Phil Strickland Blog

Pro-Abortion Prayer: Lord, Abort The Plans for a New Abortion Super-Center in Houston"

2010-01-18T08:56:00.010-06:00

In line with the goals stated in the Manhattan Declaration (see earlier post), I was priviledged last night to attend "the Call - Houston."

Don't know if you heard about it or the rally/protest planned for MLK Day at the New Abortion Supercenter.

In April, "Planned Parenthood" is planning to open the 2nd largest abortion facility in the world, second only to one in China. 3rd floor of the facility is dedicated to partial birth/late term abortions, or as they should rightly be termed, infanticide. It is situated in the areas of Houston that are primarily African-American and the Hispanic communities. They are targeting these communities. There were national leaders of the African-American and Hispanic communities and they took a major lead in the meeting, leading us in repenting and crying out to God for forgiveness, for mercy, for an end to this despicable practice!

We prayed for hours ... very little sermonizing. Everybody, even big names, were limited to less than 3 minutes and then we would return to prayer. The entire place prayed, wept, repented, and begged for mercy for Houston and America.

We prayed and repented for our own sins, first and then for America; asked for the practice of legalized abortion in America to stop; and asked that the Houston clinic be shuttered. One of the scriptures pointe out was Psalms 106.37, 38 (NIV). It reads:
37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons
38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood.

In the prayer meeting, the leaders refused any political speech or demonstrations, signs, etc. We humbled ourselves to God, period. We met on 1.17.10 and prayed that the Luke 1.17 promise of John the baptizer's ministry would be fulfilled again in the United States of America.

"And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
New Living Translation (©2007) "He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly."

I was praying in a small group, and one of the young men (David Moore) prayed, "Father God, look at the organizations and groups that fund abortion and injustice in America, cause them to lose their support. Wow! It seemed that I heard the Lord saying again, what he said through John the baptizer ... In Luke 3.9
"Even now the ax of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire."

I am going to start naming the organizations that I know about, in prayer. I do not exalt my self-righteous political preferences in the Throne room, the central command and control room of the universe. I just ask Him to look and to judge - between us and the ACLU; us and Planned Parenthood - with justice and to cut off the root-systems (money and political/popular approval) of the organizations in the USA and around the world that pervert justice.

I am fired up because I believe God is hearing and answering us every day ... every day providing that day's Daily Bread and setting up the things we WILL need so the miracles will not stop if we maintain our focus of humility and personal relationship with God!

As you think of other, similar organizations, put them in the comments section below and we will call their name out in God's presence and ask Him to decide who stands and who is cut down!

Let's pray!
Phil Strickland

"God Help Us If We Do Nothing!"

2010-01-14T17:03:00.002-06:00

Fast and pray;
It is a revolutionary idea
In America to refuse to please only
Your body at the expense of your
Spritual life
Break out and see what a man or a woman
Commited to Christ and walking and living
With Him and by his Living Spirit
Could achieve.

It seems to me
That there might be
Some young Americans and Filipinos
Whose fathers fought side by side
Some Norwegian Christians
Under Command of the Lord Christ!
Who still have the adventurous spirit
Of their Viking Ancestors
Not to kill people and conquor foriegn lands
But to bring the message of life to people
To break their addictions and restrictions
Not afraid of the scolding of professors
Attempting to teach others how to live
Who are stumbling in their own darkness
Unable to direct their own lives
Enslaved by the addictions of this age

Are there some hippies from the 60's
Who are repulsed by living under the rules
Of the establishment humanists
Who thought they had captured
The imagination of the world
Only to find that they have become
The very thing that they hated

Are you there?

The Manhattan Declaration

2010-01-14T08:05:00.002-06:00

I signed this. You should investigate (read) it and consider signing, too. This movement is straight out of John 17. Don't miss this by saying you get too many emails wanting you to sign. Listen to your heart ... Phil

From: Chuck Colson
Dear colleague,

Thank you for your support of the Manhattan Declaration.It is off to an amazing start - over 370,000 signers and growing. And it is indeed historic: Evangelicals, Catholics, Anglicans, and Eastern Orthodox Christians uniting to give common witness to the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage, and religious liberty for all persons. But we need your help: our goal is one million signatures.The marketing pros tell us we will never get to a million signatures without expensive advertising. But we want to prove them wrong. And we can: just think if each person who has signed the Declaration were to get just two others to sign. That would be one million people standing arm in arm in defense of the most vital moral truths in our society. Remember, too, we are not just collecting signatures; we seek a movement of people defending the truth in the public square. We are already witnessing signs of this: Christians in Mobile, Alabama called us 13 days before Christmas to tell us they were planning a large ecumenical gathering for the 23rd of December. I (Chuck Colson) agreed to speak. At 6:00 AM on December 23, 2,000 citizens, led by clergy from all over the city, gathered in a packed hall in the Convention Center for a rousing rally. Seldom have I seen so much excitement in one room - and all of this was accomplished just by word of mouth with only 11 days to organize! Just ten days ago, Cardinal Rigali of Philadelphia, Archbishop Wuerl of Washington, DC, Archbishop Dolan of New York and Archbishop Kurtz of Louisville reached out to all of their brother Catholic bishops asking them to spread this document throughout their dioceses and encourage their clergy and faithful to study it and join as signatories. The Archbishop of Detroit has planned a grassroots effort throughout his archdiocese. The Bishop of Phoenix has already organized a grassroots effort there.We are also receiving many reports of evangelical gatherings in a number of areas - and many evangelical pastors referring to the Manhattan Declaration in their sermons..This bold and exciting movement needs to reach 100 or 200 cities in America. Why not? Can you help? We are urging you to encourage your pastors and community leaders to do what these other cities are doing. Organize ecumenical meetings organized around the Manhattan Declaration; get other concerned citizens to join the effort. Get on the internet or phone and ask friends to join you. If you let us know you want to organize something we can help link you up with others in your area.As with any grassroots movement, the strength and energy has to come from the people. We have no staff and limited budget. We're people who care passionately and deeply about life, marriage, and liberty. So here's what we are asking you to do.

Pray fervently. Great movements of faith have always spread on the wings of prayer.
Know the issues. If you study this Declaration - and a study guide is available on our website - then you can winsomely explain and defend it to your neighbors and friends. The document itself makes a great apologetic defense for these moral truths.
Look for resources on this website as we're able to post them, and search the websites of the Christian organizations that offer resources in these three areas.. You can see the names of the various leaders who have signed the Declaration and then visit their websites.

