Day 173

It's  Day 173 of  The Red Shoe Project and I have been wearing my  RED high heels, every day at the Daughters of Destiny Conference at Glory Tabernacle in Rome, Georgia.   "Mama Fire"  is the pastor and she has brought together some wonderful men and women of God to help her with the conference worship and ministry.
------ Pastor Inez Lucas - "Mama Fire" ------>


Last night before the evening service, a friend of mine from Florida, who's also staying with us at Mama Fire's house, asked me a question.

"So have you ever been to a pentecostal church?  

I'm just wondering what to expect."  

I assured her that if she's been comfortable with all the ministry that we've been experiencing at the house, she'll have no problem with the church.  She confessed to me that she had attended a pentecostal church once and was rather surprised when she saw people waving flags, dancing, and twirling ribbons on sticks.  It was much different than anything she had ever experienced before.  This lead to a great discussion about God's Church and all it's parts.

(1 Corinthians 12:12-27)

Over the years I've heard many sermons on this portion of scripture.  It's gives great understanding into how the local church, as a whole, is made up of many people.  Each individual  has an important gift to contribute to the local body.
No matter how big or small an individual's spiritual gift may be perceived by
others, it has value and is critical for the church's optimal effectiveness.


Thereby, every person must not only exercise their gift, but they must do it in unity, one with another.   That's a nice way of saying that we need to appreciate what each person brings to the table and encourage 100% participation.


Personally, I've always perceived this to be true when it comes to Christ's "global church" as well.  There are many Christian denominations and each one contributes it's unique and valuable gifts to the Body of Christ.

Some are outstanding when it comes to winning the lost.  Others major in teaching the Bible and equipping the saints.  Still others are great at feeding the hungry.  Some shine when it comes to missionary work.  Others are over the top when it comes to taking a stand against things like abortion.

Still others make their mark in the world when it comes to taking care of orphans and widows. Some churches have flourishing children's programs that minister to hundreds. The list goes on and on.  All of these efforts are to be commended.  No one church does them all, let alone does them all well.

But if we put all these Christian denominations together, and if they were to operate in unity, with one another,  surely God would see them as one global church,  His Church, the true Body of Christ,  and smile at the team effort put forth to fulfill the complete will of God.  I'm not saying we're there yet, but I do believe that's God's intended plan.

In the same way, everyone of those denominations celebrates Christ a little differently.  Some wave flags.  Some wave their hands.  Some dance and twirl ribbons.  Some stay quiet and still.  

Others may shout with joy.  In some churches I've seen a man designated to blow the shofar.  Some churches have great worship teams with many instruments and talented singers.  Some enjoy contemporary music while others prefer the golden oldies... hymns!


Some denominations focus their attention on  bringing in the next generation.

They use Christian rock bands with stage lights. They have exceptional community outreaches and use advanced social media marketing campaigns.  Jumping up and down for Jesus is more than acceptable!  They clap. They snap.  They lift their hands above their heads in praise.

Many others prefer to celebrate Christ in much quieter, more liturgical settings.   Less movement and more inner contemplation.  Some have one service a week, some have several.  Some  meet on Sundays.  Others meet on Saturdays.  Some are open 24/7.  Others are open only in the mornings or the evenings.

There's a vast spectrum of personalities, traditions, methods, atmospheres, and structures - or lack of structure.  The point is... there's something for everyone.  

 I don't believe that anyone will 

stand at the gates of Heaven and tell God, 

"Sorry, I couldn't find a church I liked." 

If they do, He'll have every right to tell them 

they didn't look hard enough. 

With that, I encouraged my friend to keep an open mind.


That night, we sat next to each other, on the front row of this little pentecostal church, clapping our hands and singing joyfully unto the Lord.  Suddenly... we noticed our friend,  Nancy, was standing between us and the altar,  praising the Lord and vigorously waving this huge flag.  LOL.  What was with her?  She was so into it!  A couple times I thought her flag was going to knock me in the head. I'm being honest with you... those thoughts really did run through my mind.  But I've been around church for many years and I've learned never to judge.  

Don't think for a moment, 

the devil won't try to get you 

to take your eyes off Christ 

and get an attitude towards people. 

We can get a little big for our britches at times and think that things need to be the way we'd like them to be.  That's one of the devil's most popular tricks of the trade.  But I know that God loves a true worshipper.  He doesn't get as wrapped up as we do in the perfect presentation of things.  He looks at the heart.   So I shooed the enemy away and said to myself, "Who cares?  Let her wonderfully celebrate the Lord with that flag.  More power to her!  She's not bothering me." 

The enemy was undoubtedly poking at my flesh.  But as I looked at her,  I could see that she was totally in the spirit,  joyfully worshipping the King of Kings with all her heart, mind, soul and strength.  It was undeniable!  It was beautiful!   I had to smile.  Not to mention the fact that she never,  ever,  does anything like this.  It's gotta be a "God thing!"

So this morning, we all returned to the church again for service.  I shared with my friend something very interesting that I learned at breakfast.  Just a few weeks ago, Nancy was unable to  lift her arms up high enough to even comb her hair.  God has touched her so powerfully, that a supernatural energy and healing has filled her.  Suddenly, amongst other things,  she's able to hold, well above her head, a big heavy flag and wave it unto the glory of God in thanksgiving for all He's done for her.  What faith!  She is plowing forward, proclaiming Victory in Jesus!  Glory to God!

The church was so filled with God's presence this morning.  As I told my friend this story, we both began to weep.  God was tugging on our hearts and doing a deep work.  We agreed that this little piece of information changed everything.  My perspective was not even closely aligned with God's perspective. We confessed together, before God, in the front row of that little pentecostal church, that we were wrong.  We  "got it!"  Another lesson learned.  We turned not only from our wrongful perspectives this morning, but towards God, moving closer into His presence.  We are hungry to see things as He does that we might respond in a way that's consistently pleasing to Him.

Besides... who knew that tomorrow, my friend would be waving a flag herself, and I'd be dancing, quite vigorously before the Lord - twirling and waving like there was no tomorrow?  LOL.  I wonder who the devil was poking in the flesh about that?  He's always looking for someone to take their eyes off Jesus.

Going deeper,
Gail