It’s Time

by Adrienne Reece

I won’t try and speak for you, but I know for me, this year has started off interesting to say the least. Even though we are only a few weeks into the new year, it feels long already. Can you relate? I think if I had to pinpoint my exact experience, it’s as if I’ve been holding my breath over the last two years with each new year presented as an opportunity to finally exhale everything that has happened over the last two years. But, instead of being able to exhale and breathe again, each new year seemed to take a little bit more than the last. I was really hoping this year would be different but so far, it hasn’t been.

As a person that tends to be extremely self-motivated, I have been able to achieve a new level of productivity since the New Year rang in. However, I have also been hit with some pretty heavy news that has caused me to re-evaluate my entire life, and shift things into perspective. I don’t want to go into too much detail just yet, but I will share what is causing this re-evaluation, but in order to do so effectively, I have to take you back to the beginning.

When I was in the Air Force, I had the absolute privilege of being stationed in Hawai’i. If you’ve never been, it’s everything you imagine it to be, in real life and it’s worth every penny. While I was in Hawai’i, I found a church for the first time in my adult life, and I fell in love with everything about it. I’m sure we’ll unpack the layers of just how pivotal that church was in my life as we grow and journey together, but for the sake of this blog, I want to tell you about the pastors of that church. I had grown up in church much of my life, but I had never come across such loving, giving and selfless people…especially CHURCH PEOPLE! (Come on somebody!)

Those pastors became very close parental figures to me and my husband. One reason being, they were the ones to marry us. I shared in a recent YouTube Video that our wedding was completely free, as were their services. The pastor officiated the wedding, and the first lady was my wedding planner—and they didn’t charge us a dime for their time or resources. Since then, the relationship has completely blossomed and we have remained in very close connection with their family, even after the military relocated us halfway across the world while they remained in Hawai’i.

Not long after 2022 began, that pastor, my pastor, who is a father figure in my life and very near to my heart, fell ill. This blog is not to discuss his navigation through that sickness, but to share with you what the Lord has been revealing to me through this experience. I keep hearing the Lord tell me (and confirm) 3 simple words. IT.IS.TIME. Sounds so simple right?

I want to unpack this together so that you can understand exactly what the Lord is guiding us into in this new season of 2022 and beyond.

I want to leave you with 2 unctions I believe the Lord is urging us into.

Unction #1

It’s Time for us to take accountability in the body of Christ. If you’re familiar with the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible, then you’ll remember in Genesis that Cain became angry because God did not look at his offering with favor like he did with his brother Abel. This caused Cain to become angry with his brother which resulted in Abel losing his life at the hands of his brother Cain. (Gen 4-1-8) Almost immediately after the sin was committed, God asked Cain where his brother was and Cain was responded “Am I my brother’s keeper?” You can just sense the sarcasm and cynicism oozing from his spirit (Gen 4:8-9). I want to take a moment to remind you that as we are on this walk toward Heaven together, that it’s important for us to indeed, be our brother’s keeper but not in the way that you might think. While we must work out our own soul salvation with fear and trembling, according to Philippians 2:12, the Bible also says, “when thou art converted, go back and strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:32) Many times, when we hear “brothers” I want to remind us that God is not talking about biology here, but rather He is talking about male and female in the church. I believe God is instructing His children to stop allowing “any and everything” to pass as Gospel. There is an extremely thin line between the word and the world, and we seem to make our home on that very line. It doesn’t matter that we don’t agree with some versions of Gospel that are being preached. What matters is that our voice is being overshadowed by the world on the topics that we should be taking a clear stance on, because we would rather major in the minors.

Unction #2

It’s Time for us to pick up the baton and run with the gospel like we have yet to do. I am new to the Central Texas area and my family and I have been visiting different churches in our area.  At one of the churches we visited, the pastor stated that he had been preaching in his same pulpit for over a quarter century. Fast forward, it was evident that it was time for him to pass the baton, but from the outside looking in, it seemed as though there was no one to pass the baton on to, not because he didn’t want to, but because there was no one else in position ready to receive it. (If you’ve ever seen a 4×100 meter track & field race, you’ll understand my reference.) Sis, it is time for us to teach what we have been taught. It’s time for us to arise and walk in the confidence and promises of God. It’s time for us to perform the “greater works” that Jesus told us we would do. It’s time for us to set our face like flint and not go out looking like we are feeling. I do not believe God saved us, to sit. Sis, I’m not sure what you are good at, but I do know that the Bible says that “gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” (Romans 11:29) Simply put, if He gave you the gift to sing, He is not going to take it away from you just because He saved you. It’s time out for us to think that we are to become dormant just because God saved us, while the world is gaining a strong hold on God’s people both Christian and non-Christian alike.

If it’s one thing the last two years should have taught us, it’s that this life is fleeting. Over 1 million people have died in the last two years. Regardless of your stance on politics or medicine, roughly 1 million families have had to learn to do life without their loved one(s). You may even be in that number. When I think of my pastor, the keeper of my soul, lying helpless in a hospital bed, I’m reminded that life is “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14 NIV) I’m reminded to keep the main thing the main thing. I’m reminded to let my yes be yes, and my no be no. (Matthew 5:37) It’s time to stop going along to get along and accepting lukewarmness as Gospel (Revelations 3:16).

So, let’s make a pact. Let’s agree to not major in the minors as a body. If God’s priority is saving souls, then let’s let our priority become saving souls as well. Let’s agree to only major in what God majors in. He gives us instructions to grow with but let’s agree not to get distracted by the conversations that the world is having. When we can become cautious, not to entertain every conversation and to focus our attention on the conversations that can truly change lives I believe we will begin to see the manifestation of the Acts church in our world today.  So, do we have a deal?