Of utmost importance, get your own church involved. As pastors preach, the movement will spread. Prayer meetings and Bible studies on the Declaration are being conducted in many churches, which is a great step.
Make full use of Facebook, Twitter, and all the devices available today for social networking. Or just go to gatherings in your own community and speak out on this issue. Cultures are changed over the backyard fence, the barbeque grill, and in hair salons - always from the bottom up. Do everything you can possibly do to educate others.
Organize local gatherings like the one in Mobile. If you want an audio or video of Chuck Colson's talk at the event, you will be able to see it on the website in the next few days. You can also read a firsthand report on how they did this.
If you are a pastor or ministry leader let us know if you would like to be added to the Additional Signers list on the website. Just think what might happen in our land if one million courageous Christians declared their uncompromising allegiance to Jesus Christ and to biblical faithfulness on some of the most urgent moral issues of our day. May God give us the strength to do what He is so clearly calling us to do. From our perspective, this is a cause worth giving every last ounce of effort and energy we have.
Dr. Robert George, Dr. Timothy George, Chuck Colson, ManhattanDeclaration.org
Go to Contact Us to request addtional information or with questions.

New Guests from Facebook

2010-01-12T18:42:00.002-06:00

Howdy, folks! You are welcome to peruse the site. Go back to older posts and comment on the new ones.
Dwayne, I don't know if I can inspire you enough here, but I will try!
I will write stuff here that inspires me, scares me, helps me and comforts me. Maybe what is helping me will help you too. And then again, maybe not.
Anyway, welcome to all.
Let's pray and read the Word and grow together. What are you seeing and hearing? What do you know that can expand our thinking? That's what the comments section is for ... let us hear from you on the subjects you care about.
Thanks and God Bless!

2010-01-04T17:09:00.003-06:00

I was reading a review of the recent terrorist attempt to blow a US airliner out of the sky. In explaining the reason Janet Napolitano made the statement that the system worked, the writers agreed that the system worked as it was designed, which has made conservatives howl that it did not work. But they made the point that everyone did all that they were required by law and rule to do. Therefore their personal behind was covered, whether people died or not. Janet was saying that the people of the bureaucracy (TSA) followed the rules ... whether the rules succeded or not.
Here's the statement:
"Of course, being faithful to a process is not the same as being successful, but the U.S. intelligence community’s obsession with process frequently elevates process above success. Certainly, process is needed to operate a vast system, but process also is being used to deny people authority to do what is necessary outside the process, or, just as bad, it allows people to evade responsibility by adhering to the process."
We know this is true with all bureaucracies. The bigger the bureaucracy, the truer the statement is. And NO bureaucracy has even been imagined in the US that compares to the tangled, worthless, non-helping, self-propigating piece of garbage that is being called the New Health Care System. It won't promote health. The people running it won't care that it condemns people to die who wouldn't have to die. Their only worry is that the proper process is followed and as long as the process is followed, they feel they have done their job.
So, if my wife comes to the hospital in agony, but in the haze of pain, forgot her government health card, they will send her away until she meets the requirements of the process. And if she dies while she is tryig to go home to find her card, what is that to them. It's not their fault she didn't have the foresight to bring her card the first time.
What it does do is re-routes the monies involved through the hands of politicians who will gain the power, the control and a cut of the action to propigate their status as the permenant ruling class.
If the Democrats think that we are going to just hang our heads and keep working to finance their dreams of permenant ruling status, they are delusional. Beware. There is great trouble ahead.

DO NOT KILL YOURSELF!!!! God Has Something Good for You

2009-10-13T14:03:00.004-06:00

Do not commit suicide. You are not alone. There is hope for you in the days just ahead!
I am writing to tell you something you can do - right now - where you are. I am telling you something you can pray.
This is not a magic chant that you have to email to others.
This is not a repetitive chant for you to lift yourself through the great karma...
There was/is a man named Jesus - Jesus of Nazareth, in Israel. He was a good man, a healer, who went around doing good and healing all kinds of diseases and emotional brokeness in people's lives. He even set people free from demonic mental torment.
Religious people were divided in their opinions about him, just like they would be today. What one guy thinks is great, another sees as terrible. And most of the time we have to just walk away in disagreement.
But in this case, the argument has been settled. Jesus was betrayed by religious leaders who feared he would cause them to lose their cushy positions and incomes. They had him executed on false premises. But three days later, God raised him from the dead and has honored him by making his name the key to unlock a relationship with God.
Give him a chance to help you.
Out Loud, right where you are, call out to Jesus Christ and ask him to hear you and help you. Say something to the effect of:

"IF YOU ARE REAL - IF YOU CAN HEAR ME - Help ME. JESUS, GIVE ME HOPE.

Find a Bible you can read, look in the index and find the Book of Matthew. It gives the testimony - the eye witness account - of real people, in real trouble, who needed hope. It shows you how God helped them.
The whole point is:
if God can give these people hope and
a reason to live,
he can do it for you.
I am living proof.
I am not selling anything.
The only offer here is what Jesus has done and will do for you!

While Praying, Waiting Quietly and Listening, I Found a Poem Written by Arthur Wallace

2009-10-10T14:15:00.005-06:00

I have been reading a book by Arthur Wallis entitled "God's Chosen Fast." One of the most moving, inspiring and informative books on a number of subjects I have read in a long time. I have found grace to practice it, too. Actually that has come from 3 sources, the greatest influences I have ever had to fast and pray for my dreams. 1) The current sense in my prayer times that we as a nation are in deep trouble that will include tremendous doses of divine judgment if we don't find mercy in the place of prayer. 2) My wife started doing it w/o me and for long periods of time, because I couldn't find the discipline to forgo meals ... and the sense of shame has been unbearable; and 3) Arthur Wallace's book.
And I am not doing anything for anyone else to be impressed by - even now - but the Father-God, the Lord Jesus Christ, working through the Mighty Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent to help us, has been helping and visiting with me. Things are changing inside me and I am again sensing a fresh surging of His presence and power.
So, in the light of these things, here's the poem at the end of Wallace's book. I hope it inspires you to begin a journey of prayer, of mourning, of fasting, and waiting on God in behalf of our families, our cities and churches, our states, our nation and other nations that are in grave danger right now whom God can and will save if we will lift up our voices in prayer.

THEY FASTED

On Sinai's mount, with radiant face,
To intercede for heaven's grace
Upon a stubborn wayward race,
They fasted

Once lifted from the miry clay,
When opposition came his way
This soldier-king would often pray
With fasting.

A seer, possessed of vision keen,
Who told the troubled king his dream.
Had light on God's prophetic scheme
Through fasting

The prophetess in temple court
Beheld the Babe the two had brought;
For Him she long had prayed and sought,
With fasting.

He came to break the yoke of sin,
But ere his mission could begin
He met the foe and conquered him
While fasting.

'Set these apart' the Spirit bade.
A spring, that soon vast rivers made,
Broke ope by men who as they prayed
Were fasting.

'So shall they fast when I am gone!'
Was this no word to act upon?
Ask countless saints who fought and won
With fasting.

When we shall stand on that great day
And give account, what shall we say,
If He should ask us, 'Did you pray -
With fasting?'

More on this later. (btw ... Arthur Wallaces books are available on Amazon.com CHEAP!!)

