Why We Don’t Always Belong by Lisa Burkhardt Worley

October 20, 2020 1 comment Article

Have you ever been in a situation with family or friends, where you are the only one not participating in an activity, based on conviction?

I have found myself in scenarios where I didn’t like the activity going on so I sat all alone in another room and watched television. I prayed the entire time asking God, Am I wrong? Am I being judgmental? What’s the harm in participating?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wanted to “belong,” but sometimes you have to choose not to belong. The Bible says that those who have surrendered their lives to the Lord are not of this world. “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:19).

I want to know the correct way to handle scenarios that make me feel uncomfortable. Please show me your truth about all this. Am I over the top in this stand? Right after I prayed, I came across this passage in my Chronological Bible Study reading. I did not randomly choose it. It was the Scripture assigned to the morning after one of these situations:

“If you want to be my disciple you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).

I do not think the word “hate” here means that you hate your family members. The Bible says we are to love others. I believe it may mean that you do not like something they are doing, so you do not support them in whatever that is.

This passage went on to say, “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, “there’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!” (Luke 14:28-30).

With the LORD in the lead, I have spent years building a ministry, and have tried to be “above reproach” through the strength God provides. I do not want to be the one that causes a sister or brother, family or friend, to stumble. If I had a moment of weakness, all of what had been established would be torn down in a second, and remain “unfinished.” The ministry would lose value, because it would be no different from any secular organization.

After reading that passage, I felt that God confirmed that what I did may not have been popular, but it was right for me.

This is not a message of judgment. Each of us have a specific cross to carry. Because I am called to ministry, my call may be different from yours. But the next time you are in a setting where you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit to take a stand, be strong, and know that while you may not feel like you belong, you will always belong to God.

“He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name” (Psalms 23:3).

What Do You Do When Plans Change? By Rosemary Legrand

October 17, 2020 No comments Article

My friends and I decided to take a girl getaway weekend trip to Houston/Galveston. One of my girlfriends, the coordinator extraordinaire, sent us photos of the hotel and our activity itinerary. We were on the phone for hours laughing and giggling as we prepared for this getaway. She said, “Don’t forget your swimsuit. We are going to have fun, fun, fun!” We had snacks to munch, the perfect music to listen to, and places to stop along the way.

The day before we left, we checked the weather forecast. There was a storm coming but we thought, Maybe it won’t affect us. The morning of our departure we all met at our girlfriend’s house and were ready and eager to leave but we decided to pay close attention to the weather before we departed. To our dismay, we saw that Hurricane Delta was getting ready to touch the area where we had planned to have fun, fun, fun.

What do you do when you mind is ready to do something that seem to be so right? We discussed the alternative, since we were already packed and had left our individual homes. I was 45 minutes from home, which was already a getaway for me. We pondered on what we should do and decided to cancel the trip. What now? We decided to stay in Dallas and spend the weekend at our girlfriend’s house. What an awesome weekend it was. We went out to dinner, watched movies, played games, had a manicure session, prayed, laughed, bonded and enjoyed each other.

When circumstances change it is good to know you are not alone.

After sitting and meditating on what happened, how much fun we had and how we got to know more about each other, we realized that God was in the midst of all the planning. Sometimes we are so focused on having our own plans, we fail to see the hand of God in everything we do. We left the weekend with great admiration and love for each other.

Proverbs 1:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course but the Lord determines his steps.” The Lord determines our steps. This shows us that God is in control and He directs our path. Everything we go through has a purpose and it is to benefit the kingdom of God. Had we gone on that trip, we would have been having so much fun, we would not have gotten to know each other and understand what each other was going through. When we listened to each other’s stories we were able to saturate each other in prayer even after we left to go our separate ways. God is awesome.

One of my favorite scriptures on God ordering our steps is: “The Lord directs our steps so why try to understand everything along the way” (Proverbs 20:24 NLT) Will you let Him into your plans and let Him guide your steps? He knows the way. Trust Him.

May God richly bless you.

