Month: November 2017

PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED IN GOD’S TIME

Php 4:6,7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of

 God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 

            This past year a very dear brother and friend donated a truck to our congregation. One Saturday morning back in the Spring J.J. and I used the truck to pick up some clothes that someone wanted to donate to the poor.   Later, in the week I realized that I had lost the keys to the truck. I back tracked everywhere that we went. I looked in my personal truck real good to see if they had fallen out of my pocket and between the seats and I could not find them anywhere. Thankfully there was one more set, but this was the main set and it had a key on it that was somehow connected to putting it in four-wheel drive, or something like that.

            J.J. preaches, teaches, lectures and makes sure that when I misplace something rather than panicking and getting anxious to ask the Holy Spirit to show me. Well I prayed about the keys.  I asked the Father to send the angels to bring them to me and I did not get anxious about it. As I said earlier this happened sometime last Spring. Yesterday morning as I was getting ready for church I just so happened to glance under the foot of the bed in the guest room where I keep my clothes. There is a stand there where we keep blankets. Well the blankets have been removed and put on our beds.   So, guess what I just happened to see? Yes, the Holy Spirit led me to where those keys were.  God is so faithful. He works when we are not working. 1Pe 3:12 For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”(NKJV)

He answered the prayer about the keys in His time.  He could have shown me the first day that I asked Him.  Perhaps yesterday I really needed to know that He had not forgotten me. Perhaps it was a reminder that we are not to give up, or lose hope about people, situations, and circumstances that we are praying about.

In the Bible there are many ways to pray.  Some people have written books that have helped me in my prayer life. Some people have written books and they may lean on one method in praying.  This morning as I was listening to the Lord I heard the Holy Spirit say pray out of your relationship with God.  As a child of God, we have access to His throne at any time about anything.

Sometimes the prayers get answered quick. Sometimes like the one that I have just shared with you it may take some time.  Non-the less don’t quit praying and don’t quit believing.  You may have a child that is as lost as those keys were. How much more does your Heavenly Father love you and that child than He does that set of keys He brought back to me.

You may have been praying about some other situation and circumstance.  The eyes that were on those keys are on you and that situation. Ps 34:15 “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.” Keep believing, trust God and pray the way that the Holy Spirit is directing you. He may tell you to pray as I did that day and to let it go and not pray about it every day. Or He may prompt you like the neighbor who went next door when he was needing bread for some unexpected company and answer your prayer very quick Lu 11:8 “I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.   Just be assured of this child of God. He will answer it in His time.  Remember these words of our Lord Jesus Lu 11:9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.   If it is something that you have been praying about for a while I believe that one day you will just glance somewhere and  the  Holy Spirit will have a special surprise for you.

 Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus we thank You that we have access to the throne room at anytime and in anyplace.  We thank You Lord for those prayers that You have answered quickly.  We thank You for the ones that took some time. Lord we thank You that You are at work on some right now and  that one day we will get a good Holy Spirit surprise when you just do it! We love You Jesus!

In Jesus Name

Amen

Remember the reason for this season! The celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

GET TOGETHER- I AM SO THANKFUL FOR THE BLOOD OF JESUS

I must admit that I really enjoy holidays and Thanksgiving is one of my favorite ones. It seems like it is a little less hectic that Christmas, although I believe with the right focus that we can do something about that. We plan on enjoying this week in a special way. Yesterday we had a good service as some of our people gave thanks spontaneously for some of the wonderful things that God has done in their lives. Other gave thanks for the wonderful ways that God has blessed us during the service. Several also gave thanks for the relationships that we have as a church family here at Christ Community Fellowship. In my opinion it was an awesome day.

On the other hand, I know that holidays are tough for people sometimes as well. Two years ago, was the first Thanksgiving without my Mother. Three years before that it was the first one without my brother Richard. And to be honest I will miss them in a big-time way this Thanksgiving and at Christmas. We have people in our congregation that have loved ones that have gone on to be with the Lord and I know that they will miss them at Thanksgiving as well.

This leads me to what I just could not stop thanking and praising the Lord for yesterday in our service and all day today. That is the blood of Jesus Christ. Without the blood of Jesus Christ life would be meaningless. For those that are living a life that is meaningless right now His blood is available to all of those who will repent and turn to Him.

Through the blood of Jesus as the old Hymn” O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing” by Charles Wesley goes “His blood can make the foulest clean His blood availed for me.” That means that person that many may believe is beyond hope is not beyond hope. That also means that when you and I may have felt like there was no hope for us that the blood of Jesus is fully sufficient to save those who put their faith in Him from our sins.

