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?

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...

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!!

Kempville Chapel Gift

Bishop McKinley has delivered the relief check that God has so graciously allowed the congregation of Kempville Chapel to give. His comments from his daily blog are below:

Today, I was privileged to deliver a check for $2,100 to Bishop David Bryan from the Kempville Chapel Old Time Methodist Church. This love gift is for relief to the people of Haiti


Bishop Bryan, the Director of Global Outreach just returned from Haiti, where he delivered aid.