Personal Thankfulness

Yesterday I took the opportunity to visit with my parents. I am blessed in the fact that my parents are still alive and that they are willing to serve as intercessors for this ministry journey. Not only do they pray for me and this ministry effort but they also serve as intercessors for each of their children and their families. I am thankful that I was brought up in a home that demonstrated the power of prayer and demonstrated the importance of prayer. This thought resonated in my heart as I drove away from their home and headed back to the location of the revival meeting. I am truly a blessed man regarding my family and the support that each of them have offered to me through the years. It is so easy to become complacent and not truly appreciate and recognize the contribution that each of them have made to our successful journey through life. Each of us should take the time and make the opportunity to share our love and appreciation with our family. I was also privileged to see my sister, her daughter and her grandchildren. It was truly a blessing to spend time with some of my family and realize that truly the blessings of God have been with me. Moments such as these remind me of the love that I have for my wife, my children and their families. It is a blessing to hear the voices of our family members speak encouragement and strength to us as we move through the challenges of daily life. The meetings in the Browntown church have reminded us of the need to trust in God and realize that we can bring our lives to Him regardless of what we are facing. He is the One we run to during the time of storms and adversity. I am glad that I know Him today. I am glad that He recognizes us as His children and we can walk in the strength of that identity.

Weekend Review

This week finds me in Henagar, AL (near Ft. Payne) in revival at the Browntown church. The past few days have been very busy and I have not taken the time to make a post concerning the services that took place in the past few days. First of all, I give God praise for His protection and for His anointing. The presence of God is real; God is not a figment of your imagination nor the creation of man. God is the Creator of all things and we have the awesome privilege to build an on-going relationship with Him. It is no wonder that our hearts cry out praise and adoration to the Lord God Almighty. Let us take a quick review of the weekend services. Friday night found me in Elizabethtown, KY ministering in a Ladies Conference. Yes, you read correctly, I was ministering in the KY State Ladies Conference. The presence of the Lord was awesome as the Lord led me to remind the ladies that each one of them are full of potential and that God is at work in each of their lives and He will complete what He has started in them. The altar was full of those seeking to walk in the strength of the Word of God. I have received reports from those who attended the Conference and each of them have testified to the blessings that the Spirit of God released in the services. Saturday night found me in Collinsville, AL speaking to people from a group of churches in the Collinsville area. Although we encountered and endured some stormy weather the presence of the Lord challenged our hearts. The Lord led me to speak on the need of PRAYER. Most of us are not impressed by those type of sermons because they require a response and commitment on our part. Many in the modern day church are more excited about those things that we receive from God than we are those things that we need to offer to God. The Spirit certainly raised up a strong unction in my heart and I spoke from the depths of my heart. Each of you who read this blog are aware that I have often written about the need for this generation of believers to become people of PRAYER. We must respond to God and become people of supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks (read I Timothy 2:1-4). Sunday found me in the Browntown church with Pastor Tanner and his wife Chris. I have been privileged to be in this church on previous occasions and I always enjoy my trip back to Sand Mountain. Once again the presence of the Lord was evident in the service through the music and songs of worship. Do you realize that sincere praise and worship opens the door for the presence of God? The Spirit reminded us that we do have some where to go when the challenges of life crowd in around us. We do have someone to trust in and His name is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. People responded to each of the altar invitations and I was blessed as they began to release their needs into the hands of the Lord. God desires to reach out to us at our point of need. We must learn to trust Him more every day and watch His presence manifest in our daily lives.

