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Hi. My name is Door. Door Keeper. Part 2

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Continuing with Part Two of our Mini-Series on The Doorkeeper. I hope you are blessed by Jacob’s story! You can read Part One here and Part Three here!

I met a Door Keeper recently who reminded me what service, humility, honor and love are all about. We were teaching a Revival By Design seminar at a great church in Wenatchee, Washington, a couple of hours from Seattle. (Btw, if you EVER have opportunity to visit this part of the country, just look at the view!)

I digress. The Sweetheart referred to our Doorkeeper as “Door” because of his name-tag. He called him that as if it was his first name and I was afraid he would be offended.

You cannot offend a true Door Keeper.

He was honored.

The Sweetheart called him up front during his Sunday sermon to congratulate him on his enthusiasm and attention to detail. He beamed as any 11 year old would. But it wasn’t a haughty pride. He loves what he does!

He takes his job seriously, very seriously. So much so that when I wanted to take his picture before I left and said, “Let’s get a couple outside…” he buzzed past me so fast to get to the door before I did just so he could open it for me. He wasn’t on the clock but that’s what is so unique about a true Door Keeper. Here he is with my beloved.

He was there to serve.

Door, or Jacob, as his parents and family refer to him, loves people. He lives to serve, to make others happy and to give of himself. He wears his nametag proudly but not with nose-in-the-air pride. He has been given a job in the house of God and he does it with every ounce of his being.

“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17.

He represents Christ.

In everything, he reflects the glory of God. He is the first person visitors see when they come to church. His “Welcome, we are so glad you are here” will set the tone for their entire experience. His smile must be infectious but not cheesy; his love for God, genuine. He must express that even HE is happy to be there and honored to serve everyone.

You see, Jacob, our resident Door Keeper, is an overcomer. He has much to be thankful for. Let me share his story…

Jacob was born at 28 weeks gestation but was the size of a 25 week gestation baby on January 25, 2004.

He weighed a whopping 1 lb, 12 oz. That is not a typo, ONE POUND, TWELVE OUNCES!

He was only 14 inches long.

When he was first born, his parents were told not to expect him to come home until his original due date or after, another three months! He left the hospital on the morning of March 30^th sporting a heart monitor for the first two weeks.

His family says he has been a fighter ever since.

I know it would sound corny to say that Jacob knew he had a purpose lying there in that hospital. Jacob didn’t know much of anything if we are honest about it. But Jacob’s GOD KNEW and Jacob’s GOD DID have a purpose for this tiny life.

Those with much to be thankful for tend to live out life to the fullest. They share, they give, and they inspire, encourage and motivate others to realize that THEY TOO have much to live for and should give back as much as possible.

Jacob doesn’t intend to waste his life dwelling on the past but revels in the fact that God reached down to a tiny little baby that fit in the palm of his mother’s and father’s hand and breathed life into him for a purpose.

Door Keepers DO have a purpose!

“It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.” Mark 13:34 ESV.

He guards The Church.

This 11 year old boy guards The Church? Now we will get personal. Was Jesus sharing this particular parable about a man who leaves the care of his home to servants, each one with a specific job to do to remind US, to guard The Body of Christ? To protect it at all cost? To shield it from danger, peril and to defend everything it stands for no matter what the cost?

Yes. But even more than that.

“…and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.” He doesn’t know when his master will return. He cannot afford to let one thing slip; nothing must be out of place, careful consideration has been made for each important duty.

Every. Single. Day.

We were given a charge, just like the servants in this parable, each with his work. We might be:

Door Keepers

Toilet Swabbers (oh, so very important!)

Vacuum Professionals

Window Washers Extraordinaire

Parking Lot Attendants

Groundskeepers

Ushers

Worship Leaders

Musicians

Sunday School Teachers

Youth Pastors

Pastors

Assistant Pastors, Assistants TO the Pastor, etc., etc.

Pastor’s Wives

Sound Technicians

Event Planners

Cooks

Dishwashers

Translators

Deaf Interpreters

Encouragers

Servants

Peacemakers

Helpers

And as we said in our first post, we do not limit these acts of service to the Church building…the Church is a BODY that just happens to meet in a building!

