Trail Of Tears

Great things happen when Zion travails

with weeping and moaning and wails

when our spirits are humble

those walls start to crumble

the Spirit of God, it prevails!

 

I am so excited about how God is beginning to use our young people to intercede for lost souls! Sunday night was an awesome service in church, and I believe, the start of something really great. A heavy spirit of prayer and intercession came upon the church. There was weeping and groaning and travailing. Our evangelist, Bro. Trevino, spoke briefly about intercession, and then there was more praying. Bro. Trevino gave a challenge to the young people to take up the burden of intercessory prayer, and they took it to heart. Those young people were weeping, talking in tongues, groaning and some even had snot running down their face, but they didn’t care. They were getting a hold of God. After service the young people talked and decided that they wanted to fast and get together Monday evening and pray. I was there for the prayer meeting, and it was just as powerful as Sunday night. They prayed for an hour and a half, which is especially long when you haven’t eaten all day. I am believing that we are going to see

new souls receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues

physical healings

financial miracles

revival and renewal among the saints of God

 

Great things happen when we earnestly, fervently pray!

When was the last time you wept for a soul

As tears from your eyes did freely flow

With agony over one’s lost condition

Of eternity without God, perdition?

 

If to win one to God is your noble goal

When was the last time you wept for a soul?

Before this great gospel we can share

We must take some time to wrestle in prayer.

 

Have you witnessed, it seems, to no avail?

Perhaps you’re lacking this thing called travail.

When was the last time you wept for a soul

With heart wrenching sobs you could scarcely control?

 

Ever take time to wonder why

Your spirit just seems so lifeless and dry?

Over this question, you may want to mull.

“When was the last time you wept for a soul?”

written

 

 

4-9-09

 

 

Psalm 126:5  Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!

126:6  He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

 

 

James 4:9  Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

4:10  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

 

2Chronicles 7:14  if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

 

Romans 8:26  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

 

“Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.”

Bob Pierce

 

 

 

There’s Nothing Like The Face Of A Kid Getting The Holy Ghost!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are so thankful that Sonia received the baptism of the Holy Ghost at Pacific Coast Camp 2011!

 

Happy Birthday To My Favorite Son!

Happy Birthday, Paul! It’s hard to believe that my baby is 15. You are such a blessing to me. There is nobody that can make mumsy laugh quite like you. Your quick wit keeps the whole family laughing, which keeps all of us off those prescription meds. Hee hee. It is a joy to watch you grow, and I am proud of the fine young man that you are becoming. I have watched you draw closer to God too this year, which of course is a thrill to this mother’s heart. I hope you enjoy your special day, and may this be your best year yet. Driver’s ed., here we come! Love you!!!

 

I Refuse To Be Part Of Another Generation!

This past week, my family and I were down in Ventura at Pacific Coast Camp. (a combined youth and family camp)We had a wonderful time! The weather was great, the fellowship with brothers and sisters of like precious faith was enjoyable, but for me, the crowning jewel was the awesome preaching and teaching from God’s Holy Word, the Bible. Tuesday morning was especially rich for me. Brother Gary Howard preached a message entitled I Refuse To Be Part Of Another Generation. I am so thankful for the young people in the apostolic ranks that love God, love holiness and by the power of the Holy Ghost are refusing to follow after a sinful, ungodly lifestyle. Apostolic young people, I believe in you, and I am proud of you! I’d like to dedicate this poem to all the youth that live and love Bible truth. May you walk with God in such a way that others of your generation will hunger and thirst for what you have.

I Refuse

 

I refuse to be part of another genearation

that goes down the path that heads to damnation.

Though some go the way that leads to a fall,

m heart is tuned in to the Master’s call.

I confess with righteous indignation;

I refuse to be part of another generation.

The Holy Ghost will aid and assist

to keep me from sin, temptation resist.

I’ll give none a cause to despise my youth;

for I’ll walk on the road of God’s holy truth.

I refuse to be part of another generation

that carries a load of condemnation.

The world with its allurements may beckon.

Deaf to its sound, myself I will reckon.

I’ll cling to the cross. I’ll cling to salvation.

I refuse to be part of another generation.

written 6-24-10

 

Judges 2:7  And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

2:8  And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

2:9  And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

2:10  And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

1Timothy 4:12  Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Romans 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Getting Closer

The teenage girl marveled at the testimonies of the elders in her church. Several times she had heard different ones stand up and thank the Lord that He had saved them and kept them for 40+ years. Life hadn’t always been easy, but God had been with them every step of the way. “Wow, what a testimony to be able to serve God all those years! I hope that will be my testimony some day,” thought the teenage girl. At the age of 16, she had repented of her sins, been baptized in the name of Jesus and gloriously filled with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Although she enjoyed her new found faith in God, she often found herself fighting against the voice of discouragement that roared in her head. It seemed she was bombarded with negative thoughts of not being able to live for the Lord and really please Him. However there were a couple of things that really helped her. The first was her pastor who taught her the importance of casting down those negative voices of doubt and despair and replacing them with the good Word of God. The second was a quote that she read in a book.

“The mighty oak was once a little nut that stood its ground.”

A short time after reading the quote, the young lady found a little acorn and decided to keep it as a reminder of the quote that had encouraged her. For a while, she kept the acorn where she could see it. After moving a few times, the acorn wasn’t in plain sight anymore and was largely forgotten. Through the grace of God that teenage girl grew older, married a godly man and eventually became a mother. Every so often, she would think about the acorn and the elder saints from her first church that had encouraged her so with their testimonies. Time was going on, and she was still living for God! It seemed like before she knew it, she had been living for God for 30 years. It dawned on her that she was getting closer to the testimony that she wanted to have. In a couple of days it will be 31 years that the Lord has kept her.

