Can we compartmentalize convictions from callings?

On April 3, 2015April 3, 2015 By Daily DisciplesIn Daily Disciples MinistriesLeave a comment

Bobbye and I attended a new networking meeting hosted by Rebecca Garcia. She entitled the group “Christian Women Entrepreneur Network.” We were asked to open in prayer and dedicate the group to the Lord. The women who attended were very sweet and sincere in their efforts to improve their lives, including their businesses. I was impressed by CWEN’s agenda to include prayer and worship in a network gathering.

As the agenda for the day began to enfold, Rebecca called a panel to the front to answer questions of how to incorporate faith in the workplace. The panel did a fine job of answering the questions but I liked how Rebecca’s summarized the problem; she stated that there is a common misconception that one can separate faith from their occupations. That statement struck me funny and has left a nagging pull in my mind. As an evangelists and teacher of the Gospel, my calling determines my convictions even greater than my convictions determine my calling. I am called to evangelize so I became a nurse. Daily Disciples is on radio, television, and has the convictions to spread the Gospel through multimedia because of the Great commission. Obviously we are not all called to be evangelists, pastors and teachers. But can we as a Christian people actually separate our faith from our every day life?

Is it possible to compartmentalize our convictions from our callings (or occupations)? Regardless of our occupations to be engineers or contactors or window washers, Jesus Christ makes it clear that our faith is the foundation in which all other things spring. It is from the abundance of our heart that our mouths speak. How can we separate our hearts from what we speak and do?

Is it possible that we do not realize that this life is where eternal life begins? It is in this life on this earth that we come to Christ to enter into eternal life. Jesus said, “I have come to give you life and life abundantly.” (John 10:10) Eternal life starts here, not when we are dead. It is in this life that we develop a relationship with God the Father as we do His will on earth as it is in heaven. The Holy Spirit gives us gifts to do God’s work to bear fruit that has eternal ramifications. We cannot be responsible for others choices but we will be held accountable for our own. We will stand before God someone day alone and give an account of how we used our talents.

As a Christian, is it possible to separate your heart from your head? Yes, but we will have no peace until they align. As a Christian, is it possible to separate our convictions from our calling? No, because if we are truly Christians, our faith impacts the life we live as much as the air we breath. Satan is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). Whose air are we breathing? What kind of life are we living? How do we determine our convictions? Why are we working and for what purpose?

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:34

Happy Easter! He has RISEN indeed…

Printed in the San Diego Christian Examiner Newspaper for December 2010

On December 31, 2010December 31, 2010 By Daily DisciplesIn Announcements, Daily Disciples Ministries, Devotional2 Comments

Is it only me or have you found that the more we look around, the more we see that people are struggling? My husband has frequently said that if you are not depressed, you are not paying attention. How- ever, with the holiday season here, we do not want our Christmas cards to be the only place where love, peace and joy can be found. So, how can we possess those three little words at Christmas time when we cannot maintain those characteristics in everyday life?
I really believe that our anger, anxiety and depression are not only a result of our outward circumstances, but also a result of having a lack of margin in our lives. If we define boundaries as how closely we allow people or things to approach us, then margins are those imaginary lines of how far we are willing to ex- tend ourselves. If someone crosses
our personal space or boundaries, we be- come uncomfortable (and in extreme cases, violated).
In contrast, we determine the parameters of our margins. When there is no mar- gin, we have limited ability to cope with broken cars, crying kids or sick pets. In- stead of scheduling in for quality control, we find our- selves crying out for more time, better organizational skills and greater support. But what if we miraculously had the ability to schedule spare time, how would we fill it?
There is a saying, “If the devil can’t make you bad, he will make you busy.” For some, this statement is true. We can become so busy that
we do not make time or even have time to give God a thought. We rationalize, justify and make excuses that we are too busy to make the Lord a priority. Busyness looks like productivity and it makes us feel needed. However, busyness is only blessed if we are about the Lord’s business. His business is defined in each of our lives differently, but our perspectives should be the same.

His perspective
By maintaining His perspective, it is not about the crises but how the Christ can move through each circumstance to give meaning and purpose. Learning to talk to Him instead of yourself changes your perspective. When I find myself maxed out, I pray. When I find myself too tired to think, I pray. When I find myself too full from dinner to move, I pray. Prayer gives me the cushion I need to get a Sovereign viewpoint and to ask Him to move in everything and to move me to serve Him anywhere.
I am co-founder of Daily Disciples Ministries and a media company called Media 4 Women. Both keep me busy, and people ask me frequently, “How do you do it all?” I cannot say that I have always liked or even enjoyed being busy outside of the home. But I was challenged to move out of my comfort zone and not only increase my borders, but to expand my margins when hearing Charles Spurgeon’s comment on Romans 13:10, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” He said, “No man can compass the ends of life by drawing a little line around himself upon the ground. No man can fulfill his calling as a Christian by seeking the welfare of his wife and family only, for these are only a sort of greater self.”

Outside of self
I have spent many days being busy only with shopping, laundry, vacation planning and house deco- rating. In that season of life, I spent my energy in the things that were a continued extension of my greater self. I realized that being busy with family things only kept me loving and serving the things I already love. I do not need to be spirit led or dependent upon the Lord to love those who love me back. However, adding a responsibility that helps to serve those outside my heart’s desire has allowed me to grow and love in a completely different way.
God is sovereign. He can do what He wants and He can bless whom He wants. Allowing the Lord to have free reign in my overly scheduled day gives me a peace and joy that blesses others in addition to me. It really did come by reprioritizing the busyness. “Busyness in His Business.” We can remain busy, but are we really about His business or our own?
This Christmas season, let’s not marginalize Christ, but let Him expand our margins. He alone brought peace on earth through His presence and that same presence can reign in our hearts today. There is no greater present than the presence of the One who brought the gifts of love, peace and joy not only at Christmas, but also for our everyday lives.

