He's in town

This past Sunday morning as I was praying for the service @ LifeHouse Harvest before anyone else arrived, I remember specifically asking for a "manifestation" of God's presence in the service. We definately had a great service on Sunday as the Spirit of the Lord moved in our worship time and it was as if we felt those "Angels wings" brushing up against us as we took-in the presence of God.

I have begun reading a book that has actually been sitting on my book shelf a long time and, being prompted by the Holy Spirit, I picked it up and began to scan through it. I have quit scanning through it and have begun to "read" it and I wanted to share with you today an excerpt from chapter 2. The book title is The God Chasers by Tommy Tenney. The chapter 2 title is No Bread in the "House of Bread" and there is a couple of paragraphs from this chapter that I would like to share with you:

Do we even know when He's in town? On the day Jesus made what we call His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the back of a little donkey, His path through the city probably led him right past the entrance to the temple of Herod. I believe the reason the Pharisees were upset at the parade in John 12 is because it disturbed their religious services inside the temple.
I can hear them complaining, "What is all this going on? You're disturbing the high priest! Don't you know what we are doing? We are having a very important prayer service inside. Do you know what we're praying for? We're praying for the Messiah to come! And you have the audacity to have this noisy parade and disturb us?! Who is in charge of this unruly mob anyway?" Uh, do you see the guy on the little donkey?
They missed the hour of their visitation. He was in town and they didn't know it. The Messiah passed right by their door while they were inside praying for Him to come. They didn't recognize Him. Had Jesus come on the back of a prancing white stallion, or in a royal chariot of gold with a phalanx of soldiers ahead of Him, the Pharisees and priests would have said, "That might be Him."
God is getting ready to break out in America, even if He has to bypass her stuffy churches to break out in the barrooms! We would be wise to remember that He has bypassed the religious elite before to dine with the poor, the profane, and the prostitutes. We need His presence. We need to decide that whatever it takes and wherever it comes from, we must have Him. And He wants to come - on His terms, not ours. We can be inside praying for Him to come while He passes by outside. Worse than that, the "insiders" miss Him while the "outsiders" march with Him!

As I read this chapter I was convicted about "not knowing Him as I prayed for Him to be manifest in my life!" I believe that a lot of times we pray for Him to show up in our services but on that note we don't allow Him to show up because of "religion", "schedules", "programs", etc... We, as a body of Christ, need to learn how to recognize Him when He is in our services. We must learn to listen to the Spirit and move with Him instead of asking Him to move with us. How awesome would our services be if we started recognizing the "Bread" instead of being selfish and wanting to have our way. It is my desire to know Him when He's in town! When He passes by in our services, no matter what is on the agenda, we must be able to "let Him pass by" for our nourishment and growth as Christians!

21-day commitment

In just a few short days we will be in the last month of the year 2010. My, how this year has passed by in a hurry! In the month of December my focus, as leading LifeHouse Harvest, will be on getting ready for a commitment, individually and corporately, to fast the first 21 days of the new year. As I was browsing through the different web sites that I like to visit for direction, inspiration, and encouragement I came across an article, or a brief introduction of a call to a 21 day fast to the COGOP from General Overseer R.E. Howard. I would like to share this with you today and will be posting more about this fast in days to come.


21 DAYS OF PRAYER AND FASTING


January 1—21, 2011

“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity;” Jeremiah 29: 12-14a

"I invite every individual and local church to join me for 21 days of prayer and fasting, as we seek God’s direction and blessing in the New Year. I believe that a strength of the church is prayer, the ministry of intercession. What can defeat a church on its knees? All over the world God has rekindled the passion and call to prayer saying, 'My house shall be called of all nations a house of Prayer!' Join me and thousands of others from around the world as we unite our heart, minds, and prayers for our families, churches, and world." -RE Howard, General Overseer

Don't give up on me

For those of you that may actually read this blog I'm very, very sorry that I have neglected to post anything in quite a while. I have no excuses for not posting anything but I could conjure up some if it would make us feel better! There has been a lot of things going on and it's taken me away from the computer which doesn't allow me time to post. I have also found that I have neglected other things in my Spiritual life due to moving, planting, etc... but I'm being reminded by the Lord that I need to change some things so that He gets the time with me that I need!! Notice how that last sentence was put - "I need to change some things so that He gets the time with me that I need." God wants to spend time with us for our nurturing, strength, etc... When we spend time with God through prayer, reading the Word, meditating on Him or whatever avenue that is used to get alone with Him, it is for receiving what we need that we can't get anywhere else!!!
"Lord, help me keep my eyes, hands, ears, thoughts, feelings, emotions, desire, etc... on you! Please don't give up on me!"

Decreasing self image

As I write this morning I'm in awe of what God is doing! I've not really found ample time to sit and post anything until today for I've found myself pretty busy for the Kingdom lately and it's almost been overwhelming in a sense. I'm realizing that the more you do for God the more the enemy is against you and you find yourself having to overcome some obstacles that are in the way both physically and spiritually. I'm reminded of Paul when he wrote the words that we need to have etched inside our brains - "i die daily". Notice that I didn't capitalize the word i. This was intentional because I'm finding more and more everyday that i am nothing without God and that i can't make it everyday without His presence leading me and guiding me through every "moment" of my life. I believe it was John that said, "i must decrease so that He can increase." I want to be found guilty today of decreasing for Christ so that His image will be revealed through me.

One point heartbreak again!

Well, another football season has come and gone for the Jr. Pro League that Blake played for. Blake was on the Sr. Owl team and had a great season with an 8-2 record. It was almost like Dejua Vu from last year with the team making it to the championship game again, only to lose by one point (21-20). All in all, there were great life lessons learned this year and Blake will always have memories of Jr. Pro and those memories last a life time. Next football season he will be a 7th grader only to start yet another "season" in his life as a middle schooler! I'm proud of you buddy!!!

LifeHouse Harvest

"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven..." Ecclesiastes 3:1

As I write this post today, I'm in awe of what God is about to do! This past Sunday night, a group of people (32 in fact) gathered in a small one car garage at a home just down the road to come together in worship, word, prayer and fellowship. After the last car pulled in the driveway and the families made their way into the garage, that had been made into a make-shift sanctuary, we began to fellowship and laugh and catch up on some lost time. As we sat in our "ball field chairs" and "plastic chairs" and enjoyed eachother's company, we began to get our mind on why we had gathered together.

I opened up "the service" with a prayer and some thoughts on what God was about to do within the group of people that had determind to gather, worship, pray, fellowship and seek God's face. We began to sing an old song by the name of "We have come into this place" which reminds us of "why we are gathered"... to gather in His name and worship Him...to lift up holy hands to worship Him...to forget about ourselves and worship Him...to concentrate on Him and worship Him. As that song ended, the Holy Spirit was already moving and impressed others to lead us in another worship song. We began to sing, "Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary" because we are in the process of realizing that we don't have to be in a man made sanctuary to worship. There we were in a man made garage worshipping Christ! What an awesome feeling it was. As I was opening up service the Lord impressed on me and reminded me that even our "Savior" was born in a stable and so we can worship Him anywhere, afterall, we are the sanctuary!

As we continued to sing, a presence of the Holy Spirit filled the room and there were crying, rejoicing, hands lifted high, and even some old fashioned "conviction" being felt. We had a young lady make things right with the Lord in this garage that we were worshipping in! Praise the Lord!! As the Holy Spirit moved and they continued to pray I was lead to just go ahead and preach a little bit so I did! The Lord reminded us that we are going to have to give something in order to receive something. In other words, an offering that doesn't cost us anything (not monetary), profits us nothing. But, when we realize that the offering in which we are to give to the Lord and the sacrifice we are to present to Him costs us then we will receive and profit from that offering with blessings and promises! Read 1 Chronicles 21.

