BCU Q&A: Effective ministering in tough situations.

Hey 👋🏾 there BCU Family!

As usual, you have the option of listening to our podcast (click the BCU avatar below to listen), reading the notes or BOTH. In any case, we pray the post blesses you. If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

So BCU Fam, a wonderful listener sent in a question this week, that I was led to post about this week. Here it is:

Q. “How to you minister to someone who has been Holy Ghost filled, yet they don’t feel free after walking in the Lord a while?”

How do you help them, when the scripture, if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36), does not help them or somehow they find it hard to rest on that scripture?

  • Do we put them down and call them faithless?
  • Do we tell them they don’t believe God [take Him at] His word?
  • Do we make them feel less than?
  • Do we avoid them all together and say “I’ll leave them to God!”
  • All these things [knowing they need to do what God says], the person may be well aware of.. so, how do they really get help?
  • Or is there any help for them?

Wow, I thank God for the individual who sent this question in! First, let’s deal with the person who is ministering.

In any situation Holy-Ghost filled believers encounter with believer or non-believers, we should be walking in the Spirit versus walking in the flesh (Galatians 5:25). As we walk the way Christ is directing, we’ll remember that all we come in contact with is our neighbor (see Luke 10:27-37),  and we are to love them as ourselves (Galatians 5:14).

That said, in this case, love may come in a loving rebuke/correction as God directs us,  but operating in the love God gives will never set out to intentionally make someone feel badly,  ignore them or self-righteously say, “God will deal with them!” Those attitudes and treatments are rooted in pride.

Pride tells us to manipulate people by name-calling, avoiding, side-eyeing or half-hugs thereby “punishing” the individual who isn’t behaving how we would like. What that does is discourage the individual, besmirch your Christian witness and sets you up for chastening for mishandling someone made in God’s own image (see Genesis 1:27 and James 3:9).  Let’s be prayerful and ask God to help us to react the HE wants us to, versus spouting off cutting remarks and behaving unscripturally.

Next, let’s understand the individual we’re ministering to more and look at the Scripture referenced by the listener in a bit more context. In John 8, Jesus was talking with the Jewish people, of whom some believed, but many did not–and they were questioning Him. Take a look at the conversation.

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin.
35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abides ever.
36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

We see here that Jesus came to set the servants of sin (all of us) free from sin. So as we look at the question posed, it sounds like this Holy Ghost filled person may not be continuing in the Word of God (verse 31) and choosing truth (verse 32). Rather this individual is choosing to be in bondage and enslaved to sin (verses 33 and 34), and voiding abiding in the Son and the freedom Jesus provides.  ‘

Did you notice the emphasis on the word “choosing?” Does it sound harsh? Or maybe you’re thinking, “He can’t help it” or “But, she’s been through so much already”. I agree, he can’t help it. She sure has been through some serious tests. That’s why we need Jesus down on the inside (the Holy Ghost) to help us help it, and to comfort and  guide us as we go through.  This, along with good biblical teaching, study, prayer, fasting and Christian fellowship, helps us we to hear and recognize the voice of the Lord and continue in (hearing and doing) His Word.

Please note, having the Holy Ghost does not automatically stop us from sinning, we will always have free-will to make whatever choices we desire. God wants us to love Him more than the sin, so we should choose to obey Him. In this case, either the person is willfully and actively choosing to walk in bondage to sin, or passively allowing the sin to take over and yielding to it. Either way, it’s a fleshly choice contrary to the will of God and there is a consequence (verse 35a). Now that we understand that better, let’s look into ministering effectively.

Really, we can loop back to the first paragraph where we should be prayerful, listen and respond with exactly God is telling us to say at the time (walking the the Spirit and on kairos mode). This is done without expressing your opinion, being puffed up, or being guided by your emotions. If the person doesn’t respond immediately to what was said, or turns back to the bondage, we still want to LOVE them. Love doesn’t mean you agree, condone or support what the person is doing/ not doing, yet love continues to treat the individual with long-suffering and kindness (I Corinthians 13), as we pray until the Lord works on the heart of the person in His way and on His timing.

Bottom line: God’s love and mercy was and is still continuously extended to us in so many areas, as His disciples, we are admonished to show that love and mercy to others, along with correction, as prescribed by God. This way, God is glorified, the person is edified, the enemy is horrified and you, BCU Family member, gratified to continue in the Word of God as a good and faithful disciple and servant of our King. Amen?! Amen!

Let’s talk: What’s your reaction to our reader’s question? What advice would you give? Please drop us a line in the comments section below and we’ll continue the conversation!

As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and now YouTube! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and Apple podcasts!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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How much does disobedience cost?

Hey 👋🏾 there BCU Family!

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. For this post, because of the conversational story, please tune into the podcast recording and refer to the written post for the highlights and corresponding Scriptures. We pray the post blesses and encourages you.  If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast outline:

So, in having a conversation with Professor Peanut (aged 7 1/2), we discussed the price of continued and deliberate disobedience and that play now, pay later is not the wisest of decisions. Here are the high points of what you’ll hear.

  • The importance of listening and following directions.
  • Thinking through the consequences of disobedience.
  • The need to be filled with the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:38).
  • ALL decisions carry a consequence—good or bad.
  • My own story where I rebelled as a youngster–and the HUGE price I paid.

Here is the podcast link!

Scripture references:

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. (Romans 6:1).

Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does not do it, to him, it is sin (James 4:17).

