Open Doors

Wow! There are some really exciting things happening lately with the ministry. I'm looking forward to what God has planned. We're going to be opening our official ministry office in September. This opportunity it going to allow us to reach so many people that we would not have had the opportunity to minister to otherwise. We are going to be using it as a planning and administrative hub, as well as a place to have board meetings. But what really excites me is that we're going to be able to host weekly and monthly Bible studies for those who want something low-key yet encouraging during the work week. Plus, just thinking about all of the people who are going to come through that door wanting to see who we are and what we're about is going to give us the privilege of sharing the life-transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many of those who we minister to might have never entered the church doors, but praise God, they'll come through ours!! By the way...Jesus told Peter and Andrew the same thing that He tells us..."Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men" Mark 1:17. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. If we are only willing to go the way that Jesus leads, He will turn us into sold-out soul winners! What are you fishing for?

Can God Use Me?

Last night I had the opportunity to preach at the prison. During the message, which was on Hebrews 12:1-2, I felt the need to spend a few minutes on the first section of verse 1 which says, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses". The witnesses that are being referred to here are those mentioned in chapter 11. Some mentioned were Abel, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Samson, and David. Speaking to a group of men who were in prison for committing crimes of various sorts, it seemed imperative to encourage them concerning their present and future opportunities to serve God. I reminded them that many of those listed in what has been referred to as the "hall of faith" in chapter 11 were guilty of committing some very serious crimes. Moses killed an Egyptian, Rahab was a prostitute, Samson was a killer and an arsonist, and David was an adulterer and a pre-meditated murderer. Sounds like a pretty rough crowd to me. If you looked at those actions, many of us wouldn't have dared to let our children to come within 100 yards of any of them. We warn one another to stay away from the kind of people listed above; people who have committed heinous acts. In our conversations we label those who do these things as "trash" and "worthless." I bring to attention though a very important fact: God used each of these people to accomplish great things. I don't mean mediocre things, we're talking about people that God used to establish His earthly kingdom. So, can God use you or a prisoner or an abortionist or a rapist or a prostitute? YES!! He has before and He will continue to do so. There is hope for all of us. When a life is turned over to God. When a person submits themselves to His will. When someone puts their faith in Jesus Christ, anything is possible! Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever." He hasn't changed His standards. He still accepts and uses those who call on Him as Lord and believe that God has raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9). How powerful that truth is! It gives hope to the one on the street corner, to the one in the prison cell, and to the one knee-deep in sin sitting at the office.

Upcoming Opportunities

Hey everybody! Sorry it's been so long since my last post. It's been busy, as I know it is with you all as well. Here are a couple of pics from the last two tournaments we've done. It's a privilege to be able to go out and preach the gospel to a group who don't see it coming. People go to church with some expectations. They that there will be music and a message and an invitation. But people going to a softball tournament to watch "Junior" or "Girl Junior" play don't know that the life-transforming gospel of the One and Only Jesus Christ is getting ready to be brought right before them. If it sounds exciting to you, just imagine being there and seeing the Holy Spirit move and change lives. As a matter of fact, if any of you ever want to join us at one of these tournaments and see it for yourself, just let me know. God may want to use you in a ministry like this that is a little out of the box. I'd also like to ask those of you who have taken the time to read this far to pray for our ministry over the next couple of weeks. We have several opportunities to preach the gospel. I will be in the prison on the 25th and 29th, at a tournament in Greensboro on the 26th, at a Sertoma league kickoff (in front of a couple hundred football players and their families) on August 1st, and at another tournament (location TBA) on the 2nd. Craig will be in Tupelo, MS at a revival the 26th through the 31st. Please pray that God will do great things at each of these events and that many will come to know Him as their Savior, accepting the victory that He gives through the sacrifice made on the Cross. "Trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not in your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path" Proverbs 3:5,6. May He guide your every step as you seek to serve Him.

One From The Road

Wow! What an exciting couple of weeks it's been. I give glory to God for allowing me the privilege of serving Him. I know that many of you have been expecting an update from this weekend. I apologize for it taking so long. This is the first time I have been able to get on here since we left yesterday morning. For those of you who don't know, we are on the road for the next two weeks. We will be in Fl, Ga, and SC., meeting with churches and individuals to share what God has called our ministry to do for His glory.
Saturday night at the prison was amazing! We had well over 40 in attendance, all coming voluntarily. God used the service to call a young 28 year old man to be saved! It was a blessing just to be a part of it. After the invitation, he even felt compelled to share a few words with those who were there. I was in awe of the boldness that he had. When God does a work, it shows! I ask you to pray for our new brother in Christ. Lift up this man as he begins a new life in our Savior.
On Sunday morning, Craig and I held a service in Burlington, NC. We were allowed to sing and preach at an ASA girls softball tournament. Although, it was hot, and many could have headed out for lunch, we had well over 200 attend, including parents and grandparents. Praise God, we saw at least 5 come to know Jesus!! I believe that there were several more whom God spoke to, so please pray that they will, in the near future, accept Him as Lord of their life.
Although I am not in the ministry to focus on numbers, I know that all of heaven rejoices when just one comes into the family of God. How excited should we be then, when six are saved in such a short amount of time.
I want to thank each of you for your prayer and support. Without you, we would not be able to go and preach the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. We love you and are praying for you as well.

Washing Feet

How awesome is God? To be honest with you, I don't think I could fully describe the answer that the question deserves. He is indeed indescribable! I'm getting excited about another opportunity that God has given me to preach at the prison tonight. After the amazing service that we had Wednesday night, I have been spending most of the morning wondering what God has in store for those who come together tonight. I want to ask you once again to pray for the service. There will be many in attendance tonight who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior. Please pray that there would be an abundance of freedom for the gospel to be proclaimed. Pray that God would use this unworthy vessel to "preach the word." How dependant I am upon Him. I praise Him for the calling that He has laid upon me. The message that He has put on my heart comes from John 13. It is one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible! God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, kneels before those disciples who have been with Him for so long. They have seen Him perform miracles beyond comprehension and explanation. They have heard Him preach and witnessed His sinless life. Yet, He gets on those perfect knees before them and washes their feet! What wondrous love! The most profound part of the entire event is not that He put His holy hands upon the dirty feet of men, but that He put His holy hands upon the feet of the one who would betray Him, Judas Iscariot. Jesus is so loving that He was willing to clean the feet which would, in only a matter of moments, be used to bring His accusers to capture Him. How much more then, should we be willing to serve in humility before our own enemies? If God in the flesh was willing to humble Himself (Php. 2:7), what should we be willing to do? God is calling those who have called upon His name to reach out into a world full of those who would betray and persecute us, so that we might "show" them the love of Christ which lives within us. I have had to take inventory of my own life because of the power of this passage. What am I holding back from God? Who, or what group am I unwilling to go to as His servant? Am I willing to wash the feet of those who despise me? Please pray for those prisoner's tonight. Pray that they will see the love that Christ as for them, and that they will accept that love and the salvation that comes through it.

Prison Update

First, I want to praise God for giving me the opportunity to preach tonight at the prison. I am thankful that He counted me worthy to stand as His representative. I would also like to thank those of you who prayed, not only for me, but for those men who attended as well. God hears the prayers of His people! Though the numbers were few, roughly 15-20, it was still a wonderful service. God moved and many came to the altar, repenting and submitting themselves to His will. Though no one was saved, I am thankful that God allowed more seeds to be planted. I am praying that Saturday night will be a time of reaping the harvest. I challenged those who attended tonight to encourage at least one inmate, whom they believed needed to be saved, to come. There are so many inmates at the prison who do not know Jesus. Please pray with me, that many will come to the service Saturday night, hear the gospel, and accept Jesus as Lord. I pray that each of you reading this will be strengthened and encouraged by the power of God today. I pray that He will use you to accomplish something great for Him. May our eyes be open to the opportunities He sets before us. May our hands be willing to extend towards one who needs the love of Christ. Amen.

Can't Help But Get Excited

Okay. So I was going to wait until after tonight to post a blog. I figured that two in one day might be a little much for me (this is all new ya know). But, after preparing this morning for the service tonight at the prison, I'm just too excited to wait. God laid Romans 4:20-25 on my heart to preach tonight. I had read it before a few times, but had never really sat down and studied it. WOW!!! After about 5 minutes I broke. Paul goes back to the faith that Abraham had when God promised him in Genesis 17, "and thou shalt be a father of many nations" v4. What really got my attention was what God said in v5-"for a father of many nations I have made thee." In God's view, this wasn't a promise to be kept, but instead, a promise that had already been fulfilled! How awesome is that? God doesn't make promises like we do-you see, we say something that we hope we'll be able to keep like, "I promise I'll never say that to you again" or "I promise that I won't be late" or "I promise that I'll do better next time". But the truth is that you and I can only really try to keep those promises which we've made. And, honestly, we end up breaking most of the one's that we made sooner or later. God though, treats His promises quite differently. When He says it, it's as good as done-money in the bank! He doesn't have to worry about circumstances or barriers that may be in the way. God never has and never will break a promise that He has made. Now, I don't know about you, but to me, that's some encouraging stuff. Abraham, was 99, Sarah was 90, and no child had yet been born. But "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith; giving glory to God" Rom. 4:20. Abraham did something that you and I normally don't do: He didn't let the circumstances sway his belief. I take God's promises a lot of the time and treat them as if they will only be kept if certain things happen. I allow the barriers to influence my faith. But Abraham "being fully persuaded that, what he (God) had promised, he (God) was able also to perform" v21. Talk about conviction! I have to start taking God at His Word and not at my doubts. James 1:6-7 says, "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (same Greek word as "staggered" in Rom. 4:20). For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." If we are going to ask for something in prayer, we've got to be firm in our belief that God will provide. We can't ask Him to do a great work, only to doubt His ability and willingness to perform that which we have requested. I'm going to put something on my wall in my office that says "he staggered not at the promise of God" to remind me of my need to believe God! I hope that these verses bring you some encouragement as they have me. Please pray for the service tonight. There are so many prisoners there who need to believe that God has made a way for them to be forgiven and redeemed; and that His name is Jesus Christ! I'll have an update later tonight when I get back.