"Turn that wood loose!"

Have you faced a difficulty or hardship in your life and carried it with you for some time?   Have you?   Maybe you suffered a broken relationship because the one you loved chose to break that covenant.  It was 19 years ago...and you're still alone....still bitter. 

Maybe you lost a mom or dad to cancer and you still have their clothes hanging in the closet.  It seems like yesterday, but you buried them 29 years ago. You're not going to throw mom's clothes away!  She loved that burgandy dress that she stitched with her own hands!

Or perhaps your feelings were hurt by someone in the church.  You've chosen to stay away because you really don't won't to be around that person.  In fact, you haven't been to church in over a year.  Come to think of it...nobody from the church has even called you to say "We miss you."

Hardship and difficulty is something that is a part of life.  Job said "man born of a woman is but a few days and filled with trouble."  You will have issues to deal with and to go through.  "Well I just wish my life was normal," you say.  Barbara Johnson was so right -- "Normal is just a setting on your dryer!"

The Apostle Paul knew hardship.  It went further than hurt feelings.  2 Corinthians 11:24,25  records this man's challenges in just a few words --  "Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea...".

Paul's missionary journeys were filled with trial and hardship.  As you read the Book of Acts you become very aware that this man was on the hit list all the time.  When he was on his way to Rome to go before Caesar, the ship ran aground in the midst of a storm and crashed into a sandbar.  Lives were spared, but the ship was completely destroyed! 

Paul instructed those who could swim to swim to shore!  The rest were told to grab a plank or a piece of the ship and make their way to shore.  Are you holding on to a piece of your shipwreck?   Have you been floating around and holding on to something that's dead?  Is bitterness robbing you of moving on?  Is hurt keeping your from getting to the next level in your life?

Make sure that the crisis that you face is only a "chapter" in your life and not the whole book.  Acts 27:44 says..."The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety."  Turn that wood loose!  It's suppose to get you to the shore safely.  But it's not intended for you to hang onto the rest of your life.  Grief?  You must deal with it.  Loss?  You must deal with it.  Hurt feelings?  You must deal with it.   Turn that wood loose!  Move on to a new chapter in your life.  God's waiting to help you write it. 

Today...I had a lunch appointment with a guy named Daniel!

This week was a wonderful spiritual journey for me; found myself in the pages of that Old Testament Prophet's book - DANIEL. What an amazing story! I mean God had his hand on this young man even in the midst of the overtaking of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.

Daniel was among the nobility that was taken captive and transferred 600+ miles away from the "City on the Hill" to a boot camp in Babylon. It became just that because King Nebuchudnezzar was certain to take any means possible to break the Hebrew man in Daniel. He would do whatever it took to make Daniel understand and live out the life of a Babylonian; barring nothing. In fact, the first thing Daniel faced when he arrived was castration. He would become a eunuch. No wife, no kids, no intimacy with a God-ordained wife. He was humiliated; head shaved, broken down in many ways, but not spiritually.

Daniel chose to serve the one true God and he was not about to forsake Him. I wonder just what pressure you and I would face and still choose with tenacity to walk out our faith? Daniel is an awesome example of making God the top-shelf priority.

Daniel quickly refused to eat the food of the King's table -- pork, horse meat, and wine to top the list. The reason? Daniel was not willing to defile himself (Daniel 1:8) by eating meat that was sacrificed to another god, nor was he willing to eat that which was forbidden in the Law.

Instead he chose the route of cauliflower, broccolli, green beans, bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, and the like. Oh...now you get it! Just vegetables and some water for Daniel. Immediately the leader of the eunuchs thought he was going to be in trouble with the King because Daniel would show up on the low end; not "fattened" up like the rest of those who WERE partaking. But the Scriptures bear it out that Daniel, whom received favor to even eat like that was given better health, knowledge, understanding, and favor according to Daniel 1:15-20. In fact, it declares that Daniel and his three godly friends were 10x better that the rest of the camp in "every matter of wisdom and understanding."

Daniel abstained. He chose to turn away from some of those foods and implemented for us, what we know as a "fast".

As you move throughout the Book of Daniel and come to chapter 10, you see that Daniel is an older man now. He comes to understand a message given to him in a vision. He comes to understand his time of "mourning" for the span of 3 weeks.

Scripture tells us that he was on the banks of the great Tigris River on the 21st day of his "fasting" and his vision was one of the Christ. Isn't that amazing? It's pre-incarnate; Christ has not yet been born in the flesh. But God showed himself to Daniel and touched him as he had fallen face to the ground.