If I could have my dream, it would be ... Jesus Returns to Texas in the Person and Power of the Holy Spirit

2009-09-29T20:44:00.016-06:00

Tonight, after our Tuesday night prayer meeting, I was visiting with Jesus, one to one. Felt like he glanced at my KJV (King James Version). I don't pick it up very often anymore, but I grew up reading it and I have NO trouble with the language myself. I usually use other, more current language translations for other people's sake. But I went to Luke's Gospel, 4.14 in King James. I picked up where Jesus is returning to civilization after fasting (no groceries) and camping out for 40 days of prayer ... it says, "And Jesus returned in the power of the spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about."
That's what I want to happen for us right here in South Texas - word for word.
I want Jesus to return to West Columbia, TX in the power of the Spirit. Not physically, not yet, since it was Jesus ... Jesus himself that said "It is better for you if I go away. If I don't go away, the Comforter (the Helper) will not come. But if I go away the Father will send the Helper, which is the Holy Spirit, to you. I will not leave you helpless. I will come to you." Come! Please Come, Lord Jesus, just like that! We want you in the power and person of the Holy Spirit, doing what you did in the body in Galilee.
My friends in Philippines want you.
My new friends in Alaska want you to come and for a fame of you to spread all over the region. In Tulsa, and Houston, in Baguio, and in Manila; in Los Angeles and Juneau.
It is the Holy Spirit who comes ... but having Him in the room is the same as having Jesus in the room, physically.
He does not speak his own words or on his own authority, but he takes the words and doings of Jesus and shows them to us by words and deeds. And that is exactly what I need him to do. That is what I am asking him to do.
I want Jesus to return to West Columbia in the Power of the Spirit; and for a fame of him to explode throughout the entire region of Brazoria, Matagorda, and Galveston Counties.
What about you?
Ask Him to come to the place where you live. He will NOT turn you down.
He will save anyone who from a sincere heart, calls out his name.
Then, because Jesus has cleansed you with his own blood (see I Peter 1.18, 19), He can fill you with the HOLY Spirit, and when He does, the Helper, begins to help you know Jesus. And knowing Jesus - being his friend and being known by him - is the greatest blessing in the universe and the highest honor I have ever experienced.

2009-09-02T11:31:00.002-06:00

Hello, folks! I have done a poor job posting here of late. I have had a lot going on but I love to communicate (that means both ways, as in "comments") with my friends. Here is a great article that I found, read and I link it here for your enjoyment and blessing. We need God's help and blessing. We have to get interested enough to pray and seek the face of God. We need to give him the glory, the credit, and the thanks he deserves for creating us, and for not abandoning us even though as a nation we have abandoned him.
Often, when we are praying, Beth repents for us as a couple and as citizens of this nation. She says, " Father, forgive us for enjoying the gifts and blessings you have provided to us as a nation, and forgetting and forsaking the God from whom it came!"
Remember and Pray. It will help it does matter. He is the God who hears and sees! He still answers the prayers of his children.
http://www.ravenhill.org/prayer.htm

An Email Sent to Me Today ... Supposed to be a Simple Fix for America's Economic Problems

2009-07-27T12:32:00.003-06:00

Shazzam! All fixed! Bush was so stupid, he never thought of this. It only takes:

$40 mil To Fix The Economy
"This is from an article in the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper.

The Business Section asked readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix the Economy?"

Seems like this guy nailed it!

Dear Mr. President:

Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties, travel and unearned bonuses, use the following plan. You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:
1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered -Auto Industry fixed
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.
It can't get any easier than that! If more money is needed, have all members of Congress and their constituents pay their taxes...
If you think this would work, please forward to everyone you know.
If not, please disregard. "

Is this a test? It sounds ok on the surface, with it's digs at the Wall Street thieves, but NO, I don't think this plan would work. I think I will disregard it!

First, if there are 40 Million people over fifty years old in the workforce, who like myself, are doing jobs that require some level of skill and knowledge of the field, I promise you that you are going to be hard pressed to find 400,000 people to fill their shoes, much less 40,000,000. Have you ever noticed that there are always job vacancies available, but often they are in specialized fields that not everyone can fill?

Second, If you have $40 million, that would only provide a $1 million check for 40 people. Or a $1.00 check for all 40 million people. I can't retire on a dollar.
1,000,000 x 40,000,000 = 40,000,000,000,000. That's 40 Trillion. The plan below would cost $40 Trillion. That's more than we can produce as a nation in ten years.

Hey..... Wait a minute! I think the Obama administration might go for this! Contrary facts and feasibility (or the lack thereof) do not seem to bother them too much. Be careful! Before you know it, there will be a big fight in the media among the Democrats and a few of the Republicans, over who came up with this plan first!

It's like what happened earlier this year. On April 15, this year ('09). A reporter-ette from MSNBC mocked the the Tea Party protesters for claiming that stimulus spending would cause tax increases. She kept quoting the president that no one who makes less than $250,000 a year would pay more taxes. She yelled at one who had a sign that said, "Don't Tax Away Our Freedoms" and she said, "What does raising taxes have to do with freedom, anyway?" She wasn't even smart enough to be embarrassed. (I was embarrassed for her.) "Hey Lady!" I was yelling at the tv set, "Did you ever hear of the American Revolutionary War ? ... Duh! " They thought taxes had something to do with freedom. Some of us still do.
.
Phil Strickland

Liberty and the Healthcare Debate

2009-07-24T10:20:00.002-06:00

I am a working class Christian Conservative, raised in a family of union construction workers and former Democrats. I love the concept, the dream, the idea, of liberty. I will never give in to trading liberty for security.
I still believe that the core value of the American experience is Liberty. The engine and the inspiration that has produced "America" as we know it, has been liberty. Take it away and you have "killed the goose that laid the golden egg."
It's a liberal/Democrat/MSM lie to say that people without health insurance don't or won't pay for their own health care. It’s true that some don’t. But people with integrity pay their bills. My wife and I had two babies without health insurance and paid for them in full, cash. It was a struggle, and it took time, but they are paid in full. If I am free, I have to provide for my family.
The nationalization of healthcare that sounds like such compassion will take away our freedom to choose and control our own lives in ways far beyond healthcare. The same people who fall for this scam are the ones who run up bills on their credit cards with no plans or twangs of conscience on how they will pay for what they spend. They feel they can have all they want with this magic little card. Shazzam!
This is the common denominator of everything for which the Obama administration stands.
I have seen and witnessed that Government spoils everything it controls i.e. public education and public housing - the worst of which are in the Democrat controlled areas of the country. You want to do for medicine what you did for education and housing for the poor?
Referring to the Constitution, Obama once said, "The US Constitution is almost completely negative toward the expansion of Governmental authority." And he was right! What it says is very, very limiting to liberals.
We have had a king. We didn't like it. We the people wrote/ratified the Constitution as a defense and a final line in the sand that no man or party is allowed to cross or manipulate. Every part of Federal Government swears an oath to protect, and honor and uphold the Constitution. That is the one greatest condition of their employment.
The signers of the Declaration of Independence pledged their lives, their fortunes and their SACRED HONOR. The problem is that many now have no honor. Their word is as empty as the beer can on the side of the road. Their lies are simply a means to achieve their own will, like a king, in spite of the fact that other people don't want what they are peddling.
I can live without forced, government-controlled healthcare. I can't live without liberty.
I want liberty or nothing.

