Get UpLifted

I was recently advising a younger preacher and I made the comment that us younger preachers needed to pay more attention to the teaching of the older leaders, who had transitioned. The young preacher looked at me and said “you are the older preacher. We’re looking to you for guidance.” What an eye-opener. I am more determined than ever to help lead, guide and strengthen humanity. So, the word from the Bishop is centered around a question. “Shall I Pursue?”

We have, for too long, stood idly by and allowed the devil to take our most prized possessions. We say, to ourselves, to make us feel justified, that the devil stole our possessions, our joy, our families. But, if truth be told, we gave Satan permission to take our possessions. And what makes it even more pathetic is that we saw him coming and knew his intentions. Yet, we say he stole from us.

If I have interpreted scripture correctly, the only thing that the devil came to steal, kill and destroy, is our soul. The devil has tampered with our finances; he has attacked out personal health and well-being; he has influenced our children, husbands, and wives; he has under-minded the very integrity of the family unit. We have wasted too much time listening to weak people who have further discouraged us. We have wasted too much time wallowing in the “cesspool” of self-pity. We have wasted far too much time reminiscing about the “good-ole” days when our troubles seemed so far away. We have spent energy and time talking about what the devil has done to us.

People, I tell you this. Now is the time for us to pursue and take back our possessions. However, before we haphazardly pursue, we need to enroll ourselves into God’s school of spiritual tactical training. We must learn how to effectively utilize our armor, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and the sword of the spirit. We must learn how to make our weapons strong so that we can destroy the enemy’s stronghold. We must learn how to wage a spiritual warfare and not a carnal one. We must learn how to defend what we have and re-capture what we’ve lost.

This is the reason it is so very important to acknowledge God through praying and fasting and dedication. He will direct our ways. He will not only direct but He will become our defender. He will develop the battle plan. When we truly understand this, we will see more clearly how to pursue. We will better understand how to reclaim our children from drugs, our husbands and wives from outside bedrooms, our jobs, our personal lives. Always remember the fact that greater is He that fights for us than the devil who fights against us. Shall I pursue? You’d better believe it.