Christmas

We are in the countdown stages as we approach Christmas Day on Monday. There will be a tremendous amount of "moving around" over the next few days as people position themselves to celebrate Christmas. I am convinced that we need to do more than celebrate Christmas. We need to celebrate Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Will we take the time to position ourselves to worship our Lord and Savior?

These words are not intended to "rain on" your Christmas plans. These words are simply meant as an encouraging reminder to each of us that Jesus came to this world to redeem us from our sins. Jesus came to deliver us from the power of spiritual darkness. Spiritual darkness will certainly lead us away from God rather than leading us to God!! 

Each of us face the daunting task of keeping the celebration of Jesus Christ in the forefront of our minds and hearts. This is not only true for the season of Christmas but it is also true each and every day of our life. I encourage each of us to take the time somewhere during the "process of Christmas" to meditate on the goodness of God and His provision of Salvation. Our Salvation is provided through the willing sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. The birth of Jesus and ultimately His death may be the FIRST "GIFT CARD" THAT WAS GIVEN TO SOMEONE!!

I would to share a prayer with you. These words spoke to my heart a few days ago. I pray that you will be blessed as well as reminded of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Lord, I thank You for coming to earth so You could redeem me. When I think of the extent to which You were willing to go in order to save me, it makes me want to shout, to celebrate, and to cry with thankfulness. You love me so much, and I am so grateful for that love. Without You, I would still be lost and in sin. But because of everything You have done for me, today I am free; my life is blessed; Jesus is my Lord; Heaven is my home; and Satan has no right to control me. I will be eternally thankful to You for everything You did to save me! I pray this in Jesus' name!  (Rick Renner)

The "STAR" of Christmas

I would like to share a portion of the letter that I sent to our church family on Wednesday. I truly believe that God is calling us to revisit the message of Christmas revealed in the Bible. It is so easy to become captured by certain elements of the story or even the characters of the story. But God was sharing with us more than a story. He was revealing the message of LIFE to each of us and this message would be housed in the earthly and heavenly life of Jesus Christ. It is no wonder that the heavens were filled with the glory of God at the time of the birth of Jesus!!

Matthew 2:9-11, “When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ¹¹ And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (NKJV) (Emphasis Added)

The ability as well as desire to "rejoice" began to resonate in my heart as I thought about the Greatness and Goodness of God. It is not always easy to rejoice as we travel the road of life. Each of us have faced or we are facing difficulties in our lives. We go through various "up and down" moments which can turn our "rejoicing into mourning" very quickly. But when we choose to focus on the "star" of God's goodness we can begin to reverse the process of our thinking. The Spirit of God can turn our "mourning into rejoicing."

The men in the passage of Matthew are often referred to as "wise men." Many Bible scholars believe that these travelers were astrologers from the East who saw the star which led them on their journey of discovery. Their journey of following the star led them to the house where Jesus was located. The Bible references Jesus as the "bright and morning star." The impact of the presence of Jesus even as a "baby" led them to fall down and worship the Savior of the world.

Let us choose to worship as we identify the "star" of God's Goodness in our lives. I would like to encourage each of us to take a moment and look around at the "star" of God's Goodness in our lives. Let me share a few things that I have pondered this morning. "How many times will I breathe today? How many times will my heart beat today? How many times will I get up and walk across the floor today? How many times will I drink clean and fresh water today? How many meals or snacks will I eat today? How many people has God placed in my life that love and care about me?" I encourage you to make you own list as you take time to notice the "star" of God's Goodness.

EACH OF YOU ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE "STAR" OF GOD'S GOODNESS IN THE LIVES OF MANY PEOPLE!!!  YOUR LIFE IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD!!!

What Will We Celebrate on Christmas Day?

Luke 2:13-15, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” ¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” (NKJV)

It seems to me that people are always looking for a reason to celebrate or throw a party. Even birthday parties for children are becoming an extravagant affair (Disclaimer: I am not against this by any means.). The celebration of Holy Matrimony has almost been overshadowed by the approach that some couples take for the celebration of their wedding vows (Disclaimer: I am not against this is you can afford the celebration.). People are all ready planning their New Years Eve parties even down to making sure that they are dressed in the "right outfit." There will be Super Bowl parties in a few weeks. I can go on with other examples but I will stop at this point.

But I have written these previous words so that I can write these next words. Has the celebrations of the culture overtaken and in some cases even replaced the daily celebrations that ought to take place in our lives? Christmas allows us and even encourages us to look in the Bible and see what God set in motion for the people of this world to receive. The gift of Jesus Christ to this world opened the door for the plan of Salvation to be revealed to humanity. We who were far away from God would now be called to draw near through the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ ushered in an opportunity for mankind to showcase their praise and honor to God. We would be given the opportunity to celebrate our "spiritual freedoms" which would begin with the birth of a child in a manger in Bethlehem. "Oh, what a message to share and Oh, what a song to sing!!!"