Through the blood of Jesus those old sins that the enemy tries to bring up from our past have been forgiven. Ps 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. (NKJV) I can remember waking up on Thanksgiving mornings in bad shape from partying the night before and there were some that I had not even been to bed on. This passage describes what the blood has done to bring me out of that state: Eph 2:13” But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (NKJV)

You may be like I was at one time. You may be a long way off and feel like you are too far away to ever be right with God. But I have good news for you. The Blood of Jesus is there for you. And if you will repent of your sin and put your faith in His precious blood He will bring you near to Him.

If you are saved today I pray that you will remember just what the Lord has done for you. Be intentional in thanking Him for the blood that He shed on the cross. Be joyful that your sins are forgiven! Be thankful that those loved ones that are in Christ that you will see them again at the greatest holiday that will have ever been one day the marriage feats of the Lamb that shed His blood for us. Re 19:7 “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

Re 19:9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

Let Us Pray: Lord Jesus we thank You so much for your precious blood that has redeemed us from our sinful past. We thank You so much for suffering on the cross for our sins. May we never take it lightly that only by Your precious blood can we be saved from our sins and restored to a relationship with you for eternity.

In Jesus Name

Amen

Have a great Thanksgiving Week!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

GET TOGETHER-    Loving Your Enemies

Mt 5:44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, (NKJV)

Well I prayed for the Holy Spirit to give me something and this is what He gave me.  To be honest I can’t think of a subject that may be more difficult and perhaps even less popular during this time than telling people that we need to love our enemies.

To be honest I like it best when I get some revelation or insight on something that I have not gotten before.  I was taught to love enemies in Bible School when I was a child.  I can’t say that I always did that, but I was taught that. And I remember when I got saved twenty-seven years ago I did love everybody. But now we live in a culture where we are concerned that if we show love to an enemy people may think that we have gone over to their camp.

One thing that helps me in this area is when I allow the Holy Spirit to work is to do what a wise, solid, never compromising preacher told me several years ago.  He said to preach prophetically, and to love pastorally. He also told me to try to win people rather than trying to beat them.   He meant when you are preaching, and teaching preach truth under the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, when we are out here in the highways and byways where Jesus commanded us to go we want to love people and realize that God will want to use us to win them to the Kingdom. We can’t win people that we don’t love.

Loving people who oppose the things that we stand for doesn’t mean that we love their behavior, or sin.  Jesus loved me when I was living in sin. Thank the Lord that He loved me enough to take me out of that sin. He did it by sending people by me who didn’t compromise what they believed, but they showed Christ like love.

The early Christians often got called atheists because they refused to worship the Roman gods and goddess’s. They were accused of being cannibals because the Romans didn’t understand what it meant for them to partake in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ during the celebration of Holy Communion.  And yet they would persevere, and the Lord would do a mighty work that has outlasted and will always outlast the Roman Empire.

How do you do this? When someone curses you don’t curse back.  Do something good for those who hate you. The most important thing as Jesus said is to pray for them.  The saints in the New Testament who were persecuted and hated in ways that most of us have not been obeyed Jesus in this and the Kingdom advanced in mighty ways.  Here are Stephen’s words as he was being stoned to death for his faithfulness:Ac 7:60 “Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (NKJV) The Apostle Paul was persecuted, imprisoned and according to tradition was beheaded here is what he has to say on the subject:Ro 12:14 “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” (NKJV) Peter said that when we do this that we will be blessed: “1Pe 3:9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. “(NKJV)

These men that I just mentioned were filled with the Holy Spirit.   Love is an abiding gift of the Holy Spirit in every believer:1Co 13:13 “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (NKJV) Just like the other gifts of the Holy Spirit love must be stirred up:2Ti 1:6 ¶ Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. (NKJV)   It might be good to have a brother or sister lay hands on us and pray that the gift of love be stirred up in us, so that we can love our enemies. 

Finally, we all need to remember what Paul said about who our enemies are:Eph 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (NKJV) When we love our enemies we don’t give those evil demonic forces an open door to come and work in our lives.  We close the door to the spirits of strife, envy, faultfinding, bitterness, gossip, and all the others. Going back to what I said earlier I believe that when we love our enemies that we will win some of those who hate us and who also hate the Gospel. Jesus loves to turn His enemies into friends. I know that because He turned me from an enemy of His to a friend of His.

LET US PRAY

Jesus, I was going to tell you that it isn’t easy loving those who hate us, disagree with us, and say all kinds of evil against us. But you know what it is like better than anyone else that has ever lived. We ask You today for a fresh anointing to love in this season when we face persecution, mockery, people calling us ignorant and so many other names. Fill us a fresh today. So that we can love our enemies  like You did  and have commanded us to do.

