Grow in Christ

HE GOT SAVED!!!! WOOOOOHOOOOOOO! Score one more for the Kingdom! (Well actually, 2, because he got save with another guy).

It’s a really long story, but to make it a little bit shorter, after midnight in the Watchnight service, and all the New year’s shooting in the neighborhood, a homeless guy walked into the church, saying a shotgun shell landed behind him in the bushes, and he got to the church as fast as he could, knowing it could very well have hit him. He also stated that he had walked past the church for the past 3 years and always THOUGHT about coming in, but never did.

This was toward the end of a VERY good service, and my hubby had just been telling me that he wanted to do it “in his own time” and that it was a decision between him and God ( which is true). Well, by the time the entire church had embraced this homeless guy and prayed for his safety, he told the pastor that he wanted to be saved. Right before they started the prayer, hubby grabbed my hand and asked me to go up there with him. I RAN TO THE FRONT OF THE CHURCH! WHOOPING all the way! You should have seen it!

After they said their prayers, it was like praise and worship had started all over again.

I am pleased to report further, that I had mentioned to my hubby that my family read one chapter of Proverbs each day when I was a kid, and when we got to the end, we’d go back and do it over again, and over again, and over again….anyway, Hubby gathered the kids after lunch/dinner on New Years afternoon, and read the first 5 chapters of Proverbs to the kids, (If you knew my hubby, you’d KNOW this was God’s Hand at work).

This morning, he woke up and got down on his knees and prayed, and told God knows how many people of his “new birth”-day being the same day as New Years!

You can’t see me, but right now, I’m doing the “Cabbage Patch”! I KNOW that my husband was led by the Spirit yesterday, because on Friday, he mentioned going to Church on Sunday. He said nothing about it on Saturday, and didn’t even answer me when I asked him about it, and then he woke me up on Sunday, and was like, “you got what you’re gonna wear to church” I jumped up and got dressed! One thing I should note is that there were doves EVERYWHERE, on traffic lights, stop signs, you name it. Hubby and I speculated that maybe someone had gotten married and released them into the air, and some may have stayed around. Anyway, we went to McDonalds, and when he was blessing the food, he added a prayer that the Lord would let something show in this church (one that a customer invited him to) that would make him want to come back again. Well, we got to the church, and NO ONE WAS THERE. We tried another church, and THAT ONE WAS EMPTY,TOO! We were driving, and I spotted a church, and Hubby was like, I could do that, it’s small enough. When we got there, the first thing we noticed, was the painting of a Dove on the sanctuary wall. We just looked at each other and laughed. The service was REALLY nice, and almost everything I had been thinking, was confirmed in the sermon. Even Hubby nudged me a few times, as his “pearls of wisdom” were confirmed in the sermon. We’ll definitely be going back. Oh, and another thing. When we were filling out the visitor cards, they asked for prayer requests. I didn’t let my husband see that I requested prayer for his salvation. He asked for prayer for a closer walk with God. When it asked if he was saved, he checked “no” and when it asked if he wanted to be, he wrote in “soon”. Pray for me, peoples! This is the one thing that if I push, he pushes back, and says it’s in his own time.

The ENTIRE FAMILY! WOOOHOOOO! Talk about praise & worship!

The sermon was about Lazarus and how he was dead, everyone knew he was dead, and Jesus spoke saying “Loose him and set him free”; further how that sometimes applies to our lives, and our various “deaths”, and how we’re sometimes covered with “bedclothes” similar to those which covered Lazarus….. He also spoke about us being “Loosed for a Purpose” and how all Lazarus had to do was simply walk and people came to Christ! No words were necessary for his deliverance was enough. It was powerful, to say the least. I’m looking forward to going back next week, although hubby wants to “shop around” because he says the pastor didn’t say much more than he already knew. My husband keeps saying he feels that he’s gonna “be a preacher” but doesn’t want to go to church, and when we do, he’s so critical of the ministry, that he misses the Word! (Sigh…) I need prayer, people…. I know that God is working with my husband, and I can see his changes, but it’s a sllloooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww process. I am thankful, however that he came to church, and is even acknowledging Jesus Christ! He used to say that he didn’t need to give his life to “Christ” because he already “belongs to God” and I have been gently “reminding” him that Christ does not want us to “give our lives to Him”... for Christ never said “worship me” or asked for any glory…the Glory has always and always will belong to God. Chist made the ultimate sacrifice, in lieu of us being imperfect, so that our souls may be saved. At any rate, it’s working, and God knows what he’s doing. I’ll leave it in his hands…

sometimes it’s hard to get over a bad day/week, but as I was on the phone with one of my favorite clients, the thought “Do as unto me” came to mind, and I instantly started searching for a devotional and found this:

”...Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward. [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah)...” – Colossians 3: 23-24

Thank you, Lord!

I read this somewhere, and it touched me and I can only hope that it will touch others, as well:

Father, I ask you to bless my sister reading this right now! Lord, show her a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to her spirit at this very moment.

Where there is pain, give her your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubting, release a renewed confidence in your ability to work through her.

Where there is tiredness, or exhaustion, I ask you to give her understanding, patience, and strength as she learns submission to your leading.

Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask you to renew her by revealing your nearness and by drawing her into greater intimacy with you.

Where there is fear, reveal your love and release to her your coverage.

Where there is a sin blocking her, reveal it, and break its hold over my sister’s life.

Bless her finances, give her greater vision and raise her up as a leader and friend to support and encourage her. Give her discernment to recognize the demonic forces around her and reveal to her the power you have in you to defeat it.

I ask you to do these things in Jesus holy name!

It’s one thing to know who you are in Christ. It’s another to submit to your husband. Sometimes these ideals clash. Hubby has historically criticized churches and preachers, and the “holy rollers” he grew up around. The best thing that could have happened is his aunt moving to Georgia. I suggested that we go to church with her, (she’s his favorite aunt). No response…then, as if it was HIS idea, he suggested that as long as God knows what’s in your heart, it doesn’t matter about the building or the people around you, and that he’s been feeling the need to worship and fellowship with the Lord.

HALLELUJAH! WOOHOOOO! Yup, God knows what He’s doing.