Cross Talk

Luke 9:23

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

It would be so totally easy to read into these verses what ever we wanted to. In fact, let me make a confession to you. I have often thought myself as quiet a martyr in that I take up a cross daily. How sick is that? Well, maybe not much more than you. It is hard to be hidden all the time. To remain in the shadows so to speak. For it is in these hidden places of following Jesus that my old nature wants to come out. It craves attention. It wants to scream and say, "Look at me!" Taking up a cross is a lonely business that comes with the call to follow Jesus. Seems to me that in this day and time we have a lot of people exploting their own "cross carrying" in order to gain attention. I don't think Jesus intended it to be this way.

We humans have a tendency to want to garner the spotlight, even when it comes to serving Jesus. We want others to see the sacrifice we make for His name. We want others to see what we have given up for Him. In fact, the truth is we haven't given up near enough. We still have a boatload of misplaced pride to surrender. If I am looking for the praise of men to be heaped upon me for something I am expected to do, then I am getting my reward here on earth.

I don't think we fully understand the function of a cross. To us it is a symbol. Something to be formed and shaped into jewelry......shiny and pretty. The cross was a judgement that was being carried out on an individual. As Leonard Ravenhill put it, "You see a man coming out of a city carrying a cross and you know that he isn't coming back. We have lost sight of this mindset. That once we engage Jesus in relationship, a call is placed on us. The call includes taking up "OUR" cross and following Him. We follow Jesus to death for it is only in a death to self that we can embrace life. In our current day, we seek to build a life of comfort to separate us from the hard and harsh life of following Jesus. I don't want you to think that we are to walk around, heads down, frowns on our faces a mile long and sing about what a suffering servant we are for Jesus. No! We rejoice that our names are written in the book of life. We rejoice that everything we face is temporary and is only drawing us closer to our eternal reward.

What about you?
Have you taken up your cross today?
God on you..........

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If I Stand

Christianity is a relationship that seems to exist in words that contradict each other.
By being weak, I can be strong.
By bowing down, I am lifted up.
Learning to stand, by being willing to lay down.
Standing.
A word we all need to embrace.
The act of not moving but allowing God to do his work in us in the stillness of not moving.
As the song goes.....
IF I stand let me stand on the promise that you will bare me through.
IF I fall let be on the grace that first brought me to you.

Please listen to the this song with your heart and not your ears.
Let it resonate deep inside where the fear and doubt reside.
Let the waves of God flow over you and into you, washing out the world and bringing with it the newness of the Holy Spirit.

Worship God.
Very simple.
Stand.

God on you.........
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Camels and Needles

Mark 10:24-25
The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

I have pondered this verse for a few days now.
Is it about the failing and traps of being rich?
Is it about seeing the truth that inside every human lies a heart that is easily swayed away from God?
I like how Jesus addressed the disciples.
He called them "children".
I don't read where they took offense at this name.
Would we?
Would we become upset because Jesus referred to us as children? Knowing that he was talking about our maturity in God was the reason he referred to us as children. I think there are probably more out there who think of themselves as being older.......elders....mature in the faith, yet are children.
He isn't speaking of being babies, or even childish, but children. On numerous occasions Jesus spoke of being "like children" when it came to matters of faith. Why? A child simply believes. They look at the world and see possibilities. I look at the world and see darkness. That is why I have to guard my heart to keep it from becoming jaded and hard and myself from becoming cynical.

I see the truth in the verses when I read the paper or listen to news reports.
It's about the money.
It's about the wealth.
It's about the lifestyle associated with money.
Money is the old god of our country.
Sure you need money to live on. But how much is enough. It isn't the money that's the problem, it's the hearts of mankind. Deriving their identity from how much they possess. Looking to money to solve their problems, not realizing that it is the cause of many they suffer with.

How hard it is for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of God.
Don't you find it ironic that they very thing that others find life in (money) won't get them into the kingdom of God?
What's in your heart?

God on you.......
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Return To The Psalm

Days are hard.
Times are dark.
Fear is the emotion of the day.
Newscast are depressing.
God still reigns.
He is not taken back by the events of the day.
His hand moves in and out of the lives of everyone, believer and non-believer.

