Author: prestonheadrick13

GET TOGETHER- REFLECTIONS FROM OUR VACATION

John 14:1 -3 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Last week was a great week in the life of our family. J.J. had done a great job of renting us a cottage at The Beach Club in Fort Morgan, Alabama on the Alabama coast. We had both of our children’s families there and we had a very special time.
One of the blessings was the patio outside. Every morning we could hear the sound of doves and it was a reminder to us that no matter where we go the Holy Spirit is with us. The weather was almost perfect in the mornings. It was even just a little cool, but just right for putting on a long sleeve shirt to sit there in. One morning J.J. and I were sitting out there reading the scripture and just having some good time with the Lord when I asked her a question? Do you believe that the Lord has a place like this for us in Heaven? After all Jesus did say that in our Father’s house are many mansions.
J.J. loves Revelation 4 and I agree that the first and most wonderful thing about Heaven will be that we will see the Lord Jesus Christ and get to worship at His Holy Feet. On the other hand He did say that “ in My Father’s house are many mansions and if it were not so I would not have told you so.” We are told in Heb 11:16 what a wonderful place that God has prepared for us. “ But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”
Vacations are nice. When we first got there our thoughts were that it would be nice to live there. On the other hand, we also realized that it is not a perfect place. Everyone there was not on vacation. Some were doing hard manual labor. That would be tough having to work hard everyday while observing others on vacation.
That reminds me of how terrible that it will be for those who have rejected Jesus Christ when they die. I am reminded of this parable that Jesus shared about the Rich man and Lazarus the poor beggar. Here is part of it:

Lu 16:23-26 “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
Wow ! Can you imagine the horror of living in torment forever and part of that being able to see loved ones who are living in perfect peace and joy for ever and you can’t go there? What a great salvation that our Lord Jesus has obtained for us by delivering us from the darkness and into His glorious light.
Well, we had gone down on Wednesday, and we left on Memorial Day to return home. And to be honest, as wonderful as our trip was I was ready to see Shottsville, Alabama. Again, as great as it was everything wasn’t perfect on our trip. But I am reminded of an old hymn by James C. Moore . here are some of the lyrics “I have heard of a land on the faraway strand,’Tis a beautiful home of the soul;
Built by Jesus on high, where we never shall die,
’Tis a land where we never grow old.

Vacations are temporary reliefs from our jobs, ministries, and other responsibilities. They are not eternal. On the other hand, Heaven is forever and ever. One more time the place where we stayed was so nice. From time-to-time people walked down the shaded walkway and we could say good morning to them. I thought about what it will be like to walk down the streets of gold and greet our loved ones who have gone on What it will be like to say wow here comes Elijah, or Paul, or some faithful saint that we have read about throughout the ages. But most of all we will see Jesus! We will touch His nail scarred hands and nail scarred feet. And we can thank Him for paying the price for us to live in the mansion that He has prepared for us to live in forever and ever. We won’t be leaving to go home. We will be at home!
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, we thank You that You have purchased our salvation on Calvary’s cruel cross. We thank You that You have prepared a place for us. We pray today for any friend and relatives that we might have who have never come to faith in Your precious Holy Blood that you will woo them to the cross so that they will live with You forever as well.
Lord we thank You that you have provided something much better than a vacation. You have provided an eternal home for Your people.
In Jesus Name
Amen

Your Friend /Kinfolk
Preston

PS For those in Northwest Alabama our Broadcast Redeeming the Time comes on at 9:30 A.M. AND 9:30 P.M. on Sunday morning and Sunday night. That is on Spectrum Channel 10. In Jasper, it is on TV 16. Please pray for the Lord to reach the lost through these broadcasts, and to encourage the faithful.

