Weekend Review

The weekend services at New River Worship Center were very inspirational and encouraging. I still stand amazed at the loving presence of God after all of my years as a Gospel Minister.  I still rejoice when I see individuals respond to the call and leading of the Holy Spirit.  I am thankful that God stands ready to minister to our needs regardless what these needs may entail.  God does not take a step back from us when we face our set of challenging circumstances but he still chooses to draw near to us and minister to our lives.  Yesterday we were able to witness one of the children of our Children's Ministry make a public profession of her faith in Christ through the sacrament of Water Baptism.  This baptism was special because her father was in attendance.  Her father's attendance was special because he is preparing to be deployed to Afghanistan in a few days and she desired for her father to witness her baptism before his deployment began.  We were also able to witness her father come forward for prayer during the time of invitation.  God still arranges the lives of His people in such a manner that we are in the right place at the right time.  I thank God that I was able to participate in that awesome service which gave us a fresh revelation of the love of God.

Sunday night was a time of Worship and Intercessory Prayer at New River.  Once again the scripture became real to our lives; James 4:8a, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..." (NKJV) God still rewards those who diligently seek Him and we were able to witness the fulfillment of that blessing last night.  We saw the presence of God revealed through the songs that were shared during the worship time.  We used Proverbs 3:5-8 as our prayer map.  It is time for the modern day church to recognize and acknowledge the leadership of Christ and allow Him to direct our paths.  I could say much about the time of prayer as I heard different individuals lifting their hearts in prayer, praise, and intercession.  But toward the end of the prayer time the Spirit raised up a moment of divine encouragement.  I felt led to ask people to read the passage in the Bible that God had used or was using at that particular moment to encourage them.  My heart was melted as I listened to various individuals read with such passion, tenderness, tears, compassion, encouragement, hope, faith, etc.  I can not attest to what others felt in that portion of the meeting but I KNOW that God spoke strength and courage into my spirit.  I still believe that God responds to the cry of our heart.  I still believe that God is interested in the needs of His children.  I still believe that God cares about fallen mankind.  I still believe the the Word of God offers hope and solutions to the needs of our daily lives.  I can testify that I was both blessed and encouraged by the presence of the Lord that was evident in the services this weekend at New River Worship Center.  I start this new week with a renewed desire to walk after the heart of God in obedience and surrender.

Remember to pray for the Internet Revival.  Read Friday's post for more information regarding your participation in this revival meeting.