God promised us in Proverbs that He would direct our paths. How often do you expect Divine appointments? They should be happening to you daily. You may think your day is pretty much routine not much could happen to you out of the ordinary. I urge you to try making prayer a part of your morning today. Thank God ahead of time for being able to use your spiritual gifts and talents today. You could have a word of wisdom for someone or a thought from the scriptures to make their day and answer a prayer they have put before God. You may also put a seed into an unbeliever's heart that will cause them to think and one day accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The sky is the limit with what God can do with a heart expecting to be used. Why not make it yours? Why not make it today?
With all the fighting going on in Israel, it may be possible for you to become concerned. No one likes war and it is not easy to send young men into battle. We as a nation have had to send our sons and daughters into war situations many times. Peace is mostly procured by war, rarely by negotiations. Israel will win this battle, but will find itself in a world of rejection by most of the nations. Let it be said that the United States stands by Israel and especially the Church of the Lord Jesus. We know that eventually the scripture will come to pass Jesus quoted in Matthew 24. Israel will one day be hated of all nations. This will have to occur after the Church has been taken to heaven. Jesus is coming soon. But until that time, we have a job to do and a message to spread. Israel has a friend in the people who call Jesus their Lord.
Loretta and I were picked up by a cab in Washington D.C. and the driver told me he recognized me from T.V. He watched the Real Answers broadcast each week on the Sky Angel Network. He gave me his testimony about coming from Ethiopia as a young man to escape the dangers of that country. He came to the U.S. and received Jesus as his Savior. He then began attending church and discovered my material after seeing me on television. I was amazed at the spiritual knowledge he had and thanked God for taking His message through me to this young man. I was also grateful for God arranging for me to meet him. He represents only one of many testimonies I will hear in heaven. You will also hear these testimonies. You help to make the broadcast possible. I told this young man I would send him some books to help him in his spiritual growth after returning home to Tulsa. Our meeting was a divine connection. Why don't you ask God for your steps to be ordered today to be used as a blessing in someone's life?
Wednesday - July 26, 2006 On the way to Washington D.C., I flew to New Jersey to attend a minister's conference. I did not like the seat I was given on the plane, but had no other choice. When the plane took off, I was reading a book and was asked by the woman next to me if I was a pastor. I told her I was and she told me she and her husband also pastored a church in Missouri. She told me her family was also on the plane. We discussed many things we had in common about the ministry and then I asked her if she and her family were on vacation. She told me they were going to New York for her teen age son to have a spinal operation. He had been suffering with a severe case of scoliosis since birth and it had degenerated through the years. This trip had been planned for over a year. I had a chance to pray with her for his speedy recovery. God knew where to place me on that plane. Maybe someday I will learn to look for a blessing before I begin to complain.
After being in Washington D.C. this past week, I am more convinced than ever that we have great representatives from Oklahoma. We met and visited with Senator Inhoffe's staff first. Jim is firmly committed to standing with Israel and knows the scriptures concerning the importance of supporting God's people. We met with and had coffee with Senator Tom Coburn also. He told us across the table that he is a born again believer who has his full faith and trust in his relationship with Jesus Christ. His security does not come from his position in life, but from knowing he is doing what he is supposed to do, not only what he wants to do. He too understands the situation in Israel and thinks, based on scripture, we are in the end times. Praise the Lord and God bless Oklahoma!
Do you remember the song "Just Another Manic Monday"? How about calling this day Miracle Monday? What do you need? Does it seem impossible? God thrives on impossibilities. He loves to be put into a corner where there seems to be no way out. Trust God today for the overwhelming amount of money you need. Call out scriptures which promise you healing of your incurable sickness or disease. Depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to bring your family back together. No matter how bad it may seem, God can and will do it. After all, He saved you didn't He? With God NOTHING shall be impossible. Ahhh, Miracle Monday!
