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Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, is quoted to have said “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop look to fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.”

My one claim to fame is that I actually met Eleanor Roosevelt. It’s true! I shall never forget the day she visited my first grade class in 1951 or 1952. I don’t remember whether it was the first half of first grade, when I was 5 or the second half when I was 6 - but it was first grade. Back then, I did not know who she was nor that she was a former first lady. All I remember about her was being awestruck at her manner, her kindness to us little kids, and somehow I knew at age 5 or 6 that I was in the presence of a great woman.

Another great woman in my life is my mother. Today she lays bedridden with alzheimers disease, and can no longer talk. But one thing she always instilled in me from an early age was this: “Rick, you can do anything you set your mind to doing. That’s what your grandpa Torrey always said.” Grandpa Torrey was first cousin to RA Torrey the evangelist,

We are often beset by trials and struggles which seem overwhelming to us, but none of these are so overwhelming that they cannot be conquered by determination, consistancy, boldness, faith, and love, among other things. Setting our minds, or “mindset” is a key factor to overcoming. The apostle Paul said “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:2) It is when we focus our mind on the heavenly, that the earthly things become very puny indeed.

A good example of this happened to me this week . I was begining to feel sorry, and afraid that I would not be able to meet some payments coming due. But I knew that I could not live with such negative thoughts and survive for long. So I started by praising God for His faithfulness. As I praised him, it grew into worship. As I worshipped Him, faith built up so that eventually I could see God’s glory in that situation, and then the obvious response is that of gratitude. When we have our mind set on heavenly things, the things of earth grow strangly dim, as the old hymn proclaimed: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus… and the things of earth will grow strangly dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

So with thanksgiving and worship, faith is strengthened and we are able to receive God’s love, which wipes out all our fears. Eleanor said that by determining to do an action we can do that which we once deemed impossible.

I believe that much more could be accomplished with proper mindset. If we believe that something is impossible, it is. If we believe it is possible and we can do it, it is.

So what holds you back from accomplishing that which you believe God wants you to do? Put it in proper perspective - from a heavenly view. “Keep looking down!” was what we always used to say when everyone else was saying “Keep looking up!” They would question us, and we would say, “If we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places, then we can look down on all our problems!”

God Bless you.

I remember reading about Hudson Taylor back in the late sixties. Hudson Taylor was a missionary to China in the 19th century and founded the China Inland Mission. One of the things that impressed me then, was after many years on the field, he came down to breakfast with his children and announced that he had just finished reading through the Bible for the fortieth time in 40 years. I then made a committment to myself and to God that I would try to do that same thing - to read through the Bible every year.

This is now the fortieth year for me. I just finished on the 31st, and have started the new year reading the New Living Version on my computer. Sometimes I took two years to read through, other times I read through in a month, other times twice a year.

I was pretty proud of myself until I met Edmeia Williams in Brazil. She had read through the Bible four times a MONTH! for several years. Her knowledge of the Word of God is astounding. She has huge passages memorized. I asked her how in the world she accomplished that, and she said, “My lifestyle is simple. I get up at 4:00 AM and read and pray until about noon, then have lunch, then in the afternoons I go out to my ministry in the favelas with young girls.” She has had contracts for her life put out by drug lords in the favelas of Rio De Janeiro, but faithfully carries out her mandate from the Lord. Then she said to me, “You pastors, don’t have the time freedom that I have, and that’s OK - if you can only read five minutes, or five hours, do what you can and don’t feel intimidated by the fact that I can read through in one week.” I felt better after hearing that.

We had public reading of the Bible in public squares in Porto Velho every December. Even with slow readers, reading out loud, you can get through the entire Bible in 90 hours or less. Each church would take a block of time, and members would sign up for fifteen minute segments. We read 24 hours a day - even if nobody was around. I remember one year when it was my turn. It was a rainy tropical lazy Sunday afternoon. We were in the last few chapters of Psalms. At the far end of the Praza (park) were some street kids and beggars sleeping under a shelter of corrugated cardboard, while the rain poured down. I stood up to the microphone and started SINGING - not reading- Psalms 140-150. As soon as I did, I could see those sheets of cardboard start to move, and then little heads would poke out from underneath to see what in the world was happening! Singing evoked a response.