Actually, I should say that it will be 31 years that the Lord has kept me, for the teenage girl that I mentioned was/is yours truly. On June 16, 1979, I came to God in repentance, was baptized in the lovely name of Jesus and received the Holy Ghost. I am so thankful that God is not only a Saviour, but He is a Keeper as well, and has kept me all these years. Back in my younger years, the devil really tried to convince me that I could not live for God and that I should go back to my old way of life. 31 years later, I would just like to say, IN YOUR FACE, DEVIL!

I’m getting closer to being able to have the testimony I always wanted to have, and if the Lord tarries long enough, and I don’t go by way of the grave, I look forward to the day when I can say…………………………………………….

“God’s been so good to me! 40 years ago He saved me and He has kept me. It hasn’t always been easy, but it has been worth it. He can save you and keep you too!”

 

A Timeless Poem For Children

A few years ago when the kids were little, I made up a tune to this poem. I went around singing it until the kids had it memorized. Just for fun, I started humming the tune at the breakfast table, and my daughter immediately started singing the words.(Yeah! She still knows it.) It’s a nice little poem with a simple message.

Let dogs delight to bark and bite,
          For God hath made them so;
        Let bears and lions growl and fight,
          For ’tis their nature too.

        But, children, you should never let
          Such angry passions rise;
        Your little hands were never made
          To tear each other’s eyes.

Isaac Watts

 

Can You Survive The Delay?

This was the title of one of the messages that was preached at OnCourse Conference, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot.  After this message was preached and the altar call was ended, my husband and I took a walk all across the front of the altar area. The floor was concrete, and every few feet there were puddles of tears where young people had come crying tears of repentance and rededication to God. Many of us have heard it preached for years that Jesus will return again and His coming is very near. He certainly has delayed His coming longer than I thought He would, but God’s Word is true, and He does not lie. He is coming back again for His people. It’s hard to imagine the coming of the Lord being more than 10 years away from now, but if it is, I intend to still be living for Him and looking for His coming. I pray that be your desire too.

Can you survive the delay

Should the Lord not return today?

Will you continue anticipating

Or become over weary with waiting?

If the Rapture seems so far away;

Can you survive the delay?

Will you who were once cleansed within

Return to the bondage of sin?

Some choose to turn about face;

Drop out of the called Christian race.

Can you survive the delay

No matter what some do or say?

The world, the flesh exert force

To knock God’s true servants off course.

Others might be lead astray.

Can you survive the delay?

3/23/10

 

Mat 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

44  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

47  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

48  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

49  And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

50  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

51  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Luk 12:37  Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

Luk 12:38  And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Jud 1:21  Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

 

Spectacular Sunday School Decor

Some minister’s wives that are friends of mine recently shared some photos of Sunday school classrooms at their churches. I was so impressed with these and asked if they wouldn’t mind if I posted them. Obviously  a lot of time and effort went into this, and if I were a kid in one of these classes, I’d feel very special.

Be submerged in Jesus’ name. I love it!

Are you ready for the Rapture?

The Word of God mixed with our faith in it will definitely change us to be more like Jesus!

God’s lab room.

The Cave Room

This is my favorite. What a unique way to present the books of the Bible! What decor do you like best?

 

Forever 21

A few days ago, I accompanied my daughter on a little shopping trip. One of the stores that she wanted to go to was Forever 21. As she was walking around looking at clothing and hair accessories, I began to do a little wandering around the store and some thinking too. My thoughts turned to the name of the store, Forever 21. Why would someone want to be 21 forever? It seems in our country that 21 is an important age. For one thing, you can legally drink liquor. (not that that was a milestone I was looking forward to – I’ve never been a drinker.) 21 is a youthful age. You are not a kid anymore, but an adult. Most ladies at this age look pretty good and physically speaking, probably feel pretty good too. I can look back and think of the energy I had at that age. I sure don’t have it now! There is a sense too of having your whole life before you, which can be an exciting thing. But to be 21 forever? When I turned 21, I hadn’t even been married a year. I was in good shape, looking forward to the future and felt like I had a good head on my shoulders. However, there are so many things I would miss out on by staying this age forever. I would never know the joys and struggles of having children, the grace of God to make it through life’s trials, new friendships and relationships and hopefully wisdom gained through my mistakes and experiences. Now, I am 46. Would I want to stay this age forever? Not really. Although I can look back and see how I’ve grown mentally, spiritually and physically(that unfortunate middle-aged spread), I know this is not the ultimate for me. In fact there is really no age in which I will “have arrived”.  There will be things I like and dislike about every year that God allows me on this earth. True satisfaction, I believe for every Christian can’t be found in any age, because there is no perfect age or perfect circumstances for our life.

 

I thought of this verse in the book of Psalms.

 

Psalm 17:15  As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

 

The perfect forever,

 

Forever in the presence of Jesus Christ!

 

Not For Children Only

This past weekend, we had a Sunday School teacher’s training session at our church and also a children’s crusade.  The teacher training session on Saturday was fun and full of ideas on teaching, object lessons, puppets, songs and creative snack ideas.  We had a few pastors and Sunday school personnel from some of our neighboring churches that attended, and I think everyone left encouraged and with a greater excitement about ministering to children.

Sunday morning was our children’s crusade with Rev. Jason Bohannon and his wife, Jennifer. Both children and adults alike enjoyed all the fun songs, puppet shows, object lessons and Bible teaching that was presented in an anything but boring way.  It was so wonderful to see an altar full of praying children, teens and adults at the close of the service.  To get more of the scoop and see some photos, click here to check out Eva’s blog.  She is our children’s church coordinator and is doing a great job.

To God be the glory for the work He is doing in the lives of men, women and children in our community!