So as it is, I believe history was in the making as it possibly was the official first meeting of LifeHouse Harvest Church. There is a field that is ripe for the harvest and we have to make every effort to go and be Jesus to a lost and dying world. To be continued...

New Season

For all of you that don't know what's been going on lately (and why would you because I have neglected this blog) things are changing around the Meadors house. On the first Sunday in August I resigned from Kempville Chapel Old Time Methodist Church effective on the last Sunday in August which has come and gone. If you just sit back and listen to all the birds chirpping you will hear all sorts of reason's why I left and just about all of those would be false. The devil takes these opportunities to try and confuse the work that God has planned for our lives but God knows what He's doing and I will follow Him no matter what is said or not said! God allows us to go through season's in our lives and when one season comes to an end so starts another one!

I'm excited about what God has in store! I don't know the full plan of His hand but from day to day He gives me an insight as to what He is up to! He has opened the door for me to preach revivals in October and also I'm one of the many minister's that is going to be speaking at Freedom Festival coming up in just a short time in Hartsville, Tn. God is doing an awesome thing and I'm looking forward to building the Kingdom of God! There are talks, prayers, and plans on maybe starting/planting a church pretty soon! There is interest and where there is interest God will bless and grow!

Keep us in your prayers as we go through this time of New Season in our lives and ministry and as we learn to hear the voice of God and trust in His hand! Be blessed!

Holy and Beautiful

I Thessalonians 4:7 says, "For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." This scripture has been in my spirit for the past few weeks. I don't know why the Lord has put this in my spirit other than He wants to remind me that I can't live my life, and it be pleasing to Him, without living it for Him and through Him.

The Message Bible puts this scripture this way - "God hasn't invited us into a disorderly, unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful-as beautiful on the inside as the outside." The word unkempt used in the Message paraphrase of this scripture is intriguing to me. There are several definitions of this word such as: (1) not combed: example:unkempt hair, (2) uncared-for or neglected; disheveled; messy: example:unkempt clothes; an unkempt lawn. (3) unpolished; rough; crude.


When I look at these definitions and compare them to how I'm supposed to be living for the Lord, holy and beautiful, I find some areas in my walk with the Lord that are "not combed", "uncared-for", "neglected", "unpolished", and "rough". Every day of our lives we are to be pleasing to the Lord in our walk, talk, thoughts, actions, etc... How can I live a holy life if I'm leaving some things uncared for in my life. If my prayer life isn't where it needs to be, then I've neglected the talks with God that's going to be needed to polish the rough edges in my life.

Lord help me today to live holy and accepted to you! Help me not to neglect the things in my life that will bring glory and honor to You. Cause me to be polished and ready for Your work today so that someone else may see the fruit of Your Spirit and want to live a life that's holy and beautiful to You.

God Bless you today!

First Day of School Year 2010

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL YEAR 2010
Blake - 6th grade
Bailey - Freshman

How's Your Sunday Service

I read an interesting article today about worship among the congregation. This article is written to pastors. Here is the article:

Every pastor wants to raise up a group of people who God considers true worshipers. Jesus defined these people in John 4:23 as those who "worship the Father in spirit and truth." He even added that these are the ones after whom the Father seeks.

• "Worship time" is not a setup for the sermon.
If we're not careful we can develop a dangerous mind-set that believes the praise and worship part of a service functions merely to prepare the congregation for the preaching. Though preparing people for the message can certainly be one benefit of a good "worship time" (and I use that term begrudgingly), it must not be its primary purpose.

A healthy, worshiping congregation recognizes that when members come to worship—both individually and corporately—they are truly entering the presence of God, presenting themselves to the Lord and making their hearts vulnerable to His voice, conviction, healing and guidance. To worship in this way is an end in itself, not simply a means to something else.


• The senior pastor is the senior worship leader.
When we look at spiritual leaders in Scripture—whether it's King David in his palace or Paul in prison—we see that they were unashamed worshipers. A senior pastor must lead not only with words, but also by modeling whole-hearted, unreserved worship. A congregation will follow its pastor. Remember David's example: "David danced before the Lord with all his might ... wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet" (2 Sam. 6:14-15). Ministering to the Lord in worship, with inward fervency and outward demonstration, is one of the most potent expressions of leadership a shepherd can make.


• The worship leader and senior pastor must demonstrate one heart.
These two leaders usually influence a service more than any others. So it's no surprise that the vital relationship between these two servants is a primary target for the enemy. If the pastor is exercising ungodly control or if the worship leader is operating with sinful ambition, the enemy will exploit these weaknesses and wreck havoc in the body.
They must have clear lines of communication and spend time together in prayer. The worship leader should demonstrate an attitude of support for the senior pastor. If he cannot, then he has a responsibility to take a break from ministry until the relationship is restored. Likewise, if the senior pastor has serious concerns about the worship leader's character or behavior, it is the pastor's responsibility to curtail that person's public ministry, no matter how gifted or anointed the worship leader may be.

•The purpose and strategy of the service need to be clear.
It is through prayer, fasting, discussion and the Holy Spirit's leading that a church must determine the core identity and context of a Sunday morning service. This may change from season to season, but it begins with some fundamental questions. For example, a church must ask: Are we a seeker-sensitive church? A renewal church? A family church? An emergent church? A traditional church?

Each of these ideas will express itself differently in a Sunday morning service. If the pastor sees the church heading in one direction but the worship leader has a different vision—all while other congregants see it moving in various other directions—the result will be disastrous. You'll experience Sunday after Sunday of disjointed "stop and start" services.
I am not a big proponent of the seeker-sensitive movement, but if a church decides to be seeker-sensitive, that needs to be clear so expectations are established and up-front. When the leadership resorts to ambiguity because they are afraid of offending or losing people, they dilute the church's message and purpose.


• A "call to worship" brings focus to the worship service.
Distractions diminish our ability to receive from the Lord in a worship service. We come to church tired from a full week, harried after pushing through traffic and trying to find a parking space, and 10 minutes late. We walk into church and presto!—we are supposed to enter the presence of the Lord.

Many worship leaders fail to challenge congregants to be mindful of what they are actually doing in worship. They aren't just going through the motions; they are coming face-to-face with the living God. Rather than abruptly beginning a service, I advocate a "call to worship." Perhaps this could take the form of a hymn, a Scripture verse read corporately, or an exhortation to focus one's heart or to lift one's hands in worship. Whatever shape it takes, we should try to lead others into the presence of God with focused minds and grateful hearts.


• Physical expressions are at the heart of biblical worship.
Here are a few Bible verses that demonstrate this truth (emphasis added):



• "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker" (Ps. 95:6).


• "Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!" (Ps. 47:1).


• "Praise Him with the timbrel and dance" (Ps. 150:4).


• "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord" (Ps. 134:2).


• "I will sing and give praise" (Ps. 57:7).
If we are to worship in spirit and in truth, we must employ spirit, soul and body. People will follow our example.


• A worship service engages in the battle for time. As more things compete for more of our time, the spiritual discipline of "waiting on the Lord" becomes more difficult. But if we fail to model this important practice, how can we expect our congregants to apply this vital habit to their daily devotional lives?

In Pentecostal and charismatic services not too long ago, we had "tarrying" services. During these protracted times of worship souls would soften. People would approach the altar, perhaps with music quietly playing in the background or with the pastor leading in a prayer of repentance, intercession or adoration.


Today almost all Sunday morning services are 90 minutes long to the minute. Most Sunday night services have been cancelled. Does the church have the fortitude to stand up against the demands of culture and fight for time with the Lord? Nothing can replace an uninterrupted, intimate awareness of His presence.