Then one year I tried singing through the entire Bible. I would sit down at my keyboard, and opened up in Genesis and started. It was hard, especially singing the prose; and I would not like to have anyone hear me while I was doing it. But every now and then a good song would arise. Just try singing through the genealogies! It also took longer, so I did not finish that year. But something interesting happened as I sang. I believe that when you sing you use the “other” side of you brain. Now I am no scientist, and know very little about left side-right side theories, but I do know this: Passages which I had read through many many times, suddenly took on a new level of understanding as I sang them. I gained new insight which reading had never given me. Try it! Even if you don’t play an instrument you can use your voice. (I would suggest going into a quiet private place! - but hey, you might try it in front of city hall too if you want.)

“How can I get started?”, You say.

Here’s a tool I have been using for the past several years which I really enjoy: http://www.e-sword.net.

It is free to download and many different versions are available for free, others you have to pay a nominal fee. One of the tools in E-Sword is a Bible reading tool. I use this every day that I am in front of my computer. This past year I read 6 chapters a day. But you can use a little wizard to determine exactly how you will divide your reading plan up. The main thing is to be consistent. I know, for instance, that when I am travelling and involved in ministry and away from my computer, I will miss some days, so I allow for that in my plan. If you read through the Bible in one year and never missed a day you only need to read through three chapters a day, and it will take you less than fifteen minutes. Start there then be faithful in it. E-sword is also very good for Bible study and there are many tools available for your use.

Another way I have devised my reading plan before I had E-Sword, is to count the total number of pages in my Bible, then divide that by about 300 (allowing me some missed days) to come up with the number of pages I should read that day. Whenever that particular page ended in the middle of a chapter I would read on through the end of the chapter. I also marked the division between each reading like this: 10/11 where 10 was day 10, and 11, day 11. That way I didn’t have to try to remember how many pages I had already read.

Other people use published schedules. There are many. Advantage Conferences has one on our Footsteps of Faith website. You can also sign up for these free inspirational and motivating messages at http://www.advantageconferences.com/go just click on the Footsteps of Faith link on that page.

Whether you read through the Bible once a week, or once every four years, I encourage you to start reading. Do it regularly, consistently, and faithfully. Do it when you are discouraged, do it when you don’t have time. Just do it. As you read and understand the Word of God, you will also understand the nature and character of God better.

David is running for his life. But he had not done anything wrong. In fact, he had killed the giant Goliath and defeated the Philistine army. The book of I Samuel tells the whole story. First King Saul had welcomed David into his household and David even became the king’s son-in-law. But now David is running. And King Saul is his pursuer, determined to take his life.

Most of us can identify with David. Even though we have tried to do what is right and good, circumstances, people and even sometimes those we love, have turned against us. Everything seems to be going wrong. We feel pursued, forsaken, alone and sometimes even hopeless. We’re in survival mode – and we feel like we are running for our lives.

As I read chapter 23 of I Samuel today, I was encouraged. First of all, David took time to seek the Lord and His counsel in the midst of the challenges he faced. Verse 2 recounts that the Philistines were attacking Keilah and David inquired of the Lord whether to go up and fight them. The answer is that the Lord is with him and will give him victory. But David has no support. His men didn’t want to go! (verse 3) So David went back and asked the Lord again. With His confirmation, David’s men finally agreed to go.

Just a few verses later, Saul finds out where David is and word gets back to David that Saul is on his way to kill him. So once again he asks the Lord in verses 10-12, whether he should stay where he is or whether the people of Keilah – the very people he had just rescued, would deliver him into Saul’s hand. The answer is “yes.” If I was David I think I would have felt pretty sorry for myself at that point. The people he had just risked his life for are now ready to turn him in.

So David escapes to the forest and there Jonathan, his best friend and King Saul’s son, meets him and in verse 16 it says that Jonathan encourages him in the Lord. Who is your encourager, your mentor, the one who understands you and can strengthen you in the Lord when you are going through trials? If David needed someone like that, how much more do we! Having a Jonathan in your life is probably one of the most neglected, yet most vitally important principles for life success. Everyone goes through times of discouragement and needs to be encouraged.

As the story continues, King Saul is closing in on David and is about to catch him. But the Lord himself intervenes (at least that’s my interpretation)! And a messenger comes to Saul with a message to hurry and go back home to defend the land against an attack from the Philistines! And in verse 28 that place becomes known as “The Rock of Escape.” The reminds me of the verse in I Corinthians 10:13 that says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

As we approach Christmas and everyone is busily shopping, baking and making preparations to be with family and friends, maybe you are among the many who have no money for buying Christmas presents and no family with whom to celebrate Christ’s birth. Perhaps you feel a little bit like David.

