COMMITMENT #2 Having COMPASSION

Having COMPASSION

"There is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but He is all, and in all.

"So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of COMPASSION, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you." C311

The way you have lived since we began calling you a “minister” should reflect your calling. This means that your heart must be compassionate for OTHERS, and their needs must become more important than yours. This is the only way you will be able to minister to women in an understanding way. Like almost all of the other commitments you will be asked to read through, this lesson came about after I witnessed a lack of compassion in one of our (now retired) ministers. 

As I explained to her, our first contact is as important as any first impression. As the saying goes, each of us has only one time to make a first impression. And this means that when we are working within RMI, as a minister, we each are representing all of us. So making sure we exhibit compassion is vital to showing who our Husband is to us and who He wants to be to them.

Yet, since we’ve taken more of the hands-off, step-back approach, most of the ongoing exposure to know you and know your life most likely, will be in your posted praise and journals. New women can instantly spot hypocrisy—especially non-believers who are very keen to spot a phony, which is why we no longer allow praise reports that are filled with “fluff” or self-righteousness.

So, if you’re faithful to keep what these women are going through in the forefront of your mind, I promise it will keep your heart tender towards them and your relationship with your Husband. It will also cause you to follow the key principles because women's souls and futures are at stake.

Be Like Him

"Therefore if there is any encouragement, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and COMPASSION, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard others as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of OTHERS. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Him, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men." P21

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation." R1215

FACTS

Ministry is NOT a business; therefore, it should not be run like a business. Instead, it is an extension of your Husband, His compassion, God’s wisdom, and many other spiritual powers He operated in during the thirty years our Husband was on earth.

Therefore, if you lose your COMPASSION for others, you have lost everything—and it’s due to losing Him—meaning, He is no longer Who you hang out with throughout your day.

Please note: Each and every one of our commitments was created and written by seeking the Lord for the sake of others and in the interest of others. It's not about us or you, but again about others. Each woman who finds her way to RMI, too, represents their world: their family, their husband, their children, their parents, their friends, their coworkers, and their neighbors. This means that their success and failure in finding the Lord personally as their Husband will also affect everyone else in their lives.

Disciples and the World

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." M513

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." M514

If you ever notice you lack compassion or can't sense His power, His grace working through you, then we ask that you STOP and take some time off to be with your Husband, being alone with Him. Because, first and foremost, ministering means being an extension of Him, His ambassador, and His bride, therefore, the lack of compassion indicates you need MORE of Him. You need to recommit to Him as His bride because He is the vine and must be attached for us to produce any fruit. And the more tender the fruit, the more time it’s spent on the vine.

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” J155

This is why we watch for ministers who appear to be struggling and ask that they take an MLA “Ministry Leave of Absence” from their ministry. Sadly, very often, women listen to the enemy, and begin to feel they’re being punished—when nothing could be farther from the truth! 

A few years back my Husband led us to rewrite our MLA letter hoping to dispel this reaction when so often it's believed that we are punishing rather than a blessing when we ask ministers to take an MLA—while also extending their time off from 30 to now 40 days. Again, not to get rid of them or punish them, but so they can come to become intimate with Him undistracted, entirely connected to Him, so they could return renewed and revitalized.

Have you been Called?

Many years ago, I believe it was either 2003 or 2004, I read a book by a well-known minister. Like so many other books He leads me to read, only ONE chapter ended up changing my life. There is no reason to read it (or I would recommend it to you) because I am going to share the profound truth that led me to be CALLED into ministry.

The book was written for people IN ministry: pastors, preachers, and missionaries. And what this pastor said shook my foundation. He said, "Unless you can remember a time when God actually CALLED you into ministry, then GET OUT." 

Now he didn't actually explain what he meant about being "called," but my Husband immediately reminded me of Joyce Meyer's testimony that I'd heard very often about how she had been "called.' She would often say, "I was just making my bed when the Lord called me and told me I would have a tape ministry..." and she went on to say the rest of what He told her when He CALLED her.

So I spent the next several days asking God to "remind" me of when He called ME. I remembered that I had promised Him that if He restored my marriage I would tell the world that NOTHING was impossible with Him. But that wasn't really being CALLED. It was simply me keeping my end of the bargain.

Clearly, He had opened the doors for my books to be published, to have a website, and to film my Be Encouraged videos—but at no time could I remember when He had CALLED me!

Knowing me, as many of you do, I am not one to be lukewarm in anything. I am hot or cold, people either LOVE me or HATE me, but they always have a pretty strong opinion of me 😉 In the Bible, I'd have to say that I see myself a lot like the Apostle Peter—even though I would prefer being Paul or even now the Apostle John, whom I never liked…

Okay, yes, I will tell you why I didn't like John. I thought he was arrogant and immature. And I thought he was arrogant because he told everyone that HE was the one Jesus loved! Yet now that I have experienced HIS LOVE to the extent that I have, I fully understand why John was obsessed with making this sort of statement and what I love to say too! 

As far as his immaturity, well, it’s true that he was the only one of the apostles who lacked discretion. He let "the cat out of the bag" and told on Peter when he cut off the ear of the soldier (John 18:26), while the rest of the apostles, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, kept who cut off the ear, quiet. Not only did he say it was Peter, but to make sure no one missed who did it, in the verse before, he says "Simon Peter," so his former friends knew it was him too.

