Yours in Christ,
Genice Fulton
“Study, be eager, do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing & accurately dividing (rightly handling & skillfully teaching) the Word of Truth.” 2 Tim. 2:15.
Have you ever wanted to do something cool, really cool? Like sky diving, or mountain climbing or white water kayaking? You are thinking of a country song, aren’t you? Now I know where your heart is…JUST KIDDING!I’ve been a scuba diver since 1996 and I’ll tell you, it is cool...really cool! To me, it is a gift straight from God. Life below the waves is a whole new world that most people never see. While diving, one gets a sense of just how small a human is. I knowingly place myself in an environment (with planning and paying money), where I am not the top predator, for the sake of enjoyment…and my perspective changes.
To see what I see when I’m diving is to attempt to grasp God’s intent, and His vastness when He created the whole earth. And God DID create the earth. If you want to open the eyes of your understanding on that, Genesis 1:1 will clear it all up for you. Don’t be deceived.
The underwater world is absolutely indescribable. I shoot underwater photography and videography, and have yet to be able to make a person who does not dive grasp the wonder of God’s underwater world. (Psalm 50:12)
I remember my very first dive. I was in Cozumel, Mexico getting my certification. You have to be certified to dive so you don’t kill yourself, so you can buy air for your tank, etc. At that time, I had a fear of the water & could hardly swim…can you say “really bad doggie paddle?” It’s a long story how I chose scuba as a sport. But we can get into that another time.
On this dive, the very first thing I noticed were the tropical fish. They’re different than any fish I’d ever seen before. I grew up in Oklahoma with catfish & crappie, so this was a whole new world. The tropical fish have interesting designs and vibrant colors, and some of them even swim differently. They’re just very different. To this day, at over 500 dives, I still am captivated by them while I’m diving. Once I saw the amazingness of the underwater world, I immediately went from “I can’t do this” to “No matter what, I must do this (get certified).” The coral, sponges, octopus, barracudas, spotted eagle rays, etc…everything was new to me. Being in that environment just brings a whole new revelation of God, His creation & His ability!
On this dive, the very first thing I noticed were the tropical fish. They’re different than any fish I’d ever seen before. I grew up in Oklahoma with catfish & crappie, so this was a whole new world. The tropical fish have interesting designs and vibrant colors, and some of them even swim differently. They’re just very different. To this day, at over 500 dives, I still am captivated by them while I’m diving. Once I saw the amazingness of the underwater world, I immediately went from “I can’t do this” to “No matter what, I must do this (get certified).” The coral, sponges, octopus, barracudas, spotted eagle rays, etc…everything was new to me. Being in that environment just brings a whole new revelation of God, His creation & His ability!
Going diving was the fruit of the groundwork that had to take place PRIOR to the payoff. Seeing these amazing fish, the indescribable colors of the coral, hearing the sounds and feeling the salt water….all of it, was the fruit of labor.
You need your church, and more importantly, your church needs you. I’m not talking about works. I’m talking about walking in and being The Church. I had to get certified in order to even buy air. Before I was qualified to have fun and explore the deep, I had to put in the time to demonstrate that I was sea-worthy.
Please allow me to regress for a moment. The first thing I had to do was decide I wanted to be a scuba diver. So pray and ask God which talents He has placed in you. In what areas are you anointed? Seek, ask, knock, He’ll answer! (Matt. 7:7) He loves you. (John 3:16) He wants you and He wants you to be successful in life. He desires to give you wisdom when you simply….ask Him. (James 1:5, Isaiah 43:1-2 and 1 Peter 2:9).
A little side note here…your talent may not be what you think it is, so keep an open mind. Otherwise, you wouldn’t fully know it is God if you are operating in your own abilities. In an instant, I have went from being the photographer to being the photographed. But that is a whole different bible study.
He gives us the desires of our heart, when we delight in Him. (Psalm 37:4) How do we do that? How do you delight in a new girl or boyfriend? I use that illustration because if I said, “How do you delight in your spouse?” Some people couldn’t even get “there”. Not all, but a lot. So think back with me to when you first met this love of your life, what did you do? Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk / listen, listen, listen, listen, listen…we were on a fact finding mission! We wanted to find out everything, well, almost everything. We wanted to find out all the things we wanted to know, okay?
But God’s not like that...He has no bad or irritating habits! He is all good, everything about Him is good, He gives us goodness! James 1:17...that’s Jesus! I am sure, in my reality, somewhere in some language- Jesus translates into good! So decide, right now to get “certified” in Jesus!