As servants tasked with leading the body of Christ, we must grow in spiritual maturity and in expressions of worship. May we champion His purposes, knowing that our choices will impact not only us, but also our brothers and sister in Christ. And may we live with His priorities at the forefront of our leadership.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robert Stearns, founder, executive director of Eagles' Wings Ministries, has ministered in 30 nations. He is the author of Prepare the Way and Keepers of the Flame, and is also an accomplished worship leader, recording artist and speaker. For more information, visit eagleswings.to.

Recognizing the Voice of God

1 Samuel chapter 3 tells of the calling of a young man named Samuel. Samuel was staying with Eli (the priest) and was awakened by a voice calling out his name. Samuel went to Eli to see what the call was all about. Eli told Samuel to lay back down because he had not been the one to call out his name. After about the third time of Samuel's awakening to the voice of the Lord, Eli recognized what was going on and sent Samuel back to bed, but this time instructed him to call on the name of the Lord for He was the one doing the calling. See, the Bible says that Samuel didn't know the Lord yet - in other words - he had no relationship with the Lord and in having no relationship with Him, he had no knowledge, or recognition of His voice or fellowship with God. Eli, being a priest, practiced having a relationship with God, therefore, had a recognition of the voice of God.

When someone calls you on the phone that you haven't spoken with in quite a while, you may not know or recognize that voice. When your spouse, child, sibling, or best friend calls you on the phone you have no doubt who you are talking to without even asking! That's the way we ought to recognize the voice of God!!!

We have to be able to hear God when He is calling our name. He calls our name when He has a mission for us to do, when He has a plan for our life, when He wants to fellowship with us, when He wants us to be effective in the Harvest for His Kingdom, etc... There are many reason that God calls out our name and we have to be like Eli and recognize the voice of God in order to act upon the calling!

More to come later!

Sin kills

Ezekiel 18: 4b "...The soul who sins is the one who will die." The bible is very clear on sin. The bible is very clear that we as Christians have to live a life "free of sin". That means that we must refrain from those things that cause us to sin. It's not ROCKET SCIENCE! Why do we make it harder to live a Christian life than it really is? The bible tells me to "give no place to the devil" so this should be a reminder that if I go to a place where there is going to be drinking, smoking, sexual inticements, etc... then I am giving place for the devil to put something into my spirit that causes me to sin. I don't think that we can go to night clubs, sports bars, creek parties, etc... with a S on our shirt and think that we are exempt from being tempted of the devil. The bible is clear that we must live a holy life before the Lord and in the process of living holy we have to make right choices on where we should go and what we do.

We as Christians can't expect God's blessings and gifts to be manifest in our lives if we are continualy giving place to the enemy and living with sin in our lives. We can't be blessed beyond measure with sin in our lives. We can't please God with sin in our lives! I have come to hate sin because it robs us from receiving what is rightfully ours, from receiving the promises of God!

The good news - we have an advocate with the Father!!!! We have a Heavenly Father that is forgiving and that loves us! I'm amazed at how God can forgive us our sins and pick us up and put us back on the right track. It is up to us to stay on the right track and not go back to our old ways. Sin kills - Jesus gives life!

He trains my hands for battle

"You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn." Psalm 18: 28-36

Our strength comes from the Lord! In all our battles, let him be our General!

UPDATE

It has been a long time since I posted anything (was reminded of this yesterday by someone), so I thought I would post something today to kind of give an update on some things.

The past few weeks have been tremendously busy around the Meadors house. We have had church camp going on, vbs going on, basketball camp going on, baseball allstar going on, more church camp next week, etc... I don't think we have sat down as a family in the living room and watched anything on tv together for at least a month.

Blake and I were at church camp last week in Dickson and we experienced a great move of God! There were over 60 young people baptized on the last night! God is on the move to raising up an army of young people that are going to pass the generations in front of them and lead by example!

Bailey is in camp this week and I'm believing in a great anointing for those that are at camp and may God raise up in them a Spirit of BOLDNESS to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!!!

Our church youth go to church camp next week and I'm praying that God moves in a mighty way and changes lives and grows mighty men and women of God!!!

Well, that's about all the time I have right now - busy, busy, busy! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!!!

Spiritual Warfare - Are you ready?

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have devine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. - C. S. Lewis

The Lord has been dealing with me this week on Spiritual Warfare. I believe that we are in a battle that most Christians may not be ready for and that disturbs me. So many times we hear people asking questions like, "why did this happen" or "why did that happen" and "I can't seem to get my prayers past the ceiling" or "I just don't feel like ...". We have a battle to fight in the Spiritual realm as Christians and we have the tools to fight with, all we have to do is fight with them!

I will post more about this in a few days, but for now, ask yourself this question: "If God wants me to be the pointman in this Spiritual battle, am I ready?"

Pictures from Senior Camp

Baptizing Service and
Fun Time

VBS - Saddle Ridge Ranch

Vacation Bible School starts this Sunday night, June 13th at 6pm around here at Kempville Chapel. We have already begun the transformation from a church building to a ranch with the likings of horses, hay, saddles, fences, corrals, etc... I've even seen some boots laying around the place! We are expecting a great time with the cowboys & cowgirls riding around and asking questions about Jesus!

Join us if you can June 13th thru 17th. We begin nightly at 6pm and we should have all the chores done and ready for the cowboys & cowgirls to retire for the night around 8:30.

Camp Hickory Hills

I will not be posting anything for at least a week from today due to being out of town. I have been asked to participate in Youth Camp for the Church of God of Prophecy this coming week for the Senior (ages 15-17) camp! I am very much excited about this opportunity because I actually grew up going to camp with a lot of the, now, workers of youth camp. Does that mean we are getting old? Anyway, I'm looking forward to harvesting new relationships with young people from all across Tennessee. I can sit right where I am today and think back on my youth camp experiences and relationships that God has cultivated over the years and I believe that those experiences and relationships helped mold me into what I am today. Not that I am anything special, but I know where I've been and what God has brought me through! I thank God for Church Camp and I just want to "return the favor"!

This years theme for the Senior camp is:

Colossians 2:8 says, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” The “Basic” principles we need are those of Christ! Do we have these tools, these “Basic” principles, that Christ intends us to have in order to stand against the enemy? Furthermore, do we have the “Basic” principles we need in order to disciple those we are winning to Christ?

Please keep campers & workers in your prayers this week (Sat. - Thur.) that the Holy Spirit will work in our lives and make us the Christians that we ought to be. Pray that we will impact someones life for God this week! God Bless!

Religious Nonsense

Read this quote the other day and thought that I would share with you. I agree 100%:

"one of the nastiest, most vile spirits to confront is a religious spirit. The person with this spirit will kill you and think they are doing God a favor. Their arrogance is only surpassed by their ignorance. In their blindness, they will only lead others into the ditch with them. "we are saved by grace through faith," Period!
- McKinley

Another thought on those controlled by a religious spirit. To call them antagonist would be an understatement. Because they are not comfortable with who they are, they are not happy until they make everyone around them miserable. Controlling and manipulative, they pick "religious" fights, and then when destruction comes and innocent people are hurt, they climb back up on their "high horse," and ride off.
-McKinley

Memorial Day Thank you

Man what a long day! We celebrated Memorial Day with both sides of our family today and absolutely ate too much (almost to the point of sinning).

 I wanted to say a special Thank You to our Veterans that served for our freedom and also a special Thank You to all of the men and women that are presently serving for our freedom. Freedom didn't come free, it comes because of you!

Memorial Day

I want to take this opportunity and express my sincere thanks and appreciation to all the Veterans that lost their lives, to all the Veterans that are still with us today, and all the men and women that are still on the battle field and training field's or other locations that serve for my freedom and the freedom of our country! I have a cousin presently serving and have some other family members that have served as well. To you I say THANK YOU and GOD BLESS YOU!

