My Frustrations This Season

I am quite frustrated with myself recently. And this is the reason why.

Hebrews 5:12 (ESV) - For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.

That is how I see my spiritual condition right now. When the pressure of life steps up, and things aren’t as smooth as they are supposed to be, my carnal mind swings between two opposite beliefs about God. Don’t I know better by now?

First, I start thinking that God does not care. Then the following verse comes to mind.

1 Peter 5:7 (ESV) - casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Then I start thinking that God does care, but maybe he will let me flounder, or maybe even let my life crash, to teach me a lesson.

Psalm 55:22 (ESV) - Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

The Hebrew word for ‘moved’ in the above passage, is mote’, which literally means ‘waver’. It can be translated as slip, shake or fall, or even fall into decay. So that verse in Psalms means that God will NOT let my life crash.

But what if it is my fault? And a cynical part of my mind says, “What do you mean, “what if”???” So does that mean I have to come before God again, casting my burdens and anxieties upon the LORD again, and he has to bail me out again? Doesn’t he ever get tired of me?

1 Peter 5:7 (ESV) - casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

No, he doesn’t get tired of me. He cares. He is happy to have me approach him, in fact, he longs for it earnestly.

Isaiah 30:18 (NIV) – Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

If I know he cares, and I know that he WILL do something, that he WILL help, then what kind of attitude should I have towards approaching God?

Hebrews 4:16 (ESV) - Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Confidence? Boldness? When things are rough and I face the nagging suspicion that it is my fault?

Hebrews 4:14-15 (ESV) - Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

So that is the cause of my inner turmoil, then. Somehow or other my vision has been taken off the Lord Jesus, the High Priest, the real reason for my confidence. And I need to get that fixed and settled, not just for the sake of getting the mercy and grace I need to make it through this season, but also to get that peace and assurance I need NOW.

OK, then I’d better get off the computer and back to the prayer room. Repentance isn’t always fun, but I think it’s worth it. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Do keep me in prayer, OK? I’ll post something here again when I have something edifying and encouraging to share. Be blessed!

Scripture Capture

(personal blog post)

Just thought of quickly capturing the passages that got my attention just this evening during my Scripture reading time with my boys. Kind of like a Screen Capture, but with Bible verses.

Deuteronomy 32:1-4 (NKJV) - Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew,
As raindrops on the tender herb, and as showers on the grass.
For I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God.
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice,
A God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.

hmmm... seems to be another illustration of the idea of God's Word as the rain, watering the earth. Makes me wonder if I go to a country suffering from drought and speak the Scriptures there, will God answer with rain for the land?

James 5:13-18 (NKJV) - Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Good verse to remember. Jess had a little health hiccup, and I remembered the pray-in-faith bit and totally forgot the anoint-with-oil bit. Some kind of Word-of-Faith person I turn out to be, right? Good thing I kept some olive oil around the house. It's useful for all kinds of stuff, not just anointing in prayer.

Psalm 59:10-13 (NKJV) - My God of mercy shall come to meet me; 
God shall let me see my desire on my enemies.

Do not slay them, lest my people forget; Scatter them by Your power,
And bring them down, O Lord our shield.

For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips,
Let them even be taken in their pride,
And for the cursing and lying which they speak.
Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be;
And let them know that God rules in Jacob to the ends of the earth.

Guess what? I get angry at injustice also. I face injustice also. And through the Word of God I bring up my emotions before God.  

Jeremiah 30:16 (NKJV) - Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
Those who plunder you shall become plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will make a prey.

Another illustration of the principle: what you sow, you shall reap. God, by your grace I will keep myself from sowing evil into the lives of others. And forgive me, Lord, for the times I did.

Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV) - "No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord.  

This is one of those passages that makes me examine my conscience. Why? Because i want to be sure everything I do deserves God defending me to that extent. God, may I be found blameless in your sight, that I can fully expect your total and complete vindication when my accusers arise!

 

James 2:12-13 (NIV) - Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

God, remind me to live by mercy and not by judgment. Let judgment fall on those who condemn me unfairly. On my part, I will crucify my flesh and choose to walk in mercy. 

So many thoughts, and this was less than 30 minutes of musing on God's Word and praying. Will continue to meditate on these verses tomorrow!

Where Positions ARE Available

I got this email recently, and thought of sharing it and replying to it publicly. Here’s the actual email itself (with the sender’s name abbreviated for privacy).

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Dear Sir

I am A. M. Worship Singer from Pakistan. I am a Christian fellow and I sing to praise the Lord our God. God has blessed me with a wonderful voice to sing. I am singing since last ten years. I wish to continue to praise God and pray through my singing talents. But unfortunately, I do not have many resources to get my singing on recordings. I wish to join a group or a ministry filled with the Holy Spirit to accept me as a singer. I am praying and wish you to support my dedication and talent. If there is any idea or any support from you and your ministries please let me know and I will be ready to join you for this. Thank you. God bless you.

A. Worship Singer,

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Well, firstly there is no need to call me ‘Sir’. I am not a very formal person and go by the name of Junjie. People may not know how to pronounce it (since it is Chinese) but typing it on an email should be OK, right?

