morning Blues

Written by talk2shari Published April 28, 2013April 28, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. ~ Philippians 2:5-8

The Sunday Morning blues… why that thought has been on my mind from the time I got out of bed I do not know. But it got me wondering today why some folks lack the motivation on Sunday to go to church.

Possibly the first reason is because they’re not in their right mind…

Paul said “Let this mind be in you.” And what mind was that? The same one that was in Christ Jesus. The mind that causes us to want to be like God. Wanting to be like God is okay when it’s in the biblical aspect. It really hit me this morning as I read this verse that people who say “So and so think they’re God,” Implying that a person thinks more of themselves than they should, may not be getting who God is either. In reality if one “thinks they are God,” arrogance is nowhere in the picture! God made Himself of no reputation but took the form of a servant. Being in “that mind” is polar opposite of arrogance.

What must Christ have thought when He went from being God to being God fashioned as a man? Paul said that He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of cross.

If on Sunday morning you have no desire to be in the house of the Lord (I speak to you as though you were saved) you’re not in your right mind. You should want to be where God wants you, and that’s in His house with His people, those that He gave His life for. If you’re not saved there is still that desire to want to be where God is. God said in John 12:32 ~ And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. There is a desire inside of you to know God, and to know God is to desire being with His people.

Sunday morning blues can sneak up on anyone. But when your mind is on Him…

He brings joy.

1 Peter 1:8 ~ Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoices with joy unpeakable and full of glory:

He makes the heart glad!

Acts 2:46 ~ And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

So… where is your mind this morning? There’s no room for the Blues in serving Christ! He deserves so much more and He wants so much more for you. He died that you might have life and that it would be abundant! So head on out to church and get ready to praise Him! He’ll meet you there!

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The Promise Doesn’t Change

Written by talk2shari Published March 15, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

Exodus 12:25~ And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.

The Promise Doesn’t Change

Genesis 12:1-3 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

For four hundred and thirty years the Israelites had been enslaved to the Egyptians. I have to wonder how many times they ask the Lord, “But what about the promise?” How many generations died without having seen it? God’s timing is not ours (else my last journey through heartache would have been much shorter!) Abraham, the original receiver of the promised died having not seen the promise fulfilled. Even with Abraham’s death, Israel’s disobedience, and a change in priorities of God’s people, God didn’t change the promise. He promised Abraham he would make of him a great nation and as the 600,000 men, likely over one million people trekked across the dry land of the Red Sea, what a sight it would have been to behold. My heart stirs in me this morning at the thought of what it must have been like to have been in that passel of people! It stirs not only from that promise being fulfilled but from the promises fulfilled in my own life on the countless times God has said “I’ll bring you through” and He did!

Are you going through a struggle in your life? Has heartache knocked upon your door? For Israel to receive that promise they had to do a few things…

The blood had to be applied – Today is no different for the child of God. The blood represented another promise that God would redeem His people, through a greater sacrifice. His Son would be the final sacrifice to end them all, but you must confess Who He is (the Son of God). What He did (He died for you) and Where He is (Risen from the dead and In Heaven at the right hand of God the Father, making intercession for our sins.)

When God said move, they needed to go – If the children had stayed in the corrupt world of Egypt, God’s plan would not have been fulfilled, they needed to go to the Promised Land where the influence of the world would not be. The problem with that was, they took a lot of the influence with them in their minds. They left the country behind, but not the characteristics. And because of that they lived defeated many times. But the promise didn’t change. It just wasn’t as good as it could have been.

Continue to serve – Once they reached the Promised Land God told them they were to “keep this service.” Somehow or another when people get saved they forget that the journey’s not over. Israel was to continue keeping the Passover as a reminder that God had brought them out. There is much to do for the cause of Christ, and much of it is undone because people have stopped keeping His service. We’re not saved by works. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9 ~^”For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” But James 2:18 reminds us that although works will not save you, salvation should give you the desire! “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

I hope today find you clingin’ to the promise! It did not change!