Let's pause this Memorial Day weekend and celebrate our men and women of the armed forces that have sacrificed for us!

Nourishment & Refreshment

"The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place." Mark 6: 30-32 (niv)

As I was reading this passage of scripture this morning, I noticed that before the event of feeding the five thousand could happen, Jesus encouraged the disciples to get some much needed rest and nourishment. They had a physically demanding responsibility lying ahead of them and with all that they had already done, they were not in "shape" to press on. So, they went with Jesus, to a solitary place. They had a job at hand, but needed some quiet time, in a quiet place where they could have fellowship and be nourished and refreshed!

How are we when it comes to being nourished and refreshed? I take this passage this morning and call it to be for me, as to my needing to be refreshed in Spirit, to get alone with God and allow Him to nourish me and feed me! Webster's dictionary defines nourish as - to provide with food or other nutriment necessary for life and growth; to foster the development of; to keep alive: maintain.

It is of great importance, that I allow God to nourish me for the necessity of life and growth in this Christian walk. Life eternal and growth in the Spirit. We must allow God to foster the development of our Christian lives with some "solitary place time." We must allow ourselves and put ourselves in a position to be maintained through the power of the Holy Spirit for the nourishment of the power of God. We have a physically and Spiritually demanding responsibility before us to live our lives as vessels for the Kingdom of God and to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. Are you getting the refreshing nourishment that you need to do your part?

Middle School Graduation

My little girl is growing up! Bailey graduated top of her 8th grade class! We are so very proud of her and was very proud that she gave credit and thanks to God for her achievements in school during her address to the class of 2010. I've prayed for God to have "favor" over my children and this is just an example of God's goodness. NOW I HAVE TO PRAY HARDER - SHE WILL BE A FRESHMAN NEXT YEAR!

Mindful of Him

Have you ever been talking with someone about Salvation and they make a comment like this one, "I can't seem to forget all the things that I've done wrong" or "I feel in my heart that something has changed, but in my mind I can't seem to forgive myself." As I was reading the first chapter of Colossians this morning, I was drawn to verses 21 & 22 "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation - "

Paul says that we have the assurance, through Jesus Christ, that we are NO LONGER ALIENATED from God. When I look at the word, alienated, I automatically think of "outerspace", "the far-side", "a great distance away", etc... Once we WERE, as sinners, a long way from God and distanced from God, but through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the resurrection of His body, we have been made "heirs" with Christ and have the presence of God IN US!

I think a lot of Christians today fight the "battle of the mind" and allow the devil to trick them into believing that they are not forgiven. The battle of Salvation has already been won through Jesus, all we have to do is believe that He was and IS and is to come! I preached Sunday morning on Jesus being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Whatever circumstance you may be going through today, Jesus is the WAY. Don't let your "mind" tell you any different. A lot of the times we let the struggle in our minds dictate our lives, but the bible says that we are to "offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God in spiritual acts of worship and to not conform to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by renewing our minds" (Romans 12: 1,2). We can win the battle in our minds by letting God transform us from the inside - out! I have come to know that when I am "mindful" of God's ways, my struggle with temptation, bad attitude, fleshly motives, etc... decrease because I believe what Paul said to the church at Ephesus, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" Ephesians 4: 22-24)

Let's strive to have the "mind of Christ" each day and to live a life that is pleasing to God. Remember, that Jesus paid our sin debt and all we have to do is receive and accept. Our minds may remember "the evil behavior" but God has forgotten our sins and given us a renewed life in Him! May God Bless you today!

Change in Existence

It's amazing to me that when a change is made in like say, changing teachers, change of curriculum, the use of new technology to benefit in and help enhance the way we teach and learn, etc... or just make a change in general, that you find some people actually make a "CHANGE IN EXISTENCE" ... GO FIGURE!

We've got to keep up with the times as we keep the SAME MESSAGE!

Shall NOT Perish

"For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 (niv)

On Wednesday nights for the past 5 weeks we have been going through Max Lucado's book "3:16 The Numbers of Hope" and we have been looking at how our hearts and minds have been distorted from a worldly view of things and how God has given us a remedy for our "aldulterated" hearts, the giving of His one and only Son, Jesus.

One of this weeks devotions from the series is "Shall ... Perish". I want to share a little of that devotion with you today and let you know that we need to be a witness of Christ because there is a lost and dying world to be won for Christ. Max says this:

"The hero of heaven is God. Angels don't worship mansions or glittering avenues. Neither gates nor jewels prompt the hosts to sing...God does. His majesty stirs the pen of heaven's poets and the awe of her citizens. Inhabitants of heaven forever marvel at the sins God forgives, the promises He keeps, the plan He executes. He, at this very moment, issues invitations by the millions. He whispers through the kindness of a grandparent, shouts through the tempest of a tsunami. Through the funeral He cautions, "Life is fragile." Through a sickness He reminds, "Days are numbered." God may speak through nature or nurture, majesty or mishap. But through all and to all He invites, "Come, enjoy Me forever."

Revelation 22:17 says, "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life."

It's our job as Christians, to seek out those that are lost and tell them of this free gift, Jesus Christ! Will you be a witness today? Will you heed the call of discipleship? Life is fragile, let's show people how to live life with a life of abundance in Jesus! God bless you today.

In the way

Sunday morning the Lord allowed me to share the passage of scripture in 1 Kings about the account of Ahab, Elijah, and a man by the name of Obadiah. This is a very familar passage of scripture and I have preached from this text before, but the Holy Spirit lead me in a different direction this time. You see, this is the account of Ahab and Obadiah splitting up and going separate ways to look for a water source and grass that would nourish the herd and people because there was a great famine in the land. The land had been without rain for a period of about 3 years and God has now told Elijah to "Go present yourself to Ahab and I will send rain on the land" (I Kings 17:1).

When Ahab and Obadiah split up to go their separate ways, the bible says in vs. 7 "and Obadiah was in the way..." The Lord spoke to me about people of God sometimes are "in the way" of what God has purposed, ordained, laid out, planned for man and the church. This spoke very stern to our hearts and began to show us that sometimes we may be in the way of what God has shown the "man of God" that is supposed to be leading us. Now I know this scripture is referring to Obadiah being in the path, or on the same physical location as Elijah, but let's suppose that Obadiah did actually get in the way of God's plan and that plan was that Elijah meet up with Ahab (which was serving Baal, a false god) and show him that God Almighty is real! This happened with an incident in front of 450 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18: 16-40) Let's suppose that Obadiah refused to tell Ahab that Elijah was looking for him, Ahab and 450 prophets of Baal might have not turned their hearts to God (vs. 37).

I often wonder if I allow my own stupidity, my own fleshly thoughts, my doubt, etc... interfere with what God has planned for my life and the life of others around me. I wonder if I find myself "in the way". It's my prayer today that we seek God's face and allow him to teach us His ways and to learn how to trust in the "men of God" that He has called to do His work!

Blake catches Braves game

My 11 year old son did something yesterday that he has never done before. First, he went to Atlanta to catch a baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Diamondbacks. That was a first for him ( a major league baseball game). Second, he went without me or my wife! In all of his 11 years on this earth he has never even wanted to travel anywhere without, at least, his moma!

He was asked to go see the Braves by a buddy of his that plays on his baseball team, so Blake, Brhett, Brhett's dad and pop went to Atlanta for an all day trip. They arrived back home this morning around 1:15am. Needless to say, his mom was up until the phone call to go pick him up (so was I). I think my little boy is trying to grow up.

