It’s a Bad Day when Donkeys are more Intune to God than Us.

1aa donkey. Paul speaks to the Christians in Corinth letting them know that on this side of heaven we are handicap in our spiritual eye sight and understanding of Gods totally will. We read in 1 Cor 13:12 where he says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known”.  It reminds me of trying to shave in the morning after the hot water has been running for a while and the mirror becomes all fogged up. You can’t see clearly anymore so you take a couple of wipes with your hand bringing a slight moment of clarity making for a few more needed swipes with the raiser before it gets fogged up again. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could see correctly a hundred percent of the time? It definitely would help us not get in some of the messes that we seem to find ourselves in along the way. The more we pursue God the clearer our spiritual vision will become.

As the children of Israel were coming into the Land that God had already given them, we find an interesting story of a dull and defiled prophet that was being pulled by his own fleshly desires. We follow his story of struggling to be obedient to God, so as many people do, he continues to question and push for his will not Gods. Truthfully, it is kind of like how it was when we were children dealing with our parents, we would want something so bad that we refused to take no for an answer and keep asking them until we would end up getting in trouble, right?

As we pick up the story in Num. 22:28-32 we see where it says, “Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you”! In a moments time we can find ourselves being brought into this incredible story where we see this supernatural adventure unfolding with a donkey speaking so that the prophet could understand. That’s amazing and incredible, but what is really peculiar is that Balaam starts speaking back to the donkey having a conversation with it.

Balaam’s heart was so bent to the point that he pushed God in allowing him to go with the king and so now the Angel of the Lord is waiting in ambush to slay Balaam. And because the prophet’s eyes have become so dull to the spirit realm, he is not able to see the Lord standing in the midst of the path ready to serve justice on him. Yet, the donkey clearly sees what’s going on spiritually and keeps attempting to move out of the way to avoid Balaam from being judged with a sword. We see that God then open Balaam’s eyes to the realm of the spirit, but unfortunately, his heart wasn’t changed and he continued to let his fresh and lust lead him against God’s will. Ultimately, he teaches the Moab king how to get the children of Israel to bring God’s judgement on them. Balaam’s lust eventually brought the sword of the Lord upon him later in his life. (Jos 13:22)

Paul says in Eph 5:17, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is”. So often believers are driven by their motives and agendas that they become blind to what is happening in the spirit realm. So let me encourage you, not to be dumber than a donkey, for God wants us to be in tune with His heart!

The Cost of Impatience

1a1aa - impatienceThere’s nothing like entering the stage of life where God blesses you with children. It is an incredible season, yet the transition between only having to worry about yourself to the wake up call of now having a baby that doesn’t understand patience and timing can be eye opening to say the least. I remember in that season how the nights that I was beyond tired was when our sweet cuddly bundle of love turned into a screaming creature from the dark side. That sweet little crying baby never understood anyone else’s needs, only that they wanted their bottle now and that you’re not moving fast enough!

Sadly, many believers are responding in the same way when it comes to receiving the promises of God. When things aren’t coming together in their timetable they begin to be agitated and respond with unwarranted reactions that can, if not stopped, abort the promises of God. It says in Prov. 13:12, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick”. When we are faced with delays we can quickly turn to hopelessness and begin to lose heart, even becoming sluggish in achieving God’s promises.

We see this happening on one of Moses many trips up the mountain. We read in Ex 32:1, “Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, … we do not know what has become of him”.  Now, remember these are the people that God delivered from the Egyptians. God ended hundreds of years of slavery through a great show of His power. (Gen.15:13-14) He went before them as a “Pillar of Fire and a Cloud by day! (Ex 13:21-22)  He opened the Red Sea for a way of escape and then closed it upon the vicious army coming to annihilate them! (Ex 14:21-23, 27-28) Then shortly before this passage the children of Israel had seen God descend upon Mount Sinai in a dark cloud with rumblings and lightening’s, speaking audibly the Ten Commandments before all the children of Israel. (Ex 20:18-19, 22)

They truly had multiple encounters with their all-powerful God that had chosen them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation before Him, (Ex. 19:6) yet they still slid to a place of impatience when Moses delayed coming down the mountain. You would think after a number of times witnessing God calling him up to commune with Him and to receive instruction on their behalf, that they would be patient and content. Yet it was not so!