Let me encourage you to do what David did. Seek the Lord. He will answer you! Then find someone to encourage you. Maybe that will be a family member, a close friend, a pastor. If you have no one, seek out a church where you can find an encourager, a mentor. And look to the Lord for a way of escape as it says in I Corinthians 10:13. He is faithful!

All of David’s trials were part of God’s program to build character in him and a heart for God. Let Him do that in you. All of us will face trials so it isn’t a matter of “if” but “when.” As the book of James exhorts us, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (verses 2-4)

So if you’re running for your life, run into the arms of Jesus.

I just received this excellent message from David and Kathie Walters and I wanted to share it with everyone I could. What he says is so true and I believe one of the hindrances to true Revival is our unwillingness to wander away from the routine, and venture into total abandonment and uninhibited, undignified worship. If God doesn’t show up, what are we doing here anyway?

I remember times in our church in Brazil when sometimes we would sit in silence for as much as 40 minutes just waiting on the Lord. The only other time I have seen that was when we went to the World Gathering of Christian Indigenous People in 2004 in Hawaii. That conference was the same way. There was no agenda, and no chairs (except for the Kahunas or grandparents). We waited in silence, listening to the Lord until He gave direction. It was beautiful! I’ll try to write more about this in a future post, but for now let’s get on to David’s article.

Rick Reece

(Be sure to check out our business site: www.7ksuccessmentors.com )

ALLOWING THE HOLY SPIRIT TO CONTROL YOUR MEETING
DAVID WALTERS
Nov 21, 2007

davidmwalters@mindspring.com

I remember being at a church years ago when I was trying to help them with their worship. I suggested to the worship team that they sing the songs which the Holy Spirit tells them, rather than songs from a rehearses list. They said it was impossible to do that as they had to have the music, because they couldn’t sing songs for which they didn’t have the music.

To me it was kinda like a preacher saying that he can only preach from a printed sermon, or he must have his notes, otherwise he is unable to minister. What ever happened to spontaneity? What ever happened to being Spirit led and God being in control?

  

I believe the we should not hold church services, but have church meetings. When churches have an order of service or a printed program then that may be the religious way, but not the Bible way. If you were to attend a church service and start up a song, share a vision, a prophecy, a testimony, or a word of exaltation, you would more than likely be told to sit down, because you would be out of order. The justification scripture would be, “Let all things be done decently and in order.”               

(1.Cor.14:40)  But God’s order is different from man’s order and God’s ways are different from man’s ways even man’s religious ways.  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”  ( Isa 55:9). If you want everything in so much order I suggest you find a suitable graveyard! 

  

When Jesus was approached by Nicodemas he was told that he must be born again. When Nicodemas questioned how, Jesus told him that he needed to be born again of water and the spirit. Then Jesus said the following, “The wind blows where it wills you hear the sound of it, but you can’t tell where it’s coming from or where it’s going, so is everyone who is born of the spirit.”(John 3:8) In other words True Christians are supposed to be like the wind, unpredictable.

Our lives should be an adventure where we don’t every quite know what the Lord has in store for us. We are not supposed to have everything and every minute mapped out.  We can Living in a rut, but a rut is a shallow grave, and nothing ever changes.

  

So when we come together corporately, our gatherings, or meetings, should also be unpredictable, like the wind. “How is it then? Whenever you come together each of you have a psalm, have a teaching, have a tongue, have a revelation, have an interpretation.” 1.Cor.14:27. Every time we gather together the Lord has a purpose, a theme, a message for His people. We gather together as a Body primarily for worship, exhortation, celebration and revelation. Teaching with line upon line and precept upon precept, is really for the special Apostolic teaching meetings.

  

 Everything should flow like a piece of music. A symphony, a melody theme, flows through with variations, but at the end everyone recognizes the melody, the theme, the message. It’s come through the songs that are brought by the Spirit,  the visions shared, the prophecies, and tongues given, the message preached. They all connect. No one is unsure what God is saying, even the children and youth understand it, because they also participate. Not all the songs come from the worship teams and not all the songs or worship is done at one time. A song may come, followed by a prophecy. Then another song, followed by a vision. Then perhaps a testimony, with another song. They all connect so that at the end the pastor sums up what the Lord is telling and showing the Body for that week.

  

Every week God has things to say to His people. We no longer suffer canned services,  canned preaching, or canned worship. It becomes exciting. Miracles begin to happen, signs and wonders are present, people are ministering and activated. They are no longer passive, just observing, but involved and activated. We are now having a God meeting, rather than a good meeting.