(Blake's on the left)

Worship

Sorry about the lack of posts this week it just seems like I have so much to do that I have neglected the blog ministry and that's what I feel this is. If I can lighten the load of someone that's had a bad day and they decide to log on and read some of my thoughts (how wierd is that) and it lifts their spirit for just a moment then it's been worth the time. That's why I want to be lead by the Holy Spirit in anything that I do because He knows the thoughts and the plans for all and He knows the words and the times they need to be spoken.

I'm excited about what I feel in the air in these days to come. I sense a moving of the Holy Ghost across this land and I want to be a ready and willing vessel that can be used to reach someone for the Gospel of Christ! I was reading for my devotion this morning the passage of David's writtings in Psalm 145. David said, "I will exalt you, my God the King. I will praise your name for ever and ever. Everyday I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom." (vss. 1- 3 niv) The NKJV says that "His greatness is unsearchable" (vs 3) that means that God's greatness is beyond our understanding! We aint got it all together yet! I know that isn't proper english but it's whats in my spirit, we aint got it all together and we need to do what David did and learn how to praise the Lord daily - for ever and ever and then we will learn how to "humble ourselves" and seek God's face and He will teach us new and great things!!!!

I had a meeting with a couple of people yesterday that I feel has a ministry for the Lord through the talents the Lord has given them and I'm excited about working alongside them and putting them in a position to let the Lord not only work in their lives but also be a blessing to others through what they have to offer for the Kingdom of God. Paul said that "we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." (2 Corinthians 2:15) Whether people accept God's salvation and live or they refuse it and perish, we have to be a fragrance of Christ to God and to all that we come in contact with. We as children of God, need to learn how to get wrapped up in worship! We need to learn how to put things aside - bills, jobs, relationships, sickness, family, etc... and allow God's Holy Spirit to transform us into the people of God that He has intended for us to be! We need to WORSHIP GOD with our daily living and in the sanctuary!

When we stop looking on the outside appearance of man and begin to see the heart of God in them, then WE can be transformed ourselves. So what if someone leading worship has a few tatoos on their skin and their hair is long and maybe they have a few piercings! Who are we to judge? We are not God!!!! We are to worship the God that created all of us to be unique in our own ways and for the glory of God to be shown in our lives!

National Day of Prayer

Today we are called to spend some time in prayer for our Nation.

Whether a judge somewhere has called this to be "unconstitutional" or not, the Bible has called us to do this no matter what!

As Christians, we are to fall on our knees, not just because this is a day set aside for prayer, but because it's OUR calling from an Almighty God. He hears the prayers of His children and we are to call upon His name, today, for our Nation and it's leadership!

"If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

I encourage you to participate in prayer for our Nation. Pray in your car, home, at work, at an organized prayer meeting or wherever you need to go to pray. Just pray!

Choice - it's yours

"Many jokes are made about the devil, but the devil is no joke. He is called a deceiver. In order to accomplish his purpose, the devil BLINDS people to their need for CHRIST. Two forces are at work in our world - the forces of Christ and the forces of the devil - and you are asked to choose."
- Billy Graham

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you."
Matthew 6:33 Holman CSB

Let's face the facts: your life is a series of choices. From the instant you wake up in the morning until the moment you nod off to sleep at night, you make countless decisions - decisions about the things you do, decisions about the words you speak, and decisions about the way that you choose to direct your thoughts. As a believer who has been transformed by the love of Jesus, you have every reason to make wise choices. But sometimes, when the daily grind threatens to grind you up and spit you out, you may make choices that are displeasing to God. When you do, you'll pay a price because you'll forfeit the happiness and the peace that might otherwise have been yours.

Consider the kind of Christian you are - and the kind of Christian you want to become - and ask yourself whether you're sitting on the fence or standing in the light. The choice is yours ... and so are the consequences.

Thanks to all that braved the water Sunday evening and came to take care of the water.

The Power Team

You have the first scoop on the news that the Power Team is coming to Smith County! That's right, Todd Keene and the Power Team are coming for a crusade event for the Smith County Ministerial Alliance. The dates are August 4th - 8th @ 7pm nightly at the Smith County Ag Center. If you've never heard of or even seen these guys you are in for an amazing show of strength and ability to overcome several obsticles such as crushing piles of concrete slabs, blocks of ice, bend iron bars, breaking wooden baseball bats, ripping phone books in half, etc... But the greatest of all is the message that these men bring - the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!!

Check these guys out at: http://www.thepowerteam.com/

More to come as the event gets closer!

Contagious

WOW! I wonder if I cause someone else to have a rotten attitude or a healthy attitude?

Check this out:
http://withoutwax.tv/2010/04/28/its-contagious/

Training Wheels

Let go and let God.

I was driving down the road this morning on my way to Gallatin Hospital to visit a person and the Lord spoke those words into my spirit. "Let go and let God." Sometimes we get a "message" from the Lord, and as in my case, I try to decipher if it's for me or for a message that's coming up in the near future or what?

As I was driving I thought about when I was teaching Bailey how to ride her bicycle "without" training-wheels. I remember holding onto the seat and telling her to keep her balance and keep the handlebars steady and focus on what was in front of her and that at some point I would be letting her go so she could "ride" the bike all by herself. But for her to do all of that and to really TRUST in me letting her go, she had to TRUST in the fact when I let her go, I would be right there beside her running alongside of her to catch her when she started to fall or get all swervy (if that's a word).

Whether those words came to me for my sake or for a message down the road, I believe it will preach. Sometimes, no let me rephrase that, ALL the time we need to TRUST GOD and realize that He wants us to "ride without the training wheels" and that we can STILL trust that he will be there to catch us and steady us.

To be continued ...

Spiritual Wheaties

When I read this post on perrynoble.com it was like eating my "Spiritual Wheaties"!!!!

Makes me PUMPED also!!

Read it: http://www.perrynoble.com/2010/04/22/stop-expecting-excitement-to-happen-create-it/

God's Clock

"His sovereign rule lasts and lasts, his kingdom never declines and falls. Life on this earth doesn't add up to much, but God's heavenly army keeps everything going. No one can interrupt his work, no one can call his rule into question ... Everything he does is right, and he does it the right way. He knows how to turn a proud person into a humble man or woman." Daniel 4: 35,37 (MSG)

In my devotion this morning I was reading the account of King Nebuchadnezzar and how he became prideful and deceited in all his ways when that he should have been giving glory to God for all that had prospered him to the position that he was in. I often wonder if we get ahead of God and decide that we got to where we are by being deligent "in works" and forget that we even breath because of the mercy of an Almighty God.

God turned Neb from a person of influence with a great following and an established reign to a grass eating, long haired, fingernail fungus infested, animal minded nothing.

The bible says that "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." (Prov. 16:18) Neb got pridefull and it caused him to be brought down for seven years eating and living among the beast of the field, literally.

I was visited by someone this week, sent from the Lord, and the reason the Lord sent them was to remind me that He is the "King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase." (Daniel 4: 37 KJV) I don't want to lose the anointing that God has put on me because of some prideful attitude that has slipped in because of some scheme of the devil. I want to be fully aware of the strength that is within me and that strength is the power of the Holy Ghost! No man will shut me down!

Sometimes we need a wake up call! God is setting the clock!

Men of Integrity, part 2

As noted in the previous post, I was privileged to attend a men's retreat this past weekend in Dickson, Tn. I wanted to share with you some of the highlights of the event.

We were blessed to receive one of the finest steak meals that you could possibly have. The cooking ministry of Empowered Ministries went beyond the normal links to satisfy the appetites of a bunch of hungry men. After the meal we gathered in the chapel for some worship that was lead by a group of men that are from the "Celebrate Recovery" ministry. These men lead us in worship at the beginning of each session. It's good to know that God is still in the "recovery" business. I think AA, and the like, is good, but let Jesus and the Holy Spirit loose in their lives and He makes worship leaders out of them. God is awesome!

