Author: admin

Spring cleaning. Tis the season. Our biggest project is getting ready for the annual Easter shindig for the kids that we have at our house. Guests are coming, so it’s time to clean. If it was not for guests coming, we might never have the motivation to really clean up around the place! Thank the Lord for guests coming! This year our big project was cleaning all the bamboo out of the creek that runs along-side our property. And it is bamboo; three or four inches at the base and forty-five feet tall. Our neighbor across the creek is from Taiwan and I think she imported some from there. I usually keep it cleaned out as it falls across the creek, but I was slack, and, with one of the floods, a whole chunk of canes fell across. We paid a couple of guys to come in and get it cleaned up. It usually does cost us if we get slack. Otherwise, it would have just been some good exercise along the way. But that, and touching up some yard ornaments with paint, and very importantly, going around and treating all the fire-ant hills to knock them out. All that and more—getting ready for the guests. There is another season of getting ready—getting ready to meet the Lord Jesus Christ. One way or another for each one of us, we will all meet Him. We will either personally each live out our time and meet Him, or, as the signs of the times indicate, He will personally return to earth as He said He would. It’s time to clean the place up—God’s place, God’s people are to get cleaned up. Realignment to His ways and His will. Realignment to the first love of Him—unashamed, bold, unafraid to express the testimony of the Lord. The Bible says “Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance of them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power; when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). That doesn’t sound like business as usual. It is a clear warning from the inspired Word of God telling us all to “get the place cleaned up,” The Guest is coming! Wherever we have been slack, it’s time to tighten up. If what we are believing and doing is not according to the finished work of Jesus Christ, if we are still justifying ourself thinking, “I’m ok because I’m a good guy or I’m a good gal,” it would be well for us to find a place of repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ before it is too late. Jesus’ sacrifice alone is what makes us right with God. Believe the gospel.

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It is not business as usual. There is a global move of God that is working to revolutionize whole countries. It is a move in our own country extending from the White House, to governor’s mansions, to universities, to churches, to recovery houses, and to jails and prisons. God moved when Jesus came to earth and the Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost. His plan was to keep moving, but man put a halt to much of His move in people’s lives. He has been wanting to move all along. But for God to move, it takes man’s obedient response and action. Without action, faith is dead. With action, the life and power of God is released. That is what we call a move of God. Jesus said it like this: whatsoever you bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:18-19; 18:18-20). We spent a day in refresher training and in touring the Ouachita River Correctional Unit at Malvern, AR. A program has been initiated in which long-term inmates receive seminary training inside the prison system. They receive a degree after four years of training. These inmates are Field Ministers. They are “boots on the ground” twenty-four-seven to be of assistance to other inmates whenever they need it. They are there on call night and day. These men are there to point other prisoners to Christ, and that is what they do. When an inmate’s life is changed by Christ, and he receives practical knowledge on how to return to society, he has a better chance to stay out of prison once he gets out. When he is trained as an anointed disciple of Jesus Christ, he has the power to overcome the obstacles that arise in his life. This is just one program that is laying the groundwork for a long-term change in people’s lives in our jails and prisons. There are other programs that assist them in practical ways to be able to make it when they get back into society. All of this is just one little part of what God is doing to bring about long-term change in our society and country. Having said this, the call is to every believer of every church to hear what the Spirit is saying to each of us. Action releases the life of God. Sitting in a church pew with no action binds up the life of God. We each need to ask the question before God: What is God calling me to do? It might be outside our comfort zone (most likely it will be). If we are going to share in this “move of God” that is going on today, it is time to step up to the plate, see the pitch God is sending our way, and take a swing at it. It might not fit our theology or normal practice, but if it is the Lord Jesus Christ, it is good.