We are in great need for God to help us focus on the good news that has caused great joy for people around the world and across the ages of time. Our true HOPE is found in the Truth that Jesus came to this world to save sinners and each of us were in need of a Savior to say the least.

We are in awe that the coming of the Lord Jesus has shaped the history of the world and has changed untold millions of lives. We need this gospel in troubled times lest we become fearful and overwhelmed by the challenges of daily life. The Word of  God will strengthen our faith during these challenging times.

We rejoice in the proclamation of Immanuel, God with us. As Isaiah said, “to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Silent Night!! Will WE Remain Silent?

This anonymous devotion spoke to my heart as I read the words. I even took the time to read the words again. I wanted to soak in the truth that was being shared as well as examine my need to apply this truth to my life. Will I (you) continue to sing and worship even during the difficult and challenging times? Will I choose to allow the "noise" around me drown out my praises to God? I (you) may be called on to make the difficult choices in life when it comes to standing strong in my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!!

Musicians' Daily Devotion:  "Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany determined to take over the German church and dictate the nation's religion.  He falsely accused many of the clergymen of treason, theft, or immoral practices; thus priests, nuns, and church leaders were arrested on trumped-up charges.  Religious publications were suspended.  Hitler encouraged couples to be married by state officials rather than by priests and pastors.  In 1935 he outlawed prayer in the schools and he did all he could to replace Bible-reading with Nazi propaganda.  

     

He had greater difficulty with the holidays because Germans had faithfully observed Easter and Christmas for centuries.  Carols and nativity plays were banned from the schools in 1938, and even the name Christmas was changed to Yuletide.  Holy days became holidays and the sacred was secularized.  

     

Sound familiar?  Today we're amazed to observe the same thing happening in America as social libertarians, seemingly aided by the media and the courts, trying to rob Christmas of its true meaning.  I implore you, along with me, to do whatever it takes to help others stay focused on Him during the season - to proclaim His birth, His life, His death and resurrection...how He was sent to earth to redeem mankind on that silent, starry night of long ago.  

     

Be determined as the Christians in Nazi Germany who still stood and sang in church the beautiful carols of Christ's birth.  One of those songs we all know from memory is "Silent Night."  I particularly love to sing it in German (it originally was written in German and accompanied by guitar) for, in some way, it seems to help me negate the attempt by Hitler to stamp out Jesus Christ:

                                               

               Stille Nacht

      Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

      Alles schlaft; einsam wacht

      Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.

      Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,

      Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

      Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!     (Anonymous)

Christmas story or Christmas MESSAGE

A few weeks ago in Bible Study; one of the participants made a statement that continues to resonate in my heart on a daily basis. I am paraphrasing her words but this is the essence of what she said.   “We have taken the story of Christmas and treated it as a “story” rather than remembering and realizing that the celebration of Christmas is more than just the rehashing of an “old story.” The birth of Christ is one of the many “messages” that God has declared through the ages. These messages were intended, designed, planned and even orchestrated by our Heavenly Father as a means of providing fallen mankind with an opportunity to have a relationship as well as fellowship with the Lord God Almighty!! 

I have come to declare today that my previous statement is more than just a story but it is a DIRECT MESSAGE FROM HEAVEN TO THE PEOPLE ON PLANET EARTH. God fulfilled His plan to offer redemption, rescue, as well as Salvation to “whosoever would believe on the name of the Lord.” The Holy Spirit is challenging me and now I am going to challenge you today. We need to upgrade the birth of Christ from more just a “story” to the GREATEST MESSAGE THAT HAS EVER BEEN DECLARED ON PLANET EARTH!!! Is it possible that Christianity in general has “drifted away” from the powerful Message that is brought to this earth through the incarnation of Jesus, the Son of God? We are being called to celebrate that message as well as share that message with this world!!!

Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (God with us). (NKJV)

Hebrews 6:17-19, “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. ¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. ¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,” (NIV)

This is no TIME TO BE IDLE

I would like to share a portion of a letter that I shared with our church family today. I trust that each of us will be challenged to seek to walk in a deeper, stronger, developing relationship with Jesus Christ!!

Good morning! I trust that you are sensing the Holy Spirit at work in your heart and life. I know that I sense Him calling me to draw closer to Him on a daily basis. The world in which we are living at this present time reminds us that we need God more than ever before.

We have made the turn away from Thanksgiving and we are quickly moving toward our encounter with the Christmas "holidays." Christians look at Christmas through a different set of eyes. We see more than a simple holiday; we see the celebration of the birth of our Lord  and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am going to share a statement that I placed on Facebook yesterday. I would encourage you to read it again even if you read it yesterday and allow the words to "marinate" in your soul. I truly believe that God is calling each of us to examine our lives and make sure that we are moving forward in our relationship with Christ. This thought came into my mind yesterday morning as I was listening to my car's engine idling as it was warming up. The car was using up its supply of fuel even though it was not even moving. Could that same principle be true with our soul? Satan desires for believers to grow complacent sitting in a state of "spiritual idling." Their relationship with God has leveled off. Their spiritual engine is still running but they are not moving forward in their relationship with Christ. They are in the state of "idling" but their "spiritual fuel" supply is disappearing. I believe that God's plans for our lives includes more than just sitting and idling. He has called each of us to an ABUNDANT LIFE IN CHRIST!!