Elections are coming in a few days and it's important as a citizen of our country, state and city that we exercise our rights and privileges as citizens and vote. We can vote out those who are not doing a good job and replace them with those who tell us they will do better. One thing we can be sure of is we will never have a vote on our Savior, Jesus Christ. We will never vote to replace God or the Holy Spirit either. Thank God we have a secure kingdom with God. He always does things right and never has made a mistake. Our future looks glorious too. He will one day rule over all the nations of the world!
I heard the other day that coffee is now good for your health. What happened to caffeine being bad for you like it was a few years ago? Fat is now alright in your diet and chocolate is also good. Milk is alright too. All that conflicting news could give you ulcers. I like what Proverbs tells us. A merry heart does good like a medicine. Instead of being so concerned with all the food going into our bodies, we should be concerned with keeping our hearts filled with joy. After all, the kingdom of God is not in meat or drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Have a happy day.
Wednesday - July 19, 2006 A few weeks ago my grandson told me my tennis shoes looked old fashioned. I had never thought about it. I thought tennis shoes were tennis shoes. I looked at them and compared them to the ones everyone else was wearing and figured out he was right. Grandpa was out of style. I bought a new pair and now I am up to date. I probably look 20 years younger just putting on new tennis shoes! It makes me think of the Christian life. We can't live on yesterday's blessings and we need to move on from the place we were a number of years ago. We cannot stay in the spiritual place of days gone by. God's mercies are new every morning and He is always desiring to do a new thing. God may not change, but His fellowship with us and His direction to our heart is always changing. Make sure you stay up to date with God's plan for your life!
With all the fighting in Israel, it makes me think more of end time events in God's Word. Events like this war will be more commonplace the closer we get to the coming of Jesus. We could even see more weather problems, such as hurricanes, tornadoes and floods. Yet, what did Jesus tell us to do? He told us not to be worried. My word of warning to you as your pastor is not to be concerned with the daily news. It will not be more pleasant in the days to come, rather it will be disturbing. Let you heart go to God's scriptures and know that the last days are in God's hands. God's plan for the earth is just as good as His plans for you, His child. Look up, your redemption draws near.
I see many people in church taking notes and I see many people in church who do not take notes. Many say they will buy the CD later to hear the sermon. I like to do both. The nice thing about taking notes on the sermon is you have something to go back to and get the main points of the sermon. You do not have to listen to the whole sermon all over again to hear the points which you want to stick with you. Why not carry a small note pad in your Bible? Once the pad is filled, you have a concise place to return to and look at sermons which cover many months. It may not seem like a great thing to you, but those notes I have taken from other sermons still bless me when I go to put a sermon together. I don't have to look for an entire tape or CD series. I can get the meat of the sermon from the notes I took. Just a word to the wise. That was my word and you are the wise.
I heard a saying one time, "worry is always future", and that's true. You will always fall short when you look at how far you have to go in life. God wants you to reflect on how far you have come before you look to the future. "Forget not all His benefits" is the word from David to us today. When you remember how God took you from the point of salvation and brought you to the point you are today, it gives you faith and hope for what God will do in the future. Your tomorrow is glorious in the light of God's faithfulness to you through the years. The God who has never let you down will not let you down tomorrow. The God who has never failed you will never fail you. The old chorus says, "He has not brought you this far to leave you".
Elections are coming up soon in Tulsa for a number of positions. Keep Tuesday, July 25 in your mind so you will not forget to vote. Keep our city leaders also in your heart to pray for them. The Bible never said we would like all of our leaders or agree with their stand on issues. We are commanded though to pray for them. The apostle Paul told us, if we did pray for our leaders, we would live a quiet and peaceable life. I can honestly look back at many of the dramatic times in my life when God directed me in specific ways. Many of them were in times with mayors, governors and presidents I did not agree with. It is important to have godly people in office, but more importantly to trust in the God Who reigns over all. God bless the USA, Oklahoma and Tulsa.
