I am relentless about seeking out willing women that are ready to learn, serve, and are focused to expand the kingdom of God. What this really means is that even when we encounter women that our in our Christian circle and they don’t want to learn more about God, you stay focused. As you plot your course to how you will be relentlessly focused you may also find that you are the only one of just a few that wants to engage in mutual Bible study. This may be a barricade that you find is too hard to get over. I have said to myself: “My sisters in Christ do not want to study God’s word or come together for mutual edification. Is it me?” But I also know, in my heart that this is not how God has fashioned his children to be. It really is okay to find yourself in this position because God is going to work it out for His glory. We often share this saying: “If God brought you to it He will bring you through it!” God has given you & I a way to get over and through this barricade.
We must seek out other ways to encourage women and to bind women together in love for the cause of Christ. I hope if you are a spiritual encourager that you will continue to do what God has gifted you to do—ENCOURAGE!! While you and I are encouraging others our mindset must be relentless about unifying women for the cause of Christ.
Unity with our sisters means that we love God in such a way that we are seeking to edify one another onto good works. These good works are shaped by knowing and putting into action the word of God. It is true, that to accomplish any goal you must first write down your plan. How do you plan to get to where you are going and what are you trying to do? It is so much easier when you are planning good works in unity with your sisters where you fellowship. But when this doesn’t happen not let it stop you-spur yourself onto good works sister!
So, keep looking and keep expecting that if God has given you something to do to unify and expand His kingdom, He will give you everything you need to make it happen. This also means that when one door closes, another one opens—look and be ready for that door. Just as Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 16:9 – because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me. Sisters if your ‘because’ presents a circumstance for you that is a barricade of defiance to the will of God for your life, you must do a course correction. You must be relentless in attaining your goals, believing in the gifts and talents God has given you. We know that unity is the will of God in our lives. Have you heard that Satan doesn’t bother people that are already doing what Satan wants. NO, Satan goes after those that are moving forward in the cause of Christ.
The caution lights are going off as you relentlessly pursue the unity of your sisters. The Devil will always be rousing around to see who is open enough to his wiles so that he can devour them (see 1 Peter 5:8). This means that when you let sin in, the Devil is winning the race. You need sisters to help you stay on course. You may be the motivator but who is motivating the motivator. God gives us a special fellowship of unity to accomplish His mission.
One of the things that keeps me running relentlessly in this race called life, is the confirmation and motivation that I receive from sisters across the nation. These sisters are unified in their purpose to serve God. They live their lives focused on the will of God and they are encouraging others to live in the gifts God has given them. These sisters have been part of my lifeline As I continue to host the S.A.L.I.S.I (Sisters Anonymously Linked; Iron Sharpens Iron), sisters weekly encouragement conference call. Honestly speaking, sometimes I feel a bit out of breath, or out of sorts as we sometimes say, in the continued management of this call. I find myself searching within and trying to understand if this is the continued will of God for my life. Do you ever question yourself regarding the tasks that you believe God has given you?
My almost 9-year journey with the SALISI call presents many times of encouragement for the unity of the Sisters and the tasks to go along with it. Some of these tasks involve: Finding weekly speakers, preparing for the SALISI calls, and now introducing another component of this call that is a mentorship tool called the Sister Greeter Program. “Whew Lord.” As I take a breath, I sometimes wonder: “Oh Lord, can I hold on? Where does my help come from?” My help comes from the Lord (read Psalm 121:2). It is so amazing that when I am feeling this way I get a call, a text, or a note from a ‘sister girlfriend’ continuing to encourage me.
God has blessed me with an amazing group of women from all over the nation that continue to encourage me by supporting this weekly call beyond just dialing in on Tuesday nights (see information at the end of this blog on how you can join the SALISI sisters). God has gifted me with an administrative expert (that’s what I call Sister ‘Tutu’), She has volunteered her time to help me. Sisters unified is a powerful force that negative barriers cannot penetrate.
