Go to the Door

Go To The Door

John 10:1-5 

10 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

The last two weeks, we've seen some horrific acts of terrorism in our country.  From the mail bombs to the shootings at a local grocery store in Kentucky to the horrific shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue to the shooting just this past Saturday at a yoga study.  All of these in less than 14 days of one another is the recipe for making us numb to hurt or frozen with fear.  And that inaction is the whole point of terrorism...immobilize the survivors and witnesses so they do nothing.

One of the stories that stuck with me this week was from the deacon in charge of security near the Kentucky shootings.  The assailant had tried unsuccessfully to get into his church before moving to the grocery store and killing people there.  The deacon shared that had he not been away from the desk at the time the shooter was knocking and trying the doors, that he would have been the one to go to the door.  He would have been the one who would have let this person into their church.  When someone knocks, he goes to the door.

It is no accident that terror has a way of freezing people.  When we're scared, we rightly go into a mode of self preservation and self protection.  Scared people don't love their neighbor.  Scared people don't reach out.  Scared people don't care for strangers.  Who's going to go to the door when you're terrified?

But as born again believers, isn't that our calling?

Matthew 25:31-40 

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Of course our adversary wants us fearful.  He wants us afraid of the stranger.  He wants us to be goats and not sheep.

So what do we do?  We go to the Door.

Jesus said "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." (John 10:9)

We go to the Door.  We go where the Shepherd not only calls us, but calls us by name.  We go where there is pasture prepared inside and out.  We go where we are lead, cared for and assured that as we do the Father's work, He protects, provides and gives direction, comfort and aid.  

We simply cannot as believers afford to be consumed by fear.  2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.  We go to the Door and we move at His voice and in His direction as He moved...giving love without fear, even though it may cost us everything.

1 John 4:7-21

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Loving isn't easy, but it is the better way.  Loving our brother doesn't always mean we'll receive love in return.  But the Father SO LOVED us even when our brother doesn't, so we can give love. 

We move in wisdom with love.  We move in confidence with love.  But we cannot let fear keep us from moving.

Go to the Door.  Ask.  Seek.  Knock.  Love.

Peace.

And please, if you haven't already, vote.

Lifeline is produced from the Evangelistic Ministry of Fellowship Church - 455 Ga Highway 138 W. in Jonesboro, GA. You are encouraged to come out. Min. Robinson posts entries on Twitter. To subscribe to the mailing, or for questions and comments, tweet (@evangeliststeff) or send an email to fellowship_lifeline@yahoo.com. You can find previous messages on the Lifeline Blog (www.lifelineatfellowship. blogspot.com). 

In My Father's House

Luke 15:18a

18 I will arise and go to my father...

In My Father's House

Earlier this weekend, while watching the McCain funeral service, one of the priests said "John was welcomed home" and my mind went immediately to the seen described in the Prodigal Son story.  Most people even tangentially associated with church know the story.  It's usually used to frame a personal testimony about having grown up in church, went out and did things and then coming back to the church.

But what if Jesus also meant this as a parable for our arrival in Heaven?  God, ever watchful for our return, having withheld nothing from us as we journeyed through the world for our whole lives, waiting our full return to Him with expectation and confidence that we would 'come to ourselves' and return home. Not return to a church building.  Not return to a way to behave.  Not return to a conviction to stop this or that.  But, to fully return to HIM.  Return to His deity.  Return to His sovereignty.  Return freely and fully to His fatherhood.

As the priest spoke those words in the midst of that solemn occasion, I saw the joy of a child returning home, welcomed with new clothes as a sign of provision, with a ring as a sign of belonging and identity, and a generous feast showing abundance and full acceptance.  All that was the son's before he left fully restored in the instant he came home by a loving Father waiting for the opportunity to show love.

Yes, I think that's how it will be 'in the sweet by and by.'  Those who suffer through illness and loss will breathe in strength and warmth in Heaven.  Those who have accepted the redemption of Christ will smell the feast, feel the robe and cherish the signet on their hand.

And yet, for all of that vision of passing over, there's nothing that cannot be received right now.  What the young man received was his, just as what God has for us now, on this side of Heaven, is ours.  Like the young man in the story, we can squander what we've been given, or we can receive it, and turn it back over to our Father for His guidance and counsel right now.

Ok. Fine.  Then what about the son left behind?  Are you saying that's Jesus being salty?  No...Jesus is part of the Godhead, part of the Father, along with the Holy Spirit.  The other son is the rest of us. And that is the affirmation to me that this is both a picture of Heaven and of the Kingdom of God right now.

Those of us who have accepted Christ can often lose sight of our own 'prodigal' story.  We can judge those who are just coming back to the Father by where we are at that moment, forgetting that at some point and time, we were also covered in slop.  We've been cleaned up so long, we've lost perspective what it was like to need restoration and the process we need to go through to understand the gift of the Father's love.

Wherever we are, a loving Father awaits.  He is expecting each of us to 'come to ourselves' and return to Him, even if it takes every day that we're here on earth to get there.  The robe is ready.  The ring is set aside, polished and waiting.  The provisions for the feast are assembled.  Everything is in place, waiting for the guest of honor.