Charles Spurgeon spoke this great reminder to each of us, "the past is gone; the future has not arrived; we shall never have any time but time present. We are called to serve God promptly. This quote has also been attributed to Charles Spurgeon: "Do not fritter away your life in thinking of what you intend to do tomorrow as if that could make up for the idleness of today. No man ever served God by doing things tomorrow. If we honor Christ and are blessed, it is by the things which we do today."

I truly believe that this is a day and time in which God is calling us out of "idling" and He is calling us to follow Him NOW!! We must stop waiting. We must stop procrastinating. We must stop sitting on the side lines. We must become very active in our pursuit of more of God in our individual lives. Each of us (including me) must answer this call as an individual believer.

2 Corinthians 6:1-2, As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. ² For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. (NLT)

But, Where are the Nine?

Luke 17 15-19, “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, ¹⁶ and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.   ¹⁷ So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine? ¹⁸ Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (NKJV)

This passage of scripture continues to marinate in my heart and spirit! I continue to examine my response to the the blessings of God. Do I take the time to offer genuine praise, honor and worship to God or do I just offer a brief response of gratitude to God and then get back to living my life? Doesn't God deserve more than mere "lip service"? But is it possible that there is another question that we need to be asking ourselves? "Is it possible that God is looking for more than just "lip service"? The Word of God does reveal that Jesus did ask the one leper who returned about the other nine who did not return!! I wonder if God has ever looked for us or listened for our voice. 

I presented these following questions to the New River congregation on Sunday. I truly believe that God spoke these words in my heart and I believe that we need to review them in our hearts as we reflect on the blessings that God provides in our daily lives.

Did the nine lepers find more important things to do with their time since they had received this new freedom?

Did the nine lepers think that they would take the time some other day to thank Jesus?

Did the nine lepers take this encounter with God for granted? Could they have felt that they “earned” this blessing because of all that they had endured in their lives?

Did the nine lepers appreciate the gift more than they did the giver of the gift?

Were the nine lepers just content to enjoy their new life and the new freedoms/opportunities that they were experiencing? Were they so captured by the moment that the “attitude of forgetfulness” took control of their lives?

We must not allow the attitude of "forgetfulness or lack of genuine gratitude" gain a foothold in our lives!!

I'm Back

I can not believe that it has been over a month since I last shared my thoughts with you. I have used other platforms of social media to express those feelings that God has placed in my heart but have not taken the time to share them in this particular platform. But I have come back today with some of the same "inspirations" in my heart such as: "I am convinced that God still desires to awaken the church in America to a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him. I also still believe that God is looking for "true worshipers" who will worship from the heart and not just their religious mind. I also still believe that God responds to a "praying church" that will focus on the needs of others more than their own needs. One other thing, I still believe that God is looking for a church that will truly love Him in action and in deeds and not just with fancy words that seeks to impress their fellow human beings. WOW!! I am feeling better already since I have taken the time to write down a few of my core beliefs.

We just finished celebrating "Thanksgiving." But true thanksgiving is more than a holiday; it is a way of life for believers. I truly desire to live a life that is grateful to God and mindful of the blessings that He provides for me on a daily basis. I would like to share some thoughts from a recent sermon that I shared at New River.

Luke 17 15-19, “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, ¹⁶ and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.   ¹⁷ So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine? ¹⁸ Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”¹⁹ And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (NKJV)

Do we still exhibit a humble attitude of gratitude, or have we graduated beyond gratefulness? In fact, the more we grow in the grace of God, the more thankful we should become. God provides each of us many with many opportunities to show up and speak up with thanksgiving at various chapters in our lives. For example, how long has it been since we thanked God for the employment that we have at the present time? Very few of us have a “perfect’ job but we do have a job which assists us in meeting the needs of life.   Let’s face this fact, it is a lot easier and simpler to grumble and complain. There are certainly times that we can more easily identify what we don’t like quicker than we can identify what we do like and appreciate. We must have an “attitude checkup” from time to time so that we can open wide our mouths with words of thanksgiving. I truly believe this action on our part will allow us to watch the Lord perform wonderful works around us as well as in us. Gratitude speaks up words of praise, appreciation and thankfulness to its Savior! Gratitude speaks out for our Savior and all of the daily benefits that He consistently places in our lives!!!