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Barb, my wife, finds recreation by doing word puzzles. In one of her puzzles, she ran across the word “oleander.” This is a beautiful, hardy flowering shrub which can be grown as a small tree. It is found virtually world-wide, but it is thought that its origin was in the Mediterranean area. Because of its hardiness, “there are estimated to be 25 million oleanders planted along highways and roadsides throughout the state of California. Because of its durability, oleander was planted prolifically on Galveston Island in Texas after the disastrous Hurricane of 1900. They are so prolific that Galveston is known as the ‘Oleander City’; an annual oleander festival is hosted every spring. Moody Gardens in Galveston hosts the propagation program for the International Oleander Society, which promotes the cultivation of oleanders. New varieties are hybridized and grown on the Moody Gardens grounds, encompassing every named variety”. These plants are beautiful, easy to grow, tough, and have year-round blooms peaking in summer in temperate regions. It is a most appealing plant except there is one down-side—they are extremely toxic to humans and to many animals. In fact, the origin of the word oleander comes from a form of a Greek compound noun with “ollyo” and “aner” put together meaning “I kill man.” It is in the same family of plants that are used in Africa for poison arrows (credit: Wikipedia). Now, having said that, we need to understand that there are many common flowers and plants that are toxic. So, before we boycott the nurseries from selling oleander, lets do our research and see just what we are admiring in our landscapes. This is not a slam on toxic plants; it is just factual information for a point to be made. The point is that in the spiritual realm of life, just because something looks good, smells good, feels good, and everybody is doing it everywhere, that does NOT mean that it is good to embrace. Just because Momma and Daddy and Grandma and Grampa did it that way and believed it that way, does NOT mean it is God’s way. God’s way is revealed in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said so Himself— “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6). Man’s dead religious traditions and philosophy might look good and feel good, but they are toxic. Jesus is the way to the Father. He is Lord with all authority. He is Jesus come in the flesh, to come into our fleshly life here and now by His Spirit. He is the Christ, anointed by the Spirit, to share that same supernatural anointing of the Holy Spirit upon our life today. It is all supernatural and it is all in the Bible, simple and plain. We don’t need our tradition or some theologian to explain it away or say it has passed away. Jesus is resurrected and alive. Believe in Him and live.

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God is a covenant-keeping God. God made promise to Abraham to bless his seed, his offspring, and because He could swear by no greater, He swore by Himself to bless and multiply Abraham. It is impossible for God to lie. Because of this, we can have strong consolation that God is working in our household. Abraham believed God, giving Him glory, and after he patiently endured, he obtained the promise. By this same faith, the faith of the Son of God Jesus Christ, we can trust God to work salvation in our household.

Just as we stand on the Word and confess with our mouth for salvation, for healing, for the baptism of the Spirit, for prosperity, for favor, and for blessing, we can stand on the Word and confess for our families to be saved. With Abraham, we can “stagger not at the promise of God through unbelief,” but be “strong in faith, giving glory to God; being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform.” Romans 4:20-21

Ask the Father to show you the promises of His Word and make them real to you by the Holy Spirit. As we pray, believing and confessing the Word, we can receive (Mark 11:24), and we give glory to God for the salvation of our household. By that faith, we can demonstrate the love and truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ before our family, and God will be doing the needed work in our lives, and their lives, unto salvation in every way unto His glory. Sometimes, we ourselves must be changed. Genesis 18:19

Genesis 3:21 God provided salvation for the first family.

Genesis 6:9,18 Did Noah’s faith have anything to do with his household’s salvation?

Genesis 9:1,8-9 Did God speak to Noah and his sons?

Genesis 17:7 Was the covenant established between God and Abraham and his seed?

Genesis 18:19 Did Abraham live out the “way of the Lord” before his house?

Genesis 22:16-18 Did Abraham’s faith and obedience have anything to do with his household’s salvation?

Exodus 12:3-4,13 Did the faith of the fathers who came out of Egypt have anything to do with their household’s salvation?

Numbers1:2 Does God deal with individuals and with families?

Joshua 6:23-25 Did Rahab’s faith have anything to do with her household’s salvation? (See also Hebrews 11:31)

Joshua 24:15,23 Did Joshua’s faith and obedience have anything to do with his household’s salvation?

Psalms 89:3-4, 28-37 Did David’s repentance and faith have anything to do with his household’s salvation?

Proverbs 14:26 A good definition of the fear of the Lord is believing the Word to receive the promise, and giving place to the Holy Spirit with praise and thanksgiving.

Isaiah 54:9-17 (particularly vs.13) Peace from being taught by the Lord Himself, and protection, are both promised to the children of the believer.

Isaiah 59:21 God is a covenant-keeping God toward believers forever.

Isaiah 61:8-9 God works in and blesses our seed as we believe Him.

