Encouragement Tuesday
Hello Riverside!! Loren and Lucas are here to give you some encouragement!! I hope you all are well and staying faithful to what God’s word says. I understand that right now it is maybe difficult for us. Some of us are still trying, or have been refusing, to adapt to this new lifestyle. Maybe during this time we have distanced ourself more from our church family and even distanced ourselves from our relationship with God. Some of us have prioritized laziness and use quarantine as an excuse to slack on our growth mentally and even spiritually. Sometimes we want to lay around in our PJs all day, watch movies, play games, or use excessive time in our hobbies and try to catch up on lost time from these things. I want to ask you, How have you been using this time of quarantine? Are we really preparing for what lies ahead? Are we preparing for a new season that we are about to enter? Do you not see it? This time will pass. Are you ready?
Scripture:
“"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV
I don’t know about you, but during this time I have been thinking about what to do when we are allowed to gather again. I think about what ministries I was involved, what I did to serve, and I start to think about what can we do to make our church grow.
What did we do in the past that was successful? But then we try to copy those same things from our past and try to apply it to our present or future.
Maybe if we do this again we can skip this process, we won’t have to try as hard, or we can get head-start in growing faster. So many of us think God will work the same way He did in the past that we won’t have to adapt to what is happening now. We need to understand and remember that Jesus did not heal the same way every time. During this time, I believe God has been trying to show us new ways to communicate with each other and spread the gospel. But we have refused to use the tools around us. Some of us are still refusing this new lifestyle and we don’t want to accept anything that is new. Kinda sounds like the Pharisees refusing the teachings of Jesus. They did not like this new way of forgiveness because it was foreign and out of traditions. And that same mindset killed Jesus.
**cell phone and land line example**
Would you agree that I can make a phone call with both of these phones? It severs it’s purpose to communicate. That is a phones purpose. This landline phone can only do so much. It can’t get too far from your house. But this cellphone has a portable charger, has the internet, and so many useful apps.
How are we communicating the gospel? How are we communicating to God? How are we communicating with one another? Communications is key!! We live in a new age and generation. I’m not saying we change the way we believe or the purpose God has us here for. I’m saying we need to
learn, study, and adapted to reach a corrupt and dying world. We need to get ready for something new. And I’m not saying it is all material things, new events, or new preaching, but what I’m saying is maybe we need a new heart and mindset for ministry.
Scripture:
“"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV
To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did. When God takes something from your grasp. He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better, something new.
The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you. I challenge you to be ready and prepared for a new season. Do you not see it? God is about to do something new. Are you ready?
RYSE UP!!