The human spirit has a tendency to want things now not later, even if that means trying to help God fulfill His plan with our own strength. Just as Abram and Sari, when they became impatient and produced an Ishmael themselves. (Gen. 16:1-2) Esau was so hungry and impatient after hunting all day that he sold His birthright for soup. (Gen. 25:29-35, Heb. 12:16)

Israel’s impatience motivated them to pursue Aaron to create a god of gold that they might serve and worship it. (Ex. 32:1-2) The gold that they used is what they received from the Egyptians when they left bondage. Isn’t it like many of God’s people in our society? We get tired of contending for His promises, so we create a golden calf that fits our convenience out of the blessings we received from God in the first place.

Let me encourage you as Paul said, not to be weary along the journey, for we will see God’s promises fulfilled if we don’t quit! (Gal. 6:9) Our impatience will only end up costing us the blessings we received from God.

Thoughts to Ponder:  

  • Have you ever been so impatient for whatever reason and did something foolish?
  • Have you ever known anyone to try and help God fulfill what He has promised you? Explain?

 Quotes to Tweet:

  • The human spirit has a tendency to want things now not later, even if that means trying to help God fulfill His plan with our own strength. billvirgin.com 
  • When we are faced with delays we can quickly turn to hopelessness and begin to lose heart, even becoming sluggish in achieving God’s promises. – billvirgin.com

#TheresACostToOurImpatience           #DontDiscardWhatGodAccepts    

 

 

Quit Giving the Enemy a Foothold in your Life

Nothings worse than standing on one foot trying to balance yourself all the while you’re trying to get out of the pickle your in. Our pasture had a marshy section in it where the creek would over flow and saturate the ground making it hard to walk through with out having some type of a dilemma. At this particular time the suction of the mud monster held onto my rubber boot making my stocking foot come out of the boot. Even though it might be funny, the point is once something or someone gets a foothold on you, you’re either stopped or extremely hindered in your journey.

Paul exhorts the believers in Ephesus as they fulfill the purposes of God in their lives to not make the mistake of giving place or foothold to the enemy. He says, “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. (Eph 4:26-27)

The enemy gets a foothold in our lives when we willfully sin and continue to walk in disobedience, as well as when we are entertaining wrong beliefs and doctrine in our lives that are contrary to God’s word. James teaches us that temptation comes when we are drawn away by our own “desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death”. (James 1:14-15) When we are pulled away by our fleshly desires the enemy waits to ensnare us and fasten his hold on us.

Recently I was in Alaska for a wedding and while heading to our destination on Hwy 1 we were paralleling the Cook Inlet. I was awe struck at the beauty of the mountains cascading into the inlet with a trace of snow up high on the peaks. My driver was explaining how the tide comes in and out at drastic fluctuations levels up to approximately 29 ft. twice a day. When the tide is out, much of it has no water and is just mud. They call it the Mud flats, which have many stories, some fact and some legends of how different ones have gotten stuck.

The mud is supposedly made up of Glacier Silt, which I understand are finer than the sand and are shaped like billions of small angles that lodge together making an airtight seal around anything that happens to penetrate a soft spot. One such story many years ago is of a husband and wife who were going to cross over the mud flats on four wheelers and dredge for gold but in the midst of the process the wife step off into the mud and ended up getting so stuck that they could not get her free before the frigid tide came back in causing her to drown.

Paul encouraged young Timothy to walk worthy before the Lord so not to get ensnared by the devil. (1 Tim 3:7) Jesus said in John 14:30, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. Jesus who is our example shows us that we can follow His example and live without the devil having a foothold in our lives.

Anytime we venture off the beaten path that God has set for us, walking in places we have no business in, we can get caught in the silk of the enemy. In John’s Gospel we read where Jesus said, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”. Jesus came to set us free from the foothold of the enemy. We read in 1 John 3:8 where it says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil”. So quit giving the enemy a foothold!

Window Rattling Prayers will Change Cities!

images-71In the book of Acts we see believer’s praying so intensely that they shook the very building they were in. Peter and John had been arrested for teaching and preaching the Gospel (Acts 4:31). We read in the chapter before this where a lame man was healed at the gate Beautiful resulting in five thousand people believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:4). Then after being released, Peter and John reported to their friends what was told to them and they began to tenaciously pray. so hard that the walls began to trembled. It was probably similar to when a storm moves in with cracking thunder that rattle your windows and shake the house.