What is it that we DON’T need in the Church?

Busybodies

Gossips

Backbiters

Backstabbers

Blabbermouths

Meddlers

Know-it-alls

Tell-it-alls

Drainers

Troublemakers

Agitators

Liars

Thieves

Professional Protesters

Fault-finders

Nit-pickers

Holier-than-thou “Christians”

Judges or Juries!

We need to show the Love of God everywhere we are, but, in The Church, we can’t afford to let our sinful attitudes prevail. Christ died for those attitudes, for our sins, our mistakes, our past failures so that we could rise above our sinful nature and point others to Him. It is our sole purpose in living! To worship our Creator and to spread the Gospel message that Jesus is alive and invites them IN. Never to be the same!

So here we stand at the Door with Jacob.

We invite them in, literally, figuratively, with our words, with our actions, with the love of God shining through us.

Jacob wasn’t busy running around trying to do jobs that belonged to others, unless they needed his help. He would not have forsaken his post to try to be seen with the praise singers practicing before church. Nor would he have stood outside the pastor’s door listening for “talk”. He would not have been cutting up with the other young people around the water fountain before church. Why? Because he had HIS OWN WORK in the Body. And he was busy doing it with all his might.

Each one of us with his OWN work.

Tomorrow? I want you to meet another Doorkeeper. This one is unique and not normally given the title. Join me, won’t you?

Do you have a Doorkeeper in your life? I would love to hear about them!

Sharing with Memories by the Mile, Tell me a True STory, Titus 2 Tuesday, Testimony Tuesday, UNITE, Titus 2sday, RA-RA Linkup, life-giving linkup, Homemaking party, Wedded Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesday, A little R & R, Women with Intention Wednesdays

Take it

19 Replies

I never would have dreamed I could fall in love with a bulldog. I didn’t grow up with pets in the house; my mother did not allow it. (Except for the one time our beautiful Irish Setter somehow got in while we were gone to church. When Mom walked through the door, there he sat on her new living room chair, proud as he could be of his burglar techniques!)

Carrying that clean-freak trait with me when I got married, I couldn’t imagine having a pet in the house, nor did I dream my kids would either.

Enter Kristopher. He has a problem. He is a neat freak too. Mr. Clean, we call him at times. He might get busy and things get a little cluttered every once in a while but it will drive him crazy until he can deep clean and put things back in order.

Enter Eisley Quinn.

This little bundle of short fur has changed everything. Kristopher wanted a dog for the longest time and finally took the plunge with Eisley, a registered English Bulldog.

Eisley was the runt of the litter so thankfully, she is not going to be this 100 pound old dog sitting on the couch with the remote in her hand in years to come. She is still adorable. In a bulldog kind of way.

Kristopher has taught Eisley a few tricks and is doing his best to instill some manners in her. Sometimes he is successful, sometimes not so much.

One trick that he is especially proud of is at meal time. As soon as Eisley hears her bowl being filled with delicious nuggets of doggie heaven, she runs. Literally. But when she arrives, all in anticipation of the flavors of chicken, tuna and rice that she is about to experience in a gourmet meal, the wind is taken from her sails when Kristopher says, “Sit.” Sternly.

So she sits. She waits. A little impatiently but she waits. He might have to point and repeat himself as she slyly edges forward a bit. But she sits.

This part drives ME crazy. I want to give in, just let her have her food for crying out loud. I remind Kristopher I would never have made him wait for his dinner.

Then all of a sudden, with Eisley’s eyes locked on her master, he says those coveted words:

Take it.

Boom, she is on it like no tomorrow. She doesn’t just saunter over casually and sniff around. She takes it! She zooms in on it and devours what she has been blessed to have.

I’ve thought a lot about those two words this week.

Take it.

We have been blessed in so many ways as the people of the Most High God. He wants to give us even more spiritual blessings and power that we cannot contain. It is ours but we don’t take it.

With the power of the Holy Ghost residing within us we have that same power that Jesus used to raise the dead, heal the sick and set people free from the bondage of sin. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. ‘Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.’” John 14:12-13 ESV.