You won’t want to miss our next POP Chat on ZOOM Wednesday, October 28th at 6:30 p.m. CDT when Pearls of Promise Ministries Founder, Lisa Burkhardt Worley, provides a powerful message called “TMI: Why God Doesn’t Give us Too Much Information.” Joining Lisa will be popular Worship Leader, Renee Rollins and the entire Pearls of Promise Team, Dr. Lynnette Simm, Rosemary Legrand and Aurora Ortega Geis. Just click on the link to register.

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Are You Ready? By Lisa Burkhardt Worley

October 13, 2020 No comments Article

When I was in junior school, I attended charm school. Some of you may be thinking, What happened? 🙂 There was only one thing I remember from what the instructor taught that week. She said, “Always leave the house dressed as if you will meet the President of the United States.” I never forgot that, and to this day, I have trouble walking out the door without makeup on.

This week, I was cleaning the floors in my house. My dog, Jewel, sheds a lot and there were hair balls everywhere, so I ran the dust mop over the floor then mopped it. No one was coming over, but what if someone I did not expect dropped by?

Today, I heard that an acquaintance of mine passed away after a short battle with an aggressive brain cancer. She was a beautiful godly woman, in her forties, who led a ministry. We crossed paths many times, and now I won’t see her smiling face on this side of Heaven.

So as I bring all this together, it’s a reminder that we should always be ready. In this case, ready to meet the greatest dignitary of all, Jesus. We may never come face-to-face with a U.S. President, but we will at some point encounter Jesus. We are not guaranteed tomorrow so let’s ask ourselves a few questions.

Have we taken care of this body we’ve been given?

Have we tried to live a righteous life, one that we will not be embarrassed about?

For those of us who believe Jesus may return in our generation, are we doing everything we can to tell others about Him?

Jesus shared a parable in Matthew 25 about ten virgins and their lamps of oil. Five of them were wise. Five were not. When the bridegroom (Jesus) arrived, the wise virgins met Him with their oil-filled lamps, but because the bridegroom had delayed in returning, the foolish virgins “became drowsy and fell asleep” (Matthew 25:6) so when they heard the bridegroom was on his way, they ran out at the last minute to fill their lamps with oil. But it was too late. While they were scrambling, Jesus returned. The ones who were ready joined him—the others found a closed door when they got back. There were consequences for not being ready.

So it is my encouragement to you today to do an assessment of your life. Is your house clean? If Jesus returned tomorrow, would there be oil in your lamp?

Are you ready?

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me (Psalm 51:10) NIV.

We’d love for you to join us at our next POP Chat on October 28th at 6:30 p.m. as Pearls of Promise Founder, Lisa Burkhardt Worley, will teach on “TMI: Why God Doesn’t Give Us Too Much Information.” Singer/Songwriter Renee Rollins will lead worship. This will be one hour of worship, teaching and discussion. The link to sign up is: ttps://share.hsforms.com/15bHBupdrTBugXxD9Y8Q_MQ3jo4z

Seeing the Good in the Bad by Lisa Burkhardt Worley

October 10, 2020 3 comments Article

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

I was in my home office doing an interview for our POP Talk radio show when I heard water gushing outside the study window. At first I thought it was a sprinkler head that been severed off by a lawn mower, but after Dr. Lynnette Simm and I completed the taping of the show, I ran outside to look. A stream of water was flowing rapidly down the street from the side of our house. I shouted to my husband, working upstairs. “We’ve got a problem!” He was busy preparing for an important meeting. The timing was not good, but he checked it out and also found water seeping through the ceiling of one of the rooms upstairs. After more investigation, he realized our hot water heater had gone out and that was causing the problem. We needed a plumber—and fast.

As I thought about this scenario, I became thankful. Thankful that I was in my office so I could hear the water flooding out of the relief valve on the side of our house. Otherwise, we might have been oblivious for a while and there would have been damage upstairs. Thankful this happened while we were home. We had just come back from a trip to Galveston and could have easily been away when it occurred. I asked my husband, “What would have happened if we had been out of town?” He responded, “I think part of the ceiling upstairs would have collapsed.” I was also grateful a plumber was able to respond day of.