Daniel heard a voice (10:12) say unto him..."Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them." God knew the heart of Daniel. He stood for the one true God and desired greatly to hear from Him in the midst of time of tremendous transition.

Do you need to hear from the Lord in your life? Are you at a place where you need to experience clarity from the Lord as He speaks to you? Good, set a lunch appointment with Daniel. The menu will be slightly changed. In fact, you will do away with some of the things that you think you just can't live without. But the end result will be a clarity that comes from God. You will draw close to him and you will begin to see God the way should have seen Him all along.

Fasting? Yes. Jesus even said, "When you fast.....," not "...if you fast." He assumed that we would. He did. Right before he entered into public ministry. Soooo....

...set a lunch appointment with Daniel. As a matter of fact, try it for 21 days. You'll be glad you did. And your church will too.

For more information on the "Daniel Fast" go to www.danielfast.com . Have a great week!

Much love....less food!

See Jesus! He just gave His bike away!

I saw Jesus today! Yep....I did.

Two little dirty-faced kids came to our house to try to sell us some school stuff that they put into all the kids' hands when they return to classroom after summer vacation. Well, we did it. My wife loves that wrapping paper; the double-sided kind. After we made our purchase, the little ones made it over to my busy neighbor's house.

He was busy; just makin' a passin' stop to load a trailor of garage items that he needed to clear out because He's turning his house over to the realtor for selling. Gotta' have that property clear and clean you know. He really didn't have the time, but the kids got his attention and he explained to them that he would not be here for an order "delivery". So......he simply gave them a "ten" each and said, "No you pick you out something on that candy page and put it in your name because I won't be livin' here. You can keep the candy for yourself."

They were soooooo happy! Didn't really look like they come from a "candy givin' family". So, as my neighbor put a smile on their faces, they stood with their eyes gazing in his garage (the one that he came down quickly to clean out). Inside was a lot of various things, but the things that caught their attention were the BIKES.

BIKES? That's right. Two bikes that this man had probably had for his grandchildren way back when. He gave them some more attention and asked, "Do you have a bike?" The little girl replied, "I don't have a bike; I've never had one. I can't ride one."

He pulled one out, sat her on the seat and placed his hand on the back. With the forward motion and the encouragement to peddle away, he took off alongside her just like she was his little grandchild.

Well....she looked like should could've gotten' a DWI, but guess what? She was ridin' that bike. He quickly pulled out the other one and proceeded to put some air in the tires...when..."POW!" He popped the tire!

As busy as he was, he stopped what he was doing and made a dash to the hardware store. He bought a pack of tire patch and did a quick repair job on it, pumped it up, and these two little kids were on their way!

That man blessed these little ones with some time, some love, some candy, and two bikes! "Oh...what was his name Pastor?"

Well....I'm not going to tell you his name. Why don't you just call him.... JESUS? That would really be the right thing to do, because I watched from a distance and I saw it. Jesus gave his bike away!

James 2:18 says..."...Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." Good deeds will follow faith in Christ. Is that happening in your life?

Dr. David Jeremiah & Alvin Slaughter Bring the Masses together for a Super Sunday in Ahoskie!

