We must go!

This is my first post and my first quiet time since returning from our annual M-Fuge youth camp.  I watched in awe and excitement as the Holy Spirit convicted souls of our youth this week.  Jesus became real to several of our kids this week.  They are now new creations in Christ, covered by the blood of Jesus, forgiven of their sins and heaven bound!!

Many things stood out as we worshipped and listed to the camp pastor last week. 

2 Corinthians 5:21 hit me for the very first time.  I have quoted it everyday since hearing it.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” NIV

This sacrifice by our Savior, Jesus, gives us the freedom to go out and be intentional.  We are able to share the burden-lifting, peace-giving love of Christ by our daily actions.

Our smiles, our encouragement, our hugs and our desire to help people.

When was the last time you told someone (brother, sister, children, grandchildren, parents, pastor, etc) that you were “proud of them?”

Try to encourage someone today and watch their “eyes light up!”

I heard a new last week that keeps ringing in my head…it’s titled “We Must Go.”  

Pay special attention to the plea, “keep us from just singing.”

Have a great day and be intentional.  Make a difference for someone today!!!!!!

 

Home again…

I am home from M-Fuge…I will have some new and exciting info to share this week..hang on!!!

We are home…

Thank you for your prayers.  We returned home at 1am and got to sleep in this morning.  These are the last of the vacation pictures.  God Bless

Clearwater, Day 4

Here are the last of the pictures that I will get to upload before we leave Clearwater.  Please pray for us as we travel tomorrow night.  We will be flying from Tampa to Nashville at 9:30pm and then driving home.  

God Bless!!!

Clearwater, Day 3

Day 3 was another great day at Clearwater.   We ended the day attending the Florida Healing Outpouring Revival in Lakeland Florida.   I have been watching this 75+ day revival on GodTV for the last couple of months.  Many are skeptical and even opposed to this charismatic ministry.  However, after attending, the presence of Father God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are undeniable.

There was a great sense of expectation in the air prior to the service.  The worship leader started the service at 6pm and worship continued for over an hour and a half.  This service can be summed up by two words…..intense worship!!!!  At one point, there was a peaceful humming across the entire room.   There were people from many nations attending this service; England, Austria, Poland, Romania, Argentina, Austrailia, Israel, and many, many more.   During the moments of this peaceful humming, I leaned over to Jenny and said, “This is what heaven will sound like.”  

Psalm 117:1-2 says “1-2 Praise God, everybody! Applaud God, all people!   His love has taken over our lives;  God’s faithful ways are eternal.  Hallelujah! “

The experience of all nations worshiping the ONE TRUE CREATOR was intense!!!!!!!

God Bless!!!

Clearwater, Day 2

Here are the pics from day 2.  We are uploading all of our pictures to my blog in case something happens to our PC while we are on our trip.   God Bless!!!

Clearwater…

Here are some pictures from our first day at the beach in Clearwater.  We had a very long day Monday.  We were up at 2am, at the airport at 4:30, flight at 6:00am and at the beach by 9:30am.   After 11 hours of sleep, we are ready for day 2!!

God Bless!!!

“I like it….”

John 8:30-36

“30Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.

 31To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

 33They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants^[a] and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

 34Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

It is for freedom and joy that Jesus endured the cross and set us free.

Here is a quote that I read today…

“The same thing can happen as you learn the truth that will set you free: Jesus wants to use your prayers to bless and heal people.  You don’t have to be special — just an ordinary christian, aware of your own weakness, or what you consider your own lack of faith.

Jesus wants to heal through you….He will if you just give him he chance.”

Can you imagine allowing Father God to use us to help set our family, our friends and the lost FREE from sin and sickness?

I watched movie with the girls today and here is a another quote that reminded me of how I feel when sharing the love and freedom of Christ with others. 

 

“You know what scares me the most?”

 

“Is that when it happens, when it comes over me and I totally lose control……I like it..”

Can you guess the movie?

Does Bruce Banner ring a bell?

The movie…….”The Hulk”

 

Prayer

I’ve been reading about intercessory prayer and I thought I would share some quotes from the book.

“So the first step in intercessory prayer is to quiet ourselves before God and with His guidance to choose our path, fearing not to follow it wherever it may lead. “

“The second step is to contact the power that heals and fill ourselves full of it.  Love is the healer.  The One who loved us and gave Himself for us is the One who heals.”

“In order to fill ourselves with His whole being, let us think of Him, imagining His presence, seeing Him with the heart.  Let us beseech Him to come and dwell within us.  Let us ask Him to enter into our spirits and fill us with His own consciousness of the fatherhood of God; to enter into our minds and think within us His own thoughts; to enter into our hearts and feel through us His own love, directing it to those who need it most; to enter into our bodies and build them up according to the patter of His perfect holiness, making us more and more fit channels for the inflow and outflow of His life.”

“Above all if we really want to love Him and feel His love for us, let us kneel before the cross, dare to contemplate His sufferings thereon and thank Him for His inestimable gift to us.  Let us thank Him for the great gift of his own life.  Let us dwell upon Him and immerse ourselves in Him until the reality of His being fills us and floods us with power.  As we do this, our healings become free and easy and spontaneous, for we know that we are doing nothing at all.  The great friend of man is doing His own works through us.”

This is alot to comprehend…but check out this final quote about how Father God uses us….

“As Thomas Kelly says, “First He takes the world out of our hearts, so that we can give our hearts to Him.  Then he puts the world back into our hearts, so that we can give Him to the world.’”

Have a great rest of the week and God Bless!!!

Studies

My recent studies have me in the book of Acts.

Chapters 6 and 7 of the Book of Acts tell of Stephen and his story.

Steven gives the onlookers in the Sanhedrin a history lesson of God’s hand moving among the previous generations.

Abraham-Isaac-Jacob-Joseph-Moses-Aaron-Joshua-David-Solomon

After the history lesson, Stephen (full of grace and mercy) started stepping on toes….

Here are verses 51-53 of Acts 7 from the Message translation:

 ”And you continue, so bullheaded! Calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears! Deliberately ignoring the Holy Spirit, you’re just like your ancestors. Was there ever a prophet who didn’t get the same treatment? Your ancestors killed anyone who dared talk about the coming of the Just One. And you’ve kept up the family tradition—traitors and murderers, all of you. You had God’s Law handed to you by angels—gift-wrapped!—and you squandered it!”

The NIV says “you always resist the Holy Spirit.”

The Bible says we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes, He is our counselor, and gives us words to speak when needed.  

Am I open to the direction of the Holy Spirit? 

Do I resist the gifts that Father God wants me to receive?

Are their flaps over my ears?

Is my heart callussed?

There is a great hymn that I love to sing at church titled, “Sweet, Sweet Spirit”

Here are the lyrics….

There’s a sweet sweet spirit in this place
And I know that it’s the spirit of the Lord

There are sweet expressions on each face
And I know that it’s the presence of the Lord

Sweet Holy Spirit
Sweet heavenly dove
Stay right here with us
Filling us with your love
And for these blessings
We lift our hearts in praise
Without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived
When we shall leave this place

The presence of the Holy Spirit is so sweet. Stephen knew that….in his most difficult time, he looked UP!!

His heart was open, his ears were listening, his eyes were focused on Jesus.

Father God,

Thank you for this lesson of faith.  Thank you for teaching me to look up.  May my heart, mind and soul be more open and attentive to the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.   Come Holy Spirit!!