#FRIDAY'SALERTS

I feel led to share a portion of some thoughts that I shared with our church family this week. I am thoroughly convinced that far too many believers are "asleep at the wheel of their life." I also believe that the Spirit of God is seeking to awaken the people of God but we have become so captured by the "gods of this world" that we are ignoring the call from Heaven. I do not want to fall prey to these attempts and attacks of satan. The enemy truly desires to interfere with and ultimately disrupt my relationship with Jesus Christ. BUT WE CAN OVERCOME THESE ATTACKS OF SATAN THROUGH THE PRESENCE AND POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!!

The Spirit has been dealing with my heart during prayer time concerning the tactics, devices, and strategies that satan is using today against the family of God. I want to share one of them with you today. I sincerely believe that satan is using the "spirit of idolatry" to attack the present day church. I know that many of us will initially reject this word because we would be the first person to say that I am not worshiping any other god. We would quickly add that we have not built any idols in our house or yard that would represent any "god" other than the True and Living God. We would openly declare that our heart would never take any such action that would be remotely connected with idolatry. But I truly believe that the present day church has to be alert and aware of this attempt of satan to infiltrate our hearts with passions, desires, plans, ideas, opinions, selfish motives, etc. that seek to replace our pure and genuine love for God. Satan wants us to love other "gods" more than we love the True and Living God. I understand that these are challenging words but the powers of darkness are working very hard to destroy the work of the Kingdom of God. We must seek to draw closer to God so that we can "...be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." (Ephesians 6:12) I will openly admit that the Spirit challenged my heart on a personal level before He encouraged me to share these words with you. 

Would you take a moment and read these challenging words that Pastor Adrian Rogers shares concerning the presence of idolatry in the modern day world? “You may say, “Well, I’m not guilty of idolatry.” Let’s just see...is there anything that you love more than God? Anything you fear more than God? Anything you serve more than God? Anything you trust more than God? Am I getting hot? You say, “Well, I give God a place in my life.” God doesn’t want a place in your life. Then, you say, “Well, I give God prominence in my life.” God desires more than prominence in your life. God demands preeminence in your life. He will take nothing less. Is there anyone or anything in your life that takes precedence over God? Confess it and repent of it. Now, put on the throne the rightful Master--the Lord Jesus!”

Thursday's Inspiration

Joshua 1:8-9, “ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (NJKV)

This passage takes us into the life of the successor of Moses, a man named Joshua. God is preparing him to lead the people into the Promised Land and He encourages Joshua with the promise of His presence. I truly believe that God has prepared for us some powerful and wonderful promises that He has promised to fulfill. But those promises will be surrounded by the powers of darkness which will do everything in their power to stop the process of us possessing and receiving those promises.  

Have you ever been guilty of forgetting the promise of His presence? I confess that there have been occasions that I have forgotten the promise of God that says “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Let us be reminded that the One who was and is and is to come is our all sufficiency and we must see the need to surrender our lives to Him. I AM has no needs, but He is necessary for our life. Any human being who chooses to dismiss his Creator will miss being cared for by the One who cares the most for us.  There is no comparison between the love of God and the love of your family as well as your friends. The love of God is a very present and very constant source of hope, peace, rest, comfort, encouragement, grace, mercy, etc. Just as Moses was sent by I AM to remind the people of their neediness, so I AM sends us to represent Him as well as present His light in the midst of the darkness in this present day and time! But we MUST REMEMBER THAT WE ARE NEVER ALONE AND WE MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT GOD IS PRESENT WITH US!!!

We must never allow the enemy to remove the "Promise of the Presence of God" from our journey of life. Satan desires for us to feel alone and feel unworthy of the love of God. But both of these tactics of Satan are based on a lie that the enemy seeks to sow into our thought process. But remember that God is as "close as the mention of His name." Don't be afraid to call on God and don't allow the enemy to intimidate you in any manner, shape or form. 

Be encouraged as you take a moment and read the passage at the beginning of this article!! 

Monday's Musings

Psalm 139:13-18, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. ¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. ¹⁶ You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. ¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! ¹⁸ I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! (NLT) (Emphasis Added)

You just read the scripture passage that I shared at New River on Sunday. This declaration of Truth as well as these words of inspiration spoke volumes to my heart this past week. As a matter of fact it is still speaking Truth and Revelation to me this morning. Aren't you grateful that the Word of God is not some "out of date" book but that it is "alive" and relevant even in this day and time? It seems that so many of us work so hard to earn God's love while it also appears that far too man of us have trouble believing that God could love me simply because I am just me!! The Love of God is unfathomable yet He chooses to reveal His love, care and concern on a daily basis to any and every one who will choose to accept His love. 

I read these words written by Craig Denison this morning. "When we work tirelessly to build up a false self so that we can receive affirmation from others, we never truly experience love. For our false self to be loved is not truly love at all because we constantly have the thought, 'If they really knew me, they wouldn't love me.'" People cannot truly love us until they know our true selves." We spend so much time trying to prove to God as well as prove to others our "personal worth or value" that we miss many opportunities to love and be loved. 

