From our Pastor: Tuesdays Words of Encouragement Today, I - TopicsExpress

Beverly Shealy Rollins

From our Pastor: Tuesdays Words of Encouragement Today, I want to write to you a message that I feel within my heart is a very timely message, “Call to Active Duty.” This is a very common phrase used for men and women who are called into the military service for active duty. The command comes from someone in authority to issue the call and it is the duty of the man or woman receiving the notice to respond. What this means is this; duty is carrying on promptly and faithfully the affairs now before you. It is to fulfill the claims of today. Recently, my heart has been so troubled and my nights so restless, because I know that God is calling men and women to active duty in His service and yet, there are such a small number who respond to His call. There is a call going out that says, “God Needs You.” It is so sad to know that so many people disregard this call. Duty performed gives clearness and firmness to faith and faith thus strengthened through duty becomes the more assured and satisfying to the soul. In the duty of being a faithful servant for the Lord, I want you to remember this; the reward of one duty done is the power to fulfill another. In the church, where I serve as Pastor, some of our Sunday School teachers are teaching from the Book of Nehemiah and Nehemiah is one of the great books of the Old Testament because its focus is on the duty of God’s people to work together and to build for the cause of God. You will find in Nehemiah 4:21, “So we labored in the work and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until nighttime.” Half of them stood guard while the other half worked. How I so wish that in today’s church, we could find half the congregation standing guard, by praying, while the other half of the congregation carries on the work of the Lord. In the work of the Lord, someone needs to stand guard against the evils of Satan to protect those who are doing what needs to be done. The duty of man is plain and simple, and consists of two points; his duty to God which, every man must feel; and his duty to his neighbor to do as he would be done by. No man’s spirits were every hurt by doing his duty. On the contrary, one good action, one temptation resisted and overcome, one sacrifice of desire or interest purely for our conscience’s sake, will prove a stimulant to the heart that is weak and for spirits that are low, far beyond what other things can do for them. When the soul resolves to perform every duty, immediately it is conscience of the presence of God. There is so much work and duties to be performed for the Lord on a daily basis . Some folks think there is only one day in the week where they have to do a duty for the Lord and that day is Sunday. Let me remind you on this Tuesday, it is our duty to work for the Lord seven days of the week. What if the Lord said to you and me, “I am only going to fulfill my duty of hearing your prayer needs only on Sunday.” That would be awful for those prayers that we need for Him to hear in the middle of the week. We must be faithful in our duties, so that we too can sing like David in Psalm 61:8, “So will I sing praise unto thy name forever, that I may perform my vows (duties).” One of the greatest fears for any Christian should be the fear of not knowing all of their duty, or shall fail to do it for the Lord. What all Christians should do is to aim for perfection as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” The best things are nearest; light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s common duties as they come, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest of life. As I reflect upon my own life as a Christian, I can recall so many duties that I have neglected to do for the cause of Christ. If only I had spent more time doing the will of God for my own personal life, I would have had less time disputing about His plans for my life. I came to realize just recently that God always has an angel of help for me when I am willing to do His duty. Regardless of the duty set before me, I have His promise, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Daily, you and I have to perform the duty of collecting our daily manna from God. Look with me to the Book of Exodus 16:4, “Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” It is our duty to daily collect our manna (blessings) from the Lord. On this Tuesday, I want to encourage each of you to consider that you must realize that you need to let others laugh, if they will, when you sacrifice desire to duty. You will have time and eternity to rejoice in it. If you are found faithful to the duties of the present, God will provide for your future. I want to encourage you to not look for that which dimly lies ahead in the distance, but to do for God what lies clearly at hand. Today, just listen to Him. He may be calling you to duty today from a life of wasted years. Pastor Don

Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 12:20:46 +0000

From our Pastor: Tuesdays Words of Encouragement Today, I - TopicsExpress

Trending Topics

Recently Viewed Topics