Friday nights session gave us Chaplain J.B. Smith, from the The Good News Jail and Prison Ministry. He preached to us about having the "right stuff"! About having "Personal Integrity". God used this man of God to convict a room full of men about having what it takes to have the right relationship with God, your spouse, and others. He spoke about having the right principles, soundness of moral character, honesty being the best policy, and shared with us this message: Integrity depends on our relationship with God. We must be identified with Christ!

Saturday morning came early, 6am breakfast! The next session was worth getting up early! Pastor Jamie Allen from the Oak Grove Church in Charlotte, Tn. ministered to us in the 2nd session of the event, and man was he used by the Holy Spirit to break a bunch of men! He spoke about being a "Husband and Father of Integrity". Jamie's message was full of scripture and conviction. He shared with us his own personal testamony about an event that happened in his life and through the love and prayers of some friends in his local congregation, God saw him through. His message was: Don't play with fire! At the end of this session there was men kneeling at the altar and at their seats and all around the room in prayer and repentance.

The finale of the event came from Bishop E.C. McKinley, TN Presbyter, COGOP. Bro. McKinley presented a top knotch message with media clips from "We were soldiers" that spoke to us about "Leadership Integrity". Integrity is WHO you are. Character is HOW you live. Character is also how you live out your integrity. Maturity is learning WHAT is important in life. Integrity tells us that preparation is important in everything that we do. Integrity tells us that we must lead by example. We must take integrity personal. (And this is just the highlights).

Through these three men of God, I have realized that in my own life, I must make every effort to have this most important quality: Integrity. "God, give every man the integrity that he needs to win the lost, to sustain his family, and to reach the goal."

Men of Integrity

Just a short comment for now on this past weekends COGOP men's retreat:

J.B. - You started the ball rolling with ministering what God had put on you for OUR CONVICTION!

Jamie Allen - YOU TOTALLY ALLOWED GOD TO USE YOU TO POUR INTO A ROOM FULL OF MEN THAT NEEDED TO HEAR THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR OWN LIVES BY TELLING YOUR STORY! Through your message the Holy Spirit totally broke me!

Bishop McKinley - Top knotch! Fantastic message on integrity in leadership. CHALLENGING PRESENTATION! SEPARATED THE MEN (OF GOD) FROM THE BOYS!

To Be Continued...

Prayer Request

Pray for Cortes Sadler, Sister Imo Dixon's brother. He suffered a heart attack and is recovering in the hospital.

Marriage: STILL more to learn

I follow Pastor Noble's blog because I like the way that he just comes out and says what is on his mind (and everyone else's). I think we all would be better people and get along better if we would quit trying to "keep from hurting feelings". Here is part two of Pastor Noble's post about marriage:

Things I’ve Learned About Marriage In Ten Years–

Here are lessons 6-10 following up with yesterday’s post…

#6 – The Purpose Of Conflict Is To SETTLE The Argument…Not Win It!
Lucretia called me out on this one night when I was getting my rear end whipped during a disagreement we were having. So…in a desperate move I began to change the subject, to bring up things that had NOTHING to do with what we were discussing. I was doing it to try to get out of the hole I had dug for myself…and then she said she felt like I was trying to win instead of really caring about settling the conflict. BUSTED! Staying focused on an issue and trying to settle THAT issue isn’t just a good idea for marriage…it’s essential!

#7 – Don’t Ever Go To Bed Mad At One Another!
Unresolved conflict will KILL a marriage! (See Ephesians 4:25-26!) AND…it gives the enemy a foothold so that he can then climb all over a couple. There is NEVER a good reason for two people who love Jesus and love one another to not deal with an issue that is stealing intimacy away from that couple.

#8 – You Cannot Hold Your Spouse Accountable For Unspoken, Unrealistic Expectations!
Like it or not…your spouse cannot read your mind–period!

#9 – Intimacy Is Not Limited To A Sexual Experience!
AND…if you think it is then there is probably ZERO intimacy in your marriage. AND…you CAN have sex without having intimacy. BUT (guys…read this please) you can’t have intimacy without having sex!!! When a couple (specifically the man) will focus on creating a romantic environment rather than just getting her in bed, thus making her feel valuable, romantic and pursued…well…then…uh…DANG!

#10 – It Takes Work To Make It Work!
I hear couples say from time to time, “But Pastor P…marriage is SO HARD!” My response is always, “duh…and water’s SOOOO wet!” Yes it’s hard…if it were easy then 50% of all marriages would not be ending in divorce!!! If we want the most OUT of marriage then we’ve got to be willing to work IN the marriage and ON the marriage! EVERY couple that I know that has a successful marriage did not achieve that success by accident…it took intentional, focused and unselfish WORK to make it happen!!!

BTW…let me say this because my wife DOES read my blog. I said that I have learned these 10 lessons…BUT let me be VERY clear that I have NOT mastered them!!! I’m a work in progress…and am so thankful that I am married to a woman who understands that!

Marriage: more to learn

This past March 2nd my wife and I celebrated 19 years of marriage! I believe that I have a previous post about that event but I read today a post from one of the blogs that I follow and I want to share that post with you today as well. No matter how long or newly wed you and your spouse are these comments from Perry Noble could come in handy:

Things I’ve Learned About Marriage In Ten Years…


Last week my amazing wife and I celebrated 10 years of marriage…and during that time I’ve learned A LOT! (AND still have SO MUCH more to learn!) Here are a few things…

#1 – Never “Talk Yourself Into Marrying A Person!” You had better KNOW!

When it came to marrying Lucretia it wasn’t something that I had to convince myself was the right thing to do…I knew she was the one for me. (And she would say the same thing!) If you go into the marriage with serious doubts then you will be tempted to sprint out of it at the first sign of trouble (and trouble WILL find you!) If you are trying to convince yourself that he/she is “right” for you then you may be on VERY dangerous ground! I know God has called me into this marriage and will fill me with the strength to sustain it…even during the tough times! (Philippians 1:6)

#2 – Marriage Is Not About What You Can Get…It’s About What You Can Give!

When a person enters marriage with a list of expectations that they want the other person to meet then there are going to be “issues!” We’ve got to view marriage NOT as an opportunity to be served…but rather to serve. Just think…how awesome would marriages be if each person did all that they could to try and outserve the other person!

#3 – To Expect Another Person To Meet All Of Your Needs Is Incredibly Selfish!

I HATE IT when a couple is having problems and I begin talking with them and then one person says, “Well…they just aren’t meeting my needs!” First of all…another person will NEVER meet all of our needs…EVER! And…second of all, the person who is usually doing the complaining probably doesn’t have a halo on…in other words, they probably aren’t “meeting the needs” of the other person! Many marriages fall apart not because of “irreconcilable differences” but rather unrepentant, selfish people!

#4 – Have Fun Together!

When couples date they have fun…when they get married it seems there is a sprint to become as “normal” as possible as soon as possible. Guess what–normal sucks! The LAST thing I want to be is a “normal married couple!”

#5 – “Quality Time” Does Not Mean “Let’s Have A Conversation During The Commercials!”

OUCH…this one has taken me longer to learn that I would like to admit. Unfortunately…men LOVE to get home and turn on the television, even if they aren’t watching it…we just are addicted to noise. AND…trying to talk to her AND watch it ISN’T romantic in her book (and “her book” is the ONLY one that should matter!) If a couple does not carve out intentional time for communication…it WON’T happen. This means there needs to be a lot less tv/twitter/facebook in a lot of peoples lives!