GET TOGETHER- The Gift of Family

Ge 2:21 -25 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.(NKJV)

This weekend is a special weekend in our nation. It is Mother’s Day. It is also special for our family in another way. We will get to celebrate my Father-in-law Ed Johnson’s 100th birthday. Not many people get to celebrate 100 years living here on planet earth.
Ed is a gift from God. He was a faithful husband to my Mother-in-law Norine for over seventy-five years. He has been an excellent role model for his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren. He has served the Lord in his local church ,the Gideons, and the Alabama Emmaus Community. He is so talented that he can do just about anything mechanically. That has been a big help to his son-in law Preston who is not so talented in that way. There are many more things that I could say here. So, we are looking forward to a great time of celebration this weekend.
As I said earlier it is also Mother’s Day weekend. My Mother Susie Headrick went to be with the Lord in 2015. I really miss her. I know that I will see her again one day, but all of us who loved our relatives and friends that we plan to see again in Heaven still miss them here on the earth.
One of my most fond memories of my mother were when me and my brother Richard were little boys. We lived in Hull a little mining camp in Walker County a few miles from Sumiton, Alabama. She worked at the drugstore in Sumiton. They had a soda fountain there. She would always bring me and my brother a malt, or a sundae on Friday nights when she got off. We would sit on the steps and watch the cars go by waiting for her to come home. I can still see the chocolate and the walnuts on top of those sundaes in the green and white cups. For those of you that your mother is still here be sure that you bless them not just on Mother’s Day, but in some way every day.
The Lord has blessed me with a faithful wife that is a good Mother. She had a great role model in her Mother, Norine Johnson. Our daughter Jessye is a good mother, as well as our daughter -in- law Tommye.
I have had the blessings of being the Pastor to some good Mothers. Some of them have been single Mothers. They have had to take on a heavy load. Pray for these moms to have the strength, energy, and wisdom to fulfill the task of raising their children.
I mentioned me and my brother watching and waiting for our mother to come home from work and to bring us those treats. This reminds me of watching and waiting for something even better. That is when the Lord Jesus Christ will return to take his children home. Our Lord Jesus Christ had these words to say concerning His return:

Mt 24:42-44 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. “But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Wow! Now talk about a celebration! We will see our Lord Jesus Christ face to face! We will be reunited with our loved ones, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ. Talk about family! There is no family like the family of God! If you have repented of your sin and put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to save you from your sins, you are a part of this glorious family. If you haven’t why not today? It is going to be one more reunion and celebration!
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, we thank you for the gift of family. We thank you Father for instituting Your Holy design for the family. May we always honor our mothers in a special way. May we always give honor to whom honor is due. Please be with each family as they celebrate this weekend. And for those that are going through some terrible situations may they know that in Jesus Christ there is always hope for a better day and one day time where there will be no death, nor sorrow and that every day will be a celebration.
In Jesus Name
Amen

Your Friend /Kinfolk
Preston

PS For those in Northwest Alabama our Broadcast Redeeming the Time comes on at 9:30 A.M. AND 9:30 P.M. on Sunday morning and Sunday night. That is on Spectrum Channel 10. In Jasper, it is on TV 16. Please pray for the Lord to reach the lost through these broadcasts, and to encourage the faithful.

 

GET TOGETHER – He Is The God OF Victory

 

2Ch 32:7,8 “Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him.  “With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

What a blessing it was to be at the National Day of Prayer here in Hamilton, Alabama today.  It was an honor to get to Serve with Brother Shane Stidham the Pastor at Fulton Bridge Baptist Church and Brother John Holiday the Pastor at Hope Alive. I appreciate Dr. Wayne Cobb and all of those who were involved in organizing this event. 

When Brother Shane shared his devotional concerning the faithfulness of King Hezekiah and how God answered his prayers I was reminded of when the Lord spared Jerusalem when the Assyrians had Jerusalem surrounded by over 185,00 soldiers. 

This event is recorded in Isaiah Chapters 36, and 37. It is also recorded in 2 Kings 18, and 19, as well as in  2 Chronicles Chapter 32. So with that said it must be that God is wanting to teach us something very important concerning this event.  You can go read all the details. There is so much in there that it would be hard for me to get it all in one message. But here is what I believe that the Lord would have me to say to us as believers and followers of Jesus Christ. 

 We may feel just like Hezekiah did when Jerusalem was  surrounded by a powerful adversary. We may feel like  we are surrounded by a powerful adversary  as well. We may feel like the forces of evil have us surrounded and are ready to take us down as Christians and as a free nation.  I am reminded of a Christian song that has in its lines “it may look like I’m surrounded, but I’m surrounded by You.”

