Weekend Review

This past weekend was a very busy one. I had the great honor of participating in the wedding of John Calhoun and Tara Baker. I had the privilege of serving as Tara's Pastor as a teenager; we were able to watch the beginning stages of Tara's development as a young lady with a passionate pursuit of Christ. It is such a blessing to witness the development of Christian believers into a deeper relationship with Christ. Each of us need to keep the thought process of spiritual development in the forefront of our plans; we are all called to the process of spiritual maturity. Sunday found me in Carbon Hill, Alabama in revival with Pastor John and Janice Butler. I have been blessed with the privilege to have served this church as Evangelist in the past few years. It is a blessing to return to this church and see all of the good things that God is doing. The services on Sunday were highly impacted with the presence of the Spirit. There was great freedom in worship as well as in the sharing of the Word. Once again I felt the flow of the love of God in the service and many responded to the call from God. Oh, what a joy floods my soul when I see people of all ages and of all needs respond to the calling of the Spirit. Our obedient response opens the door of opportunity for God to release His ministering presence into our lives. We must remember that our faithful response to the move of God unlocks the door of the blessing of God upon our lives. What if each of us made the commitment to be obedient to the Spirit when we entered the presence of the Lord God Almighty? I am seeking to be sensitive to the Spirit and to the call that He is issuing. Will you join me in that commitment? Watch the blog for more information concerning the meeting of New River Ministries in Radcliff, Kentucky. I am joining with a group of believers who are seeking after the heart of God regarding reaching out to Radcliff and the surrounding communities. God desires to reach out to the lost and hurting of our world. We have met once in Radcliff and our next meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, October 1st at Woodland Elementary School in Radcliff, KY. The school is located at 6000 S. Woodland Avenue and the service begins at 7:00 PM. We will meet in the cafeteria; due to the seating arrangement in the cafeteria feel free to bring your own chair. We look forward to seeing you in Radcliff if possible, if you are unable to attend we would appreciate your prayers.

Thankful

The Lord was gracious and merciful as I traveled home from Grayson, Kentucky last night. The meeting with the Raceland and New Hope congregations was a blessing. The presence and unction of the Holy Spirit was very evident in each of the services and I was encouraged as people freely and willingly responded to the call from the Spirit. If we could just grasp the Love that God has for His creation; if we could just understand the true love and concern that God has for our individual lives. I desire to declare that message as I travel from place to place; God is ready to release His love if we will be willing to receive His Grace and Mercy. Dear God, help each one of us understand and receive Your ministering Spirit into our lives. Pastor Debbie and Pastor Curtis done an awesome job in leading their respective churches into a spirit of cooperation and celebration during this meeting. God is doing some marvelous things in His people if we will be willing to take our eyes off of ourselves and place our eyes on Him! A quote by Adrian Rogers caught my attention this morning. Read what he said, "Paul thought it was the greatest of blessings to be found in Him (Christ), you can read this in Philippians 3:9. Paul exchanged a set of rules for a friend. Hadn't you rather have a friend than a set of rules?" The word "friend" grabbed my attention. What a privilege to be friends with God. A worship song that I enjoy declares, "I am a friend of God." But it also declares "Who am I that God is mindful of me?" True friends are mindful of each other. True friends are concerned about each other. True friends offer care and concern to each other. Another old hymn declares, "What a friend we have in Jesus." Take a few moments today and reflect on the friendship that God has extended to us. He is not ashamed to call us friend. He is interested in our lives and He releases His concern toward us through the process of His love. We are not just members of some church, we are friends of God. Rejoice with me as we celebrate our friendship with God!

