Author: admin

We are all familiar with a doctor doing surgery to remove or repair something concerning our body. I once had a hernia that reached emergency proportions so I ended up in the ER. There, we got it resolved enough so in the next week I was able to have a regular surgical session scheduled and have it fixed. I should have had it fixed a long time before, but I did not. It has done well for years now with no impairment. I know of a man who had a dream concerning a certain person in a certain church in a certain town. The man in the dream had a good life, but he was hungry and thirsty for more of God. He had heard of some Christian leaders who had experienced more gifts and power of God in their lives, and this stirred him to desire the gifts and power of God even more. In the dream, the church the man was a part of was undergoing extensive renovation. The renovation of the church involved taking out, the surgical removal, if you will, of old windows, doors, walls, and other parts that impaired the full function of the facility. As with any renovation, it was a messy operation, but the end result was good. As a respected member of that church, this man’s walk with God would influence others toward having more of God’s gifts and power in their lives, also. The Lord sent a message to the man to encourage him to “earnestly desire” (1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:1) more of what God had for him. As he did this, the Lord met with him and graciously poured his Spirit out upon him, transforming his life, enhancing his walk with the Lord. He received that for which he was hungry and thirsty. As he continued to walk with the Lord Jesus in this more intimate way, the church was benefitted as were many others, even internationally.

The Lord ministers to us in such a way. We have things in our lives that impair his blessing to us and through us. There are concepts, practices, beliefs, opinions, and experiences that we carry that need to be surgically removed. He wants to remove the little windows of our building. He wants to install huge plate glass windows that allow a flood of light that dispels the hidden pockets of darkness that are harboring elements that impede the move of God in people’s lives. Through the operation of God in our lives we can come to a place of greater peace, joy, and fruitfulness in the kingdom of God with healing. Once the impairments are removed and the harmful conditions are repaired, there is a reconstruction with new materials on the established foundation of the Word of God with all the glory going to God. When the way is cleared so that what Jesus Christ accomplished for us is applied to our lives, abundant life is allowed to flow freely with healing.

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Now is the time of leaves. We have a fig bush in our back yard. Two large, deeply lobed fig leaves placed together makes a good pattern for a garment similar to a pair of shorts. If you sewed them together on the sides, leaving the top open, and attaching the bottom tip of the leaves, leaving space for legs to go through, they would make a good pair of shorts – for a while. When they dried, you would again be frolicking in your birthday suit.

The Bible is an amazing book. It tells how Adam and Eve went from innocence to the ingenuity of covering their naked realization of sin with fig leaves sewed together. They were placed in the garden and prophetically had freedom to eat of all the trees of the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life was in the garden. They could eat of that. But the law, just the knowledge of good and evil, brings death. They could not have life by the law. The law was given to expose sin. But they chose to attempt to live by that law, by that knowledge of good and evil. The results were inevitable. They died spiritually. To try to be good and do better, they made the attempt by their own religious efforts. With the fig leaves drying up in time and with this not sufficing as a permanent solution, God himself provided coats of animal skins to cover their nakedness and shame realized by sin in their lives (Genesis 3). With an animal being slain for them, this was a prophetic move on God’s part pointing to the future ultimate solution for the sin of all mankind – the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. We can never keep the law perfectly and be good enough to qualify entrance into the purity of heaven.

After a meeting in prison, I asked an inmate, “If you died and came before God, and he asked you, ‘Why should I let you into heaven?’”, what would you say? He was speechless. I shared with him how Jesus Christ lived a totally righteous life and gave himself as the sacrifice to pay for our sins. When we turn from trusting in our goodness and ability to be good, and turn to Jesus Christ trusting in and holding to what he did for us as our salvation before God, that is what will get us into heaven. He received that Word, prayed, and I will baptize him in the next scheduled time. His belief in and identification with Jesus Christ is his salvation. In Christ he can be filled with the Spirit of God and walk with God in victory and life now and forever. As long as we are living in the law of our goodness and ability, we fall short. When we count on Jesus alone for our right standing with God, we can live forever.