The story continues in Acts 4:31-32, when they had prayed together not only was the place shaken, but they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the Word with boldness. Prayers that shake foundations and rattle windows come when we understand God’s love toward us and have a personal relationship with Him. It’s because of those kind of prayers that they saw the evidence of His power in their midst and brought change in their cities.

Gordon Lindsay was the founder of Christ for the Nations Institute and also the key organizer of the Voice of Healing Fellowship along with being an author of the magazine by the same name. Many mornings as his wife was getting the kids off to


We must be people who bring down the rain of Heaven with our prayers.


school Gordon was just going to bed after being up all night praying and fasting. His accomplishments such as the many books and bible school he founded are a direct result of his life of prayer.

There are many different elements to praying, “window rattling” and “building-shaking” prayers but let me highlight a few. The first element is to be surrendered to God’s will when we pray. We read in John 5:14-15 that we will have confidence when we pray in His will. Why? Because He will hear us and if God hears us then we know He will answer us. Knowing God’s will is knowing the very heartbeat of our heavenly Father.

Second, we must be serious in prayer. In James 5:16-18 it says that Elijah was earnest in prayer. He was a serious prayer warrior and because of it the clouds were shaken to rain. We must be people who bring down the rain of Heaven with our prayers.


When we bring our prayers in line with God’s thoughts and desires, then and only then will we see radical results in our surroundings.  


Third, we must be relentless in prayer. We can’t have a wimpy, quitter’s attitude. In Colossians 4:2 we read, “Don’t be weary in prayer; keep at it; watch for God’s answers, and remember to be thankful when they come,” (TLB). Let us be relentless when we pray!

Fourth, we must have a humble spirit as we pray. A person who is puffed up with an ego or pride will hinder their prayers. Self-exaltation will cloud our perspective and will position our will before His will.

Fifth, we must not pray with idle words. Religious jargon and empty words are useless and insulting to God’s love. In Matthew 6:7-8 we read Jesus’ words, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do…”.

The bottom line is this, when we pray with a pure heart and press in with a tenacious spirit we will connect with God’s heart. Effective prayers come from individuals who live a life of communing with Him. When we bring our prayers in line with God’s thoughts and desires, then and only then will we see radical results in our surroundings. The course of cities and nations will be supernaturally changed before our eyes and God’s purposes will become reality. God is looking for those who will surrender their agendas for His.

A life of prayer is a life of Victory!

praying in churchA life of prayer is a life of power! The degree of power in our life is a direct reflection of our prayer life and habits. If you find weakness and fatigue in your faith then you can be sure that you are weak and impotent in prayer. The deeper our intimacy with God the stronger our prayer life will be. Deuteronomy 4:29 says, “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Our prayer life is strengthened as we get to know Him experientially and understand who He is.

In times of spiritual dryness, we need to be saturated in God. In Topeka, Kansas just before Christmas of 1900, Charles F. Parham instructed the forty students at Bethel College to study the scriptures, to determine what would be considered the New Testament evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which they did. Then these students began to pray fervently that they might experience this same New Testament experience.

Clare Davis in her book, The Move of God writes of this experience. On the watch-night of 1901, they had a hallowed time of prayer for God’s blessings to be upon them in the coming year. During the first day of 1901 the Spirit of the Lord was with them in a marked way, stilling hearts to wait upon Him for greater things. The spirit of prayer was


God doesn’t want you to go through life with powerless prayers but being filled with the life changing power of the Holy Spirit.


upon them in the evening, and about 11:00 p.m., one of the students, Agnes Ozman, asked for prayer that she might receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. As the students laid hands on her she began to be filled with more of God. She later stated, “I had the added joy that my heart longed for, and a depth of the presence of the Lord within, that I never knew before. It was as if rivers of living water were proceeding from my innermost being.” Days later Parham, himself and soon all of the students received the Holy Spirit. The news spread quickly and many people were filled with this wonderful outpouring of the Holy Ghost. Parham went to Houston and began to teach this Book of Acts experience.”

