Remember when God told me it was time to batten down the hatches?
When He spoke to me, I was sitting in Lori’s closet; actually, it’s more like a woman cave. You’ve heard of a man cave, right? Well, Lori’s got this amazing closet filled with all her things and there’s a little desk where you can sit. I find that it’s a wonderful, quiet place for me to talk to God and listen to His word. Continue reading
1 Peter 4:7 (NASB) “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.”
There’s a lot that’s going to happen in the coming days, and when it does, you better be ready.
This time, I’m not talking about having food or water. I’m talking about having God in your life! Continue reading
Tuesday night was another special moment of time during our prophetic conference here at Morningside. In a sermon choc full of the most amazing teaching, Rick Joyner mesmerized the audience with his quick wit and revelations on our relationship with God. From the beginning of his teaching, Pastor Joyner made it clear how special we are to the Lord.
“In the expanse of this universe, this whole planet is but a speck of dust, but God has made it infinitely more valuable because HE said he wants to come here and live with US!”
When giving a summary of all of the ways the world could end, Joyner listed a few…
“Gamma rays are powerful and scientist say they are hitting the earth with intense radiation constantly. A gamma ray can completely destroy us. How we get through a day without being annihilated by gamma rays is amazing.
Meteorites: there are hundreds out there ready to hit this earth every moment, set to wipe out life as we know it and yet, they do not. How do we get through a day without one hitting us?
A super volcano such as Yellowstone, if it went off with even half of it’s power there would be no life left on this earth. How we get through a day astounds me!
The entire world is in economic distress and could collapse at any moment, and nobody understands why it isn’t. How we last day after day is incredible.
But, I know why we are here each day, it is because we are being kept. We are being protected and looked after. God is keeping us and will only allow what is for our good to happen.”
Pastor Joyner encouraged us to work toward a true friendship with God. We go in steps as we mature as Christians. First we are converts, we accept the Lord into our hearts, but that is just the beginning.
Next, we become disciples. Jesus showed us that to be a disciple one must be changed from what we are and fill up with the Word of God to become something else. As a disciple we choose to serve God… but we must also choose to be His friend and truly love Him.
“Every one of us are as close to God as we want to be. If we are not close to him, it’s not his problem, it’s us. The ultimate answer to every human problem is that we need God!”
Are you a part of the 99%?
Who simply JUST live for: the new car, the next raise, the ‘better image’, the best cell phone, the bigger house, a better boat.
Ask yourself, “What is the TRUE motivation behind the things that I do?” (Take a minute.) Continue reading
After a long flight, with my head buried in my Bible, I made it to Dallas,TX! After months of waiting, anxiety building to panic, I had gotten on that plane and I made it!
Grabbing my things, I ventured my way off the plane and there was my wonderful brother waiting for me. I cannot tell you how good it was to see a familiar face! It was so good to see my blood, my kin. We embraced and I probably hugged him just a little longer than I normally would have. I was just so glad that I had made it! I was smelling that Texas air and I was with my family. My mind, body and spirit were calm and my anxiety had lifted! Continue reading
Thursday night’s Evening Service at the Ready Now Expo was a special one for those at Morningside. Our very own Pastor Zachary Drew was the teacher and we were his eager students. This is the first time that Pastor Drew has led one of our expo evening services since being ordained a few months ago. He has been teaching Revelation now for 3 years. There is something about Zach that is contagious; He LOVES God’s Word. He not only loves it but lives in every word, every verse and every chapter. He encourages old and young to open their Bible and seek what God is telling them, reminding all that it is written from the most amazing love there can be.
“I want people to get into the Word! There are hidden treasures in every chapter; mysteries we have to uncover! Don’t just believe what someone tells you is true. Something can sound spiritual and of God but if it isn’t in his Word don’t believe it! Don’t even believe what I tell you! Fall in love with the Word of God and listen to Him!”
Pastor Zach shared many amazing insights from the Bible with us, warning that we cannot believe some of the half truths that are out there and are spoken all the time.