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She attended the church as a teenager. About three weeks before she was murdered, she visited the church. I introduced the prayer Krystle LeeAnn Wilder posted on her refrigerator by relating to the funeral gathering that it was said many times that LeeAnn was a light to those around her. It was said that she loved her little Amani, she loved the pre-school children who she taught, and she lived a life of loving others generally. By what she wrote, it was evident that she put her trust in the Lord Jesus and committed her life to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is evident she was looking to and being open to the Lord for what she needed in her life. With this introduction I read her prayer statement to the assembly. It is apparent the Word of God lodged in her heart so her trust was in the goodness and faithfulness of God through the name of Jesus Christ. Now, I will allow her light to shine more by sharing her prayer with you. Her prayer statement is entitled, and I quote: ‘“To Press Through the Dark Days”. “We’re in a Holy Place right here and now, because we’re calling upon your presence Lord. You say that where two or three are gathered in your name, you are in the midst of them. And so we pray that you will inhabit our presence as your Word says that you will. Help us to cast off distractions and set aside anything that hinders us from allowing you, Lord. Let your Holy Spirit lead us according to your will and design for our life. Exchange our ideas for yours. Instill faithful Courage within us that is ready to do your will. In Jesus’ name we pray! Amen. For where two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20 No matter how things look right now, know that God is still in control of our lives. Stay in peace and believe that He will always be with you in all directions. God knows when to send you exactly what you need.” End of quote. God is in control of our lives as we give him control through faith and calling upon his name and yielding our lives to him in trusting obedience. The devil seeks to destroy this kind of faith. He knows it can destroy his kingdom. After Herod killed James in the early church, prayer was ramped up without ceasing and rescued Peter from prison who was destined to be killed (Acts 12).  It is so important to stand strong in believing prayer and make smart choices to push back the hand of the enemy. There is warfare against faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ. We must know God’s ways and be quick to follow the promptings of God’s Spirit if we are going to triumph in every way.  Believing prayer and making smart choices is our key to victory.   

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Having encountered the Lord when I was about 14, my life was changed. All I wanted to do was read the Bible and learn more about Jesus and tell people about him. I actively began sharing Jesus everywhere I went with whoever would listen and with many who did not want to listen. Around the age of 19, recognized as “preacher”, I was ordained by a denominational church, and “pastored” in a couple of small churches. I actively shared the Lord in college. In the Word, I saw the early church operating in power that I knew nothing about, nor had I seen anything like it in the modern church. I knew God was the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), and people’s needs were still the same as in “Bible days”. I was hungry and thirsty to know the God of the Bible and flow in the same power in which Jesus and the early church flowed. I heard about meetings in Little Rock where people were being filled with the Spirit just like in Bible days with the power of God being manifested in people’s lives as in the Bible. Some college buddies joined me in going to a meeting. The meeting was in a large fine home. There were probably about 25 people seated in chairs they brought in. One chair was set to itself. The speaker spoke and invited that if we wanted the Holy Spirit power of God in our lives, come sit in the chair for prayer. I immediately jumped up and quickly hurried to the chair and sat down. The speaker came over to me and laid a hand on my shoulder and said “There it is.” Silence. I was believing for the fullness of the power of God in my life, and I thought, “Well, there’s only one way to learn to swim, and that is to dive in!” In an act of faith and committal and yielding my life to Him, I opened my mouth to give breath to praise,  and out came a language from my inner being that I had never heard. I stood up speaking in another language and went to a bedroom to privately continue in my new language. This was the beginning of what I read about in the Bible. Jesus then became even more real to me and continues to be more real to me in every way. I have seen and continue to see miracles in my own and other people’s lives. The Heavenly Father is a person who is Father to me. The Son, Jesus Christ, is a person, who is my Lord and Savior for what he did for me. The Holy Spirit is a person, the Helper Jesus promised to be right with me in this life in supernatural power.  He helps with communication with God and helps empower me for an effective witness of Jesus Christ. They all work together as One God for power and victory in life.

