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May my heart be soft
As you make your impression
Heavenly Signet
I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Jeremiah 31:33
Category Archives: apostolic
An Old Rotten Rag
I’m an old rag.
Stained. Tossed aside.
I’ve scoured and polished. But now?
I sit in a pile with others. We stink.
What? What’s that I hear? A servant says he needs us?
Ebedmelech takes us in his arms. “These’ll do. Soft. Just right.”
”Here Jeremiah!” Ebedmelech shouted as he lowered us down into the dungeon. “Put these rags under your armpits and under the rope tied around you.”
One more use for us. Not to wipe or clean, but to cushion and protect the fragile skin of the emaciated prophet.
Our softness and gentleness absorb his frailness.
What made us old rotten rags?
Time.
Abrasion.
Work.
Dirt.
Messes.
Life.
And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. Jeremiah 38: 12, 13 KJV
Filed under apostolic, Bible, devotional, encouragement, pentecostal
A Crow’s Nest, An Oak Grove and An Apron
The inner chamber, a phrase from Isaiah 26:20, means any place apart. For Edward Wilson, it was the crow’s nest on the ship Terra Nova. He’d often climb to it during his expeditions to Antarctica. He called it his private chapel.
Vesta Mangun’s father, Royal Gibson would slip away to his favorite place of prayer–a secluded oak grove not far from his house. Many miracles and healings occurred throughout his ministry. He knew that power with God came through unwavering faith in His word and in the power of the name of Jesus.
Susanna Wesley, (1669-1742), mother of nineteen children including John and Charles Wesley, would sit down and pull her apron up over her head. Her children knew to be extra quiet during this time so they wouldn’t disturb her time of prayer.
What does this have to do with outreach? Everythng! John 6:44.
We must pray until~
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise
To seize the everlasting prize
And shout while passing through the air
Fare well, fare well, sweet hour of prayer.
(Last verse of Sweet Hour of Prayer)
Selah
Filed under apostolic, Bible, devotional, encouragement, evangelism, God, holy ghost, inspiration, Jesus, pentecostal, prayer, Uncategorized
A Voice in the Wilderness
Mmmmm. Roasted grasshoppers. Six grams of protein in each one.
While on a family camping trip, my brother demonstrated grasshopper flambé–one of the many survivalists’ skills he learned in the military. After spearing a grasshopper, he carried it to the picnic table and held his arthropod appetizer over a flaming candle. Assured the grasshopper was fully cooked he allowed it to cool a few seconds before popping it in his mouth. Crunch. Crunch. Swallow. He smiled at his wide-eyed audience and soon four young boys were hunting grasshoppers, all eager to check this accomplishment off their man-card. Besides, God’s word says their clean (Leviticus 11:22).
As strange as it seems, this is exactly what John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus ate in the wilderness, (along with wild honey). He was the voice commissioned to break four hundred years of silence. Clothed with leather and camel’s hair, he heralded the news, Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. John 3:2.
Although our clothes and diet are different from John’s, our mission is the same. We are the 21st century voice in this millennial wilderness.
Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming!
May this mission drive everything we do–our interactions with our family, co-workers, friends, neighbors, store clerks, waitresses and even the unexpected divine appointments at Walmart and TaMollys.
Hmmm? Grasshoppers and salsa anyone?
Crunch. Crunch.
Filed under apostolic, Bible, devotional, encouragement, evangelism, holy ghost, inspiration, Jesus, outreach, pentecostal, soul winning
Make a Funnel
I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Psalm 143:6 NIV
“When you lift your hands you make a funnel for God’s spirit to come down to you,” said Reverend Lee Stoneking at a recent conference. Hmmm? I’d never thought of it that way. I’d always thought of it as a sign of surrender. Here I am God. I give up. I give it all to you. But make a funnel? OK.
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. (and make a funnel) Psalm 63:4
Pour it on God.
Filed under apostolic, Bible, devotional, encouragement, God, holy ghost, inspiration, Jesus, pentecostal, praise, religion, worship
You’ve Turned My Mourning Into Dancing
In John Bunyan’s classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian the journeying pilgrim traveled with a heavy load on his back until he came to a hill. On it stood a cross and below it, at the bottom, was a tomb. When Christian came up to the cross, his burden loosened from his shoulders and fell onto the ground. It rolled and rolled until it tumbled into the empty tomb. He never saw it again.
Christian stood in awe at the sight of the cross–amazed that his oppressive burden dropped and rolled away so quickly. He felt released from the pressure he had carried. As a result, he wept and sang and leaped for joy. The cross became a bridge that brought him from a life of despondent sighing, to over flowing gladness and singing.
Like Christian, I basked in a feeling of warm joy when I met Him at the cross. He gave me a new song and turned my mourning into dancing.
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing. Psalm 30:11a
Thank you Jesus!
Filed under apostolic, Bible, devotional, encouragement, God, inspiration, Jesus, pentecostal, praise, religion, thankfulness, worship
Does Zeal For Your House Consume Me?
For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Psalm 69:9a
And his disciples remembered that it is written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. John 2:17
Although God can be worshipped any time and at any place, there’s something about going to His house. In church our spirits connect with His Spirit and with one another. We’re free to release the cares of life and focus on Him–the object of our worship and reason for living. We greet each other, pray and sing praises. We give our tithes and offerings. We break spiritual bread by reading and listening to someone explain His word and tell us how to apply it to our lives. In the tabernacle of His presence He renews our minds, refills our spirits, restores our soul and refreshes our strength. Finally, when the lights are turned off and the doors are closed we step out empowered once more to do His will–to be salt and light.
Dear God,
May I always have a zeal for you and your house.
Filed under apostolic, Bible, devotional, encouragement, God, inspiration, Jesus, life, philosophy, prayer, reflection, religion, worship
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