This attitude can and does hinder the development of our relationship with God. This does not mean that we do not need to depend on God to transform or change us into the best person that we can become. But let us remember that this is His work and not mine. My responsibility is to present myself to God as a "living sacrifice" and allow Him through the Spirit and the Word to complete His process of transformation. There is such a joy and strength to walk in fellowship with God and with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This type of fellowship with God and with man opens the door that we might come along side of one another during this journey of life. Our life with God becomes one that glorifies God and edifies (builds up) the Body of Christ.

Prayer of the day: Dear God, reveal to me anything that is hindering my relationship with You as well as hindering my relationship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen!!

Thursday's Thoughts

My contribution to this blog post today will be very limited. I am sharing a passage of scripture that has been marinating in my spirit for the past several months. I along with many others are very much concerned about the "spiritual condition" of our nation. BUT I am also very much concerned about the "unawareness" that many believers at least appear to have concerning their spiritual condition not to mention the condition of the world in which we are living. I truly believe that it is time for each of us to "wake up and be alert" and take the time to seriously examine our walk with Christ. This very morning the enemy of my soul desired to interfere with me during my prayer time. These are truly dangerous times and we need to sincerely respond to the directions that God is sharing with us through His Word. 

Take a moment and read the Word from God through the words shared by the Apostle Paul.

2 Timothy 3:1-9, “You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. ² For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. ³ They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. ⁴ They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. ⁵ They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! ⁶ They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of^[a] vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires. ⁷ (Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.) ⁸ These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith. ⁹ But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres. (NLT)

Spiritual Awakening

My writing on this blog has been sporadic at best over the past few weeks. I have been focusing on other social media outlets. I sensed that I needed to share some thoughts with you considering the events of this past week. 

This has been a week in which we have witnessed another horrific mass murder. I want to remind you of the importance of praying for the families of the victims as well as praying for the various individuals who are fighting for their lives and let us not forget those who have begun their road to recovery both physically as well as emotionally. We offer thanks to all of the first responders and the other "heroes" who worked to save the lives of their family, friends as well as complete strangers. The challenges of life does afford us the opportunity to also witness genuine care and concern for others rise to the surface. 

We also need to pray for ourselves!! How should we respond to this event? It normally does not take us long to "move on" with life once the event is replaced by another event in the news or another event in our lives. Many Americans are fixated or captured by numbers and by the breaking of records. The number of sport championships that are won; the record of our favorite sports teams; our score on a golf course; or the distance to our favorite place of recreation is just a few examples of my previous statement. There was another record broken this past Monday. Monday saw the record broken for the number of people killed in a mass murder in our nation. I will be honest when I say that I am saddened by that record. I heard this week that a "mass murder" is defined as a situation where four (4) or more individuals are killed. It was told that 272 of these type of murders have taken place in America this year.  That is almost one a day across our nation!!! These statistics should be very concerning to each of us!!

Proverbs 27:1, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. (NIV)

Once again I ask, "What am I going to do?" This is certainly not the time to just be going through the "motions" of Christianity. This is not the time to be unsure of our relationship with God. This is not the time to ignore God and it is not the time to stop drawing closer to Him. But drawing closer to God has to be more than just the use of the right words. The atmosphere of this world is demanding that we take the appropriate actions in responding correctly to God. I fully realize that these are "plain" words but they are spoken in genuine love and concern. Nehemiah 1 tells us of a time in his life that his heart was "burdened" by the condition of his homeland. Let us notice what Nehemiah did when he heard this information. "And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven." (Nehemiah 1:4) We can find time to do all types of things that please and satisfy us. I believe that it is time for EACH OF US to examine our lives in times of serious introspection before God. We need to have a "burden" for our soul, the souls of our family, the souls of our friends, the souls of our nation and the souls of each human being on the face of this earth. I truly wish that I could report that ALL IS WELL BUT ALL IS NOT WELL. WE ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF A MIGHTY AWAKENING IN THE CHURCH ACROSS AMERICA. Once again I offer this question, "What am I going to do?"

Presence of God

2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” (NKJV)

Is it possible that we can become so consumed by the presence of darkness that we fail to recognize and appreciate the presence and power of the Light? The True Light reminds us of the presence of God on a daily basis. God is not limited to a Sunday or Wednesday encounter; He is present at all times with all power to intervene in our lives. I am thankful that I can depend on the revelatory presence of the Triune God that makes Himself known through His activity in my daily life. 

