Prayer & Fasting

I want to remind you of the need of prayer and fasting. I am joining with such leaders as Randall Howard, General Overseer of the Church of God of Prophecy, William Wilson of Cry Out America, and Bob Rodgers of Evangel World Prayer Center in Louisville, KY in asking each of you to participate in 21 days of Prayer and Fasting as we begin 2010. As we view the spiritual terrain of our nation we can easily identify the need for a spiritual awakening which will lead to revival in America. Fasting and Prayer such should be a part of the spiritual discipline of the life of a Christian believer but these first 21 days of January allow us to join together in a concentrated effort throughout the Body of Christ. We are able to call on God through prayer as well offer to Him the sacrifice of self denial. We are able to deny the flesh and set aside those times in order to draw closer to God. God will direct the hearts of each of us as we approach Him with sincere hearts seeking to connect with God in a fresh and vibrant way as we enter 2010. I sincerely believe that God will provide marvelous opportunities for each of us as we seek to walk in the pursuit of the Kingdom of God. After all Jesus told us through His Word to make seeking the Kingdom of God the top priority of our lives (Matthew 6:33). He even uses the word "first" in His declaration in Matthew. Let us recommit ourselves to this "first" principle as we enter the "first" 21 days of 2010. God will bless and reward your efforts.

Happy New Year

It is still very hard to imagine that we are preparing to say good-bye to 2009. Where have those 365 days gone? Many of us have been busy working for the King in His Kingdom and we have been privileged to witness many wonderful and awesome blessings from God. Personally, we have been able to reflect on the past year and see the hand of God on our lives in many ways. God has been our Provider as well as our Protector. God has been our Health as well as our Healer. God has been our Guide as well as our Savior. God has been our Hope as well as our Righteousness. Time and space will not afford me to declare all that God has been to us; but rest assured this is one thankful and grateful blogger today because I have been able to sense the presence of God on a daily basis. I look forward to 2010 and to the further revelation of the presence and power of God. I am determined to serve Him to the very best of my ability. None of us know what the future year holds but we do know who holds the year in His hands. We are able to trust God as we can relate to His faithfulness in the previous days of our journey. Our prayer for 2010 is for God's Grace and Mercy to be revealed in your lives in greater revelation and understanding. We are also asking that the release of God's love would flow through your lives to all of those people that you will encounter this coming year. We are asking for the fire of soul winning to grip our hearts with a deeper passion for the lost and hurting of our world. We are asking that each of us will live a life that is fully surrendered and committed to the cause and purpose of Jesus Christ. We ask these things in the MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS! Amen!

Post-Christmas Thoughts

The posts on the blog have been sporadic these past few days. First of all the illness that I faced caused me to stay away from much time on the computer. I felt that I needed to rest and allow the Spirit of God to re-energize my body as well as my soul. The year of 2009 has been full of great blessings from God as well as some challenging days of trial and struggle. But in the midst of the daily affairs of life God has revealed His faithfulness and His awesome presence. I can look back over 2009 and declare a deep felt PRAISE GOD! God is a God of covenant and promises and I am learning to walk in the strength of those promises. I sense that 2010 will be a year of opportunities for all of us; we will face those moments in which we must choose to make the proper response to God. Will I allow the enemy to hinder my walk with God or will I allow the Spirit to strengthen my walk with God? By faith and through faith I am going to choose the latter; I desire to allow the Spirit to strengthen my journey with God. Begin to set your plans in motion for 2010 as we move toward the end of 2009. As we seek to draw near to God He will respond by drawing near to each of us.

Christmas Blessings!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM LOUISVILLE, KY! We wanted to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas celebration. This is the season that we reflect on the birth of Christ the Savior of the world. As Christians we are able to celebrate the life of Christ on a daily basis but today we pause and make a special effort to remember and reflect on the birth of our King. May each of you rejoice in the fact that God through Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to have communion and relationship with Him. We rejoice in the Goodness, Grace, and Mercy of the Lord! Blessings on you and your family as we celebrate the birth of Christ.

Gaining Strength

I continue to make progress in my recovery from pneumonia. Once again I than each of you for your prayers and for the encouraging and thoughtful words that have been shared with me. I am grateful for the faithfulness of God. This season of Christmas has once again reminded me of God's faithfulness. The characters in the Christmas story testify to us of the faithfulness of God. Each of us have testimonies that declare the faithfulness of God. We are able to share with people the greatness of God as He continues to reveal and release His love into our lives. I desire to continue sharing the Love of God with a lost and hurting world. The birth of Christ reminds us of the plan that God has for fallen humanity. I am glad that God did not choose to give up on man but God chose to give man an opportunity to find redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ. Let us rejoice as we recognize the great blessing of salvation through our Savior who was born in the lowly manger in Bethlehem.

Illness Update

First of all I want to thank each of you who have been praying for me and for my recovery. Through the strength of your prayers and by the Grace of God I was able to make the long drive (620 plus miles) home on this past Thursday. The Lord was Gracious and Kind and provided the energy that I needed to make the safe drive from Bethany, NC. My wife took me to the Dr. on Thursday evening and I was diagnosed with pneumonia in the right lung. The Dr. placed me on a strong antibiotic and ordered me to rest at home. I am doing my best to follow the orders of the Dr. and I am recuperating at home and I feel my strength returning more each day. I desire your continued prayer covering for my complete recovery. I have work to do in the Kingdom of God and I feel the urge and need to be about the "Father's business." I appreciate the kindness of the people in NC who sought to assist me in my illness. I was also reminded of the importance of praying for each other. I am convinced that it was the prayer covering of the family of God that provided the strength that I needed to make my way back to Louisville. Never under estimate the power of your prayers when you call out to God in sincere faith and belief. Each of us depend on the prayers of the family of God and each of us need to fulfill our responsibility to pray for each other.

Update on NC Trip

I have decided to cancel the remaining services of the NC tour due to my sickness. I reached this conclusion after prayer and discussion with Pastor Bill Tatum of the White Oak, NC church. Thank you Pastor Bill for your kindness and for your understanding. Thank you Pastor Doug Howard and the Taylor's Chapel church for excusing me from my ministerial duties the past three nights. I am feeling somewhat better and I will begin my trip home to Louisville on Thursday morning. I desire your prayer covering as this is a long drive and I am still weak from the sickness. But I take this moment to offer praise to God for His marvelous grace and blessing. This is the first time that I have had to cancel any services due to illness during the time that I have been on this Evangelistic/Missionary journey (almost four years to be exact). Thank God for His Healing and for the Health that He provides on a daily basis. I also want to thank each of you who have been praying for my recovery; I know that the Lord is touching is me.

Lack of Posts

I have been ill for the past few days and I still need the prayer of those who read this blog. I have been unable to fulfill my commitment for the services at Taylor's Chapel. At this point I am unsure of the services at White Oak, NC this weekend. The services at Stedman and Roseboro, NC went very well. I do appreciate the prayers of the people of God; I walk daily in the strength that God provides!

Decisions

Last night and again this morning the Spirit is dealing with me concerning decisions. Life is a series of events that requires me to make decisions. Certainly some of these decisions are easier than others and some of these decisions do not carry the same repercussions as other decisions. But I am concerned about making the correct decisions when it comes to my relationship with God. Will I choose to respond to God or will I choose to reject God? Will I choose to receive His correction and admonition or will I choose to walk in my own will and way? Will I choose to surrender my life to His Lordship or will I continue to walk after the leading of fleshly desires and plans? Each of these questions are very important and they will play a significant role in our spiritual development. I am hearing the Voice of the Spirit in my personal prayer time, I am hearing the Voice of the Spirit in public worship services, and I am hearing the Voice of the Spirit in the declaration of the Word of God. But what am I doing with His Voice and with His call? Will I continue to choose to ignore this call or will I reach the conclusion that my spiritual life depends on me following after Christ with true resolve and strong desire? I believe that many of you are sensing the same encouragement from God and I believe that many of us will choose to answer God with a resounding YES. Yes, we are ready to follow Him and yes we are ready to obey Him.