  

Years ago, when we had these kinds of meetings in England, an Anglican Curate, (which is an associate minister), visited us. After the meeting was over, He said to me,”What a wonderful meeting that was, everything thing just fitted together so well. You must have rehearsed for days.” “No I said, we didn’t know what was going to happen; we just followed the leading of the Holy Spirit.” “That was amazing.” he said, ”I can hardly believe it.” 

  

The local Body became so mature that the Saints would only respond to what the Lord was saying or doing. If someone got up and started a song which was not what they felt the Lord was saying, they didn’t  participate or respond and after a couple of verses sung, the song would fade away. If we felt the presence of God wasn’t  really there, we would close the meeting and acknowledge that we missed God. We would have a coffee.

That did not happen often, but we were so hungry to meet with God, and not just have a meeting, even a good meeting. Many churches can organize good meetings, but good can become the enemy of God, because we can become content with “good” and miss the anointing. 

  

One of the greatest needs in the church today, is to teach and show people how to be Spirit led. Even many pastors need to learn how to be Spirit led and be delivered from the fear of losing control. They need to trust the Holy  Spirit’s leading and presence in the church meetings. The worship leaders need to learn how to be Spirit led, and stop trying to be in control. If elders, pastors, leaders and worships leaders, keep controlling the meetings and the people, they will never enjoy the real power and presence of the Holy Spirit and the Body of Christ will never mature. Where you allow life to flow, there will be messes. If you don’t want messes, keep organized, keep everyone in order, then you will have sterile meetings. “Where no oxen are the trough is clean, but much increase comes by the strength of the ox.”  (Prov.14:4)  

  

A young evangelist who traveled with me was in one of our meetings on a Sunday morning. The meeting was packed and there were many visitors. Sometime during the meeting he stood up and said, “The Lord has shown me that there are six people here that are involved in immorality and if you don’t stand up right away, I will stand in front of you until you do. One by one, six people stood up for prayer and deliverance.”  Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.” (Acts 5:5)  

  

Young teenagers used to say, “We can go to our Evangelical church and mess about at the back and go out in the parking lot in the dark and fool around, but when we come to your meetings we are scared because be know our sins will probably be exposed. 

  

In another meeting of a church there was a  visiting pastor who arrived with some of his congregation because he heard of the remarkable moving of the Spirit. 

  

During the meeting there was a call for baptism and a number of his congregation went forward to be baptized. He was confused and finally prayed, “Lord I don’t know about this baptism. If You want me to be baptized you need to write it on the wall, only I need see it, but write it on the wall.”  

There was a cross painted on the wall of the church with a scroll around the cross which said “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” The pastor said, “Lord write it on the wall, like the cross.” Immediately a little old lady in the back of the church stood up and prophesied, “Why do you say to God, write it on the wall, when He has already written on the tables of your heart?” I think you can imagine his response! He ran to get baptized  

  

When this revival was happening, I took my Dad and Mother to the meeting at this church. She was a little Catholic lady and was very apprehensive, because she had never been to a Holy Spirit led  Body ministry meeting. I discovered that there was a German Roman Catholic priest in the meeting. He was a professor of comparative religion. He had been to many different kinds of strange meetings including séances. I said to her, “Mom keep and eye on the Catholic Priest. If he likes the meeting then you will know its OK with God.” 

  

The meeting started with worship, dancing, words of knowledge, and visions, coming forth, when suddenly the priest stood up and let out a blood curdling scream and run down the isle, fell on his back and slid along the floor knocking chairs in every direction. My mother stood up and said, “They are killing the priest!” “They are killing the priest!” and she ran out of the church and ran down the road with me following, trying to stop her.

  

Eventually I was able to calm her down and took her back to where she was staying which was a house next to the church. I couldn’t persuade her to come back to that meeting or any others that weekend for love or money.

  

About twenty minutes later I went back into the meeting to see the priest climbing out of the baptism tank dripping wet, speaking in tongues, prophesying, and praying for the sick, and everybody was still worshiping. Talk about being “seeker friendly.” 

Eventually my mom did enjoy coming to the meetings and accepted the Lord. My Dad loved that meeting and he really was a faithful member of our fellowship after he found Jesus as his Messiah in his sleep. He was Jewish. 

  

  

For more information on Spirit Led Worship. check David’s book,  “Worship Fur Dummies” on our website 

http://www.goodnews.netministries.org/spiritual.htm            

  

David Walters    davidmwalters@mindspring.com

www.goodnews.netministries.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a great article by Paul Baloche on worship.

Rick R.

Leadworship - Paul Baloche

Blogged with Flock

But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God. Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will not make you unfit to worship God.