I found an illustration that I read over six (6) years ago. I had filed it away and I had forgotten its location but during a time of sermon preparation the Spirit brought it to my attention. It spoke to my heart again just as it did in 2011. The words are just as true if not more true today then they were at that point in my spiritual journey. These are the days that we must choose to press in and press on when it comes to the Kingdom of God. We must refuse to settle for less when we know that God has more for us. We must break the chains of "spiritual contentment" and hunger for a deeper and stronger relationship with God. We desire the best things of life but choose to settle for the "lesser things" when it comes to the Kingdom of God. I am determined to change that narrative through the power of the Word of God and through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

"When electricity became available in remote rural areas, one woman went to great trouble and expense to have electricity installed in her home. A few months after the wiring was installed and the power was turned on; the power company noticed that the home didn’t use very much power. Fearing that there was a problem they sent a meter reader to check on the matter. The meter reader saw that the power was indeed working properly and then asked the woman, “Do you use your electricity?” The woman replied, “Of course we do. We turn it on every night to see to light our lamps and then we turn it off.”

Doesn’t that just sound ridiculous? Having all of the power that you need and the ability to tap it all of the time but only using it just enough “get by.” We would never do anything like this at all because it just wouldn’t make sense. However, we do this exact same thing a great deal when we apply the same reasoning to the power and presence of God.

We go out of our way to go to church and to worship but have little relationship with God through the week. We go through difficulties day after day and only when we come to the end of our strength do we ask for God’s help. We have the power of God at our disposal all of the time but yet we attempt to get by on our own strength everyday. We are a lot more like the woman who wouldn’t use her electricity than we would like to admit.

We need to experience the presence of God to experience His power. Just like electricity, when we remove the presence of God from our lives; we also remove the power." (Author Unknown)

This is NO TIME to be QUIET

I am sure that many of you who read this blog would concur with this following statement. The citizens of our nation are facing some very critical times without even referencing the political climate of America. The anger, frustration, hatred, division and acts of violence that have been simmering under the surface have now burst out into actions that are very troubling to the "average" citizen of our land. 

What should be the response of the people of God? What action or actions are we taking today that would portray, demonstrate, reveal and even declare our spiritual optimism? I have very little optimism from the natural point of view but my spiritual optimism is "over the top." And I am not embarrassed to declare that I am a " practicing believer" in the Great I AM and that I still believe He has the power to save, heal and deliver. 

I truly believe that the enemy is trying to interfere, hinder and even shut down one of the most powerful weapons in our arsenal of weaponry. The enemy seeks to hinder our praise, worship and offering of adoration to our Lord and Savior. He wants us to BE QUIET and he wants us to sheepishly walk away from the promises that have been revealed and declared in the Word of God. But I publicly declare that I refuse to go quietly and that I also refuse to walk away from the promises of God.

I am disturbed by the lack of interest in worship; the lack of interest in attending church; the lack of interest in prayer; the lack of interest in serving others; etc. We live in a world in which we will take time for ourselves but have very little time for God. The enemy of our soul is working to put the church to sleep and the Spirit of God is working to wake the church up. We have to choose between being put to sleep by Satan or being awakened by the Spirit. I know the choice that I am making; I desire to be fully awakened by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

The past two days the Spirit has placed songs in my Spirit as I was praying. Yesterday it was He's Able, He's Able and today it was one of the worship songs from our Sunday service, Great Are You Lord. I would like to share a few words from Great Are You Lord which was written by All Sons &  Daughters.

It’s Your breath in our lungs

So we pour out our praise

We pour out our praise

It’s Your breath in our lungs

So we pour out our praise

To You only

All the earth will shout

Your praise

Our hearts will cry

These bones will sing

Great are You, Lord

It is time for the people of God to shout unto God with a voice of triumphant!!

9-11, Part 2

I would like to take a moment and share a personal perspective on another 9-11 event. The first service of what would become New River Worship Center was conducted on 9-11-09 at Woodland Elementary School in Radcliff, Kentucky. This was the beginning of a new chapter in our ministerial lives. Ann and I did not necessarily set out to plant a church but it was more of a step of faith prompted by a desire to seek after His will for our lives. 

This post is not about the process of development of the New River congregation but it is about a passage of scripture that the Spirit had placed in my heart during prayer time on 9-11-09. I will be honest and tell you that I had forgotten that the Spirit had dropped a passage in my heart until I looked back in my journal from 2009. I will share that passage in a moment because I believe that there are people who need to read this particular Word from God TODAY!! 

The passage is taken from Hebrews. The Apostle Paul is reminding them of the persecution as well as various problems that they had faced and that they were facing. Paul also reminded them that they had also believed that their future was better than their past or even their present. Their belief was based on their eternal view of their lives and not their temporal view of life. I would encourage you to pay close attention to verse 35. 

These "words" are the reminder that each of us needs to read and HEAR today. You may be on the verge of "throwing in your towel" of faith, hope and trust. You may be on the verge of walking away from your relationship with God. You may be on the verge of giving up on the prayers that you are praying at this moment or that you have prayed. You may be on the verge of losing confidence in God and loosing confidence in your ability to faithfully run your race. But don't give up just yet!! Help is on the way!! The Word of God is alive and powerful!! 