As we delight in Him, talk to Him, spend time with Him, read His writings, follow His commands which were written for our good…not His, He will place desires in our hearts. See how that works? We delight in Him, He gives us desires to walk out. That is where His grace is, that is where His anointing is upon our lives is. That is His will for your life and whatever “it” is for you…will change His kingdom, your life and the lives of everyone you come into contact with, forever! There is no better place in Heaven or on earth to invest in than God!
He has created you (see Jeremiah 1:5). So don’t run around thinking you were conceived in the back seat of a car, or due to two people being high and hooking up. NO! You are your Father’s child. (Gal. 4:1-6). You, like Queen Esther were born for such a time as this! You may have been conceived in the back seat of a car in the natural, but God, who knew the end from the beginning, conceived you before that sperm and egg ever collided. And if you are not born again, and thus believe the scripture does not apply to you, it is the easiest and most fulfilling thing you’ve ever done to just get born again! (Romans 10:9-10)
Once I decided I was going to get certified to dive, I had to find a teacher. I have to encourage you right now to find your teacher(s). When I taught scuba, we oftentimes taught using the team teaching method. My partner might teach the classroom sessions and then I would teach the pool open water sessions. Let me say it again: You must find your teachers!
What am I talking about? If you don’t have a pastor, make it a priority to find your pastor(s). Sit under their authority, allow them to speak into your life, pray for them and with them, accept their correction, when needed, and we all need correction. Learn God’s plan on how to be The Church! Catch the vision and lock in, don’t give up! When do you quit? NEVER! How long do you keep trying? FOREVER! (Gal 6:9) Because God promises, when you don’t give up, you will reap. You may be thinking, “Well, I’ve been promised lots of things.” Wake up! Numbers 23:19 says God can’t not fulfill what He has promised. That’s a double negative, I know that. However, if you can get a hold that one principle, He will change your life! And He will continue to change your life!
I made a decision, I found a teacher and I paid for my lessons (Mal. 3:10-12). You want the windows of Heaven open? You want Him to pour out a blessing so huge, huge, HUGE you cannot even contain it in every area of your life? Health, finances, relationships! You want Him to rebuke the devourer for you? You want all nations to call you blessed? You want to be a land of delight? Because I sure do! Then get a hold of the concept of “bringing all the tithe” into the storehouse. Then do it and don’t turn loose of it. What is the tithe? My daddy use to call it cash on the barrel head. This one concept, in and of itself, will prevent more issues than you will ever fully know on this side of Heaven. If you choose not to tithe, it will only be on the other side of this life that you will find out what you could have had...but didn’t.
When I was in college, I was a single parent. I half heartedly went to the church and whole heartedly went to the bar. My grocery budget was $25 per week and somehow God insured we were fed, clothed, our bills were always paid. We never ran out of shampoo. It’s a whole different testimony of mine, but a bottle of shampoo would literally last about a year. True story. And not a Costco bottle, a 97 cent Walmart bottle! And this is why, with all the drinking, partying, etc that I was doing…I was obedient to the word of God in this area- and paid tithes. It was the first check I wrote. And listen to this, not out of love and obedience, but out of fear so God wouldn’t “get me. Whether that was my outlook because of growing up under bad theology or whatever the reason…the point is this: God’s Word works whether you believe it or not, whether you understand it or not and whether you are perfect in it or not. Trust me…no one operates fully, perfectly in His Word 24/7-365. That’s why God gives us grace. He helps us in our weaknesses! (Romans 8:26). Praise the Lord!
Bringing you back to scuba diving, I made a decision, I found a teacher, I paid, and then it was time to study. I read the book. In order to operate successfully in this life, in order for Him to bring His Word to your remembrance, in order for you to pass the tests, which by the way are brought for the Word’s sake, (Mark 4:17) you must read The Book!
Had I not read the book in order to know how to operate at up to 130’ at depth, how would I know how to keep myself from being hurt or killed?
In diving, we have a dive buddy. Some people dive solo; however, for safety reasons it is not recommended. Here’s an interesting story of how Mike, my dive buddy, saved my life. We were diving on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada where the water temp is generally about 45 degrees. That’s cold, very cold, especially when it is going into your ears and face. At least until my ears and face went numb! We were diving a ship wreck and I was at approx 105’ when I got nitrogen narcosis, but didn’t realize it. All I knew was that I didn’t feel well, and literally thought to myself….”I will just hang in the window of this shipwreck and go to sleep.”And so I did. I heard Mike tapping on his tank and I thought, “Can he not see that I’m taking a nap here?” Sounds funny, but it is a true story. He kept making that “tink, tink, tink, tink” sound on his tank until I woke up and told him to stop trying to wake me up! Had he:
Number One- Not been an excellent diver (he was functioning at about 105’…the same depth that I was not functioning at)...