Since I am saved and have relationship with God, I feel an urging inside to return to the Psalm's.
To read them out loud.
To praise God through them.
To let them be a part of my day and my life.
Turning my attention away from the tug of the world and focus it on God.

Psalm 105
Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and his strength;
Seek his face always.

Today I choose to walk with a thankful heart.
To let others know what God has done. Not from pride but from humility will I proclaim God's goodness. Believe me when I say that people are hungy and looking for something that is real. What could be more real than God's love and guiding Spirit?
Be salt today.
Be light today.

God on you.....
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Healing Rain

If ever there was a time when a nation,
when a people was in need of healing rain,
it would today.
It would be us.
We have lost the ability to see what we truly need.
We have lost the ability to hear what we need to hear.

We are in need of the healing rain of revival.
Revive us again, by the power of your Word, let our hearts be drawn near to the strength of the Lord.
Hallelujah what a Savior
Hallelujah, amen...
Hallelujah what a Savior
Revive us again.....

God on you..........
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God Indeeds Still Speaks

Some will read this posting and not think much of it.

Some may read it and think I am stretching the truth.

Some may read it and think, "Wow...God you are so good."
Bottom line, I know that God speaks.

Vicki and I have been in prayer for a situation that our youngest son is facing.
Truly we don't have any answers from our own strength or wisdom. That is why we have been in prayer asking God for wisdom and understanding about what our part in all of this was to be.

Today, I prayed and ask God to speak. To give me some direction to let me know what to do, or even if I was suppose to do anything. I didn't want to stop God's hand from working by me taking over trying to make something happen.

I drove out to Rapha today, parked my truck and got out. As I did something shiny lying on the ground caught my eye. It was perhaps 10 yards away from my truck and was just lying there. I walked over to see what it might be. It was a quarter, lying face up. The sun had hit it just right causing it to reflect.

I picked it up and turned it over.

It was an Arkansas state quarter.

Wouldn't think to much about it but my son lives in Arkansas.

Co-incidence? I think not.

The next thing that caught my eye was the two dates.

1836

2003

I went to my office (quarter in my possession) and grabbed my Bible.

Page 1836......Acts 13:13-26

Several things spoke to me.

Paul was spoken to by those in the synagogue and told, "If you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak." This confirmed that I was to be a voice of reason and encouragement to my son during this time.

Verse 17 state that the people prospered during their stay in Egypt by the hand of God. This spoke to me that what my son currently was facing in this situation would provide provision and what he needed if he sought the Lord fully. Not to be dismayed about where he was but look beyond to what God was trying to do in his life.

Page 2003 was the kicker:

Philippians 4:14

Yet it was good for you to share in my troubles.

God confirmed that we were to share and aid my son during this time. He was still going to speak to my son and give him direction on what to do, but Vicki and I were being released by God to come along side and offer assistance.

verse 16 of same chapter reads:

For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.

I don't know how God will work this out, but I trust him to.

As with any financial things that might rear there heads in front of us, my wife and I look to God who own the cattle on a thousand hill sides and pray, "Father...we have a need. Could you have a beef sale?"

I know that God spoke to me today through a quarter that was left lying on the ground.
Kind of makes me wonder what we miss because we don't see it.

Help me to have vision Father and that I might not miss what you are trying to show me.

God on you........

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Pressing On

Pressing On?
Means there is resistance that is moving against us.
The world is rushing to keep us from God.
Not Going to happen.
Pressing on....
Straining forward....
Setting my mind like flint....
Putting my hand to the plow...
Not looking back.....
Running the race.....
Casting hinderances aside....
Sin that so easily entangles us is layed down.....
Don't quit....
Now is not the time to stop....
Today is the day of our salvation.....

Bubble Up!

John 15:11

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Jesus' words.

He wants to supplant our joy with his joy.

Ours is found in the world and in the humanness of our emotions.

His is found in the eternal.

That which was from the beginning.

Ours is temporary and is dictated to by our situations and circumstances.

Did you ever notice how quickly our joy is robbed and stolen by something that happens during our day?

A flat tire.

A sudden sickness or injury.
A fight or argument between you and your spouse or girl/boy friend. We loose our joy easily when it is rooted and grounded in the world. When we let God's Holy Spirit work in us, the temporary is replace with the eternal.