Joel 2:28, 32/Acts 2:16-17 The outpouring of the Spirit is for our children.

Malachi 4:6 God works on Father/children relationships.

Acts 2:38-39 The outpouring of the Spirit is for our children and all people.

Acts 10:2 Did Cornelius’ faith and devotion to God have anything to do with his household’s salvation?

Acts 16:15 Lydia believed, and her household became believers.

Acts 16:31-34 The Philippian jailer was told right up front that salvation was for him and his household. They all got the Word and believed.

Acts 18:8 Crispus, the head of the synagogue, and his household believed.

Romans 4:17,20-21 It is all based on the faithfulness of God to keep His promises through faith in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Don’t waver from the promises of the Word. Give God praise for His faithfulness to His Word, and that His Word will not return void. It will accomplish the thing to which it is sent. (Isaiah 55:11). The angels listen to the spoken Word of God and take action to enforce the promises of God (Psalms 103:20). As the Spirit of God guides you, read and declare the above scriptures over your household with rejoicing! Psalms 126

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After a windy day, we had a large rotten limb to fall in our yard. My wife mentioned that we might burn it in the wood stove and make use of it. I agreed. With the first attempt of using the rotten wood, I noticed it didn’t seem to catch on very good. We nursed it and nursed it, trying to get it to burn freely. We just couldn’t get a hot fire going. Finally, I put some kindling and good solid wood in with it, and got it burning pretty decently. Then I noticed that even with the good wood burning, the rotten wood didn’t readily burn. Once there was a hot bed of coals by burning the good wood, then you could put the rotten stuff on it and get it burned up, but it was like it was being forced to burn. The Bible refers to people as trees. Those who have committed their lives to Jesus Christ as Lord are called “trees of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:3). These are those who have been born again by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ and by total surrender to Him. We are born again when we understand Jesus’ completed work, and we come to Him, and call upon Him, and by faith we exchange our life for His righteous life. This is what supernaturally births us into His kingdom. When our trust is in His sacrifice for us instead of trusting in our own goodness and righteousness, we become a new, living tree. This tree can be used for God’s full purpose. This tree has its roots in the river of life. This tree bears fruits of righteousness to the glory of God. This tree will live forever, solely because of Jesus. It is impossible for us, in our own selves, to change ourselves from dead wood to a living tree. But God is a miracle-working God. God is faithful to His Word. When we believe His Word that tells the good news of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf, and we confess Jesus as Lord, God infuses His life in our dead spirit man. The life of God comes into us! We are changed! We are made new! When we then act on that Word by confession and water baptism, we identify before men and God that we are God’s child by the sacrifice and name of Jesus Christ. By water baptism we are confessing that we are supernaturally dead and resurrected with Jesus Christ into new, eternal life. This tree can be filled with the Spirit, joy, and power of God. This tree doesn’t have to be coerced to burn. This tree is easily ignited by the fire of the Spirit and the things of God. This tree burns for Jesus. What we could not do for ourselves, God did for us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s get excited for what He’s done, is doing, and going to do in our lives!

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I never have been much of a hunter. My Dad gave me a Winchester pump 20 gauge at a young age. As a boy, I’ve hunted squirrel, rabbits, and some quail. That’s when you could step outside and hear the distinct “Bob white” whistle on most any day in the country. I haven’t heard one in a long time, now. I killed meadowlark just for the thrill. I never would shoot the Killdeer. I thought there wasn’t enough to those birds to even shoot them. Besides, I had seen too many little ones with their little heads bobbing along—cute as a button! They were spared. And, a lot of copperheads and water moccasins met their demise at the other end of that 20-gauge barrel. I wouldn’t kill the non-poisonous snakes. With all this, I did go deer hunting a few times. On one occasion, I think in the Turnmore bottoms, we had a little temporary camp set up. It had chairs, a firepit surrounded by rocks, and a horizontal “hitching post.” That was simply a small tree we cut, about two or three inches in diameter, and about eight feet long, tied to two trees. There was a pipeline some distance from the camp. I had been out on a stand near the pipe line, and ready to head back to camp. There was just a trail of a road parallel to the pipeline, so I quietly walked up and down the pipeline for a while, before going deeper into the woods back to camp. By the time I arrived back to camp, I was tired of carrying my gun, so I walked over to the hitching post and set the firearm on the ground and leaned it up against the hitching post. I walked a few feet over to a little clearing and stopped and stretched my shoulders, putting my hands up in the air and back behind my head. As I did this and looked down the clearing, twenty feet away, looking straight at me, was Mr. Big Buck, rack and all. With eyes locked together for a long moment or two, we watched to see who would make the first move. My shotgun was a few steps away. I made the slow, easy move first. He calmly eased away with his move. By the time I got to the gun, all I could do was watch the white flag disappear in the woods. Lesson: never lay your gun down. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God. Our weapon is faith. Faith connects us to all the power of God. Faith connects us to the good news of what Jesus has already accomplished for us. Aim at forgiveness, Aim for healing. Aim for the Holy Ghost and fire. Whatever you need in life—go for it! Everything we need is in Christ Jesus the Lord. Walk the hunt. Don’t lay it down. There it is. Aim your weapon. Pull the trigger. Bam!