Won't you come?

Lifeline is produced from the Evangelistic Ministry of Fellowship Church in Jonesboro, GA. 

Previous messages are on the Lifeline Blog (www.lifelineatfellowship.blogspot.com) .  

Evangelist Robinson also posts her entries on Twitter. To subscribe to the mailing, or for questions and comments, Tweet (@evangeliststeff) or send an email to fellowship_lifeline@yahoo.com.

Getting Beyond the Noise

I didn't want to write anything immediately after the shooting in Las Vegas.  I knew my feelings would be too strong and my focus would be too political.  I wouldn't be able to hear the Holy Spirit over the screaming in my own head or the echoing sobs I felt inside.  It's hard to seek guidance when you hurt.

And isn't that the point?

There are so many things in our lives competing for our attention.  There are very real, visceral things and there are the things that honestly are just noise...distracting noise.

These last few weeks it seems the volume on the real and the annoying has been turned up to 11.  From storms to shootings to floods...and those are just the things that made the news.  Add in the stuff of everyday life, babies, weddings, funerals, illnesses, school, children, jobs, and its no wonder so many people are subject to stress related diseases.

But that cacophony of noise was never intended to be the realm of the believer.  It is however a most effective form of combat to our spiritual walk.  If we're too consumed with the stuff of life, how can we worship?  How can we pray and hear?  How can we trust a God we cannot reach?

Simple words and phrases aren't enough to soothe a broken spirit.  I cannot imagine the pain so many people must be feeling in Houston, in Florida, in Puerto Rico, in Montana following fires, in so many places following the Vegas shooting.  I surely wouldn't try to offer just words when facing such great losses.  But, fulfillment?  That's another story.

Today, dear brothers and sisters, turn off the tv.  Turn off the radio.  Put down the phone. They will all be there when you get back.  Take some time to focus in on God.  Give Him the space in our lives that He not only deserves but desires.  Parents, that 'thrill' we feel when our teens want to spend time with us?  Yeah, God likes that too.

If you are feeling empty and lost especially after some crushing event, whether or not it made the evening news, God cares.  Your catastrophe may be entirely personal or affect a whole neighborhood.  God cares.  Won't you let Him show you the care?

Slip away.  Get quiet.  Focus on Him.  Let the healing in.

Psalm 91

91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

You Gotta Break it Open

Luke 7:37-38King James Version (KJV)

37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,

38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Every cliche is out there...can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs...can't fix a system without breaking some rules...we even call those moments in our lives when we exceed our expectations as BREAKTHROUGHS.  Breaking isn't always a bad thing.  Breaking can lead to good things.  And when it comes to praising God, you gotta break it open.

The story above is a familiar one to most believers.  A woman of questionable reputation, at least of questionable reputation to the men who were condemning her, came into a dinner and proceeded to anoint the feet of Jesus with perfume from a pricey, alabaster box.  She was so overwhelmed with her adoration of Him, that she mixed her tears into the perfume and wiped the excess with her hair.

Part of the story that gets over looked is the preparation and care...there was the perfume, encased in an expensive container.  It had to be purchased so the money had to be earned.  This wasn't an object that everyone just had sitting around.  It was acquired with intent.  Maybe she didn't know at the time, but it was still demonstration of an act of purpose.

Then, there was finding a time and a space to do this act.  She had to be near Jesus and He had to be in a posture to receive the gesture.  She had to follow Him to know when the time was right.  She couldn't have done it while He was walking.  She couldn't have done it while He was preaching or healing.  She had to wait for the right time for Him to receive it.  She had to give this gift when it was right for Him even though it wasn't ideal for her.  She had to sacrifice her comfort for His honor.

And then, there was getting at the praise.  She could have just presented the box, but instead, she broke it open and poured out the blessing on Him.  She bathed His feet in the sweet smelling perfume and overwhelmed, added her own tears to the effort.

Praising God 'in spirit and in truth' takes preparation, attention, sacrifice and brokenness. We have to be in a state of God consciousness where we prepare ourselves for His presence.  God doesn't want to be an afterthought in our lives.  He also doesn't want to be limited to the safety net in our lives.  He wants us to walk as living epistles and living sacrifices.  We have to get up every day and choose Him. Like the virgins and the oil lamps, we have to stay ready so that when the opportunity is right with Him, we are able and available.

Part of staying ready is serving when it works for Him.  We shouldn't try to limit our time with God to when it's convenient for us.  That's not how sovereignty works.  The Sovereign chooses, not the servant.  So, yeah, that need to praise may be at exactly the one time we don't want to do it.  But, do we serve or are we served?

And we've got to break it open.  If we've walked with believers for any period of time, we've heard the phrase 'like fire shut up in my bones'.  Well, the only benefit from fire is when we let it out to do something.  Want light?  We have to uncover the fire.  Want heat?  We have to uncover the fire.  Even if we want it to power something, the fire has to be stoked and open to the air to do work and we've got to let it heat up something for the work to begin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, break open the box.  Stop withholding praise from God who deserves it.  Make room in your lives for Him.  Go ahead and give in to loving Him.  He's worthy of it and He's faithful.  Love expressed toward God is not love lost.  It becomes love multiplied.

