Step of Faith for New River Worship Center

Many of you are aware of my leadership participation in a church plant in Radcliff/Fort Knox, Kentucky. New River Worship Center has experienced an outpouring of the Spirit over the past several months in which we have have seen people saved, healed, encouraged, and strengthened.  These blessings from God have caused us to seek out the possibilities of relocation.  We have outgrown our present facility and we are needing room to see the expansion of the ministry efforts.

Yesterday was the culmination of the initial stages of relocation.  The trustees of New River signed the closing documents on a piece of property in Radcliff which will allow us the opportunity to expand.  We give God all of the praise and honor for this blessing and opportunity.  The provision of God has made all of these faith steps possible; it has not been the work of man but it has been the work of the Holy Spirit.  We have sought and we continue to seek to follow the Spirit and refuse to become trapped in walking in the strength of the flesh.  Now the process of preparing the building for worship services begins.  The building that we purchased has never served as a church building so we will need to rearrange some of the rooms as well as develop a large unfinished room into our worship area.  But we believe that God has brought us to this point and He will continue to complete what He has initiated.

First, we ask for your continued prayers.  One of the major spiritual building blocks of this outreach effort has been an emphasis on prayer.  We ask that you pray for God to give direction, wisdom, and the finances that we need to complete this project.  Second, we ask that you pray about making an a financial investment in this project.  This is a "missions project" in America.  We are a fully sanctioned 501C3 corporation.  Your contributions are tax deductible.  These contributions will be placed in the building fund and designated for the use on this project.  You can mail these contributions to New River Worship Center, P.O. Box 426, Elizabethtown, KY, 42701.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions concerning this outreach effort. 

Feel free to contact me concerning family or friends that may live in the area of Elizabethtown or the Radcliff area.  Radcliff is located next to the Fort Knox military facility.  We would be glad to make contact with any family or friends that you may have that are stationed at Fort Knox. 

Active Faith, Part 2

I would like to continue the thought that is connected to yesterday's scripture.  God desires to provide the supernatural work in our lives that we need as we face the challenge and opportunities of life.  Let us remember that the challenges of life do provide those moments in which God releases His awesome power to meet those needs.  We must recognize that those difficulties are designed to strengthen our faith and not to defeat our faith.  We must recognize that those difficulties are to help us walk in active faith and their purpose is not to defeat our faith.  The above statements are not meant to belittle the struggles that we face or even diminish the weight of those individual struggles.  The above statements are meant to remind us that the struggles we face do not have to hinder or defeat our faith but through the presence of Christ we can release our faith and see God to do His work in our hearts.

The Word of God reminds us that He does want us to trust Him with all of our heart and mind.  This means that we will need to trust Him in good times as well as in the bad times we encounter.  I truly believe that the Holy Spirit will counteract doubt, fear, and lack of trust with trusting thoughts that will move us through the difficult moments of life.  The Spirit will bring the Word to our remembrance and the Word will be the foundation on which we stand as we face the tide of trials and battles.  I am learning to cooperate with God rather than resisting God as He is working to strengthen my faith.  I must not rely on my own understanding and trust in the ability of human knowledge.  I must resist the tendency to exert control over my life but I must willingly surrender my will to God and allow Him to direct my steps.  That "spirit of surrender" can be challenging especially when I think that I possess the proper solution to the problem. The presence of the attitude of surrender allows me to wait in confidence as I sense the presence of God at work in my daily life.  Psalm 37:5, "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." (NJKV) 

We can truly find rest in peace in the promises of God!

Active Faith

Proverbs 3:5-6, "Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths." (Amplified Bible)

Many of us have read this passage throughout the years of our Christian journey but this morning I noticed that the words of this passage required action on my part.  I received an email regarding the Word of God that I shared this weekend at the church plant in Radcliff, Kentucky.  During the sermon I made reference to the words "look" and "wait" that the prophet Micah shared in chapter 7.  The person who emailed me said that the Lord had reminded her that these two words were "action words" that required the release of her faith.  I have made reference to these two separate events because I believe that there is a spiritual lesson that God desires to deposit in my heart.  Our walk with Christ will require an active participation with our Heavenly Father.  Our walk with Christ will require an active release of our faith as we navigate our personal path of life that God has laid out for us.  Our walk with Christ will require a recognition that God is the ultimate source of all the resources that we need to successfully complete our journey and arrive at our desired destination.