“We have all been told, ‘God won’t give us more than we can handle.’ In 1 Corinthians 10:13 God says ‘No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.’ God is saying that you will go through things. Of course we will go through things that will be more than we can bear. If we didn’t, why would we need God? He is saying I will help you get through it, whatever it is. We can get through it together.”
The evening service continued with many teachings on faith and the book of Revelation and concluded with those in the audience filled with the knowledge that only God’s Word can provide. We all look forward to the future and many more lessons, insights and inspiration from Pastor Zachary Drew!
Former President Jimmy Carter held a press conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta to announce that his doctors found cancer in his brain.
He will immediately begin treatment for the brain cancer.
“I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” Mr. Carter said. “I do have a deep religious faith, which I’m very grateful for. Now I feel this is in the hands of God.”
Carter said that initially they removed a cancerous tumor in the liver that forced removal of about a tenth of the liver. He said that doctors determined the tumor was melanoma, and that it was likely it began somewhere else within Carter’s body.
Carter joked that he and his wife Rosalynn had been saying for years they would be slowing down their schedule and now seemed as good as time as any to do it. He said that he would be curtailing his actions both with the Carter Center and around the world.
He expressed his desire to travel to Nepal in November to build homes with Habitat for Humanity.
He also said he will continue to teach his Sunday School class at his home church, Maranatha Baptist Church.
“I am ready for anything and looking forward to a new adventure,” Carter added. “I have had an exciting and venturous and gratifying existence.”
With a simple license plate that said “God Cares,” I was able to breathe for the ride to the airport to catch my flight to Dallas. I knew the Master’s Commission event that I was to attend there called “The Mix” was a key to my future. God was showing me that He was there with me, but the ride to the airport was not nearly long enough. And suddenly, we had arrived.
So far I had managed to keep my head buried in my Bible. Each word, a kind of anti-anxiety treatment, but it really only lasted for as long as I remained there. The moment I turned my head from His Word I could feel the anxiety coming back. I had been in the midst of an almost paralyzing attack of anxiety, but I knew that God had a plan for me. It was this plan that would make me fight every blast of fear the enemy could throw at me. Continue reading
Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly told PBS that is faith is a key part of his life.
“My faith is an integral part of who I am. It’s part of the lens through which I view everything in life. So, I can’t separate this experience from my faith.”
Brantly spoke with PBS and Christian Post about his recently released book, “Called for Life: How Loving Our Neighbor Led Us Into the Heart of the Ebola Epidemic”.
Brantly said that he has no regrets about he and his wife staying in Ebola stricken parts of Africa.
“That’s what God called us to,” Brantly told CP. “And in the whole time throughout this ordeal we knew that we were doing the right thing and were in the right place. So no matter what happened, we didn’t have regrets about it.”
The PBS interviewer asked Brantly if treatment saved him instead of his faith in God.
“I wouldn’t disagree with that statement. I don’t think there is anything special about my faith that saved my life. If anything, my faith is what put me in a position where I got Ebola,” Brantly said.
However, Brantly quickly said it was God to allowed him to live.
“I believe God used those people to save my life, not because of my great faith. It just is. And so I give God the credit for it. But I thank all of those people, and I love them.”
“I try not to compartmentalize my life into, this is my faith life, this is my work life, this is my family life. My faith is an integral part of who I am. It’s part of the lens through which I view everything in life. So, I can’t separate this experience from my faith.”
Brantly said despite all he’s gone through, he would answer God’s call to go again.
“I would. I would. That is what Amber and I feel like. That’s the kind of life God has called us to. And in some ways, we’re really eager to get back to that, to get out of a life where we’re doing book tours and stuff and get back to the life of service that we feel called to.”
Recently we enjoyed our Fourth of July Celebration during seven amazing days of praise and coming together! Each anointed speaker that was on our show gave us insight into our world like nobody else could! In their words we cannot help but know that God is working, ALWAYS working out of his love for us! Jim and I felt so blessed each and every day as we saw so many wonderful people leaving their burdens in Jesus’ hands and remembering that God has great blessings for them! Continue reading