September Newsletter

Hey beautiful people:

I have a desire to be faithful and finish the assignment that God has given to me. Unfortunately, in scripture, very few finish well. The Bible is littered with people who had good intentions but ended up faltering in the end, and this has led me to wonder why. What kept so many from finishing well? Are there certain patterns of lifestyle evident among those who stayed faithful? If so what are they? Scripture tells us that the way to life is narrow and hard, and few are they who find it. What clues does God give us about finding (and more importantly, staying on) that narrow way?

While I was thinking and praying about this I was led to consider a butterfly. When a butterfly breaks out of its cocoon it cannot fly immediately. It has to inflate its wings with blood which takes time. If it doesn't do this it will be devoured by predators because it is very vulnerable in this stage. For the butterfly, skipping this step is death. This ministered to me greatly for a few reasons.

Last month I expressed that God had directed me to increase my level of intercession for Vanguard and all of its partners, as well as my level of consecration. After seeking God as to what this meant I found that this would entail a deeper level of commitment to God than I have ever experienced. But as always, I have the choice in it. I can choose not to and begin to coast. Or I can choose to follow Him and begin the fight with my flesh because it would rather relax instead of increase prayer time. But if I don't develop the discipline needed to obey God's direction in this I will, by default, disqualify Vanguard for its next season of ministry and promotion. The reason is (as with the butterfly) the strength I need for the next season is hidden in the process. God had to kill off an entire generation of Israelites in the desert because they had no heart for war (Exodus 13:17, Numbers 13:31). He didn't do this because He didn't want them to enter into the Promised Land, but because they had not developed the tools necessary to possess the land. And therein is a key about why many ministries, churches, and individuals fail to walk in the fullness of what God has called them to.

This year's consecration won't win next year's fight. The thing with God is He is always calling us to greater things which require more faith and deeper commitment. The day that His requests are more than you're willing to give is the day you limit His ability to work in your life. It's different for each one of us. For some He may be asking us to get up an hour earlier each day to spend in prayer and devotions. For others it may be beginning to do devotions period. For still others, it may mean volunteering once a week in a ministry not your own. For some it may mean increasing your giving to your church or another ministry. Whatever it is it will always require more of us than was required before. But the payout is always greater than before as well. For the butterfly, even though it is time consuming to fill its wings (and maybe not desirable), in the end flying is much more glorious than crawling no matter what the price. The question becomes: what are we willing to do to stay faithful, because to resist God's leading is to begin down the path (many have unknowingly chosen) that ends in not finishing the race well. The battle is won in the preparation.

If I can sit still long enough to learn form God that Vanguard's promotion and faithfulness is tied to my obedience to His direction, this can give me enough vision to obey Him no matter how hard. Remember discipline makes no sense without vision. For Vanguard to stay faithful and stay on that narrow road where life is, I must learn to increase my intercession and increase my consecration. For me to refuse is to rob Vanguard of its future and to condemn it to failure. I need to remember that the strength I need to possess the Promised Land will be developed in today's process. If I can remember that, fighting against my flesh will become much easier.

I challenge you today to sit down and consider what God has asked you to do personally, and then meditate on why He has asked you to do it and what it is strengthening in you that is preparing you for tomorrow's promotion. It will help you find strength for fighting through today's battles and may be the key to you faithfully finishing all that God has asked you to do. Think about it.

I love you guys!


N8