I believe that God will reward our desire to trust Him wholeheartedly and that desire is a worthy goal that all of us need to place in our hearts.  This action on our part is pleasing to God because this is the call that He issues to us.  He calls us to lean on Him; He calls us to trust in Him; He calls us to place our confidence in Him; and he calls us to rely upon Him to meet the needs that we face.  It is no wonder that the song declares "Oh, what a Savior."  It is time for the family of God to take a fresh look of wonder and awe at our Heavenly Father and realize that He is calling us to place our trust in Him and be prepared to release our faith.  The challenges of life provide what one writer calls "training opportunities" for our faith to grow strong and opportunities for our faith to be released.  The moments in which we activate our faith allows God to perform His supernatural work in our heart.  All of us have experienced those moments and the memory of those moments propels us forward even when life is overwhelming.  We must not let our faith grow weary or tired during these moments but we are to feed our faith through the strength of the Word and the encouragement of the family of God.  I firmly believe that God will provide the strength we need to face the issues of life as we continue to lean on and trust in Him.



Personal Blessing

Yesterday was a wonderful day at New River Worship Center in Radcliff, Kentucky.  We celebrated the Water Baptism of six individuals who had committed their lives to Jesus Christ.  It is always such a blessing to see people declare their faith in Christ through this public demonstration/testimony of their faith.  I have been privileged to have baptized many individuals throughout my years of ministerial service but those types of services still hold a special place in my heart.  It is a great encouragement to see people step forward and declare their faith in Christ in the midst of such evil, wickedness, and spiritual darkness.  The lives of people are trapped by sin and in some cases a complete disregard for the things of God.  It is always refreshing and encouraging to see individuals who will take such a bold step to declare their faith in Christ.

Yesterday was also unique in another manner.  I was given the awesome privilege to baptize three of our four grandchildren.  I have enjoyed going on vacation with them; I have enjoyed watching them celebrate Christmas; I have enjoyed watching them compete in sports activities; but nothing compares to watching them surrender their life to Christ and participate in the act of baptism.  I was given the awesome privilege to have baptized our two sons as well as one of our daughter-in-laws and now the opportunity to celebrate the baptism of our grandchildren.  This generation of children and youth need to see our faith on display.  They need to see Christ at work in each of us.  I know that we can not force them or coerce them into serving Christ but we can certainly be faithful in our witness and testimony of the life transforming power of Jesus Christ.  The old song says, "Everybody ought to know who Jesus is..."  I truly desire for my family to know who Jesus is and what He can do in their lives.  I truly desire for your family to know who Jesus is and what He can do in their lives.  Families are one of the reasons that I have a strong desire to stay committed and focused on the message of the Gospel.  The message of the Gospel offers hope and salvation to each and every human being that has been born into this world.  Never give up praying for your family or friends.  Never give up praying for this nation in which we live.  God still hears the prayers that are uttered from the depths of our hearts!

Real World, Part 4

This week has been one in which God has reminded me of the need to look to Him regardless of the circumstances of the day.  This means that I look to God on those days that are full of hope and wonderful dreams and I also look to God on those days that may be full of pain, disillusionment, and even pain.  In Psalm 121 David answers a question that he poses to Himself.  Each one of us will face those moments in which we will have that same question and answer session with ourselves.  Let us take a moment and remind ourselves of that internal discussion that was happening in David's heart and life.  Psalm 121:1-2, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills--From whence comes my help?  My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth." (NKJV)

There are times and there will be times in which we will look at our present circumstances as well as our possible future circumstances and wonder what danger may be lurking for us to encounter.  Those are the moments that we must remember that the Lord is our helper.  He is the only one who is able to protect us and fully walk with us through those moments of challenge.  Friends, family, and even the family of God can offer limited assistance but God knows the details of every circumstance that we are facing and He is able to bring the assistance that we need.  We must also remember that God has the power to rescue us even when we face those moments of spiritual, emotional, physical, and financial fatigue.  Our hope lies in the fact of knowing where to look and making the conscious decision that we will look to the Lord as the supplier of our needs.  I want to make that decision a part of my daily life and let that pattern become ingrained in my spiritual DNA.  I refuse to be trapped by the "spirit of confusion" but I desire to walk in a confident understanding that the I will look to God on a daily basis and ask Him to direct my steps.