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A black, six-foot-wide livestock watering tub just fits in my 6 x 10-foot trailer. It comfortably holds 20 inches of water which is more than enough to completely submerge a person. This is what I have been using to baptize the prisoners in the prison ministry. We had two people who wanted to be baptized in the church. We announced we would go to the house and have a baptism immediately after church. As we were having “meet and greet”, a teenage girl came up to me and said she wanted to be saved. With tears running down her cheeks, Barbara led her to faith in Jesus Christ and giving her life to Jesus. We have a large yard, so I went ahead of the group and directed the cars in getting parked in the yard. We all congregated under our pavilion where the baptismal tub was parked, and rejoiced in three precious people entering a life of commitment to and walking with Jesus.

When I was about twelve years old, I was hearing the preaching at church and walked down the aisle, said yes to all the questions, was pronounced to be saved, and got baptized. I was a good kid, but about two years later in the privacy of my bedroom while saying my nightly prayers, I began to realize I did not have a real connection with God. I argued within myself that I was saved because I had walked the aisle, gotten baptized, and was a good person. The inward struggle brought me to a time of tears of desperation, sobbing into my pillow so I would not disturb my parents sleeping in the next bedroom. Then, I came to realize: Jesus Christ died for me. What he did for me is what makes me right with God. I had peace. I quit crying. Then, I realized I could commit ankle deep, knee deep, loin deep, or it was a river that could not be passed over (Ezekiel 47). I prayed, “Lord, let me dive in and swim on your grace!” I made a total commitment of my life to the Lord Jesus Christ, to follow him, trusting in his finished work for me as my salvation. I have erred along the way, but he always draws me back to himself, washing me clean from my sin by the power of his blood that he shed for me. Years later, with a clear understanding of the meaning of water baptism, I was baptized again. Now, when the good news of what Jesus has done for us is preached, believed, and received, just like in the book of Acts, obedience and commitment is shown by being immersed in water. This shows our old life is washed away and we are raised into new life in Christ, committed to following him. That’s how we roll. Believe, turn from our way, receive Jesus’ work as our salvation, be baptized. Commit our life to him. Walk with him in peace.

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Cleaning up some very large bamboo cane along the creek that borders our property, rewarded me with some very fine splinters in one of my fingers. It happened to be the same finger that I shot a nail through, and into the next finger, a couple of years ago. And, a couple of days before I got the bamboo splinters, in that same finger I had already gotten a couple of splinters off an old door I was sanding. The finger painfully swelled and needed surgery to really fix it, but I opted for the antibiotic only from the medical field. After preparation for self-surgery – alcohol, sharp knife, etc., I realized the one set of splinters was broken off too deep for me to deal with, and the bamboo splinters were too fine to even be seen, much less to be dug out. Plus, the pain to dig around so deep – it was way too much. So, I just let it go and continued with the antibiotic. Now, with the month or so that has passed, that finger has a hard knot within it. No doubt, the flesh has encapsulated the cane splinters as the defense mechanism God has set up to deal with such neglect of remedy. Now, there is no pain, just a knot a little less than the size of a black-eyed pea in my finger. I guess it will be there till my dying day.

Here’s the deal. In life we get splinters between us. We’ve all been stuck and we have all stuck somebody with a harsh word, a misunderstanding, a misdeed, and on it goes unlimited. We can go to the heavenly Father and deal with it his way, or we can just let it go and get calloused over the matter. God’s way to deal with offences is that we each humble ourselves before God and before each other. We are to lay the cards on the table of how we either gave offence or were offended. We are to confess our faults one to another. Then, we are to pray for each other. According to the Word, this is what brings about a healing (James 5:14-16). The offence, the splinter, is not just internalized and calloused over. It is removed and real healing takes place, because our mutual trust is placed in God who is the healer. This is how the Master Physician handles it. We might make a shallow apology and live in a calloused condition, but doing it God’s way brings complete healing. Complete healing is better. The offense, the splinter, being calloused over, is a condition of hardness. We want to remain tender toward God and toward each other. Doing it God’s way helps us to be sensitive to God’s needs and desires and to each other’s needs and desires. Jesus Christ paid for us to have overflowing abundant life. Abundant life is living in peace, joy, harmony, and with a mind to love and help one another.

