Call A Thing A Thing

Turquoise blue instagram post. Attention, do not read the small print. (2048 × 1189 px)

GOD FIRST. FAMILY SECOND. MINISTRY THIRD.

For those of you who have the honor and privilege of serving in ministry, allow me to CALL A THING A THING for you. If your life priorities are not as follows… GOD FIRST, FAMILY SECOND, MINISTRY THIRD …then your life is OUT OF ORDER! Period.

1. GOD FIRST. John 15:5 says, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.” Your relationship with God is main priority! You cannot pour into the lives of others from an empty cup. Your cup needs to be overflowing. What’s in the cup is for you and the overflow is for everyone else. Don’t let your tank get empty. Your time with God in prayer, worship, and the Word is crucial! That’s how you fill up and overflow. That’s how you keep the anointing flowing in your life. Without it… you can do nothing.

2. FAMILY SECOND. 1 Timothy 3:1-5 says, “…If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position. So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife… He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?” Your first ministry is your family. Your spouse matters, your children matter, you matter. God holds you responsible for your household first. If your house is a wreck, your children are out of control, and your spouse is starving for attention… you need to draw some boundaries and enforce them! Boundaries are your responsibility. You decide what is or is not allowed in your life. You also need to pay attention to those who have issues with the boundaries you draw. These are usually people who are intentionally or unintentionally trying to control or manipulate you. The only people who get upset about you setting boundaries are the ones benefitting from you not having any. You have the right to set the standard (boundaries) for your life. If you can’t draw boundaries and enforce them… you need to consider another profession.

3. MINISTRY THIRD. 1 Peter 5:2-4 says, “Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.” As leaders we must lead by example! Your life example should inspire and minister to others. So many church leaders live OUT OF ORDER. Their lives are a mess… Their finances are out of wack, house is a wreck, and their family is all jacked up. OR their lives are out of balance… their so busy that they don’t have time to enjoy the life, family, and ministry God has given them. We brag about our busyness, but what we’re really saying is that we don’t have time to seek the Lord and hear from Him. OR they don’t live any differently than the world does. We are to come out from among the world (2 Corinthians 6:17). We should look different and act different. Righteousness is nonnegotiable! I’m not saying that we church leaders aren’t human and that we should be perfect. But we should be like the Apostle Paul, pressing toward it! (Philippians 3:12-14)

My fellow ministry leaders… we have some evaluating to do. 2 Corinthians 13:5 tells us to examine ourselves. I’ve taken a look at my life and I’m seeing some necessary changes. I encourage you to pause, take a deep breath, and do the same. Your future will be glad you did!

CTRL + ALT + DELETE

I have a New Spiritual Command for you… CTRL + ALT + DELETE

CONTROL yourself.
ALTER yourself.
DELETE everything else.

God is sovereign and He sits on the throne. We must understand that God is always in control, but He doesn’t always take control. For example. I’ve lost over 100 lbs. God didn’t make me gain all of that weight through the years. He let me eat as much junk as I wanted to. Just like He will not control how much of the negative news reports that you watch. He will not control how much time you spend with Him versus how much time you spend watching tv. God will let you scroll through social media for hours instead of making time for Him in prayer. God is always in control, but He doesn’t always take control. Why? Because He has given us the power of choice. He has given us the authority of dominion. Our lives are not out of our control. Your mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial heath are all within your control. You have the power of CTRL + ALT + DELETE.

Let me give you some examples of CTRL + ALT + DELETE…

God is in control, but He doesn’t always take control. He will not control someone else just for you. When someone shows you who they are… believe them and then do what you need to do with that information. Stay or walk away.
God is in control, but He doesn’t always take control. He will not control how much food you eat. If you need to lose weight… eat healthier and exercise. No excuses.
God is in control, but He doesn’t always take control. He will not control how much time you spend with Him. If you want to grow spiritually… be intentional about praying and reading your Bible.
God is in control, but He doesn’t always take control. He will not control how you spend your money. He will let you carelessly spend as much of it as you’d like. If you want financial breakthrough… start making wiser financial decisions.
God is in control, but He doesn’t always take control. He will not control how you spend your time. He will allow you to let your life get all out of balance. If you want peace of mind… start making choices that keep your life in balance and maintain your personal peace.

