Seen on church sign......
ATM Inside
Atonement - Truth - Mercy.....
Bound to be a good Sunday morning sermon somewhere in this......
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
I Have Heard Your Prayer
One year ago CUPC began a new season of prayer and seeking the Lord....
Then, last May, I was led in prayer to this familiar verse and used it as the basis for several weeks of study....
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chron 7:14
The Lord led us to seek His face, turn from our ways and pray with the promise that he would hear us in his heavenly realm and heal us in our earthly one....
We labeled our study and pursuit....
7.14 Church....
Many, many, many hours of prayer have gone up from our sanctuary....
Prayer changes this.....
Our prayers altared the landscape of our church.....
Revival comes in many packages.....
Last week, after a year of passionate pursuit of His miraculous....
With inadequate time to prepare for our Sunday evening service I asked the Lord what he wanted me to say....
He told me, "Go tell the people that I have heard their prayers"
I referenced the phrase and like a thunderbolt I felt the clear voice of God as he shared Hezekiah's promise with myself and CUPC.....
Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 2 Kings 20:5-6
These words came alive to me and I consider it a word from God for our church.....
I have heard thy prayer......
I have seen thy tears.....
I will add to you.....
You are healed.....
I will deliver from the spirit that has besieged you....
I will defend you, therefore the battle is mine and not yours.....
These key words jumped into my spirit.....
Heard, seen, heal, add, deliver, defend...
He has heard and seen and healed and is adding, delivering and defending on our behalf......
After seeking his face for a year with as many as four prayer events a week in our Sanctuary.....
Breakthru!!!!
The Lord has heard our prayers....
He has seen the sincerity and purity of our tears.....
Healed as he promised back in May if we would seek his face.....
He is adding right now to the church.....
He is delivering from the afflicter and besieging spirits......
And he is defending.....
However, it is not time to relax.....
Rather, it is time to turn up the heat a bit more....
Pray a little harder and humble ourselves a bit more....
And stand back as God adds, delivers and defends......
Time-out for a shout!!!!!
rks
Then, last May, I was led in prayer to this familiar verse and used it as the basis for several weeks of study....
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chron 7:14
The Lord led us to seek His face, turn from our ways and pray with the promise that he would hear us in his heavenly realm and heal us in our earthly one....
We labeled our study and pursuit....
7.14 Church....
Many, many, many hours of prayer have gone up from our sanctuary....
Prayer changes this.....
Our prayers altared the landscape of our church.....
Revival comes in many packages.....
Last week, after a year of passionate pursuit of His miraculous....
With inadequate time to prepare for our Sunday evening service I asked the Lord what he wanted me to say....
He told me, "Go tell the people that I have heard their prayers"
I referenced the phrase and like a thunderbolt I felt the clear voice of God as he shared Hezekiah's promise with myself and CUPC.....
Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 2 Kings 20:5-6
These words came alive to me and I consider it a word from God for our church.....
I have heard thy prayer......
I have seen thy tears.....
I will add to you.....
You are healed.....
I will deliver from the spirit that has besieged you....
I will defend you, therefore the battle is mine and not yours.....
These key words jumped into my spirit.....
Heard, seen, heal, add, deliver, defend...
He has heard and seen and healed and is adding, delivering and defending on our behalf......
After seeking his face for a year with as many as four prayer events a week in our Sanctuary.....
Breakthru!!!!
The Lord has heard our prayers....
He has seen the sincerity and purity of our tears.....
Healed as he promised back in May if we would seek his face.....
He is adding right now to the church.....
He is delivering from the afflicter and besieging spirits......
And he is defending.....
However, it is not time to relax.....
Rather, it is time to turn up the heat a bit more....
Pray a little harder and humble ourselves a bit more....
And stand back as God adds, delivers and defends......
Time-out for a shout!!!!!
rks
Thursday, November 24, 2011
I Am Blessed
Sleep got up earlier than I did today.....
So at 5 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning I leave the house in search of the ellusive Black Friday sale papers and wouldn't you know, I have purchased 5 of them and am back home in 15 minutes....
Last year it took 100 miles and 5 towns to find one....
So now I take a few moments to offer thanks for a most incredible year....
First off, I thank the Lord for the journey he has led me....
A year of prayer, seeking his face in a pursuit of Him and in the process a rediscovery of his greatness and recreation of myself, my family and CUPC.....
The transformation of CUPC is an aweing reality and I simply say thank you Lord....
I could not do the things I do without Tracie....
This is our 31st Thanksgiving to share and love you more today than I did when we were thinner and younger and I still had hair....
Tracie.....
Babe, you have been a trooper and even in the most difficult of times, never a single complaint, not a single whine, not a single "I wish" has crossed your lips....
You dear have been my special gift from God and I thank Him for you and I thank you for being dreams come true and resolute strength personified....
I love you....
My kids continue to bring joy....
Redonia, I am proud of you. As I watch you walk a not so easy path of adulthood I rejoice at your strenth and poise.....
I am proud of you and know that soon you will be blessed by God with a most special someone in your life.....
And then of course you gave me Annaleigh....
Just think, If I could have skipped you and gone straight to her.....smile .....wink........I love you girl....
Trent....
Oh what a man you have become.....
I saw a business aquaintance from the past this week who had seen you in public and they were so impressed with the young man they had known as a boy....
I love and respect you ......
Calah....
You laugh and giggle at all the stupid stuff Trent likes to do and make him feel so important...
But you also have learned to take charge of some things in our world and I am proud of you......
Trent is a better man because of you....
Now, get me that grandboy......
Extended Family.....
Ours is no different than other families today and we have been touched by disappointment and heartache....
The Patrick side laid to rest the first sibling, Carla.....
The Smith side sees two granddaughers and a daughter deal with the realities of single parenting.....
But amid these, none of us can really doubt the greatness of our God....
Mom, Dad, Gram, Popsie, thanks for loving us all and believing in me personally all of these years.....
CUPC Family....
The last year or so has been one of the most heart wrenching times of our life....
My heart has been handed to me time and time again....
But as I think of these things, there is only one emotion I feel this morning...
Gratitude for every single person who has passed our way over these years.......
I pray for each who passed, paused and then moved on; and I am thankful each....
I rejoice for each who cointinues with us....
I rejoice for every answered prayer....
I also rejoice as the miraculous continues to unfold amoung us....
CUPC Staff.....
This year the Lord chose to flip the staff and the incredible group of people around us daily is second to none...
I thank the Lord for each ofyou.....
Last but the Greatest.....
Lord, I thank you for your keeping grace.....
You took me on a journey of mercy and grace this year....
You educated me in the ways of mercy for yesterday's failures, and grace for the things we face today....
You led me to seek your face with the promise if I would that you would hear me from heaven and would take care of my earthy affairs from your heavenly realm....
Then last week you told me you had heard my prayers and seen my tears and had healed my land and that you would add to me and destroy the afflicter and be my defender....
I simply say Thank You Lord.....
rks
So at 5 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning I leave the house in search of the ellusive Black Friday sale papers and wouldn't you know, I have purchased 5 of them and am back home in 15 minutes....
Last year it took 100 miles and 5 towns to find one....
So now I take a few moments to offer thanks for a most incredible year....
First off, I thank the Lord for the journey he has led me....
A year of prayer, seeking his face in a pursuit of Him and in the process a rediscovery of his greatness and recreation of myself, my family and CUPC.....
The transformation of CUPC is an aweing reality and I simply say thank you Lord....
I could not do the things I do without Tracie....
This is our 31st Thanksgiving to share and love you more today than I did when we were thinner and younger and I still had hair....
Tracie.....
Babe, you have been a trooper and even in the most difficult of times, never a single complaint, not a single whine, not a single "I wish" has crossed your lips....
You dear have been my special gift from God and I thank Him for you and I thank you for being dreams come true and resolute strength personified....
I love you....
My kids continue to bring joy....