Real World, Part 3

I have written about a few of the blessings of God that I have noticed and received over the past week.  I want each of you to focus on the word "few."  It is not humanly possible for me or anyone else to fully identify all of the rich blessings that God sends to us.  Nevertheless we are to do our best in offering praise and honor to God for all of the daily provisions that God places in our lives.

This past week allowed me to see the blessing of encouragement released in my walk with God.  Encouragement can be offered to us when we are facing negative situations but it is also needed when we doing our best to please God in positive acts of service to Him.  I have noticed that each of these opportunities for encouragement can truly make a difference in my life.  It is always good to know that someone is offering support and encouragement when we are walking through trials, anguish, sorrow, and difficulty.  But is also reassuring when someone offers encouraging words as you are seeking to "live out" the will of God for your life.  Support and encouragement are very important in the life of the spiritual leaders that God places in our lives.  The enemy is always seeking opportunities to sow doubt, fear, anxiety, and thoughts of possible failure into the hearts of men and women who offer their heartfelt service to God.  Each of you have faced those moments in which words of encouragement kept you focused on doing the right thing in response to the unction and direction that has come from God to your life.  Listen to what the Bible says in Proverbs 25:11, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." (NKJV)  Each of us need to remember that the words that we speak have the ability to release encouragement and blessing on the lives of those people with which we connect.  Take the time to look for those moments in which you can offer words of praise and encouragement to those people that are around you.  "Fitly spoken" words can offer kindness and encouragement to those who are doing their best to serve and please God.

Real World, Part 2

The blessings of God are evident everyday in our lives.  There are some days that these blessings may be more spectacular or special than other days nevertheless daily blessings are present.  I am confident that I am privileged to walk in those blessings and I want to offer my praise to God who is watching over me on a daily basis. 

The Lord reminded me of a understanding that He has given to me over the past years of my life and I want to take this opportunity to share it with you.  Some of you may have heard me make reference to this in various sermons that I have shared around the country during my journey as a Minister of the Gospel but I feel that it needs to be said again today.  For many years I struggled with the knowledge that my life was being shaped by the opinions, desires, plans, and decisions of other well meaning people that God had placed in my life.  There were times that I was shaped and molded by their desires more than I was shaped and molded by the desires that God had placed in my life.  I was concerned with the opinions of people more than I was concerned with developing the person that God had created.  I do not want this to mean that I am not concerned about others and that I am determined to live my own life with no regard for others.  I don't believe that any true servant/believer should allow that attitude to capture their thought process.  But I am convinced that many of us have struggled to reach our full potential in our development because we have focused on the desires of others for our lives and not focused on the plan that God has set in motion for each of us. 

I have reached the place that I like myself and that I am determined to allow the Holy Spirit to develop me into the best person that I can be.  I enjoy being Michael Willingham and I enjoy living the life that God has given to me.  I don't want my life to be defined by a spirit of competition with others; I don't want my life to be defined by a spirit of jealousy and covetousness of others; neither do I want my life to be defined by a spirit of comparison to others.  I want to live my life to the fullest and to faithfully pursue the goals and dreams that God has placed in my heart.  I will certainly not ignore others and choose to walk the lonely road of arrogance and pride but I will choose to walk the path that God placed me on when He brought me into this world.  Take a moment today, look in the mirror at God's creation and recognize the gift of life that He has placed in YOU.  Don't waste the precious gift called life.  Don't waste the precious opportunity of personal development that awaits anyone who will apply themselves to that opportunity.  Don't waste your time envying others but enjoy your identity and your blessings that have come from God.