Recognizing Advent

The presence of the Lord was very evident in the service last night in Stedman, NC. We gathered together to lift up and exalt the name of Christ as we enter the season of celebration that many refer to as Advent. We gathered to celebrate the birth of Christ, the Savior of the world. I want to share something with you that Sis. Jackie Baldwin (Pastor's wife) spoke last night as she began to lead the worship service. She made this statement: "I do not want to lose the celebration of Advent in the busyness of the celebration of Christmas (secular celebrations)." My heart was deeply challenged by that declaration. It is so easy to be captured by the hustle and bustle of the events during the month of December that we fail to properly recognize the birth of Christ, the Hope for our world. Oh, we may give Christ a "token" glance so that we can keep up the appearance of religious seriousness but do we actually take the time to reflect on the birth of the Savior of the world? I do not want to lose Christ in all of the secular trappings of the Christmas celebration. These celebrations may have their place in our family traditions and even in our church traditions but let us make a conscious effort to maintain our spiritual integrity and worship our Savior and King. A line from one the traditional Christmas carols presents this challenge, "O come let us adore Him..." Will you join me in adoring Him this Christmas season? Will you join me in leading your family into adoring Him this Christmas season? He is worthy of our adoration and worship. After all, Christmas is truly a time to celebrate the birth of our Redeemer who came to deliver mankind from the clutches of the enemy. Today let us celebrate Christ our Savior!

Walking after God

Yesterday was a travel day for me. I am in Stedman, NC (near Fayetteville) for a series of meetings over the next few days. You can look at the schedule to be able to identify the churches in which I will be serving as speaker. I am looking forward to these meetings and I believe that the presence of God will be with us as we look to direction from His Word and the strength of His Spirit. Pastor Don and Jackie Baldwin are serving as hosts for the first few days of these meetings. This is the "perfect" time of the year to be able to turn our hearts to Christ. The stores are decorated for the celebration of Christmas, the airwaves are full of music reminding us of the birth of Christ, and the anticipation of celebration is on the hearts of many of us. We will be poised for a mighty move of the Spirit if we can turn all of the secular excitement into spiritual enthusiasm for a deeper relationship with Christ. As we enter into the celebration of the birth of Christ let us remind ourselves of the true purpose of Christ's entry into this world. He came for the redemption of mankind. He came to restore man back into fellowship with God. He came that we can have eternal life. He came that men and women could be rescued and redeemed from the bondage of sin. Oh, we have so much to celebrate as we enter the time we call Christmas. I know that this has been said before but we need to keep the true meaning of Christmas settled in our hearts. Our focus needs to be on our relationship with Christ and our need to walk after His will and way. Let us recommit our lives to following after Christ and allowing His Spirit to direct our steps.

Weekend Review

We trust that each one of you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with your family and friends. We were blessed to be able to spend time with our children and grandchildren. My wife prepared a wonderful meal and the fellowship was very rewarding. I listened to our grandchildren express their gratitude for the things that were important to them; it is always enjoyable to listen to the sincere words of a child. Being thankful for family topped the list of their expressions but they also talked about being thankful for food, toys, church, animals, and even one of them said that he was thankful for not having the swine flu as of of yet. It is amazing to follow the thought process of a child. I hope that you took some time and expressed thanks to God for all that He has revealed in your life. True thanksgiving must go deeper than just things or benefits; true thanksgiving is a sincere recognition of the presence of God on a daily basis in our lives. Each of us need to seriously reflect on the daily presence of God in our lives. He is truly aware of us and is mindful of the circumstances that we are facing. Sunday morning found us in Columbia, TN. I was invited to speak at a Youth Emphasis Sunday. I was blessed by the worship team and the drama team as they led the congregation into the presence of the Lord. It is always a great source of encouragement to see young people who are willing to make a public expression of their faith. Their passion and enthusiasm for Christ reminds me that God will always have someone who is willing to pick up the torch of the Gospel message and share it with the world. I desire to do my best in carrying the torch and letting this world know that I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. Several years ago we were able to serve the Columbia church as Pastor for a short period of time. It was truly a blessing to be able to reconnect with some old friends and to make some new friends. The altar service was wonderful as people chose to accept the awesome love of God in their lives. Truly the presence of the love of God was revealed in the service; all of us need to remember that God does love us and that He interested in our lives. I know that I make that statement very often in my writings but I am convinced that the enemy does all in his power to make us doubt that revelation from God. The enemy does not want you or me believing that God truly loves us but on the basis of John 3:16 I declare that word to be true. Let us walk in the strength of His love the remainder of our days and realize that He is working for us and not against us.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Today is a day to celebrate the greatness of God! We also give God praise for our family and friends. God has used each of these individuals to reveal His love and kindness toward us. I am blessed with a wonderful wife and family. I want them to know that I love them and that I am glad that God has placed them in my life. I also appreciate each of the prayer partners who have interceded for this ministry call that we feel in our lives. Thank you for your support and encouragement. May God richly reward you and may the God of all Grace continue to guide your steps. Let us celebrate all of the great blessings that God has deposited in our lives over the past year. God is worthy of our praise.

Thanksgiving, Not Just A Holiday

Tomorrow is a day that our nation has set aside to remind us of the need to be thankful. I am all in favor of being thankful but I sincerely feel that "thanksgiving" should not just be a holiday to us but thanksgiving should be an attitude of our hearts as we reflect on the goodness and greatness of God. John Maxwell has referred to this as the "attitude of gratitude." Do I possess that type of attitude or does the challenges of life seek to try and remove that attitude and replace it with the attitude of grumbling and complaining? I do not want to see my life become captured and dominated by any type of attitude that fails to offer to God sincere thankfulness for all that He has provided in my life. I know that many people in this nation are being faced with some difficult circumstances but the failure to express thanksgiving to God will not bring a suitable solution to those challenges. Let us take this day and rededicate ourselves to a lifestyle of thanksgiving. As you gather with family and friends tomorrow began to remind them of the need to express sincere and genuine thanks to God for who He is and for His love that is expressed and released toward us. I can sense the spirit calling me to a deeper recognition and appreciation of the presence of God that is daily watching over me and guiding my path. He is so worthy of our praise and He is worthy of the honor that we can offer to Him. David expressed the right attitude and approach that we should take toward God. Take a moment and meditate and reflect on the Word of God that is being spoken into our hearts. Psalm 100:1-5: "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God. It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations" (NLT). Rejoice in the goodness of God! Happy Thanksgiving!

God's Care For Us

Matthew 6:8, "Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him! (NLT). This scripture describes one of the joys that I am able to identify as I speak in meetings across this nation. It is a blessing to understand the promise that is spoken to us through this declaration of Jesus Christ. God is truly interested in our lives and He is aware of what we need even before we ask Him. We serve an amazing God! In the service last night I was able to witness the presence of God minister to the needs of people as God truly identified the needs of those individuals. There are times in our lives in which we are incapable of expressing our needs to God; we just do not have the ability to truly identify the inner need that we possess. But it is at those moments that the greatness of God is revealed; God's power to have all knowledge of all things comes into our view. We are able to witness the revelation of His Grace in our lives as He assists us to understand the root of our need. Please remember this point; He not only identifies our need but He then proceeds to minister to this need that we might receive "healing" in our lives. We need to release our praise and thanks to God. We need for Him to know that we truly appreciate the care that He offers to our lives on a daily basis. I am seeking to discern the presence of God that is at work on a daily basis in my life. We must remember that God is not just at work on a Sunday or a Wednesday but God is at work every day and at all times ministering to the needs that we face. The challenges of life will seek to frustrate our faith and our hope in God but plant these words of Jesus deep in your heart; "Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him." Let us offer thanksgiving to the mighty God that we love and serve today.

Weekend Services

This week finds me in Bowling Green , KY with Pastor Rick and Kathy Daugherty and the Castle Heights Community Church. The services yesterday were wonderful as the presence of the Lord filled the house of God as we began to worship the Lord and glorify His name. I am still amazed at the response of God to those who chose to worship Him even in the midst of their difficulties. The Worship Leader, Bro. Wayne, has been facing a struggle with cancer (today is his last chemotherapy treatment) yet he was leading the church in offering praise to the Lord God Almighty. Through prayer and medical treatment the the doctor has declared him cancer free. I am giving you this information because we need to remember that our praise and worship to God does not need to be based on the events or circumstances that are taking place in our lives. God is worthy of our adoration REGARDLESS of what is happening to us or around us. All of us have faced and some of us may be facing difficult moments but in those moments we make the choice to lift our voice to God and declare that we love Him and declare that we are thankful for all that He is doing in our lives. Look past your difficult moments today and offer God praise and thanksgiving for who He is and for what He is doing in your life. God will respond to the praise that comes from your heart. The anointing of the Holy Spirit was powerful as people responded to the call of God and came forward for prayer. Thank God for being interested in the cares of life that we are facing. God has not forgotten and God has not forsaken. Make the decision to look to Him today and realize that He is your answer. Between the morning and evening services yesterday I was able to attend a portion of the afternoon meeting in Radcliff, KY. Yesterday was the first Sunday afternoon service that we conducted in the outreach effort in the area of Ft. Knox. The presence of the Lord was evident when I arrived at the service. People shared with me that the theme of the service had centered around keeping our focus on God. Each of us need to remember to keep our focus on God. Do not allow your life to become distracted. Distractions can cause us to drift away from our relationship with God and we can easily find ourselves on a path that is taking us away from God. Continue to pray for our efforts in the area of Ft. Knox. God desires to touch the lives of people in that community and the surrounding communities. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions concerning the outreach effort or if you would like to assist us in reaching the community with the message of the Gospel.

