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.