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In one of my wife’s recent messages to the church, she used this point in an illustration of running the race: “If you are going to run a race, you don’t put a lot of rocks in your pockets.” She went on to explain that to run a race you get the lightest gear on to get to the finish line and win. Coming off that point, I had my own meditations. Sometimes we have a bunch of rocks in our pockets that hinder us in running our race of life in the Lord. There are rocks of past hurts, of seeing inconsistencies in people’s lives who profess to know the Lord. There are rocks of beliefs and teachings that have been passed down to us that are not according to the Word and Spirit of God. There are rocks of personal opinions that are contrary to the working and ways of God. All these things can hinder us, and need to be dealt with. You know, God wants to work in all our lives in a good and mighty way, but He will do it His way. He is God. He is the Boss. If our pockets are full of our way of doing things, we won’t be able to keep up with where God is walking and where He is going. We are all weighed down with our own rocks. God has one Rock. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. If we will empty our pockets of all those rocks we are carrying around with us, and just follow the living Rock that was in the wilderness with the Israelites (1 Corinthians 10:4), then we will be right in step with God. Where God goes, we will be there. Where God is, we will be there. At the end of our life, this is particularly important. To be trusting in the one Rock is the difference between being in hell or being with God in heaven. Rocks of religious tradition and doctrine can cause us to trust in our own efforts and goodness to please God. We might be a “good person” and don’t do “bad things,” but that won’t get us delivered from sin and get us into heaven. Only the sacrificial payment of Jesus on the cross is sufficient to deliver us from sin. Only the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross is what will get us into heaven. By seeing Him, and emptying our pockets of all our goodness and righteousness and holding only to the goodness and righteousness of Jesus Christ, can we have assurance that we are with God now and forever. The house built on this Rock will endure forever. With just Him, by faith in Him, the Living Rock, we can run this race in the power of the Spirit of God and finish the course with joy. The Spirit is the water to refresh us. Empty the rocks out, get a good drink, and let’s run with joy!

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The heat feels so good! A brightly blazing wood stove seems to warm you to the bone! It comforts and consoles. When you back up to it, and your jeans smell like they are being ironed—at that point, it feels like it, too. You have to ease away and let it cool a little. Burning wood is a lot of work, and it is a dirty operation, with dirt and debris falling off the wood as you handle it. At the moment of warming, it is all worth it. This round of ice and snow and winter weather took a big chunk out of the wood pile, but we are thankful we had it. Lord willing, we will have more for next winter. In the home setting, the fire provides warmth and comfort. Fire is used for many things in many arenas. In the industrial setting fire can provide the power to purify and solidify. Precious metal can be heated, melted, purified, and re-shaped into the purposes of the master craftsman. Pliable clay can be fired to become bricks with which to build a house, or it can be pots to carry life-giving water. With what comes out of the fire, the Master Craftsman can make the material to build the house in which He can dwell, and He can make the vessel for the water from the well. He takes the clay and aligns it toward the assignment, then with the fire, he sets it in its purpose. It is promised in the Word of God that Jesus will immerse believers in the Holy Ghost and fire. This is a promised operation of God that He, the Master Craftsman, will immerse us in His Spirit and fire. He will work in our lives to shape us and mold us. He will use the fire to permanently set us in the purpose for which He designed us. We are in a predicted time in our world (Malachi 3:16—4:6), in which there is a spiritual fire burning. This fire is working in our lives to show who we really are before the Lord. This fire will purify us, and prepare us for His purposes. As we turn from our pride and self-righteousness and receive the fire of God, we begin seeing God’s good purpose for our life. As we reverence the Son of God, Jesus Christ, as our Lord over all, then we receive the warmth and comfort of the fire. We receive healing and wholeness and peace and power in believing in Jesus. As we continue on to know the Lord, going from faith-to-faith, the same fire that purifies and comforts, will also work in our life to finish and “set” us in the purpose for which the Master Craftsman designed us. As we repent, as we turn from holding to our life and turn to receive His life and “fire,” we enjoy His assignment for us and all the benefits of His love and goodness toward us.