Amazing Grace

I am thankful for a safe trip home from Summerville, SC. We enjoyed a wonderful outpouring of the Spirit in each of the services. The presence of God was very evident in the lives of each of the individuals that attended the services. Several people testified of the miraculous intervention of the Grace of God in their lives. Isn't it wonderful to realize that God is interested in my individual life? As an individual I am important to God although I am part of a larger group called human beings. I just feel that people need to be reminded of their individual importance to God. Many times in the Bible we notice that Jesus took time with individual people to make sure that their needs were met. We must not become so caught up with ministering to the "masses" that we forget and overlook those individuals that God places in our path on a daily basis. Do we pay attention to the clerk in the convenience store? Do we pay attention to the server in the restaurant? Do we pay attention to the person who assists us in the bank? Do we pay attention to our spouse and our children? Can you sense what the Lord is desiring to say? Yes, Jesus died for the whole world; but that world was and is made up of individuals that have the right to know about the amazing Grace of our God. We are approaching the busy holiday season and we will all get caught up in the "rush of the moment." Let us take time to notice the individuals that we encounter and let us share the Grace of God with them. The Grace of God will not only be revealed in the words that we share but also in the actions that we take. Take a moment to go out of your way and be kind to someone today; it will make a difference in their perspective of life and of the perspective of the presence of God in their life.

Encouragement

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say" (NLT). I have the wonderful privilege of traveling in various parts of this nation in which I am given the awesome responsibility and opportunity to minister to people of different backgrounds and different needs. I encounter people of various ethnic backgrounds, educational backgrounds, economic backgrounds, as well as spiritual backgrounds. But there is one thing that I notice is common among all of the people; we are living in the time in which many of us are in need of encouragement. I am not referring to some type of "emotional lift"; no, I am referring to a deep desire to sense the presence of God in a supernatural manner that will strengthen my soul in the midst of adversity. These are truly times of adversity; but in the midst of the adversity we can sense the promise that the Spirit shares through the words of Paul in our scripture verse today. God is a a God of comfort and hope. The enemy wants us living in a state of hopelessness and despair. The enemy of our soul does not want us to believe that God promises to bring strength and comfort to us on our journey through life. Life is not always easy; we do face those moments in which our faith will either "fold up or hold up." We do face those moments in which we must choose to either trust God with the circumstances that we are facing or allow the enemy to overwhelm us with feelings of fear and defeat. God does not give to us the spirit of fear (timidity) according to the Word of God. Some of you are facing challenging circumstances today; allow the God of comfort and hope to strengthen you through His promises. It is such a blessing to look into the face of someone who has come forward for prayer and they realize that God is truly interested in helping them at their point of need. It is as though a light has been turned on in their heart and they are correct. The True Light from heaven has revealed Himself to them in the midst of their difficulty. I am blessed to see that reaction in each of the services in which I am able to participate. Oh, what a mighty God we serve! He truly desires to assist you today; He is not fighting against you, He is fighting for you. God desires for you to succeed and live a successful Christian life. Be encouraged today, God loves you and He is interested in your life and all that you are facing.

The Word of God

For several days God has been reminding me of the spirit of deceit and deception that is rampant in our world today. There is strong evidence of the mixture of truth and false religion. Many people (both believers and non-believers) are being duped into believing many things that are untrue concerning their relationship with God. We must be careful concerning our walk with God. We must be alert to the tactics of the enemy which seeks to lead us astray from the principles of truth. Truth is not a negative concept. Jesus said that the truth would bring freedom to our lives. Some people live under the mistaken view that truth brings bondage and restrictions which will hinder our life. Truth will bring the true freedom which liberates us and brings us into a relationship with God which enhances and releases our life rather than restricting our life. The idea of restriction is one that this culture seeks to deposit in our thought process; it plays to the fleshly side of our existence and independence. We seek to be independent in our thinking; this independence in and of itself does not create a problem until it leads us down the path of defining our own view and definition of truth. This generation must cry out for the declaration of truth to be spoken in our lives. We need spiritual leaders who are not intimidated when it comes to speaking the truth. I am not encouraging the imposition of legalism but I am praying for the release of a hunger for truth among the people of God. We need to be alive in Christ and realize that the Word of God was spoken and written for our benefit. The Word of God will bring direction and guidance if we will submit and surrender our lives to its principles. Oh God, reveal your truth to me today so that I will live in agreement with your principles.

Weekend Review

This week finds me in Summerville,SC with Pastor JR and Shirley Martin at Summerville Family Worship Center. The Martin's as well as the local church offered me a warm welcome of Christian fellowship and spiritual anticipation. This is my second opportunity to minister in this local body and I anticipate a mighty outpouring of the Spirit this week. The presence of the Lord was awesome in the two services on Sunday. Each of the meetings concluded with many people in the altar crying out for more of God. We were able to see people receive Christ as their personal Savior as well as being filled with the Spirit. We also witnessed people receiving strength as they face the daily struggles of life; many of us carry heavy burdens from those challenges but it is wonderful when we realize that God never intended for us to walk the road alone. These are very challenging times for many of us yet we sense the Spirit calling us to a deeper level of faith and trust. The Spirit is leading us to a deeper commitment of our heart to God as well as a stronger desire to take a stand for the truth of God's Word. This is a day of deceit and deception. We must know Christ as our Savior and we must allow Him to be Lord of our life. God is calling all of us out of the practice of religion into a strong developing relationship with the True and Living God. The spirit of the culture is seeking to influence our decision making process when it comes to our understanding of God. We must not back down from the teaching of the Bible; Jesus Christ is still the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Christ is the source of our hope and the source of our salvation. Many of us in America are feeling the pressure to just go through the motions of Christianity; we must refuse this tactic of the enemy. God is calling us to passion, desire, and the pursuit of His presence. Do we truly hunger and thirst for the presence of God or will we be content with just the normal activities of church? I hunger for more than the normal. I seek to see God reveal Himself among the people who have gathered to celebrate His greatness. Do we gather to celebrate His greatness or do we gather to celebrate our greatness? The answer to that question will either lead us to repentance or to a deeper revelation of the heart of God. I choose to celebrate the greatness of God. Want you join me in celebrating the greatness of God this day and walk in the strength of His love?

Thankfulness

I was awakened this morning with a sense of urgency concerning thankfulness. I know that some of you may think that I am just getting into the "mood of the holidays" but I respectfully disagree. I sense that God was calling my heart back to the attitude of genuine appreciation of all that He has provided in my life. But I am not talking about the "things" from God I am talking about the true gift of salvation and relationship with Him. How long has it been since we stopped and just thanked God for our redemption? How long has it been since we just thanked God for taking a personal interest in our life and what we confront on a daily basis? I was somewhat challenged when I reflected on my prayer times and realized that recently I had spent very little time in declaring genuine thankfulness for my journey with God. I do not want to shift the burden of my conviction to you but I do want to challenge your thought process when it comes to thankfulness. Many of us are facing great challenges in our lives such as illness, financial stress, employment concerns, martial relationships, family strife, and many other heart wrenching situations. I do not have the full answer for all of those needs other than dependence on Christ; but I do believe a genuine reflection on the presence of God in our lives will offer strength and courage to continue trusting Him. We have a total of 49 days (including today) left in this year. What if every believer in America would offer God just five (5) minutes a day of genuine praise and worship? What if we left off our list of requests for these five (5) minutes and just thanked God for His presence in our daily lives? Can you just imagine the difference in our personal life as well as the life of the church in America? I believe that many of you will accept the challenge and begin to walk in the strength of Thankfulness!

