God Is Expecting Us To Utilize Whatever Is In Our Hands

Belvoir Assembly participated in the Convoy of Hope Outreach in Northern Virginia on Saturday. Our church helped to prepare and serve over 3,000 hot dogs. It was so awesome to be a part of something that simply showed the love of Christ to all who came to the event.

Yesterday in the morning service 2 people accepted Christ and 1 rededicated their life to the Lord. We had a special water baptism service last evening at a lake. One of the dear members of our congregation hosted the event on the grounds at her home. It was an awesome and outstanding weekend!

God is calling us to be Great for Him. He will never ask us to go where He has not provided the means to assist us. He will never call us to do a work without completely equipping us to be successful in accomplishing the task.

In Exodus, chapter 4, Moses is involved in a discussion with God regarding his suitability to represent the Israelites."What if they do not believe me or listen to me?" he asks God. "What is that in your hand?" the Lord replies. "A staff,", Moses says.Then God tells Moses to throw the staff on the ground, and when he does, it immediately becomes a serpent.

God gave Moses the ability to use whatever was in his hand at the moment to demonstrate not Moses' power, but God's power! A shepherd's staff was commonly a three-to-six-foot wooden rod with a curved hook at the top. The shepherd used it for walking, guiding his sheep, killing snakes, and many other tasks. Still, it was just a stick. But God used the simple shepherd's rod Moses carried to teach him an important lesson.

God sometimes takes joy in using ordinary things for extraordinary purposes. What are the ordinary things in your life - your voice, a pen, a musical instrument? While it is easy to assume God can use only special skills, you must not hinder His use of the everyday contributions you can make. Little did Moses imagine the power his simple staff would yield when it became the rod of God.What's in your hand that God wants to use? Whatever is in your hand, God can use it for His glory. He has blessed you with many talents and gifts. How can He use you to further the Kingdom of God?

Blessings!

Thankful Thursday - Good to the Last Drop!

Iris from Grace Alone is hosting TT today. Scoot on over to her site and read some great posts from some great ladies!

Like many of you, I love coffee. I guess you can say I am definitely "hooked". I have a routine each morning and the second task on my list after taking Jericho and Jochebed to the potty is brewing a fresh pot of coffee. I am definitely a caffeine freak! Each sip satisfies that craving I long for. I am certain that there are also things you crave.

Do we truly crave God's Word each and every day? What if we don't have time to read our devotion or pray? Do we receive a "gut check" or is it acceptable to skip God for several days or weeks? Are we seriously "hooked on Jesus" or is it merely something we do because we are feelin' a little guilty and our pastor tells us each Sunday that we need to do this? Does God's Word truly enrich our life or do we see it as something else we must attempt to cram into an already overwhelmed schedule?

We are busy folks. Sometimes I absolutely crave a little "white space" in my life. It is a rare moment to simply curl up in a comfy chair with a good book and enjoy the evening. There seems to always be something else that needs to be done at home. The demands in our lives never seem to cease.

Although life is arduous I don't ever want to place God on a shelf and ignore all that He has already done for me and wants to fulfill in my life. I am so thankful today for His love. I want to "crave" Him with all that I am. I want to be so "hooked" on God that I cannot tolerate going even one day without reading and meditating on His Word and praying. I don't want to accept any substitute for my Lord. I cannot tolerate instant coffee. It lacks everything that fresh brewed coffee offers. I refuse to settle for substitutes regarding my walk with Christ. I want everything He has available for my life and ministry. What about you?

Blessings!

Extraordinary Faith

What a busy weekend! Heart to Heart Gals ladies ministry hosted the annual Luau at church Friday night. Alot of prep work Thursday and Friday but it was an awesome event! Kudos to everyone who helped make the evening a huge success, especially my leadership team. Outstanding group of women!

I have a group on Facebook called Chocolate and Coffee/Pastor's Wives and Women in Ministry. It is amazing how many prayer requests I receive from women who are discouraged and dealing with so many needs in their lives. I believe that God is opening many doors of opportunities for Christians today so we can minister to those around us who are hurting.

Family, friends, neighbors and colleagues are struggling with losing their homes, loss of jobs, spiritual warfare, terminal illness, etc. etc. etc. The list just does not end. It breaks my heart to see the challenges that many folks I know personally are facing in their lives.