AHOSKIE – They came by the carload, truckload and busload.
The majority walked to their seats; others were chauffeured in by golf carts; while a few made their way confined to a wheelchair.
But no matter the mode of transportation, they came by the thousands to attend a historic gathering of churches here on a comfortable Sunday afternoon at the Ahoskie Amphitheater.
“Super Sunday” attracted well over 3,000 individuals from different walks of life and various religious denominations.
The outdoor gathering of diversity did not go unnoticed by the event’s featured speaker, Dr. David Jeremiah, Pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in Cajon, CA and the founder of the very popular program and ministry, Turning Point.
“This is a very unique day, one with so many walks of faith in attendance,” said Dr. Jeremiah, making his first appearance in a pulpit in nearly eight weeks after undergoing double knee replacement surgery.
He continued, “But I see this as a way back for our great nation…the different churches walking together in unity.”
A unified religious effort was the theme of Dr. Jeremiah’s message. He spoke on a “walk worthy of our calling.”
“If you are baptized and born again, then you are of one Christian body and one Holy Spirit,” he said. “I don’t get a bigger piece of the Holy Spirit just because I’m a preacher. I have the same piece of the Holy Spirit that you have. I have the same Christian body that you have.”
Dr. Jeremiah said Christians are also unified in hope…that of Jesus making a return to Earth.
“There’s only one way to get to Heaven and that’s through the Lord,” he noted. “There’s also just one faith, but that’s not to say there’s not more than one way to express that faith. How do you get to Heaven? By placing your faith in Christ.”
Dr. Jeremiah added there’s only one baptism, whether you are sprinkled with water or dunked, forwards or backwards, underneath.
“Baptism is a testimony of what God has done to your life…you have died from your old ways and are reborn in Christ,” he said.
Keeping with the unified theme, Dr. Jeremiah said there was only one God…“rejoice and celebrate in him,” he stated.
He asked all in attendance to place aside the petty differences that come with life and as a member of a church.
“Stop thinking about you and start thinking about us,” he stressed. “That will allow you to help unify your church and your community.
“What you are doing today with this celebration is exactly what I mean when I use the word endeavor,” Dr. Jeremiah added. “You should endeavor to keep this unity intact. Hopefully this is just the start of great things to come in this community.”
The three-hour event also included several selections from national recording artist and Dove Award nominee Alvin Slaughter who shared his Christian testimony through his powerful voice.
Additionally, the “Super Sunday” mass choir, under the direction of Dr. Ola Gathers of New Bethany Missionary Baptist Church of Harrellsville, performed several inspiring hymns, including the traditional “Just As I Am” for the altar call.
Several local pastors also shared the main stage, each contributing to the program. That group included Rev. James Brown, Rev. Lee Edwards, Rev. Elisha Barnes, Rev. Robert Richardson, Rev. Wallace Phillips, Rev. Tommy Kiker and Rev Faison.
Spanning the large crowd, Rev. Faison remarked, “Look what God has done. He has brought us all together. Nothing was going to stop this day. It is one in which to rejoice and be exceedingly glad.”

How 'bout them Wednesdays?

Hey...what do you do on Wednesday night? I know, I know...."I am so tired when I get off work, I just want to go home, get something to eat and chill!"





Who don't? That would be the thing that all of us would like to do. But I'm asking you to consider shocking the socks off of your Pastor no matter what church you attend -- Get your family together......don't worry 'bout the clothes.....grab you something to eat at Mickey D's, Bojangles, or whateva' your quick stop is on the way to church and get connected at the house of all houses -- The Church!





I have been pastoring for more years that you got fingers and toes and I have never witnessed a Wednesday night of worship that was "off the chain" in attendance! I've seen some that were "off" balance when it comes to the comparing of Wednesday night attendance with the Sunday mornin' attendance. In fact, in most ministries, Wednesday night has become the night for the "chosen few". It's almost like we want to be called "The Twelve". LOL





Isn't it interesting that the same folks that call that church "my church" are the ones that will chase a sports ball here there and everywhere, but make no effort to get connected with the Christ-crowd on Wednesday nites. "Pastor...Pastor....ease up 'bro! Ease up!" you may say. I have discovered that connection is important. It's sooooo easy to forsake the spiritual connection that God has provided for you.



I know we live in a world of all kinds of connections, but no matter how much time you spend on Facebook, twitter, myspace, and all the other social media choices out there, nothing takes the place of personal participation. God created us to interact. We need each other!



I am so thankful for the opportunity to get with other believers on Wednesday evenings, be led in worship by a team of 1st Class musicians and singers taking us into a journey of connecting to God and then have the opportunity to hear something that will encourage me in the middle of a week of work, obligation, stress, challenge, and hardship. 'Cause you know what? If you work in the home, outside the home, or both, you are busy, busy, busy! But don't get toooo busy that you don't pop in to the "hope house" on Wednesday night and worship the Lord.



Most ministries have a menu filled with opportunity for all ages. Our ministry has a KIDZONE for the little ones to "play for awhile" and have some "power time" in the Word. Our youth have a state-of-the-art center called the YZONE. It's a great place for them to connect with other students in gaming, music, peer talk, and a time in the Word and worship on their level.



How 'bout them Wednesdays? What do ya' say? Can you join me in the challenge to take your Wednesday night to a new level -- in your life and in the life of your church? Why not start this week! Come on man.....grab that high-dollar cell phone you got in your pocket, ring the wife (after all...you are the one God is holding responsible) tell her to meet you at church. You guys grab the kidz, do a "Happy Meal" and get on down to the church house. There are others waiting there to get to know you, and you need them.

Hebrews 10:24-25 reminds us "Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching" (from The Message).

The closer we get to the return of Jesus Christ, the more we should worship together and spur each other on! Let's do it....this Wednesday. Take the challenge....put it on Facebook, myspace, twitter, etc. Text a friend an tell them to meet you there. Shock the socks off your Pastor, and do it again, again, and again.....'cause you need it and it's the "God" thing to do.