Empty Cisterns

Jeremiah 2:13, "For my people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water." The Spirit brought this passage to my heart as I was preparing for this evening's service. What is my (our) source of strength in this day and time? Where am I (we) looking for direction? What is the source of my (our) hope and dreams? Which cistern am I (we) drinking from? We must take the time to make an honest evaluation of these questions. The spirit which is at work in this culture has led us to drink from the cistern of fame, the cistern of wealth and possessions, and the cistern of empty and vain works. We also have been influenced to build the cisterns that are filled with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. What have these cisterns supplied for this generation? This generation is living under the influence of sin and rebellion. Our lives are filled with everything but a true relationship with Christ. Take a moment and examine the cistern from which you are drinking. Make sure you are drinking from the "fountain of living waters."

Weekend Review

The past weekend was a very busy one. Friday and Saturday found us in Lizella, GA in a Minister's Conference with Bishop Billy Adams and his wife, Charlotte. I can truly say that the anointing of the Holy Ghost was upon each session of this Conference and that each of us encountered a life-altering experience with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit challenged us to be "fresh" in our approach to the ministry opportunities that God will place in our path. Each session found leaders from across Georgia seeking God for a deeper and fresher anointing of the Holy Spirit in their personal lives. I truly believe that there was an impartation and transfer of Holy Spirit anointing in each of those who made themselves available to God. Sunday found us in the Harris Chapel church joining with them in a Homecoming Celebration revival. The church is celebrating their 82nd Anniversary. I was able to sense the same anointing in AL as we experienced in GA. I believe that God will reveal Himself to anyone who is looking for the revelation of Christ. The altars of the local church filled with people who were looking for the ministering presence of the Holy Spirit. The Word still declares that we will find Him when we seek for Him with all of our heart. I desire to be one of those who seek for Him with all my heart. Each of us need to commit our heart to God without reservation!

Feelings of Inadequacy

Life is filled with struggles that reveal our human inadequacy.  These struggles span the cross section of the physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial sectors of our lives.  We encounter some of these struggles on a daily basis yet we do not have to feel hopeless or helpless.  The Lord has already provided a remedy for those moments of defeat and discouragement.  The Apostle Paul shares these words of encouragement and strength with us in 2 Corinthians 3:5, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God" (NKJV).  Each of us can identify with those moments in which we were incapable of meeting the challenges that life had placed before us.  We identified our weaknesses and failed to realize that Christ would provide the strength that we needed to move through that particular situation.  Each of us can identify what we lack in our lives yet we fail to remember that Jehovah-Jireh, our Provider, is at work on our behalf as we face the challenges of life.

Let us take a moment and consider that our inadequacies can actually be converted into a blessing from God.  How can that statement be true?  Our inadequacy drives us to God as we recognize our helplessness.  We cry out to God and let Him know that we need Him to provide the strength that we need.  Our recognition of our inadequacy relieves us of the burden of trying to do God's will in our own power and strength.  Many of us try to please God through the work and ability of flesh when in reality that is impossible to do.  We please God when we walk in faith, trust, and obedience to the provision of His love and grace.  Christianity is more than just a form of spiritual performance; it is a life that is fully surrendered to the mighty presence of God who provides the courage and strength to live out the will of God in our daily lives.  God is able to give us His peace as we rely upon Him.  Many Christians live in a spirit of restlessness and frustration as we identify our faults, failures, weaknesses, and our inadequacies.  Rest assured that the the "accuser of the brethren" will join  in the process of self-humiliation and self-depreciation if we allow him that opportunity.  I am not advocating that we walk in pride and arrogance but I am advocating that we walk in the provision that the death of Jesus Christ has made for us.  Remember, "...our sufficiency is from God."

Love of God

Isaiah 54:10: "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love (emphasis mine) for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you" (NIV).

It is very easy to say that we know that God is love and that He loves this world.  But we must also understand that the love of God is the foundational truth of our relationship with Jesus Christ.  The "unfailing love" of God provides us the opportunity to exchange our sins for the righteousness of Christ.  We must learn to allow the love of God to permeate every aspect of our life and as a sponge we need to soak up and soak in the wonderful presence of His love.  I feel that many people fail in their journey with God because they fail to embrace this foundational principle.  We become overwhelmed through the process of trying to earn the favor and love of God.  The love of God can not be earned it can only be accepted and appreciated.  The NASB translation of Psalm 46:10a gives us this thought, "Stop striving and know that I am God..."  We must stop striving to earn the love of God through our actions and activities; we need to accept the idea that God loves us and remember that according to Romans 8 nothing can separate us from the love of God.  Accepting the fact that God truly loves us is such a liberating principle and that principle encourages us to focus on building our relationship with Jesus Christ.

