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June 18, 2014 Words of Wisdom on Pleasing God, by Woodrow Kroll, editorial by Lydia Ford -Topic: "Afflictions Have its Place"

6/18/2014

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." (2 Corinthians 4:17).

I am very concerned about this new breed of Christians that are in the church today. Many of them sit in churches where leadership has sold them a rotten bill of goods. Leaders have been less than honest with their congregants. Many pastors are preaching "Prosperity Messages, Name it and Claim it Messages, God’s Favor and Blessing Season, or claiming that: "This is the year that the saints will recover everything that the devil has stolen from them!"

The message of the gospel, the salvation of souls, our identity with Christ as the suffering Savior as well as the Resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who conquered death, he'll, and the grave; has taken a back seat to tamer, comforting, less judgmental, fiery sermons on the penalty for sin. In fact we don't want to hear sermons that deal with suffering, sin, hell or the devil. I don't think we even mention his name much anymore in our churches!

2 Timothy 4:3-4 tells us that there will come a time when the people won't want to hear the truth. Listen to what it says: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

This lets us know we are in big trouble! If we only allow ourselves to hear about blessings, gifts, prosperity, miracles, etc.; when trouble comes knocking at our door we won't have the fortitude to stand against troubles, suffering and affliction. The church must know that the way to Jesus is by way of the cross! No Cross, No Crown! If we want to reign with Him, we must also suffer with him.

The good news and it is good news, it that, Afflictions test our character and character tested, with the right response, is character strengthened. We should rejoice today that God loves us enough to afflict us.

"The ability to meet affliction with an uncompromising endurance and unflinching respect for God is one of the marks of true Christian character”, says Woodrow Kroll.
It was Job who said: “Though He slays me, yet will I trust him!" (Job 13:15). I can't think of a man in the Bible that was more afflicted than Brother Job.

Kroll says: " When the nipping north winds of calamity chill our nights and cause us to be restless, we may rest in the promise of God that "weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Furthermore James 1:12 states: "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which The Lord has promised to those who live Him."

Lastly, it is as much a part of the Christian’s life to know afflictions as it is to know mercies; favor, prosperity, blessings, and miracles. We need to know that the same God that "smites us, is the same God that smiles on us.

Enjoy this series of beautiful sun shiny days head.
And:”Don’t forget to say your prayers!"

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June 10, 2014 "Trust Takes Trial"

6/10/2014

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Trust Takes Trial
You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord You God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled, no one has failed. (Joshua 23:14)

Lord, It is easy to forget all that You have brought me through. Not because I am not grateful but because... after a fall, I am always quick to embrace life and goodness. Lately I have begun to look dauntingly at those deep dark moments when I questioned You about the decisions You allowed/made that impacted my life in such a dramatic hurtful way. I even began to question myself concerning the lack of decision making, the lucidness of what was going on in my mind on the day I received news of my husband's diagnosis of terminal lung cancer, followed by the untimely heart attack that actually took him before the cancer did. I questioned whether I should have stayed that last night at the hospital with him. Should I have requested an autopsy. Why didn't I question the floor nurses about what happened more intently. Why, Why, Why?

People, trials and subsequent death, losses, catastrophes of great magnitude often leave you exhausted and unsatisfied about your behavior in the midst of the storm! But when those thoughts start to fill up my heart, I remember that God has chosen me out of His divine will and purpose to speak life to hurting people even in the midst of a dark, cruel world of sin, failures, bad decisions, and unpredictability. He did not allow me to go through this trial for no reason. I know that I am suppose to help others to go through pain and suffer; and teach, support, love, comfort, and pray individuals through their life's storm. I don't want to look back or dwell on the troubles I have experienced. But I am realizing how important it is to look at these times occasionally because they strengthen my journey.

Today, I begin a new kind of trial. I have never been here before...not exactly. But all I need to do is recall the promises The Lord has planted in my spirit, and trust Him once again. The good news is -even if the trials are not getting easier, the trusting is!

Andre Crouch, the famous gospel writer and musician wrote, produced, and sang a song entitled: "Through It All." I love the entire song, but the third verse grabs my attention. The words say:

" I thank God for the mountains, and I thank Him for the valleys, I thank Him for the storms he brought me through. For if I'd never had a problem, I wouldn't know God could solve them, I'd never know what faith in God could do.

Though it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus, I've learned to trust in God. Through it all, through it all. I've learned to depend upon His Word.

Take if from someone how has been there, done that, and got the tee-shirt. TRUST TAKES TRIAL!I know some of us are saved, got the Holy Ghost, fire baptized, speak in several tongues, Lol etc. But the truth is, some of us turned a deaf ear to the voice of God. We did not answer His call. We did not obey His commandments. He told us to stop the madness, we didn't. When He told us to let him/her, this or that go, we didn't. It took a trial, a problem, some type of terrible thing to happen, in order to get our attention.

One might say, "Well God you didn't have to do all that to get me to obey You. But, Yes, He Did! I have even said it myself!!! I would not be who I am today, doing what I am doing today without His intervention, and without the regular stuff that happens to all of us; because, sometimes, "Stuff just happens!" God allows it to happen. He could stop trials if He wanted to, He is God! But he allows trials and suffering to come to strengthen us. Not merely for us, but to help others who may find themselves in the same or similar circumstances as us.