Yet due to what happened to me, John no longer bothers me, even with his lack of discretion. What happened? How did I change? Well, let me tell you what I did after not being able to remember being CALLED and why I believe I'm more like Peter (the guy who jumped out of the boat during a storm).

One morning I told the Lord, my Husband, that if I had not heard, if He hadn't told me WHEN I was called, then I was going to do exactly what the pastor said to do in his book. I would GET OUT and leave the ministry!

Well, guess what?

The day came and I had not heard a thing or remembered every being called. So I went downstairs to the RMI ministry office where my husband and my sons were working and announced I was LEAVING the ministry! Funny thing is, my statement barely got a nod from anyone, however. The greatest response was from my husband who was actually THRILLED I was leaving! With me gone, things, he was said, would run much smoother because RMI was more of a Christian business than it was a ministry back at that time.

The other reason my sons didn't give it much notice is that I was so frustrated so often because RMI was being run as a business and not a ministry that I regularly quit. No, I'm not joking. And this was due too and was a symptom of NOT being CALLED. Yes, I was operating as a Christian, but that is not enough if you’re playing a part in a ministry. I didn't realize it was not enough until I finally experienced actually being CALLED!

YES! It really and truly happened. No, I was not making the bed like Joyce Meyer. It was quite a few weeks after I quit and surprisingly I was not missing the ministry at all. The men in my life, my husband and sons had my books and videos and they didn't need to include a woman in their "business."

It happened when my husband was rushed to the hospital with a ruptured appendix and nearly died (those of you who have been around for a while may remember the story). It happened one of the evenings when I was on my way to visit him that IT happened. God CALLED me!

It's close to an hours drive from our farm and the hospital and I approached the small hill and slight curve in the road (which may just represent what happened in my life), and may I say that I never once drove past this spot on the road without remembering what happened there and still often become teary-eyed and I always get chills.

It wasn't that I "heard" Him "saying" anything, but immediately in that car I FELT something pour over me, wash over me like a warm enveloping wave, which I believe was His anointing. Immediately I began to weep uncontrollably (thankfully I had slowed down, going about 50 miles an hour, which is probably why He chose the hill and the curve so I wasn't going 70 mph. as the point IT happened). And no, I wasn't crying out of sadness, nor did I have trouble driving. It was just THE most amazing experience ever!!

Interestingly in Streams in the Desert for October 22 it explains when He calls us: "The vision of the Angel of the Lord came to Moses while he was involved in his everyday work. That is exactly where the Lord delights in giving His revelations. He seeks a man traveling an ordinary road, and “suddenly a light from heaven” shines on him. 

What's interesting, too, is that I didn't tell anyone for quite some time what had happened. However, a few days later, once again on my way to visit my husband in the hospital, He told me I needed to speak to my husband about my coming back to the ministry. I told Him that there was no way he would want me back, but my Husband told me to just tell him and see what happened. 

It may have been due to this happening when my husband was out of his hospital bed for the first time, but when I told him I wanted to come back to the ministry— he began to cry. It seems that he and our boys had a new business venture that they didn't know how they could get started if they had the ministry to worry about!

Yet, like all journeys, the story didn't end there but had really only begun. All too soon, shortly after I took the ministry over, the business venture didn't pan out, so my husband took my ministry back. Oh, I can't tell you how much my heart was broken because I had been truly and wonderfully called. So I spent MANY hours with my face in the carpet screaming because it hurt so much. 

Of course, I said nothing to anyone—instinctively I took everything to my Husband time and time again. Months later my Husband broght me to a place in the Bible where I would find the understanding to calm the storm in my soul and spirit. He showed me when David was actually crowned king, but showed me it was many years later David began to reign as king. The years between his crown and his kingdom were sorely needed years, years of refining to make David ready for his call as king.

Then in June of 2011, when I saw that my ministry was basically GONE (having had 5000 members that went down to just 21 members and partners combined, all due to a minister who embezzled thousands of dollars and drove my closest friends/ministers away), so I SSG "simply sought God" for wisdom. 

That's when my Husband lovely spoke to me about my bad HABIT of "selling my birthright" but what was worse, is that I had no idea I was doing it. I was happy to give my birthright, my ministry, away time and again. Okay, that is another story for another time. For now, let me conclude the CHANGE that happened in me due to being "called" and also having had my ministry taken from me more than once.

From that moment, the moment HE POURED His anointing over me— I instantly had COMPASSION for every single woman whom God brought into my life!! No longer did I get frustrated or wish I could shake some woman to their senses. 

All I can say is that from that moment when He called me I began to FEEL as HE FEELS for others because it is He is WHO began operating in me!!

The only thing to compare to this experience is when you are born again or filled with the Holy Spirit. And due to being so young when I was saved (though most of it I can remember vividly as if it were yesterday, even though it was many, many YEARS ago when I was only seven!) I am so grateful I was serious enough to really press into Him to get what I know He wanted to give me, which was—His anointing when He CALLED me into ministry—and my being serious enough that I was willing to walk away.

As I said, there is no need to stop and wait to be called. Stay in His flow and I am sure He will lead you to the same place (not the same hill or curve) but something so unique and special that I hope you will share it in a posted praise so that I can read it and we can add a #TAG right here so we can all marvel in the uniqueness of how He called each of us! And if you've already been called, please share when you first felt Him called. Please posted your praise and share the post it in the comment (below).

Simply ASK if He has called you or ASK Him to call you if He hasn't. He promises you WILL (not may) receive.

"After teaching them how to pray [The Lord's Prayer] Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” L115