Hebrews 10:32-36, “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. ³³ Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. ³⁴ You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. ³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. ³⁶ You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (NIV) (Emphasis Added)

Remembering 9-11-01

My comments this morning are not intended to diminish the terrible destruction that has been inflicted by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. Neither are my comments meant to deflect our thoughts, prayers, and assistance away from many individuals both within as well as outside our nation that are facing their own set of difficult challenges.  

But I also believe that I would be doing a disservice to those individuals who perished on that terrible day in our history as well as overlooking those families who still grieve over the departure of their loved ones. It is hard to imagine that it has been sixteen (16) years since the horrific events of that day took place. Many of us sat in shock as well as unbelief as we watched the events unfold before or eyes on national TV or as  we were listening to our local radio stations. I will repeat the words that have been spoken very often since 9-11-01, "Our nation has not been the same since that day!"

We have been at war for sixteen (16) years. We can not afford to forget those brave men and women who have given their lives on various battlefields around the world since the pain of 9-11 was inflicted upon us. We can not afford to forget the numbers of prayers that have been offered since the 9-11 terrorist attack took place. Let me hasten to add that many of us continue to pray some of those same prayers these sixteen (16) years later!

I read some words this morning and I listened to some voices reciting the names of those individuals who perished as a result of the attacks in New York City, the Pentagon as well as the plane crash in Pennsylvania. These individuals and their families are depending on us to keep learning the valuable lessons that God continues to teach these many years later. 

1. We should remember these events with humility. We must be careful and not allow our pride and arrogance get the best of us. WE STILL NEED THE DIRECTION OF GOD MORE TODAY THAN EVER BEFORE!!

2. We should "weep with those who weep." There is a time to mourn and there is a time to laugh. Today is a day to mourn with those who mourn.

3. We should remember the unity that we felt as Americans immediately following the attack upon our nation. Doesn't that sound like a wonderful goal or desire to have in the midst of the division, angst and anger that our nation is embroiled in at this time in our history?

4. We should also remember that we are involved in a "spiritual war" as well as war against terrorists.

Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble." (NKJV)

Wednesday's Inspiration

This has been another week that I have sensed the presence of the Spirit during prayer time. I truly believe that God is at work even in the midst of our challenges and difficulties. I truly desire to offer my sincere praise to Him and I desire to serve Him to the best of my ability.

I would like to share with you a portion of a letter that I shared with our church family this week. I wrote what I sensed God revealing to me as I prayed this week as well as those things that the Spirit brought to my remembrance. We must remind ourselves that we are in the "kingdom for such a time of this." God is fully aware of all that is taking place in this world but He is also aware of all that is taking place in your life. I am "counting on God" to walk with me as I move through the challenges of life. 

The Psalmist David encouraged us to look forward to those opportunities in which we could offer our heartfelt worship in the House of the Lord. There is true joy when we are afforded the opportunity to gather together with the family of God and offer our corporate worship to our Savior. Is it possible that our corporate praise times on this Earth are preparing us for the day that we will join with the saints of God from around the world in a time of " TRUE CORPORATE, FAMILY WORSHIP?

I spoke three (3) words at the conclusion of the Altar Call last Sunday. Those words were "rejuvenate, refresh and revive." One of the definitions of the word "rejuvenate" is "to restore to a former state; make fresh or new again." (Dictionary.com) The more that I pray the more I believe that this is one of the blessings that God desires to share with the present day church. Many of us are facing situations/trials/challenges/temptations/distractions/discouragement/etc. These "difficulties" are seeking to "rob" us of the initial "joy, peace and hope" that we received as we began our initial journey with Christ. We also received the deposit of the "fire of evangelism" when we began our journey with Christ. We had a burning desire to share the Good News with our family, friends and even complete strangers. I believe that these are two of the many elements that the Spirit desires "to restore or make fresh again." Oh, that we would ask God to open our eyes, unstop our ears and soften our hearts one more time as we face the onslaught of the challenges of Satan. But REMEMBER THAT OUR VICTORY WILL BE FOUND IN CHRIST & OUR VICTORY WILL BE LIVED OUT THROUGH CHRIST!!! 

Would you join with me in asking God to deposit the "3 R's" in your life today?

Mondays's Musings

You may be a person who either receives prayer requests from various individuals or you are aware of people who are having challenging circumstances in their lives. Either one of these scenarios require a serious and sincere response. I often write about the need of prayer because I am a person who believes in prayer and I am a person who is a product of prayer. I was blessed to have been born into a home that believed in prayer and I grew up in a church family that believed in prayer. I am truly thankful for my spiritual heritage and the emphasis that was placed on prayer. 

But it seems that the interest in prayer is waning in these days. Altar calls seem to be more difficult. Meetings that focus on Prayer are sparsely attended. Food will draw a crowd, Prayer will disburse and scatter the crowd. I will agree that it is possible that my "passion for Prayer" clouds my view BUT I also believe that the times in which we are living are going to require more serious times of prayer and intercession.