Don't forget the Love of God

2 Corinthians 13:14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion (fellowship) of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen" (NKJV). The Lord began to stir my spirit last night as I began to reflect on the revival service. I speak much about our need to seek God and to love God with all our heart. I am firmly convinced that God is speaking that "word" to the church. We must have our hearts awakened and in some cases re-awakened to the need of a heartfelt, sincere relationship with Christ. This is not the time to "play church" and to go through the motions of religious activity. Many believers are captured in the land of the "spiritual comfortable" while all the time the Spirit is sending the wake up call to the church in America. Do not ignore the alarm bells that are going off in your spirit today; answer the call to draw near to the heart of God and watch Him do a wonderful work in your life. During this time of reflection God reminded me that there is another side of the story that needs to be declared. We must remember the love that God has for humanity. The love of God opens the door for all of us to pursue the presence of God. The love of God opens the door of fellowship in which man could enjoy the presence of on-going developing relationship with our Heavenly Father. We can not afford to forget the love that God is releasing toward our world today. Have we become so "super spiritual" that we have forgotten the foundation stones of our belief process? The love of God that is being released toward us offers us the opportunity to walk in fellowship and discipleship with our Savior and King. I felt that I needed to offer a gentle reminder to the readers of this blog; God loves you and God cares about your journey through life. When life comes at you with strong trials and battles just remember that the Lord God Almighty is sending His love toward you and that He is releasing His love in you. We can not earn this love, we do not deserve this love, and we can never truly explain this love; Love is the revelation of God's character for a fallen world. Walk in His love today! Veterans Day: As a nation we pause to remember those men and women who have offered their lives as a sacrifice for the freedom of this nation. We also pause to recognize those men and women who daily put their lives in harms way that we may continue to enjoy our freedom. I am honored to be the son of a WWII veteran. As a young man my father endured much difficulty so that we as a nation could enjoy our freedom. He served along side of many great soldiers who thought more of others than they did their own lives. My dad is involved in ministering to veterans of all ages as he serves as a Chaplain in a local Disabled American Veterans chapter in AL. My parents have taught me and continue to teach me the blessing of giving to others. I also recognize my nephew (adopted grandson), Derek, who is presently serving at Ft. Hood, TX. He has already served one tour of duty in Iraq. Derek we are proud of you and your service to this country. The present day military is made up of volunteers who have made the decision to stand strong in the face of a war with terrorism. These men and women also deserve our respect and our prayers. Will you take a moment today and speak a word of kindness and encouragement to these brave men and women who have served our country or they are in the position of serving our country at this challenging time? God bless America!

Guarding our Heart, Part 2

Ezekiel 36:26; "I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart" (NLT). Do I truly possess a heart that is seeking to be responsive to God? Does my heart truly desire to respond to God in obedience? Does my heart desire for God to lead and direct my steps and surrender to His Lordship? The spirit of this culture (at least in my opinion) seeks to bring hardness and toughness to my heart when it comes to the things of God. The enemy of my soul wants me to become disconnected from the heart of God which seeks to do a "good work" in my life. I must choose between these two forces; which one will win out in my life? Which force will rule and reign in my life? What voice will I follow in these days of spiritual decisions? I sincerely feel that God is calling for action on our part; I must open my heart to Him so that He can deposit the power of spiritual transformation. The Spirit is performing open heart surgery on my life and the lives of many of you across the world. He is removing the stony, rebellious heart and replacing it with one that is tender and respectful to the things of God. The price of this surgery was paid for at Calvary; Jesus died that we might have an opportunity for a new life. The new life bring us into a relationship with the Lord God Almighty who will provide the strength that we need to face the challenges of life. But for this "surgery" to be successful I must be willing to submit to the Chief Surgeon who knows exactly what I need to be removed and He knows what I need added to my life. The question we must answer is this one, "Am I willing to submit to His process of transformation for my life?" This surgery may be painful and we may have to make some adjustments to our lifestyle once the surgery is completed. But I challenge you to stay focused on the end result of this spiritual procedure. I desire a "new heart" that is submitted to God in all areas of my life. The meeting this week at Hackleburg has been a great blessing in which we are seeing a great response to the call of the Spirit in the lives of the youth of this church and community. The Spirit of repentance, confession, and renewed commitment to Christ has been very evident in the altar services. We have seen young men and women responding to the heart transplant procedure of the Spirit. We must continue to intercede for the children and youth of this generation. God has not given up on them and the believers in the "church" must not give up on them. Speak a word of encouragement to a child or teenager today. You will be blessed and they will be blessed by the interest that you shown in them.

Weekend Review

This week finds me in Hackleburg, AL with Pastor Clint and Liz Knowles. The services yesterday were strengthening, challenging, and life changing. God is moving among us but this moving of the Spirit is deeper and greater than some emotional high. God is calling us into a relationship that is requiring a bold decision of surrender, sacrifice, and commitment. Not everyone will make the decision to commit to Christ; I speak this word to believers as well as non-believers. Even many believers have grown comfortable with their spiritual status yet God is calling us to a higher level of discipleship. Being a true disciple of Christ signifies that we will be willing to follow Him down the path of life that He directs. Being a true disciple signifies and testifies that all areas of my life is open to the examination of the Spirit. Being a true disciple signifies that I will stand for the principles of truth even when the attitudes of the culture are leading me to live opposite of these principles. Being a true disciple signifies that I recognize that Christ is the True Shepherd of my soul and that He is the sole resource for the needs of my life. Even as I write these words I sense the Spirit challenging me to recognize the presence of God and understand that He is speaking truth and direction into my life. Am I truly taking the time to listen to what the Spirit is saying or do I choose to ignore His call and His instructions? I truly believe that time will not allow me to ignore the call of the Spirit any longer; I must allow my life to answer to the Lord with a resounding YES. YES Lord I am ready to pursue you with my heart and not just my words! Personal Note: The Hackleburg church holds a special place in my life. I began my journey of education in this community (first and second grade) when my parents served as Pastor of this congregation. I also was privileged to preach my first revival (Youth) in 1971 at this local church. I have remained friends with people from this congregation through the years and I am blessed to be able to participate in this meeting this week. It is a blessing to reconnect with some of my spiritual roots and foundation; I was able to pray with some of the children and grandchildren of people that I remember from my earlier days in this local body. It is very encouraging to visit a congregation and see the succeeding generations following in the footsteps of their forefathers. We must ask ourselves this question, "What type of spiritual heritage am I leaving behind?" May those who come behind us find us faithful.

Tragedy in Texas

Many of our hearts are burdened over the horrific act of one individual gunman yesterday in Fort Hood, Texas. Today I feel that we certainly need to pray for the wounded soldiers who are beginning their process of recovery as well as the wounded families who will be preparing to make funeral arrangements over the next few days. It is without question that God is near the brokenhearted of our nation at this moment. This tragic news as well as other events around our nation remind us once more of our great need for Divine intervention in our land. Paul wrote Timothy concerning the dangerous (perilous) times that we would encounter during the time preceding the return of Christ. It is without question that we are living in those dangerous times. I will allow the political and social pundits of our nation to express their views concerning the reasoning behind the attack; although I am unsure of their ability to identify any reasoning that would support the actions of any individual who chooses to take the life of any innocent victim. But we need not forget there is a "spiritual reason" behind this action. The battle between good and evil rages today because of the fallen, sinful nature of humanity. Many people offer solutions to the problem of sin and in some cases people even deny the existence of sin and its influences on human beings. But rest assured that according to the Word of God, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." We do not have the ability to save ourselves or for that matter save anyone else. We are hopeless and helpless without Christ. When will we stop trying to make it on our own and when will we stop trying to live without the influence and direction of Christ in our lives? Our world is moving down a path that is taking us further away from God. Who among us will be bold enough to stand and declare the truth of God to a lost and hurting world? We are in trouble and we are looking in the wrong direction. Our answer lies in the recognition of the greatness of God and our dependence on Him. We must turn our hearts to God and allow Him to have full control of our lives. Will you join me in that prayer of recognition and surrender today? Personal Praise: Our nephew (adopted grandson), Derek is stationed at Fort Hood. Derek was in Houston for training when this attack took place. Derek's girlfriend, Maranda, was at work on the base but was unharmed. We are thankful for the protection and provision of God on their lives.

