Help Me Rise

As I stood in the kitchen preparing to make biscuits from scratch, I thought about the process I use in baking them which are: cold ingredients, work fast, handle less as possible and to place each biscuit close to one another to ensure that it rises as high as it can.  For those of you bakers out there you know that part of the art of baking is scientific in terms of the reaction of salt with baking soda or baking powder, mixing of liquids, the beating, kneading or mixing process and of course the oven temperature and the type of baking pans or liners you use to name a few.

It seems like the times where I have left too much room in the pan the biscuits just don’t seem to rise as high as they can because there is nothing else surrounding it to help boost it up.  Touching on the spiritual side of my baking analogy, I thought much about fellowship and the relationship of believers with God and with one another.  As much as we would like to blame the pandemic for the distance that exists between so many Believers in Christ, we must acknowledge the fact that this process was already in the making and that the pandemic was like a straw breaking a camel’s back thrusting us right into the pit of disfellowship and breaches in relationships.  Our fellowship had grown shallow yet we “praised the Lord” right over it.  This fact causes great pain in the souls of many Believers today. 

No matter what type of conditions that exist in this life, no matter what type of grief, loss or pain we feel, God created us to be relational beings.  Ironically, fellowship is the new public health threat, while, self-isolation and social distancing is the new hero.  God designed the kingdom of God, the body of Christ to be a people who are in close connection with one another and who thrive the best when we are in constant fellowship with one another both inside and outside of the church.  Despite what the world tells you isolation, depression, envy, jealousy, character assassination, divisiveness and the like are not the virtues that embody a true Believer in Christ.  Such behaviors are actually in conflict with scripture and are not Christ-like. 

In Acts Chapter 2, we see the foundations of the early church, the Word of God, prayer, sharing of our possessions and fellowship.  Fellowship kept the early church thriving, motivated, and allowed them to achieve many victories together.  It kept them connected to one another in the face of great adversity, opposition and persecution.  So, what is so different now that we have to move away from the early foundations of the church?  

Have you thought lately about all the women in the world who don’t know the Lord.  Have you thought about how they are going to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ and help for their situation.  When you’re out in public places have you taken time to stop and look into their eyes and to consider what are they really thinking and what are they really going through.  Have you considered their feelings and what their true needs are.  Have you considered their struggles and the sins they have yet to overcome. 

We need one another in more ways that we can identify or fully know.  There are women in this world who need you and I to simply talk to them and to take the time to show interest in them.  They need us to walk through the door of conversation that will produce life-long relations and connections that otherwise would’ve been overlooked.  We need one another for basic things such as covering one another in prayer, sending cards just because, giving an encouraging and timely message from the Lord, actual fellowship and time with one another face-to-face, and of course serving the Lord together in ministry where possible. 

King Solomon said it best in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Going back to the biscuits, when they are strategically arranged close to another and placed in a temperate of 400 degrees or higher, the heat and reaction of the ingredients causes it to rise and there you see the beautiful layers of butter (not margarine, shortening, lard or any other imitation fat) doing its work, rounding out to a golden baked perfection.  Assuming we are all aiming toward being in the presence of the same Lord, I would like to think that we can do a better job down here on earth with helping one another achieve our God-ordained purposes and callings for this life.  You can’t do what God called you to do on your own, you need the support of others and others need you. 

I challenge you to re-evaluate your position on fellowship and your position on relationships.  Because we are in perilous times people need to know where we stand with them.  They need to know who their spiritual allies are and who they can trust.  To win lost women to Christ, it must be done by one individual soul and situation at a time.  It’s not about what you and I stand to gain personally, but it’s about how Christ is exalted in it.  It’s about walking parallel, in lock step with the Word of God and making intentional choices that make you a guaranteed candidate for heaven.  It’s about helping others come to know and experience the Christ that we speak of.

It’s time to rise up.  You are still needed in the kingdom of God.  Help a fellow sister rise by:

1. Pointing her to Christ for comfort, healing, restoration and direction.
2. Giving her truth from the Word of God.
3. Showing her, she can rise above her struggle.
4. Preferring her over yourself.
5. Sharing ways that she can excel in her giftings.
6. Imparting knowledge, wisdom and instruction that is not apparent to her.
7. Being respectful of her time, talents and abilities.
8. Supporting her in ministry.
9. Providing for her (when able) in her time of needs.
10. Blessing her with gifts and words from the heart.
11. Most of all praying for her when she comes on your mind.

This too is how you Help Me Rise!