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It can be said that some things are just bizarre. Sometimes things happen that just go beyond any expectation. I am thinking of Rusty Morris, a nephew of mine. When he was just a little tyke, somewhere in the range of five years old or so, he was out in his grandparent’s yard exploring and playing. Grandma’s favorite little “pet bunny,” a wild rabbit, but one which was accustomed to humans, and seen frequently, was also in the yard. There was a nearby brush pile that served as shelter and concealment for the little feller. As the story goes, the little bunny hopped over to the brush pile and stopped just inside the brush pile. Little Rusty, being the boy that he was, picked up a rock and threw it into the brush pile after the rabbit. The rock hit its mark dropping the rabbit dead in his tracks. The little hare was found just inside the brush pile right where the rock connected. One in a million! I had heard the story for years, and recently remembering it, I stopped by Rusty’s place and inquired of its validity. Sure enough, Snopes would have to agree with the truth of the story. Even in the natural realm, bizarre things happen. We’ve all heard of things similar, and many of us have experienced such things. And that’s just in the natural order of things. Then, there is a whole other order called the spiritual realm. Things beyond all expectation and explanation can happen in the spiritual realm. This is where the Bible comes in. The Bible talks about how God, who is Spirit, has revealed Himself through the ages. It has been a progressive revelation from the very beginning of time. Things have happened along the way that were bizarre. Certainly, if things can happen in the natural, with a five-year-old boy, a rock and a rabbit, you can be assured that bizarre things can happen beyond all-natural expectation and explanation in the realm of the Spirit. The crowning phenomenal occurrence was just over two thousand years ago when Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Scholars tell us there were over three hundred prophesies fulfilled with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These prophecies were given by about forty writers, all in harmony, pointing to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, authored by the inspiration of the Spirit of God. It might be “happenstance” for a rock to hit a rabbit, but there is no “happenstance” when the Spirit of God, in the Spirit realm, reveals the Son of God, Jesus Christ. God did this for a reason: to rescue mankind from sin, sickness, Satan, and eternal separation from God. God wants to fellowship with man. Sin separates man from God. Jesus gave Himself as the eternal sacrifice to make us one with God. We receive Him, His Spirit, His healing power, and His eternal life all as a gift, by faith. Let that Rock hit and live forever!

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You’ve asked, studied, fasted, sought, surrendered and committed.

You’ve observed others, to see how they have received from the Lord.

You’ve wondered, and suspicioned, “What is true? What is false?”

 You’ve reverently trusted and waited for God to do it for you.

You’ve thanked Him for His goodness and faithfulness.

You’ve expressed your trust in Him.

You’ve told the Lord that you don’t want it to be you.

“You” have tried your best.

Now, one last thing.

Give that “you” to the Lord.

Say, “Lord, I commit that ‘you,’ to You.”

It’s holy exchange.

Now, change the “you” to “do.”

Do this:

Believe God’s Word of promise:

“He [the Lord Jesus Christ] shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire.” (Luke 3:16 brackets and italics mine)

With your faith in God’s Word, ask once more: “Lord, baptize me with the Holy Ghost and fire.”

Now. “Do” it.

Respond to Him in faith.

Raise your hands, throw your head back and look up to heaven.

Do it.

Speak.

God gives the utterance.

Don’t quit.

Believe God.

God is faithful to His Word.

Take action in the calm assurance of faith and thanksgiving.

God does it.

Continue to overflow to His glory.

Everything in the kingdom of God works by faith that takes action.

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