2009-05-20T10:38:00.005-06:00

Time to Remember
Just a quick note to remind you...

When you are feeling like nothing is working as it should;
And the prayers you prayed to change them
Didn't feel particularly anointed;
It is time to begin to talk!

Not to others, but to your own soul.

It’s time to remember what God did for the Men who first trusted Him …
The Leaders of our faith …
It is time to remember!

Ask your soul, "What is your problem?"
Tell your soul to quiet down and listen!
Say out loud, so your soul must hear - "I serve the God of Abraham!"
What does that mean?
“I serve the God who led Abraham and kept his promise,
“Even though there was no book to read or map to follow.
"I serve the God of Isaac."God kept his promise to Isaac,
Even though he was not as bold and forceful as his father had been.

"I serve the God of Jacob.
"He kept his word to Jacob...Even though we all know he shouldn't’ve!

Why?

Because Jacob was not the firstborn son.
And because Jacob was not his father's favorite.
Also because Jacob was not a strong man
Not like the brother who was the “right” brother.
Jacob was a weasel and a cheat.
But somehow, by letting Jacob be the victim
Of the same kind of schemes he pulled on others,
God drew out the great man only he could see inside
Drew him out and changed him
Changed Jacob from a schemer to a Man of patience and trust
And a praying man who persists
Who would pray until he prevailed
And became a Prince with God, a prince named Israel!

Wow!

It’s time to remember
Remember this passage from Hebrews
Chapter 13.7,8.
"Never forget the leaders,
Who first spoke to you the Word of God.
Remember how they lived and
Imitate their faith.
Jesus Christ is always the same
To you today, as he was to them …
Yesterday, today, and forever."

What he did for them, will he really do for you?
That’s what he said.
He said, Remember! Never forget!
Remember, how they lived - how they trusted him – and how he answered their prayers.
Now picture Jesus and see yourself with Jesus,
Living like they did for him and
Trusting Him …
He has not changed.
He is answering you – helping you.
Then, remind your own soul of all the other times
That things seemed dire, dark and then as now,
That you felt completely alone...
And in that dark place, you prayed and
God came through for you!
Walk through it all again in your mind,
Now quietly, give thanks!

That’s right – drink deeply from that well!
Say it! “Thank you, Lord!
Thank you for what you did.
“Thank you for bringing me through hell and then,
“For breaking the habits and chains of sin
“That used to seem would never be broken.
“Amazed, I stand in stunned relief“
And worship you because I know you now,
In ways I have never known you before.”
Now it’s time to remember and worship His Name.
He told Moses, "I Am.
Tell them ‘I am’ sent you"
“I am the Bread of Life.
I am the True Vine.
I am the Gate and the Lord that heals you.

Now ...
Go do what you must today.
Praising God each step of the way.
Knowing he will see you through;
So live your faith in all you do.
Praise... the... Lord!

Raising Money for God's Work? Watch Your Motives!

2009-03-06T15:33:00.004-06:00

A lot of the fund raisers/raising on Christian TV based in the U.S. give me the "creeps". It does not feel like it is based on pure motives. I have had the unfortunate experience to see some weird people on TV the last few days, making promises of "wealth and miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit if you go right now to the phone and call us with your credit card in hand." He/they might ought to go back and read the stories in Acts 5 and Acts 8. Peter said, "May your money perish with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin." (Acts 8.20-23) I recommend that we avoid tying the Holy Spirit and his Gifts to money.
When you have the opportunity, read 1 Thessalonians 2.1-12. Paul said that the anointing he had from God was based on the fact that God had proven him - tested him and his motives - and found him to be trustworthy in the things listed out in this passage. One of those things was "You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed - God is our witness."

I am not judging anyone in particular, but I have often heard them (several of them) say, "You can't be happy, you can't have joy, you can't have peace, if your bills are unpaid."

I am here to testify that this statement is wrong. That doesn't mean I like it when I face difficulty or that I want to be behind in my bills. But I can testify Jesus has been more real to me when I didn't have anything, than when we were flush with money and in good times. He has filled me with Joy and Glory and his Presence and being/abiding in him, made me forget all my troubles.

I have laughed hysterically under the power of the Holy Spirit right in the middle of the worst situations of my life. Psalms 23.5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." (Look that chapter up in Moffat's Translation.)

I have been years at a time where we did not have any extra money for anything but our most basic needs, but God was our companion and I didn't care if the sun came up!

I highly recommend that everyone - rich or poor or anywhere in between, "Make the King and his Kingdom your first priority." (Jesus Christ ... he is the king!)

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." 1 Timothy 6.17. Wow! and by the way, he will come through for you and meet your needs, but ask him to help you to FOCUS on Christ. That is the Holy Spirit's favorite assignment.

An Interesting Quote ... I like it!

2009-01-08T13:15:00.001-06:00

Scripture’s task is to tell people, at the risk of their displeasure, the mystery of God and the secrets of their own hearts—to speak out and make a clean breast. There are many ways to say and write these truths: in oracles, in poems, in novels, in sermons, in satire, in journalism, in drama. Honestly written and courageously presented words reveal reality and expose our selfish attempts to violate beauty, manipulate goodness and dominate people, all the while defying God. Most of us most of the time, whether consciously or not, live this way. Honest writing shows us how badly we are living and how good life is. Enlightenment is not without pain. But the pain, accepted and endured is not a maiming but a purging. “Every significant utterance is a wound” but ‘faithful are the wounds of a friend.” - Eugene Peterson, Run With the Horses

Say No to Suicide

2008-12-22T11:23:00.007-06:00

Please! Please! Please! Do not commit suicide.

You are not alone.

There is hope for you in the days just ahead!

I am telling you something you can pray. This is not a magic chant that you have to email to others. This is not a repetitive chant for you to lift yourself through the great karma... There is a man named Jesus who loves you hears you when you pray. Give him a chance to help you.

Out Loud, right where you are, call Jesus Christ and ask him to hear you and help you. Ask him, "IF YOU ARE REAL - IF YOU CAN HEAR ME - Help ME. JESUS, GIVE ME HOPE.

Find a Bible, look in the index and find the Book of Matthew. It gives the testimony of real people, in real trouble, who needed hope and shows you how God helped them. The whole point is that if God can give these people hope and a reason to live, he can do it for you.

I am not selling anything. The offer here is what Jesus has done and will do for you!

