Weekend Review

This week finds me in Brecksville, Ohio (suburb of Cleveland) with Pastor Don & Jennifer Markham. It is always a pleasure to return to this local church and renew the ministry connection that I have with them. The services on yesterday were wonderful. The presence of the Lord was very powerful. The local church had led a Prayer Conference on Saturday with over 30 people gathering for six hours of intense prayer concerning revival for Northeast Ohio. The presence of the intercession "lingered" in the sanctuary as we worshipped, shared the Word of God, and ministered to people in the altar services. Each service found the altars full as people came looking for divine intervention in their lives. Once again, I will take this opportunity to emphasize the importance and necessity of prayer. We are in need of intercessors who will stand in the gap and cry out for the mercies of God to flow over our communities. God is looking for people who are willing to make themselves available to Him and to His direction for their lives. Personally, I have not given up on the church in America. I refuse to believe that the message of the Gospel is out-dated and irrelevant to this generation. The Gospel is still the power of God unto salvation. The evening service found Pastors, leaders, and laity from several churches in Northeast Ohio gathered to seek the face of God. The anointing of the Lord was upon the service from the very beginning. Pastor Markham done an excellent God leading the worshippers into the presence of God. People testified to receiving Christ as their Savior, receiving the baptism of the Spirit, as well as being healed and encouraged. One person told me after services that they were delivered from bitterness against people as well as bitterness against God. Another spoke of being released from the bondage of discouragement; the enemy had sought to discourage this person through all of the circumstances that they were facing at this time in their life. Pastors received strength from God as people from their churches gathered around them for prayer. Even this morning I can still sense the power of the Spirit as I type these words. God is a wonderful God who is truly interested in your life and He desires to minister to you today. Take a moment today and sense His presence in the midst of your struggles. You are not alone and God has not forsaken nor has He forgotten you. The old song declares, "He is as close as the mention of His name." Call on His name and allow Him to minister to you at your point of need.

Word of God

Proverbs 2:1-5, "My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God" (NLT). I am convinced that God is calling the church to re-acquaint ourselves with the Word of God. The writer in Hebrews 4 reminds us that the Word of God is alive and powerful; the Word of God allows us to discover the truth concerning God and it also reveals the heart of God that is turned toward fallen mankind. The Word of God allows us to see the actions of God concerning the needs of previous generations. These actions afford us the opportunity to see God at work in the hearts of His creation. These actions reveal the care, concern, and compassion that God releases in various circumstances. These actions reveal the promises of God on which we build our hope and faith for our relationship with God. Our faith is built on the fact that we have received the Word of God in our hearts and this Word has given us confidence to trust God in all that we are facing at any particular moment. The Word of God reveals the character of God which confirms that He is a God of Love and that He is interested in our redemption from the snares of the enemy. Many of us commit to other works of literature; don't you think it is time to commit to reading the Word of God? Let this be a day that you begin a new journey with God and discover the powerful principles of truth and love that are revealed in His Word. The Word of God will reveal the understanding that we need to make the critical decisions in life that we will face. Enjoy finding God in His Word!

Rejoicing

We are thankful for a safe trip home from Seneca, SC. We drove home after service last night due to Ann's appointment with her Orthopedic Doctor. God was with us and provided an uneventful trip home; the traveling mercies of the Lord are such a blessing to all of us. Thank you God seems such "small words" in comparison to the blessings that God provides us on a daily basis. I will take this opportunity to encourage you to express gratitude and thankfulness regardless of the type of day that you may be experiencing; God is worthy of our praises regardless of the circumstances that may be surrounding us. It is hard to put into words the blessings that were upon the meeting at Seneca. Pastor Wayne and Wanda Hall as well as the local church body were prepared to receive the outpouring of the Spirit that God had planned for each of the services. We must understand that God has made preparation for the times in which we meet with Him; I believe this includes those private moments as well as public gatherings. I desire to release my anticipation as I approach an encounter with God. Each evening we saw someone saved, encouraged, strengthened, or blessed of the Lord. These types of encounters only happen when people prepare their heart to receive what God has prepared. We must learn to be prepared to respond in faith to the presence of the ministering power of God. Great things are still ready to be accomplished in our lives if only we will surrender to Him. I encourage you today to take the opportunity and make the effort to look for those encounters with God in which He will bestow a special blessing of His love and grace on your life. God is ready but am I ready to respond? Open your heart and allow Him to speak His Life over you and in you as He shares His love with His creation. This past week has caused me to walk in even greater anticipation of worshiping God in Spirit and Truth!