Notice that Jesus said that his desire if for his joy to be found in us and that our joy be made complete. Jesus completes me. He brings to fullness all the empty places inside me, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. That is what I need.

The joy of the Lord will be my strength.

We don't really equate joy with strength, but God does.

Joy comes from a stable place that is not easily shaken. That is strength.

Joy comes from the place of communion. From that place, we find that we need no other relationships, by that I mean those which seek to replace God and usurp his authority.

Joy!

what an incredible word.

May you find it today.

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Monday!

Cloudy.
Overcast.
Just my kind of day.
I don't know why I thrive on dark, dreary days, but I do.
I have accomplished a lot today by getting my collective teachings up for the week.

The weekend was very God.
At our meeting Saturday night, we had a time of worship that was in the Spirit. We weren't singing the words to the song we were playing, we were just letting God speak through us.
The entire room was thick with God's presence as we sang and waited on Him.
Some ask me afterwards if I thought that everything that happened or was exhibited by the people present was from God. "No." Some people are hungry for God and don't really understand what it means to worship, so they simply do what they think they should do.
All that means is that I haven't done a very good job teaching what worship is and how God responds to hungry hearts that want to meet with Him.
The ministry time that we usually have at the end of our meetings now finds itself sprinkled through out the meeting. Sometimes praying for people at the beginning of the meetings or during the middle of a song, we simply want to remain open to where God is leading.

I firmly believe now, more than ever, is the time to be aggressive in teaching, praying and ministering to people. Remember that the aggressiveness comes from leading by Holy Spirit and is not a fleshly pursuit we are to undertake.
Prayer is more important today than every before.
Prayer for understanding of what God's will is for us as individuals and as members of a community of believer's.
To freely give away what has been given to us.
God on you...........
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Thoughts From A Saturday

With the sounds of Keith Greene playing in my office, I sit here on a cloudy Saturday.
Much in the air concerning the lives of people I know.
There is much fear and many who are unsure.
Funny how fear takes away your faith and your trust.
Robs you of that stable place we all need to stand in when everything around us is crumbling.
It is in these times we lay hold of Jesus and do not let go.
The outcome doesn't matter, only that we trust and rest in Him.
We all have ideas about how we want our problems and troubles to be solved or turn out, but that isn't our call. We pray. We trust. We listen and we move on what we hear.

I hurt for others today.
I am very much aware of my own frailties and limitations.
I have no power or resources to make everything better.
I have a belief and a faith that says it doesn't matter what today looks like, God is in control and I will place myself squarely in his hands.
He is God over everything I own.
He is God over everything I am currently going through.
It is the realization of these statements that draw me to Him.
Either this belief is real or it is a lie. There is no middle ground. No grey.

Proverbs 3:25-26
Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked. For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.

Let us join together, heart to heart, to seek out his face.
To ask for mercy and great grace to be sent to us like the spring rain.
Let us return to God with all our heart. Not in some half-hearted attempt to get him to solve a problem, but because we recognize that he is the only source of life we have. Everything else is dust and temporary.
Let our voices fill the heavens as we worship with our lips.
As we worship with our lives.
As we worship with our finances.
As we worship by shaking off the fear that fills our country like a plague.
O' God, forgive us of our sins against you.
Let Your name be declared over this town that people who don't know you will be awakened like dead men and women to the truth that saves.

God on you...........

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Come Thou Fount

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, O' take and seal it.
Seal it for thy courts above.....

God be merciful to me....
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What Say You?

As you read the posting below, realize that it is written by someone who does not consider himself to be the "voice" for all Christendom. I possess no truth except Jesus. I write from the point of one who burns to see people not just saved but taught and made into disciples of Christ. Men and women who can go forth and follow Jesus through the leading of the Holy Spirit and by bringing this leading to bear in their everyday life, change their corner of the world. Bring light and life to their towns and work places. It matters not what the kingdom of darkness does or has done. We move under the leading of Jesus the Christ to win for him the rewards of his suffering.

I Corinthians 1:22-24
For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God


What I write tonight, I do so from one who wishes not to see what he has seen or hear what he has heard. I write this not as one who has separated himself from the body of Christ, but one who hurts because of the behaviors and views that seem to be all to acceptable today.

