Personal Reflections

During my time of personal devotions this morning a song kept flowing through my spirit.  Some of the words of this song goes like this; "I will bless the Lord, Oh my soul, and all that is within me.  I will bless His holy name.  He has done great things for me, He has done great things for me, He has done great things for me, Bless His holy name."  My heart was filled with rejoicing as I began to reflect on just a small portion of the blessings that God has given to me through the years of my life.  Those moments of reflection afforded me the opportunity to share my praise with God and afforded me the opportunity to offer some moments of sincere praise and adoration to the True and living God.

It was during this song that my mind drifted back to a sermon that I heard Dr. Tom Renfroe share in a Minister's Conference in Kentucky.  Dr. Renfroe received a miraculous healing from cancer and in his sermon he reminded us of what He says to people who are facing uncertain circumstances.  He reminds them to enter the presence of God with thanksgiving and praise (based on the Psalms).  Dr. Renfroe said that he encourages people to practice this very approach to God as they seek Him for healing or other forms of deliverance that they may need.  I was challenged by those words and I have made it a practice in my time of prayer and interaction with God.  I have found my faith both encouraged and strengthened as I pause to reflect on what God has done (thanksgiving) and who God is (praise).  I sincerely believe that each of you will see your faith grow stronger as we shift our thought process away from our needs and we shift our thought process towards the greatness of our God.

This process of shifting our thinking and reflection will lead us to sing another chorus from the old song that I referenced earlier in my post.  That line of the song declares; "He will do great things, He will do great things, Bless His Holy name."  God will do great things in our lives and we need to give Him praise and honor.

Refreshing Presence

Normally I wait to Monday to post about any weekend services in which I was involved. I could not wait until Monday after the service at New River Worship Center this morning. The presence of the Holy Spirit filled the house as the worshipers lifted their voices in praise and adoration for the True Savior, Jesus Christ. This Christmas season of celebration must become one of recognition; we must recognize that Christ is the source of all our resources. Once again Christ must be exalted into the place of prominence and leadership. We must reestablish Christ as our living Hope and remember that without Him (Christ) we can do nothing. The congregation at New River declared that we would not allow the "clutter of life" to conceal Christ from our view and we refuse to allow the clutter hinder the declaration of the Gospel message. Let this be a time in which we rediscover the true meaning of Christ coming to earth.

Thankful, Part 4

We desire to wish each one of you a Happy and blessed Thanksgiving,  We are truly blessed to be able to live in America and have the opportunities and freedom that we are privileged to enjoy.  I want to give thanks for my wonderful family and great friends that God has placed in my life.  I am thankful for my church family at New River Worship Center; their love, support, prayer covering, and encouragement is such a blessing and strength to us.  I am thankful for the military (both past as well as present) who place their lives in harms way each day that I might be able to enjoy freedom each and every day of my life.  I understand that our nation is facing a litany of problems and challenges but we still need to take time to be thankful for the blessings that God has given to America.  President Abraham Lincoln called for a day of "Thanksgiving and Praise" when he signed the initial Thanksgiving declaration in 1863.  We need to make sure that we offer sincere thanksgiving and praise to our great God and let him know that we recognize His presence in our lives.

Take some time today and specifically identify some of the blessings that God has placed in your life.  Express to God sincere thanks and gratefulness for these blessings and I believe that your heart will begin to sense a deeper presence of God in your life.

Have a great day with your family and friends!

Thankful, Part 3

Last night I was involved a wonderful and amazing service in Radcliff, Kentucky.  I assisted in leading a Praise and Thanksgiving service at New River Worship Center.  The service centered around our commitment to give God authentic and genuine praise and thanksgiving for all of His daily provisions.  God deserves more than just a "casual" Thank You; God deserves our heartfelt and sincere praise and adoration for all of the blessings that He has bestowed and continues to bestow on our lives.  I was both blessed and amazed at the number of marvelous miracles that was shared in the meeting last night.  It was certain that our faith was strengthened and encouraged by those who were willing to share a story from their life that revealed the power of God's healing and deliverance.  The love, grace, power, and healing power of God is not a myth or fairy tale BUT the attributes of God are REAL AND TRUE.  I offer thanks and gratitude to each of those who shared their story and were willing to give us a brief look into a challenging moment in their lives.  Remember this old axiom; "You can't have a testimony without a test."