God wants every believer to hunger for more of Him. Just as these students desired to experience the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit, you and I need to come to that same place of hunger for more of God. The apostle Paul wrote to young Timothy


Our prayer life is strengthened as we get to know Him experientially and understand who He is


saying, “I desire therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting,” (I Tim. 2:8). This isn’t for a select few but for every believer. God wants all Christians to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit so that they can pray effective prayers.

God has so much more for each of His children. He doesn’t want you to go through life verily getting through with powerless prayers but being filled with the life changing power of the Holy Spirit. We need to make powerful prayer a way of life. It’s our life source and spiritual umbilical cord. What’s holding you back today? I encourage you to take time out of your busy schedule and pray, asking God to give you everything He has for you. There’s great power in prayer.

 

 

It’s Time to Grow Up!

1A- adult on baby bottleThere’s nothing like codling your new born when they first come home from the hospital and they still smell so new. Starting the journey of parenthood can be an exhilarating time in ones life. My wife would wrap our children when they were in that infant stage and bring them to me, so I could feed them and love on them. Wow! There’s nothing like it!

But if you fast-forward the journey, it definitely will get different. They have nothing on their mind other than playing with their friends and living life to it’s fullest. Feeding time can look like a litter of young pups knocking over anything and everything that stands in the way of their bowl of cereal on a Saturday morning. Sadly, the codling goes away and the feeding memories are filed away in the archives of the past.

Even in the bird kingdom in the coming of Spring you can find mother’s bringing worms and insects back to the nest, where the newly hatched babies eagerly await dinner with their mouth open. King Solomon in his wisdom sums it up


It is unnatural and incapable for anyone believer to grow spiritually if they stay spoon-fed     (tweet)


in Eccl 3:2 where he says there’s, “A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted;” He pens what many of us parents have already experienced or what some are learning as they are currently in the trenches with raising their children. There are season! What might be cute and making of great memories with your newborn would totally be absurd to do with an older child. Keep cuddling by all means, but let them feed themselves when they’re older.

As Paul writes his letter to the believers in Colosse saying in Col 2:6-7, “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” Paul in his spiritual fathering exhorts those who had made a decision to receive Jesus as their Lord: to not stop with just a decision but to begin the journey of following their new master. What he says here he also says with more detail to the


If you are Not growing in the Lord… what’s your excuse?    (tweet)


Hebrews that weren’t progressing in their spiritual walk. He says in Heb. 5:12-14, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you Continue reading

What has so easily Offended you making you go Astray?

images-24Have you notice the epidemic of people who are offended and living their lives entrenched in the bondage of offences. Maybe it is a friend that out of the blue won’t talk to you or a co-worker that becomes standoffish after your promotion. Maybe it’s even hit closer to your home with a family member who hasn’t communicated with you for sometime. Whatever the scenario might look like most of us have been defiled in someway by offended people.

We read in Matt 24:10-11 Jesus’ words concerning the end of the age, “And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many”. One of the many signs that He gives them in this dialog is that there will be a noticeable plague of people


Once a person is offended they are dragged down a demonic trail that will open their callused hearts to deception.   (tweet)


who are offended. The word “offended” in this passage means to entrap, to put a snare or stumbling block in the way. The word picture is the lever on a trap that ensnares whatever is enticed. In other words an offence will ensnare and hold in bondage the person that has been offended.

We set ourselves up for offense when we require certain behaviors from those with whom we have relationships. Offenses unchecked will lead to hurts and distortions. A person that chooses to be offended has allowed himself or herself to be entrapped and held captive. Limiting them from being about the fathers business.

We read in Matt 24 verse 10 that once people are offended that it leads to betrayal of each other. Meaning to cast off your commitment or bond that was there before the offence. It even implies to put in prison or bondage. When a person


The ironic thing about the person that succumbs to being offended is that they will become offenders themselves     (tweet)


becomes offended it breaks the bond or covenant one may have and actually imprisons a person in the enemies hold. To betray someone is the ultimate abandonment of covenant!

Unfortunately, we also read in verse 10 that the slippery slope of destruction progresses from just being offended to betrayal and then drops off the cliff of Continue reading

Mothers are God’s Kiss on Every Home!

IMG_3544In a day where there was no canned “Spaghetti O’s” to be easily opened for dinner or a ready roasted chicken at the local grocery store. Or even any of the conveniences mothers have today, such as disposable diapers, automatic washing machines, packaged baby food and just add water-canned milk. Susanna Wesley raised her children in a pleasing manner before God.

In Prov. 31 we read King Solomon’s insight about a mother that is pleasing to God, he writes in verse 27, “She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. The successful mother in God’s eyes is one that watches closely over her household. The phrase used here in this passage is to peer into the distance and keep a watchful eye out for her children. A mother is anything but a second-class citizen. A mother is one that is constantly working and tending the needs of her children preparing them to survive the future.

Susanna and Samuel Wesley had 19 children. Nine of which died while in their infant stage of life. Four of the children that died were twins. And tragically, one of her other children was accidentally smothered by a maid. To say the least


If Jesus honored and cared for His mother I think we should also!   (tweet)


Susanna’s experience as a young mother was far from being a life of ease. Many that has never been in the shoes of motherhood picture it as a life with your feet propped up with a bowl of your favorite delicacies in front of the TV watching “Soaps” and talk shows. But as we see in the life of Susanna Wesley that this “male-absorbed” disillusionment is most certainly farther from the truth of the reality. Can I hear an Amen from the mothers of the world? Susanna Wesley seized her opportunity of nurturing up her children in the ways of God with a tenacious spirit like none other. She actually impacted the world by training up her children to change the world. John and Charles Wesley grew up to be mighty ministers of the Gospel and founders of the Methodist church. She could have said the devastation of loosing children and being overwhelmed by the ones she had left, is too much and curled up in a fetal position for her remaining days, but she didn’t at all. She embraced the challenge


Mothers are Gods Kiss to every Home!   (tweet)


with a God ordained calling. Susanna would give each of her children quality time with her individually. She also was very adamant that her children were receiving correct teaching from the scripture weekly even with her husband being gone often ministering. These simplistic but deep teachings became books later. One of the most important habits she had was always making sure she had her time with the Lord. She knew where her source was.

            Being a mother is down right hard Work. I am not sure if it is totally true or not, but through the grapevine of media it has been said and repeated that by the time a child reaches 18, a mother has had to handle some extra 18,000 hours of child-generated work. In my guess-estimation I would say that mothers have done a lot more work than even that statement says. Becoming a mother is definitely not for wimps! Mother’s are God’s gift to the home!  Abraham Lincoln said, “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” I am so grateful for my mother who is now enjoying her reward in heaven.  I remember her prayer walks as if it was yesterday. I took all of her hard work for


If Mothers Ever Go on Strike we are in Trouble   (tweet)


granite and her Godly example as normal. But now as I reminisce i wish i would have spent more time of thanking her and honoring her for all she did for me. My mother like most deserve to be honored. Jesus had an earthly mother and honored her. In John 19:26-27 we read where He made sure she was taken care of before he died.

We ourselves need to take heed to Jesus’ example and the exhortation in scripture to honor our mothers! (Eph. 6:2) Our mothers are God’s kiss to each home. Mothers shape each of us to conquer and impact the future.

We have a Good Shepherd watching over Us!

Daily life in the highest village of AzerbaijanDavid brings his resume up before the fearful King of Israel in 1 Sam 17:34-35. The young shepherd boy responds to the king’s question saying, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth… and struck and killed it. We also read that earlier David was nearly passed over by the prophet Samuel as a prospect to be anointed as future King because he was out tending the families’ sheep (1 Sam 16:11). The Reality is that David had much experience as a shepherd in his life.

Later this shepherd turned king pens the twenty-third Psalms. Where he articulates with great experience and understanding of the paradigm of God as the good shepherd. As David painted this word picture of God as shepherd he drew from


The Good Shepherd has promised His sheep, His Presence, Provision Protection and His providence along the journey. (tweet)


the many hours and days that were spent with the sheep; whether fighting off predators or calming the sheep with his singing, he could see God’s workings with His people.

Jesus Himself declares in John 10:11-16 that He is the Good Shepherd and that the good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. In contrast to a hireling who doesn’t take ownership and has no personal connection to the sheep and does only the minimum for a pay check. Jesus goes on to say that when the ravenous wolves come for the sheep the hireling turns and runs for his life, where as the shepherd gives his life to protect them. In Ps 100:3 we read, “we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” The Bible is full of references of how God as a shepherd will watch over His people and guide them alone life’s journey.

I grew up with friends that were from families who raised sheep for a living and therefore was able to get a glimpse of the life of a shepherd. Once the snow would melt in the high mountains in late spring they would herd their sheep up into the mountain’s to graze in the lush green meadows for the summer. The journey would take them through the varieties of terrain; valleys, mountain peaks and meadows,


I can trust the Good Shepherd with my Life    (tweet)


rivers and more. The shepherds would have to protect the sheep from the wolves, bears and different predators that loomed close by. Making sure that those that had a tendency’s to wander off were kept in the fold, as well as mending the hurts and keeping the tormenting bugs from harming their precious sheep. In turn the sheep would get used to the shepherds calming voice as he lead them to their destination.

The renowned Psalm “The Lord is my Shepherd” is sandwiched in the middle of Continue reading

Praying Prayers that Shake Things

108220532We get a snap shot of the disciples praying in Acts 4:29–30. Peter and John had gone to their own Because of the threats from the Sanhedrin. Then all of them began asking the Lord to move in their behalf with power from on high, praying that they might see signs and wonders, enabling them to speak the Word with boldness. When they had finished, the place began to shake, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Resulting with them going forth in power.

When was the last time the place where we were praying began to shake from the power of God? Maybe we haven’t been touching God in prayer like we should. Lord Tennyson said, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”

Prayer is to revival and God’s outpouring as evaporation is to a cloudburst of fresh rain. You can’t have the one without the other. As we pray, it’s like the evaporated water, ascending to the heavens. The clouds of heavens fill full of the prayers of saints. Then the clouds move to a dry and thirsty place, to pour down the


What we sow is what we shall reap. So then, let me ask, what are we sowing? (tweet)


rains of revival on the cracked desert soil of humanity. Hosea 10:12 says, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” It is through prayer that we sow, cultivate the hard soil and reap a plentiful harvest. What we sow is what we shall reap. So then, let me ask, what are we sowing?

When the church begins to press in, laying hold of the promises of God, then we will finally come to the place of reaping God’s best. D.L. Moody once said, “The world has not yet seen what God can do through a person completely dedicated to Him.”

Will we stand in the gap before the Lord? Well, it is time that we answer that question with a thundering yes! This country is in need of a militant, praying church, possessing the land that the Lord has given us through tenacious prayer. Let me end with an inspiring story in history from David Shibleys’ book, A Force in the Earth.

“In 1806 a group of students at Williams College in Massachusetts sought refuge from a sudden rainstorm in a haystack. As the rain beat down, they turned their retreat into a prayer meeting. They asked God to use their lives. As they prayed, their


When the church begins to press in and lays hold of God’s promises, then we will reap God’s best.       (tweet)


faith rose to believe God could use them significantly to fulfill Christ’s great commission. When the rain subsided, they left with the rallying cry, “We can do it if we will!” This unobtrusive meeting went down in history as the Haystack Prayer Meeting. Today, this spontaneous prayer time is seen as the beginning of the mission Continue reading

My Stomach is Screaming like Eagles

Thankfulness - sunsetMy stomach was in turmoil as if there was a war going on within my most inner been. My mind began to be flooded with thoughts such as, “Was this really how I was suppose to be feeling”? Why would anyone put themselves through this agony anyway”? I was in Bible school and had been fasting for several days for the first time , along with a team who would be going on a mission’s trip together. If it would not have been for the powerful results and definite impact in peoples lives on this outreach. I would have probably never attempted fasting again, writing it off as a sadistic form of self-torture. Yet, God’s word reveals otherwise.

Fasting gets us in a place where we can be molded and shaped for the purposes of God. The Lord has a master plan for His people, and when we fast and pray, we are saying “yes” to God’s will. We are tuning into the realm of the Spirit.

In Joel 2:12 it says, “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” When we come before the Lord, we must come with all of our heart. We can’t come with a divided or a reserved heart. The Lord wants all of us or none of us. Jesus says in Matthew 22: 37, “You shall


When we fast, we are virtually saying we want God more than we want physical life    (tweet)


love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” When we fast and pray, it is basically a choice of willingly denying our flesh and its desires for the purpose of spiritual things.

A fast rightfully defined is virtually doing without food. We see when Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness in Matthew 4:2 it says, “And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.” Jesus had not been eating food, as we see in Luke’s account, “He ate nothing.” Hunger pangs and the Continue reading

When you get Bucked off the Horse… get back on!

RODEO: MAY 10 Mother Lode Round-upNot everyone can say they have been bucked off a horse during their life. Well, it would seem that not only was it a “right of passage” in my upbringing but it was something that happened more than once. Even though my father had a talent for training and breaking horses. I had just the opposite effect on them. Whatever the reason might have been, whether the horse was ornery, poorly synched or just a wild hair, I’ve landed on the ground more than I would like to admit. But my father’s words


Just because you get bucked off the horse doesn’t mean you don’t get back on!    (tweet)


always echoed in my mind, “Bill, you must get back on”. His point being, if you allow the fear of “what if it happens again” keep you down, you will never get back on and enjoy the ride.

Over the years, many believers have been bucked off the wall of their responsibility as intercessory prayer warriors. Many have become discouraged from not seeing prayers answered; some have fallen asleep spiritually or grown spiritually weak and frustrated. But now is the time to shake off the spirit of fear, rejection and apathy and get back on the wall as intercessors and watchmen. For God has called you in these crucial days to be alert and watchful more than ever before in behalf of His people.

Just like getting bucked off of a horse—it is essential to get back on. Enough is enough! Whatever has caused you to be distracted, whether just or unjust, your fault or someone else’s, bottom line is it has knocked you out of your post,! The Father is lovingly saying, you must get back on the wall and fulfill your responsibility.

If the wall is broken down and needs restored, we must roll up our sleeves and build it back up. When Hezekiah saw the enemy’s onslaught, he realized the need to strengthen himself and his kingdom, (II Chron. 32:5). Things had gotten relaxed, the walls had eroded and were weakened; therefore, the King was alerted to set things Continue reading

Don’t Ever Think Youthfulness is being Useless!

Street Art East LondonMany of the traditions or situations that we organize can cause young people to think that they are second-rate citizens. Whether it’s the “kids table” at Thanksgiving dinner or the youth section at the football game or even youth swim in the neighborhood pool. Young people can begin to think that they are being pushed aside and made to feel useless by the older generation.

I remember those years of being a youth myself, my music preference or the way I communicate or even some of the crazy fads earned me a hour long unsolicited speech many times. I am sure you’ve earned that same talk sometime in your life. It starts something like this, “when I was your age we” or “I walked up hill in a foot of


The enemy is more convinced than many believers, that our greatest potential is our young people.     (tweet)


snow to go to school”. There is such a generation gap that if misinterpreted young people can feel that they are not appreciated or needed. But God thinks otherwise!

Reading young Jeremiah’s calling, in the book that bears his own name, we read in Jer 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” God lets this young man who is probably in his teens, know that there’s a specific plan for his life. The creator of the universe knew him before he was born! This incredible visitation doesn’t stop there, but goes on to command and commission this young man to fulfill God’s purpose. Not when he is retired and an empty nester, but right then and now!

The requirement to do great things for God is not that you have to be old and have nothing else to do. But we read in Dan 11:31 that those that know their God and


It’s time to release young people into their God given destiny!   (tweet)


are faithful to Him will resist the enemy and do great things for God. Paul exhorts the church in Philippi to grab on to the reason that God has laid hold of you in Phil 3:12. Paul doesn’t give any age requirements to them at all. On the contrary in his letter to young Timothy he says in 1 Tim 4:12, 14, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers… Do not neglect the gift that is in you”. God has a huge plan for young people! Young people are not so tide down and entangled with debt, raising families and building careers. Not that those things are wrong by any sense of the imaginations. It’s just that, to often, as we get older and assume more responsibilities we loose flexibility and time to be whole heartily used by God.

The enemy is more convinced than many believers are of the great potential in our young people. The communist philosophy says, …if you can win the youth you can win a generation. The world will always have a larger youth group than the church because they spare no expense for it. With the Coming of computers and web based learning, children leave behind toys at younger and younger age. Many major toy companies have now lowered their target market to much younger ages to combat the KOGY age (kids growing older younger).

Lets embrace our biggest resource that we have in the church. Our young people! It’s time to release them into their God given destiny! The older and the younger generations need to work together hand in hand to accomplishing God’s plan in the earth. We need each other!