We limit the power of God every single day. Either because of lack of faith, confidence or sometimes just pure laziness, we fail to tap into the resources He has left with us. Look at those words again, “The works that I do, he will do also.” Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ!

But there is more. He said GREATER WORKS than these would WE do in His name so that the Father would be glorified.

What can we believe Him for today? Do we truly want an outpouring of His spirit in these last days? Do we want to see our friends and loved ones saved and ready to meet Jesus? Do we want to have the power to overcome (we’re going to need it, friends!) no matter what is sent our way? Do we want to have enough of the Holy Ghost within us to even lay down our lives if it is necessary?

Jesus holds all of that power in His hands and He is holding it out for us as a gift. It belongs to us according to His Word.

Revival.

Friends and Family saved.

Needs met.

Signs and wonders. (His Word declared we would have them!)

Miracles of healing and deliverance.

Strength to overcome in these last and evil days.

Joy unspeakable!

It is ours for the taking!

Can you imagine a parent holding out a beautifully wrapped present to their child and them just standing there trying to decide if they have the energy to reach out and grab it? No! That child trusts the mom or dad with the gift in their hands and isn’t about to turn down a free doll, truck, game or new underwear!

Can you imagine the frustration of our Lord in these last days? There we stand, caught up in worry, stress and busyness that we don’t even look to Him for help, nor do we realize He is standing there with the answer.

May we realize our place today, the most exciting time to be alive and to be The Church! God has not called the disciples to be here in the endtime. He has called you and me. Let us rise to the occasion, in anticipation like Eisley, knowing our Master has trained us, equipped us and given us all we need to succeed.

Take it!

Don’t forget your copy of The Daniel Fast, A Devotional. Great for ANY FAST or prayer journey. On Amazon in paperback and Kindle and Barnes and Noble too! Be blessed!

Sharing with Modest Monday, Testimony Tuesday, Mondays Soul Survival,Ra Ra link up, Wake Up Wednesday, Whole Hearted Wednesday, Raising Homemakers Linkup, Counting our Blessings, Wedded Wednesday

What if we ALL were REAL?

17 Replies

It’s #FiveMinuteFriday! Today’s word prompt is REAL. Join others at Kate’s place to read their takes on REAL!

Did you ever have that thought? What if we ALL were Real all the time?

You are thinking what I was thinking…some things are better left unsaid. That is true in some circumstances. But what if our hearts were pure? Would everything that came out of our mouth be pure also?

Being REAL goes beyond what comes out of our mouth.

[Tweet “What if we were confident in being a child of God and didn’t feel a need to be deceitful or fake?”]

Imagine the ways we could be used of God if we decided to just be who He made us to be, empowered by the Holy Spirit, walking in victory every single day!

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 ESV.

What if we were REAL like Jesus?

Jesus wasn’t a phony; He was not a counterfeit or an imitation. He was the Real Deal. The Most High God came in human flesh to save mankind.

Living as an Authentic Christian means to pattern our lives after Jesus Christ. He left us His Spirit, dwelling IN us, the power to overcome as He overcame, to be in the world but not of the world and to live a life that influences others for the good.

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death–even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8 NRSV.

These things come through living, through hard trials, through difficulties that we might not understand. But they are molding us, making us real, perfecting us in His image.

Look at this excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit:

“Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’

‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit.

‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’

‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’

‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

It doesn’t happen to those that break easily, have sharp edges (offend easily) or who have to be carefully kept. Hmmm….Being real means you have lived, you have survived and you have thrived because Christ is in you, the Hope of Glory has kept you!

You are strong but not necessarily independent. You realize where your strength comes from!

This is one time it is good to be an imitator. Imitating Jesus does not make us a phony; it makes us Real. We are Real Followers. We are Real Sheep that follow the Good Shepherd.

The world will tell us to be true to ourselves, to be all that we can be and just be happy. But God’s Word tells us to be Salt and Light in this world, to be witnesses of His name and imitators of the only true Light.

Once we are real, we can’t be ugly, except to those who don’t understand. Let’s pray that those who don’t understand now will be led to Christ by OUR example as we imitate Him.