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As I walked by one of the back rooms of the house, I noticed a very faint, pleasant fragrance. I didn’t think anything about it. About the third time this happened, it got my attention. I thought, “Hmm, what is this sweet fragrance. I’ve not noticed it before.” I followed the scent and looked around the bedroom then the bathroom. Then I remembered! I had put out a new bar of soap in the shower. Barb buys these big bars of soap that last a long time, and they are usually all different scents. That bar of soap was wafting its particular fragrance through the bathroom, into the bedroom, and down the hall. It was barely perceptible in the hall, but it was there. When it really got my attention I wanted to find the source.

Paul told the Ephesians that as we walk in love as Christ walked in love for us, it is a “sweetsmelling savour” (a very pleasing fragrance) to God. Jesus gave himself as an offering and a sacrifice for us for our good and benefit. As we offer ourselves as an offering and sacrifice to God, we too, become a pleasant fragrance to him. Paul  said to the Corinthians as we triumph in Christ in this love walk, and our lifestyle and demeanor shows the knowledge of him in every place, we are a sweet fragrance to God and to people. To people who are perishing, we are a fragrance of death to death, and to saved people we are a fragrance of life to life (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). As our lifestyle and behavior reflects the lifestyle and behavior of Christ, then we are that pleasant fragrance to God and man. Not every person likes what they smell, but if it is Christ in us, God enjoys it and those who love God enjoy it. What we, as believers want to do, is make sure we are generating the pleasant fragrance from the love of Christ, and not some acrid odor of the flesh from the love of self. Every bar of soap has a different fragrance, but they are all pleasant. Every personality is different, but we all can be permeated by the same love of Christ which is a godly, merciful, and compassionate love. It’s like the old song, “What the world needs now, is love, sweet love, that’s just one thing, there’s just too little of”. This love will boldly take the knowledge of God to the street because it will have a pure life to back it up. It can be an unrelenting warrior when needed, but it is also gentle, wise, and always seeking a way to benefit the situation. This is what Jesus did by living in the supernatural power of the Spirit of God. By God’s power he brought help, healing, wholeness, and eternal life to those who had ears to hear. This is the sweet fragrance God enjoys that draws men to God. It is Christ expressed.

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A recent trip to Branson, Missouri, took us through Leslie, Arkansas, with a meal stop at Ryan’s Main Street Grill. It was a great meal. I especially enjoyed the grilled veggies, but when we chose one of Vicki’s homemade desserts to split a piece of Strawberry pie, all four of us who were travelling together commenced to rant and rave. With all due respect to the wonderful desserts my Momma could prepare, that piece of Strawberry pie was perhaps the best dessert I have ever placed in my mouth. Real cream filling, real, fresh strawberries, real, freshly made whip cream, freshly crushed, moist, lightly sweetened graham cracker crust – it was like a little bit of heaven on the taste buds. And, of course, you know where our meal stop was on the return trip, which was an equally pleasurable meal. We can go through life living on whipped concoctions of artificial cream, artificial flavors and colors, whipped cream out of a can, and mass produced crusts. There is a whole “nuther” realm of life’s pleasures when we get a hold of the real deal.

It is the same in the spiritual realm. We can go through life with a dry, artificial, religious experience that seems to get us by. It’s good, and we figure that is all there is to it. Our “normal” is limited to what we have been taught and what we have experienced. Then along our journey we make a stop in the Word of God and we find something that is not just some manufactured, left over religion that somebody has routinely cranked out. It is not something somebody whipped up in a frenzy with air and soybean oil. We get a taste of the real thing, and we say, “Oh! This is good! I never knew…” We want more so we purposely make a stop to get more, and it is good! When we approach God, and his Word, and his Spirit with an unbiased mind, we can begin to taste and see and experience that there is more to what Jesus did for us than just forgiveness. There is a fullness of fellowship through the reality of his Spirit that goes beyond mere knowledge. There is a walk with God that comes out of a settled revelation of truth, not requiring whipping something up in a frenzy. There are imparted gifts and supernatural power that we each personally can walk in to accomplish God’s work on earth as it is in heaven – just as Jesus taught and led us to do. There is nothing artificial, it is all good, and it magnifies Jesus, the one who made this “pie” for us to enjoy and receive sustenance. It’s all there for us. It’s on the menu. We can either choose a piece of religious dry toast, or we can get the steak and finish off with the strawberry pie. We can get all we need to enjoy the journey to the fullest because of Jesus.