I see many cultural trends that are starting to appear in churches causing the preaching of the Word to be pushed aside. People are being asked to make a "decision" for Jesus without being told who Jesus is. Without being told what Jesus has done, or why they need Him.
Some who occupy places of leadership in church don't see the danger they bring upon themselves by playing with the truth of God. The main concern today among churches falls in one of two categories: Nickels or noses. How much money they need to stay afloat and how many people are coming. Francis Schaffer wrote back in the 70's that the success of God is never found in the size of a congregation or the amount of money that is in a bank account.
The success of God is found in the quality of people that a church produces.

The message I cannot escape from..........
The only message that burns within my heart is Jesus Christ crucified.
We cannot escape the shadow of the cross and the death of Christ.
We all want to embrace the resurrection. That is life. That is newness brought to our spirit's and soul's. But you cannot get to resurrection unless first you die.
It is this simple fact, Jesus crucified, that has way laid many folk who want Christ, but on their terms. Leonard Ravenhill once made the statement, "IF you saw a man leaving the city carrying a cross, you knew he wasn't coming back." Never has a truer statement been spoken about relationship with Christ. He beckons us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. He beckons us to come and die in order to find life.

I fear in this day, our country has rejected the truth of God.
Didn't God say it would be like this in the last days.

God on you.........

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p.s.
do not think I am lumping the body of Christ into one huge heap of accusation. I am not.
pray for pastor's that stand to teach the Word of God. Pray that they do so under the unction and fire of the Holy Spirit. Not for emotional release or self-promotion but that every text, every word point to Jesus Christ.

Feast And Be Filled

Matthew 4:4

Jesus answered,"It is written:'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

I have found myself parked in this verse most of the day.

I have read it probably more times than I can count or remember. It isn't a hard verse and contains no cryptic hidden message. It is pretty straight forward and too the point.

Jesus is speaking in reply to a request the devil has made of him.

The devil wanted Jesus to take matters into his own hands and solve the problem of the hunger that he was experiencing.

As usual, the devil was speaking on a flesh level and Jesus was living on a spiritual level. The two never meet. Have you noticed this. That flesh and spirit never seem to be on the same page or in agreement. They are at odd with one another.

Jesus' reply to the devil was delivered in this manner.

"It is written."
What Jesus was about to speak was thousands of years old and had been written in the book of Deuteronomy. It wasn't an idea that Jesus just came up with, but rather a command given by God to Moses for the people of Israel. It wasn't a suggestion or a hint or a request.....it was a command. To top it off, it had been written down for the ages.

Jesus identifies who this is for. "It is written.....man (or humanity).

Sinful, fallen, in darkness and without leading.....man.

Man shall not live....that means outside of God and his words, there is no life. No reason to exist. We find completeness in Him and total darkness and death outside of Him.

Man shall not live by bread alone.

The basic food for survival on this planet is not enough to save man. There is a greater food that has been given to mankind. The Word of God. The Manna from heaven given daily to man. It is given and all we have to do is harvest it through hearing and allowing it to mix with our faith to bring about God's plan for us.

Have you feasted on the Word of God today?

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God Does Speak

Job 33:14
For God does speak-----now one way, now another---though man may not perceive it.

The thought behind this verse is the most liberating thought to me when it comes to relationship.
The very idea that God does speak and speak to me personally, well that's a keeper.
I think the church has done little if anything in teaching believer's to hear God.
I was very blessed to be a part of a church who held an 8 week teaching on Hearing God. It was not the definitive (Ours is the only way) teaching, but it aided us and gave us a basis from which to hear God for ourselves.

I don't remember who said it but I have never forgotten the following: "God isn't speaking half as much as people say He is, and people aren't listening for God half as much as they should be."

I taught a "hearing" God class today at Rapha.
It has been a while since I have done this and did so today only because one of the men came to my office asking "how do I hear God?"
The exercise we do at the end of the class where I get everyone to hear God has never failed. I mean in the 11 years I have been here at Rapha, I have never done this exercise and it not produce results that let you know God does speak.