2008-12-22T10:53:00.002-06:00

Hello World! How is everybody out there in Radio Land!
We are signing on today to let you know we are back, we are strong, and we are ready to BLOG somebody!
You can safely respond using the comments button, so let's get this thing rolling for the new year.
You can also respond to these posts by email, and I will put key elements of your comments on without using your contact info. pmstrickland@dow.com

Newsflash:
Cara and I are going to visit the Philippines in January. I will be staying one week and she will be staying 2 weeks. Our time will mostly be with Carmelita Ofrecio-Langaoan and her husband, Benny. I have the honor to speak at their church's first year aniversary celebration. This will be in Baguio, about six hours drive, north of Manila. They are working with many college students and are having a great impact on the area.

I have many important friends in the country and hate it that I will not be able to contact them all. I love them all and I treasure their friendships. I just cannot get around to see everyone on this trip. I hope it is not my last trip. Maybe someone else will invite me back in the future?!

I would greatly appreciate your prayers. According Philippians 1.19, we supply the Spirit of Christ to each other through prayer. I need your help and support as I have never felt more INADEQUATE as a speaker and elder, but I am a servant of Jesus and will do as he commands and leads me. I definately believe I am in the perfect will of God in going. So pray for me for wisdom to give and and for me to learn the things God wants me to learn on this trip. Pray for Cara to be blessed and be a blessing. Pray for the safety of my family at home during this time. Actually, we have more support at home than we have ever had since I quit traveling with Kenneth Copeland.

Pray for the Philippines and for me to speak from heaven's authority. Thanks.
Later.

A Call to Fast and Pray by Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda

2008-09-04T12:00:00.001-06:00

A Call to Fasting and Prayer
On November 4th, 2008, Americans will elect our new president and members of congress. These are crucial elections - our nation stands at a crossroads that will determine the course of America and shape the world we live in for many years to come.
After eight years in leadership, President Bush and Vice President Cheney will pass their duties on to a new administration led by the man America chooses. Whether that be Senator John McCain or Senator Barack Obama, we know that we will not only be electing the leader who will determine the future of the United States, but that our choice will affect the history of many other nations as well.
Electing the right people to serve in the Congress is also of critical importance. Therefore we are sounding the call for serious prayer, fasting and seeking God's face on behalf of ourselves, our children and the destiny of our nation.
From the intercessory headquarters of the Watch of the Lord™ we are calling Believers across America to join us for "40 Days 4 America" - a corporate forty-day fast, from September 2 to October 11, 2008. Whether you can fast with us for one day or several, we invite you to turn a page in history as you join us and many watchmen across America over the next several weeks in this corporate time of fasting. Be assured that history changes when God's people take the call to prayer and fasting seriously.
"Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions...So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer." Ezra 8:21,23
From Ezra to Esther, Jehoshaphat and Joel, when the future of their nation was at stake, we see God's people respond with prayer and fasting. When the Moabites, Ammonites and others rose up against Judah, Jehoshaphat humbled himself, acknowledged God's greatness and faithfulness and proclaimed a fast for all of Judah (2 Chronicles 20).
As the people worshipped and praised the Lord, He sent ambushes and completely destroyed their enemies. Israel fasted when Haman set about to destroy all the Jews (Esther 4:16). Ezra and several thousand Jews fasted as they embarked on a dangerous journey, and God protected them from assault (Ezra 8:21-23).
Intercession in Our Nation's History
In recent history, we learn from the journal of John Wesley that the king of Great Britain called for a solemn day of prayer and fasting in response to a possible invasion from France. On February 6, 1756, he wrote, "The fast day was a glorious day, such as London has scarce seen since the Restoration. Every church in the city was more than full, and a solemn seriousness sat on every face. Surely God heareth prayer, and there will yet be a lengthening of our tranquility...Humility was turned into national rejoicing for the threatened invasion by the French was averted."
Our spiritual father Derek Prince often related to us that as a newly saved young man serving in the British army in North Africa, he began to regularly fast and pray for the British forces. The British were losing the war in North Africa, and was on the longest retreat in their history, when a series of events transpired that opened the way for Churchill to appoint an as yet unknown commander, General Montgomery.
He was a man who feared God and was instrumental to turn the battle back, eventually leading to the Allied defeat of Rommel and the Nazi forces in North Africa. When Derek heard the appointment of Montgomery to the North African front on his field radio, the Lord spoke to him and said, "This is the answer to your prayer."
The prayer the Holy Spirit had given Derek for this momentous point of history was, "Lord, give us leaders such that it will be for Your glory to give us the victory through them." This is our prayer for America and our leadership for the elections in November.
We are in one of the most critical times of intercession in our nation's history. We can prevail in fasting and prayer for God's hand to shape the course of our nation according to His purpose and destiny. The following are areas we will focus on in this fast:
"40 Days 4 America" Prayer Focus
1. Humility and Repentance: God's heart is moved when He finds humble hearts. Isaiah 66:2 says, "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My word." Humility not only moves the heart of God, but it releases God's grace into our situation (James 4:6).
As we fast and pray together, let us humbly repent and seek God's mercy for our nation, our church, our city, our family and our children. "If My people, who called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
2. Elections: 1 Timothy 2:1-2, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority..."
As we seek God's face on behalf of our nation, pray that He will give us a president of His choosing. We ask for leaders from the White House to the Supreme Court to Congress who stand for Judeo-Christian values, the great heritage of American democracy as a nation under God, and for life which begins in the womb. "Lord give us leaders such that it will be for Your glory to give us the victory through them."
3. Children: "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate." Psalm 127:3-5
The next generation is this generation's greatest treasure. Pray for salvation, breakthrough and blessing for our children. Pray for restoration of Godly principles in our education system. Pray for physical safety. Loose the angels to guard America's children at home and abroad. Pray for restoration to God's covenant for children who have strayed from His commands. As we pray for them we are asking for our future.
4. Armed Forces: "NO WEAPON FORMED against you shall prosper..." Isaiah 54:17. Pray for success in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pray Psalm 91 as a shield of protection. Ask for supernatural courage, vision, discernment and strength. Pray that God will give us military leaders from the top down who are worthy to lead our troops in war and in peace. Pray for the families who send and support our troops. Bind the spirits of terrorism, tyranny, and antichrist that pervade the opposing forces of our mission and our military. Pray MISSION ACCOMPLISHED in every endeavor. Pray that God bring them home in victory and honor.
"I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation." Psalm 91:15b, 16
5. Russia: "The scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous..." Psalm 125:3. Pray for Russia as her leaders move to revive communist domination in their region. Pray for Russia's neighbors as they defend their new democracies against the old "bear" of Marxist communist tyranny. Bind manipulation of the media being used as an agent for evil against freedom.
6. Economy: "Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord...Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you." Deuteronomy 8:3, 6-10
Give thanks for the economic blessing America has enjoyed. Pray for cleansing and healing where greed, avarice, mismanagement and sloth has affected America's national economy. Pray for a closing of the gaps in our economic strength, including on Wall Street and in big businesses. Pray for fresh fire and success on America's small businesses. Pray for deliverance from dependence on foreign oil for our energy needs.
7. Revival: "You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth." Psalm 104:30
Pray for personal, church and national revival. Pray for the restoration of our Godly foundations. Pray for restoration in every family, every neighborhood and every city. We are asking the Lord for permanent revival that will sweep across America, sweep across denominational lines and bring in worldwide harvest.
8. Peace of Jerusalem: Our spiritual heritage and prophetic destiny are joined to Jerusalem. The happenings in Jerusalem give us a prophetic pulse of God's hand in the nations. Pray for the peace of an undivided Jerusalem. Bless Israel in your prayers. Pray for leaders in Israel whom God appoints for His glory. Pray for Israel to be protected from her enemies inside and outside of her borders.
"I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Isaiah 62:6-7
The nuclear weapon of the Church is the Blood of Jesus. That spiritual arsenal is loosed in the power of His name when His people fast and pray. Jesus told His disciples, "This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:21).
This authority is amplified as many join together in one accord. Fast with us. Pray with us. Join with us as the Lord gives us leaders such that it will be to His glory to give us the victory through them.
Our request is that if you can even fast for one day during 40 Days 4 America, please contact us so that we can put you on our list and cover you and your family during this season. You may either sign up online by clicking here to register for 40 Days 4 America, or by calling the MCM office at (800) 730-6264. In addition, if there is a special need that you and your family have for breakthrough in healing, finances, marriages, salvation, jobs or businesses, we invite you to send us your prayer request. We have seen testimony after testimony of breakthroughs in impossible situations when we add the power of many people fasting and praying together.
As you, your church or your prayer group join this call to fast and pray for America, register online or call us at our office to let us know you are participating in this historic hour.
"Lord give us leaders such that it will be for Your glory to give us the victory through them."