Keep Praying

Hey, I'm back! Have you ever experienced not doing something for awhile and when you try to start doing it again it seems like you can't get the hang of it. That's how it seems to me right now as to getting back in the blogging mode. It seems that there is just so much going on that it seems to be no time to do anything. I did enjoy my mini-vacation with my dad as we joined 16 other men in Alabama for a few rounds of golf, which is another avenue that I find myself trying to get the hang of having not playing golf in a year! We had wonderful weather such as we are having this week and a good time chasing our golf balls all over the course. One guy said that we were playing "military golf" - right left, right left because we'd hit it right one time and then left the other. Oh well, I hear my dad say a lot, "a bad day on the golf course is better than a good day at work."

This past Sunday morning at Kempville Chapel was a special one. We had a normal service and had already scheduled for a lady to be baptized at the end of the service and that we did. After we had already dismissed the service and people began to make their way home, there was a gentleman by the name of Mark Jones approach me and asked me if he could talk to me for a minute. For those that don't know "Trooper Mark Jones" of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, he along with his wife and three daughters (and one on the way), have attended our church for as long as I have been pastor and I'm sure they attended before I came. Mark had asked me over a year ago now to go jogging with him one day. The first time that he asked me to go I had an excuse as to why I couldn't go (had the kids at home and Kelly was at work and couldn't leave). The second time that he called and said that he was going running and asked me to go I had to go! As soon as the words came out of his mouth, the Lord put it in my spirit that if someone ask you to go a mile with them you go two! Well, as it turned out, we went more than two! It almost killed me! I'm not in any shape to run two feet let alone two miles! That day Mark and I had a good conversation as we ran and walked down the road about his upbringing and my upbringing and what he has been taught and what I have been taught about Jesus and Salvation and about life. You know it really doesn't matter what "church" you are brought up in as long as there is one common denominator, and that is Jesus and what he did and is to us! That's all that matters because if we turn everything over to Him, He will work all the details out just like He wants them!

For those that don't know, there have been a lot of prayers prayed for Mark Jones to be saved! Prayers from his wife, his in-laws, his church, etc... This past Sunday morning all those prayers was answered and Mark was baptized as well! God is still in the prayer answering business with his Saving Grace! I'm thankful that God answers prayers and I want to encourage you today to keep praying for those in your family that are lost. When you feel like there is no hope and that someone may have gone too far just remember how far Jesus went to Save those that you are praying for. God is an "on time" God!

Golf Links

Taking a break this week from posting anything.. I'm in Alabama with my dad and 18 other men playing several rounds of golf. Will return tomorrow.

Amazing Video

My dad sent me an email about a guy named Butch Lumpkin that is just amazing. If you feel like you are nothing or from time to time you get down in the dumps, watch this video: http://www.thegolfchannel.com/golf-videos/meet-butch-lumpkin-9477/?ref=26000

Walk and not faint

As I walked back into the sanctuary after getting a drink of water before the 11am service started, I knew in my Spirit that we were in for something special when our song leader began to weep and thank the Lord for changing the song service after only singing one song already. I began to notice that God was wanting to move in a mighty way in the service and that God was beginning with our song leader as he began to obey the voice of God. I began to since the presence of God and Him moving among others in the congregation and I began to praise and to worship God and to pray for all those in attendence to be open and "willing to obey". God is looking for willing vessels that He can fill with His Spirit so that we can be ministers one to another.

I'm proud of my song leader for allowing God to use him as a vessel yesterday because I believe that he was the key that started a domino effect, if you will, and we had a tremendous service. As the Lord continued to move, I began to seek the Lord for direction as to preaching or just waiting upon Him to see what was about to happen. I was immediately lead to read the passage of scripture in Isaiah 40: 28-31 "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (NIV). Verse 31 in the KJV reads like this: "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." The word renew in this scripture means change, so in other words, if we wait upon the Lord we will be changed!

Needless to say, the Holy Ghost did the preaching yesterday morning and we were filled with His presence. We had individuals on the altar, we had individuals walking the isles, we had individuals giving testimony's, we had individuals spontaneously singing songs of praise and hymns of old. It's amazing to be in a service when people get rid of the flesh and allow themselves to "wait upon the Lord and be changed in strength of the Spirit." I think it was a great way to kick off "Passion Week" and I trust that we will continue to be blessed as we "walk and not faint"! Be blessed today!

Palm Sunday

"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth." Zechariah 9: 9,10

Let us shout and cheer, raise the roof today for this celebration of the coming of our Salvation! He is a good King who makes all things right, a humble King riding a donkey, a mere colt of a donkey (the beast of burden). He came to give us Life, Peace, and Salvation! Celebrate Him today on this Palm Sunday! Let's cry out to Him today, "Hosanna", which means bring Salvation! Hosanna to the King of Kings!!!!!

Wide-eyed or Squinty-eyed

"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness." Luke 11: 33, 34

Eugene Peterson puts this scripture like this in the Message Bible, he says, "No one lights a lamp, and puts it in a drawer. It's put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they're going. Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank (uncomfortably damp) cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don't get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room."

Are you living wide-eyed in wonder and belief or are you living squinty-eyed in greed and distrust? I got up this morning and determined within myself to be all that I can be for the Lord and to put on the armor of God and to be a blessing to someone and to let the light of the Lord shine. I believe that we need to be wide-eyed in our walk with Jesus and to expect to have an experience with God every moment of the day. On the flip side of that, if I had awaken this morning and let the enemy distract me with the things of the world and fill my "eye" with darkness, there would be no way that my light would be able to "stand". I think some of us from time to time find ourselves in those dank cellars because we forget that we have a "strong stand" that will hold the light that is within us. That "strong stand" is Jesus!

Be blessed today and let your lamp shine today and to show the way for those that are living in darkness and don't allow the things of this world to shadow the light that is living in you! Firmly stand for Him!

The Uninvited Guest

"...I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet." Luke 7: 44-46

Last night I shared with the congregation on a thought of "The Uninvited Guest". We see in this passage of scripture that a man, a Pharisee, has invited Jesus into his house for dinner and that as they were sitting and eating a woman came in and began to weep at the feet of Jesus and to wipe her tears off his feet with her hair and then she began to anoint Jesus with perfume. We need to see the two different attitudes that the Pharisee and the woman took upon Jesus.

When we don't see Jesus for who He is, we miss a blessing. There is a quote from Benjamin Whichote that says, "None are so empty as those who are full of themselves." Simon, the Pharisee, was confident of his righteousness; he did not need Jesus, but in Simon's mind, Jesus needed him to help advance His career. Simon did not see his own depravity. By the way, our sin looks so small and insignificant in comparison to the sin of others. Simon's self-righteousness colored his view of the woman, the uninvited guest. Simon saw this woman as one who was not worthy to touch the feet of a great teacher. She was a sinner, likely a prostitute, and Simon felt she was beyond the reach of God's grace. Simon saw Jesus as one who held the sinful at bay if not in utter contempt. He missed grace as it stood in his own home.

When we see Jesus for who He is, we win a victory. The woman had a completely different perspective. She entered Simon's house with tears. Her tears brimmed from a humble recognition of her own sin. While Simon thought Jesus needed him, the woman recognized she needed Jesus! While Simon was consumed with appearances, the woman was oblivious to her surroundings. She didn't care about the crowd; she wanted to experience salvation. Finally, the woman had an accurate view of the Savior. She recognized, or at least she hoped Jesus was merciful. She hoped Jesus would release her from the guilt of sin and offer grace.