Don’t forget your copy of The Daniel Fast, A Devotional. Great for ANY FAST or prayer journey. On Amazon in paperback and Kindle and Barnes and Noble too! Be blessed!

Sharing with Sunday Stillness

I digress. The Sweetheart referred to our Doorkeeper as “Door” because of his name-tag. He called him that as if it was his first name and I was afraid he would be offended.

You cannot offend a true Door Keeper.

He was honored.

The Sweetheart called him up front during his Sunday sermon to congratulate him on his enthusiasm and attention to detail. He beamed as any 11 year old would. But it wasn’t a haughty pride. He loves what he does!

He was there to serve.

Door, or Jacob, as his parents and family refer to him, loves people. He lives to serve, to make others happy and to give of himself. He wears his nametag proudly but not with nose-in-the-air pride. He has been given a job in the house of God and he does it with every ounce of his being.

“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17.

He represents Christ.

You see, Jacob, our resident Door Keeper, is an overcomer. He has much to be thankful for. Let me share his story…

Jacob was born at 28 weeks gestation but was the size of a 25 week gestation baby on January 25, 2004.

He weighed a whopping 1 lb, 12 oz. That is not a typo, ONE POUND, TWELVE OUNCES!

He was only 14 inches long.

When he was first born, his parents were told not to expect him to come home until his original due date or after, another three months! He left the hospital on the morning of March 30th sporting a heart monitor for the first two weeks.

His family says he has been a fighter ever since.

I know it would sound corny to say that Jacob knew he had a purpose lying there in that hospital. Jacob didn’t know much of anything if we are honest about it. But Jacob’s GOD KNEW and Jacob’s GOD DID have a purpose for this tiny life.

Those with much to be thankful for tend to live out life to the fullest. They share, they give, and they inspire, encourage and motivate others to realize that THEY TOO have much to live for and should give back as much as possible.

Jacob doesn’t intend to waste his life dwelling on the past but revels in the fact that God reached down to a tiny little baby that fit in the palm of his mother’s and father’s hand and breathed life into him for a purpose.

Door Keepers DO have a purpose!

“It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.” Mark 13:34 ESV.

He guards The Church.

Yes. But even more than that.

“…and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.” He doesn’t know when his master will return. He cannot afford to let one thing slip; nothing must be out of place, careful consideration has been made for each important duty.

Every. Single. Day.

We were given a charge, just like the servants in this parable, each with his work. We might be:

Door Keepers

Toilet Swabbers (oh, so very important!)

Vacuum Professionals

Window Washers Extraordinaire

Parking Lot Attendants

Groundskeepers

Ushers

Worship Leaders

Musicians

Sunday School Teachers

Youth Pastors

Pastors

Assistant Pastors, Assistants TO the Pastor, etc., etc.

Pastor’s Wives

Sound Technicians

Event Planners

Cooks

Dishwashers

Translators

Deaf Interpreters

Encouragers

Servants

Peacemakers

Helpers

And as we said in our first post, we do not limit these acts of service to the Church building…the Church is a BODY that just happens to meet in a building!

What is it that we DON’T need in the Church?

Busybodies

Gossips

Backbiters

Backstabbers

Blabbermouths

Meddlers

Know-it-alls

Tell-it-alls

Drainers

Troublemakers

Agitators

Liars

Thieves

Professional Protesters

Fault-finders

Nit-pickers

Holier-than-thou “Christians”

Judges or Juries!

So here we stand at the Door with Jacob.

We invite them in, literally, figuratively, with our words, with our actions, with the love of God shining through us.

Each one of us with his OWN work.

Tomorrow? I want you to meet another Doorkeeper. This one is unique and not normally given the title. Join me, won’t you?

Do you have a Doorkeeper in your life? I would love to hear about them!

Share this:

Like this:

Enter Eisley Quinn.

Take it.

Take it.

Revival.

Friends and Family saved.

When he was first born, his parents were told not to expect him to come home until his original due date or after, another three months! He left the hospital on the morning of March 30^th sporting a heart monitor for the first two weeks.