I spend time in prayer before the class asking God to give me a person in the class who will be the focal point of our hearing. When I hear God say who it will be, I write the person's name down on a sheet of paper and file it away.
After our teaching time, we move into a clinic or "how to" time of ministry.
I invite people to the front one by one and ask them a question that involves a one word answer.
I will ask God to speak to the person and put a name in their mind. Usually there is some hesitation after I pray and I quickly tell the individual who is trying to hear not to wrestle with what they are hearing. Then I ask what name they heard and they tell me.
We go through a series of 5/6 questions and I write down the answers.
Once finished, I turn to the person that God said was our focal point and I began to question him about the answers on the board. Today the name that was heard was "JAMES". It turns out that the person who was focal had a man named James who was very prominent in helping him to get into Rapha.

One of the questions involved numbers: The number that was heard was 11.
At first the person who was to be the focal point of our hearing didn't have anything concerning the number 11. After a while his eyes grew large and he said, "Yes I do. Eleven is the number of people who lived in his house when his day remarried and life turned tragic and terrible.

One of the questions involved God showing a picture in the mind of the person who was trying to hear. They saw a classroom and began to describe it. In the end it was a 9th grade class room.
The person who was the focal point said that all his troubles began in the 9th grade.
At the end of the exercise I explained that I had been in prayer that God would give me the name of one of the men at Rapha that God would speak about and reveal himself. I held up the piece of paper with the mans' name on it and you could hear a collective gasp as the men realized that this wasn't a trick but God had indeed spoken in their midst.

They went away to talk and discuss what they had just experienced.
God became more than words on a page. He was real.
Isn't that the way it is suppose to work?
I think so.

God on you....

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Just As I Am

Unless a person is aware of the extent of their sin and the penalty they live under, then the gospel is of no importance to them.
We have and continue to create an atmosphere where we want to see people saved without mention of sin or hell or judgement. Terms that are considered out of date and antiquated.
I don't have to shout and yell and become red faced as I share the message of the cross. For the cross is the power of God to save.

Amen!

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Response

The post that was written below was in no way an endorsement of homosexual lifestyle. It was written to make us all aware that God has definite boundaries concerning what is and what isn't acceptable. What is holy and what is profane, God alone defines. It is His truth.
I am in no way condoning any lifestyle of sin.
We, as believers, are called to a life of purity and holiness that is only obtained by the work of the Holy Spirit in each of us.

Those who e-mailed me should in no way think I have softened my heart toward sin. The grace that has been extended to every believer was bought at a great price. I will not cheapen it or the work that Jesus did on the cross by excusing sin in any shape, form, or fashion. We should begin at the House of the Lord as we all come before him, asking that our hearts be searched and if any sin be found, bring us to repentance.

Thank you for reading this blog.
Please pray for Vicki and me as we continue on the work God has called us to here at Rapha.

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The Truth Is The Truth Is The Truth.....

Here is the cover of Newsweek magazine. I happen to see it at a Doctor's office and thought I should read this. I was taken by what I read. It was well written. It was researched and documented with much Scripture. The article gave a very strong case of why gay marriage should be allowed. I could see a number of people using this article to support their conviction that gays should be allowed to marry and hold the same standard, in the eyes of God, that heterosexuals do.

Using historical evidence along with Scripture, the article concludes that there is no evidence from the Bible that blatantly comes out against the issue concerning gays having the right to marry.

Don't be mislead by what I have written. I want you to understand that it doesn't matter what man may come up with. Newsweek is in no way held in the same regard as the Bible. No, in some circles, Newsweek is held in higher regard. A much more reputable source of information that is culture current. Here is where the slippery slope of "any thing goes" begins to form. It doesn't matter what "truth" you want to read into any Scripture, after all it is all relative. Society demands that absolute truth cannot exist. Therefore, what ever the masses deem to be truth, so be it. God has a different take. He is absolute truth and anything man creates, or thinks, or deems to be important is always held against the truth of God. How silly we must look to God as we run around acting like "little" gods.

It doesn't matter that a sociologist writes that the Apostle Paul (in the book of Romans) is addressing the sin of homosexuality and lesbianism directly to the emperors or Rome and Roman society. He (Paul) never intended it to be an official document against homosexual relationships. Bottom line in all of this...... What does God say? God does not condone homosexual lifestyle and he does not condone marriage of such who have that lifestyle.