Simon saw a teacher who needed a hand; the woman saw a Savior extending a hand. Jesus is there for us when we need a hand. I don't ever want to get to the point that I think God needs me, I have to continuously remind myself that I need God just like this woman did. She needed to be in the presence of Jesus and so do we! Let's not treat Jesus as an uninvited guest, as did this Pharisee to the woman.
(some excerpts from Preaching Magazine)

Stones vs Pebbles

"...If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8:7

These are awesome, strict words from Jesus to the Pharisees that brought before him an adulterous woman. The scripture says that they made her stand before the group of people that Jesus was teaching and they made accusations, no, they had actually caught her in the act of adultery, and by Moses' law, they said, she is to be stoned. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: wonder why they didn't bring the other MAN involved? All along this was to try to trip Jesus up in his teachings. I like the manner in which Jesus addressed the Pharisees and the woman. The bible says that Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger (v 6), then spoke the words that you see at the beginning of this paragraph. Jesus is not a man that would put himself above anyone else and degrade them. He proved this on the cross of calvary!

As you go on and read "the rest of the story" you find that there was no one that could throw a stone in the direction of this adulterous woman because of the sin that was prevalent in their own lives. After everyone had left Jesus and the woman alone, Jesus looked at the woman and asked her where the ones that had condemned her went? Jesus said to her "I don't condemn you either" and told her to go and leave her life of sin. Jesus saved this woman from being stoned by showing the others that they had "sins - stones, if you will" in their own lives.

How many of us have "stones" in our lives and we often just try to shrug them off to be "pebbles". If you stack enough pebbles on the ground they will become a great mound of stones. Jesus came to clear those pebbles away and to give us victory over our sins. When we see someone fall to temptation and seem to be living a life of treachery, we are not to bring them before the crowds to stand them up and be stoned, we are to do what Jesus did and show them compassion and love. Afterall, the bible talks about removing the plank in our eyes before we can worry about the toothpick in someone else's.

Let's be on guard everyday to remove the "peebles" in our lives through prayer, reading the Word, and walking in the presence of God. I for one don't want to have a stone wall built up between me and God! Be blessed today and if you need to do some "excavating"in your life, Jesus is writing in the sand for you!

LOL

Well if you have a teenager of your own, or for that matter, around you at any time with a phone and has texting abilities you may know what the initials "LOL" mean, or, you may have seen those initials and not really know what they mean. Either way, when you see those initials, lol, in a text it is short for, laughing out loud (it may have other meanings but atleast that's what my daughter told me). Why can't they just stick with "ha, ha" or something like that?

I'm not posting about laughing out loud today. I'm posting about another "lol" - labor of love. First Thessalonians 1:3 says, "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ..." I shared this scripture this past Sunday night in our service and I spoke about the three characteristics that is found in this scripture that we ought to follow as a "Kingdom Church". You see Paul, Silvanus, and Timotheus was addressing the Thessalonians and told them they were thankful of the faith, love and hope they were sharing and experiencing in their lives. I shared with our congregation that we ought to take this example and when people remember us "as a church" or think of us "as a church" they ought to take thought of these three characteristics as well, work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope.

I may post later on about the other two characteristics but for today, lol is on my mind (labor of love). Love is where it all starts. If we are going to be the Kingdom Church that God is wanting us to be, we have to love people just as Jesus did when he came to show us the Father. Jesus didn't have any restrictions when it came to loving people. He loved the good as well as the bad. He loved the adultress as well as the children. He loved the ones that crucified him as well as those that opposed it. I like the NIV version of this scripture, it says, "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." We don't serve or labor for any other reason than love. That's why Jesus went to the cross - his love for us! Our labor for Christ, whatever that is in your life, should be prompted by our love for Jesus, which gives us a love for others and we can only have that love for others if we are continually abiding in Christ!

Have you lol'd lately? What have you done for the cause of the Kingdom lately? Do you love others like you should? Have you done something for someone with "no strings attached" lately? We all need to have a spirit of lol about us because it shows that God is present in our lives. God is love! What prompts you to labor?Remember what First Corinthians 13: 13 says, "...these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." LOL today!

Spring Forward

Daylight Saving Time falls on Sunday, March 14, at 2:00 AM (That's tomorrow morning). Don't forget to move your clocks forward one hour before you to bed or you will be late for Sunday School!

Update on Debra McKinley

I just spoke with Bishop McKinley by phone and he said Debra is now at home resting. She is bruised and sore but she is ok. Thank you for your prayers!

LM

Prayer Request

I just received word that Debra McKinley, Bishop E.C. McKinley's wife, has been involved in a serious car accident this morning and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Please pray for her and for those involved.

Pastor Meadors

In His Presence

Everyday this week I've gotten up before the wife and kids and spent time in the living room beside the window with my bible and a cup of coffee (good combination). The reason I'm sharing this with you is because I've gotten away from my personal morning devotion (only human!) and have only been relying on my studies for sermons to be my "personal devotion". It's not supposed to work that way! We have to have a time of personal reflection, of personal commitment, of personal time in His presence with our own individual lives in order to find the graces and mercy of God. We often forget what it means to have a "personal relationship" with Jesus.

Oswald Chambers said, "Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless, in the first waking moment of the day you learn to fling the door wide back and let God in, you will work on a wrong level all day. But, swing the door wide open and pray to your Father in secret, and every public thing will be stamped with the presence of God." I like the first sentence in this comment, get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. I think there is a lot of truth to that because when we get into a habit about something, it becomes who and what we are and we need to become people that walk in the presence of God with everything about us.

Let me share with you a devotion from Once a Day Every Day that lines up with this:
"Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:7-10

If God is everywhere, why does He sometimes seem so far away? The answer to the question, of course, has nothing to do with God and everything to do with us. When we begin each day on our knees, in praise and worship to Him, God often seems very near indeed. But, if we ignore God's presence or rebel against it, the world in which we live becomes a spiritual wasteland. Today, and every day, thank God and praise Him. He is the Giver of all things good. Wherever you are, whether you are happy or sad, victorious or vanquished, celebrate God's presence. And be comforted, for He is here.

Practice being in His presence in your life today!

Why Bother?

Do you ever get up in the morning and ask the question, "Why bother?" Maybe you had a bad day and when you get home, still nothing goes right and you ask, "Why bother?" You seem to be doing the same old thing time after time and it seems like you're not getting ahead and you ask, "Why bother?" Things are piling up and it seems like there is no end to the circumstance you are faced with and you ask "Why bother?" Why bother when it seems that you are the only one trying to do things right and it seems that you are all alone in your efforts?

My mom will have a hay-day with this post because she is always trying to "read my mind" with what I am writing! I just felt impressed to write this way this morning!

"Why bother" seems to be a phrase that many people use and often ask themselves, and sometimes others, when the rough get going or just maybe because it's a real question! I'm reminded about a passage of scripture found in Matthew chapter 14 when there were gathered around Jesus a great many people just sitting and listening to the teachings of Jesus and the disciples came up to Jesus some time later and told him that the distance the people had to go back to their homes was great and that he should send them home, for it was getting late already and they would need to buy food for themselves as they went. Jesus replied to the disciples with this statement: "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." (Matt. 14:16) Can you imagine what was going through the minds of the disciples when Jesus told them to feed all those people themselves? They only had two fish and five loaves of bread. How did they expect to feed the people with what they were looking at? Why bother?

As you know the ending of this passage, Jesus prayed to the Father and the food was multiplied beyond need. I'm convicted to look at this verse again and apply it to my questions when I feel inadequate to do the things that God has called me do and to rely on His leading and not on my own understanding! I believe this scripture is only one of many that can help us answer the question, "Why bother?" - because "They do not need to go away. Give them something to eat." We are commissioned by God to give the lost "something to eat" and to live an example before them because if we "let them go away" they will receive a worldly example and starve. I hope this message is getting through today because I feel the need to tell someone to keep on giving, keep on ministering, keep on putting that effort out there - You give them something to eat! God has told me the same! Be blessed today!!