Day of Opportunity

I would like to share a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer which says; "The responsible person seeks to make his or her whole life a response to the question and call of God." Galatians 6:10 reminds us that all of us have a responsibility to "...work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith" (HCSB). How do we respond to those moments when God presents us with the opportunity to share the love and kindness of God with those who are in need? Each and every day, we are presented with opportunities to serve and worship God. When we respond in obedience to God, He will bless our lives in so many ways. But there are times in which we are so busy "taking care of our self" that we squander those opportunities to assist others down the path of life. We fail to understand that not only will God bless those who are recipients of the help that we share but we are blessed because we took the time to share the care and concern of God. Have we become so busy with our own needs that we fail to take the time to see the needs of others? We must remove the emphasis from ourselves and start recognizing the opportunities to serve others. This is a great day of opportunity that God has shared with you, how will you respond to those opportunities? Someone is waiting for you to be obedient to the call from God and share His awesome love and grace with them. Be obedient today and respond to those God planned opportunities for you. Be excited about being a servant in the Kingdom of God; great will be your reward! The services at Seneca continue to be led by the mighty presence of the Holy Spirit. Once again last night the altar was full of God's children asking for the gifts that He has prepared for them. In the midst of all of the challenges of life this is still a day of hope and courage. Trust in the truth of God that is being declared over our lives.

Love of God

These words may sound very repetitive but God continually amazes me as He releases His love in the lives of people that are facing their own unique set of circumstances and situations. We should never lose sight of the revelation of God's love to lost humanity. This is the message that the hurting world needs to hear as they are searching for answers and solutions to their problems. What do they see and hear when they come to our services and what do we say in our private conversations with them? Let us share with them the awesome love of God that He possesses for them and encourage them to realize that nothing will stop God from loving them. I am convinced that the message of God's love and concern must be declared among the people so that they can recognize the importance that God places on their lives. The meeting at Seneca last night was wonderful and highly anointed. The presence of the Lord was present from the very outset as we lifted our voices in praise and then we begin to respond to the leading of the Spirit. It is such a blessing to see the unction of the Spirit come upon individuals and begin to minister to the inner needs that each of them possess. God's grace and mercy is renewed in our lives on a daily basis and we can thank Him for His awesome presence. Let us rejoice in the fact that God is love and that He loves us with unconditional love.

Weekend Review

It is a blessing to be able to be back in SC this week in revival. The services in Seneca were very wonderful yesterday. Some people received Christ in the morning service as well as others who rededicated their lives to Christ. I could sense the change in the atmosphere in the service as the presence of the Spirit began to touch the lives of many people who were in church yesterday. The hearts of many were made tender by the anointing of the Spirit; their faces began to reflect the drawing power of God's love as He began to remind people that He is truly interested in their lives. Last evening's service was anointed in a powerful way as many people responded to the invitation at the close of the message. God is releasing His presence among His people and He is releasing His ministering strength in the midst of all the challenges that we are facing. We need to recognize the presence of God when we gather for corporate worship and respond to the call of the Spirit. God is calling us to understand the difference between what we want and what we need from God. Many times we can become discontented in our walk with God if we feel that He is not meeting our needs. But it is possible some of these "needs" are really things that we want that will make our lives more comfortable or comparable with others that are around us. It is so easy to become captured by the attitude of comparison. We compare our status, our possessions, our finances, etc and out of these comparisons arise discontent that can lead us to feel discouraged about God's provision for our lives. But we need to remember the great promise of God, "But God shall supply all of our need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." God provides daily provision for our lives as we continue to trust Him and seek Him with passion and surrender. Do not become captured by looking at other people; but allow your heart to be encouraged as you look to God to be your daily Provider. We must learn to focus on God and thank Him for His daily blessings that He bestows on your life.

Discontent vs. Thankfulness

I Timothy 6:6-8, "True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can't take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content" (NLT). This post is not intended to discourage your desire to succeed in life and to reach your God designed potential but rather it is being written to remind us of our need to be thankful for all that God has provided for us. It is so easy to become discouraged when you take an inventory of your life and YOU don't think that you have made the progress that you desired. But the Word of God teaches us to put into perspective our life and realize that life is more than just being successful in the eyes of other people. Discontent sneaks into our life for a variety of reasons and is released through our life in a variety of actions. We have the tendency to allow our present troubles to overshadow the blessings of God that are present with us on a daily basis. Most of us have no problem thanking God for those "big blessings" (new home, pay raise, new car, birth of a child, etc.); but what about the promise of God that declares "Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah" (Psalm 68:19, NKJV). Even in the midst of our difficulties God is providing daily benefits. We also have the tendency to dwell in the past and miss out on the blessings of today. It is so easy to get captured by "yesterday" and all of the good things of life that we fail to realize that God is at work at this very present moment. Take some time today and recognize those daily consistent blessings that God places in your life. Thank Him for the food on your table, thank Him for the roof over your head, thank Him for your family and friends, thank Him for your church family, and most of all thank Him that He loves you with unconditional love. It should not take you long before you realize that you are walking under the covering of God's blessings!