Last Night's Service

It is very seldom that I take a post and dedicate it to the previous evening's service. But last night was a very unique meeting; the presence of God would manifest Himself in a very special and heart-warming manner. The worship service was impacted with the presence of God; I truly felt the unction of the Spirit as I shared the Word that God had placed in my heart. We were able to witness several people who made the appropriate response to God and invited Him into their lives and the circumstances that they were facing. The anointing to minister to people during the altar service was powerful and liberating. I am still convinced that God desires to respond to the cry of our hearts and He desires to meet us at the point of our need. I will take this opportunity to encourage you to be open to the call of the Spirit; God has good gifts to deposit in our lives if only we will be willing to release our faith. A special lesson was taught at the end of the service. Several children and some youth continued to linger in the presence of the Spirit even as the service concluded. Some people began to make their way home but these children's prayers continued to be released toward heaven. They were crying out to God in their own sincere way and the adults in the room could sense the sincerity of these young believers. I truly believe that the spirit of intercession began to rest upon them as they unashamedly shared the feelings of their heart. I could hear them praying for their parents, their friends, their family and for each other. They did not just cry, they wept. They wept openly among the people who were now captured by the presence of the Spirit and by the manifestation of the Spirit. Several of the adults began to draw near the front of the church and a holy reverence began to overtake our hearts. God was teaching us that someone will sense His presence no matter the environment of this world. I also was reminded that I must guard my heart and not allow it to become hardened to the presence of God. It is so easy to drift into a state of "religious superiority" in which I think that I don't need anything from God. But God is reminding us that all of us have needs and that He desires to meet those needs if we will surrender our lives to Him. Words can not fully express the lesson that I was taught last night. I believe that the lives of the others in the room was also eternally impacted by the manifestation of the Spirit. I pray that we will allow God to do His complete work of transformation in our lives. We must move beyond being stirred; we must be changed. God desires to bring spiritual transformation to all of us. Will be willing to respond to the Spirit as He does His work among the people of God?

Guarding our Heart

Proverbs 4:23, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life" (NLT). The wisdom that God speaks through Solomon offers a great challenge to all of us. We must be careful in what we allow to dominate our thought process and we must guard against those things which desire to take us away from our relationship with God. We must remember that we do have an adversary that seeks to hinder our relationship with God. God desires to keep me headed in the right direction and the enemy seeks to get me off the path of a life that pleases God. The days in which we are living are demanding that we take a very careful approach to the way that we live our life. I can sense the spirit of deception that is being released in our world today. The spiritual culture of our day is one of compromise and true spiritual apathy. But I am convinced that someone will answer the call from God and respond to trust in Him with all of their heart. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us, "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked" (NLT). The heart which I believe is the center of our emotions is a battle ground in which the enemy seeks to control. The enemy wants our heart full of anger, envy, evil desire, jealousy, strife, and countless other "attitudes of the flesh" which seek to interfere in our walk with God. But our heart has the potential to be influenced by both good and evil desires. Sometimes we only recognize and remember the evil and sinful desires that try to take control of us but remember through the grace and strength of God we can be influenced and directed by the good desires that God has placed in us. I have come to realize this truth in my life over the years of my walk with God; God not only desires to take away sinful actions He desires to add to my life the traits and characteristics of a faithful walk with Christ. The above mentioned option is open to all of us; we must make the decision regarding what we allow to dominate our thought process. Will we allow God to control our thought process or will we choose to reject His plan for our lives? His plan includes a successful completion of our life which will ultimately find us in His presence for all of eternity. Let this be a day in which we either commit or re-commit to God's direction having first place in our life. Allow the Spirit to direct your decisions so that you can guard your heart at all times.

Weekend Review

This week finds me in White Bluff, TN (near Dickson) at the Crossroads church. Pastor Gary and Janice Riley and the congregation offered me a warm welcome into the fellowship of this local body. The presence of the Lord could be sensed and felt by one and all as we gathered yesterday to worship our Great and Mighty God. It is always such a blessing to gather with the family of God and offer our praise and worship to God. Remember no one can offer your praise and worship; it is up to each one of us to let God know our sincere appreciation for His goodness and kindness. I never want to fail to offer God adoration; He is worthy of my praise. I want to spend my life offering sincere, heartfelt praise to God. Yesterday's service was a reminder of the mission statement of Christ. Christ came looking for those individuals who needed a Savior. I am glad that I chose to accept His invitation to eternal life. My life was completely rearranged and transformed when I submitted my life to Christ. The Spirit spoke to people and to the needs that they are facing in the services on Sunday. Several "tarried" in the presence of God after the Sunday evening service. The ministering presence of the Spirit was present as people surrendered their needs to God. Is not God calling us back to the simplicity of the Gospel? We must recognize that God has a purpose for the "church." The church is to be a light that speaks to the darkness of this world. This world is in chaos; who will step forward and fill the void that we are facing? Satan is doing everything in his power to fill the void in the lives of people. Will the church choose to remain on the sideline observing the destruction that is taking place or will we engage this culture with the life-changing and life-altering presence of God? God's Grace and Love still speaks freedom to those who are imprisoned in sin and bondage. God's Grace and Love still speaks healing to the hurting and discouraged. God's Grace and Love still speaks strength to the weak and lonely. This is the hour for the people of God to "shine" with the presence of God at work among us. Will you choose to join the battle or will you remain on the sideline as an observer? Remember satan is not an observer; he is constantly at work spreading his lies and deceit. Today in Jesus' name we will rebuke and resist the strategies of hell and believe that God is our VICTORY!

Presence of God, Part 2

During the service in Radcliff, KY last night the Spirit confirmed to me the need of the modern day church to focus our attention on Christ. Do I attend church out of the function of duty or do I attend church out of a burning desire to offer praise, adoration, and worship to the Lord God Almighty? I truly believe that God is calling His people back to a deep recognition of His presence and to the spirit of true reverence and adoration. The "spirit of the culture" seeks to displace God and to replace Him with the attitude of the world. The spirit of the world seeks its own way, its own will, and it seeks to make decisions based on fleshly desires rather than the direction of the Holy Spirit. Will we dare to resist the attitude of the fallen world? Will we dare to seek God in the midst of all that is trying to pull us away from God and His direction? Will we resist the trend to be molded by the humanistic approach to life rather than the need to allow the Spirit to mold us in the image and likeness of the Creator of all things? The future success of the church in this world depends on our desire to make the correct choices concerning our relationship with Christ. I am making the choice to make correct decisions concerning my walk with God; I know that I am not perfect but I do know that I desire to please God and serve Him to the best of my ability. Will you join me in that choice today? It is never to late to resist the attitudes of this world; this is day to choose the path that may be less traveled. Christ will lead our lives as we seek to follow Him with true passion, desire, and surrender. ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

Presence of God

The Kingdom Celebration in Cleveland, TN was a wonderful meeting that was permeated by the unction and anointing of the Holy Spirit. Each of us who attended the meeting were brought under the teaching presence of the Spirit. It is such a blessing to understand that God is interested in our spiritual development. We can celebrate the fact that God has forgiven us and adopted us into His family. We can celebrate the fact the God has provided for our healing in His atoning death on the cross. We can celebrate the fact the Christ overcame satan so that we can walk in the strength of that victory. We can celebrate the fact that Christ has made it possible for us to bring our hurts, injuries, challenges and stress of this present life. I believe those facts and I share those facts with local churches all across this nation. But God reminded me of a far more powerful principle (at least in my opinion) over the past few days. What if I just desired HIS PRESENCE? What if I came to public worship opportunities just desiring to be in His presence? What if I just "looked" for Him rather than looking for things (blessings)? Have we become more interested in His provision than we are concerned about being in His presence? Now, I fully believe that God desires to meet our need (Biblical principle and promise) but I also believe that God desires to fellowship with us and out of this fellowship He desires to build relationship. What if the modern day church just hungered and thirsted for His presence? What if the modern day church re-discovered the joy of just being in His presence? What if the modern day church re-discovered the joy of just worshiping Him and recognizing the sacredness of His presence? The Spirit used Pastor John A. Stone (Keith St. Ministries) to remind me of the "sacredness" of the presence of God. We must allow the Spirit to teach our hearts to reverence the presence of God among us. We must rebuke the "casual" approach that this culture desires to place in our thought process when it comes to the presence of God. I can testify that my life was challenged over the course of the past few days and my view of the presence of God has been altered for the remainder of my days. I refuse to return to the thoughts of yesterday; God has birthed a fresh desire and passion for the presence of God. Will you ask Him to do the same in you today? Take a fresh look at the presence of God and recognize the sacredness that is connected with His presence.

Don't Give Up, Part 2

I did not have any intentions to continue the thought that I shared yesterday until my prayer and study time for this evening's service in Cleveland, TN. Many of us are facing our own unusual set of circumstances. In many instances these circumstances are very daunting and the enemy will use them to discourage and frustrate us. In those moments we must rely on the strength of God to provide the persistence and desire that we need to continue our journey and to continue our pursuit of a deeper relationship with God. I woke up this morning with Hebrews 12:1-3 in my spirit. The last part of verse 2 keeps being raised up in my spirit as I have sought to listen to the Voice of God. Let me remind you of what the Bible says, "...let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (KJV). The word "patience" provides an interesting challenge to all of us. The original language provides this insight to the meaning of the word. The word "patience" is translated from the word which means "cheerful endurance." The Lord reminded me that I can "cheerfully endure" my race as I reflect on the presence of God that is traveling with me. Some of you may feel lonely, isolated, disconnected and even discouraged today; but rest assured that you are not alone. Cheerfulness does not emanate from your circumstances but cheerfulness comes from the Biblical promise that the Lord will not forsake you. You are not alone on the road of life; we can not afford to give up our walk with God regardless of what life is bringing our way. We do have days of challenge and trials but rest assured Christ has already faced those challenges for us and He stands ready to assist if we will remain consistent in our pursuit and recognition of His presence. Each of us need to take the time to recognize His presence today. During prayer time God reminded me that I needed His presence more than I needed "blessings." The blessings come from His presence. Oh that we would desire His presence in our lives, in our homes, in our marriages, in our families, and in our worship services.

Don't Give Up

I sense that the Spirit is encouraging me to make this declaration over our lives. This is not the time to give up on our dreams, desires, destinies, and future encounters with God. This is the day and time of divine revelation; we are being called to see and recognize God as the revelation of Truth, Grace, and Mercy. God desires to work in our lives if we will be willing to respond and commit to a life of seeking Him and following Him. I Thessalonians 5:17 deposits this challenge in our spirit; "Never stop praying" (NLT). We can not afford to stop listening to the Voice of God. Many of us are still praying for needs to be met in our lives as well as the lives of our friends and family. The enemy seeks to discourage us and he wants us to discontinue the offering of our sincere prayers to God. But before you quit praying let me remind you to take time to hear the Voice of God. God speaks to us through a variety of ways: through the Word of God, through the insight and wisdom of fellow believers, through the elements of nature that declare the glory and power of God, through our own conscience that speaks volumes of truth into our lives, and God also uses dreams, visions and other means of inspiration to alert us to His presence. God desires for you to hear Him this day; "Never stop praying." Let us fan the flame of intercession that is being awakened in our land today. We are in desperate times and we need Divine intervention. We should intensify our praying; we can not afford to become slack in this command of God. Do not lose heart; pray with passion, faith, and fervency. We must remember that God does hear the cry of our hearts and He responds to the brokenness of our spirit. KEEP PRAYING!

Weekend Review

It is such a blessing to be able to serve Christ. I am blessed that God has called me to join Him in the declaration of the Word of God as a Gospel Preacher. It is a privilege to stand and declare the greatness of our God and recognize His awesome presence. It is an honor to share the Word of God and watch the Spirit of God release conviction into the lives of individuals who are sitting in that particular service. I just felt that I needed to give honor to God today for the great opportunity of participating with Him in the spreading of the message of the Gospel throughout this nation. I firmly believe that God is speaking to people in our nation and we need to be willing to respond to the call that is being issued. Are you paying close attention to those nuggets of truth that God is depositing in your life? Are you presenting yourself to God a "living sacrifice" which is your reasonable service? Are you serving God out of duty or you serving God from a heart of desire? These and many more questions need to be answered by all of us; let us pay close attention to the Word that is being declared to us and let us make a commitment to follow Christ in full obedience. Thursday found me in Radcliff participating in a meeting with New River Ministries. The Spirit God called us to prayer during our time of worship. The Worship Leader, Carol Baker, felt led of the Lord to share what the Lord had placed in her heart. Those attending the service chose to respond to the call from God rather than ignoring the call of God. Each of us need to examine our lives and make sure that we are responding appropriately to God and not ignoring the message that God is sending to us. We spent the majority of the evening service interceding for our nation, our city, our families, and for our individual lives. I can declare that I truly feel that God was in charge of the meeting that night. That also reminds me that we must allow God to be in charge of each public meeting in which we participate. The Spirit knows exactly what we need and He will provide for those needs to be met if we will follow the leading of the Spirit. This week finds me at Keith Street Ministries in Cleveland, TN. Pastor John A. and Judy Stone have invited me to participate in the Kingdom Celebration services. From the very outset yesterday you could sense the desire of the people to worship and praise the King of the Kingdom. The King of the Kingdom offers great provision to His family; we are not just subjects in the kingdom, we are sons and daughters who have been invited into the presence of Royalty. I am grateful that God has chosen to adopt me into His family and I seek to honor Him through love and adoration. The altar services were tremendous as the anointing of the Spirit flowed as we prayed for numerous needs that people are encountering in their lives. My life was enriched as I saw several young people respond to the call from the Spirit. I have not given up on the youth and children of this generation; there is a group who are choosing to seek the face of God with passion and desire. I am convinced that "nothing is impossible with God." I believe that God is at work among His people and that we are seeing a renewed desire to release our faith and see God move in our lives. We saw that yesterday and we will see that in the remainder of the services. Many of us are choosing to wade out into the deeper presence of God; we no longer will be satisfied with the status quo. Will you join me on the journey and allow God to reveal Himself in the midst of your life?

Turning our Attention to Christ

The revival at the Woodland Hills church in Bessemer, AL brought a powerful reminder to my heart. I need to make sure that the Word of God and the presence of God has my undivided attention. It becomes so easy to become distracted from the true purpose of my walk with Christ. I am to focus on Christ, the Chief Shepherd of my soul. Am I developing my desire to focus on Christ even in the midst of the daily challenges of life? It is so easy to become "consumed" in living my life that I can forget the presence of Christ. We can develop the mode of survival rather than realizing that Christ is present to lead and direct our steps if we will commit to following Him. One of the elements of the vision of Pastor James Wallace of the Woodland Hills church is to "Exalt Christ." At first glance that may seem simple yet our hope and source of strength is found in that statement. As we exalt Christ we are able to understand that God is greater than all of the events of life that we face. Christ is greater than any sin that may be practiced in our society; Christ is greater than any disease that we may find in our bodies or mind; Christ is greater than any trial that may cross our path; and Christ is greater than any power that seeks to undermine our faith in the promises of God. Do you see the point of the statement, "EXALT CHRIST" (emphasis mine)? Christ is worthy of exaltation. He is the source of our life and His presence in our lives will lead us to victory over the snares of the enemy. Would you take a moment today and lift your voice to the Lord God Almighty and declare His greatness? "God is great and greatly to be praised." Let us exalt Christ in all that we do and say!

Update

I have been unable to update the blog due to my travel schedule and lack of Internet access. I have missed the opportunity to share information and inspiration with those of you who take the time to read the thoughts that I post. I am always blessed by the words of encouragement that are shared with me via emails and comments on the blog. I am a firm believer in the need for each of us to encourage one another. The accuser of the brethren (satan) does all in his power to discourage and dissuade us from our journey; but God can use the fellowship of the believers to speak words of strength and encouragement into the lives of our fellow human beings. I encourage you to take the time to invest yourself in the lives of other people; people are in need of friends who can help share the load of burdens that life can bring to all of us. The revival services in Bessemer, AL at the Woodland Hills church have been wonderful. The anointing of the Holy Ghost has been very evident in each of the services. We have seen the miraculous power of healing released before our very eyes. A young lady walked into church on a crutch/cane on Sunday night and left without the aid of the crutch/cane. She has been in each of the evening services participating with the worship team. GOD IS GOOD TO GIVE US SO MANY BLESSINGS! I give this testimony to encourage the release of our faith. Faith is the key that unlocks the door to the promises and provisions of God. I have a greater desire to release my faith; as I have said before, these are the days to trust God and realize that He is at work in His Kingdom. He is still the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; I just want to offer Him praise and adoration. We have seen people saved, filled with the Spirit, delivered from oppression, and encouraged by the moving of the Holy Spirit. This morning during prayer the Lord placed this thought in my heart; many of us may be living in the Friday's (spiritual death and drought) of our lives but the Sunday's (resurrection and spiritual life) are in our future. Look for the Sunday's and realize that God is alive and that His power is real. He is still touching the lives of people around this world. I continue to be excited about the fulfillment of the promises of God; I am determined to remain focused on the progress of my journey with God.