+ CONTROL yourself. 2 Timothy 1:7… “The Spirit God gave us does not make us afraid. His Spirit is a source of power and love and SELF-CONTROL.” You have control over your mind. You have control over balance in your life. You have control over the words you speak. You have control over your emotions and responses. Too many of us live our lives out of control. Stop letting your thoughts, emotions, unhealthy relationships, and bad choices control you. Take your life back!

+ ALTER yourself. Ephesians 4:24… “…put on the new self…” Romans 12:2… “…be transformed…” After you get control you are going to have to make changes. You must alter your thoughts. Alter your words. Alter your choices. Alter your time. Alter your relationships. Alter how you spend your money. Alter what you eat. Alter where you go. Alter what you watch. Alter what you read. Alter what you choose to be a part of. Change is a requirement for growth.

+ DELETE everything else. Philippians 3:13-14… “…Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead…” Delete anything that is a source of negativity. Delete anything that tries to take your peace or joy. Delete anything that tries to distract you. Delete anything that tries to disrupt you on your journey to meet that goal. Delete anything that tries to hold you back or stop you. Delete the negative conversations. Delete the broken and defeated thoughts. Delete the unnecessary. That might mean you need to get off of social media, or walk away from some relationships, or choose a different career path, or start doing things a different way.

Stop complaining. Stop making excuses. Stop tolerating and accommodating that which is robing you of joy and peace. Take control of your life. Alter what needs to be altered. Delete what needs to be deleted. Your future will be glad you did!

The Gift Of Goodbye

…Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up…

Hebrews 12:1-2

Hebrews 12 encourages us to let go of anything in our lives that slows us down. Give yourself the gift of goodbye. Say goodbye to sin, the past, unhealthy relationships, negative mindsets and thought patterns. Let it all go…

Say Goodbye to Yesterday. Paul used to be called, “Saul”. Saul persecuted Christians. Acts 8:3 reveals that Saul traveled from place to place doing all he could to destroy the church. He dragged people out of their homes and threw them in prison. This was Paul’s yesterday, his reputation. In Acts 9, Saul’s story is interrupted by Jesus and His life is transformed. Saul goes before the high priest for legal authorization to persecute Christians. On his way to Damascus a light shines around him and from the light he hears a voice speak, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” Saul asks, “Who are you?” The voice replies, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Saul stands up, opens his eyes and realizes that he is blind. The men who were with him helped him to Damascus where he remained blind for three days. Jesus interrupted Saul’s story.

Jesus then appears to a man in Damascus named, Ananias. He tells Ananias that he must go to Saul and pray for him so that he can receive back his sight because Saul was His chosen instrument to share His message. Ananias lays his hands on Saul and Saul is healed. Saul begins preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. The people in the town began to talk about Saul and say things like, “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?” That is exactly how people will do you today. When you start living differently, people will drag up your past. Don’t let your past keep you from being who God wants you to be. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” (NLT) God is focused on your future, not your past. God can and will use your story for His glory. It doesn’t matter what your past is, what you’ve been through, or how you have lived. Repent, give it to God, and go forward. You are either a prisoner of your past or a pioneer of your future. Don’t let the voice of yesterday define your tomorrow because I have good news: where you have been does not determine where you are going.

Say Goodbye to The Lids. In Genesis 13 we find Abram leaving Egypt with his wife, nephew Lot, and all of their possessions. The land was not big enough for Abram’s and Lot’s possessions. This caused an argument between Abram’s and Lot’s men. Abram told Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen… The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate…” (Genesis 13:8-9, NLT) Lot surveyed the land and noticed the plain of Jordan was well watered and chose that place. Abram lived in Canaan and Lot lived near Sodom. God called Abram to another level of living and told him to leave everything behind. Abram chose to bring Lot who benefited from the level Abram was living in, but he didn’t contribute to it. The meaning of “Lot” is “to cover”. Lot’s presence covered or put a lid on what Abram could achieve. While God blessed Abram and increased him, there came a time when Abram needed to separate from Lot. After Abram said, “Goodbye,” to Lot, God spoke to Abram, “‘Look as far as you can see in every direction… I am giving you all this land… to you and your descendants as a permanent possession…’” (Genesis 13:14-17, NLT) Abram needed to move away in order to move up.