We need to remember who the Apostle Paul told us that our battle is with : “ 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.”  We have been given victory over these forces of evil. Jessu won the victory for us on the cross at Calvary “ Col 2:14,15 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.’

But we as believers are called to enforce the victory through prayer. And through times of fasting; and by the way fasting isn’t one of my favorite spiritual disciplines, but it is effective.

It often requires getting up earlier than others, or staying up later if you are younger to pray and ask God to send an awakening to this nation.  Hezekiah sought God in a big-time way. The Assyrians were the most brutal and powerful army on the face of the earth. Here is what Hezekiah did :

Isa 37:15-20 Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying:

“O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.

“Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands,”and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands-wood and stone. Therefore they have destroyed them. “Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, You alone.”

                   

          There are many more spiritual principles in the three accounts of this event.  But here is the bottom line Isa 37:36,37 Then the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses-all dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh.

          What if Hezekiah had not prayed? What if he had not sought the Prophet Isaiah? What if he had done nothing? I believe that the situation in our nation is very serious. I believe that only one man the Lord Jesus Christ is the answer. But we have a part to play. I challenge myself and all of you  may we be committed to praying not only for our nation, but for the Christians in other nations as well during this very crucial time in history. 

          What Hezekiah told the people was true for them and it is true for us if we will get passionate about praying and believing that God will bring victory to us and to believers in this  nation and all over the world. Once again here is the passage with the words that Hezekiah said to his people. I believe that we can stand on them as well. 

 

2Ch 32:7,8 “Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him.8 “With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

                   

 

          Let Us Pray:

Lord Jesus it sometime appears that evil is winning. However, we know that isn’t true. But it is also true that You want us to be engaged in the battle through prayer and times of fasting. Help us to partner with you in enforcing the victory that You have already attained for us.  And may we, like Hezekiah be faithful in this matter so that one day we can hear You say well done my good and faithful servant. 

In Jesus Name

Amen 

 

 

 

Your Friend /Kinfolk

Preston 

 

PS   For those in Northwest Alabama our Broadcast Redeeming the Time comes on at 9:30 A.M. AND 9:30 P.M. on Sunday morning and Sunday night.  That is on Spectrum Channel 10. In Jasper, it is on TV 16.

Please pray for the Lord to reach the lost through these broadcasts, and to encourage the faithful. J.J. and I have some upcoming ministry opportunities please keep us in prayer. 

 

 

 

 

Preston Headrick 

Evangelist 

Real Party Ministry 

P O Box 2302

Hamilton, Alabama  35570

GET TOGETHER- Lord Help Our Tongues

    

Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

The parent or grandparent on the other side of the backstop disagreed with the pitch that was called a ball while our grandson Micah was batting last Saturday. The next pitch came in and the umpire called it a strike and I made the remark that he let the fan on the other side of the backstop get under his skin and therefore influenced the call. The umpire heard me and looked over at me and let me know that wasn’t the case.     

The Holy Spirit immediately brought to my attention that I was not glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ with the words that I had said.  We are told in   Jas 3:8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Well while we can’t tame the tongue the Holy Spirit can. I am glad that we are told in Heb 12:6For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”  I needed that correction last Saturday. And I am glad that the Lord corrects us rather than kicking us off of the team.

The Greek term for corrupt in the passage from Ephesians is sapros. It means rotten, of bad quality, useless, worthless. When something is rotten it is dead and there is no life in it. Even when we have to talk about some tough things we want there to be life coming from our tongues.

I felt like I needed to go and apologize to the umpire after the game.  In today’s culture it is getting hard to find umpires and referees. There are not a lot of people willing to take the verbal, and sadly sometimes some physical abuse that is taking place on the playing fields, and gymnasiums in our nation.

Not only did I feel like I needed to ask the umpire to forgive me, but I felt like I needed to repent. When we repent it is more than saying I am sorry. It means a change in the heart and mind. In other words I am not going to do this anymore.