I think for too long the church has railed against homosexual lifestyle while allowing other forms of sexual sin to exist within its own walls. Adultery, pornography, fornication and (forbid me to say) pedophiles. You can not hold one sin up higher than another. You cannot bring your forces to bear against one without addressing the sin within your own community of believers. We cannot create God in our image. To make him say what we want him to say by manipulating the Word of God. Pour forth hatred toward one group while excusing the sin of another. That isn't right either. Contrary to popular belief, God does not support either mob when these are the behaviors that are seen. I am reminded in Joshua Chapter 5, when Joshua went up to Jericho to check out the city and plan an attack. Joshua runs into another man standing at the wall, with his sword drawn. Joshua cries out, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" The man replies, "Neither. I am the Captain of the Host of Heaven." Joshua suddenly had this strong desire to get on his face and worship. Joshua had run into Jesus. In our society, we forget (even the best Christian) God is not looking for a cause or a mob to endorse and support. He is looking for people whose hearts are totally committed to him.

I guess what I'm trying to write here is that we can build whatever case we want to concerning a lifestyle that we truly may want to live. We can search the scripture and try to proof text to back up our belief. But are you willing to stand before God and hear the truth? That is the bottom line. Are you willing to put what you want on the line against what God says?

Truth is....God has the final say in all of this. Not me, not Newsweek............no one. Just God. God have mercy on our country and on our president.

God on you.....

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More Presents

Christmas 2008 has come and gone, but the presents keep coming in.
Presents?
Yep! Whenever I see someone who has gone through the program and they continue to live life clean and sober, chasing God..........well, that's a present.
Got a call last night from a former client who is doing well.
Work continues to come his way and you could hear gratitude in his voice. He had a hard time understanding why God would bless him in such a way. After all, he'd turned his back on God and chased the darkness for a number of years. The journey back was long and hard, but this man held on to God and walked into the light. It was a good call.

Saturday, another former Rapha-ite came by to talk.
He also is experiencing a boom in his business in spite of the economy.
He could only attribute it to God.
This was also a present.

It is the cards, letter, phone calls and visits that reaffirm to me that this God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do.
So today, with the creek rising, the pond overflowing and more rain on the way, we'll teach and pray and council those who truly are sick and tired of being sick and tired.
It is a good day!

God on you....

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It's Monday All Day Today

What a great weekend.
Friday night we went to Centre to speak at Celebrate Recovery.
Can you say, "God was in the house"?
It was a powerful time of ministry and prayer.
I never tire of seeing God move on people and they respond to it.
Many were saved.
Some were healed of physical stuff.
At the end, worship seem to go to another level as the people really began to worship.
Donnie George, who heads up the Celebrate Recovery, came to me at the end and said, "You stir everyone up when you come up here." I merely replied, "It ain't me Donnie.......It's God!"
For that I am grateful.

Saturday night at Rapha was our first meeting of the new year.
The first worship song we did for 2009 was "NO MORE."
It is about not turning back or giving up.
The realization that there isn't any life found in our old ways and habits.
The only true life is found today in chasing Jesus.
Very simple.
Just Jesus.
Me getting out of the way.
Not living by my decisions or wants and desires.
Doing what He tells me to.
At the end after ministry, the worship team began to sing, "Jesus Loves Me".
I am always taken by the power of this simple song.
The way if affects the men and the truth that came over the room as we sang.
It was a good weekend.

God on you.........
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Day 1

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God......

God began the creative process, day 1.
He took a chaotic creation and spoke order into it.
It didn't look orderly or with much purpose, but isn't that the way it is with God?
The things we see we try and rationalize and bring some semblance of order, only to discover that we cannot control or create.
Our lives become unmanageable and at the right point in the whole mess and chaos we have created, we cry out to God and He speaks order to us.
To our minds,
Our hearts,
Our spirits,
and......................
our flesh.
He puts right that which we cannot.
As the AA Big Book says, 'God is able to do for us the very things we could not do for ourselves."
So here on January 2nd........
With an entire year stretched out before us, what do we see?
We chaos.
We see trouble.
We see strife.
We see the effects of sin coupled with a fallen creation.
Once more God will speak into existence the very things He desires to come forth and bring order to this mess.
I simply cooperate with Him as He works through me, in me and around me.
Thank you Lord that you are greater than any chaos I may see or experience.
You alone possess the words of Life, so I will follow.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.

God on you........
mb