Questions Asked and Answered...

2008-09-04T08:58:00.002-06:00

(The question posed here was posted after a fairly good article in the Chicago Sun-Times ... I decided to try to help un confuse the writer by answering below)
Question:
Please address these issues.I'll paraphrase the same question that Hillary Clinton asked her supporters. Is this about Obama being Black or Gov. Palin being a woman, or are there more substantive meat and potato issues here? If you are "pro choice" then Obama is your ticket. If you are "Pro Life" then McCain is your ticket. Now with that out of the way, what about health care, jobs, retirement, college for our children, etc? Whether it is a fetus, or child has been decided in Roe v. Wade. Each side has an opinion on that U.S.Supreme Court Ruling and I am quite sure that whoever wins this race will pack the court to deal with it. But on the meat and potato issues I AM CONFUSED. I am confused because a conservative is supposed to be "fiscally conservative", when out of our last four presidents, only the Democrat left office with a budget surplus. I AM CONFUSED becuase, as Gov. Palin so eloquently said last night, Republicans are for less government. However they just used billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out the private companies of Freddie Mac, Fannie May and Bear Stearns to prevent a recession of their making. I AM CONFUSED when Republicans say they have the answer for Americas problems when they have controlled the White House for the past eight years and Congress for the past seven, but the financial mess that we now have is due to the "Democrats", "welfare" and "the Liberal Press." I AM CONFUSED because Sen. McCain argues that Obama is unfit to be president because "he won't admit that the surge worked, but McCain voted for, what the great majority of Americans feel, was a un-necessary war. Please explain how the surge would have been necessary had we not gone to war?

Answer:
To: MRC ... Don't be confused, madame. I can help you. From the election sweep of 1994, the conservative sweep of congress effectively stopped the Clinton 's plans for making the U.S. a socialist country through the nationalized health care and massive tax increases that they had planned. They (Congress)reformed welfare and after vetoing it 3 times, Bill Clinton finally signed it and then took credit for it and the balanced budgets they produced, even though his whole life and philosophy opposed it.
It was congress that controlled and was responsible for budgets then and it is congress now. It is congress that deserves credit or blame for fiscal performance. Presidents can ask for good or bad policy, but if it gets done, it will be the controlling philosophy of the congress that does the deeds.
When the Republicans took over both houses of congress 2004, both they and the president began acting like Democrats with runaway spending. They are as guilty of poor performance then as the Dem's are now, and some of them even got caught in downright fraud, sex scandals, and corruption. They get thrown out when the Republicans catch them. Unlike the Democrats, we don't ignore corruption in our own house, IF WE KNOW.
Now, I don't know if the war to defend America is unpopular. I think it was necessary. It's not unpopular with me. I believe removing Saddam HELPED good people and HURT/hindered the plans of bad people.
It also staged our troops in the neighborhood where we needed to be able to deal with all the killers and bullies in the region ... you know, like Hezbollah, AlQeda, Hamas, the Government of Iran. They came here and attacked our civillians, our secretaries, and our children. When they decide to mix it up with us again, it won't be our weakest that they get to face. Our guys are now seasoned and ready, and able to protect us as long as they are not given two Democrat woosies as a Commander in chief.
I hope you are not confused any more.

More later!

Finally Some Good News On the Political Front!

2008-09-02T13:10:00.004-06:00

Wow!
Pro-Gun Rights!
Pro-Life!
Loves Jesus!
Loves Her Daughter in the Face of Moral Failure!
Media Hates Her!
Go Sarah! Go John!

Worst possible news for Radical Islam, Iran, Russia ... Like Reagan.
Wait and see!

In Human Relations Only Wisdom Connects Cause with Effect

2008-08-28T07:55:00.002-06:00

I was reading The Finacial Times of London and found an article about major multinational firms that are leaving England because of the huge corporate taxes that are loaded up on them. They are moving to other, more business friendly locations.
What does "business friendly" mean? It means places that don't make it impossible for the company to make a profit. When they make a profit, everyone who owns their stock is helped. Teachers, preachers, construction workers, and plant maintenance people all get a raise. The companies that supply the company that profits, they get a raise, too. Churches and non-profit charities get a raise because the region is prospering.
There is always someone who, no matter how good things are, seem unable to participate in the goodtimes.
But if someone can get you to focus on the ones unable to participate, and convince you to change the whole system, then you too can do what the British and the French and the Europeans are doing. You too can kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. You can kill the prosperity of the entire region by ignoring how things work and trying to make them work a different way.
You see, the laws a government passes that increase the taxes corporations have to pay, increases their expenses. That, in turn, lessens the profit margin.
If the profit margin shrinks, the owners of the company start looking for ways fix this problem. They can move the company to places outside the authority of the tax raisers or they can vote out the tax raisers and vote in people who understand the effects of their actions have on business. But you can bet your bottom dollar on this one thing. Free people aren't gonna just take that loss and do nothing. I didn't say greedy people. I said free people.
The Democrats keep saying things at their convention that are not compatible.
They are going to raise taxes on the rich oil corporations and other big corporations to more fair levels - and - we need someone in office who will keep good paying jobs in America. What?
When they doraise taxes, the companies move, raise their prices, or both.
What's next?
Are you going to outlaw moving or raising prices?
Where does it stop?
Are you only going to outlaw companies moving or are you going to make it illegal for me to move?
The majority of Americans are enjoying lifestyles that, while they are not perfect, they are both better than their parents enjoyed and far better than the rest of the world.
Can it get better?
Maybe it can, but it won't be by going down the socialist route - where government takes your money and wastes it on social experiments dreamed up by communist professors at The University of Illinois at Chicago.
If it gets better, it will come from free people who observe and learn and apply what they learn without the chains of governmental control sinking them.
It will come from happy people.
It will come from thankful people.
It will come from young men and women with vision of what they can contribute to others by their ideas.
America's promise is not in what government can do for me.
It is what I can do for myself when I am left alone by government.