We were created to know God.  We were created to love God.  We were created to enjoy our relationship with God.  We were created to center our life around the relationship that God has offered to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Don't you think that it is time that we started "enjoying" our relationship with God?  Walking in the knowledge that God is love and that His love is unchangeable and unmovable allows us to focus on the greatness of God and all that He has offered to us through Jesus Christ.
Each of us need to take some time and reflect on the faithfulness of God and realize that the promises and covenants of God are true.  The love and care of man can be fickle and change at any moment but we can be confident that the love of God is founded on the principle of God's inability to lie or change.  God loved us as we were brought into this world through the process of birth and God will love us as we travel through the process of life.  Give God some "serious praise" for the love that He extends to you on a daily basis.  Your life will be enriched and encouraged as you place this principle of love deep in your heart.

Thirst for the Presence of God

Over the past several weeks the Spirit has dealt with my heart concerning our thirst for the presence of God.  I am convinced that God has much to deposit in the lives of His children if only I (we) would position ourselves to receive them.  We must position ourselves at the proper place even when we are hungry or thirsty for the natural nutriments that our physical body needs.  We can not remain in the family room if the meal being served is in the dining room.  We must move toward the natural meal and I believe that we must move toward the spiritual drink or the spiritual food that we need as we face these trying and challenging days.  I still believe that Christ is the One that we need in our lives; He will sustain us as we face the decisions of daily living.  Let us be encouraged and strengthened by the Word of God today.

Psalm 63:1-5, "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you...I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory.  Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.  I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.  My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you" (NIV).  Read the last verse of this passage and be encouraged today.  Christ is able to satisfy the "hunger" that you sense in your life.  We do not have to look to the "food and drink supplies" of the world to satisfy what we need, Christ can meet the need of our soul.

Weekend Review

I was blessed to be able to enjoy a wonderful weekend.  My wife and I were able to spend some time with our grandchildren and children through some family activities (meal, football game, and local festival activities).  I am still amazed at the energy level of our grandchildren.  I truly believe that their energy level has increased and our energy level has decreased.  Oh well, the challenge of being grandparents.  Seriously, we are blessed with a wonderful family for which I am grateful.

We were blessed to be able to participate in a wonderful worship service on Sunday morning at New River Worship Center in Radcliff, KY.  New River is the church plant in which I am participating and we are seeing the blessings of God upon our desire to reach out to the community surrounding Fort Knox, KY.  The service began with a testimony from our Children's Church Minister regarding the progressive healing of her sister from a very serious illness.  Then the call to worship song reminded us to worship God for who is He and to trust Him to fulfill His promises.  The singer's testimony reminded us to "worship while we wait."  It goes without saying that the presence of anointing was powerful as I stepped to the pulpit to share the Word of God.  I reminded the people that Christ is still the "drink of living water" that we need and that we do not need to drink any substitute that the culture of our world will offer.  The "spirit" of the culture is offering many  imitations of a true relationship with God but many people will soon learn that this spiked drink of false religion will only leave them spiritually dry, thirsty, and looking for something that is real and lasting.  I am thankful that I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and I am committed to following Him with all of my heart.  Have you made that decision today?  Do not fall prey to the spirit of deception that is very prevalent in our society but drink in life from the presence of Truth and Life.

Last night found us conducting an informational meeting concerning the possible relocation of New River Worship Center.  The blessings of God have caused us to have outgrown our present facility and we are in need of more room to expand our outreach ministry.  I have shared this information because I am asking for your prayer covering.  We are in need of direction as well as provision.  Every decision that we have made up to this time has been a decision based on our faith in the power of God.  God has provided what we have needed because we are doing our best to stay focused on the call that we have heard and are hearing from God.  Would you join us in prayer for God to lead us in the right direction and for us to trust Him for the Provision that we need?


Have a great week as you walk in the strength of the presence of God!

Light vs. Darkness

The discussion concerning the struggle between light and darkness has been very prominent in the media over the past few weeks.  We have discussed the building of the mosque near Ground Zero in New York City; we have discussed the burning of books that are a part of the religion of Islam as well as other individual battles that pit the powers of darkness against the power of the True Light.  The Words TRUE LIGHT have resonated in my heart over the past few days.  I believe that the answer to the struggles with the powers of darkness is the declaration of the truth concerning True Light.  The enemy of our soul does not want the Truth declared.  The Truth will reveal and expose the fallacies of the darkness.  This is one of the reasons that the church must resist the temptation to operate under the influence of the philosophies and ideologies of man; we must have the direction and anointing of God upon the spiritual leadership of our nation.  Satan always struggles with the truth because his kingdom is built upon the foundation of lies and deception.  The Truth called satan a liar and the father of lies.  We combat lies with truth.  We combat darkness with Light and the True Light is Jesus Christ our Lord.  Christ still remains the Light of the world regardless of the actions of the darkness.  Just as a light bulb will dispel darkness in a room so the power of Christ will dispel the power of darkness in this sinful and evil world.  Our greatest weapon against darkness is the revelation of Light.  Each of us need to display the Light of Christ in our lives so that people can recognize that the Way, the Truth, and the Life are at work in our personal life.  Light still defeats the power of darkness.  The Body of Christ is hearing the renewed call to remain faithful to our call and to our message.  We still have the message of Truth and Light to declare and we need to remain resolved to declare that message to a world living under the influence of darkness.