I thank God for the mountains and the valleys in my life now. When you are going through, it does not feel good! But we have to learn to trust the one who holds us in the palm of His hand. He promises to never let go our hand. He is faithful, even when we are not.

Have a good and godly day today, and : "Don"t forget to say your prayers."

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2014 Topic: " The Gathering of the End time Harvest of Souls (John 4:34-36)

6/4/2014

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"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."

Last week I attended a seminar, conference if you will entitled: "the Art of Gathering the Harvest For Church Growth." The conference or seminar leader was apostle Russel Cephas from, "Church Growth International" in Sherwood, Arkansas. The host for the conference was, Apostle Cheryl Fortson, from Full Gospel Building Foundation International, located in Bloomfield, CT. The conference was held Wednesday May 28- June 1st. Words cannot describe the dynamic teaching, comprehensive material that was presented and made available for purchase; and the enormity of the weight and anointing that was felt and embodied in this awesome Man of God for the salvation of souls.

I cannot even begin to summarize the teaching that was share to those in attendance. I do however, want to say that as a Christian, I felt convicted by the statement that he made concerning our lack luster attitude towards sinners. The apostle reminded us that the only commandment that the Lord left to his church was to evangelize, make soul winning the priority of each individual person and church. That is the only real agenda that Jesus Christ left for the church to commit to.

Apostle Cephas reminded us that compassion is the master key to effective and successful ministry! However it is evident that the church and its people have lost our compassion for the lost, the unsaved. But the truth is that the foundation to all of the Ministry activities of Jesus Christ was predicated upon compassion, love for the common people. Mark 1:41 states: "Jesus Christ the Son of God was filled with compassion.

I often tell my members that if you want to see souls saved, healed and delivered, you must make them your friend first. It is difficult to minister to people who are hungry, physically and mentally sick, and spiritually deprived, unless you first learn to listen to them, show kindness, compassion and love for them. When a sinner is saved, he or she is saved as a result of the love and compassion that comes through you. It is the "agape" of God that draws people to you.

All of us are recipients of God's love. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, should not parish, but have everlasting life." Likewise, believers should be full of forgiveness and compassion towards those who are in need of salvation. The Bible says in Psalms 103:3-4 that God forgives all of our sins and He heals all our diseases, and redeems our life from destruction, eternal damnation and He covers us with love and compassion."

With that said, Believers should in turn be very gracious, sensitive and compassionate when it comes to sharing God's plan of salvation to sinners. However the Apostle stated that 90% of all Christians in the body of Christ has ever led one sinner to saving faith in Christ. When he shared that point with us, I began to cringe and became convicted. Because the thing is; when we get to heaven, God is not going to ask us, how long were you a member of "said church", He isn't going to ask you, how long did you serve on the usher board. He isn't going to ask you how big your church was. Nor will He ask you how many people many degrees in religious education did you receive. But He is going to ask us, how many souls did we lead to Christ.

There is an alarm at the gate people. There is a desparate need to get back to Christianity 101. There is a desparate need for recapturing and rstoring compassion in the body of Christ. In these last and evil days believers must come to grips with the reality that what use to work in terms of witnessing and the various methods that the church has employed in their evangelistic outreach methodology, has not added the harvest in great numbers to many of our churches in America.
The compassion that we once had for sinners has waxed cold, particularly in light of fulfilling the great commssion. Believers have to come to a conscientious reality that they are victims of the porophetic element spoken of in Scripture. This prophetic element proclaims that in the last days the love and compassion of many shall wax cold.

No one wants to believe that it is "I" who have lost their compassion for the lost, but the fact is, most of us have! But like the church of Ephasus whom God said, "He has something against because; they had lost their first love." " The message of the apsotle and his teaching is that; we must recapture and restore compassion for the unsaved; those who are on the way to hell, must find a permanent place in the heart of every believer. The pastors, evangelist, prophets, teachers, and apostles can't do it by themselves. It is every believers responsibility to make soul winning their number one priorioty in his or her life, and n the ministries to which they serve. The churches must have evengelism as its number one priority in their mission statement. Funding for evengelism must be taken off the back burner and placed as the number one thing that satisfies, touches, and makes our Heavenly Father smile.

I don''t know about you, but I want to hear Him say those words; "Well done thou good and faithful servant." We all have enough family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and classmates that we can reach and witness to. We do not have to go out and do cold calls and or go into territories that have not been prepared to recieve the Word of God concerning salvation. Intercession is key! Soul winning starts in heaven. We must call souls into the kingdom of God. We must reduce the resistance to people saying, "Talk to the hand because the ear is dull of hearing." Apostle Cephas gave many examples of how the prayer of intercession and the Holy Spirit is essential in the salvation of the sinner. There was so much shared in those few days that the Man of God was here. This is just a tidbit of my take and reflections from what I heard.

God Bless and: "Don't Forget To Say Your Prayers."

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June 18, 2014 Words of Wisdom on Pleasing God, by Woodrow Kroll, editorial by Lydia Ford -Topic: "Afflictions Have its Place"

June 10, 2014 "Trust Takes Trial"

2014 Topic: " The Gathering of the End time Harvest of Souls (John 4:34-36)

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