Why do we hold back?  Pride?  People will talk anyway.  Greed?  The box was never intended for us...do we really want to steal from God?  Ungrateful?  If you're reading this, that's probably not true.  Fear?  It's probably a concentrated form of pride.

Break open the box.  Go ahead and cry.  Go ahead and bathe Him in your love.  Nothing has been withheld by God for you.  He gave His Son for each and everyone of us.  It is safe to break open and praise God.

Break open the box.  Go ahead and praise Him openly, sloppily, unrestrained. That 'thing' that has been a hindrance, that thing that has stopped your growth, it may well be on the other side of that wall that hinders your praise.

Break through.  Break open the box.

Lifeline is produced from the Evangelistic Ministry of 

Fellowship Church - 455 Ga Highway 138 W. in Jonesboro, GA. 

You are encouraged to come out.

Min. Robinson posts entries on Facebook and Twitter. To subscribe to the mailing, or for questions and comments, tweet (@evangeliststeff) or send an email to fellowship_lifeline@yahoo.com.You can find previous messages on the Lifeline Blog (www.lifelineatfellowship.blogspot.com). 

See The Need

Hello.  Remember me? No?  Well.  I’m back.

There’s a lot of talk right now about strangers and ministers. So, who is a stranger?  Who is a minister? What should I do? Jesus answered these questions Himself.  He did not use a parable.  His meaning wasn’t veiled for the disciples only. Jesus said

Matthew 25:31-46

³¹ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

³² And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

³³ And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

³⁵ For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

⁴⁰ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

⁴¹ Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

⁴² For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

⁴³ I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

⁴⁴ Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

⁴⁵ Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

⁴⁶ And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

His message is pretty clear.  He said it more simply to Peter when He said ‘if you love me, feed my sheep.’

As Believers, we don’t have the luxury of discrimination.  God gave His Son for the whole world, while we were yet sinners as the saying goes.  He didn’t send His Son for those who already loved Him.  He sent His Son that the whole world; past, present and future generations might return to Him. And He said He would do the sorting, not us.

So, whom do we serve?  We serve God.  How do we serve Him?  When we ‘do it to the least of these'.  Who is supposed to do the work?  Isn’t that work for a minister?  Yes.  To minister is to serve.  If you serve God, you’re a minister and this is work we must do.

As we move forward in our belief, we have to come to a point where we accept Jesus as Lord as well as Savior.  He has to be more than a rescue plan; He has to be sovereign in this life as well as the next.  We have to start learning that picking up our cross means denying what we want to do.  We literally must put down our prejudices, our plans, our life and submit ourselves as a living sacrifice to God.

The sacrifice doesn’t get to choose how it’s used.  It just makes itself available.

We know the strangers.  If we’ve confessed Christ, and see a need, we are obliged to act.  If you see then need, then you were the minister sent to that situation.  That’s why you’re seeing it.

Romans 12:1

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

If you're looking for a church home in Atlanta metro area, please consider visiting us.

Fellowship Church 

455 GA Hwy 138 W Jonesboro, GA 30238

Disciples Class - Tuesdays at 7:00 PM

Sunday School - Sundays at 10:00 AM

Morning Worship - Sundays at 11:30 AM

Standing On the Promises

2 Corinthians 1:20King James Version (KJV)

20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

Standing on the Promises

Anyone who grew up in church probably recognizes that refrain...'standing on the promises of Christ my King'....even without knowing all the words, the tune is likely playing in your head now.

As children, we hear these songs and they are just that...songs.  Music we hear at church.  But, as time often does, given enough time, these are no longer songs.  They become reminders to our spirit of the character of God...of the truth of who God is.

Standing on the promises becomes less a refrain and more a way of life.  No, a way to life. God is faithful in His promises.  He speaks clearly and directly and there is no changing or shadow of turning in His character.  He speaks and 'it', whatever 'it' is...is.  It is as He speaks it.  

So it is with the love God has professed for each and every one of us.  'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son' (Jhn 3:16).  Love not only spoken, but demonstrated...paid for even with blood. 

Stand on the promises.  Stand on the ones spoken silently in your heart.  Stand on the ones pronounced to a group that pertain directly to you.  His yea is yea and His nay is nay.  There is no 'second guessing' with God.  His love, His justice, everything about Him is pure and worthy of trust.

Stand on the promises.

John 3:14-21King James Version (KJV)

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Lifeline is produced from the Evangelistic Ministry of Fellowship Church in Jonesboro, GA. You are encouraged to share this message. The Fellowship Church website (www.youarechosen.net) includes a link to the Lifeline Blog (www.lifelineatfellowship.blogspot.com) where you can find previous messages.  

Evangelist Robinson also posts her entries on Facebook and Twitter. To subscribe to the mailing, or for questions and comments, tweet (@evangeliststeff) or send an email to fellowship_lifeline@yahoo.com. Fellowship Church can be reached at chosen.gen@att.net.