November 2011 Blog Posts (50)

As you have noticed, it is fascinating to hang on to a text and draw as much off of it as possible. Lately we have been hanging around the 16^th and the 17^th chapters of Luke. In the 17^th chapter the disciples had asked for more faith, and Jesus told them: “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat…

You won't like today's message very well. Because as you can tell, I have been reading—and rereading—that same passage in Luke 16, where Jesus was saying, “if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property—whether God or man— why should you be trusted with things of your own?” (Luke 16:12). I don’t know what the Lord is saying to me. I think I have been trustworthy in some little things, how about you? Jesus is saying, “You say you want a revelation, something to enable you to do…

After 21 years of ministering Praise and Worship mostly in the prison system, we, my husband and myself,  felt that we were to take 2011 as a ‘sabbatical’ year, limit our public ministries, and concentrate on seeking the Lord for our future direction in ministry.  We believed that our time of ministering in prisons was, by and large, at an end, but we didn’t have any idea as to what our future direction was to be.  As we have spent the past year or so studying, praying, and seeking God, we…

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’” (Luke 17:5). Whoa! I didn’t mean to just throw that at you this morning, but I was thinking about this passage. What was happening is that these men who comprised Christ’s close circle were asking something important of their Master. They wanted a greater understanding of the meaning and workings of faith, and I think we all do. They were saying, “Lord, what sort of faith do you want from us? Give us a revelation of the kind of faith…

Times of Prayer

Every day my wife and I enjoy watching the different birds that come to feed on the bread and grain that we put out in our yard. This morning was no exception and as I watched them feed I kept hearing these words “YOU ARE MORE PRECIOUS THAT THESE”

Matt 6:26-27 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than…

Chapter four of a book by David S. Kirkwood titled The Disciple-Making Minister



Here is great question to ask ourselves: How did the early church succeed so well at making disciples without any church buildings, professionally-trained clergy, Bible schools and seminaries, hymnals and overhead projectors, wireless microphones and tape duplicators, Sunday school curriculums and youth ministries, worship teams and choirs, computers and copy machines, Christian radio and TV stations,…

My wife and I love watching the birds that gather daily to eat the bread and grain we often put out in our yard. This morning was no exception and these words kept coming to me as I watched them "YOU ARE MORE PRECIOUS"

When I reflected on how the Lord has brought me through all these years, never for a day allowing us to go hungry or being put to shame I can only declare I am certainly more precious.

Matt 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away…

This morning, I want to look at King David. Sure he was a good warrior and we are told had good looks . . . but how many times did he sin against the Lord? He committed adultery, then had the husband of the woman murdered! Does that sound like a “Man of God,” to you?

But those were only two things he did. David committed quite a few other sins, as well. He ran a protection racket on his fellow Judeans; he intended to murder a man named Nabal for insulting him. The only reason…

One of the most encouraging Scriptures in the Bible is II Corinthians 4:7: “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” The Amplified Versions renders this as, “frail, human vessels . . .” Oh don’t we know that is true! But then Paul goes on to describe those “frail, human vessels” as “dying men,” “hard pressed on every side,” perplexed,” “persecuted,” “struck down.” If that wasn’t bad enough, he goes on to say that even…

Pre-destined as Sons Part 5

Eph 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

S          -          …

Today many of us have sensed that something is not quite right about where we have arrived in our journey with the Lord, and that something essential is amiss within our cherished religious institutions. As a result, we have pressed the Pause button. We have determined to go to the source, the Scriptures, and see what our Father has to say about things, rather than continuing to rely on what men have to say.

As a result, you are meeting a lot of resistance, aren’t you? You…

This is a continuation of my conversation with “Sally” from last week’s article and the final part of my series on gossip.

Me: Sally, Father has given me an assignment in this situation, too, but it isn’t this family, it is you. He says that the one who speaks negatively about others does so because he/she is so full of him/herself that he/she is without restraint (Proverbs 10:18)! I’m concerned because there are consequences for this,…

All of us have heard of King David. He was the author of so many Psalms, but he wasn’t always a “top-of-the-world,” motivator. Often he simply became overwhelmed from his struggles. Sometimes he became so tired, so embattled and just flooded with troubles, all he wanted was to escape to a place of peace and safety: “My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me . . . I said, 'Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest . . . I would…

Years ago, I belonged to a church that showed satellite seminars from Robert Tilton. Tilton was big on . . . no, exclusively, taught on Prosperity and Success. Man, we ate that stuff up big time. Everything was Prosperity and Success. We read all the books; listened to all the tapes. As a result we became pretty screwed up on our priorities.

As I grew and matured in my relationship with my Lord, I began to see that in fact, in our Lord’s eyes, true Success is being totally fulfilled…

Times of Prayer

2 Chron 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him NKJV

Wow, what a precious God and Father Who is looking for the loyal, faithful and mature sons and the reward is with Him and the reward is God Himself. The fullness of every blessing is contained in Christ. I am encouraged daily to progress to a place where my entire life is a…

Everyone who reads these messages come from assorted backgrounds and history in their walk with the Lord. Some have been saved for several years, others for less than a year, and some just months or a few weeks. That is exciting. In fact, simply finding salvation and being delivered from sin is wonderful! Old things fade away—and all things become new. We can rejoice that we are saved!

However, if you intend to be a “good soldier” (cute reference, don’t you think?) in the…

Yesterday I reminded you that each of us will face a “wilderness” period of some type or another. There is no way for me to give you a specific description of what it will be, but as our Lord draws us closer . . . he will purify our life—usually with fire. Much like what is needed to purify gold.

The problem we run into is that often what we may desire, is not what the Lord wants to give us. It’s not because He is a mean stepfather who wants to take away all the dreams and…

In the last message we learned that the Lord had led the people he had rescued to humble them and to prepare them for the work he had planned for them. (Ooh, a light just went on. Thank you Father. Sorry, it was a personal message to me).

Anyway, our Father does indeed have a purpose in our lives and He is bringing each of us into the land of promise. However, when we get there, we have to be mature enough to accept the responsibilities and privileges of that inheritance (that’s where…

We have been talking about Job’s experiences and how he responded to the attacks of Satan. But the trials continued coming, and eventually it became personal with Satan attacked Job’s physical being. Now that is where it hurts the most. I mean we can handle some of the “stuff” on the outside, but when our bodies are attack? That is another thing all together.

As a result, Job starts meditating on the frailty of human life, and the words he uses make it appear that he didn‘t yet have…

November 18, 2011

Proverbs 29

⁶ …But the righteous sings and rejoices.

¹³ … The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.

Father, today I will expect Your presence to accomplish songs and rejoicings and I will not allow my circumstances or the people around me to become a means to squelch Your Spirit.  I look forward to the light You have for my eyes today and will remember that the difference between a…