Lovest Thou Me?, Part 3

I trust that these thoughts are not becoming to repetitive but I sincerely feel that God is calling His people into a deeper love relationship with Him. Is it possible that we can love a "religious system"and not love Christ in the manner that the Word teaches? Is that what Jesus was alluding to when He said "that He came to His own and they received Him not." I do not want to be guilty of loving a system, as good as that system may be; I want to see my relationship with Christ continue to develop into one that causes me to "love Him with all of my heart, all of my soul, all of my strength, and all that is within me." Even as I am typing those words I am looking at the depth of the challenge of that type of relationship with Christ. But I can take comfort and hope in the fact that Christ stands ready to fulfill His part of that relationship which provides me the strength and courage that I need to walk that road of commitment. We do not have to shy away from commitment in our relationship with Christ because the Word teaches that He is prepared to walk with us down the road of discipleship. Let's go one step further. Is it possible that we can be dedicated and devoted to the "causes of Christ" (feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, building structures to take care of the homeless, building homes for orphans, printing Bibles and Gospel literature, giving support to Gospel Missionaries, to name just a few wonderful causes) and not be fully devoted to Christ? I have seen non-believers support the "causes" of Christ yet never develop a relationship with Him. I am just concerned that we can become attracted to the causes and never develop a love relationship with Christ. We must be careful and avoid that trap; Paul reminds us that God is looking for those who will offer their "bodies a living sacrifice." Sacrifice will require relationship with God, and relationship with God can only come through loving Him and accepting His offer of Grace for our lives. We must be careful and not substitute good works for a love relationship with Christ. It is so easy to fall into the trap of trying to earn entrance into Heaven by what we do rather than trusting in the Mercy of God to deliver us from the bondage of sin. I firmly believe that the Holy Spirit is calling us to a deeper love relationship with our Savior who willing laid His life down on the cross for our redemption. Let me close with these questions, "Why do we do what we do? Why do we preach the Gospel? Why do we go to church? Why do we seek to serve others?" These and many other questions need to be answered in this manner; "My life is lived in this manner because I have an on-going developing love relationship with the Creator of all things who has provided the opportunity for me to have an intimate, personal, life altering relationship with Him." I trust that each of us can say that we are on this journey becasue of our love for Christ and the love that He places in our lives on a daily basis. The last two services at the New Hope church have been powerful. The conviction of the Holy Spirit has permeated the House of God and we have sensed the "life altering" presence of God. God desires to alter, transform, change, and rearrange our lives into His image and likeness. We have seen people each night step forward and receive the presence of God into their particular set of circumstances. I must be willing to fully surrender and commit my life to Christ. Blessings on your journey with Christ, your life will never be the same.

"Lovest Thou Me", Part 2

I desire to continue to share some thoughts that God has placed in my heart with regards to the conversation that Christ has with Peter in John 21. This conversation has provoked some "soul searching" on my part as I think about my desire to follow Christ. Commitment and dedication must play an important role in my life if I am going to be a true and faithful disciple of Christ. Is there a difference between a follower of Christ and a disciple of Christ? I do not desire to split theological hairs so to speak but I sincerely feel the need for all of us to examine our response to the call to discipleship that Jesus extends to those who choose to develop a relationship with Him. Oswald Chambers and other writes have said that "Discipleship is based on devotion to Jesus Christ, not on adherence to a belief or a creed." Doesn't the passage that Jesus spoke in Matthew 16:24-25 move us from being mere followers into the role of disciples? Once more read the Words of Jesus, " Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life of My sake will find it" (NKJV). It seems to me that Jesus is reminding us that if we are to follow after Him we must reach the place of true and sincere devotion. We will never allow the Lord to truly shape our character until we have reached the place of true surrender and commitment to Christ. The flesh (our desires and plans for our lives) will always resist the molding and shaping process of the Spirit. Our human nature will always think and feel that we have a better plan for the fulfillment or completion of our life. But think of the awesome opportunities of spiritual development when we can finally reach the point of surrender to Christ and His leadership over our lives. As we encounter the Spirit of God we are able to fully identify Christ as not only Savior but Lord of our lives. Many of us are comfortable with Christ becoming our Savior but we hesitate when it comes to surrender to His Lordship. Lordship brings direction to our lives, direction brings focus to us, focus brings recognition of the fact that we need to commit to Christ, and finally commitment brings us to the path of maturity and development. The plan of God contains His desire to bring us to spiritual maturity and development. Is it not time for the Body of Christ to desire spiritual maturity? Do you desire to grow/mature in Him or have you become comfortable in your spiritual condition? Cast off the spirit of satisfaction and seek for maturity which can only come through true discipleship. Enjoy your journey with Christ today!

"Lovest thou Me?"

During my scripture reading this morning the famous passage of John 21 came to my attention. This is the passage where Jesus asked Peter the following question "Lovest thou me?" I will not attempt to do an exegesis of this scriptural conversation between Peter and Christ but I do believe that the Lord spoke some challenging thoughts in my spirit. Each of us must answer that question for ourselves. Other individuals my make statements concerning their identification of our love for Christ but we are the only ones who truly know whether or not that love is perceived or whether that love is real. Today's blog is not meant to speak condemnation on our lives by any means but it is meant to challenge our thoughts concerning our relationship with Christ. The true expression of love for someone requires us to face the responsibilities that are associated with loving that individual. Was not Christ desiring for Peter to understand that principle? Love is more than some warm, fuzzy, emotional feeling. True love encompasses commitment, sacrifice, submission, and self denial just to name of few of the requirements. Many of us in the modern day church do not enjoy hearing those words spoken in the same breath with the concept of love. We want love with no strings attached; we want love with no responsibility to respond in an appropriate manner to the individual with which we desire to share that love. We want the "fruit" of love but in many cases we seek to avoid any area of responsibility that may be required of us. I believe that Jesus wanted Peter to understand this principle; the true love that Peter felt in his heart for Christ would place him in the position to follow Christ down the road of obedience, surrender, and true discipleship. I also believe that true love would be expressed through action and not just the mere use of words. We can use words that try to express our feelings but the true love for Christ must be lived out in our actions toward God and toward our fellow man. Ponder this question with me; "Am I truly walking as a devoted disciple of Christ or is my connection with Christ simply based on feelings and emotions?" I sincerely feel that Christ is looking for disciples who are committed to following Him wherever He may lead them. Dear God, work in my life until I can become the devoted disciple that you desire for me to become.