New Years are good because they promote new thoughts, new goals and new prayers!
New years help us to redefine how we spend out time if we take the time to make ourselves the priority. Take time for yourself this week.

Happy New Year!

Busyness in His Business

On August 19, 2010December 14, 2010 By Daily DisciplesIn Bible Studies, Daily Disciples Ministries, Devotional, Family, Newsletters, RelationshipsLeave a comment

The more I look around, the more I discover that people are struggling. When there is no margin in our lives, we have no ability to cope with broken cars, crying kids or sick pets. We are crying for more time, better organizational skills and support but if we miraculously had the ability to schedule spare time, how would we fill it?

I really believe that people like to be busy. Busyness looks like productivity and it makes us feel needed. But I also believe when we get to the point of accepting God as sovereign, we make time for Him to move in everything and to move us to serve Him anywhere. Keeping Him in perspective gives us the perspective to be absolutely productive and useful in our margin-less lives. It is not about the crises anymore but about how the Lord can move through them to give each thing purpose.

Personally, I do not want extra time on my hands. When I find myself maxed out, I pray. When I find myself too tired to think, I pray. When I find myself too full from dinner to move, I pray. Prayer gives me the cushion I need to get a Sovereign perspective. When I need encouragement, I purposely schedule in Bible reading. Only the Word of God gives me the encouragement to keep going. (Romans 15:4)

The rationalizations, justifications and excuses keep us from growing, developing and making a difference. I want a blessed life. No, I want an abundantly blessed life. But I want that blessed life to be defined by the Lord. Basically I want more of the Lord in every aspect of life, regardless of how He wants to use me and for whom.

Our Media Company is growing like crazy and I have people ask me all the time, how do you do it all? If I was not doing all of this, I would certainly be busy with something else but I have learned that I want to be where the Lord is blessing…He is choosing to bless this. I have spent prior days being busy doing shopping, laundry, vacation planning and house decorating. I noticed in that season of life, I spent my energy in the things that were a continued extension of me. I love my family so to be busy with their things kept me loving and serving the things I already love. I do not need to be spirit led or depend on the Lord to love those who love me back. (And, realistically, I always make time to do these things because they naturally have my heart). However, adding a responsibility that helps to serve those outside my heart’s desire has allowed me to grow and love in a completely different way.

God is sovereign. He can do what He wants and He can bless whom He wants. Regardless of what others think I need to be doing or who they want me to be, I choose to follow the Lord. Allowing the Lord to have free reign in my overly scheduled day has given me a peace and a joy that has truly bless me. It really did come by reprioritizing the busyness. “Busyness in His Business.” We can remain busy but are we really about His business or our own?

The Power of Friendship

On January 1, 2010January 4, 2010 By Daily DisciplesIn Announcements, Annual Women's Conference, Daily Disciples MinistriesLeave a comment

Reading in Zechariah 13, I realized what God was saying. There were many people who called themselves prophets (or people called by God to preach His words) but they were not. God says in Zechariah 13:4-5 that on a certain day, every prophet will be ashamed of his vision and will become aware of how they are deceiving. God desired for these people to do what He had intended for them to do instead of doing what they wanted to do (the work of the ministry). It would have been better for these people to be farmers and in business than to preach when God had not put words in their mouths. The work of God/ministry was doing what God had asked them to specifically do.

The same problem exists today. There are many people quoting the wrong things and preaching their own words from a platform that God did not grant to them. As a result, there is no power to change themselves or those who attend to listen. Many churches today are powerless because people have used the name of God and preached the words of God without the leading of His Spirit or the filling of His power.

For me, personally, I never wanted a preaching/teaching platform. Bobbye says it best, “We did not wake up one day and say, ‘Let’s go into ministry.’ This was never our plan or intention.” This ministry has been a work of God and He gets the glory for the words as well as the changed lives. Out of all the prophets, I relate to Jeremiah and Jonah the most. Jeremiah because I have tried my hardest to not do this but my heart burns within if I do not. And Jonah because I am continually purposefully trying to go the other way even though I know better. I know that I am not alone in these feelings. Many people we counsel tell us their struggles too. But what God is saying in Zechariah could be summarized as regardless of what you do, make sure it is what God has asked you to do. If you are claiming to be a Bible teacher, pastor, prophet but were appointed by men (including yourself) then you will be judged stricter by God as stated in James 2 as well as quoted by God’s prophets. (We are starting an online Bible Study on the Book of James called Walking Out Our Faith. If interested in attending from your own computer, let us know at info@dailydisciples.org. We start this Tuesday, January 5)

I might be sensitive to hear the Lord speaking but it has not always been the motivation of the Lord that has kept me going. I really believe that God gave me a physical tangible person who has challenged me as well as encouraged to me to continue. I am thankful for the power of friendship that has changed my life and kept me doing the work of the Lord. I do not blame people who quit because the work becomes too hard. You will not ever find me judging someone for quitting but I would recommend that they find a friend or an accountability partner to talk things out and get perspective before making any big changes. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.”

Just because God has asked you to do something, does not mean that it is easy. Just because others tell you to do something, does not mean it is of God. Life can be confusing and tough. The power of friendship can cut through the random factors to keep you focused, doing the work of God. You do not have to go at it alone; God is totally into fellowship, counsel, unity and empowers us through friendship.

**if you are a woman who is lonely, depressed and feel isolated, please join us at the Power of Friendship Conference on Saturday, January 30. Bring a friend and make a friend. You will be encouraged and you know that you are not alone. Depression will lift and love will fill your heart.