We have this promise, “The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children.” (Psalm 115:14, KJV) Are there people you need to move away from in order to move up into the “more and more” God has for you? I’m not necessarily talking about physically moving away from them, but emotionally. If the people around you are living with limits, they are placing those same limits on you. These limits could be narrow mindsets, low expectations, or even selfish motives.

You may be holding on to a hurt that was caused by someone who left you. When people can walk away from you… let them walk! Don’t try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, or staying attached to you. Your destiny is not, never has been, and never will be tied to anybody that leaves you. 1 John 2:19 says, “They left us, but they were never really with us. If they had been, they would have stuck it out with us, loyal to the end. In leaving, they showed their true colors, showed they never did belong.” (MSG) People leave you because they are not joined to you, and if they are not joined to you, you can’t make them stay. It doesn’t always mean they are a bad person. It just means that their part in the story is over.

Say Goodbye to Stinkin’ Thinkin’. Our lives are a product of our thoughts. The Apostle Paul tells us to think great thoughts. In Philippians 4:8-9 he says, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise…” The command is to “think” about these things. The mind is where we think, feel, and decide. It is the place where all the conflicts of life begin – the ultimate battlefield of life. God, our flesh, and the devil are all battling for control of our minds. The battle rages in our minds because, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7, NKJV) The devil knows that if He can corrupt your thinking, he can corrupt your living. We do not have to live defeated by wrong thinking. There are thousands of promises in God’s Word. Stand on them!

Let It Go… Forget the former things. Don’t even consider how things used to be. God wants to do a new thing in your mind, heart, and life RIGHT NOW! Will you let Him?

MAKE BELIEVE

We all like to make believe that we are perfect, that we do no wrong, make no mistakes, and have it all together. Sadly, this isn’t the case. We’re not perfect, we do wrong, we make bad choices, and we make a lot of mistakes. I’m certainly guilty of trying to be perfect, but without fail humanity kicks in and proves that I’m not. We all have changes we need to make in our lives whether it be: relationships, diet, attitude, perspectives, or thought patterns. The problem is we like change on our terms. We like change when it makes us feel good or look good. The moment changing requires us to do something we don’t like or that doesn’t make us feel good, we resist it. Let’s talk about what we do when it’s time to change…

When it’s time to change we LIE TO OURSELVES. We are all guilty of willfully lying to ourselves about our problems and the things we need to adjust and change in our lives. Here’s a fact: if you argue against reality you will suffer. It is very easy to lie and deny the facts about the issues in our lives. Once you do this, you create a pattern of lying and denial in your life. Don’t get me wrong, our intentions for lying to ourselves are not bad. In fact, we lie to ourselves because we seek comfort, but comfort is overrated. We want to believe our lie because if we consider the truth, it could hurt our precious ego. You may ask, “How do I know if I’m lying to myself and am in denial?” You know that you are lying to yourself when you look for distractions so that you can avoid the real stuff, the hard problems, the truth. You distract yourself instead of actually working on the issues in your life. Do not forget the process to dealing with the problems: face them, confess them, and understand what they are. At some point you have to ask yourself the question, “What is my contribution to the dysfunction in my life?”, and tell the truth.

For if you embrace the truth, it will release more freedom into your lives.
John 8:32

When it’s time to change we FALSIFY THE FACTS. We like to invent and concoct excuses for our bad behavior. We find ourselves blame shifting and pointing our finger at everyone else but ourselves. In order to make positive changes in your life you have to stop talking about what “they” did and start talking about what YOU did. Stop looking at everyone else and look at yourself. Most of our problems have been created by our choices. Change your choices. Choose to own up to the role you played in the mess that has been made. Remember, you will never see new fruit until you first deal with the root.

Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!

Deuteronomy 30:19

Is any of this easy? Of course not. It’s a challenge. Call the issues in your life what they are. Challenge them and change them. Give yourself permission to be better than you currently are. The way you do that is to just simply choose. It’s an everyday choice we have to make. It’s gonna hurt and it won’t be easy. The good news is, you’ll come out looking better and being the best version of YOU!