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Years ago I was working with a contractor building a house real close beside a lake on a steep slope. We put the step down boards in the footing, the ditch into which you pour the concrete for the foundation for the house. The step down boards are little dams to hold the concrete in a level position for a distance, then, as you go down the slope you put another one to hold that amount of concrete in a level position, continuing that procedure for the duration of the slope. The steeper the slope, the more step down boards are required. This is done so blocks can be laid on the footing, on the foundation, in a level position so you can build the house level. This was a steep slope so we had lots of step down boards. The concrete truck backed up to the top of the area we had laid out to build the house. He revved up the large tank holding the concrete to mix it up real good. The contractor said “Let’s take a look at it”, to check the consistency of the pour. That was just to be a small sample to see. The driver put the chute over the top of the ditch on one slope of the future building, and shot out a large “sample”. Wham! That soupy concrete hit that first dam and sent it sailing. Wham! Wham! Wham! Right on down the slope it went, sending the little dams flying, the concrete flowing right into the lake. Too much at once, too soupy, given with too much force – we had to do that part all over again.

Sometimes there are bad experiences in church. People can be bad and do bad things and make bad mistakes that hurt others and lead others astray. But whatever you must do, in the face of life now and in the face of eternity, do whatever you must do to get your foundation right. What happened, happened. Those folks won’t give account for you before God, you will give account for you before God. Build your dams back. Make sure the mix is good before you pour it into the ditch. Then, work it down the slope slowly and gently. Get the solid Rock foundation of Jesus Christ, his righteousness, his promises, his power, and his blessings in your life. Don’t let someone else’s mistakes or your own mistakes keep you from having the house on the Rock with a peaceful view of the lake. In Christ there is forgiveness for you, new life, power through the Holy Spirit to live a full and joyous victorious life for you, your household, and for all people who will receive his Word and Spirit. Walking with God in love and power is the destiny God has for every person in Christ Jesus the Lord. Crown him as your Lord and let all baggage of the past go. Get your house built in Jesus and live!

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One Sunday morning duty is to pick up a lady who has no transportation and deliver her to the church then go home and pick up Barbara to get her to church. When I deliver the lady to the church I unlock, carry my briefcase inside, make sure the AC is set right, etc. I usually lay my keys on the front pew as I go about my duties and when I leave, I usually either get to the car or the doors of the church to remember that my keys are on the front pew. So I come back in the church and say to the lady as I am walking to the front pew, “I won’t get very far without my keys.” That little routine has been duplicated more than once. It is slightly irritating to me that I forget those keys. I will probably start putting them in my pocket. It is easier to dig them out of my pocket rather than walking back in to get them. I always have every good intention to remember them when I toss them on the front seat, but the preoccupation with getting everything done has been overruling that good intention.

There are some keys to the kingdom of God that we need to have with us. (These are some keys that Jesus gave Peter – Matthew 16:19)  If we leave them lying around, we are not going to get very far in a successful life in the Spirit and power of God. The first key is understanding the power that is in the name of Jesus. His name represents all that he is and has available to us. We are told that his commandment is that we believe on the name of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another (1 John 3:23). And that is the next key, that we love one another. This involves forgiveness to the seven times seventy extreme (Matthew 18:22). Forgiveness is keeping our heart clear toward all people. It is not accepting their evil and accepting them treating you like dirt. When we have a goal of love in line with God’s goal that all people be saved, we maintain a clear heart toward them, but that is not that we endorse the evil and wrong they have done. Through Christ, God has extended forgiveness toward every person. Not every person receives that forgiveness with a grateful heart. They persist in their evil. That which is extended toward them returns to the sender. The sender is free, but the would-be recipient continues in bondage with no reconciliation. Living in the power of Jesus’ name, of who Jesus is and of what Jesus has accomplished for us, is key number one. Living in the love of God which comes by the infilling of the Spirit of God is key number two. If we keep these keys with us at all times, we can live freely in God’s freedom for our spirit, soul, and body.

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