Well I found the umpire a little later in the afternoon. I asked him to forgive me. He was such a nice young man. I also found out that he played linebacker for the University of North Alabama. Now if he hadn’t been such a nice young man I might have really suffered from the consequences of my sin.

We live in a culture where as Christians we are to speak the truth on some things that we may face opposition from the world.  When we do that we need to pray that not only will the Holy Spirit give us the courage to do that, but that it will impart grace to the hearers.  We are told in Ephesians 4:30,31 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  

The same Holy Spirit that has sealed us will help us to use our tongues in a way that glorifies God and imparts grace to the hearer.

 

Let us Pray

Lord Jesus You have given us a tongue to praise You. You have given us a tongue to share the Gospel and Your love with others. Help us to glorify You in every way that we use our tongues.

In Jesus Name

Amen

 

 

Your Friend /Kinfolk

Preston 

 

PS   For those in Northwest Alabama our Broadcast Redeeming the Time comes on at 9:30 A.M. AND 9:30 P.M. on Sunday morning and Sunday night.  That is on Spectrum Channel 10. In Jasper, it is on TV 16.

Please pray for the Lord to reach the lost through these broadcasts, and to encourage the faithful.

 

 

 

Preston Headrick 

Evangelist 

Real Party Ministry 

P O Box 2302

Hamilton, Alabama  35570

Get Together#71 Your Father Wants to Talk To You ( This is one that the Lord gave me in 2008)

Get Together#71   Your Father Wants to Talk To You

Joh 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

Be encouraged, I have some good news for you! Did you know that God speaks to people today?   There are several ways that God speaks to people. He speaks to them through His Holy Word. He speaks to them through other Christians. He speaks in visions and dreams.   Some people that I know and trust have testified that they have heard God speak in an audible voice. I have not, but I don’t believe that it is impossible, because the Scriptures tell us that with God nothing is impossible. He also speaks through that small still voice; “Isa 30:21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.

At one time in my life I would have thought this was way out there somewhere. I remember the first time that someone told me that God had spoken to them about something. A friend of ours by the name of Leslie Glover told me one time that the Lord had told her that I was to attend a three-day weekend called the Walk to Emmaus. I thought Leslie was crazy and dodged her at church for several weeks. Finally, I went and I realized that God does speak to people and I began to hear the Lord speak as well. That weekend I was born again and life has never been the same.

It is God’s desire to commune with His children.  The following passage from the Book of Genesis records how when God created Adam and Eve they had perfect communion with God, but they lost that perfect communion.   God desires to restore that communion with those He has created.  Are you walking in communion with the Lord and hearing His voice? Read this passage and see if there are any principles there that will help you to walk in communion with God through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  I also have listed some principles from the passage that I believe would help us all to walk in communion with the Lord moment by moment and day by day as He desires.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;

“but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'”

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. “And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:1-13 NKJV).

• The enemy came to interrupt communion with God. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there are any ways that the enemy has interrupted communion with God in your life.
• The enemy calls God a liar and begins to undermine Eve’s trust in God. Have you allowed the enemy to undermine your trust in God? God wants to restore your trust in Him.
• She falls into a trap that all sin flows out of Ge 3:6 ¶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise,

Lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the pride of life are the three categories that all sin falls under.  Is the enemy trying to trap you in any of these areas? Ask the Lord to empower you with the Holy Spirit to resist “Jas 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  See also 1 Peter5:8-9

• Shame now enters humanity.  Are you operating out of a shame based lifestyle or mindset? I once did. There is good news!!!! Look to Jesus   Ps 34:5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.
• Rather than desiring fellowship with God, they began to flee from God’s presence. Rather than fearing God, they become afraid of God.   Do you desire fellowship with God, or are you fleeing from His presence?. Do you fear God or are you afraid of God? There is a difference. You don’t have to be afraid of  God “Mt 11:28-29 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
• They now become excuse makers rather than accepting personal responsibility. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent.  Our society has taken on an excuse maker mentality. How about you? Are you an excuse maker, or do you accept personal responsibility before God for your actions?  David was honest with God. Guess what God forgave him. Ps 51:3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.   Stand on His word. Be honest with God  receive His forgiveness 1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Again, be encouraged that you have a Heavenly Father who desires to be with you no matter where you are. He desires to speak to you and commune with you. Today rejoice knowing that Your Heavenly Father loves you that much.

