Prayer for Today

Dear God: Will you take our lives and use them for your glory and honor? We are in great need of Your presence and Your direction in our lives. We are unable to face the unique circumstances of this hour without divine intervention. We believe that You will hear the sincere cry of our hearts as we seek fellowship, communion and relationship with our Heavenly Father. You are great and greatly to be praised and we offer sincere thankfulness to You. Lord, we seek to make Your name known throughout this whole world so that people can realize that You are our Hope and Redeemer. Father, we pray for all of the ministers who are standing in the gap as intercessors, strengthen their faith and courage. AMEN!

GOD IS AWESOME

I was privileged to be in service with Pastor Mark Hisle and the Parkway Praise Center in London, Kentucky on Sunday, July 13. The Lord's presence could be felt from the very opening comments by Pastor Hisle as we prepared to offer our worship and praise to God. The anticipation of the people was very evident as we begin to press into a time of intense and exciting worship. The heart of the worshipers were encouraged by the Word of God that He had placed on my heart. These are not the days to be content with religious motions, religious actions and religious responses to the activity of the Spirit. These are the days to be alert, awake and aware of what God is desiring to accomplish in this world. I desire to turn my heart to God in full surrender and become a living sacrifice that will show forth the praises of our great and mighty God. Sunday evening found me in an intense time of intercessory prayer and worship at Eastside Praise under the direction of Pastor Michael Smith. Pastor Mike challenged us to press into the presence of God and cry out for the needs in our own lives, our families, our neighborhoods, our communities and our nation. Prayer must become important to the people of God once again. We must stop waiting on everyone else to do the praying; this is your time to step forward and become a "prayer warrior/intercessor." Prayer is still the great unused and overlooked weapon of the church. O people of God arise and let us become people of prayer. I am preparing to leave for Pelham, Alabama this weekend. This will be a District Revival in the Pelham/Calera area. Please cover these meetings with your prayers.

Reflections from my Heart

It is always a great honor to be able to offer our service to Christ in His Kingdom work. I sincerely desire to do my best in this great cause of the salvation of mankind. It is so easy to fall into the trap of just going through the motions of worship, service, and even the ministry. I do not want to be guilty of those actions; I encourage you to be willing to give your best to Christ and realize that He will reward your every effort. Remember that we are not serving for the applause of men but we are serving for the applause of Heaven. The great reward will be presented one day and I desire to hear the Lord say "well done." Keep your heart and life focused on those opportunities that have the potential to make a difference in the lives of those people you encounter. Look for those moments of "divine timing" in which God has you where you need to be so that your life can influence someone in the right way. Blessings on you today as you continue your faithful service to the great cause of Christ.

Revival at White Oak, NC

I returned home from NC yesterday. The presence of the Lord was AWESOME in the meetings at the churches. I was blessed by the fellowship of the Pastors and the local church; God is a blessing to us through the fellowship of the believers. I just seek to draw closer to God and allow Him to direct my steps. The services on Saturday and Sunday at White Oak were definitely ordered by the Lord. Once again people came forward for prayer as a response to the calling of the Holy Spirit. Saturday night found the ministry as well as the laity responding to the move of the Spirit. There is a "fresh wind" of the Spirit blowing in the White Oak church and I believe that God will use the Pastor and people to be a blessing in the community. We are never the same once we have entered into the presence of God; that is the reason that the enemy does not want the church pursuing the presence of God. I refuse to listen to the lies of the enemy and I am reaching for all that God has planned for my life. I offer God praise and thanksgiving for all that was accomplished in the services. It is God who touches us and transforms us into His image and likeness. I continue to seek after God and to allow Him to transform me into all that I need to be.

July 4th Service

The presence of the Lord covered the meeting at White Oak, NC in a very powerful way on Friday night, July 4th. Truly there was "spiritual fireworks" in the service in which many people came forward when the invitation was given. I am convinced that there is a "fresh wind" of spiritual freedom in the local church. Pastor Bill & Sue Tatum have recently assumed the Pastorate of the church and they possess a great desire to see God send a great awakening not only to the church but to the community around the church. I am excited about the opportunity of resuming our pursuit of God in tonight's service. God is an awesome God who is worthy of our worship and praise. I will be at the White Oak church through Sunday evening (July 6th).

Thankful for Freedom

As we prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July we need to pause and thank God for all of those who have served our country through the years. These men and women have defended our freedom so that we would have the opportunity to worship God. I am grateful for these brave people who have placed themselves in harm's way so that I could enjoy the opportunity of growing up in America with all of its vast resources and opportunities of success. I am blessed to the be the son of Wallace Willingham who is a WWII veteran. My dad served in the infantry and fought at some of the major battles in the European theatre of action. I am both honored and blessed by his willing sacrifice. Every time I stand to declare the Word of the Lord I am reminded about his willingness to offer his service to this nation. As a note of interest; my dad returned home from the service and received his call into the ministry and has faithfully served God in that capacity for over 55 years. The last two nights of the meeting at Roseboro, NC was awesome. I am blessed when I see people willing to release their faith. We saw the Lord touch the lives of individuals who have been facing challenges, struggles and battles. It is a blessing to realize that the Lord will meet us at the point of our need and that He really does care about our life and the situations that we are facing. I just give God glory for all that He has done, all that He is doing, and all that He is planning to do. Tonight we begin a revival meeting with Pastor Bill & Sue Tatum at the White Oak, NC church. It is July 4th and we are anticipating "spiritual fireworks" as we gather to seek God for His Kingdom to come and for His Kingdom to rule in our lives. Please cover this meeting with your prayers.

Revival in Roseboro, NC

The Monday and Tuesday night services have been very powerful and anointed. The presence of the Lord has been revealed and many of us have chosen to enter into what God is doing among His people. We have seen people saved, healed, encouraged and baptized in the Spirit. We have seen what I call "non-Pentecostal" believers receiving the baptism of the Spirit. They are being blessed by the presence and power of the Spirit as they surrender themselves to the Lord and passionately pursue more of His presence. Pastor Stan and Naomi Carter are doing a great job leading this church into the harvest fields and the results of these efforts are being reflected through the lives of people being transformed. I am already looking forward to tonight's service and I am hungry to see the presence of God revealed in our hearts. God certainly deserves all the glory for what He is doing among us. I understand that we are living in challenging times but in the midst of these challenges we recognize the authority and power of God to fulfill the promise of His presence. I am determined to pursue the presence of God in my life and I desire His direction in all that I do and say.