Walking in our Freedom

Throughout this week in Taylor, MI we have been declaring that Christ has provided the spiritual freedom that we need in our individual lives. This freedom has been declared through the worship songs, the special music as well as the declaration of the Word. Each night my heart has been stirred as the Spirit has taken us into a deeper revelation of His provision. The enemy does not want the church to be awakened to the understanding that spiritual freedom has been provided for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But many of us are discovering and in some cases re-discovering the great provision that has been made for us at Calvary. WE CAN BE FREE AND WE CAN WALK IN THAT FREEDOM according to the promises of God. We no longer have to be captured in slavery; we have received the declaration of freedom and now our responsibility is to actively and passionately walk in that freedom. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation concerning the abolishment of human slavery during the Civil War of the 1860's. This began the process of putting the ugly chapter of human slavery behind us and opening the door of freedom for everyone. Let me add that as a nation we are still walking in the process of freedom that was set in motion that day. We have taken many steps toward the equal rights for all human beings yet we are still in the process of making sure that all people are treated with equality and recognized as a divine creation of our Eternal God. There were stories recorded of slaves that were so unsure of their freedom and so unsure of their future that they chose to remain with their "slave masters." I am sure that in some of these cases the attitudes of the culture influenced this decision in a very powerful manner. Yet, the story line is still true, they had been granted freedom yet they were unsure of that "freedom walk" that lay in front of them. This posting is not about judging those fellow Americans harshly; each of us may have reacted in the same manner if we had been living in their particular set of circumstances. No, this post is about challenging each of us to walk in the spiritual freedom that has been provided for us. Christ has paid our ransom; we are free in Him, yet many people choose to remain connected with their previous master (sin & satan). They are unsure of the future and they are unsure of their ability to walk in the freedom that has been provided. Let me share two verses with you, John 8:32,36, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free." (NKJV) Our freedom is not based on our feelings about our freedom; our freedom is not based on our ability to survive; neither is our freedom based on our ability to ensure our freedom. No, our hope in freedom is based on the One who signed the proclamation. Jesus signed our release papers through the shedding of His blood on the cross at Calvary. Christ has the power and ability to empty the slave houses of sin and bring us into our spiritual freedom and deliverance. At the conclusion of one of the powerful altar services in Taylor, MI one of the Deacons shared this passage with the congregation; Galatians 5:1, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (NKJV) Take a moment and allow these words to seek deep into your heart; Christ has declared freedom for you, stand firm in that freedom today.

"Gracious Words"

Luke 4:22a, "So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth..." (NJKV) I was awakened with this passage on my heart. Do we truly understand what Christ is offering to us when He offers His provision to us? Do we truly comprehend the desire that Christ has to minister to the needs that each of us face? The life and ministry of Christ speaks hope and victory to our lives. We live in a world of cynics and skeptics. We live in a world in which people allow doubt, fear, and disbelief to affect their approach to God. We can see these attitudes and many more throughout all aspects of our society. This spirit of cynicism and skepticism has even made its ways into the hearts of the people of God. We must rebuke and resist this attitude of the culture and allow the Spirit to open our eyes to the "gracious words" of our God. We must learn to turn the attention of our hearts toward Christ and realize that we can trust in the promises of God. God has the ability to fulfill and complete what He has spoken to us regardless of the circumstances that we are presently facing. We must choose which "spirit" we will follow. Will we choose to follow the spirit of the culture or will we choose to follow the Spirit of God? The opportunity for spiritual success is directly related to our willingness to accept the Word of God as the basis of our faith and hope. We must commit ourselves to hearing the Word from God and allow that Word to speak strength and hope in the midst of our challenges. Take a some time every day to read from the "gracious words" of the Bible and allow them to revive your hope and courage!

Weekend Services

This week finds me in Taylor, MI (suburb) of Detroit with Pastor Chris and Sarah Weathers at Harvest Worship Center. The services on Sunday were outstanding as the people gathered to lift up the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Last night several Pastors and people from their congregations joined with Harvest Worship Center in a joint "Unity Service". It is always an encouragement to see us reach across the lines of separation and embrace our brothers and sisters in Christ. We must seek to see the unity of the Body of Christ displayed to a world that is tired of the spiritual charade that is being presented by many believers in our world. This is a time for the people of God to demonstrate true love for one another and true love for those non-believers who are in need of a Savior. I sincerely desire for the true love of God to flow from my life toward the people that I interact with on a daily basis. You and I will be presented with opportunities today to share the love of God with people who need to understand that God truly cares about them. Pastor Chris has declared this to be "Freedom Week" at Harvest Worship Center. The services are being centered around this theme and Sunday found us walking in that release of freedom. We must remember that Christ died that we might be released from the bondage of sin. Many believers as well as non-believers are failing to walk in the blessings of the freedom of God. We must learn to defeat the strategies of the enemy and understand that Christ has paid the ransom for our freedom. One of the lines from a worship song declares, "No more shackles, no more chains, no more bondage, I am free..." We must realize that satan seeks to weigh us down with "baggage" that will hinder our journey and hinder our spiritual effectiveness but God has provided relief through Jesus Christ. We must learn to accept the report of the Lord and refuse the lies of satan. The enemy will do all in his power to overthrow your faith but the Word of God and the Spirit of God will strengthen your faith as you place your trust in God. Let today be a day of "FREEDOM" for you and realize that "He that the Son hath set free is free indeed."