Let us pray:

Father, we thank You that You are a good God. We thank You that when our first parents sinned you made a way for fellowship to be restored. Father we thank you today that You have made the way for us to have communion with you according to    Ro 5:11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Teach us to hear your voice. Give us the desire to obey Your voice. Empower us to walk in your ways.

                                                                                IN JESUS NAME

                                                                                Amen

Your Friend/ Kinfolk

                                                                Preston

 

Preston Headrick 

Evangelist 

Real Party Ministry 

P O Box 2302

Hamilton, Alabama  35570

GET TOGETHER – It’s All True

          1Co 15:3 “ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1Th 4:15-17  For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

 

          I have the blessing of being a part of a cross denominational community of followers of Jesus Christ that uses a worship book to prepare our hearts to receive the Lord’s Supper.   There is a phrase in the book that we recite to prepare our hearts to receive the Lord’s Supper: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

          What a powerful truth is contained in that statement. On this weekend as we Christians meditate and think and share about how much that our Lord suffered when He died on the cross for our sins we can look to Calvary where Jesus was crucified and know that He did die a real death on a cruel cross.  The Apostle Paul shares that in our passage from 1 Corinthians 15.  Some cults have tried to deny that He really did die on that cruel cross. That is rubbish! Paul writes about His death in Php 2:8 “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”  He died a real death so that you and I could be saved from our sins.  And look what else He did that we can celebrate by His dying on the cross: Heb 2:14 “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” He has destroyed the one who came to kill, steal, and destroy. He may be active still, but his power of death over us has been broken. 

          And this Sunday morning we will celebrate in a big-time way His resurrection from the dead! Death has no hold on Him! He is alive! That isn’t our imagination. It is a historical fact! Ro 6:9,10 “knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.” He was seen by many witnesses as Paul goes on to say in: 1Co 15:6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.  (NKJV)  As the old song goes “We serve a Risen Savior! He lives! He lives!  Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way!”

 

          And yes, He will return one day. As I have said before I am not an end times expert, but a general reading of Matthew 24 and the Book of  Revelation and watching the news sure makes you stand up and pay attention.  And  when  He comes back He wants to find a church that is doing what He told those disciples to do in Matthew Mt 28:19,20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (NKJV)

 

          So tonight, I will reflect on what it must have been like for Jesus on the night before He was crucified. He suffered greatly on that night.  Tomorrow I will do what I try to do every day, thank Him for suffering and dying on the cross for our sins. And Sunday and every day rejoice that He is a risen Savior.  And every day may we be ready for His return His return by serving Him and pointing others to Him. Yes, it is so true Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again!

 

Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus we humbly thank you for suffering and dying for us on the cross at Calvary. We praise You that You came out of the grave! The grave could not hold You! Help us to serve You in a way that brings others into the Kingdom so that when that glorious day comes when You return that Heaven will be populated to a great degree because of how that You have worked in our lives.

In Jesus Name

Amen 

 

 Have a blessed Resurrection weekend!

 

Your Friend /Kinfolk

Preston 

 

PS   For those in Northwest Alabama our Broadcast Redeeming the Time comes on at 9:30 A.M. AND 9:30 P.M. on Sunday morning and Sunday night.  That is on Spectrum Channel 10. In Jasper, it is on TV 16.

Please pray for the Lord to reach the lost through these broadcasts, and to encourage the faithful

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preston Headrick 

Evangelist 

Real Party Ministry 

P O Box 2302

Hamilton, Alabama  35570

GET TOGETHER- LET GOD OPEN THE DOORS

2Co 2:12 ¶ Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord

 

Day before yesterday I was sending back a Cpap machine to a company that had replaced my old one on a recall.  I put it in the box that the company had sent me to send it back in and I went to a receptacle in our town that I thought that I was supposed to place it in for pick up.  When I attempted to place the box in there it was to large to go in there. So, I attempted to turn the box another way and it still would not go in there.  When I looked again at the label on the box that I was returning I noticed that I was trying to place it in the receptacle of a different company than what I was supposed to be sending it back by. I thank the Lord that He takes care of me in situations like that. 

It was then that I felt like the Holy Spirit was reminding me to not try to force open a door that He has closed.  I have had a few times in my life when the Lord has closed some doors that I almost walked through. Sometimes when He closes those doors for us it may be painful in some ways at first. But when we go through the doors that He opens it will be beneficial for us and most importantly for the Kingdom as a whole. 

So my next step was to go to the place that I was to go to send                                             the box back. At first the attendant thought that my box might be to big to be left there for pickup. But when she scanned the label it showed to her that I was in the right place and that the box could be picked up there. Sometimes when the Lord opens a door for us, we also need to walk through it with the assurance that He has opened that door. Jesus said in Mt 7:7 ¶ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”  In taking the box to the right place I still had to knock for that door to be opened. 

The Apostle Paul only ministered where God opened the doors. As Christians we are all called to minister. I believe that if we live a surrendered life bathed in prayer God will open doors for us to minister. Some are called to preach, and the Lord will open those doors. Some are called to various means of service in the local church and God will open those doors. Some are called to go to other nations and God will open those doors. 

One thing that we don’t want to do is try as I was with my package to try to force the door open. Can you imagine what would have happened? I would either have destroyed, or damaged the box that I was sending it in, or I would have damaged the pickup box that I was trying to get it into. When we try to force a door open in ministry we quiet possibly could bring harm to ourselves, and or the area that we attempt to serve in.  

 So as followers of Jesus Christ we know that we all have a part to play. The Apostle Paul wrote about this in  Eph 4:16 “from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”  If we seek Him He will open the doors for us to walk through. When we seek Him He will keep us from attempting to force doors open that He has closed for us. 

One thing that just came to me was that if I had read the directions better I would not have gone to the wrong place and tried to open the closed door in the first place. Be sure and read the directions and He will keep us from trying to force open the wrong doors.  And better than that He will open the right doors for us.

Let Us Pray 

Lord Jesus we thank You that you close the doors that we are not to walk through.  Help us by the Holy Spirit to not attempt to force them open. Lead us to and lead us through those doors that You are opening in order that we may serve you in a way that brings glory to your Name.

In Jesus Name

Amen

 

 

Your Friend /Kinfolk

Preston 

 

PS   For those in Northwest Alabama our Broadcast Redeeming the Time comes on at 9:30 A.M. AND 9:30 P.M. on Sunday morning and Sunday night.  That is on Spectrum Channel 10. In Jasper, it is on TV 16.

Please pray for the Lord to reach the lost through these broadcasts, and to encourage the faithful

 

 

 

 

 

Preston Headrick 

Evangelist 

Real Party Ministry 

P O Box 2302

Hamilton, Alabama 35570

GET TOGETHER- The Blessings of Friendship and Family

 

Ac 10:24 “And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends.”

God gives us many gifts.  Two  of the most special gifts that He gives are  the gifts of friendship and family.   J.J. and I are so thankful for so many wonderful friends. We are thankful for our friends that have been friends for a long time. We are thankful for the new friends that God continually allows us to meet at this stage in our lives.  And we are so thankful for all of our family members.

The Lord created us for a relationship with Him. He also has created us to have vibrant healthy relationships with other people. I believe that you can look at the two greatest commandments and see this. Lu 10:27 So he answered and said,” ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.'”

I am so glad that when we enter a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that He helps us to have healthy relationships with others.   I am so glad that Cornelius a Roman Centurion a man that had much to risk invited his friends to come and to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ when Peter came to visit that day. 

 Great things happened at Cornelius home that day. We read about it in Ac 10:44-48 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.  (NKJV)

I wonder how long Cornelius had been praying for those friends and his family.  J.J. and I are thankful for every friend and family member that God has placed in our lives. We have many friends that are faithful servants of Jesus Christ.  If you are a friend, or family member that has never made a public confession of Jesus Christ we want you to know that we love you and that we pray often for you. 

We are both so thankful for friends and family members that prayed for us before we surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ.  If they hadn’t prayed for us. I would not be typing this message out right now. To all of you we want you to know that we love you. 

 

Let Us Pray 

 

Lord Jesus we thank You for every friend and family member that you have brought into our lives. May Your Holy Spirit continue to strengthen those that have given their lives to you. Lord for any that we have that may not have accepted Your offer of salvation we pray that You will draw them to the cross of Jesus Christ. And Lord let our lights shine in the world in such a way that Your love will flow out of us to all our friends, family, and to all that are around us.

In Jesus Name 

Amen

 

 

 

 

Your Friend /Kinfolk

Preston 

 

PS   For those in Northwest Alabama our Broadcast Redeeming the Time comes on at 9:30 A.M. AND 9:30 P.M. on Sunday morning and Sunday night.  That is on Spectrum Channel 10. In Jasper, it is on TV 16.

Please pray for the Lord to reach the lost through these broadcasts, and to encourage the faithful

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preston Headrick 

Evangelist 

Real Party Ministry 

P O Box 2302

Hamilton, Alabama  35570

 

GET TOGETHER- Worry or Concern ?

Mt 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 2Ch 32:20,21 Now because of this King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven. Then the LORD sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned shamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there. ( NKJV) 

At one time in my life I was a big time worrier. When I worked in my family’s restaurant business if we didn’t have people start coming in for lunch at 11:30 I would begin to worry. When they started coming in I would worry if the crowd was going to thin out so that I could eat lunch myself.  When there was nothing to worry about, I would worry about what was going to happen because I wasn’t worrying about something. But then came Jesus! And He delivered me from being a worrier. 

But sometimes those things that we have been delivered from can try to come back. Jesus spoke about this in Lu 11:24-26 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ “And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. “Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any of that stuff that I have been delivered from coming back.

Well last week I caught myself getting anxious about something and yes it was going to try to lead to worry. Our Grandson Micah was playing in a basketball tournament in Birmingham. If they won their   games they would have to play on Sunday. And by the way  I would personally like to see the people that put on these events leave Sunday out of the picture. That is a topic for another day. And I have not always been perfect in regard to that. Was I going to miss church? Would Micah have is feelings hurt if we didn’t go to the game? We had made the decision that we were going to go to the games on Saturday and go to church on Sunday.  Well bless their hearts they played their hearts out and were out of the tournament on Saturday. See there was no reason for me to be anxious about any of that. The enemy loves to get us to worry, because when we do, we are not trusting God and trying to be in control ourselves. 

 

The Greek term for worry is merimnao.  It means to be anxious about something. The Apostle Paul told us what to do about those things in Php 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” This is the passage that the Lord used to set me free from worry thirty-three years ago. 

Now let’s talk about concern. According to   Merriam Webster’s on line dictionary a concern can be something that we care about ,or are troubled about. King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem were surrounded by 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Assyria was the predominant military power in that part of the world at that time. Their armies were known for committing mass atrocities against the people that they conquered. They often beheaded their victims, raped, and took captive many of the women. 

 Hezekiah had something to be concerned about.  However, rather than worry we read that he and the Prophet Isaiah took this to the Lord in prayer. It only took the Lord sending one angel to take care of the whole Assyrian Army. 

There are some serious things that concern me in our culture. We see the threat from China, Russia, and Iraq that are bent on destroying Israel and would love to destroy our country.  I am concerned about Christians in Africa, Pakistan, and India being murdered for their faith in Jesus Christ.  We can be complacent about it, worry about it, or we can do what Isaiah and King Hezekiah did. We can get serious in prayer about it. The same goes with the devil trying to destroy the Biblical model for the family and for the confusion that witchcraft has brought to our nation concerning human sexuality. 

 So yes, there are certainly some things to be concerned about. And I haven’t mentioned all of them. What if Hezekiah and Isaiah had just worried about it. What if they had thought that the Assyrian Army was bigger than our God? This morning on my way in to town I was listening to a woman that was the leader of a National Ministry of Mothers that pray for schools. One thing that encouraged me was when she said that the enemy will try to convince us that the battle is already lost for our children and for this nation. And as she emphasized our God is greater than anything that the enemy can bring at us. But we like Isaiah and Hezekiah must make the commitment to get serious in prayer about these matters.  I believe that when we do just as they did we can see God bring about a mighty victory that only He can get the glory for. 

 

Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus 

We thank You that You have told us not to worry. And we thank You Lord You gave   us an example of what to do when we are faced with adversity. On the night that You prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and You were facing the cruel death of crucifixion and taking our sins upon yourself.  We thank You for the Word of God and for the example that King  Hezekiah and the Prophet  Isaiah set for us. We know that we don’t battle against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. And we know that You defeated them at the cross and made a public spectacle over them. Stir our hearts to contend for victory in our prayer closets and everywhere else that You send us.

In Jesus Name

         Amen

 

 

Your Friend /Kinfolk

Preston 

 

PS   For those in Northwest Alabama our Broadcast Redeeming the Time comes on at 9:30 A.M. AND 9:30 P.M. on Sunday morning and Sunday night.  That is on Spectrum Channel 10. In Jasper, it is on TV 16.

Please pray for the Lord to reach the lost through these broadcasts, and to encourage the faithful

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preston Headrick 

Evangelist 

Real Party Ministry 

P O Box 2302

Hamilton, Alabama  35570

Get Together: He Decorates The Dedicated

Isa 61:10 ¶ I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Last night at the end of our Jesus Now Meeting a young man wanted to rededicate his life to the Lord Jesus Christ. When I put the praise report up on Facebook it changed the word dedicate to decorate. J.J. reminded me of something that my English instructors pounded into me that I need to be sure and proof read. I admit that I sometimes hurry to fast and will occasionally make a mistake like that. So I corrected it and made sure that it stayed corrected before I reposted it.
This morning the Holy Spirit brought to my mind that God does decorate and redecorates those who are dedicated to Him. In this passage we see what the prophet Isaiah says that God will do for His Covenant people Israel when they repent of their sin and idolatry.
We can also know that this is prophetic in what Jesus Christ will do in the life of an individual when we repent of our sins and surrender our lives to Him. We see that Jesus read from this chapter of Isaiah when He came into the Synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth : Lu 4:18,19 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” (NKJV)
Let’s look at what being decorated by the Master Decorator looks like. He gives joy to those who have been under the spirit of heaviness. Isaiah said it this way in Isa 61:3 “ To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
He clothes us with salvation. The Hebrew term for salvation is yesha`, yeh’-shah. It means liberty, deliverance, prosperity:–safety, salvation, saving. We are saved from Hell! We get delivered from the power that Hell has had over our lives! We get healed from the damage that Hell has wrought on our lives! Saved! Saved! Saved!
We get a robe of righteousness. The Apostle Paul said it like this in : 2Co 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” He reminds us in Eph 4:24 “that we have been redecorated “and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
How are you liking your new wardrobe so far? Then we get real prettied up with ornaments and jewels. Isaiah said it like this in Isa 61:7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs. (NKJV)
Have you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ? If you have you have been decorated and redecorated. If you haven’t don’t you think that it is time for a make over and a new set of clothes? When you dedicate your life to Him, He will do one more job of redecorating you.
Let Us Pray
Lord Jesus we thank You that you are the Messiah, the Rescuer, the Deliverer, and you are the Master Decorator. Thank You for coming to clean us up. Thank You for healing our broken hearts. Thank You for saving us from Hell! Thank you for delivering us from the power that Hell had over us! Thank You for healing the damage that Hell has inflicted upon us! Today help us to live a life as dedicated to You as You have redecorated us.
In Jesus Name
Amen

Your Friend /Kinfolk
Preston

PS For those in Northwest Alabama our Broadcast Redeeming the Time comes on at 9:30 A.M. AND 9:30 P.M. on Sunday morning and Sunday night. That is on Spectrum Channel 10. In Jasper, it is on TV 16.
Please pray for the Lord to reach the lost through these broadcasts, and to encourage the faithful