>> I am a Christian fellow and I sing to praise the Lord our God.

That’s great!

>> God has blessed me with a wonderful voice to sing. I am singing since last ten years.

Confidence. No false humility. I can respect that.

>>  I wish to continue to praise God and pray through my singing talents. But unfortunately, I do not have many resources to get my singing on recordings.

And why would that be a problem?

If you really want people to hear your singing, get a video-cam, video yourself and upload it on Youtube. You may not earn any money from it, but you will certainly bless others with your abilities if you are as good as you say.

Because of what the world was like when we were growing up, we can end up thinking that a singer’s success is measured by how many albums he or she can sell. So if he or she can’t even get on a recording in the first place, that’s sad, right? But for believers who are singers, success does not only mean selling albums. You need to specifically know what kind of singing God wants you to do. What I personally believe is that there are 3 main types of singers within the Kingdom of God.

1) Worship Leaders – when they sing, they get the congregation to sing too. They successfully lead people into singing wholeheartedly unto the Lord when they take the mike.

2) Evangelists – when they sing, they touch the hearts of pre-believers and open their hearts to receive the love of God.

3) Prophetic singers – when they sing, they minister to the people of God. They testify of Jesus in such a way that people are edified, encouraged and comforted.

1 Corinthians 14:3 (ESV) - On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.

I am not saying that a singer can’t do more than one type of singing, but many singers I know have one that they are most effective at. And they will do well to focus on that one if they want to bear fruit quickly and with less effort.

So which one are you?

>>  I wish to join a group or a ministry filled with the Holy Spirit to accept me as a singer.

I can direct you to such a ministry. It’s called your local church. I am not sure what you mean when you say “filled with the Holy Spirit”, but surely it would apply to your home church. If not, why call that church home, right?

Your pastor will know where your strengths are, since you have been serving there for ten years. And he will want you to be effective, since that will help him serve the people God has entrusted to his care. So he does have a vested interest in your success.

Of course, that assumes that you have been faithfully serving for the past ten years. Moreover, you have to be willing to try different stuff, not just what you are comfortable with. If you are a performance singer and need to lead worship for example, that will mean a lot of work and learning for you. But it is only after you have put in all that kind of effort that your pastor will be able to see what you are best at and can give you accurate advice.

But you will most certainly start off as a volunteer. Which means you won’t get paid. It is this time as a volunteer when you will be tested, to see if you have what it takes to serve.

1 Timothy 3:10 (ESV) - And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

And one crucial area you will be tested on, in the sight of God and man, is faithfulness.

Proverbs 20:6 (ESV) - Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?

Talented people are easier to find than faithful people. Many talented people want quick glory and the applause of man, so they are unwilling to demonstrate faithfulness in serving. So if you want to be used by God to bless his people, be faithful!

Now what if your home church is small? That would mean that even if your abilities suit the church and they appreciate you, they may not be unable to pay you. If that is the case, let me just say that if you are truly faithful to that church, you will set aside your own abilities and preferences, and work with your pastor to grow his church. And since it is a small church, what would grow that church may not be you singing. It may be you making it a point to share the gospel and invite people to church. It may mean you serving as an usher or running errands for your pastor. Many preachers started off as janitors – they had to sweep and clean the church!

Your faithfulness WILL be tested.

If your home church is small, they will need you to work hard at many things, singing, ushering, administration, evangelism and discipleship. And all that while you work at a day job to pay for your own living expenses and tithe to your church. If your home church is large, you probably won’t get the limelight at the very beginning. You will have to start small and slowly work your way up as a volunteer, all the while keeping your day job.

What if there is no local church you can join?

If there is no church in your area, district or county, then the needs of God’s people there are great indeed. They will need solid, practical teaching in the Bible more than they will need singing. And if you have a heart for God’s people, you may have to set up a church there yourself.

Sounds daunting? It is. But on the bright side, you need not worry about how to feed the flock with God’s Word. Email me and I can refer you to online sermons that are solid, Scriptural teaching that will bless the people and build them up in the faith.  Your job then will be to pray for your people when they have needs. That should not be a problem for you, since you have said before that you wish to continue to pray through your singing talents.

>> I am praying and wish you to support my dedication and talent. If there is any idea or any support from you and your ministries please let me know and I will be ready to join you for this.

Any ideas from me and my ministry? I’ve written an entire email of ideas for you! The biggest ideas are:  

1) Start where you are, doing what you need to do right now.

2) Be faithful in service.

3) Don’t think of yourself as a singer but as a Christian. If singing is what it takes to be a blessing to God’s people where you are, then sing! But if it is something else, are you willing to do that something else so that God’s people will be blessed?

I leave you with this Scripture, the one that sustains me in my ministry when it gets difficult.

Hebrews 6:10 (ESV) - For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 

If you truly love God, serve his people. He will remember your labour and reward you in due season.

Be blessed, A. M.!

Conclusion:

I know this has been a long post. What do you think of what I said here? Let me know your thoughts. You can do so by leaving a comment below.

Thanks!