Glory to God

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."  Romans 11:33-36 (NIV)

Dear Friends,

God has spoken--we will not be purchasing the property for the church in Sulphur Springs. He has another assignment for us which has yet to be revealed. We praise Him and thank Him for His sovereignty in our lives. God's ways are often mysterious and unexplainable, but we are convinced that they are always good. "To Him be the glory forever! Amen."

It happened in a most unusual way (another indication of God's involvement). The owner of the property decided to pay all the tax liens and redeem the property himself. So there was no sale to the highest bidder. The sale was simply called off. Thank you all for your earnest prayers on our behalf. We know that nothing that is offered to God is ever wasted--please join us in thanking God for His great plan for all of our lives.

A Prayer Request

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24 (NIV)

Dear Friends:
On Thursday, June 6, sometime after 10:00 am EST, my husband and I are asking and believing that God will show himself mighty in Tampa, Florida. For over a year now, we have believed that God wanted to give us a certain building in our neighborhood (a poor community, notorious for drug deals and violence) for the purpose of starting a church. We have a passion for preaching the message of repentance and Christ's soon return. We believe that God wants to bring a revival to this neighborhood that will make all of Tampa, all of Florida, maybe all of the United States, wake up and see that God is still on His throne. We want God, and God alone, to receive the glory when this happens--we want nothing for ourselves except the privilege of making His name great in our community and the world. This building will be sold to the highest bidder the morning of June 6. Several friends and churches are investing in this opportunity, and while we do not have a large sum, we believe that God will give us what we need. Would you join us in praying that He will be glorified in the sale of this property, that this will be the beginning of a great work of God in Sulphur Springs that will bring many to trade their hopeless condition for the honor of serving The True and Living God? God bless you and thank you for each prayer offered on behalf of this endeavor.

Turning Off the Ringer

"If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them."  James 4:17 (NIV)

Maybe God isn't asking us to do something. Maybe He's asking us to undo something. Maybe there is sin in our life that needs to be confessed, forgiveness that needs to be asked for, or given. Whatever the reason for God's call, He wants us to answer the phone. When we consistently ignore the calls from God, some of us just decide to turn off the ringer. James says this is sin--knowing that God wants us to do something but refusing to do it. Maybe we are dealing with  distractions in our life and it's just not a good time--we'll get back to God later. Sometimes we use those distractions as excuses for not doing business with God. We need to be honest with ourselves, and with God, about the things that keep us from fully obeying His call. What things do we stubbornly prefer to hold on to, rather than going to the next level with God?

Putting God on Hold

"As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.' He said to another man, 'Follow me.' But he replied, 'Lord, first let me go and bury my father.' Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' Still another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.' Jesus replied, 'No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.'"  Luke 9:57-62 (NIV)

What is your response when God calls? Is it "Yes, Sir! Right away, Sir!" or is it "I'll get back to you on that."? Hard to imagine that we would put God on "hold" but it happens all the time. Maybe He's not asking you drop everything and go to Africa--maybe He's just asking you to talk to your neighbor about Jesus. It doesn't really matter if it's a big request or a small one, God expects our obedience when He asks, not when we feel like it. We have plenty of excuses, things we have to do first, just as these men who were called to follow Jesus did. But notice Jesus' response to those excuses--when it comes to serving in the Kingdom, delayed obedience disqualifies us.

The Power of Obedience

"Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late - and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work.  To pray for revival while ignoring the plain precept laid down in Scripture is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience." - A. W. Tozer

"A revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God." -Charles Finney
 

Enemy of God

What part of James 4:4 don't we understand?

"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."  (NIV)

"You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God." (NLT)

"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."  (NKJV)

"You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way." (The Message)

No matter how you say it, God's people and His church are committing adultery with the world. Do we think that God is just going to sit back and allow that? It's hard for me to imagine that God is looking the other way. He sees it all. It is time for repentance in our personal lives and especially in the life of the church. By engaging in questionable activities, the church is leading many away from God and into sin. There will be a price to pay!

Interfering with the Holy Spirit

"Do not quench the Spirit."  1Thessalonians 5:19

Have you, or someone you know, ever tried to comfort a person who was under conviction by the Holy Spirit?  Maybe you said something like this:" You don't have to feel bad--God has forgiven you." Maybe you've even heard a pastor say a similar thing during a time of invitation. Our natural inclination is to comfort them--it's uncomfortable seeing someone in distress--but is that the godly response? It's the Holy Spirit's job to convict people of their sin. He is doing His work, who are we to interfere? Many times, when we try to stop people from hurting, we quench the work of the Spirit in their lives. God cannot bring revival without true repentance. We need to get out of the way.