Redonia, I am proud of you. As I watch you walk a not so easy path of adulthood I rejoice at your strenth and poise.....
I am proud of you and know that soon you will be blessed by God with a most special someone in your life.....
And then of course you gave me Annaleigh....
Just think, If I could have skipped you and gone straight to her.....smile .....wink........I love you girl....
Trent....
Oh what a man you have become.....
I saw a business aquaintance from the past this week who had seen you in public and they were so impressed with the young man they had known as a boy....
I love and respect you ......
Calah....
You laugh and giggle at all the stupid stuff Trent likes to do and make him feel so important...
But you also have learned to take charge of some things in our world and I am proud of you......
Trent is a better man because of you....
Now, get me that grandboy......
Extended Family.....
Ours is no different than other families today and we have been touched by disappointment and heartache....
The Patrick side laid to rest the first sibling, Carla.....
The Smith side sees two granddaughers and a daughter deal with the realities of single parenting.....
But amid these, none of us can really doubt the greatness of our God....
Mom, Dad, Gram, Popsie, thanks for loving us all and believing in me personally all of these years.....
CUPC Family....
The last year or so has been one of the most heart wrenching times of our life....
My heart has been handed to me time and time again....
But as I think of these things, there is only one emotion I feel this morning...
Gratitude for every single person who has passed our way over these years.......
I pray for each who passed, paused and then moved on; and I am thankful each....
I rejoice for each who cointinues with us....
I rejoice for every answered prayer....
I also rejoice as the miraculous continues to unfold amoung us....
CUPC Staff.....
This year the Lord chose to flip the staff and the incredible group of people around us daily is second to none...
I thank the Lord for each ofyou.....
Last but the Greatest.....
Lord, I thank you for your keeping grace.....
You took me on a journey of mercy and grace this year....
You educated me in the ways of mercy for yesterday's failures, and grace for the things we face today....
You led me to seek your face with the promise if I would that you would hear me from heaven and would take care of my earthy affairs from your heavenly realm....
Then last week you told me you had heard my prayers and seen my tears and had healed my land and that you would add to me and destroy the afflicter and be my defender....
I simply say Thank You Lord.....
rks
Saturday, November 19, 2011
There Is Life In This Body
Twas the last night of a seven night revival and Paul gave them their money's worth.....
He preached long....
Eutychus, the Window Percher, wearied and nodded and drifted and slept and fell out the window and landed on his head and broke his neck and died....
There are many Eutychus's today....
They sit on the periphery keeping an eye on whats happening in the church and an eye on what is happening outside....
They weary themselves and others with chronic discontent....
They influence others to be double minded as well.....
And as Eutychus falls out the window and crash lands, there are others that are influenced by his attitude....
There are many who can diagnose death in Eutychus and the church he fell out of.....
Surely broken necked Window Perchers represent the whole and core of that church....
However Paul showed us how to handle such....
He simply ran downstairs and let the other Window Perchers know that he was not dead.....
Window Perchers can see and discern broken necks and horrific demise.....
But Paul ignored the Window Perchers and evil reports and simply said....
His life is in his body....
And despite Eutychus' failure, Grace and Life continued in him.....
And Paul went back upstairs and finished preaching....
Paul went right back to what he was doing before the Perching Eutychus fell and broke his neck and before the other Window Perchers looked out the window to hear the message....
Life was in his body.....
And that ain't the only place!!!!
Life was still in the service!!!!
For Paul finished his sermon and then fellowshipped until daylight before running to catch his flight....
Fallen Window Perchers, broken necks, dead bodies and bad reports need be ignored.....
For life continues in the body...
There Is Life In This Body!!!!
There was life in his church....
And there is life in yours.....
Ignore the reports of the Window Perchers and broken neck memos....
Just keep having church......
God will take care of Eutychus.....
God will fix his broken neck....
Maybe he will stop being a Window Percher....
But if not....
God does not change....
And life will forever continue in the body.....
There Is Life In This Church!!!!
rks
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