Faithful...Loyal...Giving

To be perfectly open and transparent, of which I am by nature, as I prepare to leave for another "home going service" of a dear, dear friend, Sis. Margie Becton, I am SAD! I just don't want to think about not seeing her smiling face, and hearing her kind voice when I go to a conference or service she would be attending.

My mind has been at work all day long about those who have gone on to their reward. They were some of the most faithful and loyal people I have ever known. As I have said in the past, I have no fear of the future of the gospel of Jesus Christ, because I know thousands who love the truth with all their hearts. With God's help, we will never give in to this world and what it has to offer, for it doesn't compare with "this great salvation" we hold dear. I am confident in this!

Where my mind has been going today is things like:

1. We've lost some "strong pillars" of the Church.
2. These pillars were faithful in all things.
3. These pillars were loyal to their friends, family, and our great organization.

Now, that's what I've been thinking. As I said in my earlier statements, I have no fear of truth being compromised in our organization, but sometimes I fear that the solid loyalty I have witnessed among our elders just might not be as strong and unshakeable in some of us. Please don't jump to conclusions before I am finished, you might hurt yourself. I ask you to "listen". I am asking all of us some questions that we need to answer.

1. Can I, can you honestly say that we are "strong pillars" of the Church?
2. Am I, are you, faithful in all things?
3. Am I, are you, loyal to your friends, family and our great organization?

I was raised in the United Pentecostal Church, International. All I've ever known is the beauty of being part of a group of people who love the lost, and are doing what they know to do to reach them. We have missionaries all over the world who have depended on us to help them carry the gospel. I have watched as millions of dollars has been given in a unified effort for the Kingdom of God. I am blessed to have seen this. I have stood in meetings all over our great fellowship and felt the awesome power of God sweep across a congregation of thousands, and could imagine what it will be like when we all get to Heaven. I have walked out of these services and walked into a sea of humanity looking for a friend or a family member, and couldn't hardly get through the crowd because there were so many friends and acquaintances wanting to talk and give me a hug. I wouldn't take anything for the love I have felt, and the encouragement I received by "just being there" in the midst of it all.

In my thinking about all of this today, I am making a new commitment to be more loyal than I've ever been. If anyone has something negative to say about what I've loved, please go say it to someone who will listen. I really don't want to hear or be a part of that which would bring a dark cloud to my spirit, and cause me to have to rummage through negativity that brings a heaviness to my heart.

One of the things I have noticed about great people is that they don't get down in the "mud pit of gossip" and be a part of a "mud slinging" contest. I know they must know things that are negative, but they wouldn't dare tell you what it is. Every time you see them they have a smile on their face and a welcome handshake or hug. They give love away! I have also observed they have a walk with God that you can feel when you're around them. When they are in the presence of God they are sober minded and won't let anything distract them from the message in song, or the Word of God being preached. After church, they will have their good time with their friends, but when they see you, they will make you feel like you're the only one that exists at the moment. Great people do not know they're "great", and that makes them "greater" to those watching from a distance. Because I have been a part of this organization, I have had the privilege of knowing "great people".

I guess I will close for now. I don't know that I can really express the things that are in my heart and mind. I do say all of this with a heart full of love. Nothing "negative" has happened that makes me write tonight...just a lot of my heroes are no longer living here on earth, and it makes me think. I'm thankful I have more heroes who are still with us. I can think of quite a few just off the top of my head. My heart is filled with love, honor and respect for those who have lived their life, giving of themselves in ministry so that all of us following can enjoy the blessings passed down to us. An old song comes to mind as I finish this post:

My heart can sing when I pause to remember
A heartache here is but a stepping stone
Along a trail that's winding always upward,
This troubled world is not my final home.

But until then my heart will go on singing,
Until then with joy I'll carry on,
Until the day my eyes behold the city,
Until the day God calls me home.