Matthew 15:18-20 CEV

When I saw this phrase, highlighted above, I was taken aback. I thought “Wait a minute, that’s not what other translations say!” so I checked and sure enough the word translated “unfit to worship” is normally translated “defiled” - unfit for worship, unclean, contaminated, dirty. So I came to the conclusion that these things make us unfit according to Old Testament standards.

So what are some of the things Jesus the son of God said that make us unfit?

• Words that come out of your mouth which come from your heart.
• Evil thoughts
• murder
• unfaithfulness in marriage (Adultery)
• vulgar deeds (Sexual immorality)
• stealing
• telling lies
• insulting others (Slander, complaining, dishonoring)

There are other lists in other places in the Bible, but I would like to just comment on these. I have seen others, and have been guilty myself of trying to enter into worship to the Lord Almighty with a defiled heart - unfit for worship. How many people sitting in pews, or even standing up in front are guilty of this? Perhaps 100 percent at one time or another. Thank God that He has given us the means by which we can be purified and undefiled, and FIT FOR WORSHIP:

The whole chapter of Hebrews 10 speaks of this. Look at these verses:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:19-25 NIV

Praise God it is through the once for all sacrifice of Jesus’ blood that we can be made able to approach the living God in worship. So if any of these issues cause you to feel guilt, please take care of them through Jesus’ help and blood, and go Worship the Lord FIT FOR WORSHIP!

If you said “unholy” bzzzzz! Wrong Answer! One of my mentors, Craig Hill (http://www.familyfoundations.com/) has taught us that the opposite of “holy” is nothing less than “Common.” But God told Ezekiel that the priests must teach the people the difference between the holy and the common:They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. Ezekiel 44:23 NIV

I suppose you and most people know that the literal meaning of “holy” is separated, set apart, dedicated, committed, etc. All these words are followed by a “to” or “unto”. We are “separated to” something, “dedicated to” something, “committed to” something. That “something” will really identify who we are. Craig uses a couple of illustrations:

• Some churches have a specially marked pew  seat for the pianist so that she or he can sit close to the piano or organ. That seat is “holy” unto the pianist. If anyone else uses that seat it becomes “common” because that person has usurped the “holiness” of the one who should be sitting there - the pianist.
• A husband is “holy” unto his wife, and a wife is “holy” unto her husband. If adultery occurs there is an “unholy” alliance with another. But the plan of God is for there to be a “holy” alliance, or covenant between spouses. The husband is wholly (homonym intended!) dedicated to his wife and vice versa. The “common” or unholy thing is for an adulterous affair to destroy that marriage.

 God commands us to “Be Holy just as I am Holy.” I was thinking about that one day. Usually we think of “holiness” as purity of thought and actions. I sometimes think of a “holy” man sitting in a monastery praying all day and not speaking to anyone else. Or you hear of so called “holy” men in India or the middle East who spout words of wisdom, and are very skinny. So what is the true God of the universe talking about here? If “Holy” means separated to, who is God “separated to”? As I thought about this, I came to the conclusion based upon my knowledge of the Word of God, that God is Holy unto me! Unto you, unto every lost soul.

So when or if we are “holy” what are we supposed to be “holy” unto? God, of course! If God is holy unto us then when we are holy unto God we will think twice before entering into any type of sinful activity. When we do we have just become common.

There is so much more on this topic, which I plan to write about in a future blog.

May God bless you and have a great day.

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One of my favorite stories in the Bible is found in 2 Chronicles 20. Jehoshaphat, the king of Jerusalem was under seige by a huge army of Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites. (Nothing old about that - they are still under attack by the same people) You’ve got to read the whole story yourself in order to learn the details, but I want to highlight just a few things here.

1. 1. Jehoshaphat was afraid- fear is healthy when it leads you to the Lord. It led Jehoshaphat to ask God what they should do.
2. They fasted to show their sorrow.
3. They prayed -
4. and God answered: He said “Don’t worry about the fight because I will fight for you - you just need to praise and worship me.”
5. They sent the worshipers ahead of the army who sang “Praise the LORD! His love never ends.”
6. The enemy started turning on each other and
7. All that was left was to pick up the spoils.

When we are lifestyle worshipers, when the battles come, and the enemy seems overwhelming - we can combine our worship with intercession (as Jehoshaphat did) and be a spectator to the Lord’s incredible victory. What I mean by a lifestyle worshiper is that our every act, whether it is at work or study, or play is done as unto the Lord in a spirit of thankfullness (See Colossians 3:17)Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.