For he that sows to his flesh shall reap corruption, but he that sows to the Spirit shall reap life everlasting (Galatians 6:8). 

There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same [steward] was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he [the rich man] called and said unto him, how is that I hear this of you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you may no longer steward (Luke 16:1-2).

And the foolish said to the wise, give us of your oil for our lamps have gone out. But the wise answered and said, not so, lest there be not enough for us and you. but rather, go to those that sell and but for yourselves. Ans while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut.  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying Lord, Lord open to us. But He answered and said, verily I say unto you, I know you not (Matthew 25:8-12).

His lord said unto him, well done, thou good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many. Enter into the joy of the Lord (Matthew 25:23). 

Whew! This was a sobering, but needful lesson, BCUFam! What are your thoughts about willful disobedience? Paying those consequences? Is it a struggle?  There’s a comment section here on the BCU site, just ripe for us to continue our conversation!

In the meantime, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter , Instagram, and  YouTube! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and iTunes!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

*Join us on Periscope every Thursday night at 8:05pmEST on channel BlenCouragesU.

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The cost of emotional decision-making

Hey 👋🏾 there BCU Family!

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. This week you have a bit of both! Please tune into the podcast recording and refer to the written post for the highlights wrap-up and corresponding Scriptures. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

So in our *Periscope class, we’ve been talking about procrastination and how that cheats us out of out chronos and karios moments. This brief podcast is on the opposite–making hasty, emotional decisions and the consequences to that. A young man by the name of Jephthah had to walk out his vow. Read the entire chapter of Judges 11 to get the whole story, as you listen to the “podcast on the go” and the commentary afterward. As a point of reference, below are the action and consequence Scriptures from chapter 11.

30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord‘s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.

33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.

36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.

38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Hopefully you caught the last part of the podcast where Jephthah had to keep his word about his daughter. The Scriptures do not go into detail about how he kept his vow, but suffice it to say, the remembrance of his victory would always be bittersweet.

You may be thinking, well I don’t vow anything, especially to God, but in actuality we do. Anything we say we’ll do is not just in front of the individual, but God is also there listening and recording all we utter.

We casually say, “I’ll call you this week,” or ” I’ll get that to you”, “I’ll take care of it”, “I’ll be praying”. And yes, we say these things with a well-intentioned heart, yet we often forget or skip over our promises due to competing priorities. Even when we forget, God remembers–He takes us seriously and He expects us to keep our word. Consider Ecclesiastes 5:3-6.

3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

This is serious business BCU Family! In order to avoid hasty mouth, we really should acknowledge the Lord in all out ways, so He can direct our paths (Proverbs 3:6). As we slow down to listen to what God is telling us and (yield to Him) we can make promises that God can bless us to keep.

So if you’ve made rash, emotional decisions that you have not followed through on (I KNOW I have), let’s repent and ask God’s forgiveness as we walk out Proverbs 3:6 in all our decision-making. Are you as excited as I am about that? Amen!

 Question of the podcast:

What are your thoughts on making emotional decisions?  There’s a comment section here on the BCU site, just waiting for your thoughts so we can continue our conversation! Let’s talk!

In the meantime, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter , Instagram, and  YouTube! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and iTunes!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

*Join us on Periscope every Thursday night at 8:05pmEST on channel BlenCouragesU.

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Procrastination reason number 14: “Waiting for someone else do it”.

Hey 👋🏾 there BCU Family!

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. For this post, because of the conversational story, please tune into the podcast recording and refer to the written post for the highlights and corresponding Scriptures. We pray the post blesses and encourages you.  If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • This is based on a Stewardship study series we’re doing on *Periscope, specifically time management/procrastination (meaning to forward to tomorrow), and the reasons for doing so. One such reason for procrastination: waiting for someone else to do it. 
  • The Lord showed me how that very reason came up in an area of my life…I totally missed it!
  • We talk through that illustration and the detriments of waiting and delegating.
  • We are accountable to God for all assignments He delegates to us.

Here is the podcast link!

Scripture references:

Faith without works is dead (James 2:17).

Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does not do it, to him, it is sin (James 4:17).

And Gideon said unto God, if you will save Israel by mine hand, as You have said, behold I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth besides, then I shall know that You will save Israel by mine hand, as you have said (Judges 6:36-37–read through to verse 40).

There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same [steward] was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he [the rich man] called and said unto him, how is that I hear this of you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you may no longer steward (Luke 16:1-2).

And the foolish said to the wise, give us of your oil for our lamps have gone out. But the wise answered and said, not so, lest there be not enough for us and you. but rather, go to those that sell and but for yourselves. Ans while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut.  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying Lord, Lord open to us. But He answered and said, verily I say unto you, I know you not (Matthew 25:8-12).

Whew! This was a sobering, but needful lesson, BCUFam! With God’s grace, we want to be in God’s perfect chronos/kairos timing in ALL assigned tasks. And that may mean us having to take an assignment the Lord gives us–one that we would not have chosen for ourselves. That’s another podcast, but suffice it to say, I know ALL about that! Nonetheless, as stewards, our responsibility is to carry out the duties that our wise God has assigned us.

What are your thoughts about avoiding the things God tells you to do, BCUFam? There’s a comment section here on the BCU site, just ripe for us to continue our conversation!

In the meantime, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter , Instagram, and  YouTube! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and iTunes!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

*Join us on Periscope every Thursday night at 8:05pmEST on channel BlenCouragesU.

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