Back to the "Real" World

It has been one week since I made the last post on this blog.  Many wonderful blessings of God have transpired over the past seven days and I am truly grateful for each and everyone of them.  First of all, I am grateful that God has provided me the strength and desire to enjoy living my life.  Many people have physical strength but they lack the spiritual and emotional strength to enjoy the life that God has given to them.  I will admit that there are certain individuals who are facing an unusual share of difficulties at this present time and those difficulties do have the ability to drain the joy of life out of people.  But on the other hand there are individuals who face insurmountable odds with a strength that comes from God which allows them to look at life and choose to make the best out of their situation.  Schedule constraints today will not allow me to finish all of my thoughts but I encourage you to take the time to recognize the blessings that come from God.  Hopefully I will be able to write more about this as this week progresses.

Relaxing

I am taking a few days to relax and rest.  I will do my best to stay away from the computer but it is a real challenge.  Jesus reminded us of the need to get away from all of the hustle and bustle of our daily schedule and allow that time to be a time of reflection and introspection.  I will admit that it is difficult for me accept that admonition and challenge.  I am more comfortable being busy and at least thinking that I am accomplishing something of a positive nature.  But I am accomplishing something positive if I am "recharging my battery" through some rest and relaxation.  Spending time with family and friends can assist us in reaching this goal.  I am thankful that God has allowed me the privilege to serve Him and I desire to offer my best service to Him.  I am already looking forward to resuming my daily schedule in a few days but until that time arrives I will do my best to rest and relax. 

 Have a great week in your service for Christ!

Confidence in God

Psalm 121:1-2, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills--From whence comes my help?  My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth."  (NKJV)

The Psalmist David makes a powerful declaration/confession in this passage of scripture.  David describes the safety that he finds in the Lord.  I was involved in a Discipleship class last night that found us exploring the promises of God.  The promises of God form the foundation of our individual as well as corporate confidence in God.  David had developed a "history" with God and that history allowed him to overlook all other sources of help and focus on the help that could only come from God. 

We discovered last night that each of us individuals face a daily barrage from the enemy of our soul.  Those barrages focus on the dismantling and destruction of our faith in God.  These barrages come dressed in many shapes and forms but their ultimate goal is to defeat and overthrow our faith.  Declaring our faith and confidence in God is one of the ways that we respond to these attacks from our enemy.  Here are a few of the strategies of the enemy that was expressed by the class participants last night: 1) "He makes us doubt our identity as a child of God; 2) He seeks to distract us from the larger picture and focus on certain scenarios that we rehearse over and over in our mind; 3) He seeks to make us doubt our ability to believe and trust in God; 4) He seeks to make us forget those moments of God's faithfulness; and 5) He seeks to trap us in a state of self pity concerning our circumstances."   This is just a sampling of some of the life events that we face as we seek to continue our faithful walk with God.  Each of us may have felt these negative emotions as well as other emotions as we have faced our moments of difficulty.  But we can rest assured that for every strategy of the enemy our Heavenly Father has a counter strategy that has the ability to rebuke and defeat the enemy if we are willing to look to the Lord as our Help. We can trust in the faithfulness of God and we can take confidence in the fact that God is always aware of the circumstances that we are facing.

Character of God

For the past few weeks I have been sharing about our opportunity to place our confidence and hope in the powerful God of all creation.  We can have this confidence because of the wonderful promises that God has made to us.  These powerful promises can be found within the pages of the Word of God.  The Word of God reveals the true character of God.  The character of God allows us to understand how He will react to those situations that will take place in our daily lives.  One of the character traits of God is His unfailing love for humanity.  Let us remember the powerful and wonderful declaration found in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (NKJV)

A few years ago I read a short sonnet that Sherry Whaley (Pastor's wife from Kentucky) has written concerning the love of God.  She had fashioned this thought about the love of God from one of Shakespeare's sonnets.

  "God's love is not love that changes when change comes around.

  O No! It is an ever-fixed mark that looks on storms and is never shaken!

  It is the star to every wandering traveler. It's worth is unknown.

  His love is not times fool, though men may lose their rosy lips and cheeks, as time goes by as a sickle.