I believe that God is calling Christians to a level of Extraordinary Faith. God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. Why do we place him in a small box when He is so awesome? The Bible tells us that God never leaves us. We need to be unwavering about our commitment to Christ and display that faith to those around us. We need to encourage those facing crisis in their lives convincing them about a God who is bigger than anything this world has to offer.

You and I can make a difference for the Kingdom of God. Yes, the enemy works overtime to convince us otherwise but God is using Christians to make a difference in people's lives. I pray that no matter what you may be facing this week you will call upon God to help you. Encourage those who may be dealing with tragedy or heartbreak in their lives. Exercise the extraordinary faith to the world around you. Advertise Jesus to a world filled with hopelessness.

Happy Monday friends!

Thankful Thursday - Not About Me

Iris at Grace Alone is hosting TT today. Scoot on over to her site and check out the posts today.

The world is challenging us to be all we can be. It doesn't mention anything about being all we can be for Christ. It is all about ME. Do everything with selfish ambition and think only about ourselves and what we want out of this life. This is certainly not God's plan. All of you must keep awake and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41

This life isn't about ME. My life is all about Christ and His plan. My focus, goals and ambitions must all be about what He wants for my life. So many things today are competing for our attention in this world. Obviously these things are most likely not God things. Many of these things are destructive and will certainly destroy our lives if we weaken to the temptation of the flesh.

I am thankful today that my God is bigger than all the temptation in this world.

I am thankful today that He offers so much more than this world has to offer.

I am thankful that God sees the big picture and knows what is best for each of us.

I am thankful for His love and forgiveness.

I am thankful for the dreams He has placed in my heart.

I am thankful for the vision He has given me and the courage to pursue those dreams.

I am thankful for His strength and encouragement when discouragement is lurking at my door.

I am thankful for His guidance and provision.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Lord help me to remain focused on what you want for my life and not what I want. God may I be ever mindful of who you are and the awesome plan you have for my life. Help me to always be an encouragement to those around me Lord. And when those dreams seem millions of miles away nudge me and help me to see that waiting is a good thing. I am a work in progress for the Kingdom. Amen.

Blessings friends! You are amazing!

A Call To Perservere

I was reading from Jude this morning and Jude 17-25 hit me hard. Verse 18 says, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." Oh my goodness! Does that hit home or what????

There is so much confusion and turmoil in the church in this day. Many Christians today only want to follow their own ungodly desires which brings much confusion among others. The scripture goes on to say that these men divide you. Imagine that! Division in the church! Wow!
So many want to wear that "Christian" banner across their chest but their lives certainly do not measure up to the characteristics God expects from His children.

Bobby and I get busted on continuously because we preach the truth regarding the Bible and what God requires to live as a Child of God. Sin separates us from our Heavenly Father and sin will not enter the gates of heaven. There is no maybe about that. The bottom line - if you have sin in your life you won't enter heaven. That may sound harsh to you but that is what the Word of God consistently tells us. Read it for yourselves. No where will you find in God's Word that you can live in sin and enter heaven. As Christians, we cannot compromise. We are to put on the characteristics of God daily. We are commanded to live by the ten commandments. They were written for you and I and still apply to our lives today.

I know this isn't popular teaching but I also know we are truly living in the last days. The very elect shall be deceived and it is happening all around us. People who have served the Lord for years, pillars in the church, are turning away from the Lord. The enemy knows his time is short and he is setting traps for us. No matter how long you have served Christ beware of the traps. Don't ever think you cannot be fooled. Any one of us can fall if we are not careful.

I encourage you today to read your Bibles and pray earnestly. Jude 20 says, "Build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit." God is our protector, our strength and our security. He loves us and He desires the very best for you and I. Satan hates us and our families. His only mission is to kill, steal and destroy and he is accomplishing that all around us. How many of us know people who are seriously struggling in deep sin? He has a tight grip on their lives and they have no desire to let go. He has filled their lives with blindness and deception to the things of God.

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy. To the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 24-25)

Blessings and love to all of you today!!! God is awesome!

Thankful Thursday - HOPE

Iris at Grace Alone is hosting Thankful Thursday today. Visit her site and check out the other posts.

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

I am thankful today that I can place my life in God's hands and confidently trust Him to complete His will in my life wherever that may lead.

I am thankful today that my hope is in Jesus Christ and what He has for my future.

I am thankful today that I don't have to lean on my own understanding in situations and circumstances that just don't make sense. God will take care of it if I choose to release it to Him.
I am thankful today for incredible Butter Toffee flavored coffee!

I am thankful today for the convicting power of God to guide me in the proper direction when my life doesn't always reflect His example.

I am thankful today for my wonderful family and the opportunity to live my life as a pastor's wife.

I am thankful today for the many blessings God has placed in my life.

I am thankful today for a wondeful vacation where we had an opportunity to be renewed and refreshed.

I am thankful today for the church we have been pastoring for almost eleven years. We have a very loving congregation. They are such a blessing.

I am thankful today for the beautiful flowers in my yard and my patio which is my "quiet place".

And I am thankful today for God's incredible peace that is always present in the midst of life's storms.

What are you thankful for today friends?

We are so blessed!

Brandon Shank/Tour 29:11 at Clover Hill AG this past weekend. Check it out!

Click on the link to view the video. You will be blessed!

Brandon Shank - Aug. 9th

A Hardened Heart

Vacation was wonderful! We had an awesome time with Brandon and Casey and a great opportunity to refuel and energize! Back to work today and my week is definitely beginning in the fast lane! Only one free night this week.......................................

What comes to your mind when you hear someone say that so and so has a hardened heart? Instantly I think of someone who is hardened to not only the Word of God but God's people and the things of God.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves, their hearts were hardened Mark 6:50-52.

Now the disciples had just experienced a miracle when Jesus fed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish. They not only experienced the miracle but were actually participants because they served the food that God had multiplied to this massive crowd of people. Afterwards the Bible says that the disciples picked up twelve basketful's of broken pieces of bread and fish. WOW!

The scripture says that immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida while he dismissed the crowd. As the disciples are in the boat in the middle of the lake Jesus approaches them and scares them to death! They were terrified because they thought he was a ghost. These are the twelve men who were with Jesus all the time. The men who were the closest to him experiencing miracle after miracle but it appears they just didn't get it.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. "Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod." They discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no bread." Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketful's of pieces did you pick up?" Mark 8: 19.

These men walked with Jesus and apparently there were times when they seemed to forget what he had done. Aren't we like that as well? God performs incredible miracles in our lives but many times we tend to forget what he has done when another storm comes pounding at our door. Does having a hardened heart in these scriptures mean lack of faith? Do we only exhibit a tremendous amount of faith when God performs the miracle? Do we have eyes but cannot see? Do we have ears but cannot hear?

The disciples had not only seen one recent miracle when Jesus fed the five thousand but now he had just fed another four thousand and these men appeared to have a lack of faith. Many times I believe in my own life that I am distracted by the problem in my life at that particular moment and I fail to remember all the times God has taken care of me. When the doors just don't seem to be opening for me the way I think they should I sometimes find myself questioning God and His plan for my life.God is in control in ALL situations but often we tend to act just like the disciples. We tend to demonstrate hardened hearts of unbelief or exhibit a lack of faith when miracles do occur around us.

Blessings friends!

Stepping After God's Will

"Order my steps, in Your word
Order my tongue, in Your word
Guide my feet, in Your word
Wash my heart, in Your word
Show me how to walk, in Your word
Show me how to talk, in Your word
(refrain)

I want to walk worthy, my calling to fulfill
Please order my steps, Lord, and I'll do Your blessed will
The world is ever changing, but You are still the same
If You order my steps, I'll praise Your name.
~A hymn by Glen Burleigh~

The words to this hymn are beautiful. Nothing in a believer's life is more important than following God's will. God's will can certainly be defined as: "you, as a believer, walking in the steps that God has ordered for your life." Success is finding God's will, as early in your life as possible, and chasing it with your entire being.

The person in whom God delights is one who follows God, trusts in Him, and tries to do His will. God watches over and makes firm every step that person takes. If you desire to have God direct your way, then seek His advice before you step out.

As I was growing up I always wanted to be a lawyer. But as I matured in Christ God took that desire from me. My life became more and more about serving Him and doing His will and not my "wants".

So, how do we find this "will" or "plan" God supposedly has for our lives? He certainly orders our steps, orders our tongue, guides our heart, washes our heart, shows us how to walk, shows us how to talk, but we have a responsibility in all of this also in order for His plan to become relevant in our lives.

First, our lives must be pure. The Bible clearly teaches that the steps of a "good" man are ordered by the Lord. Psalm 37:23.

Second, our hearts must be yielded to the things of God. To yield means to surrender or submit to the physical control of another. God is calling believer's to hand over control of our lives to Him and do whatever He wants us to do. Can you honestly say you are surrendered fully? Do you honestly trust him enough to do that?

Third, you will have to delight yourself in the Lord. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, our will is conformed to His. God merges His will and our desires. He transforms our desires and then gives us our desires. Read the missionary journeys of Paul. Repeatedly it says he went to a place "because he had a mind to go".

God leads through His Word. Psalm 119:105, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

A large part of knowing God's will is determining whether the "peace" you feel is what YOU want or what GOD wants. You must bathe yourself in megadoses of God's Word daily. Only His Word can confirm the peace in your heart.

We must first be made good before we can do good; we must first be made just, before our works can please God. When we are justified by faith in Christ, then come good works. Hugh Latimer (C. 1485-1555)

Proverbs 20:24, A man's steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way?

We are often confused by the events that transpire in our lives. Many things we never fully understand, others will fall into place in years to come as we look back and see how God orchestrated our lives. Proverbs encourages us not to worry if we don't understand everything as it happens. We must learn to trust God that He knows that he's doing even if his design is not clear to us.

If your heart is right before God and God's Word is in your heart and being applied to your life, then the Lord will direct your steps. Having your steps ordered by the Lord doesn't mean that everything will be rosy and smooth for you all the time. While the Lord is ordering your steps, there will be challenges, obstacles, setbacks, sickness, pain, disappointments, heartbreaks and failures. But through it all, as the Lord continues to order your steps, know and believe that all things are going to work together for the good to them that love the Lord, and is called according to His purpose. You must believe and know God is able to order your steps through anything this life brings to your plate. By trusting the Lord you will win in victory!

Blessings to you today as you allow God to order your steps!

God's Continued Protection

Where do you go when facing affliction, anguish, persecution, challenges, tribulation or difficult circumstances? Do you typically SPRINT to the secret place of refuge under the shadow of the Almighty? Or do you choose to GALLOP FAR AWAY from God and attempt to hide yourself from Him? It is important that we make the correct choice and strategically plan in advance so we are prepared when faced with a difficult decision. It isn't a matter of IF the problems come knocking at our doors. It is a matter of WHEN!

No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you. To keep you in all your ways. Psalm 91:10,11

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden they made a choice to run and hide from God. God wants to be our refuge. He is our strength, our stronghold and our help in trouble. He has promised us in the scriptures that He will help us if we call upon His name in times of need. He is available to us 24/7 to protect us even when it appears that destruction is encompassing our lives. Those whose faith is shallow will face danger when difficult challenges come upon them. It is easy being a Christian as long as we are on the mountaintop. But what happens when the mountain begins to crumble and we feel as though the world is falling down all around us?

After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to access the damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Startled by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings. She could have flown to safety but refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. She had been willing to die so that those under the cover of her wings would live.

When times become overwhelming and extremely challenging, do not run FROM GOD, but run TO GOD and avail yourself to the refuge He provides. He is above all our circumstances, all-powerful, unchanging and Lord of heaven and earth.

Hope that you are having an incredible week! I certainly am!! Vacation has been awesome!

Blessings friends!

Vacation!

VACATION!!!!!! REST, RELAXATION, FUN, FOOD...............................

Bobby and I have traveled to MO and we are spending the week with Brandon and Casey. We had a great 17 hour journey by car on Saturday. Yesterday we attended service at James River AG. Pastor John Lindell spoke a great message that stirred our hearts. It was awesome! It always feels so good to be in the presence of God with people who love Him.

The ministry can be very challenging and stressful. As pastors and pastor's wives we need to take care of ourselves or we will not be effective in ministering to those around us. In the busyness of life it is easy to become overwhelmed with the everyday routine of things. The routine tends to weigh heavy on our hearts and robs us of our needed time with the Lord. When we neglect that time we suffer spiritually and mentally. We cannot hear God's voice when we are tired and weary.

I am looking forward to spending quality time with the Lord on this trip. I plan to rise early and sit in the presence of God. So many times we totally miss what God has for our lives simply because we are too busy.

Isn't it refreshing to know that even when we are puzzled or stressed God has the answers? In the solitude and quiet times with HIM, we can receive clear direction and answers to whatever we need. I am looking forward to that quiet time this week.

If you are struggling today I encourage you to seek Him for the answers. He will bring peace to your soul. He is so AWESOME and I am so thankful for the work He has done in my life.

Blessings friends!