Sometimes, when we go through the difficult things in life, we can press into the bad, but I believe God will always provide something to be thankful for in the midst of the worst of scenarios.

This week, my brother-in-law of thirty years, Jim, passed away after a long battle with something called “Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.” It’s called “idiopathic” because doctors don’t know what causes it.

I have fond memories of going up to Jim and my sister-in-law Sue’s lake house near Coldwater, Michigan where we boated, had “Corn Hole” competitions, and late night conversations by the fire pit. Jim was in great shape. He cycled, worked out and was an outdoorsman. He did not smoke. But then the progressive disease struck his body, and it took him down.

This past week when Jim was in hospice, I was receiving regular text updates from my sister-in-law about how he was doing. Before they gave him his first dose of Morphine to ease the pain, he said, “Let’s get the party started.” He was a believer and ready to see Jesus. He saw his transition out of this world to Heaven as a celebration. That scene, and all the memories from our time at the lake, is the good that I want to remember and hold onto.

When we are in the thick of the bad scenarios of life, do we try to find the good in them? The next time you endure a trial, it’s important to see the scenario from above. Ask God to show you the positive.

Being a Caterpillar by Dr. Lynnette Simm

October 6, 2020 No comments Article

I was up unusually late last night because my head and heart were spinning. Try as I may, I couldn’t get my mind to lay all my stress and worry over to the Lord without detailing every detail. So as my husband was sleeping deeply, I picked up my phone and texted my friend Crystal. I know she’s a night owl, and I needed some help. I started with the usual text of: “Any chance you’re awake?” She was quick to reply, “Yes.” Then she asked, “What’s up?”

I explained to her all that was spinning in my head. Moving, selling, building, My youngest wants to get an apartment next year. My eldest seems, sadly, okay without us. Madison is still having many side effects and very fatigued after his heart attack. I could go on and on. I explained to Crystal that while I know I’m in the Lord’s hands, I’m feeling dizzy with all the possibilities, and overwhelmed by all the emotions. Crystal was quick to give me a beautiful piece of scripture to help me focus: “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love, power, and a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). That is your inheritance! Not anxiety or fear. I responded, “Way up here in God’s arms, it’s dizzying, especially because I don’t know which direction He is going.”

And that’s when she shared with me about the caterpillar. “In a butterfly chrysalis you are hidden away—the caterpillar can do nothing. It is glued, stuck upside down in what would feel like a horrible situation but it’s completely at peace! And God has given that caterpillar everything it needs while it is in there. He never left it.”

Wow! Just re-read that and let it settle in. Bound up, upside down, with no control, but with faith and knowledge that what the Lord has planned will be amazing, the caterpillar stays completely at peace. This doesn’t mean that the caterpillar didn’t wiggle a little, experience discomfort, or plan for its safety, but once wrapped up in the cocoon, the caterpillar surrenders to the Lord’s plan.

That’s is how we are all feeling. Life is hard, on any given day, but especially for us all because of the virus, election, and economy. We feel trapped inside our homes, inside our stresses, inside our own minds, filled with what-ifs, and our struggles are real. But what would happen if we submit to the Lord’s plan with the same peace as a crystallized, cocooned caterpillar, waiting patiently glued, upside down and hidden away with the knowledge of the amazing transformation coming?

Let’s do a reality check. It is true that this amazing transformation will take time, sometimes way more than we want. And it’s true that for some the transformation will occur once we ascend to Heaven. But the other truth is that it will happen! We will be transformed. We will be beautiful inside and out. We will spread our wings with the glory of God lifting us up. And here is another truth: “And God has given that caterpillar everything it needs while it is in there. He never left it.” God promises to provide all that we need, in His timing, and He never leaves us. Wow, again. I’m in awe at how awesome our Lord is.

When I replied to Crystal after her story I said, “Well, thanks for the butterfly 🦋 story. Does help. But upside down and waiting sucks, God. But I guess He already knows…lol.” It is hard. It does require effort, patience, and faith. So reach out to a friend. Make that late night text or answer one and share each other’s burdens during this time and throughout life. God gave us community for this purpose. Calm each other as we hang upside down being caterpillars because our butterfly hearts are in there.