Distractions

As I continue to draw near to God I am blessed to know that God is interested in the successful completion of my journey. God has planned for my victory and not my defeat. The cross has made provision for us to walk in His strength and not in the strength of the flesh. The strength of the flesh will lead to confusion and disillusionment but the direction of the Spirit will lead to a deeper dependence on God. I truly believe that God will reveal the strategies of the enemy as I continue to draw near to His presence. I would like to look at one of the strategies of the enemy that God brought to my heart during prayer time. The enemy seeks to distract us from our purpose and from our call. The enemy will place all types of obstacles in our path; he does not want us to be alert to the traps that have been set for our demise. The enemy seeks for me to lose my focus; he wants me looking everywhere but to the Lord. Hebrews 12 talks about "keeping our eyes on Jesus" (NLT) on our journey through life. I have come to realize that the enemy will do all in his power to move the "eyes of my heart" away from Christ. The enemy wants me to focus on what is going on around me and in some cases what is going on in me. But I am given the opportunity to make a decision and defeat the strategy of the enemy by constantly refocusing my attention on Christ. We are living in the prophetic times in which we need to constantly refocus the desires of our heart toward Christ. This is no time to be looking around; this is the time to be looking up to Heaven and realize that Christ is our answer. Some of us may be able to compare our situation to the race horses of Kentucky; we may need a set of blinders placed around our eyes. The blinders keep the horse from being distracted by the crowd or by the other horses involved in the race. The blinders cause the horse to stay focused on the finish line and the race at hand. What are you focused on today? Where are you looking? Are you being distracted from your relationship with Christ? Take a moment today, lift your heart to God and ask for a renewed desire to see Him as the focal point of your life. The revival meeting in Acworth, GA has been awesome. A powerful anointing has been released in each of the services. The altar services have certainly "altered" the lives of all of us who have been involved in seeking after God. The Spirit of God is certainly interested in "altering" our lives so that we can fully please God in all that we do. I desire to be open to this process and procedure; I do not want to resist what God is releasing among the people of God. I am hungry to become all that God has planned for me to become; He has a plan and purpose and I desire to submit to His plan.

Speaking from my Heart

I am constantly amazed at the greatness of God's love and His desire to inform me of His will and direction for my life. I must allow the Spirit to develop my spiritual sensitivity to a higher level. I must allow the Spirit to have full sway over my life and I do this by making the decision to listen, follow, and obey the direction of God in my life. Each one of us in the family of God must make the decision to invite God into our lives and I mean each area of our lives. Is it possible that we have kept some of the compartments of our life off limits to God? We do not want Him revealing what is hidden in those compartments. Those compartments may contain sin, hurts, injuries, and all sorts of failures. But we must remember that the Spirit not only reveals those problem areas of our lives He also has the "healing balm" that can bring relief and deliverance to each one of us. Will you allow Him to search every compartment of your life today so that you can fully reach the potential that God has deposited in you? The Lord also dealt with me concerning the process of decisions in our lives. Each of us face our own set of daunting circumstances but we must make the decision to follow Christ regardless of the circumstances. Politicians use the term "waffling" when their opponent does not stay committed to a previous position on a certain issue. We must not be guilty of "waffling" when it comes to our decision to follow Christ. We must choose to follow after Christ and His will for our lives regardless of the cost. I was praying with someone last night who was asking God for freedom in certain areas of their life. I began to join with this person in crying out to God for their "deliverance." I truly believe that we made progress during the time of intercession for that individual but this morning I was awakened to this thought in my spirit. It is only through the process of "decision" that we are able to invite Christ not only into our hearts but into our lives. We can not avoid the decision; I believe that Christ will only deliver us from those things which we have decided to place in His hands. Do not be afraid to make the decision to follow Christ will all of your heart. Do not "waffle" in your decision to place Christ as the leader of your life; as I have said before, "God will guide and lead if we will decide to follow." Will you make the decision today to follow God regardless of the road of life that you may have to travel? God has promised to accompany us down the road of life regardless of how bumpy, treacherous, or challenging the road may become. Decide to follow Him today without any reservation in your heart! You and I will be blessed and encouraged by the strength that God will provide as me make that decision in our hearts.

Weekend Services

Sunday found me in service with Pastor Neal and Neva Wright in Acworth, GA. It is always a blessing to be with the Wright family and the people of the Acworth church. I have been privileged to serve this congregation as Evangelist on other occasions and it is a special privilege to be invited back into the the fellowship of the local church. Acworth is located north of Atlanta for those of you who many not know the location of the local church. Sunday's services were awesome and anointed. I firmly believe that the anointing makes the difference. The modern day church must fully realize that the secret of our success will be found in paying the price to have the anointing of the Spirit upon our lives as well as upon the services. The anointing of the Spirit will break the shackles and bonds of the enemy. Many people who enter the doors of our local churches are facing great struggles with the enemy; we must fully understand that we are living in a time of spiritual warfare. The enemy is after my soul and your soul but we must remember that God is fighting for us and not against us. God has provided for and planned for your victory; Jesus Christ died on the cross that we might overcome the enemy of our soul. I am encouraging people to walk in the liberty of the victory that was won at Calvary when Jesus triumphed over the power of darkness and sin. We do have FREEDOM in Christ and we must walk in that FREEDOM! The altar services were powerfully anointed as people were delivered from oppression, the spirits of people were refreshed through the unction of the Holy Ghost, people claimed the promises that God has declared over them through His Word, strength and courage was deposited in the lives of many people, and I could give other testimonies about the moving of the Spirit. I write these things to encourage you to keep reaching for your miracle; God is not dead and God is still in charge of YOUR life. He is in charge of your life no matter what you are facing; God has not forgotten you or forsaken you. He is prepared to intervene on your behalf; the release of our faith opens the door for spiritual activity in our lives. The devil does not want the modern day believer releasing their faith. The enemy is completely satisfied if he can keep us locked away in the room of doubt and fear. But many of us are coming to the conclusion that we will not remain behind those closed doors of doubt and fear; the Deliverer has arrived and He is bringing us into our spiritual destiny. The old hymn declares, "Trust and obey, for their is no other way..." Trust Him and be willing to follow Him into your day of victory.

Thoughts on Worship

Last night during worship service in Radcliff the Lord began to deal with my heart concerning the offering of worship that I was presenting to God. I could sense these questions rising in my heart. Was I serious in what I was singing to God? Was I concentrating on the words that I was expressing or were they just words coming out of my mouth? Did I truly believe what I was singing or was I just doing the "religious thing" in front of my peers? Was the worship coming from my heart or was it just coming from my intellectual ability to speak words and phrases to God? As you can sense, I felt strong Holy Spirit conviction in my spirit as I participated in worship service. Each one of us need to take some time and examine our own motives when it comes to offering praise and worship to God. Can you imagine the presence of God that would be in the church across America if we took our time of worship seriously and that we truly concentrated on what we were saying to the Lord God Almighty? Can you imagine the release of grace and love that would be present when we truly began to magnify Christ and exalt His name above everything that is going on around us as well as in us? I firmly believe that God is calling us to focus our attention on Him and let Him know that our words and actions are based on a heartfelt response to the "love that He has shed abroad in our lives through the Holy Ghost." God is good and He is worthy of our praise and adoration. Let me close with this quote from Adrian Rogers; "We have a God who is simply presented in all of creation; we should recognize Him. We have a God who is sovereignly powerful; we should respect Him. We have a God who is surely purposeful; we should reverence Him. We have a God who is savingly personal; we should receive Him." Turn your focus and attention to God in a purposeful way the next time you are involved in a time of worship whether the time is private or public. You might be pleasantly surprised at the response of God when we approach Him in a serious, respectful, and sincere manner. Blessings on you and your journey with God!