  God's loves does not alter with the hours and weeks...it bears out even to the edge of doom!"

The character of God was fully demonstrated when the life of Christ was offered on the cross in the behalf of fallen and depraved humanity.  Remember that you can trust in the promises of God as you  face the winds of adversity on your journey through life.  The Lord has promised to stand with you and strengthen you as you put your trust in Him.  You can find rest and peace as you look to God as your source of help and deliverance.

Independence Day

The fourth of July is designated as a time of celebration that reflects on and remembers the "birthday" of our nation.  Many activities will take place today that will not have any real connection with the original purpose of the celebration.  Many Americans may spend time today boating on the lake.  Other Americans will find themselves at cookouts with family and friends while others may choose to enjoy a day of simple relaxation.  Let us not forget those groups of our fellow Americans today who will be at work on July 4th.  Let us remember the policeman, the fireman, medical personnel, emergency personnel, etc. who will spend their time at work so that we can enjoy our day away from work.  The day will culminate with an array of fireworks celebrations which will range from the child in the backyard to the large demonstration at ballparks or even city parks.  None of these celebrations are wrong by any means; after all part of the freedom of America is to be able to assemble freely with our family and friends and participate in any legal activity that we might choose.

During the night I was awakened to this reminder.  We must remember to fully appreciate our freedom and all of the blessings that freedom has provided for us.  It is so easy to become caught up in all of the "partying" that we fail to fully recognize and remember those brave men and women who have served to preserve and protect the freedom we enjoy.  Some of these brave soldiers paid the ultimate price with their life while others have come home maimed and injured by the tragedies and atrocities of war.  Some of them will not be able to enjoy the picnic or a boat ride on the lake today.  Many of these brave soldiers may flinch or duck down when they hear the sounds of fireworks as they relive the "live fire" that they faced at one time.  We must never, never, ever, forget these individuals who have put their lives in harms way that we may enjoy our trips to the ballpark, our trips to family reunions, our trips to the lake, and even more importantly our trips to church to worship God. 

Let us remember that there was and still is a steep price being paid for these freedoms that we enjoy.  Freedom was not cheap and freedom is not cheap today.  The next time you see an American flag waving in the wind or you hear the National Anthem sung remember those men and women who have made all of our attempts at enjoyment and happiness become a reality.  They deserve our respect and appreciation.  Have a wonderful 4th of July!

Counting our Blessings!

Last night an old song kept going through my mind.  I can remember singing this hymn as a young child as well as through the earlier years of our ministry service.  The song included these words: "Count your blessings and see what God has done, count your many blessings and name them one by one."  As I grew older I realized that the challenge of this song would be impossible to complete.  No one of us can adequately remember much less count all of the blessings that God has provided throughout our lives.  This post is not being written to make any of us feel guilty or to make us feel that we are unthankful.  But it is being written to remind us of the opportunity to express to God our true thankfulness for His presence in our lives.

I believe it is time for the children of God to express our appreciation to God for all that He has done in our lives.  We live in a world of bad moods, bad attitudes, negative views of life as well as of God, and a society that has developed an attitude of entitlement for possessions and what society has defined as success.  The Bible is full of scripture passages that encourage us to offer praise and adoration to God.  The Apostle Paul warned us that a spirit of unthankfulness would grip the hearts of believers during the time prior to the coming of Jesus Christ.  Many of us can see the evidence of this warning in our daily lives.  The words "thank you" have almost disappeared from the language of many individuals.  But I believe that many of us have a strong desire to recognize the favor of God that has been upon us.  We understand that each of us face our own set of challenges but look around and realize that there are many people who are facing circumstances that are far more difficult than the ones that we are facing.  Remember, I do not desire for you to feel guilty.  I simply want to stir and awaken the attitude of praise and thankfulness that is in your heart.  Let us look around us and realize that we are blessed.  Let us look up and offer thanksgiving (not the holiday version) to the Mighty God who has been with us every moment of our lives.

Psalm 150:1-2,6: "Praise the Lord!  Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament!  Praise Him for is mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord! (NKJV)