We have a Prayer Team where I serve as Pastor. Prayer requests from our congregation as well as outside of our congregation are submitted. I want to share a note with you that I sent to the Prayer Team in response to a request that was submitted to us today. I felt led to remind them of something important and I feel led to share that same inspiration with you today!

Your continued prayers for the challenges that people are facing are desperately needed in this day and time. I truly believe that the Spirit of God is trying to awaken us to the "seriousness" of the times in which we are living. The needs are real but even more importantly THE PEOPLE ARE REAL!! The names brought before us are not television or movie actors. They are our family, our friends and our fellow human beings that are facing situations that are far greater than their abilities to overcome them. They need the divine intervention of Heaven in their lives.

I am aware of the needs of these two individuals who were placed before us today!! Trust me when I say that their challenge is real and that the enemy is truly working against their soul. Let me hasten to add that I am also aware of the power and presence of God who can make a difference in the lives of people. But the effective prayers of the people of God can and will make a difference. 

Blessings! Your prayer support and your commitment to prayer is making a difference!!

Remember that someone is depending on your sincere prayers the next time you pray!!

Thursday's Reflections

This is another wonderful day in which God is calling us to draw closer to Him. I truly believe there are Christians who are failing to seriously and sincerely recognize God's call to them concerning their relationship with Him. It is far easier to grow content with a "form of godliness" than it is to pursue a developing relationship with Christ!! I am speaking to myself as well as to those who will take the time to read this blog post.

I can very easily grow comfortable and content with just going thought the motions of the "religious information" that I deposited in my mind through my life. But isn't it more to our relationship with God than Him just sharing information with us? These words from Dwight Moody challenged my heart this morning. "The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation." WOW!! Now isn't that a challenging revelation? Satan wants us to live through our knowledge of information and God desires for us to live through the "power of transformation."

Our Bible Study group raised several wonderful thoughts last night as we discussed the need to seriously approach our relationship with God. There is a great battle raging in the spiritual atmosphere that is seeking to interfere in our desire to see our relationship with God reach its full potential. But we must continue to "hunger and thirst" after His righteousness to be deposited in our journey of life.

I will list a few comments that were made during our time of conversation concerning the development our relationship with God.

1) We must continually desire more of God's presence, direction and guidance.

2) We must continue to focus on our need to offer sincere worship and praise to God for all of the blessings that we have received from God.

3) We must be honest and open with God as we come before Him in confession and connection.

4) We must look for the blessings of God. And we must identify those blessings and testify of those blessings to others.

5) We must acquaint ourselves with the Word of God.

This may be a good time to write down or at least think about some actions that you can take that will serve as a means of strengthening your relationship with God. 

I'm Back

I can not imagine that it has been this many days since I shared my thoughts with you. I have tried some other means of communication as well as been very busy in the pursuit of my daily walk with Christ. I am going to share a portion of the communication that I sent to our local church family today. I pray that the words will challenge your heart as much as they challenged me when I was engaged in prayer time on Tuesday.

Good morning on post-Eclipse Wednesday!! 

We were blessed to be able to witness the revelation of the glory of God on Monday. I don't know about you but my faith is even stronger after I was able to witness the greatness of God on display. This should be another reminder to the people of God that this is the time to recognize and pursue the presence of God in our lives. People traveled from various parts of the world to see this event and the effects of the full Eclipse was only noticeable for a little over two minutes. What would happen in each of our lives if we were that passionate for Jesus Christ and the work of His Kingdom in our lives?

On Monday evening President Trump presented his strategy for the war in Afghanistan that has been taking place since November of 2001. He shared several different measures/strategies that the Military Forces of America would take in the near future. I feel led to lay out a strategy with you today for the "spiritual war" that we have been facing since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. It is a four point plan. It has been tried by previous generations and found to be successful in defeating the forces of evil and darkness. 1) Pray  2) Pray Again  3) Pray More 4) Continue Praying.  Our only hope for our lives, for our families, our communities, our state, our nation as well as our world is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (NKJV)

The Spirit placed these words in my heart on Tuesday: "It is time for each of us to come off the "sideline" of this spiritual war. It is time for the men and women of the church to step forward and commit to being the example that the children and youth of this nation need to see. It is time to stop just being an observer. God is calling us to participate with Him. It is dangerous to follow Christ at a distance. It is time to draw near in humility, surrender and obedience. The powers of darkness are real but the power of God is even greater!!"

I share these previous words with humility as well as sincerity. I realize that we have heard and read these words before. But it was as if the Spirit asked me this question, "When will my people begin to do what they know they ought to do?" OUCH!!! The challenges that the enemy is presenting to the church is getting most of the headlines but I am more concerned about the challenge that the Spirit and the Word is bringing to the church. HOW WILL I CHOOSE TO RESPOND?

I pray that each of you will take the time to listen to the Voice of God in your life and that each of us will respond appropriately and correctly.