Weekend Review

The revival began with two wonderful services on Sunday. Pastor Debbie Harper and the local church body offered me a warm reception as we began our journey together this week. It is always a privilege to be able to worship with the people of this local body of believers; I have been privileged to be with them on several occasions over the past few years. Pastor Harper is doing a wonderful job in leading this church to reconnect with the heart of God. I identified several new families in the services on Sunday; I must remind us that God is calling us back to a re-identification with the Great Commission that Jesus issued as He left this world to return to heaven. We are called to reach this world with the message of the Gospel; that message will bring deliverance from the bondage of sin that plagues the lives of so many people. We must recommit our lives to the great cause of Jesus Christ and watch Him open the doors of opportunity to minister to people who are in need. Thank God for Pastors and churches who are seriously engaging this culture with the life changing message of the Gospel. I want to be faithful to the call from Christ; everyone needs to hear about the love of God and the provision that He made for their salvation. I have the privilege of being a part of an unique event this week. The Raceland,KY church and the New Hope church (Grayson, KY) are coming together for a joint revival this week. The first three services will be held in Raceland and the final three services will be held in the New Hope church. God is calling us to a "spirit of cooperation." We have allowed ourselves in the Body of Christ to develop a spirit of competition; our enemy is not our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul reminded us that we do not "wrestle against flesh and blood"; he identified that we have an enemy "who walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." We must turn our attention to that enemy and realize that he has plans for our defeat and demise. We must be alert to his tactics and to his methods that he will use against us. We need to realize that we need each other in the family of God and we can overcome the power of the enemy as we allow the Spirit of God to unify the people of God in the common cause of Jesus Christ. Could not the cause of Christ be defined in this statement of Jesus when He said "I came to seek and to save that which was lost." Dear God, give the modern day church the desire to reach the hurting, lost souls of our land and allow them to hear and see the Good News of the Gospel message. Blessings on you today as you go about your daily life sharing the love of Jesus Christ with people who are looking for hope. Christ is still the message of HOPE!

Combination of Words and Actions

Last night I was privileged to sit with a small group of people who are seeking to make a difference in this world through the power that is released in the declaration of the message of the Kingdom of God. As the discussion moved forward we began to realize that there are great numbers of "messages" that are being declared in the churches across our nation. Is is possible that the true message that Christ brought to this world is being lost in all of the "words" that are being spoken by various individuals? Many of these "words" are birthed in the power of the flesh rather than the power and unction of the Holy Spirit. The modern day church is being challenged to stay true to the message of the Gospel; we must not allow the influence of the culture to dictate the message that is being declared in our pulpits. We must pray for the Ministers of this generation; each of them need the courage and strength of the Spirit to declare the "truth of God in love" in such a manner that people will be convicted of their sins and the church will be awakened out of our apathy. I sensed that the Spirit raised another concern in my heart during the course of the conversation. The words that we speak must be confirmed by the actions that we take. Are the words I speak being lived out (practiced) in my daily living? We have developed books, seminars and conferences on sharing our testimony with our friends and family. I certainly am not against these efforts of training but I do believe that we need to remember that our actions must match our words if the "church" is to make an impact in this world. Our world is a world that is "full of words" but God is looking for people who will demonstrate the power of the life changing Gospel in their daily walk. I read this quote recently; "The Bible says that Jesus was "powerful in word and deed" (Luke 24:19). He didn't just make a proclamation, He made a demonstration as well. Jesus spoke and acted on behalf of the Gospel and I believe that He has called us to do likewise." I was deeply challenged by that statement. I desire for my life to reflect the words that I speak to others. I am referring to the words that I speak in the pulpit but also the words that I speak to people during my times of personal interaction. People are looking for true Christianity, one that is demonstrated as well as spoken. We are in need of the anointing of the Spirit in a fresh and powerful manner; this anointing would lead us into a deeper desire to demonstrate the power of the Gospel in our daily living. Our world needs to see the combination of actions as well as words. Be blessed as you put the Gospel into action today.