Last Night's Service

Yesterday was a travel day as I made my way home from the revival meeting in Rockville, MD. I give God praise for His presence that was very evident in each of the services; God is truly revealing His Love and Grace if only we will take the time to identify His ministering presence. We must be willing to lay aside our agendas and we must be willing to lay aside our plans for the services and just allow God to have His way in our midst. I know that might sound simple or you may think that I am downplaying the importance of preparation. No, I truly believe in preparation and I am believe in being organized but I am truly afraid that we may have made our "church" services more about our wants being met than we have entering into the presence of God. Many of the worship songs that we offer to God speaks about His presence but many times we are more interested in displaying our talents and abilities than we are the presence of God. This attitude and practice will lead to religious routines that merely take our time and never touch our hearts. We must stop offering ourselves as the answer for the needs of mankind and remind people that Christ is the answer for all that they are facing. Last night I was privileged to serve as the Minister for the service in Radcliff, KY at New River Ministries. The service opened in the "normal" way with a time of greeting, prayer and a time of singing to the Lord. But something began to happen as we moved through the first two stages of the service and began to truly focus on the true purpose of the gathering of the people. We must recapture the true purpose of the gathering of the people of God. We come together to declare the name of Jesus and offer our heartfelt adoration and praise to the King. As we began to receive His presence and declare His presence the atmosphere of the service began to change. We lost the focus on us and began to shift the focus on Christ. Many of us have been in those types of services in which we forget about ourselves and our needs and we truly focus on loving God and allowing Him to love us. The presence of the Lord moved in the service and His ministering presence was released in our lives. The next time you enter a worship service I challenge you to forget about yourself and focus on the greatness of our God. I truly believe that the atmosphere of that service will change when we "turn our eyes toward Jesus". As A.W. Tozer wrote, "Let us turn the gaze of our soul" toward Jesus and watch Him release His presence in our midst.

Personal Reflection

The meetings in Rockville, MD have been wonderful. Each evening has found us in the presence of God as the people of God begin to respond to Him in praise and adoration. I continue to be blessed and encouraged as I am able to see people respond to God and offer Him their sincere praise and thanksgiving. We must never take for granted the wonderful privilege to offer our praise to God. I know that I mention that often in these postings but I am convinced that our attitude of worship for God opens the windows of Heaven to our lives. God desires to hear and receive our adoration and worship. I want to make sure that I offer to God my sincere praise. Over the past four years I have attended many church services but I am still blessed to sit together with the family of God and hear the voices of the saints of God offer worship to our Saviour and Friend. Pastor Balram shared with me last night that eight (8) nationalities were represented in the service. It was such a blessing to sense the spirit of unity among the people and I was also able to identify the desire of spiritual hunger among the people of God. There was also a spirit of anticipation as we turned our hearts toward God and made our needs known to Him. This week has served as a great reminder and teaching moment in my life. We must always remember that the work of God and the Kingdom of God is far greater than our limited knowledge and view. Many of us live with such a "small view" of the Kingdom of God and in many cases the smallness of that vision hinders the full release of the blessings of God. Thank you Pastor Balram and Rockville congregation for encouraging the expansion of my view concerning the work of God in the hearts of His creation. I truly desire to be open to those things that God will reveal to us as He guides our journey. Pay attention to those "teaching moments" that God sends our way. God may send these to you in the grocery store, the ball field with your children, the work place with your fellow employees, or even among your own family. God can use these situations to cause you to interact with other believers and understand that God has many people who have a relationship with Him. God has much to teach all of us and we can certainly learn from one another.