Number Two- Not been trained to know what being “narced” was. (He received his training from sitting under the instruction of another diver more advanced than he.)
Number Three- Not been persistent in his attempts to wake me up and get my attention with his rapping “tink-tink-tink,” I would’ve died that day.
I either would’ve just not woke up, or I would’ve woken up at 105’ when my body realized the air in the tank had ran out! 105’ is deep, very deep…it would take God, Himself, to bring a diver up from 105’ without air for them to survive.
Dive buddies are taught to stay close together. Had he not been close to me, had he had his own agenda and not been paying attention to my bizarre behavior…after all, I didn’t think anything was wrong with taking a nap on a ship wreck at 105’…It would have been over for me. Was I thinking straight? Not by any definition of the word.
You need your body of believers and they need you. Sometimes, you are at 105’ with “no air” and “go to sleep”. At other times, your believing buddy is at 105’ with no air and goes to sleep. Don’t deceive yourself and don’t be neglectful. (Heb. 10:25) I’m often told by acquaintances, “I go to church online.” Online teaching is great. However, it is great when it is used for its intended purpose, which is to supplement, not take away from your responsibility as a believer. To avoid assembling yourself with a local body, and just making an appearance online is being neglectful. Try to be married online…no, don’t. Envision for moment if the majority of your relationships were online. For those people who really know me, you know that could be a big temptation, just saying! But again, internet communications…Facebook, Twitter, etc., are only meant to further enhance our relationships, not replace them. It is the same with online church. Online church does not, and cannot replace your local, physical body of believers.
Sometimes, we need our believing buddies to “tink-tink-tink” and wake us up when we are not functioning well or at all as a believer. At other times, we must “tink-tink-tink” to snap our buddies out of their naps when they are 105’ deep.
As a diver, we take continuing education. God never changes (Mal. 3:6); however, our environment does & so do we. Thank God that we change. I cannot even tell you how much I’ve changed in just the last 3 to 5 years. I have changed so much, I am hardly recognizable to myself. It’s all been a very welcome, praise the LORD and I welcome more!
As the church, we have to continue our education. (Romans 12:2) We have to study to show ourselves approved. I once likened it to meeting a newfound love interest from another country. We most likely, would dig into their culture, their language, their way of life to get to know them better. How much more must we dig into Jesus!
How long does it take to get to accomplish our purpose or get to our destination? After we lock into His plan, how long do we stay locked in? Well, when we are on a trip and my six year old little girl says, “Daddy, when are we going to be there?” My husband, who was born in Texas, and as result, is a man of few words, says “When we are.” You keep studying until you are. As Paul says in Acts, “BUT we have to keep on being filled or be filled with the Holy Spirit and POWER.” We can see this in the early church. The disciples were initially filled in Acts Chapter 2, and refilled in Acts Chapter 4. (Acts 2:4, Acts 4:31) When “are” you? When you go home or Jesus comes. And He is coming, therefore keep watch!
Matt 16:27, 23:39, 24:27, 24:30, 24:36-39, 24-42, 26:64 makes it clear…and even throughout the rest of the New Testament, we learn…JESUS IS COMING SOON!
When the world’s way of finance began to kind of tank, around 2007, back when we all thought it was bad, before we saw how bad it could really be- God told me, “the world’s way of finance is about to fail.” I said “LORD, this is bad.” There’s nothing like taking a bad report to the LORD (you know, Phil. 4:8). I was praying for the people who hadn’t yet grasped the principle of seed-time-harvest. People in the church and out, because I saw lives being destroyed and people taking their own lives, going to hell and taking the lives of their families. I asked Him, “What are these people going to do?” He told me “Genesis 8:22,” and later He showed me Isaiah 66:22. All flesh shall come to worship before Him!
We all are going to abide forever in one of two places.
There is no middle of the road or riding the fence on this.
Choose life.
Decide...and don’t waver.
Find...and keep a teacher (pastors).
Pay...and keep paying (tithes & offerings).
Link up...and stay linked with your buddies (other believers).
And most importantly- stay...and keep staying in daily communion with Him through prayer and His Word.