Doubt, Part 2

This post is to remind us that we are all faced with the daunting task of trusting God when all of the information speaks otherwise. I sincerely feel that God understands and responds to our humanity and He is prepared to strengthen our faith at those difficult moments. We must not allow those moments of doubt to drive us away from God but we can turn those moments into opportunities to develop a deeper relationship with God. I am convinced that God is ALWAYS interested in the development of our relationship with Him. Moments of challenge and concern become the "soil of opportunity" which can either drive us away from God or drive us toward God in a heartfelt pursuit of His presence. We can use our doubt as a moment to develop a fresh and new conversation (some my say prayer) with God. These moments of conversation (prayer) can offer us fresh insights to the greatness of God as well as the concern that God has for us. These moments of conversation (prayer) allows us the opportunity to see a fresh revelation of God's love for us as individuals. I can not overstate the passion and fervency of God's love for fallen humanity. His great love is revealed in the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross and the desire that God has to redeem fallen humanity. We must rejoice in the fact that God's love is real and that he will not forsake us during the times of doubt and difficulty. These moments of conversation (prayer) also reveal to us how we can relate to God and this deeper understanding brings us to the point of trusting Him more. We must remember that we can ask God for help during these difficult challenges that life will bring to all of us. Remember the promise that God has spoken to us, "God has said, I will never leave you, I will never abandon you. " Hebrews 13:5, (NKJV). Always remember that we can walk in the strength of the promises of God!

Doubt

Each one of us at various times face certain struggles that can create doubt in our lives. Does this doubt mean that our faith isn't real or does it mean that we are not trusting God? Let us look at some examples from the Bible. Abram faced the challenge of believing the promises of God because of his age and the age of his wife (Genesis 15:8). John the Baptist asked this question of Christ as he sat in a prison cell; "John the Baptist...sent his disciples to ask Jesus, Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?" (Matthew 11:2-3, NKJV). Does it mean that these men doubted when they asked these questions or does it simply reveal their humanity as they look at the daunting situation they were facing? As we look at these examples we can understand that even these "pillars of the faith" had moments when their circumstances seemed larger than their faith. I don't believe they felt that the circumstances were larger than their God; rather I believe they could have felt that the circumstances were larger than their faith. Their faith was being challenged in a new way; they were entering territory where they had never traveled before. Each one of us have to be careful and not allow the enemy to place the seeds of doubt in our lives; he will create the strategy to defeat or overthrow our faith. Each one of us will face these new "territories" of faith; but it is in these places in which we see God reveal His character to us. We learn to recognize the provision of the ability of God in ways in which we have never seen Him act. We see God in a fresh and new way in our lives and these circumstances begin to produce an even stronger faith as we see God at work in our circumstances. Many of us are facing some of these challenges of our faith; do not let the enemy work his strategy against you. Maintain your trust in God and offer your praise to God for all of those times in which He divinely intervened in your circumstances and you were able to see His hand of provision. October 8: I would like to remind you of a weekly service that is taking place in Radcliff, KY. We are meeting to worship God, preach the Word, and intercede for the needs of our nation. You are welcome to join us at the Woodland Elementary School (cafeteria) at 7:00 PM. Due to the seeting arrangements feel free to bring your own chair. The school is located at 6000 S. Woodland Drive in Radcliff. Feel free to share this information with family or friends who may live in Radcliff or one of the surrounding communities. Radcliff is located adjacent to Ft. Knox if you have family or friends stationed at that base.

Weekend Services

The blessings of the Lord were very evident in the services this past weekend. It is always a great honor and privilege to worship the Lord will fellow believers and to have the honor to share the Word of God. I never want to lose the "AWE" of being in the presence of God and the strength of sharing fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ! Saturday found Ann and I participating in a meeting of Pastors and Laity Leadership from around the state of Kentucky. We were able to fellowship with people that we have served with for over 30 years; we have been encouraged and strengthened by these men and women of God on many occasions and in many situations. I was given the great honor to minister to these leaders in the afternoon session of the Conference. State Bishop, Scott Gillum had assigned me the subject of "Encouragement." I was blessed as God began to deposit the Word in my heart during preparation time; I was equally blessed as God began to pour out His anointing during the delivery time of the Word. All of us need ENCOURAGEMENT from time to time on this journey through life; but we need to focus on giving encouragement as well as receiving encouragement. God will place people in our lives who are in need of a kind word fitly spoken. Will we allow the Spirit to awaken our sensitivity to these people or will we choose to remain in our own little world of self-preservation? I came out of that meeting with a renewed desire to be sensitive to the needs of those around me. I challenge you to develop that same desire with God. Let us look for those opportunities to share a Word of Encouragement with those we contact. Sunday found us ministering at the Willisburg, KY local church. We had the privilege and honor to serve that local church as Pastor for over eight years. Some of the best ministry years of our life were spent in the Willisburg community. Sunday allowed us the privilege to renew old friendships as well as begin the process of developing new relationships. It is always a blessing to interact with people who have maintained their faithful pursuit of God in the midst of various challenges that they face. As Pastor we were able to be with many of these people during difficult times yet they maintained their desire to be faithful to God and to His Word. I must maintain that desire in my heart; I must continue to strive to reach that place that NOTHING will move me away from my hope in Christ. We were given the privilege to pray with people whom we love with a deep love of appreciation and respect. I was reminded of that privilege as we drove home last night. It is a blessing to know that someone loves you and that they truly care about you and your family. I encourage you not to allow the enemy to move us away from that appreciation and recognition. We need each other in the family of God; our love must grow stronger and not weaker. This past weekend renewed my desire to be a blessing to the family of God. I want to come along side of people and help to encourage them on their walk through life. All of us know people that are facing their own set of challenges and they need someone to speak words of kindness and love to them. Will you allow God to use you to be that person TODAY? I truly thank God for all of those people whom He put in life at the time that I needed their encouragement.

Rejoicing

Due to my schedule I was unable to update the blog for a couple of days but I wanted to give you an overview of the past few services. Carbon Hill Revival: The altar meetings in the revival were powerful and anointed. The manifested presence of God was awesome; many needs were met as people sought after God with hungry hearts. One of the great blessings of the altar services was the diversity of the group of seekers. We were able to witness people of all ages crying out for more of God. The call of God that we sense and feel is for all generations; no one is excluded from this challenge of the Spirit. Each of us regardless of our age needs to seek to follow God with true passion and fervency. We do not need to be content with the "motions/activities" of church; we need the presence of God that is able to ALTER our lives so that we can please Him in all things. I was able to witness the blessing of Christian cooperation; Pastors brought people from various congregations in the community to participate in the services. Many of these brothers and sisters in Christ responded to the call to prayer and they were able to see their needs being met as we looked to God through the eyes of Christian unity. Radcliff: We were able to have our second service in the city of Radcliff. The presence of God was very near to those who attended this effort to reach out to the community with the message of the Gospel. God is prepared to change lives if we will submit to His leadership and direction. Feel free to contact me if you have friends or family that live in Radcliff or the surrounding communities. Radcliff is the city located nearest to Fort Knox; you may have family or friends stationed at Fort Knox. We would be glad to contact your family or friends if you feel led to share their names with us. We just have a desire to share the love of God with a hurting world; God is looking for people who will trust Him even during their moments of challenge and trial. I continue to ask for your prayer covering for this ministry effort. I realize and understand that without Christ "we can do nothing." I desire and want your prayer support and encouragement.

Kindness

A few minutes ago we returned from having lunch with one of the senior couples from the local church where I am serving as Evangelist this week. We drove about 30 miles to a restaurant in a nearby community. As I walked back into the Pastor's home this scripture came to my mind, Ephesians 4:32, "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ Jesus forgave you" (NKJV). I want to reflect on the first part of the verse, "And be kind to one another..." I thought about this verse from two perspectives; the kindness that others have extended to me as well as my need to extend kindness to others. The family who provided lunch today wanted to offer kindness to the Pastor and myself. I thought of others who have offered words of kindness and acts of kindness (holding the door when my hands were full of packages, picking up our children at school, mowing our yard when I was out of town, visiting me when I was sick, etc.). Each one of us could create our own list of people and the actions that they have taken toward us and for us. We need to take a moment and thank God for the kindness of people and their desire to offer a helping hand as we travel the road of life. We often think of the "difficult" people that we encounter but we need to take the time to remember those people who helped make the load of life a little lighter. But out of these thoughts came the question, "Do I extend kindness to others?" Have I offered to lighten the load of life or have I added more burdens to those people that I encounter? I desire to offer true heartfelt kindness; not the hypocrisy of fancy words but the actions from a heart that recognizes the golden opportunity of being a blessing to someone. Each of us meet people every day of our lives who need kindness released in their direction. Some of they are struggling with difficult problems with no solution in sight but they need to find the "oasis of kindness" in the midst of their "desert of despair." God will use us to share that kindness if we will be sensitive to those opportunities. The real blessing from God comes when we release that kindness and look for no reward to be given back to us. The reward of bringing a few moments of relief from the harsh reality of life becomes the driving force behind our desire to help someone. Be sensitive to those moments and watch God bring those opportunities to show kindness.