I sincerely wish I could help women to understand that our collective unity is the gift that God has given us to show others the hope of God that never dies. Schedule a reading of 1 Peter 1 – that’s right -- the whole chapter. I recommend scheduling this so that you get it done. That’s what I must do. After reading this chapter I’m praying that you will be motivated to live in this hope. Also read 1 Peter, chapter 3, verses 8-10 that shares our mutual caring for one another. We are talking about being unified! What a quandary this can be when, as a believer, you know that your Christian sister should be closer to you then those that are in the world. It draws my attention to what I call the ‘friend’ scripture in Proverbs.
Proverbs 18:24 in the King James Version of the bible shares: A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. The New International Version of this same scripture shares this truth in this way: One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Who is that friend? Yes—its our Lord and Savior.
We sing a song in some of the Churches of Christ called, What a Friend we Have in Jesus. A friend is someone who is there to help, talk to, share unspeakable things with. These things you cannot share with anyone else. In this sharing we are taking everything to Jesus. God has supplied us with sisters that help us here on earth. They edify us, strengthen us, build us up, and even protect us from life’s perils. I pray through all of life’s perils that you have someone who is so close to you that you can pick up the phone and say, “Girl what you up to? I wanted to share something with you that’s been bothering me and I know that you will not judge me but give me Godly guidance and love.” Who is that person or persons for you? Please take in this next thought with all the love in my heart:
It is a painstaking truth that when we evaluate our true friends we ponder: Are they in the body of believers you are a part of – or – are they friends you grew up with, friends you went to college with. Too often they are not in the same believing crowd that we are a part of. Think about this: How often do you talk to the people you go to church with through the week? Be honest.
When we are relentlessly unified in loving one another, it garners compassion, humility, and the desire to bless others. It provides a sister comfort circle (SCC) that we should all want to be a part of and this is also characteristic of a meaningful identity with our sisters across the nation. Let’s not just read this, but heed this and live it out. Our preparation becomes habitual when we include compassion, humbleness, and the desire to bless others in our everyday life. Who’s in your SCC? We are preparing for the hereafter. Eternal life is my crown and I pray that I (and you) will keep moving toward relentlessly unifying sisters.
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Join the SALISI Sisterhood call on Tuesdays at 8:30 pm EST (meet and greet begins at 8:20 pm EST), for an encouraging time with our sisters and friends across the nation. Dial into 1-605-472-5552, code: 834085#. The replay # is 1-605-475-4966, code 834085#, when asked for a reference number just use # again for the most recent call.
About the author:
Sister Renee West, is a member of Denbigh COC in Newport News VA. She is native of Toledo, Ohio and later moved to Hampton Virginia where she enlisted in the United States Air Force and served her country for 22 years. Sister Renee began her at-home career with Legal Shield in 1999 providing legal service plans to families, employees and business owners.
She loves serving her church family wherever she is needed and especially in managing women’s bible studies and programs. As facilitator of the WeCare team the focus is on constant communication with church members, acknowledging the special events of church members, and by sending all occasion cards where fruitful.
Her purpose is to encourage women to seek the hope of God. Sis Renee is convinced that all of her life skills have been gifted to her by God to live in her purpose as an encourager of women. Sis Renee has been the host of the SALISI Sister’s Encouragement call since 2014 and a volunteer prison ministry leader for 13 years. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services and is board certified in that profession. She recently completed training as a certified Life Coach.
She especially wants to highlight the opportunity to encourage women through being a facilitator for a group of sisters called the Wintertime 1 SisStars. Seeing the power of God work in and through these amazing women is additional fuel to keep moving forward in the will of God for my life and for theirs. These precious sisters are evolving and changing in their spiritual gifts from Sunday to Sunday during their on-line zoom bible study class initiated by Sis Roxy Hall and her team.
She is married to Mark for 42 years and has 3 children, 6 grandchildren and 3 great grandchild. Her favorite scripture is from Psalm 46:10: Be still and Know That I am God.
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