Fireproof

Well the banquet on Saturday night was phenomenal. We had a packed house and everything was great. The food by Chef KD was excellent as well as the desserts and especially that salad dressing, first class. I want to thank Polly and her team of decorators for transforming the gym into an elegant affair. I would forget one if I tried to list them all, but Rhonda, Derenda, Tina, Karen, Vanessa, and the staff were as usual, right there. I want to thank our interns and several singles for stepping up in the area of food prep and serving. Someone suggested we open a restaurant, I don’t know about that. The interns and singles really worked well with Chef’s crew to make it a tremendous night. As always our tech guys and staff, they just continue to produce and do all that the Lord puts in my heart to do. I say thanks to you all. I can’t forget Mama Nell and her famous peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that pulled us through. Great night, lots of tears and believing for “results” in the families of HOF and beyond. It was great spending Valentine’s Day with you all. See you at the series.

Jesus Begins

After His time of testing, Jesus then stepped into God’s will for his life: ministry. Don’t let the “churchy” use of that word get to you but understand what it means: serve. It means to serve by executing the commands of someone else. Jesus began to carry out what the Father showed Him and spoke to Him. In fact a prophecy from Isaiah is quoted which says in part:

“the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.” Matt. 4:16

A great light shines in the darkness of the lives of people when we have a heart to serve, or do God’s will and not our own. Why, because it is so unnatural to see people serve others with no personal motive in mind. I know your local business person will serve you because they want to sell a product or service, and that’s natural. Many will ask us to serve their good cause, their good dream, or their good service in fact sometimes far too many will ask. Shining like a beacon on a dark night or a star in a black sky stands the person who has no agenda other than God’s. Serve to see the broken healed, the bound set free, the weary refreshed. Jesus began to serve and changed the course of humanity. Let’s get started and see what God does.

After the fast

In Matthew 4, Jesus encounters a time of temptation either during or just after 40 days of a fast. It’s important to note that you can count on a test in your life even after something as monumental as 21 days of fasting. If you haven’t already gone through your trial, then your time is coming. I love how Jesus made it through, by quoting scripture. You can rely on the Word that is in you through those times of reading and hearing the scripture to battle the devil and his attempt to tempt you. God’s Word is powerful, and is the only way to stand against the devil’s attacks in our personal lives. It’s eternal so what worked for Jesus will work today. It’s specific to the particular area you are being tempted in: ethics, fear, morals, finances, or spiritual. Each temptation was the Satan’s attempt to have Jesus take a shortcut, cutting out God, to meet some legitimate need in His life. Turn bread into stones, but man needs more than bread. If you are the Son of God then jump, but we need to trust that God is protecting us. Bow down and have it all, but we only worship and serve God. Jesus showed us how to make it through and in Christ you and I will make it through also. Be blessed.

The Fast is Over

As we put our time of fasting behind us for this year I want to share with you in the next few blogs several tips I’ve learned over the years so that your investment in spiritual things can be of the most value to you. Here goes: Live a fasted lifestyle.

Many have remarked to me that they wished we could continue on in fasting and prayer and getting together each evening at the church. That is just not possible to keep that kind of schedule, nor is it healthy. I want you to know that the presence of God is not confined to our church auditorium, but you can enjoy Him anytime you are willing to get into a quiet place of life and make room for the Holy Spirit, He’ll respond. The reason times of fasting are so successful in bringing awakening is that we learn to say no to our flesh and God honors that. I encourage you to live a fasted lifestyle. That means make saying no to your flesh a regular, intentional part of your everyday life. We do this when we turn off the TV to pray, forego a little sleep to read our Bible, push away from the extra helping of food to go and spend time with the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to indulge your flesh in everything it wants or you will feel the pull of the world in your life. As we have been discovering, change your thinking and change your life.