Wednesday - July 12, 2006 Wasn't Joyce Meyer a blessing Sunday night? Her message really spoke to me and many have said what a difference it made in their attitude toward others in the body of Christ. We seated over 2100 in the auditorium. The excitement was like electricity and the worship was outstanding. But to me it was the message which took the prize. I have heard Joyce on many occasions, but this was the best I have ever heard her. It's not just because it was at our church either. Her accuracy and "no frills" way of ministering spoke to everyone. If you have not purchased the CD, please do so. This is one of those sermons you will want to listen to time after time and share with others.
This past week I spent two days at Kenneth Copeland's West Coast Believers Conference. It was a blessing to see 12,000 people praising God and enjoying the word. Everyone there was saying the same thing I have heard from different ministers across the country, "revival is coming". The gifts of the Spirit were present as well as healings and a powerful message each service. I was blessed to attend and came back enriched. We support many wonderful ministries from Grace. Kenneth Copeland is just one of them. Let your prayers be filled with gratitude for different ministers in the body of Christ.
I know that many of your prayers are for the needs of you and your family. You also pray for your job and personal income and all of these things are fine. I believe the prayer God is looking for from His children is prayer for the lost. Jesus told us to pray to the Lord of the harvest for laborers to enter the fields. It is wonderful to pray for salvations in the ministries of our missionaries and those who travel, but it is even more important to pray for those who cross your path each day. You have the benefit of knowing you are going to heaven and you have eternal life now. Many of the people you meet each day do not have that assurance. You need to pray for opportunities to minister to them or for laborers to cross their path. Remember, one plants and another waters. God gives the increase.
Joyce Meyer will be here this Sunday evening. I hope you are already planning on coming early and getting a good seat. Her ministry is worth the extra effort. I am blessed she is coming to our church and I expect many to be saved and changed through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joyce's ministry has been a blessing to me and (my wife) Loretta personally. If you had not planned on coming, change your plans and be at the church at 6:00 Sunday evening. You will be glad you came.
I received an email from Rich Renner today telling me how well things are going in his ministry in the United States and in Moscow. Rick is only one of many ministries we support around the country and around the world. We publish a list each month in the Growing With Grace church bulletin. That list is not only for your information, but also to give you a prayer guideline. Paul asked for prayer from the Colossian church for wisdom and the ability to keep the salvation message simple. We too can pray for wisdom for our foreign ministers as well as protection for them and their family. Also, we can pray for more open doors to take the gospel into places where the name of Jesus Christ is not known.
After a wonderful July 4th production (at Grace Church), a shuttle launch into space and good news from Iraq about our troops possibly beginning a pullout I am more grateful for our nation than ever. It is wonderful to stop and reflect for a moment on the great bounty of blessings God has given the United States. We certainly have our problems, but I would not want to live anywhere else. Gratitude must be continually mixed with our prayers. Paul told us that in "everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God". Prayer for our country, as well as everything else, should be always mixed with thanksgiving. When you pray today be thankful.
July Fourth-the day we celebrate our independence as a nation. American was founded on godly principles. We have "In God We Trust" on our coins and currency. In our pledge we proclaim that we are, "One nation, under God." America has been used by God to send more missionaries into the world and do more for God to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ than any other nation in the world and I personally believe that is why we have been so blessed as a nation. Let's take time today to pray for our nation and the leaders of our nation. It is truly the best and most blessed nation in the world!
Summers in Oklahoma are hot! Perhaps not as hot as in some areas of the country, but hot just the same. And along with the heat, come warnings to drink plenty of liquids so our bodies won't get dehydrated. But just as our physical body can suffer from the lack of hydration, the same is true spiritually. Jesus promised to give us water so that we would never thirst again-the living water of the new birth. The water Jesus gives becomes a well of water that springs up inside us and we, in turn, can share that water with others who are thirsting. Why don't you pray that God will give you an opportunity to share His living water with someone today.
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