Each of you have a story to tell.  Each of us have had moments of divine intervention in which God revealed Himself in a miraculous manner.  We must share the stories with others so that their faith can be encouraged. Your testimony/witness can encourage someone to believe God in the midst of their trying circumstances.  Take some time during the Thanksgiving celebration to tell someone about Christ and all that He has done in your life.  Thankfulness needs to be shared with others so that they can recognize the faithfulness of God.

Thankful, Part 2

I consider myself a "rich" man. I understand my richness is not defined or determined by the standards of our culture. I will never appear on an episode of "The Rich and Famous" or the Forbes 500 list but compared to many of the people of the world I am rich. But my richness goes beyond the possessions of this world. My riches is defined first and foremost in my relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. My richness is further defined in my relationship with my wonderful wife, sons and daughter-in-laws that I love and respect, and four awesome grandchildren. My richness is further enhanced by the Leadership Team at New River and my brothers and sisters in the family of God as well as all of the leaders and mentors who have played a major role in my spiritual development. I will stop now although I have just begun listing the inventory of my riches. Take a moment today and review the inventory of your riches.

Thankful

It has been almost three weeks since I have made a post and I have truly missed this form of communication.  I am still only able to use one arm and my other responsibilities have consumed much of my time.  It seems that it takes me much longer to complete a task since I incurred this injury on October 19th.  My recovery continues to make progress but I do need your prayers; in an exam on this past Friday the Doctor noticed a potential problem with the healing of the fracture in my elbow.  I need for you to join in faith with me that the elbow will not require surgery.  I know and believe that God is able to answer that prayer need that I am facing.  I am like many of you; I have much to do and I need to be able to be at full strength so that I can give my best effort to the work of the Kingdom of God.

The church plant in Radcliff, Kentucky is going well.  We are involved in 40 days of prayer and fasting.  The Leadership Team issued this challenge to the congregation on November 7th and many of those who were in attendance that day joined in agreement with us.  We are entering our third week of this effort and already prayers have been answered.  The initial call for this effort was raised up in a Leadership meeting when our Worship leader shared what God had placed on her heart.  It is a blessing to work with people who are sensitive to the call of the Spirit.  The past two Sunday services have been rich with the presence of the Holy Spirit and we are anticipating a deeper and richer anointing of the Spirit in future services.

I spoke about gratitude in yesterday's service.  Gratitude is not an option but a command of the Word of God.  I want to offer to God my sincere gratitude and thanksgiving.  It is so easy to fall into the rut of saying the "right words" but having the wrong motive.  I want my words to express what is in my heart.  Let this be a week in which we speak to God from the depths of a sincere heart of thankfulness.

Recovery Update

I have missed the opportunity to share my heart with you due to the injuries that I sustained two weeks ago.  My daily schedule has been interrupted and rearranged due to my need to have assistance in some of my daily activities and routine.  I am learning patience (at least most of the time) and I am learning a fresh revelation of my need to depend on God to supply ALL of my needs and not just a portion of them.  God is also revealing the depth of His grace and mercy through the kindness and concern of my natural family as well as my spiritual family.  God is good even in the midst of our challenges and difficulties.  I have had to cancel some revival services due to my injuries but I just pray that the people will understand my limitations.  The congregation of the church plant in Radcliff, KY has been a great blessing and a source of encouragement and prayer covering.  It is a great blessing to know that someone is praying for you.  Thank you for your prayers; the past two weeks have been full of some ups and downs during the recovery process but I am constantly reminded of God's protection even in the midst of my difficulties.  I still look forward to what God has planned for my future.