In Jesus Name

Amen

 

God bless you all!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

 

GET TOGETHER- When We Are Still He Is at Work

Ps 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! (NKJV)

Many of us are familiar with this verse. I must admit that one of my challenges sometimes is being still and letting God do what He desires to do in my life, ministry, and in various relationships and circumstances. I learned the value of hard work from my parents. Hard work is a good thing. I learned the value of hustling and playing hard from coaches in High School. Hard work pays off. So being still is hard for me. Jesus had this to say about serving in His Kingdom in Lu 19:13 “So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.” (NKJV)
However, there are many times that if we are going to do business until the Lord returns that we must be still and know that He is God. This morning one of my devotionals was about listening and being quiet. That is hard for me. There were some things that I prayed about and the Holy Spirit was challenging me to leave them with God and to trust Him.
I felt like the Holy Spirit was telling me to not listen to the radio when I was traveling this morning, or to pray out loud, but to listen. When I did the Holy Spirit came with that small still voice that assures us that God loves us and that He is going to take care of every prayer, care, and concern. That is when I heard the Holy Spirit whisper” be still and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46 is one of my favorite Psalms. In this Psalm we are reminded that things may look like they are out of control, but God is with us and He is in control. Ps 46:4,5 are two of my favorite verses in this Psalm. “There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.” People often say that it is darkest just before the break of dawn. In the still of the night when we are asleep and still He is working on our behalf.
I believe for the Christian that river is symbolic of the Holy Spirit who abides in all believers. That is who is speaking to us in that small still voice that says don’t worry, I have this. That small still voice brings those scriptures to our heart that remind us that He loves us and wants to see good take place in our lives: 1Pe 5:7 “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (NKJV)
Today you may be facing a trial. You may be facing having to work through some tough situations. Whatever it is it you might need to take time and to be still and listen to what God has to say to you. He may speak quickly, or He may take a little while. None the less He will speak to you. And He will come through for you. When we do this, it will make us better to do business until Jesus comes as the Scriptures command us to do. Then we can joyfully quote. Ps 46:11 “The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.”. Selah

LET US PRAY
Lord Jesus what a blessing it is not to have to worry. What a blessing it is to know that You are at work on our behalf. Lord today help us to experience the discipline of being still and trusting You with those things that we have prayed about. Lord we are so excited that we serve the God of the universe who will be exalted among the nations.
In Jesus Name
Amen

Be still and know that He is God!
Your Friend/Kinfolk
Preston

GET TOGETHER- Unity: The Funnel That the Anointing Flows Through
Ps 133:1 -3 A Song of Ascents. Of David.>> Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing-Life forevermore.
                 I remember having a truck one time that I had to keep oil behind the seat and use a funnel to get the oil into the engine. Without that oil the engine would be ruined in no time. Oil is often symbolic of the anointing in the scriptures. Just like that truck would be ruined if it didn’t have any oil in it the individual Christian, the local church and the Kingdom can’t function as we are supposed to without the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

      In this passage we get the picture of how important that unity is for God’s people. The Hebrew term for pleasant is towb. It means to be delightful. When a group of believers are in unity it is a pleasant and delightful place to be. It is good when we are together. This goes for Christians meeting for corporate worship and for Christians who may be meeting one on one or in small groups. 

       When we dwell together we go through challenges together, heartbreaks, disappointments, victories, and joyful occasions as we are dwelling together. When we are in unity the Holy Spirit will be with us in special ways. I think about how good that oil must have felt on Aaron’s chapped dry skin as Israel was wandering about in the dessert.

      Have you ever wondered why the demonic forces of evil serving Satan work so hard to disrupt unity? They know that if they can get us focused on one another’s short comings that they will get our focus off Jesus. They know that when this happens that the Holy Spirit will be grieved. Their strategy is to quench the Spirit in the home, the local church, and the Spirit’s work through us in the Kingdom of God.

      If there ever was a time that the Body of Christ needed to be sure that we did not quench the work of the Holy Spirit, it is now. We can begin by praying for our homes that the Holy Spirit will be at work in our homes. The Lord desires that we have strife free homes. He desires for His presence to be in our homes in a wonderful way. Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand.

      We need His manifest presence in our local congregations. When we have that people will show up and literally feel His presence. That is why unity is so important. We need His presence as He rebuilds relationships with Christians in other parts of the Body of Christ. We need unity so that the world can see that we are one in Christ and that our love for each other is stronger than any denominational, or non-denominational difference.

      When we have this type unity around the essentials of the faith the Holy Spirit will be upon all that we do as we go into the highways and byways to advance the Kingdom of God upon the earth. Then we will be ready to see presence based healings, presence based deliverances, and presence based salvations take place in our services as well as out in the world where Jesus has commanded all of us to go. Are you ready to be a funnel that the anointing of the Holy Spirit can flow through? Pray for unity, be a vessel that helps to promote unity. Forgive any Christians that you may have an issue with. Pray for those to forgive you that may have an issue with you. It is good and it is pleasant. It is a blessing!
Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus we thank You that You have called us for such a time as this. Help us to be funnels that the oil of gladness and the anointing of the Holy Spirit can flow through.

In Jesus Name

Amen
Give me oil in my lamp keep it burning!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston