Category: Get Together Writings

GET TOGETHER- Be The Kind That He Is Looking For

Joh 4:20 -24″Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.”God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Since stepping aside as Pastor this past January, the Lord has given me the opportunity to either preach in, or to attend several different services in different congregations within the Body of Christ. During this time and actually throughout twenty three years of ministry the Lord has blessed me by seeing how that God shows up no matter what the particular brand of, or style of music is being used in a service. Or in the various ways that the order of the service was carried out.

I have experienced the Holy Spirit’s presence in services where Southern Gospel music was sung. I have experienced the Holy Spirit’s presence when contemporary music was being sung in the service. I have experienced the Holy Spirit’s presence in Liturgical services. I have experienced the Holy Spirit’s presence where the worship was more what some would term prophetic. And many times, where there was a combination of it all. If I left out some form out that you may enjoy, I most likely do too if Jesus is being exalted and the Holy Spirit’s presence is welcome.

You may be asking what I am getting at. Let’s look at what Jesus is saying to the woman that He met at Jacob’s well in the Samaritan city of Sychar. The Samaritans did not go to Jerusalem to worship anymore. Their worship had been polluted at one time when they were conquered by the Assyrians. The Assyrians brought in people that worshipped false gods and the Samaritans in the North had allowed this to pollute their worship. The Samaritans built a temple for themselves on “Mount Gerizim,” which the Samaritans insisted was designated by Moses as the place where the nation should worship.

We see that this woman is asking Jesus to settle a religious argument. Should we worship on this mountain, or are the Jews correct in saying that we should worship on this mountain? We might say should we have this kind of music? Should our services be without any planning? Should our services have everything planned out to every single detail? Should we have contemporary music? Should we sing only from a hymnal? Should we have the lights turned down? Should the lights be turned up?

I believe that Jesus has the correct answer. Worship the Father in spirit and in truth. I think the big key will be how that we are worshipping Him during the week. When we go to a service are, we going inspecting, or expecting?

I pray for all of us that we are worshipping Him daily in every way. When we are doing that then when we all come together no matter what style, or format that we may prefer we will experience the Holy Spirit’s presence.

To be honest I probably enjoy most a worship service that has some planning, but also leaves some room for spontaneity. Again, the key here is to be worshipping in spirit and in truth. So, this week be sure that you spend time with the Lord in prayer. Worship Him in song in your vehicle, at home, or anywhere that you may be. When that happens, I believe that you will be ready when you meet with your fellow believers to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

I remember one time in particular something that happened at a service that I was attending. I had actually gone to the service hoping that it would be different in some way than the way that the service was going to be. Well when it came time for all of us to go forward and to be prayed over. The woman in front of me got so filled with the Holy Spirit that she hit the floor. By the way this was in a liturgical setting. I learned something that day. I went inspecting rather than expecting. I didn’t go worshipping in spirit and in truth. So, the next time that you attend a service go expecting. And be sure that you are worshipping in spirit and in truth. Be the kind that He is looking for!

Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus what an awesome blessing that Your children can worship the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit not only when we come together, but we can worship You anytime and all of the time. Help us to be focused on You and not so much on ourselves. Because we know that when we worship in spirit and in truth we are positioned to be blessed as partakers in all of the blessings that the Father bestows on us.

In Jesus Name

Amen

We are looking forward to visiting and preaching at Aldersgate UMC in Dora this Sunday morning. We praise God that we met Jesus there and got rooted and grounded in the faith. We love you all.

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

GET TOGETHER- OUR NEW IDENTITY 

2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

            This past Wednesday night I had a group of middle school boys in my class. We had the class in my office.  In my office I have a picture of our high school football team the year that I was Senior at Dora High School.   It helps me to appreciate life here on this side of glory on some days that may be a little challenging.  I think that I have counted at least eight of my former teammates that have passed from this walk of life. 

            At the end of the class I asked the guys if they could pick Brother Preston out on the picture. Well they picked some out that I never thought that I quite resembled. And I am sure that some of them would be glad that I didn’t resemble them.   To be honest much as changed in my physical appearance over the last fifty-two years.  I weighed 182 pounds then. I go around 217 now.     I wasn’t baldheaded then.  So, it was quite understandable that these guys couldn’t pick me out on the picture. 

            All of us if we live long enough on the earth will have changes in our physical appearance as we age. That happens naturally. Even with all of the things that humans keep inventing to help us look younger and even with the best exercise plans.  However, there is a supernatural change that needs to take place in our spirit man, or our hearts  for us to live eternally.  Jesus  said it like this in  Joh 3:3-5 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

            When we are born again, we become as the Apostle Paul said in our opening verse a new creation.  We were all born sinners Ro 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Our sin nature manifested in many ways in our lives. The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth about what they used to be before they were born again. He said it like this “1Co 6:9 -11 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

            Those believers at Corinth experienced a supernatural rebirth. They were not who they used to be.  They were now new creations. They had been born again.  

  Paul is reminding the Corinthians that they are not who they used to be.  They have been justified by faith in the Blood of Jesus Christ. Ro 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.  They were sanctified. I know that some people say that these terms aren’t relevant, but they have been good for over two thousand years.  The unholy has been made holy. The term for sanctified in the original language is hagiazo,  hag-ee-ad’-zo. It means to cause someone to have the quality of holiness.  These are people that once had temple prostitutes and performed sexual acts to appease the idols that they worshipped. He is affirming them now in their new identity and that they no longer have to be identified by their old identity. 

            My physical body although it looks different is still the same physical body that it was fifty-two years ago. However, because of the Blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit my inner man is not the same. If you have been born again your inner man is not the same as it used to be. 

            Perhaps you have an old picture of yourself. Let me ask you a question. Has your inner man, or as we like to say your heart been changed in the same way that Jesus told Nichodemus that one’s heart must be changed to enter into the Kingdom of heaven?  Have you experienced that change that the Corinthians experienced that took you out of a sinful lifestyle and brought you into the Kingdom of God?  If not God wants you to know that He loves you to much to leave you in a sinful destructive lifestyle. He sent His only begotten son Jesus Christ to the cross to die for you and me. He sent Him to save us from spending eternity in Hell separated from God. He sent Him so that we could live eternally with Him in Heaven and to experience life and life more abundantly here on earth. I pray that if you have that you will honor Him with your praise, worship and service. If you haven’t, I pray that you will let Him come and give you a new identity today. 

 

I love that old hymn “Are You Washed In The Blood.”  All of the verses are good, but here are a couple that I think go along with what Paul is saying.  And how to enter that born again life that Jesus talked to Nichodemus about. 

 

Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin
And be washed in the blood of the lamb
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean
O, be washed in the blood of the lamb

Are you washed in the blood
In the soul-cleansing blood of the lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?

 

 

Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus today we thank You that You came to seek and to save that which is lost. We thank You that You are in the business of giving those of us that have lived in gross sin a new identity.  May we serve You in such a way that just as those young people could not recognize me on that picture that people cannot see our old sinful nature in us anymore, but see the light of Jesus Christ.

In Jesus Name

Amen 

 

Love you all! 

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston 

 

Nu 13:23-33 Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there.And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. “Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. “The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.”There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

(NKJV)

Where we live in the small community of Shottsville in Marion County there are some of the most beautiful hills that you will ever see. There are also some beautiful valleys here as well. The hayfields look so pretty right after they have been cut and the hay has been bailed. And there are many beautiful green pastures to look at as you drive around in this area. I actually get them both from our front porch!

This past week we went on a family vacation to Springfield, Missouri and what a blessing it was to know that the One who created the Ozark Mountains is our God and that we can know Him personally. The mountain top is no doubt a wonderful place to be.

In our journey with the Lord we often associate the valley as a hard place to be in. And certainly, that can be true sometimes. For most of us that have served the Lord for a while we have had some experiences that we would say were times that we were in the valley in our walk with the Lord. We may have experienced the unexpected loss of someone that we love. Or, there could have been some other unexpected adverse situation that came along and made us wonder where God was at that particular time in our lives.

On the other hand, we can be like Joshua and Caleb and see that there are blessings in the valley and that the valley can be a real good place with lots of blessings and opportunities. With the exception of Joshua and Caleb all of the other spies that Moses sent into the land came back with a bad report.

Those spies chose to focus on the giants in the land. They chose to focus on the strength of their adversaries. Joshua and Caleb saw the grapes. Not only did they see the grapes, but they also saw the pomegranates and figs. When they went into the valley they chose to focus on the fruit and not on the obstacles. They saw opportunity in the valley. They saw blessings in the valley. They saw Kingdom things in the valley.

If you read the next chapter you will see that the congregation was ready to go back into Egyptian slavery after hearing the report of the spies. Nu 14:1 -4 “So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!”Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”

Many of us as Christians often say “that God is good all the time”. That certainly is a true statement. When Caleb and Joshua were in the Valley of Eschol they chose to believe that God is good all of the time. They were ready to experience the goodness of God in the land of the living. The valley for them was a place of opportunity.

Just as there were giants in the land where God was leading Israel there will be giants in the valleys that we go through. When this happens, the devil will try to get us to return to the things that we were once in bondage to. It may be drugs. It may be sexual sin. It may be alcohol. It may be just plain old cold religion. Don’t go back. About four hundred years later a King that had spent a lot of time as a shepherd boy in the pastures and valleys would write this beautiful Psalm.

Ps 23:1-6 ¶ The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.(NKJV)

I have found that praying through this Psalm is a big help to me when I go through the valley. May it be a help for you and may we all see the blessings of God when we walk through the valleys of life. Today enjoy the green pastures. Don’t walk in fear of the enemy as you go through the valley. Be assured that the God that we serve is bigger than any enemy that tries to hangout there. Remember God owns the valley the same as He owns the mountain.

Let Us Pray

Lord Jesus we thank You that through Your death, burial, and resurrection that You own it all. We praise You that through faith in Your shed blood that we are never alone in the valley. We praise You for the green pastures. We thank you for the grapes and all of the good things that You have given us in the valley. May we share with others those great and awesome things!

In Jesus Name

Amen

Love you all!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

Joh 14:30 “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.

            I may have mentioned last week that I am currently reading a book on intercessory prayer. The name of the book is Strike The Mark by James Goll. The book is loaded with scripture dealing with intercessory prayer.  This week in Chapter 9 of this book the title of the Chapter was No Common Ground.  The major theme of this chapter was that when we begin to pray for other people, other nations and many other things we need to be sure that we don’t have any common ground with the enemy. 

            All sin comes in three categories: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Jesus was tempted in all three areas. He never sinned. He resisted with the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit ( See Luke 4:1-14,Matthew 4:1-11,and Mark 1:12,13).  Sadly, sometimes as Christians we can fall into the trap of the mindset of how much sin can we get by with and still be a Christian.  When our mindset should be as the Apostle Paul’s was when he wrote to the church at Philippi.   “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”(Php 3:12-14NKJV). Paul by the grace of God was moving in the direction of holiness. He was moving in the direction of becoming more like Jesus Christ.

            Let me clarify something before I go any further. I don’t pray on my merit, but on the merit of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  With that said when you and I engage in willful sin we are giving the enemy ammunition to use to fire back at us with in spiritual warfare. That is why when Jesus said the devil had nothing in Him there was no common ground, or a door for the enemy to get through and to get a foothold.  We are told in Eph 4:27 “nor give place to the devil.”   Again, we don’t want to give the enemy a place to try to come in and  offset the assignment that God has given us. We want to be like Jesus and say that the devil has nothing in us.

            I am praying about three major things that the devil is trying to destroy our nation with and to weaken the church with. In all three of those areas I have faced counter attacks. That is why that you want to be sure that your heart is pure. 

            If you are praying for people to come out of sexual sin be sure that you protect your eye gate and be sure that you are spending plenty of time in the Lord’s presence. Sexual sin is any sexual act outside the marital relationship between a man and a woman. Remember David. He was a mighty man of God and after God’s on heart. But when he should have been at war his eyes were roaming and the enemy got a foothold. 2Sa 11:1,2 “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.”   What happens next is  David commits adultery and has Bathsheba’s husband Uriah murdered. As Jesus said in Joh 14:30“I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”  By the way if you are living in sexual sin Jesus loves you, He wants to forgive you and deliver you from your sinful lifestyle.   I know because He has delivered me from an atrocious sinful life. 

            If you are praying for people to come out of false religions, be sure that you 

are well grounded in the word. The counter attack will be when the enemy tries to convince you that you are not serving the real God.  Be sure that you are filled with the Holy Spirit and like Peter you can proclaim what he proclaimed when the forces of Hell try to attack your mind:

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them

“Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:  “If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.

“This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NKJV)

When the enemy tries to bring up your past.  Be sure that you know that the Blood of Jesus Christ stands between you and your sinful past. Eph 2:13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 

Our nation and the Body of Christ as a whole needs thousands of blood bought intercessors to pray for a mighty move of God upon the earth. Jesus is looking for those who are willing. Lu 10:2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. (NKJV) I pray that you will say yes if you haven’t already and if you have, I pray that you will know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. And remember don’t have any common ground with the enemy.

 

Let Us Pray

 

Lord Jesus we know that we have been called for such a tiem as this. Help us today to lay aside any and all common ground with the enemy. Let us today Lord be like You when You said that the devil had nothing in You. We pray that he will have nothing in us.

In Jesus Name

Amen

 

Thanks for your prayers for our family and for Real Party Ministry.  Thanks also to those who have given to Real Party Ministry. God is using  your gifts in a special way  to advance the kingdom. 

 

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston 

 

GET TOGETHER- DON’T LET THE ENEMY RUIN THE BLESSING

1Ki 19:2-4 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

Elijah was a mighty man of God. God used him in so many miraculous ways. God used him to bring forth a drought on the land. God used him to raise a widow’s son from the dead. God used him to defeat the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel. God used him for it to rain on the land again. He truly had some supernatural miraculous moments serving God.

And yet coming off of his greatest victory one threat from Jezebel makes him want to give up and die. I have experienced this type of discouragement at times coming off of an occasion where God has just done some wonderful, great and mighty powerful things. I have also read of others who have experienced the same thing. The enemy wants to bring discouragement to us to inhibit us from testifying about the great and mighty things that we have seen the Lord do. He wants to discourage us from being God’s instruments in advancing His kingdom and taking back ground that the enemy has gained.

Last week was a wonderful week. The Holy Spirit allowed me to preach six different times. I never got tired and I knew that it was Him that was giving me the energy. It was totally God because as Jesus said apart from Him we can do nothing. God showed up in some very special ways during all of those occasions. The Holy Spirit brought refreshing to several people who had experienced some spiritual battles. One man got saved at the Hamilton A&I Correctional facility here in Hamilton during a service and it was truly a great week all the way around. .

Sunday after having the joy of preaching at our home church CCF here in Hamilton J.J. and I went home and had a good time of rest. I am currently reading a book on intercessory prayer by James Goll called Strike The Mark. As I was prayerfully reading through the book by Brother Goll, I had a wonderful time in the presence of the Lord on our front porch.

After that I decided to go for a walk. We live in the country and we have very little traffic where we live. Because of that I walk up this road near our house. Often times when I walk, I pray in the Holy Spirt as I walk. During my walk the enemy showed up in the form of about six to eight buzzards. They were hanging out on the road at the bottom of one of the hills where I walk. At first, I yelled at them and I thought that they were leaving. Then they began to circle over me. There were several more in a tree near the road. I must admit I let a spirit of fear cause me to turn around. One of them when it flew out of the tree above me made a sound like it had come from the pits of hell.

Well Monday I felt like I needed to go for another walk. When I came down the hill the buzzards had moved about thirty yards over. Rather than retreating this time I began to speak the word of God. The Holy Spirit reminded me that buzzards don’t eat live stuff. They eat dead and stinking stuff. The pasture that they were hanging out in was covered in manure. The buzzards are drawn to the manure and the stuff that stinks.

There are several points that I could make out of this. First of all we may have to walk near the stuff that stinks sometimes. But when we do, we need to stay on the road, or path that Jesus has laid out for us. Also remember that no matter if we are tired, or whatever that He has still given us authority over all of the works of the enemy. Lu 10:19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you”. I commanded in Jesus name every demonic entity that was attached to those buzzards to go. Those buzzards have a purpose, but it is not to hinder you and I from being used to advance the Kingdom, or to rob us of experiencing the peace that Jesus has promised us. Jesus said in Joh 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. He wants us to enjoy His creation. Walking and praying is good for us spiritually, physically, and mentally.

Perhaps you have either just come off of a big victory, or you are about to experience one. Don’t let the enemy rob you of what God has allowed you to see Him do in a great and mighty way. Elijah got assurance from the Lord that He was still with him. 1Ki 19:14-18 And he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”Then the LORD said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria.”Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.”It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.”Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

He is still with you! Keep moving forward. As the Apostle Paul said in Ro 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Walk in victory and expect victory on your next assignment!

Let Us Pray

Lord we thank You that You are the God of life. We thank You that the forces of Hell and that speak death, fear, and discouragements to us have no authority over us. We thank You that by the Blood of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit that You help us to walk in victory all of the time.

In Jesus Name

Amen

God bless you all

Your Friend/kinfolk

Preston

Ac 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

A few weeks ago, I went to the Dora High School Alumni Banquet. I graduated from there in 1967. During the social hour I had a wonderful conversation with one of my old friends and my former teammate on the football team.

When we played football, this guy used to really challenge me. Sometimes we had to go against each other in practice one on one and he was quick, tough, and mean on the field. We usually sat beside each other on the bus when we would play away from home. He would always challenge me to have courage no matter who the opponent was.

However, the greatest challenge that he ever gave me was not on the football field. It was in the early 70’s. His dad had passed away. I went to the viewing at the funeral home there in Sumition, Alabama. At that time, I was living a very sinful lifestyle. He told me that on the night that his dad had passed away that he got saved. He told me that he knew that he was going to heaven. He knew that prior to that he was headed for Hell. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. It would be almost twenty years later before I would get saved. But yet in his witness god was reaching out to me and offering His love to me.

Many times, we use a phrase attributed to St Francis of Assisi “preach the Gospel use words if necessary.” I fully believe that is a very good and challenging statement. We are to live our lives in a way that glorifies Jesus Christ. On the other hand, I believe that the Scriptures do call us to tell people about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus lived holy, but He also preached and taught.

The Scriptures are consistent that all of us who follow Jesus Christ are to be a proclaiming people. At least 41 verses have the word preach. Here are a few Mr 3:14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, Mr 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. There are 58 more with the word preached. Here are a few using preached: Mt 11:5 “The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Mt 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Ac 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.Ac 8:40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.

You might be saying well these were preachers, apostles and or evangelists, or people that had a special calling. How about the blind man that was healed in John Chapter 9? He told the religious leaders what happened to Him: Joh 9:25 “He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” How about the woman that Jesus met at the well? Joh 4:28,29 “The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” These are just a few. There were many more in the Scriptures. 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)

Sometimes some of us who might have had a powerful experience with the Lord may be going through a tough time and get discouraged. That is why we are to testify to those who have already been saved. We often need encouragement. When we hear others witness and testify it should stir in us a go and tell somebody spirit within us. Lu 7:22 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. (NKJV)

So, as I think about how my good friend, former teammate, and now brother in Christ challenged me I feel like the Holy Spirit wants to challenge all of us. Do people know us more for what football team that we pull for because we tell more people about them than we do the Lord? Do people know us more by our political brand because it is easier to share that than it is to talk about Jesus? If we all were telling someone about Him would our culture be different than it is today? This week let’s challenge one another to witness to someone about what our Lord Jesus has done in our lives and desires to do in the lives of others.

Let Us Pray

Lord some of the things that we witness about are not necessarily bad things,but forgive us when we have told and shared with people more about those things than we have about You! Today blow Your breath upon us through the Holy Spirit and empower us to share the Good News of the Gospel! You took Peter from a man that denied You and made Him a man that would see three thousand souls come into the Kingdom in one day. Lord please do in us what You did in him.

In Jesus Name

Amen

God bless you all!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days: according to the command of the LORD they would remain encamped, and according to the command of the LORD they would journey. So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey; whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey. Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey. At the command of the LORD they remained encamped, and at the command of the LORD they journeyed; they kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by the hand of Moses. (NKJV)

Israel was on a journey. They were on a journey to the land that had been promised to their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were being delivered from the bondage of slavery that they had lived in for over 400 hundred years in Egypt. God’s presence was with them in a very special way as we see in the passage from Numbers. On their journey they saw God do mighty miracles. They also rebelled against God and would suffer the consequences of this rebellion on their journey. But praise God there would be a generation that would go into the promised land and complete the journey successfully.

The word journey is used in 96 verses in the Bible in one way or another. As Christians we often describe our time here on earth and our promise of one day living in Heaven for eternity as a journey. We are on a journey with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are indwelt with His Holy Spirit so that He can be with us every step of our journey with Him.

Last week J.J. and I were on our way to Springfield, Missouri to see our new granddaughter Hannah who was born last week. We have made that trip several times and we know the route very well. When we were approximately one mile from the exit off I-55 where you turn to go to Jonesboro Arkansas a truck blocked me from seeing the exit and we missed the turn.

I always pay attention to landmarks when I travel. I got upset when we missed the turn. The Lord showed me that some of that was pride. That it was pride that was bothering me so much about missing the turn. The Lord is always teaching us on the journey.

We turned around a few miles up Interstate 55 and were headed back in the right direction. About five minutes later we were on I-555 headed to Jonesboro. All of a sudden it began to rain so hard that we could barely see. I had to slow down to around forty-five, or fifty miles per hour on the Interstate. A few miles up the road there was a three-vehicle accident. I felt later on like the Holy Spirit had something to do with us missing that turn back on I-55. We could have possibly been in that accident. Sometimes the Holy Spirit may restrain us from something that appears to be the right way. He may sometimes on the journey delay us from getting to some particular point in the journey until it is just the right time. The apostle paul experienced this : Ac 16:6 “Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.” In spite of it raining very hard for a good part of the way we were able to get to Springfield safely and celebrate the birth of our new granddaughter Hannah.

On the way back we had prayed that our journey would be a spiritual retreat for us. We listened to Christian music and we gave God thanks for the beauty of the State of Missouri and for the beautiful mountains in Missouri and Arkansas.

We noticed how beautiful the view was when we would be on top of the mountain. We also noticed that there are a lot of winding curves on the way up the mountain. Sometimes on our journey with Jesus Christ we experience some winding curves. Some of the curves can be very sharp and dangerous. And yet if we keep our eyes on the Lord and stay on the path, we will make it up to the mountain.

Once again, we would go through a couple of storms before we made it back home to Hamilton. Sometimes the storms in life come up suddenly and unexpectedly. Sometimes the howl of the winds can be scary. But J.J. and I prayed Psalms 91 and we knew that the Lord would protect us from the storms.

Today if you have taken a wrong turn on your journey the Lord stands ready to help you to get back on the right path. If you are on that crazy crooked curvy path up the mountain keep your eyes on Him and He will get you there. If the storms of life have come upon you unexpectedly know that the Peace Speaker is with you in the storm and that He is ready to calm it and to get you safely home. Enjoy the journey knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ has purchased your ticket and will get you to your eternal destination.

Let Us Pray

Lord we thank You that you travel with us and that we are never alone, or lacking any good thing. Today no matter where we are in our journey with you. Or no matter what may be happening in our journey with You help us to keep our eyes on You knowing that You will work for good in every phase of the journey. We thank you that You have paid the price for our eternal destination and that we will live in glory with You forever and ever!

In Jesus Name

Amen

Enjoy the journey!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

2Ki 18:28-31 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! “Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand;nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” “Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern;

The Merriam Webster on-line dictionary defines intimidate in the following way : to make timid or fearful : frighten; especially : to compel or deter by or as if by threats. Intimidation would be the act of carrying this out.

Sometimes in a football game people that have never put on a pair of cleats in their lives will scream at the opposing team and try to intimidate them. And sometimes it works. People who have never been on a basketball court will scream at some player that has shot one hundred free throws a day for ten years and sometimes it works.

The Southern Kingdom of Judah is facing a very serious situation in this passage. They are trying to break free from being a vassal state to the Assyrians. Vassal states were required to pay tribute to the nations that they were vassals to. Hezekiah as King of Judah is attempting to no longer be a vassal state to Assyria. He is attempting to have the tithes brought back into the temple and the offering given to Yahweh the God of Israel and the true God of the universe.

The Assyrian Army was the most brutal and sadistic army on the face of the earth at that time. They were known to impale their victims and skin them alive so that they died slow agonizing deaths. They would capture women and make sex slaves out of them. They were known for laying siege to cities cutting off water supplies and letting their enemies get so weak from lack of water and food before they attacked them. One act of intimidation and one sadistic act that the Assyrians would do was to make their enemies eat and drink their own waste: 2Ki 18:27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?” By the way the enemy used this tactic when Romania was under Communist control on faithful Christians that were imprisoned. They were forced to have communion using their waste rather than bread and juice.

The devil will use intimidation to try to get us not to trust God in what God has called us to do and who He has called us to be. I fully believe and have experienced this attack on many occasions. There is a demonic spirit of intimidation that will come against God’s people as we attempt to be used to advance His Kingdom upon the earth. It may come in the workplace, the school, as you get ready to get in the pulpit, or when you pull up in the parking lot. It can try to come in any number of places where God has given you an assignment.

King Hezekiah had destroyed the altars where idol worship had taken place. He was being used to get the people of Judah in position to experience the covenant promises and blessings of God. The people of Judah had a very important assignment. Many of them were being used to restore true worship of Yahweh in the land and were being used to restore the temple from its lack of care for many years. The enemy wanted to send all of them the message that they could not trust God. 2Ki 18:33-35 ‘Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? ‘Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?'”

Perhaps you have heard the voice of the enemy before saying God is not with you. Maybe you have heard him say “I am going to destroy your marriage, I am going to destroy your church, or you will sound like a fool when you give that testimony. Or maybe you won’t have the money to go on that mission trip. His lies and efforts to get us not to trust in God can come in many ways. The enemy will go to great extremes to get God’s people to not trust God.

During the time that the Assyrian spokesman was using intimidation to get Hezekiah and the people to submit to the Assyrians he offers Judah a compromise. That is the goal of the enemy. He wants us to compromise. When the enemy is coming at you with intimidation stand on the Word of God. Stand on God’s promises to you as a servant of the Most High. God has called us to advance the Kingdom for such a time as this. Here are just a few that I stand on when that demonic spirit of intimidation comes at me. Heb 13:5c For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. “Isa 59:19 So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him. (NKJV) De 28:7 “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

There are many more! Well the Lord fought the battle for Hezekiah and the people of Judah. You can read the details in 2 Kings Chapter 19. I like what God says in the following passage and I believe as New Covenant children of God that we can depend on Him to give us victory when the enemy comes at us with intimidation. No matter how strong the enemy may look to us. Our God never loses. 2Ki 19:32-34″Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,’ Says the LORD. ‘For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.'”

Let us Pray

Lord Jesus we thank You that You are our Defender against intimidation and over all of the devices and schemes that the enemy uses to try to intimidate us in our calling. We pray today that we will not listen to the voice of the enemy,but we will listen to the assuring victorious voice of the LORD.

In Jesus Name

Amen

Isa 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (NKJV) Mt 21:13,14 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ 14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

            This morning after spending some time in prayer I was listening to Kari Jobe on the radio singing one of my favorite songs “Forever”. As I was listening my mind began to think about other times in my life and events that have taken place during what many Christians call Holy Week. To be honest there are too many to name here. But here are a few. 

            I remember Easter egg hunts and being in the children’s plays at Sumiton United Methodist church when I was in elementary school.  I stopped going to church around the seventh, or eighth grade.  So there was a long period of time before I would be back in church during Holy Week, or any other week..  Although I had gone to church as a child I guess when I first remember hearing the phrase Holy Week was when I was in the Reception Center at Fort Leonard Wood Missouri.  I went to two services there because if we went to church it meant that we did not have to pull K.P. that day. 

            My Mother had gone back to church in the late 70’s and I remember getting up after a night of drug use and going to please her one Resurrection Sunday morning.  About a year later J.J. and I were planning on getting married and we went to the church that she grew up in and that we would be married in Childersburg United Methodist Church. 

            The Pastor there wanted to counsel us before he married us.  He had gotten saved in prison. His name was Mahlon Felkins. I didn’t get saved that day, but I left there thinking something must have happened to him that changed his life.   Two years later our son Jake would be born on Resurrection Sunday weekend!  And when our daughter Jessye was born two years later we began going to church on a more regular basis.  God can use children to draw you to Him. 

             In 1990 J.J. and I went from being church workers trying to do better to being born again Christians.  There have been many glorious Holy Weeks ,and some tough ones since that time. We have memories of   doing Choir Specials at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Dora. We also visited   other congregations and celebrated with our brothers and sister in other parts of the Body of Christ during Holy Week.  And we had the special undeserved joy and blessing of serving as the Pastoral family for two wonderful congregations. We have fond memories of celebrating Holy Week with both of those congregations.  There have been different challenges at different times to our family and to all of those congregations during various Holy Weeks.  But we have always known that the Lord Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead on the third day was with us. 

             This week there may be some of you that were like I was. You may attend a service this week to please someone else. My prayer for you is that Jesus will reveal Himself to you in some way that you can look back on and know that He loved you even when you didn’t love Him.  I pray that you will know that He was seeking you even when you weren’t seeking Him.

            For those who will be physically able to attend services this week take time to reflect back on your journey with the Lord.  Thank Him for what He has done and continues to do in your life.  And when some show up where you worship that normally don’t come pray for them. Love them and let them know that God loves them.  One of them may be a preacher one day. One may be a husband that needs to be the priest of their home. One may be a daughter that God wants to restore and to use to change the lives of others. 

             You may be thinking what does this have to do with the passages that I started this devotional out with.  Well many of us are familiar with Jesus chasing the money changers out of the temple during this week. But He also healed people during that week. 

            He paid the price for our healing on that Friday that we call Good Friday! I believe that He still heals today. In my life He has healed me physically on several occasions. One being a torn rotator cuff. Many times, He has healed me and others that I know of other things where we needed a physical healing. But as I reflect back on this week probably the greatest healing for me personally has been the healings for damaged emotions and spiritual healing. I know that without a doubt because of His death and resurrection that I am saved from Hell, delivered from the power that Hell once had over my life, and being healed from the damage that Hell inflicted upon my life. If you can say that then you have something to celebrate this week. If you can’t say that He is ready to give you something to celebrate about. I will close with these words from the song that I mentioned by Kari Jobe earlier in this writing:

We sing Hallelujah
We sing Hallelujah
We sing Hallelujah
The Lamb has overcome

 

Let us Pray Lord Jesus we thank you that You sought us out and that You found us! Thank you for paying the price for our redemption. Today please use this as You seek others as You did us to bring those lost sheep into the fold. I pray for all of us that not only this week, but every week that we will celebrate the victory that You purchased for us on Calvary’s Hill and  for Your glorious Resurrection.

In Jesus Name

Amen

 

  Have a great Holy Week

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Have you ever wanted another chance in life? Probably most of us may have wanted another chance at some things that we have done in life. There may be some people who say that they have absolutely no regrets in life. That type thought could come from a humanistic viewpoint.

But from God’s point of view we all needed a new opportunity at life. Because from God ‘s point of view as the Bible tells us we were all born sinners: Ro 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That means that even the most respectful person that any of us has ever known has at some point sinned in word, thought, or deed. The Bible tells us that there is a penalty for that, but that there is also a gift that can remove the penalty from us and give us eternal life: Ro 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJV) There is good news! We can be forgiven and live with Jesus Christ in eternal glory forever and ever.

There is more good news! Eternal life begins the moment that we repent of our sins and put our faith in Him to save us from our sins. So not only are we forgiven of our sins, but as forgiven Holy Spirit indwelt children of God we can begin to be free from the power that sin has had over our lives.

We get a new identity. This identity is much better than the new identity that people get when they are in the Federal Protection Program. Their identity could be discovered and their enemies still find them out and do harm to them. With our new identity God is has got our back and He is protecting us from the demonic forces that would try to destroy us.

Our identity is no longer what is was when we were living in sin. Our identity does not have to be in some addiction we may have had, or are in the process of God delivering us from it. Our identity does not have to be associated with some sinful behavior that we have been involved in that is contrary to the word of God. We no longer have to be controlled by that sinful behavior. The Apostle Paul says it like this in “Ro 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”

The other day as I was talking to a group of students about the atrociousness and cruelty of human slavery, I made a statement. I said that I did not want to be a slave to anyone. Immediately the Holy Spirit corrected me. There is One that I want to be a slave to. His Name is Jesus Christ. Because in being His slave we find true freedom. Paul says it like this in Ro 6:16 -18,22. “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

Today you may read this and you may be finding your identity in some type of sinful behavior. You may be getting pleasure out of it for a while. The Bible says that there is pleasure in sin for a season. God wants to give you a new identity. For some of us whom God has brought out of lifestyles of sin may we continually praise Him and thank Him for Him rescuing us from the bondage that we were in.

This morning as I was laying in bed praying these lines from one of my favorite Hymns O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing by Charles Wesley came to me:

He breaks the power of canceled sin,

He sets the prisoner free;

His blood can make the foulest clean,

His blood availed for me.

Not only as a new creation in Christ Jesus does, He cancel and forgive our sin, but He delivers us from the power that sin has over our lives and sets us free from the desire to go back to it. Give Him Glory!

Let us Pray

Lord we thank You for the mercy that You have shown us when we came to You by faith in Your precious shed blood. Today continually by the power of the Holy Spirit take all desire away to go back to those old lifestyles and help us to move forward from glory to glory.

In Jesus Name

Amen

God bless you all!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston