Kevin Hopper

You Could Have Heard a Pin Drop!

2009-11-01T03:44:00.002-05:00

Here is a sobering thought for today.

JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when De Gaulle decided to pull out of NATO. De Gaulle said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.
Rusk responded "Does that include those who are buried here?"
De Gaulle did not respond.

You could have heard a pin drop
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When in England, at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.
He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.'

You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?'
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?'

You could have heard a pin drop.

Romans 14:12
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Matthew 12:36
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Hebrews 13:17Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

Jesus can ask these questions at the judgement!

 How many did you pray through last week? Or teach a Bible Study to?
 How many new converts have you spent time with this week for me to encourage and lift them up?
 What have you done for me this week?

I ask these questions because of :

Romans 14:12
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Pastors ask us many times to get involved at the altar, to visit, call or follow up on those new people or visitors.

Hebrews 13:17
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

Matthew 7:22-24 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine.

In other words - You Could Have Heard a Pin Drop

29For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Hebrews 12 1Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
4Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
5And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, my son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

What are you doing for Christs sake? Sometimes we need to step back and take a hard look at our lives. It is better to do it now and ask ourselves these questions then to have Jesus ask these questions later!

Mean Moms

2009-08-12T04:16:00.001-04:00

Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will tell them, as my Mean Mom told me: I loved you enough . . . to ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home.

I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.

I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.

I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect.

I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.

But most of all, I loved you enough . . . to say NO when I knew you would hate me for it. Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.

And someday when your children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.

Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.

Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.

We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.

She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers; she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough!

Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.

Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like mom was.

I think that is what's wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean moms!

I Was There 2!

2009-07-26T04:22:00.004-04:00

I remember back in '67 I think . We were at Beulah Park Camp Ground out of Santa Cruz CA.

Bro T. W. Barnes was preaching and people were getting healed. God was doing a great work, blind eyes were opened , deaf ears opened, people were getting out of wheel chairs. It was an awesome service.

While all this was happening the owner of the camp ground came down from where he lived on the hill and he was alarmed. He told the ushers that we needed to get out of the building because there was fire all over the roof. He said that he could see it from his front porch!

It was the book of Acts all over again! Acts 2:2-4 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as a fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and spake in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

I want to see it happen again today!

I Was There 1 !!

2009-07-21T19:52:00.005-04:00

Have you ever heard some one talk about an event they were at and maybe how something different or awesome happened while they were there at the event? Then you have an AHA moment and you say" I was there!"

On the way home from work today ( it is a beautiful drive, on two lanes roads with trees completely overhanging in many places) I began to think about some awesome experiences that I have had over the years.

The more I thought about it the more thought that I would write a series here and if you were there and you have an AHA moment that is great! Just leave a comment or share your story as to how you felt.

I remember a service at 433 Druid & Edison Street in Jacksonville Fl. Jim Price was the choir director, Shirley Cohron was on the organ, Faye Burton was on the piano, Ted Carter was on the drums I was playing the congas when all of a sudden I looked up and Jim Price who had been playing a solo part on his Saxophone was gone. I looked trying to find our choir director and he was walking around the church and still playing his saxophone with the choir still singing!

Needless to say we had an awesome move of God that night!

Psalm 8

2009-07-17T20:51:00.005-04:00

I got up the other morning early as I usually do and I was singing the song from these verses. "How excellent is your name in all the earth!"

All the way to work I sang and rejoiced in God's word. So when I got to church Wednesday night I used this passage of scripture to start off a great mid week service. God has been good to us!

I began to think about the words and what they really meant. It is like when a student in school gets a test back from a teacher and the teacher writes an "A" on the test and then they write in a big flourish "Excellent!"

I thought about Jesus when we had a problem and he helped us like when we did not know how we could pay a bill and someone ask how did the Lord do in taking care of that problem? Our grade would be Excellent!

Or when we got a bad report from the doctor, then later some one would ask how about that situation? How did God do with that sickness? Our response would be Excellent!

Hey if God is on our side who can stand against us?! Whose report will you believe? I will believe the report of the Lord! For he is Excellent in all the earth!

Webster defines excellent as very good or first class. Jesus is perfect in all his ways. I am glad I know Him, but more importantly I am glad He knows me. O how excellent is his name in all the earth!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T19:56:00.002-04:00

We had a great Easter Singspiration today! It was a very good time of worship and praise! The spirit of God was there and we had a church full of visitors.

I just have not even been able to log on to my blog so I went around to the back door and figured out how to get in another way! I will try to update with some pictures from today and more information later.

My prayer is that God moved in a miraculous way in your service today as you celebrated the resurrection of Christ!!

Pastor Appreciation - Rev. Wayne Trout

2009-03-22T21:11:00.002-04:00

Several weeks ago the ministry team here at Truth & Life Center in North East MD came up with this idea of Pastor Appreciation.

We set aside the whole month to do different things for Pastor Wayne Trout each Sunday. A couple of weeks ago I asked the ministerial staff to tell why they appreciate Pastor in tonight's service. We had special singing of a lot of the older songs that Pastor loves to sing.

Some of the ministry had us laughing with their early memories of Pastor and some of his favorite sayings. We had a great time in the Lord worshiping and giving honor to whom honor is due.

So I would like to just share my thoughts with you that I shared with the church tonight.

"Pastor Wayne Trout in all of your years of being involved ministry and the many ministers that you have worked with as they began to fulfill their calling of God. You have given them the charges that Paul gave to Timothy his student in ministry as recorded in I & II Timothy some of them are:
1 Timothy 1:3 I charge that you teach no other doctrine,
1 Timothy 1:18I charge that thou mightest war a good warfare;
1 Timothy 5:7I charge that you may be blameless.
1 Timothy 5:21I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.
1 Timothy 6:13 I charge in the sight of God, that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1 Timothy 6:17I Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
2 Timothy 4:1I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

Pastor these charges you have delivered to every minister that you have ordained over the years that you have been involved in ministry. What I as a fourth generation Pentecostal appreciate most about you, is that you still believe, act, and live, as a Godly example for us and the next generation to follow. Thank you pastor we love and appreciate you."

Hello!

2009-03-09T20:41:00.002-04:00

I am still alive and well! At least according to my doctor visit last Saturday! He said my blood pressure was good, heart rate was good etc.. LOL!!

I have been extremely busy with my new job which I thank God for every day. I am no longer working outside but instead I am a trainer in various areas of safety and construction! I started about 1 month ago and we are busy learning the material/curriculum and teaching classes.

We have already completed the OSHA 500 class which authorizes us to teach the OSHA 10 & OSHA 30 hour class that many companies are requiring their employees to go through.

While I was there I also took the OSHA 7600 classes which authorizes me as a trainer and site worker at disaster sites.

I hope to do a little better on my blog!

Church info and what God is doing in other areas on my next blog!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T07:29:00.002-05:00

We are wishing all a Happy New Year!

We are in Florida enjoying a late Christmas with my folks. So we have been out in the boat and enjoyed the great views and sun. We have also enjoyed my mom's and sister's cooking. It has been good to relax with the family.

My prayer for each of you that read my blog is that you let God lead you and bless you this year. Don't get caught "following the crowd", but walk with God and keep Calvary in sight all the time.

2009 is mine to shine for Christ. It is my prayer to let His light and love shine through me in every situation.

May God bless you and your family.

I CORINTHIANS 13 — THE CHRISTMAS VERSION

2008-12-09T18:33:00.005-05:00

This came to me from someone that I have known for a long time (I have to watch my words here or I could get in trouble!HA!) But I thought that I would share it with you. Enjoy and feel free to comment.

Paraphrased by Anonymous

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, sing carols in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata, but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.Video games will break, fancy dresses will wear out, golf clubs will rust . . .

But giving the gift of love will endure.

You can give without loving but you cannot love without giving.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T18:19:00.005-05:00

Yes, Thanksgiving was yesterday so we went to my brother-n-laws house in Perryville Md. We had a great meal that the women had put together and a great time of fellowship. My little niece (London) was there and she put on quite a show. She just turned 1 last week and we missed her party but yesterday she was a little doll.

Her Pop-Pop snuck her some Coke in a cup that my brother-n-law Keith was giving her to drink. O, she loved it. She would put her little hands up in the air and turn them around and around letting Keith know that she wanted some more. Well Keith's wife Dottie was holding her and we were all just laughing and watching her. Then her mom realized that something was amiss and she started watching and she very quickly passed the sippy cup with water in it to our end of the table. We started passing the blame around as to who started giving the little angel Coke to begin with.

So Dottie grabs the sippy cup and gives it to London in a hurry and London turns it bottoms up and started drinking it. All of a sudden she realized that she was not drinking Coke anymore. London quickly set the sippy cup down and frowns at her Aunt Dottie and looks at her as if to say "you tricked me!" We laughed so hard. London kept up this little frown and quizzical look for a couple of minutes then she finally broke out into a smile. I wished that we could have gotten pictures it was sooo cute!

An Altar In Our Life

2008-11-15T17:59:00.006-05:00

Sister Janet Trout preached a message with that title last Sunday night. It was an awesome message. No matter how busy we are in life, no matter our struggles or victories that we are going through we need to have an altar.

A place where we communicate with God. A place that is set apart so that when we walk into the area we know this is where we get ahold of God.

We can relate to this place because of past experiences where God met us and we "had a little talk" about our problems and God answered our prayers.

It can be in a special room at your house or a place outdoors. I have prayed many times in the city park about a mile from my house where I look over the Chesapeake Bay and watch the sun rise.

'Tis the Set of the Sail by Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1916

2008-11-11T18:31:00.010-05:00

But to every mind there openeth,

A way, and way, and away,

A high soul climbs the highway,

And the low soul gropes the low,

And in between on the misty flats,

The rest drift to and fro.

But to every man there openeth,

A high way and a low,

And every mind decideth,

The way his soul shall go.

One ship sails East, And another West,

By the self-same winds that blow,

'Tis the set of the sails And not the gales,

That tells the way we go.

Like the winds of the sea

Are the waves of time,

As we journey along through life,

'Tis the set of the soul,

That determines the goal,

And not the calm or the strife.

Friends!

2008-11-09T03:06:00.020-05:00

I just love these pictures.

Genesis 18:14 Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Friends come in all sizes

They will support you...

And respect your creativityfor thinking outside the box.....

They're there when you need a shoulder to lean on..

Or a great big hug....

A true friend takes interest in

understanding what you're all about...

They see beyond the black and white to

discover your true colors....

So make your own kind of music....

Follow your heart wherever it takes you....

And when someone reaches out to you,

Don't be afraid to love them back....

They may just be a friend for life....

Practice patience and tolerance......

Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave....

And impossible to forget !

Why not share this with all your unforgettable

friends today... I just did !

Something to Ponder and Pray for Today!

2008-10-07T20:00:00.003-04:00

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, and Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to m e. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu.

If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away. I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.

I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too...

But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to. In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (Regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out.

How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?' In light of recent events... Terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about.

And we said OK. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... No one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards,
Honestly and Respectfully,

Ben Stein

God Is Doing A Work!

2008-10-04T16:47:00.001-04:00

In November of 2007 I found out about a teaching position at a construction training school. Several of the guys that I work with told me that I should apply for the job.

Since then I have gone to the school for interviews, testing and evaluations. I even went up for a full week for training and three weeks of homework in learning a “new’ method of teaching that they want to implement if I get the job.

It has been several weeks since I have heard anything from them and then this past week I got a call. The President of the school called and said that he had recommended me for the full time position at the school. He then told me they were working on the benefits package and other details. I hope to have more information by the end of this month.

Whatever happens Gods will be done. I have already used some of the teaching techniques in my leadership training at church with good results. So I just use whatever God sends my way to His glory! I don’t understand all of Gods ways but as the song Sis. Trout wrote and sings I know He holds my hand!

Pray for Malaysia Missions

2008-09-25T18:45:00.003-04:00

I ask you to help me pray for this mission field (click on title). The pictures under the subtitle Malaysia are pictures from the two churches that they have already built there in Malaysia.

My sister Cindi and her husband Danny are in Maylasia now to accomplish the following :
1. visit potential sites for next building, April 2009
2. visit building material supply house to price lumber and see what all is available that can help or improve our process.
3. if time permits, visit Bongkol and Pias

They are planning on going back in April to build another church. They have asked Curtis to go with them when they return to Malaysia. Pray for their safety and God's continued wisdom in this endeaver.

Get Excited About Going to Heaven!

2008-09-15T21:06:00.004-04:00

We need to stay excited about going to heaven! Click on title to see a You-Tube from Alexandria La.

Yes, it has been around awhile. But I bring it up every once in awhile and rejoice! Because one of these days we will fly away!

I went to see one of our elders in a nursing home on Saturday and we had a great time of rejoicing when we began to talk about going to heaven! "Won't we have a time!"

I wept as we began to just rejoice and talk about the goodness of Jesus! My God is good! All the Time!

Truth About Abortion Laws

2008-09-01T09:54:00.004-04:00

Psalm 139:1 O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Isaiah 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Knowing that we are chosen by God. Knowing also that we are created to worship Jesus. How can we allow anyone to get involved with abortions. Now it is not only abortions but we have laws that even allow infanticide (which is the killing of babies).

I spend some time in the Maternity Ward of the hospital where I volunteer in Pastoral Care. I see the nurses and aides giving everything they know and expending all of their energy to bring a baby into this world . They are devastated along with the mom and dad when things go wrong and they do their best to make things as good as possible. But when I saw this video I was shocked and considered not doing anything. Then I thought I need to pass this on because people need to know.

I ran across this the other day and I was shocked that we have allowed laws to be passed that support not only abortion but infanticide. This You Tube is quite shocking so be prepared to listen to this lady who is a registered nurse that has went on record and testified to expose this dreadful practice in her place of work.

Actually an 'Inconvenient' Truth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIdbYjmbFzo#

Please America, come to your senses. What are you thinking? How could this possibly be okay with you?

Something everyone should know in order to make a properly informed election decision.

Make sure you vote and make your voice heard in this election.

A Covered Bridge!

2008-08-27T04:13:00.004-04:00

We went over this covered bridge (click on title) when we were heading to a resale shop (wifes idea) from the Hanks Place Resturant.

The view was gorgeous and the weather was about 80 with a little breeze. The bridge had recently been completely restored. The craftsmanship was superb!

We had a very relaxing day. My wife would also say a profitable day since she was able to pick up a cute little out fit for less that $20. LOL!!

You would have thought she bought it at Saks with all the comments she got on it at church on Sunday! HA!

Hanks Place for Breakfast!

2008-08-22T23:49:00.007-04:00

Last Friday evening I told my wife that we were going to Hanks Place in Chadd's Ford, Pennsylvania for breakfast on Saturday. I had heard that it was a great place to eat and that it was a quint little town.

I got up early and went to the hospital and checked on things then we took off for the day. So we plugged in a GPS gizmo and off we went on little two lane back roads for a 30 minute ride. The drive was gorgeous and the weather was just perfect.

The restaurant was very nicely done inside and out as you can see if you click on the title. The food was fabulous. I had fresh blue berry pancakes! Oh melt in your mouth!

Dealing with "LIFE"

2008-08-18T17:58:00.008-04:00

I have been reading a friend's blog "Echoes from the Elms"(you can reach her blog from my sidebar), She has been writing regarding dealing with hurts and mistreatment's in life. She titled her posts "The Wonder of it All", and "Dear Anonymous". I encourage you to read these two posts and read the comments as well. It is awesome!

But strangely enough today I spoke to my dad (Dale Hopper)and we got into some of the same topic. I did not tell him what Sis Elms (he was her youth leader in Fresno Ca. where her dad was Pastor) had written but I want to share some of our thoughts with you.

Now remember my dad has over 50 years of leadership skills and training and counselling to draw from when he teaches a topic. He can remember tough situations where he had to help some that was hurt by others. Sometimes it is miscues that people get. Or maybe something that was said came out wrong or was misunderstood.

He brought out the fact that whatever the situation is we have to come clean with our brother or sister in the Lord. Matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca(means to degrade someone or call them names), shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

If we pray and remember that our brother or sister has a disagreement with us we need to go to them and try to mend the fence. You may not even be at fault. But as verse 23 & 24 says if they are upset with you go to them and reconcile. Then come back and pray. Could it be that if you have things that need to be cleared up that God will not hear your prayers until you try to make peace?

I did this with a Pastor in Houston in trying to reconcile a family. The Pastor called it offering them the olive branch. I went to them several times and they were hurt or bothered by things. At first the Pastor thought that maybe I was at fault but as we got involved we found out they were just uncomfortable with things and were just lashing out. Eventually things got worked out and I have seen them a couple of times since then and had good times of fellowship.

My wife and I have been in this situation more than once and in one case a minister that I had not seen in several years came and preached at the church we attended. While he was there he came and warned us against becoming bitter. He had no idea what was going on because we had not talked to him since his son graduated from the school we were principal of in Texas. That brings up another topic "bitterness".

In Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

We are told to follow peace and holiness with all men in order to see the Lord. The next verse mentions bitterness. It says to check ourselves diligently to be sure that we have no bitterness and that it could cause us to fail God. But it also says that if bitterness roots and springs up in you, not only will you be affected but many others will be affected as well.

Bitterness is like a cancer it will eat at you then spread to your family and friends and others. It has to be dealt with. You may not totally agree with a persons actions ways and etc.., but we do have to get along with each other.

Go to them and offer the olive branch of peace then get on with living for God. I have done this and they have not "accepted" the olive branch. But then 5 years later they came to me weeping and asking forgiveness. They paid a high price because they no longer had their two kids with them.

But I have seen many times when things got sorted out how that God was able to bless and lifetime friendships were formed.

A little dispute or misunderstanding will not me from going to heaven! I want to make everything right so I can hear the King Of Kings say, "thou good and faithful servant, enter into my joys". One of these days it will be worth it all, when I see Jesus!

Order My Steps!

2008-08-04T18:56:00.004-04:00

I went to the hospital where I volunteer at 6:15 Sunday morning. I did it on purpose to catch the night shift before they left and to talk to the day shift as they came in to work. I went to the third floor and one of the nurses asked me for directions to church as soon as I came in to the area.

I gave her a hard time and said why this will be the third time I gave you directions etc.. I commenced to write the directions down for her and she asked if she could come dressed like she was. I told her that would be fine. My wife told me after we had started service that Angela was there from the hospital. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

The choir sang and we had a great time of worship and move of the Spirit. Bro Drury was the special speaker and he preached an awesome message. I spoke to Angela after service and introduced her to several folks that came by. She said that we had a beautiful church and that she really enjoyed the service. She is planning on coming back again.

I have several others that have expressed an interest and are asking a lot of questions pray that I can continue to be an instrument for Jesus!

You Could Have Heard a Pin Drop!

2008-08-02T08:40:00.004-04:00

I saw this the other day and I thought I would pass it to you. Grant it the USA may have its problems but we have done a lot over the years to help those in trouble all around the world and it makes me proud to be an American!!

When in England, at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men & women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.'

You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French & American. During a break, one French engineer came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?'

A Boeing engineer stood up replying quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered & can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day & they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims & injured to & from their flight deck.

We have eleven such ships; how many of these ships does France have?'

You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian & French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel from most of those countries.

Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies & Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...
Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. 'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted he had been to France previously. Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.'

The American said, ''The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it. 'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!' The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

If you are proud to be an American, pass this on!

God is good!

2008-07-23T04:12:00.004-04:00

I had a great meeting yesterday with the Director of Volunteer Services at the hospital. She was amazed at what all happened on Sunday(as noted in last blog). She was also a little surprised when I told her about the doctor that is over pediatrics asking for chapel services.

She was very supportive and will do a little ground work to find the best time frame to have two services a week one in the morning and one in the evening. The results will be discussed in a meeting in September.

She told me I have got to be gone in 15 minutes then 45 minutes later she said oh I have got to go! But she took the time to explain another area that she would like for me to get involved with to help out the hospital staff. So keep praying for God's will and open doors in this area of ministry!

Order My Steps

2008-07-20T21:23:00.003-04:00

Wow!! What a day we(God & I) had today! I got up this morning at 5 which means I really slept in because normally I am up by 3:15 - 3:30am. I got dressed for church and stopped by the church to check the AC to make sure they were on. I ended up helping Pastor get a few things together for the church dinner today.

I then went to the hospital where I volunteer to check on things and see if they needed Pastoral Care in the various areas. I spent several minutes in the Maternity area giving the nurses and staff a hard time and trying to cheer/wake them up. Then I went to the Emergency Room and talked to a few there. I went to another floor where a nurse stopped me and wanted directions to our church so she could come next Sunday night when she gets off work.

I left and went to church and came back and I always go to the Maternity Area first so as not to spread germs to the newborns. When I got there they said they were glad to see me and that they needed me real bad. The VP of the hospital asked the nurses who I was and they explained that I came in most weekends when things were busy and helped with Pastoral Care. The VP pulled me aside and told me what was coming down right then and she told me that I had to stay and help the staff to handle the crisis. She told me you are not going anywhere for awhile you are staying right here with us. So I stayed in the Maternity area talking with the staff and the head pediatric doctor for the hospital to help them with the trauma of triplets that were premature by several weeks and were also "crack" babies with "homeless" parents.

Things happened and questions were asked and I was able to help settle things down and make them to realize that it was great that they were able to save the babies. All of their training and experience paid off and they were able to get the job done! I also reminded them that after they have done all they can do that they have to rely on a higher power to make it all come together and life to come into the baby

They thanked me for being there and asked me to see about setting up some chapel services for the staff on a regular basis. Pray for me as I work on this new development this week!

IMPACT NJ/DE District!

2008-07-13T17:13:00.004-04:00

We had an awesome time this week in Wilmington, Delaware. We had an IMAPCT Conference! It was just a great time worshiping the Lord with Nancy Grandquist as the praise leader and she was just GRAND!!

Then the speakers were Nona Freeman and Missionary Steve Willoughby from Singapore.
Of course Sis Freeman was just her usual witty self and she blessed us with her memories of the missionary work in Africa! Her and Bro. Freeman went to Africa in 1948.

Then Bro. Willoughby blessed us with a message on The Four A's : Appointed, Anointed, Authority & Assignment! He also told about the great things that the Lord is doing for the church in Singapore.

We danced and worshipped, laughed and wept as the Lord moved in a mighty way! It was a great time of fellowship and hearing good reports from all over the NJ/DE District of God doing a great work in these days!

God is Like!

2008-07-05T23:06:00.000-04:00

Fifth grade students in a Christian school came up with this twist to advertisements they hear everyday!

God is like.
BAYER ASPIRIN
He works miracles.

God is like.
a FORD He's got a better idea.

God is like.
COKE
He's the real thing.

God is like.
HALLMARK CARDS
He cares enough to send His very best.

God is like.
TIDE
He gets the stains out that others leave behind.

God is like.
GENERAL ELECTRIC
He brings good things to life.

God is like.
SEARS
He has everything

God is like.
ALKA-SELTZER
Try Him, you'll like Him

God is like.
SCOTCH TAPE
You can't see Him, but you know He's there.

God is like.
DELTA
He's ready when you are.

God is like.
ALLSTATE
You're in good hands with Him.

God is like.
VO-5 Hair Spray
He holds through all kinds of weather.

God is like.
DIAL SOAP
Aren't you glad you have Him? Don't you wish everybody did?

God is like
the U.S. POST OFFICE
Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet nor ice will keep Him from His appointed destination.

God is like.
Chevrolet. . . .the heart beat of America

God is like
Maxwell house. . .
Good to the very last drop

God is like.
B o u n t y . . . .
He is the quicker picker upper. . can handle the tough jobs. . and He won't fall apart on you

BLESSINGS FROM MY HOUSE TO YOUR HOUSE

'What you leave behind is not what is engraved into stone monuments, but woven into the lives of others...'

The Power Of Love!

2008-07-01T19:40:00.002-04:00

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'
The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'. They went on to complete the marathon together.

Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together.

One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' to.

For those who didn't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island .

Father and son went on to complete the race together. View the video by clicking on the link below.

This video proves the power of love!!!! Just click on the title!

This video can be viewed at: Just click on the title!
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8cf08faca5dd9ea45513

Gas by Zip Code

2008-06-23T21:32:00.001-04:00

Since we are all concerned about rising gas cost I thought

that I would pass this information. This is pretty nifty.

Just enter your zip code in the site below, and it tells

you which gas stations have the cheapest prices (and the highest)

on gas in your zip code area. It's updated every evening.

Just click on the title "Gas by Zip Code" to the link.

You will see a map of your area and then scroll down and

you will get a listing of gas prices in your area with

addresses and brands starting with the cheapest and going up.

http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

The Missing Husband!

2008-06-02T17:32:00.006-04:00

I saw this and thought we all need a little chuckle now and then! I do think that we need to pray for this missing husband it could be serious!!

Rick was in trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary. His wife was
really angry.

She told him 'Tomorrow morning, I expect to find a gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in less than 6 seconds, AND IT BETTER BE THERE!!'

The next morning Rick got up early and left for work.

When his wife woke up she looked out the window and sure enough there was a box gift-wrapped in the middle of the driveway.

Confused, the wife put on her robe and ran out to the driveway, and
brought the box back in the house.

She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale.

Rick has been missing since Friday. Please pray for him.

Another "Order My Steps"

2008-05-24T05:13:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday we had a "Power Hour" service for our Sunday School children. One of the teachers told me that Susie (Sis Rachel the Amish lady's daughter) had prayed Saturday for her dad to call her. Rachel's husband had left them several years ago because of the Amish ways.

Sunday night after church I stopped by a store to pick up a few things and I met Sis. Rachel and her family going into the store. Her husband not only called but he came home and I got to meet him! They were so excited to see me and introduce me to "Frank". We chatted and I thought, God still hears and answers prayer even from a little 7 year old girl! Then I thought , God you have ordered my steps again!

Then on Thursday of this week I went to a Memorial Service at the hospital where I volunteer. It is a service to remember the staff and patients that have passed away in the past year. There were quite a few there and it was a moving experience.

When the service was over I went through some of the various areas of the hospitals to check and see if the staff need me to visit some one. I went into some of the rooms and chatted and prayed with the patients.

Then I went down to the Emergency Room to see if they needed me to visit there as well and they told me everyone seemed to be doing OK. As I was turning to walk out someone said "Hey Preacher, What are you doing here? I looked and it was one of the main men at work.

He had not even been home and he was surprised to see me already dressed in a suit. I told him that when I got home I had thirty minutes to clean up and get to the hospital for the service. His daughter had just been taken out of the Emergency Room to run some tests. This is the second time in a month that I have met him by "accident" at the hospital. Or was is the Lord ordering my steps?

Compassion I

2008-05-17T21:33:00.006-04:00

I know I have not posted in awhile but I have been busy. So I will share a little of my thoughts with you today. I have some time to think and pray as I drive to work each day. But I don't have time to put my thoughts and prayers here for you so I will try a little harder to make time.

Mark 1:40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

• What is compassion? A sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.
• What is sympathetic? To be so close to someone that you think alike and feel alike. Or what ever affects them affects you the same way.

In other words Jesus actually put himself in the lepers life. He didn't feel the lepers pain. Because remember leprosy is the nerves in the "extremities" losing feeling. So if a leper reaches into a fire to move the coals they will not feel anything. Their hands will just blister and burn away. But the lepers instead of pain felt shame because the way they look and the way they were treated by society. In those days they were cast out of the city and considered worse than animals.

Jesus our saviour felt their shame because of his compassion. Jesus didn't like what he felt so he healed the leper.

• When Jesus saw the leper He immediately felt the way he felt and he even thought like him. So he was moved to the point of having compassion for him . This is going way beyond feeling sorry or having sympathy for someone. When Jesus added his desire to alleviate the problem or to meet the need!

Mark 6: 30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.
• This is where John the Baptists’ disciples tell Jesus of Johns’ death. So Jesus says let us go get some rest and relax a little.
31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.
33 And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and out went them, and came together unto him.
• Jesus was weary and tired and needed to regroup from the news of Johns death but he never forgot His purpose in coming to earth!! He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He constantly gave of himself to people!! He never let his flesh rise up with an attitude because people were pushing Him for his ministry! He constantly gave of himself to people!!
34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

Is this the way we are ? Are we "Christians" or in other words are we "Christ" like?

Remember...Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Exuberant Praise!

2008-05-09T10:07:00.001-04:00

I have been meaning to add this post for two or three weeks but I have been busy! I sound like a broken record! But God is good, all the time!

We had an awesome service the other night. Bro. & Sis Miller & Bro. & Sis King that are involved in the Amish Ministry had driven all night from Ohio. They came to get one Amish lady (Rachel) to come to church. That is in itself a message. What kind of price would you pay to see one soul find God?

Rachel came in the door of the church with her hands up worshipping God! Every once in awhile she would let out a whoop and just throw her hands up with exuberant praise!

At the end of the service she came forward and received her personal experience with God. She was so excited that spoke in tongues and she danced and worshiped. She was the spark for the whole service.

Later Pastor Trout baptized her and she came up out of the water rejoicing! As she was getting her clothes changed we could hear her continuing to rejoice in the changing room and Pastor said we might as well rejoice with her so we had a great time rejoicing with her. It was an exciting time.

I will ask you to pray for Rachel she has already been “shunned” by the Amish Community and needs your prayers at this time. She also has two wonderful children about 8 years old. We have prayed for all of them that God would help them at this time!

Show Gratitude to Our Military Personel

2008-04-28T17:59:00.005-04:00

Sorry I have not posted in a few days. We have been very busy as we are preparing for District Conference here this week. I was speaking to Danny Hamm our Youth Pastor on Sunday. He told me he was working 12 hours a day I told him that I was up at 3:30am and off to work then stop by the church and leave there about 9pm. He informed me that I was pushing 18 hour days, I almost collapsed in the aisle at church with that news! LOL!! So it is raining hard here now and I thought I had better catch up in the blog world! HA!!

It looks like I got caught on my own "Speed Bump" !! LOL!!

I have seen our soldiers getting off planes and walking down the street in uniforms and I wanted many times to show my gratitude to them. They pay a very high price being out on the front lines and away from family. They miss a lot of birthdays and holidays as well.

So if you click on the above title you can watch a short video explaining how to "sign " to someone that you are thankful for what they are doing and the great sacrifices that they are making for our country.

Speed Bump!

2008-04-15T04:03:00.003-04:00

What would you do if you saw this critter in your path? Run over it! Turn around! Pray!

I wish you enough!

2008-04-10T20:45:00.002-04:00

This came to me via email so I thought I would share it with you! So many people read this and we have become reacquainted with some long lost friends! So enjoy as I am praying for you today!

Recently I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, 'I love you and I wish you enough'.

The daughter replied, 'Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom'.

They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'.

Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'.

'I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' she said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?'.

She began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone'. She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more.

'When we said , 'I wish you enough', we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them'. Then turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

She then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them but then an entire life to forget them.

* Only if you wish send this to the people you will never forget and remember to send it back to the person who sent it to you.. If you don't send it to anyone it may mean that you are in such a hurry that you have forgotten your friends.

TAKE TIME TO LIVE...

To all my friends and loved ones,

I WISH YOU ENOUGH

Iraq - Stories the Media Doesn't Tell Very Often!

2008-04-07T19:31:00.004-04:00

Some one in our church that used to be in the military sent this to me. I thought it worthy to share with you today! It is very interesting! I thought that Iraq was in shambles. This report proves that thought wrong!

Did you know? I didn't know! How could we?

Did you know that 47 countries' have re-established their embassies in Iraq?

Did you know that the Iraqi government currently employs 1.2 million Iraqi people?

Did you know that 3100 schools have been renovated, 364 schools are under rehabilitation, 263 new schools are now under construction; and 38 new schools have been completed in Iraq?

Did you know that Iraq's higher educational structure consists of 20 Universities, 46Institutes or colleges and 4 research centers, all currently operating?

Did you know that 25 Iraq students departed for the United States in January 2005 for the re-established Fulbright program?

Did you know that the Iraqi Navy is operational? They have 5 - 100-foot patrol craft, 34 smaller vessels and a naval infantry regiment.

Did you know that Iraq's Air Force consists of three operational squadrons. Which includes 9 reconnaissance and 3 US C-130 transport aircraft (under Iraqi operational control) which operate day and night, and will soon add 16 UH-1 helicopters and 4 Bell Jet Rangers?

Did you know that Iraq has a counter-terrorist unit and a Commando Battalion?

Did you know that the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully trained and equipped police officers?

Did you know that there are 5 Police Academies in Iraq that produce over 3500 new officers every 8 weeks?

Did you know there are more than 1100 building projects going on in Iraq? They include 364 schools, 67 public clinics, 15 hospitals, 83 railroad stations, 22 oil facilities, 93 water facilities and 69 electrical facilities.

Did you know that 96% of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received the first 2 series of polio vaccinations?

Did you know that 4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school by mid October?

Did you know that there are 1,192,000 cell phone subscribers in Iraq and phone use has gone up 158%?

Did you know that Iraq has an independent media that consists of 75 radio stations, 180 newspapers and 10 television stations?

Did you know that the Baghdad Stock Exchange opened in June of 2004?

Did you know that 2 candidates in the Iraqi presidential election had a televised debate recently?

OF COURSE WE DIDN'T KNOW!

WHY DIDN'T WE KNOW?

BECAUSE OUR MEDIA WON'T TELL US!

Instead of reflecting our love for our country, we get photos of flag burning incidents at Abu Ghraib and people throwing snowballs at the presidential motorcades.

Tragically, the lack of accentuating the positive in Iraq serves two purposes:

It is intended to undermine the world's perception of the United States thus minimizing consequent support; and it is intended to discourage American citizens.

Above facts are verifiable on the Department of Defense web site.
http://www.defenselink.mil/ or click on the above title.

Busy times!

2008-04-05T17:58:00.002-04:00

We have been very busy around here lately. My job decided in the middle of the day to go to ten hours a day. So I am up by 3:30 and home by 6:30 give or take a few minutes.

Then this week we decided to completely redo the inside of our church. Paint from top to bottom and new trim etc.. We got the mess all cleaned up today.

We will be having a prayer meeting tonight for the whole church, to acclimate them a little to the "new building". It really looks different! The colors are a lot lighter so the auditorium looks a lot bigger. It will be a pleasant change for the church family!

I Remember Prayer Meetings IV...

2008-03-29T12:42:00.002-04:00

Our times of prayer with the youth here in North East, Maryland, were very powerful. In fact so powerful that we could not let it stay in the church. So we took prayer to the streets.

We had prayer journeys. We actually went and prayed for each Jr. High and Sr. High school in our county. It was an awesome time not only for our youth to get together and spend time together. But the time spent was definitely quality time!

We prayed for the students to overcome drugs and alcohol addictions. We prayed that they would overcome depressions and other mental problems that tend to plague our youth. We also prayed for the staff and teachers at each school. We prayed for peace at school and that they could have a good learning environment.

This was at a time when we were having a lot of school incidents across our country but we never had any shootings or bomb threats while others were having a lot of troubles in this area.

We went to one school during our Wednesday Night Youth Service and we all got out (about 30) and scattered around the building to pray. After a few minutes a Vice Principal walked out and he asked me what was happening. I explained that our young people were praying for all the school students and teachers in the county and he thanked me and asked me to come as often as we liked to pray!

One particular Saturday we gathered at church to do a prayer journey to pray for all the Middle and Sr. High schools in our county. By this time we had acclimated our youth and staff about how to pray and what to pray etc… After about the third school out of eight or more that we prayed for that day Gods’ Spirit began to move.

I will never forget going to Oxford High School and there was a game out in the field and a crowd was at the game but the school area was empty. Our youth got out and spread out and began to pray!! I remember they were lying on their faces at the doors weeping and crying out to God for the souls of the students and staff! Then came a time of spontaneous rejoicing and we had a great time! We also had a hard time getting them to load up they were just caught away in the spirit of God!

Just a few days later one of the girls that was at the prayer journey she was asked to pray at the “Meet Me at the Flag Pole”. Her picture and a copy of her prayer were printed on the front page of the news paper.

Next time we write about prayer, we will write about taking our prayer to other communities!

Easter with Bro. Easter!

2008-03-24T04:05:00.002-04:00

I am sorry I have not posted much this past week . We have been in revival with Bro. Easter. Yesterday morning we had a packed auditorium. The children's choir and the adult choir did an awesome job.

Then Bro. Easter went with the foundation that was laid through our worship and songs and preached a great message on you have got to have the blood. Several times he had the congregation to ask our neighbors if they were covered by the blood in baptism. He explained that that can only be done when we are baptized in the name of Jesus.

When he was finished we ended up baptizing 9 people in the wonderful name of Jesus. It was an awesome Easter with Bro. Easter!!

Then we spent the afternoon visiting some of our friends in the nursing home and a family get together as well.

A Servant's Blessing

2008-03-18T04:32:00.006-04:00

After reading my friend Shirley Buxtons' "God Things" blog I thought of this story about being a servant.

While I was working at the church on our new building last Saturday one of our young people came and asked our Pastor Bro. Wayne Trout if he wanted some coffee. He replied "No thank you". she then came and asked me as well, I said "Yes". I then told her that Pastor like tea instead of coffee.

A few minutes later she came out with a tray loaded with all kinds of stuff and tea for Pastor and coffee for me. She went to him first and served him then she came to me.

Pastor was overjoyed at the service and I was surprised at how she so easily fit into the servants role. She has had some normal youth problems with peer pressure and her mother has been working with her to overcome these things.

I commented to Pastor that she had some little things she was dealing with as a typical young person. But as long as her Mom kept her at church instead of running everywhere else or staying in bed on Saturdays the girl is on the right track.

If she continues to put the work of God and the church first God will help her to overcome everything.

Blessings to You!

2008-03-17T20:01:00.002-04:00

I had a cute little video and somehow I lost it after I posted it on my blog. LOL! I don't know how, but I checked it right after I posted and it all worked. O Well!
But blessing to you anyways!

We had a great service last night. We prayed for one of our former youth workers and his wife Andrew & Amanda Wilson (NJ/DE) Youth President. They are going to be Bro. Mark Johnston's Assistant Pastor. That church is located in Newark De. about fifteen minutes from our church.

We also had prayer for our Youth Pastor and his wife Danny and Karla Hamm. They left @ 4:00am this morning to go to El Salvador with UPCI Mercy Mission Ministry. Danny and his wife are nurses and they will be back home Sunday night.

Pray for these couples as they step out and follow God in new areas of ministry!

5 Reasons Not to Mess with Kids!

2008-03-16T16:21:00.002-04:00

(1)
A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing.

She would occasionally walk around to see each child's work.

As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.

The girl replied, "I'm drawing God."

The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like."

Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, "They will in a minute."

(2)
A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds.

After explaining the commandment to "honor" thy Father and thy Mother, she asked, "Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?"

Without missing a beat one little boy, the oldest of a family, answered, "Thou shall not kill."

(3)
The children had all been photographed, and the teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the group picture.

"Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, 'There's Jennifer, she's a lawyer,' or 'That's Michael, He's a doctor'."

A small voice at the back of the room rang out, "And there's the teacher, she's dead."

(4)
A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, "Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red in the face."

"Yes," the class said.

"Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position, the blood doesn't run into my feet?"

A little fellow shouted,
"Cause your feet ain't empty."

(5)
The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray:

"Take only ONE. God is watching."

Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.

A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples."

Jesus Gives Second Chances Part III

2008-03-12T21:56:00.007-04:00

The Greatest miracle God robed him-self in flesh and lived and died so that he could save you and me from sin. He can take a life wrecked by sin and make it beautiful!! With God all things are possible!!

Let us look at Peter in the Bible in case some one is thinking that can’t really happen!
Matthew 4:18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

Matthew 10 Matthew listed Peter first among the Disciples

Matthew 14 Peter walked on the water

Matthew 16:16 Peter received the Revelation of Christ "He said Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God".

Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock or revelation I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Later Jesus was talking about his crucifixion- Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

Matthew 16:23 4 verses later after Praising Peter, Jesus turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Matthew 18:21 Peter made mistakes but he accepted God’s forgiving power and came back to find out more!! Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?

Matthew 26:33 Peter answered and said unto him, though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

Matthew 26:35 Peter said unto him, though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Matthew 26:37 Jesus took Peter to Gethsemane to pray

Matthew 26:58 But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.

Matthew 26:69 Peter’s denial of Christ, 3 times- Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
Matthew 26:73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech betrayeth thee, Peter denied it with a curse Verse 75: And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

He was human and sometimes we make commitments that we don’t keep, but God is faithful and just to forgive all we have to do is ask and believe in Him. After we ask for forgiveness, then by faith simply begin to worship Him and he will fill you and refill you with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance!!

Acts 1:15 Peter was in the upper room with the 120

Acts 2:14 Peter preached the first message of Pentecost- But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and your children and to all those afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call!!

Peter’s Miracles
Acts 3:1 Peter and John pray for the lame man at the gate of the Temple

Acts 3:4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.

Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

Acts 5:15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.

Peter went from a fisherman to a fisher of men.

I Remember Prayer Meetings III

2008-03-07T23:40:00.003-05:00

After we had spent some time teaching on prayer and giving the young people here in North East, MD opportunities to pray in our Youth Services on Wednesday night. We really began to have a break through in prayer. Our services were often punctuated with exuberant praise and worship from the youth group.

This led to more teaching and some directed prayer to encourage the young people not to be satisfied with just crying and having God touch them. But we pushed them to pray for specific needs and situations they were aware of in the lives. We had them to voice their requests so we could pray a united prayer with them. Then when the need was met we had some fantastic testimonies coming from our young people. Theses testimonies simply increased our faith and we prayed on.

At times we had tongues and interpretations and God moved in a mighty way. The services and messages were geared to stir us up to a closer walk with God. They also reminded us how much we need to pray until we see results. Far too many people simply pray and then that is it.

They really don’t see results because they really are not concerned enough. But when we look at the scriptures and see that we are responsible to “our world” to share the “good news”. We realize that we need God to help us and lead us on a daily basis.

This type of teaching and preaching helped to lead the youth into intercessory prayer. There were a lot of services when the youth were scattered all over the fellowship hall where we have youth service and they would be weeping and travailing for the souls of their friends and others to find God. Some times this would go on for over an hour after the message was finished.

I have seen a lot of times when the service for the adults in the main auditorium was over and the parents would come and look in to see what their young person was doing only to find them prostrate on the floor travailing and talking in tongues.

This began to happen even on Sunday Services in the main auditorium. Our youth were so desperate to stay in touch with God they simply stayed in the altar until they got what they felt they needed from God. This had a marvelous effect on the church family because the youth actually brought the Spirit of God to bear in the services. It was an exciting time! This led to more outreach efforts that were quite exciting which we will share later! Keep praying!! Prayer works!!

A Day Volunteering at the Hospital

2008-03-02T06:56:00.003-05:00

I want to share what God has been doing here lately! I go to the hospital to volunteer on Sunday afternoons now that I am back at work. I usually leave church and go to the hospital for about 4 hours then come home and eat lunch/dinner and go back to church.

Two weeks ago I ran into a couple that has been to church a few times and their little boy was very sick with a flu bug. I talked with them and prayed and left to visit others. That night at church the grandmother of the little boy came and thanked me for spending time with the family. She said they were amazed that after I left the little fellow settled down and was feeling better! I told her prayer still works!

I left the Emergency Room area and went up to the Maternity Ward. It was my first time to be there and I don’t think the nurses were used to someone from Pastoral Care coming into their area. So I chatted a little bit and a nurse asked if I wanted to go see the moms and babies. I told her that I really was a little uncomfortable just walking into their rooms so she said that she would go in every room ahead of me. I prayed for several as they requested and I left.

Then I went to the Psych’ Ward and they let me in (and they let me out too!) LOL! I talked with an elderly lady. As I was leaving the head nurse came running down the hall and said there was a family that wanted to talk to me so I went and talked with them for just a couple of minutes. The man just opened up and started telling me how his wife (the patient ) was a great lady, fantastic mom and wife. Then the 14 year old girl just jumped up crying and hugged her mom and said mommy we love you and miss you. I talked for a few more minutes then prayed and before I left I gave them a church business card so they could come visit us.

Last week I went to the Maternity Ward and the same nurse was there and she asked me questions about church and some of our mission’s trips. She knew that I was not a doctor so she asked what I did on the trips. I told her that when we went to the Philippines we baptized over 100. I asked her if she knew about the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues and she said yes! So I told her that we prayed quite a few through to the Holy Ghost as well. She kept asking questions for an hour it was just awesome!

I walked into the Psych Ward and the head nurse said it was a miracle! I said what was a miracle? She said I don’t know what you said or did but when you left here the mother was completely changed like night and day! So I explained that I talked and what all happened because I knew she needed to know for her reports. I told her that I talked a little then I prayed and God did His part! She said that the lady was so different that they released her on Monday morning! She just kept saying it was a miracle!

Pray that God will continue to open doors in this area of ministry!

Jesus Gives Second Chances ... Part II

2008-02-25T20:37:00.005-05:00

Let me tell you about Billy- His sister came to me and said Kevin if you can help him the family would appreciate it. I OK'd it with Pastor O. R. Fauss and we accepted the challenge. He was 16 when he came to our church school in Houston.

He was on his way to Juvenile Rehab School for his alcohol dependency and truancy. We worked with him and got him up to speed in school. He was our pitcher for our baseball team and throwing around 90 mph in High School.

He got baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost. I later learned that he had married a girl in the church and had children . Then I heard that Billy the outcast of a young teenager was now the Bus Minister over the Bus Captains for the church. He became very involved in Sunday School in the district. Then the other day he called to wish me Happy New Year and he owns a very successful plumbing business in Houston.

The Greatest miracle God robed him-self in flesh and lived and died so that he could save you and me from sin. He can take a life wrecked by sin and make it beautiful!! With God all things are possible!!

I have an awesome update coming up on my volunteer work! It is amazing what God is doing in such a short time! I told the church a little about it last night and we rejoiced and worshipped God!

Jesus Gives Second Chances! Part I

2008-02-20T20:48:00.004-05:00

Paul caught a glimpse of accepting God’s grace and power when he said in Phil 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!!

Let me tell you about Robert. I picked him up one Sunday morning to bring him to church. I think he was one of those that actually lived under a bridge in the city. When the sprinklers came on to water the grass he and others had rigged up a tarp in which they could step in and take a shower.

He at one time was married had wife, kids, home & engineering degree but drugs and alcohol destroyed it all. He had lived on the streets for 5 years. His mind was fried from the abuse of sin. After 3 weeks one Sunday morning I prayed him through to the Holy Ghost!

That’s not all, a few months later he came and said he really wanted to come with me to the prison ministry on Sunday afternoon. But he couldn’t. He said I have a rap sheet as long as my arm from what I did to support my habits. I told him to pray about it and a few months later he told me that he had applied for entrance to the jail system and that he had been approved!! He said I don’t know what happened to my rap sheet but my record is clean!!

We are talking about miracles here today!!!! God is still in the miracle working business! Robert got a job working as a janitor at Stanford University in the Nuclear Research area. Before long he was taking his breaks in the break room and began to talk about some of the research, with the engineers and help them to solve their questions.

It wasn’t long before he came to me and said Hey Bro. Hopper I got a job at Stanford! I said you have been there awhile he said O but now I am an engineer! He said God has gradually restored my mind!!

The Bible said in Joel chapter 1 & 2 that he will restore the years that the locust and the canker worm has eaten away! He is still a miracle working God!! You want to hear the rest of the story!!

Robert and another brother went before the chief sheriff, judges and lawyers to get them to accept the ACTS program that our churches teach to help those with alcohol and drug problems.

After a couple of repeat meeting and sessions they had a question time and one of the judges asked them “How do we know that this program really works? Robert spoke up and asked her do you remember this case and the sentence was this many months or years in jail she said yes then he said do you remember this case and this sentence? She said yes, he asked her about several cases then he said I am the one that you sentenced. It was her second or third meeting that she had heard him explain the program and she didn’t recognize him!!

Hey when God changes you, you are changed!! A new creature in Christ!! Behold old things are passed away and all things become new! She burst out sobbing and ran from the room to collect her-self when she returned the program was passed to be used as a sentence tool for those in the county that needed help!!

What is the greatest miracle?? It is not creation, it is not healing. It is when one soul finds their way to an altar of repentance and is filled with the Holy Ghost! The Bible says the angels rejoice over one sinner that finds his way to repentance!!

A Call For United Prayer

2008-02-19T20:08:00.003-05:00

I received this today via email so I thought I would share it with you here!

Someone has said if Christians really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.

Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation.

If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have.

Please forward this to your praying friends

A Lesson on Prayer and Fasting To Our Youth Group Dated 2003

2008-02-14T21:32:00.005-05:00

I ran across this in my notes and thought I would share since it goes with what we have been discussing! It was used for a Saturday morning prayer meeting with our youth. I would encourage you to read some of my "Favorite Links For Great Reading" blogs because there are some awesome things happening across our great country. People are praying everywhere. They want an "old time revival"!

Things to Pray Against:

Rebellion - Going against what your parents and youth leaders tell you, because you feel like it.

Lying - Living a lie, act like you are a Christian at church but treat your family and others like you are the devil. No respect for your parents, teachers, elders etc...

Cheating - Telling your parents that you are done with your homework when you know that you need to work on a book report or another project. Or telling your quiz coach you have studied when you know that you didn’t review your old material like you were asked. White Lies?? No such thing!!

Deceitfulness - Doing and saying things that are not right and trying to hide your involvement or act like you are an innocent bystander, when you were the ringleader that started the problems.

Envy - Wishing that you were as good as someone else, to the extent that you start trying to do or say things behind their back to discredit them. “I’ll be glad when they learn to preach or sing”

Discord - Taking things out of context and repeating with our own added comments. “Maybe he meant...” or “She said this, which she probably meant...” Leave things alone a let God work it out!

Strife - If we involve ourselves in the above it can lead to friction (strife) and bigger problems. Which the bible refers to having a problem with our foundation and that God would bring it to light by trial (I Corinthians 3:11-21). We are also warned that we can devour ourselves and that those who involve will get their reward in time to come (Galatians 5: 14-21).

Things we need to pray for:

Lost souls - That we could hear the cry of their heart, and see the longing in their eyes to know God!

Open doors - A break through to minister in area schools, youth centers, half-way houses.
Revival - Through-out our church family. Not just among a few of the youth, but let it go to all the families in the church. ( I used actual examples here from some of our church folk) Pray someone through to the Holy Ghost at a nursing home and some one else at work and maybe one of the youth teaching a bible study at school.

Fasting, Why?

To overcome - Some things only happen as a result of prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:20-21)

The need to call a fast - Joel 1:14 (Sanctify a fast)

Set a specific day - Jeremiah 36:6 (upon the fast day) We set Wed’ as fast day

How to and not to fast - Matthew 6:16-18 ( be not, but do & appear not)

What fasting makes you do - Psalms 35:13 ( I humbled myself)

The continuing command - I Corinthians 7:5 (give yourselves to fasting & prayer)

Paul fasted as example and with awesome results - II Corinthians 6:4-10 ( In fastings)

Jesus fasted with awesome results - John 4 ( one woman and a whole city saved!)

Prayer and Fasting can help us:

Break Generational problems - Mom & Dad an alcoholic, so I’m going to be an alcoholic. NO!! Mom & Dad talk down about the church, Pastor, and leadership so I’m going to. No!! Parents skip church for a ball game, party etc...

We want endtime Revival:

Book of Acts - If it can happen there then we should be seeing it here. We have seen it in the Philippines where hundreds were filled with the spirit, we need to see it here. If we can lift our hands there in the Philippines and in less than two minutes God fills 76 with the Holy Ghost( our youth group was there on a mission trip!). Then we can see it happen right here in Cecil County and in your schools and your work places!! We ought to have a youth service @ Cecil Community College in the auditorium that seats 450 !!

There is strength and unity when we pray and fast together!!

Some one said Prayer moves God and Fasting moves us!

Some one else said Fasting moves us so God can work through us!

Fasting actually helps us to bring our flesh (fleshly spirits and lusts) under control so God can trust us with a mighty move of his power!!

Order My Steps..

2008-02-09T20:19:00.003-05:00

There is a popular Christian song that says" Order my steps in your word etc... I feel that God can guide all of our steps if we let him. I have mentioned before about how God takes care of us.

Several years ago we were wanting to get involved with outreach to the nursing homes and other areas of ministry to encourage people. But we needed a keyboard and amplifier among other things. So we kept praying and doing the best we could.

One night a visitor came to church he was an older gentleman. I went by and shook his hand and I ended up teaching him Bible Studies for several weeks at his house. He came every Sunday morning for awhile. Then he started missing some and when I called he told me was was sick. Within a few weeks I found out he had cancer and he died. I went to his funeral and met some other ministers that were there and come to find out he had two half brothers in Canada.

Those brothers are pastoring Pentecostal Churches and they were glad that I had spent time with their brother before he passed away. They had prayed for years for him to get his heart right with God. I explained his experience and the many times we had prayed together and they rejoiced.

I went to the store about three weeks later and met his wife and she asked me to come by and see her. So I went by and she gave me a card. She told me that her husband had left the youth group some money because he was thankful for all that we were doing for God. God has a way of taking care of us if we do our part.

It was enough to purchase an excellent keyboard and amplifier plus other things to help us in or efforts of ministry. I contacted his half brothers at General Conference and they were so excited that his legacy would live on especially after their 50+ years of praying for him!

I Remember Prayer Meetings Part II ...

2008-02-05T05:52:00.000-05:00

I Remember Prayer Meetings Part II…

I have received a lot of interest via comments a quite a few emails from my post on “I remember Prayer Meetings Part I…” So I will write on this subject and include my thoughts on prayer meetings that we had here in North East MD.

When I came here I was not involved with the youth group “officially”. Though I had been on the District Youth Board in California and had been involved with the youth at The First Church in San Jose Ca. Pastored by Rev. Jim Shoemake at the time.

But as always I still had a burden for the youth. Praying and fasting youth is the foundation for revival in many of our churches. Plus this gives them a solid foundation to build on in reaching out to the lost. If their mind is on prayer and fasting then it will not be on the temptations that the world throws at them every minute.

I set up a scheduled time after awhile that I would go to the church and pray. Then I told others that I had been praying at the church on Saturday nights for several weeks. They suspected something because the Spirit was moving and we were praying several through to victory in the services. So they asked what’s-up? I told them come join me at prayer.

Later after I stepped down from the NJ/DE District Youth Board, Pastor Wayne Trout put me in as the Youth Pastor here at Truth & Life Center in North East MD.

From there God began to move in a mighty way. Several of those at the prayer meetings are now pastors or pastor’s wives. Some back slid later, then came back to God and are doing great in the church today.

But the impact on the church was felt when the youth kept praying at the altar along time after the adults were finished. We just kept pushing and praying every night. Eventually the youth started helping to pray for the youth.

Then one night Pastor Trout mentioned the youth and that everyone could see the results of their praying. So he had the adults come forward for the youth to pray for them and God just blessed every one. The altar area filled up with adults wanting to get in on the revival.

It was awesome to see parents and grandparents come up so their young people could pray for them. Even now I weep when I remember the sights and sounds of revival!!

We continued the push for prayer and revival. The young people were comfortable in praying. We had prayer at all our activities whether it was a fun night or service night; for example most of the time after an activity we closed with a song and a prayer.

The result was that the visitors became very interested in what we were doing. They noticed that we considered God to be more than some one we went to worship on an occasional Sunday. The other positive result was that our youth grew very comfortable in praying in all situations or surroundings. This led to other things that I will explore in another post!

NJ/DE Men's Retreat!

2008-02-04T10:06:00.000-05:00

We had a great time this week end at the men's retreat. God moved in such a powerful way as the word was brought to us by Norman Paslay II. He is the Senior Pastor at the Calvary Church in Cincinnati Ohio. Of course he presented to us the toils of daily life and being a Godly man in this day and time. It was quite humorous at times but at the same time it made us search our hearts and realize that we could be and should be more like God even in the worst circumstances of life.

Then we heard David Hamilton from Mobile Al. He brought the "Old Testament Tabernacle" to life in today’s language. He has studied and taught on the Tabernacle for 17 years. This is his website: http://www.mishkanministries.org/ . He has built some awesome and very detailed replicas of the furniture and is now in the process of setting up a Tabernacle Museum in Mobile. He has focused on "Experiencing the Pattern of the Tabernacle" and it was an awesome time.

If your church has never experienced the teachings of Bro. Hamilton you owe it to your self and to your church. We wept and cried when we realized the importance of the ordinances and forms of the "Old Testament Tabernacle. We have had him at our local church numerous times and the people always want him to come back. He spent a lot of time bringing New Testament scriptures back to their Old Testament link. Now we understand why Jesus said what he did in the Gospels and why Paul wrote what he did in his epistles or John in the Book of Revelations. It was a great time of revelation in areas of holiness and separation.

A Carrot, an Egg, and a Cup of Coffee...

2008-02-03T15:04:00.000-05:00

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second, she placed eggs, and in the last, she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asks, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" She asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a break-up, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level.

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you; to those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendship you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.

This is so true - may we all be COFFEE.

Miracles are Happening!

2008-01-30T09:17:00.000-05:00

God still answers prayer!

That is what I heard when I called a brother in church yesterday. He has been out a lot lately with a cancerous tumor. He went in for surgery to remove it. The doctor told him that when they got him open that they could not find it.

The tumor that was on x-ray and had been confirmed as cancerous was gone! The brother said that prayer does work!! Miracles still happen today!

This is a result of our increased prayer and fasting as a church body! I am sure God is doing similar works all around the world! Keep praying! Keep fasting! Keep PUSHing!!

First Day of Volunteer Service!

2008-01-30T08:55:00.000-05:00

Some may have noticed that I changed my header to include instructions on how to leave a comment. I constantly receive calls and emails from people that say they saw my blog or they read it everyday.

I ask them why they don’t leave a comment and their replies usually mention something along the line of I don’t know how. So that is why I tried to give them simple instructions. So bear with us as we move along in blog world! LOL!

Now on to today’s thoughts! Yesterday was my first day to volunteer at the hospital. I was supposed to be with someone that had been doing volunteer for over 10 years but he was sick and could not make it. So I went by myself and it was interesting. I was able to talk to several patients and to their families. Some asked me to pray with them and it was good.

I had left the hospital when I got a call to come back to ICU to help in a situation. When I arrived I called all the family in and had prayer with them. The staff was very thankful. I walked through a couple of times to check on them later and a friend had come to see them. She began to talk to me about God and how that knowing Jesus makes things a lot easier to handle! I said Amen! We talked for awhile and she just cried and we prayed in the hall. I invited her to church and she invited me to come by their church for prayer meeting. She goes to an Apostolic Church just a few blocks from the hospital.

When I was walking out of the hospital a family that started coming to church on our bus ministry was coming into the hospital. I asked them who they were going to see. They told me and asked me to go with them to the room I had just left. So we went up and I prayed with them as well.

The volunteer director was teasing me and said they don’t usually introduce someone to volunteer service in this fashion. She said it was a baptism by fire! LOL!! I told her after thirty years of being involved in ministry that I was OK!!

We never know why we are in a place at a particular time. But God does order our steps and I am so glad he does!

"Tis the Set of the Sail

2008-01-28T06:59:00.005-05:00

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1916
But to every mind there openeth,

A way, and way, and away,

A high soul climbs the highway,

And the low soul gropes the low,

And in between on the misty flats,

The rest drift to and fro.

But to every man there openeth,

A high way and a low,

And every mind decideth,

The way his soul shall go.

One ship sails East,

And another West,

By the self-same winds that blow,

'Tis the set of the sails

And not the gales,

That tells the way we go.

Like the winds of the sea

Are the waves of time,

As we journey along through life,

'Tis the set of the soul,

That determines the goal,

And not the calm or the strife.

My Miracle of Volunteering!

2008-01-26T09:29:00.000-05:00

I finished my training this week! I learned a lot that I will share with you on a later post. I will be able to go into any room at the local hospital and visit all the patients and families.

One thing I learned for this type of work is that you don't need the gift of gab but you need the gift of a willing ear. LOL!! I laugh because I have one ear that doesn't work at all. The other ear works with a hearing aid. Out of 200% hearing in both ears I have maybe a total of 30 % hearing. It helps me to stay humble and depend on God.

I am sure some of the people that I have worked with over the years can remind me of some slips when I thought I heard something and it was way off. Sometimes I do it on purpse but other times it was real. So I have had quite a time trying to hear what people are saying!

My hearing specialist that fitted me with a hearing aid several years ago told me that it was amazing. He said that most of my hearing loss was in the normal voice range of people talking. He asked me what I did as far as work and I told him that I was a minister and at that time I was a school teacher at Kent Christian Academy. He was just totally amazed at what God was using me to do for the Kingdom. He explained that he was involved in church and missionary work.

Before I left the office I asked him if we could pray. My wife & I prayed with Him. I prayed that God would bless his work and keep his hand on him and his ministry. God moved and we could feel his spirit in that office. My wife and I went home and a couple of hours later he called about the office visit .

He told me that God began to talk to him after we left and that he had ordered my hearing aid. I was shocked because I didn't have the money to pay for it. Then he said that it would be in his office in two weeks. He went on to tell me that there was no fee and that he would service it for life free of charge.

I have gone in several times and had it checked and he has brought staff in from other offices to meet me. We have always had prayer before we left. They spend more time talking about God and the church than anything else when I go in to see them.

So when I get involved with people I listen to them the best I can. Then I depend on God to fill in the blanks that I can't hear. I feel that is one reason that God has allowed me to be so sensitive to the attitudes and spirits of people. Because I have to spend a lot of time listening to God and he lets me know these things.

So it is a miracle of God that I can even be involved with this type of volunteer work.

Great Services this Weekend!

2008-01-21T08:21:00.000-05:00

We had great services yesterday! Bro. Chantry Dean was here for East Coast Youth Conference and stayed over to be with us. He preached great messages in both services. His voice was shot from working with the ECYC so he couldn’t sing but with God’s help hew was able to preach.

The church and visitors alike responded and came to the altar for a time of soul searching and refreshing. I saw people touched by God that have really been struggling with things in their life!

Of course we heard testimonies from the young people how God had touched them. In fact I saw evidence in their worship and how they treated their family that God had really done a work in their lives.

Bro. Tim Rutledge from Pentecostals of Alexandria preached the night services and he did an excellent job! He preached Saturday night that Jesus is the bread of life. He told the youth that we are to deliver the bread to the world. When they come to us they are not looking for a fancy show or games but they want to bread! It was awesome and the response from the young people was great!

He opened boxes of Twinkies and muffins and oatmeal cakes and all kinds of things. He began to throw them out to the youth of course it was quite an upheaval of youth trying to catch their favorite snack. After a few minutes he ran out of stuff but he told them that all those things were bread products. God is the bread of life. What ever they need God to be, he could be that in their lives. If they are lonely he would be their friend etc... It was a great weekend!

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT............

2008-01-19T14:24:00.000-05:00

Someone sent this to me so I thought I would share it with you!

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today?" So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-M-M," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today?" So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YEA!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Attitude is everything.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly.......

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Thoughts for today!

2008-01-17T14:19:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about the last post dealing with rebellion and attitudes. I remember in one situation where I made some pretty pointed remarks to a parent regarding their young person. I was trying to help them to see where their thought process was wrong and how it would lead to more disrespect for leadership. So in the process I made some sharp remarks but in such a way as to not be offensive.

The parent looked serious then chuckled then looked serious again. Just then my wife walked up and the parent just busted out laughing and told my wife “your husband has a way with words”, “what he said was funny but very true”. I had addressed the sticky problem with God’s help and corrected it and kept a parent who is still a friend today! Maybe if we that are in leadership would spend more time connecting with people then when something like this comes up we can let God speak through us. I think Sis. Vesta Mangun preached it years ago; you have to win people to you then to Christ. We need to take time with them on a more casual basis.

I am not talking about running around with them all the time, but go eat with them every once in awhile to let them know you really care about them. Then when a problem arises you can quickly deal with it because of the established trust and rapport that you have built. The problem today is that we are all caught up with being “politically correct” instead we need to be “kingdom minded”. If you don't guide them and correct them don't worry someone will lead them, astray! If they are youth, then realize you are training the leaders of tomorrow and God sent you to them to train correctly.

So when you see a problem don't run from it. God has allowed you to see the problem because he wants you to deal with it for the Kingdom's sake!! Don't raise up a crippled church, do your best that's all God asks! In the end the person will come back and thank you. I know from experience of over 30 years in helping the throw away youth to overcome what life has dealt to them! It is worth it!! Enough for now I'll move on!

I went Monday to training for volunteer work in a local hospital. I applied on a whim last month. I thought I go so much to visit church people and their friends, what if I signed up so I could minister to others in need? They were more than happy to have me come aboard and help. I go next Monday for my Pastoral Care class and my second TB test then I will be certified to minister anywhere in the hospital.

I know that I can go pretty much where I want to now with my minister license but this new tag will let them know that I am going by their basic standards as well. Plus it puts me on call in case there is a disaster in the community. I will be one of the ones called to help the family deal with crisis, “That I might win some” as the Apostle Paul said.

It is part of what I have been thinking as I go into this year. What in the world am I doing for Christ’s sake? Not what I am doing at church with various schedules, services etc…, but what I am doing in the world?

Rebellion Part I

2008-01-15T13:44:00.000-05:00

1 Samuel 15:22-24 (King James Version)
22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

Let me just share a few thoughts with you today on these verses. In I Sam 15:22 the question is asked in our terms today. Is the Lord as happy when we give sacrifices and offerings versus our obeying his word? The answer is No! No amount of sacrifices (even the fat of rams) is better than obedience. In other words you can’t give $5 or $50,000 in an offering and think that gives you a right to sow disunity or discord among the brethren or in the church because you did not get your way on new carpet in the church or new paint color etc...

The next verse gets down to the nitty-gritty and says rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Wow! That is a tough statement. Witchcraft has always been considered a “big/bad” sin. But to say that rebellion is as bad sheds a new light on how Jesus looks at our attitudes. He counts our attitude as very important. How we act and how we treat each otheris big in God's eyes. Plus as the last part of the verse shows when you let one spirit go unchecked then it opens the door for other spirits to come in your heart

When I was a little fellow growing up in Mendota CA., I can remember “pitching a fit”. I was on the floor in the hallway and yelling and kicking my feet. My “fit” did not last long because my mom got a hold of me and gave me a good whipping. I was told that this attitude was wrong and that Jesus didn’t like little boys to act this way. Later in life I looked at little kids that “pitched a fit” and thought they are such babies, they need some good old home training.

Unfortunately a lot of kids were never taught correctly and they rebelled or pitched a fit even when they got older. I remember working with some young people that pitched a fit. Just as I started to say something to them I remembered that their folks had pitched a fit a few days earlier. So I told them that their attitude was not right. They were being disrespectful to leadership in this case. I told them that if their parents were alcoholics that they did not have to be alcoholics. I also told them that just because they did it at home or that their parents did it didn’t make it right.

I was able to open their eyes in such away as to keep their trust and their parents trust even to this day. If you don’t make the captain of the team become a good team player. But don’t show an attitude that is not Christ like!

The last part of that verse 23 says that sometimes we reject some of God’s word and that we are rewarded accordingly. God can see your heart that is why the psalmist prayed in: Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. He knew that God knew his heart and the very intents of his doings. So he wanted God to show him where he was wrong.

Verse 24 goes even further and Saul admits he was wrong for his actions and attitudes. But he said I listened to the voice of the people. In other words he wanted to be popular with a group of people so he went their way and totally disregarded the ways and laws of God. Theses are signs of the end-times as recorded in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (King James Version):
3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
They will be afraid of losing friends and popularity so they come up with new laws and rules. In disregard what God says and in trying to bring themselves up to some special “new” expectations they turn from the truth and shall be turned into fables.

You say how do I guard my heart? How do I check myself? For example if you find yourself at odds with the pastor or those in leadership over you. You need to be very careful as to what you do and what you say. After praying and getting a hold of God, Go to that leader and try to get an understanding as to what God’s wants to accomplish in your life at that time. Some people pray and say God if you don’t do such and such then I am going to wreck my car. I am sorry God does not work that way and his ways are above our ways.

Sometimes we try to open the rose by ourselves and forget to wait on God’s timing.

Awesome Sunday Services!

2008-01-14T20:10:00.000-05:00

We had some awesome services yesterday! Bro. Trout preached yesterday morning titled “Once in a Lifetime”. Christ paid the debt for sin and sickness when he was crucified. He preached on gaining victory over:
· Generational Curses
· 39 sicknesses – all diseases in the world fit in 39 categories and Christ’s 39 stripes for our healing when he was crucified.
· Marital Problems
· Financial Difficulties
· Depression & Suicide
· Alzheimer’s Disease
· Demon Possession

We anointed prayer cloths with the following inscribed on them:
The pardon that was provided for our freedom was signed at Calvary. It was signed in Crimson Red for every situation the Satan has inflicted upon us. It also covers the circumstances we have brought on our selves.

This is the day of Jubilee! The Atonement has been made! The debt has been paid! Let us rejoice! It is time to burn the mortgage and lift the lien. The document is stamped “Paid in Full” and it is stamped in Red! Leviticus 25:8-10 & Acts 19:11

Then last night Sis Trout preached about the Cherubims in the Holiest of Holies! They have three sets of wings.
· One set to reach to the heavens
· One set to reach east and west
· One set to reach around in front of them

If we intend to walk victorious and accomplish all that Jesus wants us to accomplish we have to constantly reach to the heavens in praise and worship and service to please the master. We have to reach out to the lost in our world or community. We have to have more than a burden for the lost we have to act on that burden. Then we have to reach around and love our brother and sister. If we can’t talk to them here, how can we rejoice with them in heaven? If we can’t love our brother or sister, how can we love the lost?

Spiritual Big Five

2008-01-10T09:29:00.001-05:00

I Thes. 4:1- Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

When we really mature in our spiritual life, we see more, we know more, we feel more, we do more, and we repent more. It is all in proportion to our closeness to God! We are, in short, growing in grace (as Peter said in 2 Peter 3:18).

No one who neglects the spiritual big five—daily Bible study, prayer, meditation, weekly fasting and obedience—can expect to make much progress in sanctification because these are the channels through which spiritual strength flows from God. This is why having access to God through Jesus Christ is so important. These efforts produce faith and then with obedience, the result being a fresh supply of His grace flowing in our lives.

There are no spiritual gains without pains. Would we expect a crop from a farmer who never even looked at his fields until harvest time? That is ridiculous!

The farmer has to get out in his fields and sow the seeds. Does not God say in that "the fruit of righteousness are sown in peace by those who make peace"? This means that you can’t run around being contentious and fussing with every one or acting like you have a chip on your shoulder or you got up on the wrong side of the bed. Because you are not walking in the Spirit and you are not a peacemaker so you are not sowing in peace. Unless you sow in peace you are not going to reap the fruits of righteousness. The fruits of righteousness have to be sown! That is work.

What are the fruits of righteousness? They are love, joy peace, gentleness, goodness, meekness, kindness, faith, temperance (self-control)—but they have to be sown, fertilized, cultivated, and pruned. How we act and how we treat one another it is a choice that we make all the time! Someone was making fun of me the other night and got others to laughing at me! I made a decision right then and there to not make a snide or sour remark and put myself on their level. The world sees meekness as a weakness but it takes a man or woman of God to exhibit the fruit of righteousness with self control or temperance.

I have been laughed at and told that I was too weak to be involved in leadership that I couldn’t accomplish things that needed to be done. But I realize that they just want me to lay down some of my fruits of the Spirit and act like the world with like retorts and responses! But I am told in Proverbs 23:23 - Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. A great preacher and founder of the United Pentecostal Church "Oliver Fauss", wrote a book with that title “Buy the Truth and Sell it Not”.

We see a process in bearing the fruits of righteousness. As the fruits begin to be produced, sanctification cannot be hidden any more than the fruit on a tree can be hidden. We will never attain to holiness without daily Bible study, daily prayer, daily meditation, weekly fasting. Then you have to obey what the Pastor teaches and preaches! You can’t say:
· "Well I don’t see it in the Bible",
· or "He can’t expect us to follow everything he says, let's see what we can get by with"
· or "Rules are made to be broken"

Remember Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. Growing spiritually is done by daily Bible study, daily prayer, daily meditation, weekly fasting and daily obedience to the word of God and the Pastor!

That is how spiritual life is sown, cultivated, fertilized, and tended so that good fruit is produced.

Thank you Paul Harvey? Oops Nick Gohlson!

2007-12-31T23:47:00.000-05:00

AMERICA

********* Get Ready *********

Paul Harvey says:I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin, but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his Theory of Evolution. Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game. So what's the big deal? It's not like s omebody is up there reading the entire Book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game. But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue.Yes, and this is the United States of America, a country founded on Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect -- somebody chanting Hare Krishna? If I went to a football game Jerusalem, I would ex pect to hear a Jewish prayer.

If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad, I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer. If I went to a ping pong match in China, I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.

And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit.When in Rome...But what about the atheists? Is another argument.What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer! Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations.Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying. God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't care what they want. It is time that the majority rules! It's time we tell them, You don't have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your right; but by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back, and we WILL WIN!God bless us one and al l ... especially those who denounce Him , God bless America, despite all her faults. She is still the greatest nation of all. God bless our service men who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.

Let's make 2008 the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions ... and our military forces come home from all the wars. Keep looking up. This story has been attributed to Paul Harvey but after a tip from an anonymous comment and a check with Snopes most of it was actually written by Nick Gohlson. He is a sports writer for the Times Record News in Witchita Falls Texas.

Busy?

2007-12-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

We had a great time this weekend with our Christmas Community Dinner. We served over 350 people! I will post more later when I get all the pictures and stats together. Several were back in both services yesterday.

Plus God blessed as I have seen so many times before and we had new people just come in off the street yesyerday. It seems that when we do our part God does his part and sends lost souls our way!

Blessings to you and your familiy!

I remember prayer meetings...

2007-12-10T18:04:00.000-05:00

I can remember walking two blocks from my grandma Hopper’s house in Goshen Ca. to church to pray when I was just 4 or 5 years old. I remember we would meet some of the other people there and they knew how to get a hold of God!

I remember going to Truth Tabernacle in Fresno Ca. as well pastored by Bro. Layne at that time. We prayed for God to have his way and to give us guidance. When we got home from prayer one night my mom got the call that while we were at church our house had sold. So we knew it was God’s will for us to move. The next day when they went to sign the papers the real estate agent even bought our car that my folks were questioning whether to take it or sell it.

Then as I got older I asked my dad if I could get some of the guys to stay after a watch night service in Jacksonville Fl. and pray. He said sure just ask one of the older guys to stay with you so I got I think Sonny, Rodney and one or two more plus Tim Carter to stay and we prayed until about 4am.

We had some prayer meetings in Houston, TX at Greater Bethel Tabernacle, Pastor Rev. O. R. Fauss. The young people came to me at the academy wanting to meet before school and pray for thirty minutes. After a few days the number started to grow and the intensity/fervency started to grow as well. After about 4 or 5 weeks the Spirit of God came down and some were travailing in tongues and a little while later the group of about twenty decided to go on a victory march in the learning center. When the march was over the Jr. & Sr. High Learning Center was empty and they were all in the church praying. Later I got a call from Mr. Edwards whose son and daughter attended our school. He said “Bro. Hopper I understand that my child received the Holy Ghost today. I think that is great!” We used to see that all the time in our (church denomination). You just keep up the good work!

That night at our choir practice Tony Roberts asked a couple of the students to testify about what had happened and that was all it took. God’s Spirit fell once again and we had prayer instead of choir practice!

Of all the prayer meetings that I have been in the one that I remember most was in first United Pentecostal Church San Jose, Ca. Pastor Rev. Jim Shoemake. Bro. John Arcovio was the evangelist and we decided to pass out flyers on Monday evening around the neighborhood. We passed out flyers (15 thousand that week) and got back to the church about 8 pm. The young people then decided to pray for those that received flyers. About 10 pm some of the parents came and took their young people home (some were crying and wanted to stay). At midnight I counted over 25 still there praying in the old auditorium which is now the day care area. I can remember a few that were there such as Samantha, Theresa, Jeanne, Dayna, Jason & Davina, Abran & Vivian to name a few and I think Andrew & Shawna. Around 3 am the Spirit of God moved in a miraculous way. We were ushered as though it was into the throne room of God. Many I am sure can tell their version of what happened. It was awesome! I called the meeting over about 6 and we went home to so we could go to work.

My wife asked me when I got home what happened I could not tell her I just started weeping and talking in tongues. She declared that the next night I was going home with our 1 year old son Curtis and she was going to stay if they were going to pray! Well they brought her home around 2 am and she was drunk in the Spirit! I asked her the logical question, “What happened?” That was a mistake, she got to laughing and I had to carry her to bed!

If you were in one of these prayer meetings or you want to relate a similar incident. Go ahead! Maybe I will share some more prayer meeting memories in a later blog that we have had here in North East MD.

Busy time !

2007-12-07T14:50:00.000-05:00

I am sorry I haven't posted, I will post later. I got called back to work for two weeks and it was night shift. I left our house @ 4 pm and returned around 6 am. I would sleep awhile make hospital calls and shut-in calls then sleep and go to work. So my schedule has been crazy to make that adjustment. But God is good! Later!!

The Casual Christian

2007-12-01T21:16:00.000-05:00

Matthew 25
1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
This is the first of three parables in this chapter the second parable deals with the servants and what they did with their talents that the master had given them.
The third parable deals with taking care of Jesus when we take care of the least of these.

In this first story Jesus tells about the virgins that were engaged to be married. They all knew that the bridegroom was coming to get them. They knew as was the custom in that day that the bridegroom went to prepare a place for them.

Sometimes the preparation would take months even into a year or more for all the arrangements to be made for the bride. Land had to be made ready. The house had to be built and preparations to be made for the great day when he brings his bride home.

The brides had preparations that they had to make as well as far as what she needed to be comfortable in her new house. Maybe even to collecting specials spices and things that could not be found in the area of her new home.

But with all her preparations the bride had to be ready at all times to go and meet her bridegroom. He may come today because he has finished his work and is all ready for her. So he comes to claim his bride and he is excited.

The problem is that five of the virgins did not have enough oil in their lamp to go meet the bridegroom. They may have made preparations and got a lot of things done. But they missed the one important thing and that was having oil in their lamp to meet their bridegroom.

Today the church is being driven to be like the five foolish virgins. Let’s get this done and that done. Let’s be sure that we are at church and have our lesson ready.

Be sure we have our class all decorated and everything in place. But we really don’t have our heart in it. We just do what is expected and keep up with the Jones so to speak. So we become casual Christians.

We really are not ready for the bridegroom to come. We are casual in our approach to our duties as leadership and teachers. It is too easy and too common for us to rush in at the last minute and put things together.

When you really think about it we probably didn’t pray like we should this week or last week. Maybe if we thought about it we may not have worshipped in service Wednesday night like we should have worshipped. Maybe we didn’t witness at work this week like we could have or should have witnessed. The casual Christian thinks like the foolish virgin and thinks I will have more time before the bridegroom comes, to get things in order.

I am at least showing up for church or work day or Sunday School class. I gave five dollars in the offering. Then God begins to try to break through and we remember a student that is struggling or a new convert that needs to be contacted. God gives you an opportunity to change.

God tries to help you to overcome the blight of the casual Christian. He will try to guide your path if you would let Him.

Sometimes we get so casual we think that we can just show up at church and we have done our duty to God for the day or week. Then we become more casual and come dressed casual as well. It becomes a mind set with us. I can’t be used in the class or on the platform because I dressed casual today.

What we don’t realize is that when we are in that mind set we don’t listen to God as well. I have seen people that are not in tune with God because of the way they just casually show up for church make some big mistakes. I have heard them speak out of turn or say things that were casual and hurt people. They really didn’t mean harm but they just didn’t know that the brother or sister was going through a hard time and it was the straw that broke the camels back.

Don’t try to be casual with someone that you have not spent time with at the altar or over a cup of coffee or at the mall or fishing hole. For instance when I heard that Jessica was getting married I teased her and asked how much she had to pay the guy.

She laughed and said that she had to promise not to talk. Well she already had broken that promise and I told her she would have to give the ring back.

I can do that with Jessica because I have stayed in touch with her for several years. My wife and I have prayed with her and counseled her. We have rejoiced and cried with her.

It goes back to getting everything in order. The oil represents the anointing of the Holy Ghost. We need to spend time in prayer everyday. We need to be here on Tuesday night for our church prayer time or thirty minutes early for every service so God can move us together in the Spirit. We need to lay up prayer so we can be sensitive to the Spirit of God and speak the right words to someone and encourage them.

I don’t know how many times I have contacted someone and later, sometimes months later they would get back with me and thank me for encouraging them. I didn’t remember what I said, then I realized that God had given me the words to speak and I just tell them I am His servant and it wasn’t me it was Him.

Don’t fall into the trap of a casual Christian! Let’s be ready for the bridegroom to come back for us. We will hear Him say “well done thou good and faithful servant!”

I am Thankful

2007-11-23T10:03:00.000-05:00

Colossians 3
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Verse 12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;. It is saying to put on like a coat bowel of mercy. I thought bowels? Is that like the gut ? So I looked it up and Webster says it also could be like the seat of something. So in other words if you are working with a problem deal with the problem from the stand point of mercy. Don’t go from the view as accuser or prosecutor. But put mercy on like a coat. Then put on kindness, humbleness of mind. Be humble, we are all here because of God’s grace. There is no big “I’s” and little you.

I have worked with people for 30 years and the hardest to get through to are the ones that are stuck on themselves. They have a hard time keeping themselves at the foot of the cross they think they are God’s gift to mankind or to their world and everyone else should bow down to them. I saw someone the other day that used to be a great person to work with, but she has been influenced by those that think and act like they are a little better than everyone else.
I was surprised when she kind of ignored me and seemingly turned up her nose when I went by. I was glad that it wasn’t raining she might have drowned. LOL! Following humbleness we need to put on meekness.

We don’t have to be so loud and boisterous or violent to get or maintain authority. We don’t have to yell!

• Hey, get off that table!
• Get in here now or I’ll kick you to kingdom come!

We need to remember that we are an extension of God. God’s spirit needs to flow through us at all times. His Spirit of love and peace will diffuse or put out a lot of fires, if we allow it to flow through us. We don’t have to act like the world now, God can and will fight our battles for us. Another definition is to suffer with patience which leads to the next thing that we are to put on and that is longsuffering.

The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. When you deal with souls you have to be flexible. They are going to make mistakes. Remember we weren’t perfect when we came to church (some of us think we are perfect now, but I won’t bust your bubble today).

Proverbs 11:30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Moving on to verse 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. The dictionary says that the word forbearing means to control yourself all the time, even if you are provoked. Then the Bible in the same sentence says to forgive one another if you happen to have a quarrel against another. How are we supposed to forgive? Even as Christ forgave the you, so also do ye.
• Even as Christ forgave and gave His life while we were yet sinners we need to do the same.
• Even as Christ died and was not expecting His forgiveness to be accepted by everyone so do ye.
• Even as Christ was bruised and beaten for us and he knew that we would again make some mistakes, so also do ye.
After you have done that put on charity or love which is the perfect bond of peace. God's love will help to keep your soul and body together as some people say.
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, don’t be:
• contentious,
• judgmental,
• argumentive,
• grumpy,
• quick to give someone a piece of your mind

Then be ye thankful!
• Remember where you once were before God found you and changed your life.

I have thought a lot this week about why I am thankful. In preparing to speak to the leadership here today I thought, what am I thankful for as a student that grew up in church?

I am thankful for:
• Teachers that took the time to study and prepare a lesson so it was from their heart and not just read out of a book.
• Leaders that took time for me and kept an eye on me as the watchmen to keep me on the straight and narrow. They also taught me respect for God, leadership and the things of God.
• People that took the time to have fun with me and then talk to me and encourage my dreams of doing something for God and the Kingdom.
• My parents, Pastors, Sunday School teachers, Bible Quizzing Coaches, Bus Ministry Leaders, Choir Directors, Jr. & Sr. High Youth Workers and Youth Leaders that took the time to show me that they cared for me today and they believed in me so they trained me in many different areas to be used in the ministry later in my life.
• They taught me to discipline and commitment.
• Stick-to-it-tive-ness- was the word that Marvin Walker used for Bible Quizzers.
• They taught me to control myself always because others are watching how I conduct myself (how I act, my attitude, how I dress ...). The apostle Paul wrote “Christ in you their hope of glory” or “ Ye are an epistle known and read of all men”. We want the world to love us and in turn they will love Christ as they see Him at work through us.
• They taught me that soul winning and doing a work for God was the most important thing in life. “Only what is done for Christ will last”
• They taught me to Pray & Fast and to expect results from my personal prayer.
• They took the time to show me how to work at church, how to do out reach, how to worship and give of myself freely for the Kingdoms sake.
• They taught me that ministry was being on call 24/7. Jesus is always available when we call on His name.
• They taught me how to do a hard days work and accomplish it, as if I was working for the King of Kings so it was to be done the best way and done right the first time. To save time and effort and money, “being a good steward”.

I guess it all goes back to they took the time to teach me. But the ones that made the most impact took the time to show me how to be a Christian. They all poured themselves into me because they knew that I would carry their mark or their impact with me the rest of my life.

So when I see them as we travel they always ask, “ how are you doing?” Or what are you doing? They are really asking is, “ what are you doing with the time and effort that I put into you?”

I am thankful today and I want to live my life and do my best for God as I have been taught but also as a way to show how thankful I am. So, when I pray for you or speak to you to encourage you or to give you guidance in a situation, realize I am doing what I have been taught over the past 40 some years and I want to show again how thankful I am for what God has done for me.

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. This statement was written by John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963), in a speech prepared for delivery in Dallas the day of his assassination, November 22, 1963

Old Christian Songs

2007-11-19T14:36:00.000-05:00

We had some very good services this weekend here at Truth and Life Center. Some of the people that we served on Saturday were back for service on Sunday. We were able to spend time with them at the altar and hopefullty we will be able to start Bible Studies with them real soon!

Now on to a topic that has been on my mind lately. I remember some songs that we used to sing during services that were geared to getting the church involved in out reach and now I can't find anyone that knows them. Am I really that old? It is a scary thought! Here is the first song:

You never mentioned Jesus to me. You met me day by day and you knew I was astray, but you never mentioned Jesus to me. (There may be more words I am not sure)

The other song is: Lord lay some soul upon my heart and love that soul through me. May I ever do my part to win that soul to thee. (There may be more words I am not sure)

Anyway if you know where I can get the music for these two songs you can copy/cut-paste and email me at kevindhopper@comcast.net. I would apreciate it.

Or maybe you know these songs and a newer songs that conveys the same message. I can accept change! HA! LOL!

Community Thanksgiving Dinner Today!

2007-11-17T22:11:00.000-05:00

We had a fantastic time today with the Community Thanksgiving Dinner. Pastor Trout started the day with prayer for all the church staff that was there to serve. We prayed for the people and we also prayed for the basketball team from the high school. Words and pictures can not hardly express what we saw and felt today in reaching out to those families.

Some of the families were from shelters for abused women. Others were from homeless shelters. Our church bus went to pick up fifteen homeless people and when they got to the location there were fifty people wanting to come eat. They called from up to 17 miles away for a ride to come to the church today. Others had no problems as such but they just wanted to come to the church a have a good dinner and fellowship with God’s people. Several of the church people and even couples spent most of the day transporting people to and from the dinner.

One lady that came was 91 and she used to take care of one of the men in the church when he was a baby. Another couple came and he had backslid from a large charismatic church in the area because he said that since they had grown real big all they could talk about was money. His wife wanted to get their daughter baptized and a certain church wanted to have them pay $500 to perform a baptism. Needless to say the wife was devastated because they did not have the money. Imagine a church charging for various plans or parts of salvation!

There was a lady that came and she had her oxygen tank on wheels. We moved chairs around to make it easier for her to get to a table and be seated. She was a little embarrassed to be treated so well and she kept apologizing and got a little overwhelmed. One of our ladies reached out and gave her a hug and within seconds they both were crying. I guess our prayers were working and God was reaching out through the hurts and scars and the people could feel His love in a real way today!!

Another family of 4 walked a mile this morning to get to the church and eat. What moved me was their desire to be there because the man had knee surgery on Oct 3 and could barely walk around the dining area today. When they were ready to go home I loaded them up and took them. They promised to come to church tomorrow!

The North East High school Girl’s Basketball Team came today to help us serve the tables. To help control the crowd and to let them know that we wanted to treat them royal, we brought the people in and seated them. They checked off on a piece of paper what they wanted to eat. The girls went around and picked up the forms and turned them into the kitchen. Then they took the plates to the tables and brought an assortment of deserts to choose from as well. When we counted those forms we found out that we served 400 people today!

2007-11-13T11:12:00.000-05:00

Community Outreach Dinner!

Please be in prayer for our church this Saturday. For the past several years we have done a community outreach dinner for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This dinner has grown to about 500 people that come to eat and fellowship with our church people. Some of them are homeless, some from various shelters and others are friends of our saints that don't normally come to church. They all come to eat and have a good time. We also have bags of goodies (donations from area businesses) that we pass out to those in need including some clothes and coats that have been donated.

There has been a great turn out from the community to help us in this effort. In fact the North East High School Basketball Teams (Guys & Girls) get into a heated discussion with their coaches as to who can come help serve. Our fellowship hall only seats about 100. So we have to rotate everyone in to feed them. I will update you with pictures I hope. Our digital camera was baptized while we were on the St John's River Cruise in Florida for my folks anniversary! We forgot to say in Jesus name! LOL!!

2007-11-12T12:42:00.000-05:00

"Youth Minister" ?

There are all kinds of titles for someone that "works" with young people in the local church. You have the Youth Worker, then a Youth Leader, Youth Director, and Youth Pastor. Now we also have Student Worker, Student Leader, Student Director and Student Pastor.

But the bottom line for all of these titles is that whoever the person is and whatever the position is they need to first be a Youth Minister! What is a Youth Minister (YM)? How do you know if you really are a YM? What should you do to become a YM?

A YM is someone that puts God first in their lives. Not only are they concerned about God's anointing on their area ministry so they spend time in prayer but they also follow their Pastor and buy into his vision for the church. You may ask "How do we do that? Somewhere or at sometime you felt the call of God on your life to help young people and to make a difference in their life. You wanted to teach and train young people to be used of God and to be effective for the kingdom sake. Hence you started Youth Choir to give aspiring musicians and singers opportunity and experience (sing in community events , July 4Th, and Christmas etc..). Youth Outreach was started to give aspiring ministers and service leaders opportunity and experience (in nursing homes or shelters etc..). Spend "down time" with your youth such as fishing, slumber party as well as prayer meetings and directed prayer meetings and even a prayer journey to their school or what they would call their "battle ground". As a YM it is imperative that you stay plugged into that original calling and resulting burden for the young people. Way too many times we as YM get involved with helping young people and we get caught up in the fun things parties, trips, titles, accolades etc... . In the process we forget that we are supposed to be training youth for ministry and leadership in the kingdom. We become "us" minded (what is in it for me? What kind of recognition will "I" receive?) instead of kingdom minded.

If you really are a YM then you are plugged into the young people that God has given you. Meaning that you know about their goals, struggles and triumphs. If they miss church on Sunday night then you know by Monday night why they missed service. You don't mind praying for them and with them at the altar. In fact you spend a lot of time praying with them and encouraging them to press on and not to be satisfied with the mediocre "christian" lifestyle. Because you are training them not only to become an over comer but you are also training them to be a leader that others can look up to and ultimately to be used of God in some area of ministry in His kingdom. So you push them to get involved with and to take the lead in:

worship - not be a spectator in service, be the first on their feet and in the aisle
pray- not only for themselves but for others at home and in the altar at church
to help in areas of church work- set up for special services, yard work, clean-up etc..
to get involved in visitation- not only new visitors but the shut-in as well
you teach them about their attitudes and obedience towards and Pastor, parents and leadership.

The list goes on, but you have to teach the youth to get involved in all areas to prepare for whatever area of ministry that God will eventually place on their life. There needs to be a balance of training in many areas. As you "work" with the youth through prayer, one-on-one time, class/service time you gain their respect. Then when God speaks to you regarding a problem in their life you can be comfortable in facing them with what you feel and they will be truthful and respect you more for telling them the truth and standing your ground on what the church believes and the Bible teaches. In order for you to teach them you have to lead them so they can follow your example. Unfortunately this is where the breakdown is occurring. We get caught up in our own little world and we get distracted from our original calling.

To start on the path to be a "Youth Minister" you need to involve yourself in all areas of church work. I preached a message to the students at Kent Christian College one titled" Take the Initiative to be Available and be Diligent about it!" Work your schedule and show up at the church eager to work on whatever needs to be done that day. Be at church for prayer meetings. Be at church early for prayer so you can begin to feel the load of the service and help Pastor and the leadership to carry the load for lost souls. Take a lead in worship by coming to church for church not to see or to be seen. Come dressed to be on the platform as if you might get called on to do something. I remember praying when I was just a young teenager like I was leading prayer for the sick at church. When I finally was called on to do it I was not so nervous because I had already prayed that way so many times. O, I was nervous nervous being up front believe me, but my years of being involved with Bible Quizzing helped in that area. Get involved in Bible Quizzing it will help you to learn the Bible plus give you excellent training in several other areas as well. Spend time in personal prayer and travail for lost souls and the youth that are in your church. Also spend time visiting the youth visitors to your church. Start teaching them Youth Bible Studies. Become an active soul winner and see what God doors God will open for you! After you have applied yourself to these area for a couple of years take at least one "Youth On Missions Trip". If you have applied yourself to outreach, Bible study (Bible Quizzing, and teaching) as well as Youth Choir then you will be more effective on the missions trip. The trip will also have more affect on you for God to use you mightily in His kingdom.

I have seen youth just floundering during their formative years, praying at the altar even travailing with no support from their leaders over them. I have heard of them going to people and getting advice from people that was way off track simply because their leaders were too busy for them or did not spend personal time with them. I have received calls from Pastors, parents, and fellow youth workers across our fellowship wanting to resolve this problem. I don't have all the answers but I am speaking from personal experience.

A Living Miracle!

2007-11-02T10:09:00.000-04:00

I just got through spending some time with some of my in-laws. Dave Stephens is a walking miracle! He had a massive heart attack 3 years ago. He had to have a heart pump put in for awhile then he had a stroke and had to go back into the hospital. When it was time for him to go home again the nurses came and had him fill out the release paperwork.

When the doctor came by to sign his part he told Dave and Nova that they just got a donor in the hospital that was compatible with Dave. So that night they went in to do the transplant surgery. I am not giving all the details but to say that God did His part and Dave made it through the valley and trials.

They are now living in Pine Knot, Ky and are helping in a Home Mission work . God has also blessed them with a beautiful home.

I Remember Awesome Services

2007-10-31T12:57:00.000-04:00

I think the earliest awesome service that I remember was at the California Camp meeting in Beulah Park Ca. by Santa Cruz. I remember that Bro. T. W. Barnes was preaching and people were getting out of wheelchairs and walking, blind eyes were opened , deaf ears were unstopped and the demon possessed were delivered..

I also remember that owner of the camp ground coming down the hill to the auditorium in the middle of Bro. Barnes preaching. The owner was beside himself because from his house on the hill he saw fire all over the roof of the building and we were inside having church. It took awhile to convince him that it was Holy Ghost fire and that we were all OK!

I can remember a Youth Service in Jacksonville Fl. when my dad was directing the service. We had a lot of first time visitors and there was a message in tongues given, but no interpretation.
On Sunday night the visitors came back and during the testimony time one of the visitors stood up and said that the visiting group want them to say something. He told us the group was from Greece on a merchant ship at the port. He wanted to know who it was that spoke Greek in the service the other night and no one volunteered. He then went on to say that the person spoke excellent Greek and had taught them the plan of salvation so they came back to be baptized in the name of Jesus. We baptized 13 and I think 10 received the Holy Ghost that night!!

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Maybe you would like to share a similar service or maybe you were in one of these services. I welcome your comments.

Amazing Math !

2007-10-29T20:11:00.000-04:00

Mathematical Viewpoint:
What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Do you ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been in situations where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 101%? What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these
Questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 9 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But,
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

AND, look how far the love of God will take you

L- O- V- E-O-F-G-O-D

12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

I have had this in my files for awhile and I bring it out and think about it every so often. The writer Matthew puts it this way in chapter 5 verse 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The love of God constraineth us to do more than what the world would do. It pushes us on to be more like Him. We have to be about the Fathers business everyday!!

A.R.K.

2007-10-26T22:09:00.000-04:00

I read one of my favorite blogs this morning http://www.ninetyandnine.com/month/ written by Christie Ponjican my niece. She challenged us to have an A.R.K. (Acts of Random Kindness) Day.

So I went to see a man that has visited our church. He has had an open heart and cancer surgery. When I came in he was so excited that someone came by to see him. He lives with his mom and she has been sick since March and no one from her church has been to see her.

So we had a great time of fellowship and prayer. Before I left he agreed to have a Bible Study. He also said that he would bring his mom to church with him. So what will be my A.R.K. for tommorrow?

Breathe On Me Breath of God

2007-10-25T12:25:00.000-04:00

I came across this song the other day by Edwin Hatch 1878.

Breathe on me, breath of God, Fill me with life anew, That I may love what Thou dost love, And do what Thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, breath of God, Until my heart is pure, Until with Thee I will one will, To do and to endure.

Breathe on me, breath of God, Blend all my soul with Thine, Until this earthly part of me Glows with Thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, breath of God, So shall I never die, But live with Thee the perfect life Of Thine eternity.

It is my prayer for God to breathe on me or through me and then I can show others His way!