HRC's Speech: "A Marine Begs Take Care of Me?"

2008-08-27T09:11:00.005-06:00

During Hillary Clinton's speech at the Democrat National Convention last night, she mentioned a wounded Marine who begged her, "Please, take care of me!" I can't hardly imagine it. Is it possible that a Marine, a real US Marine, begged Hillary to take care of him?
There were people like that in the times of the American Revolutionary War. They were called Tories. They were loyal to the English Crown and they humbled themselves to the King and called themselves his children and begged him to send his troops to them and to take care of them.
We have a growing, leftist, population in America, who pleads and begs the Fed's to pass laws that provide for them. They don't care that the only way to make that work is for the government to take away the hard earned money of the working people. the big money in the US is in the middle class pockets. If you are going to "take care " of everyone, and you promised to only tax the rich, you have to start calling anyone who make more than 40 or 50 thousand dollars a year rich.
That, though, is not what bothers me most. When someone pays your bills, they call the shots. All you have to give up is your freedom. Give up your liberty to think, to go and to say what you want, when and where you want, and we will provide for you. Thanks, but no thanks.
Liberty. Freedom. Justice. NOT FOR SALE! Not even for free health care.

Samuel Adams: Then and Now!

2008-08-20T11:49:00.006-06:00

Read what Sam Adams said at the infancy of our country and see if it stirs the courage and resolve to stand up to the world around us! His first paragraph asks a question. The second gives his answer.
“Bid us and our posterity to bow the knee? Supplicate the friendship, and plough, and sow, and reap to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war, in order to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth?
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!" --Samuel Adams
My interpretation of Sam Adams statement would go like this:
You want what? You want me and my children to bow down to the terrorists and tyrants of the world by electing those who want to negotiate with our enemies rather than defeat them? You want my country to beg for their friendship in hopes that they won’t do to us what they’re already doing to other innocent people?
You want me to work, and make a living, and then pay them protection money?
You want to negotiate with those who torture their own people to satisfy their lust for power - people who bomb and kill people for wanting the kind of liberty you take for granted? And who then warn us and our allies that if we won’t apologize for existing, they will let loose on us the dogs of war? They publicly promise to riot in our blood, to hunt us from the face of the earth?
Let me tell you something.
If you love wealth more than freedom, and the peacefulness of slavery more than the exhilarating fight for freedom, I want you to feel free to leave us. We don’t want anything you have to offer – neither your counsel nor your help in the armed conflict. Crawl over to the politicians who promise to take care of you… and lick the hands that feed you.
I hope the chains they put on you do not chafe you and can be made to blend in with your designer outfit.
And as you go, would you do us one more favor? Don’t tell anyone you used to be an American!

That is what Sam Adams said. He said it in the 1770’s and I still agree!

Check This Out!

2008-08-15T12:12:00.002-06:00

Go to "Telegraph.co.uk "
Read "After Russia's invasion of Georgia, what now for the West?" by John Bolton

Please God, Give us leaders like this.
Men of courage and wisdom and backbone!
Where are they?
We are going to be crushed by Iran and Russia if we don't show our willingness to stand up to their acts of agression.
Churchill told the world this and Chaimberlain and his party took the path of our current liberals.
The sad thing about what our schools, colleges and univesrities have been pushing for forty years, is that so many of our fellow Americans don't recognize wisdom and manhood and courage when they see it.
I hope there is enough to avoid disaster in November.

John McCain Speaks to Russia in Real Terms

2008-08-12T09:22:00.002-06:00

Wow! Now that is a Reagan-like response.

Check out: http://cameron.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/08/11/mccain-ups-the-ante-on-the-republic-of-georgia/

I remember when R. Reagan was running against Pres. Carter, he refused to say "what" he would do about the hostage situation in Teharan, Iran, but he promised them that they weren't gonna like it if he became the president of the US. Man, the Democrats squalled that he was dangerous and was gonna get us killed. (But words from a proven man of action, who has the capacity, courage and authority to back up those words, have always struck fear into the heart of tyrants and bullys.) The day he took office, the hostages were released. The Iranians decided they couldn't take the chance that he was for real and that he wasn't afraid to use the talents and assets God had put in America's hands.That is what I hear in John McCain's words above.
One of the problems Democrats have with the average American is that when they are in charge of the military and the power of the executive brach of government, they point it in the wrong direction, giving us the "Blackhawk Down" situation in Somalia, where our commanders in the field were begging for heavy armor and Les Aspin and the Clinton administration told them "No, we don't think you need it."
I have had a hard time getting behind John McCain because of his betrayal of the GOP while he was in the Senate, crossing the aisle and straddling the fence on key issues. But this statement is a breath of fresh air.
I may end up actually supporting this guy.

What Happens When There is an Open Heaven

2008-07-15T12:50:00.000-06:00

In the Book Genesis, there is a story of a man named Jacob running from his twin brother who had vowed to kill him, as soon as his aged father died. He had to run because he had cheated his brother out of his rightful inheritance. Since Esau was a warrior and a powerfully built outdoorsman, and Jacob was slick dealing salesman, Jacob decided it would be in his best interest to find greener pastures. So he hit the road, thinking he would never come back.
Jacob was convinced from birth that he was the rightful heir of the first-born blessing and was the favorite of his mother. Esau, a man’s man, was his father’s favorite. But his mom knew how to handle that, and she walked Jacob through a plan that used legal maneuvers to achieve their shared goal.
Now on the run, and fairly sure that he had left his father and his father’s God far behind, he stopped in the middle of nowhere and pulled up a rock to prop his head on for a miserable attempt to sleep. But he did go to sleep and he had a dream. In the dream, the God of his father, the “self revealing one,” came to him and begin to talk to him, right there where he was laying beside the road.
God spoke to him and extended the same promise to him that he had extended to his father and his grandfather before him. He offered to be his God based on a blood agreement and that if Jacob would accept the offer and walk with this God alone as his partner, that God would bless him and prosper him and use him and his children to extend God’s blessing to all the families of the world.
Jacob accepted this offer and promised God he would tithe (give God the first tenth of) everything he provided him. While God (JHVH) was speaking to him, the heavens opened up and a ladder began to come down from God. It kept coming until it extended down to the very spot where Jacob was sleeping. Then, beings from God’s dimension, from his place at the top, began to come from God down to Jacob and make deposits into his spirit that his head did not understand.
When Jacob woke up, he considered this a message from God spent the rest of his life attempting to honor that covenant he had made with God.
It wasn’t until some years later, after God had taken him through a character-building training course that he began to be conscious of what was deposited in him that night by God. It was hard times that brought them to the surface and showed him the value of what God had deposited in him that night.
He had ideas and understanding of principles that could not be attributed any schooling or training. He showed an understanding of times and seasons, honesty that he had not possessed before, and a principled character that would keep a covenant with God and others, even at great cost to himself.
When heaven opened up and angels came bearing heaven’s blessings and gifts, something solid and valuable and permanent was deposited in this former weakling that established a people and a family that has lasted for three thousand years. Selah. Wow!
Another time this phenomenon was mentioned was when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. When Jesus came out of the water, “the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit was dispensed from heaven and came to Jesus to empower him for his approaching ministry. From that time on, Jesus began to be led in new and power-packed ways.
Then again, we see Jesus in John 1.43-51 using this term. He spoke to the disciples he had chosen and told them, “… you shall see heaven opened and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.” (John 1.51 - Norlie’s Trans.)
What does that mean? Do they begin to see angels like Jacob did? No, there is no record of it. But the very next story is of a miracle that is much like the miraculous story of the white sheep being kept by Jacob producing spotted and speckled sheep that made Jacob rich.
In John 2.1-11, is the story of the wedding feast of Cana that Jesus mother had responsibility for and apparently because she was going to be embarrassed, she called on his ability by faith and the open heaven he had referred to at the end of chapter one gave them the blessing that they needed. What it means is that heavens abilities and resources become available to the earth any time there is an open heaven and that wherever Christ is, an open heaven is a permanent condition.
Finally, at least for this lesson, the Apostle Paul writes the letter that we have in the Bible, entitled Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. In it, declares that every single believer and group of believers are “In Christ” and that there are blessings that are part of the package of being in Christ.
Listen to Norlie’s translation of Ephesians 1.3. “Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing that Heaven itself enjoys.” And then he begins listing them. Understand that these blessings are in Christ and when you receive Christ, the blessings and abilities are in him. Thus the glory (credit) is his, too.
According to Paul, the deposits God the Father has made in us include:
· Blessed
· Chosen
· Made holy
· Made blameless
· Loved
· Adopted
· Received Mercy
· Made us the objects of His Favor
· Redemption through his Blood
· Forgiveness for our sins
· The Riches of His Grace
· Grace is lavished on us in all Wisdom and Intelligence
· Insight into the Mysteries of His Will
· Unified in Christ with the Apostles, so that the church alive on the earth is not separated from the church in Heaven
· An Inheritance
· Manifested Glory
· The same rules apply to all the Believers
· The same Holy Spirit
· Sealed and Certified as belonging to God
· Holy Spirit as the Guarantee of the Full Inheritance as they experienced in Acts

2008-04-25T14:06:00.003-06:00

Well, I went to Tulsa in Februray to be with my family at the passing of my Dad's brother. His name is Gerry Strickland. Gerry Lee Strickland. Our family is confident in the promises of God's word that we will see him again. We will be missing Gerry for a while. A least until we get to join him.

He and his wife Paulette, were/are encouragers. They loved Jesus together and she is going on fine, surrounded by gobs of kids and grandkids. We love you, Paulette and we thank God for a great partner and friend for Gerry all these years.

more later

The Real power lies with in the Grasp of the Believer

2008-04-12T21:53:00.004-06:00

Have you ever experienced a supernatural sense of spiritual unity with Christ and with others in Christ that was so valuable that you wouldn't trade it, or dream of doing anything to disrupt it. That kind of unity only comes by the working and moving of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
My pastor used to say, the Holy Spirit is the most gentle being in the universe. He was right, too. He has to be gentle and careful and must quickly withdraw His Presence when things are done that are offensive to Him. Why? Because of His power, which is staggering in it's scope and intensity.

Genesis 1.2... "And the Spirit of God hovered or brooded over the face of the deep, ... and God said ..." And everything He said, was done. Why? because when the spirit of God discovers the Word of God, in a place of spiritual unity, the lightnings of His soul strike with stunning creative and destructive force and intesity.
He creates light, love, life, joy, liberty, peace, ability to forgive and unity of heart between an individual and God and with our fellow man... (see
He destroys darkness, disease, sin, and it's foul offspring disease and death.
He searches to and fro, throughout the whole earth, hoping to find a single person on the planet who has "booted up" in faith with a request, based on God's Word.
He is the "Promise of the Father, based on the preaching of the evangelists in John and Luke, and is promised to as many as the Lord our God shall call.

He is availabe to you. "Call me and I will answer you and show you great and powerful things that you do not know. To you who are reading this now, the Holy Spirit and his presence fills the universe with His presence.

Effective Praying

2008-02-06T16:36:00.000-06:00

Read Luke 11.1-13.
In Luke 11.1, Jesus is praying. It is his habit. His disciples, over time, begin to put together the large amount of time he spends praying and how that immediately afterward, rivers of healing and saving and life-changing power flow out of him. One day, as he finished and began to stir around, one of them asks him to teach them how to pray.
Finally.
He didn't try to teach this until they asked.
It is hard to teach people how to pray, who don't see it's value.
It’s still that way.
You can live and die, and never learn how to pray effectively.
You can go to church where others pray and get results.
You can be in the ministry and hope that others will do your praying for you.
You can live and die, so close to victory, and never experience it.
Don't do it!

Ask Jesus to teach you how to pray.

I. The Lord Jesus Teaches His Disciples (Trainees) His Pattern for Prayer. (11.1-4) This pattern is the Master Plan and the other kinds of prayer are absorbed into this pattern. (See 1 Timothy 1.18-2.8)
II. He Teaches Intercession for the People You Meet, Who Do not Yet Know the Father for Themselves. (11.5-13) This is His secret to the prayer of Intercession. This is the WORLD”S BEST KEPT OPEN SECRET FOR EVANGELISM and to the advance of the Kingdom of God in your family, neighborhood, workplace
a. Our Biggest failure in following Christ in America is a prayer failure! We start praying when we should be commanding. We start commanding when we haven’t prepared in prayer (“A man has come to me in his journey and I have nothing to set before him.” And Matthew 17.14-21) We run to Lazarus when we first get word of his need, instead of waiting two more days and then going to Lazarus following God’s Pillar of Fire and Pillar of Cloud. We speak for him without hearing from him. Read John 15.1-8 and take his advice.
b. Notice the details of this story
i. You are the person who has had a friend that came to him in his journey
ii. You go to the Source of Bread; that is the Father in Verses 2 and 4.
iii. You can go at midnight.
iv. The Father knows you and he knows his own children, who are with him … But he doesn’t know your friend!
v. He says, I cannot rise and give you bread for that man, because the door is locked. In the case of sinners, the door is locked by them, and the father will never force himself on them.
vi. The only hope for lost humanity is that someone who has access to God enter His presence for them and persist until he gives them enough bread (miracles, signs, wonders, Holy Spirit convincing of their sin, Jesus salvation, and fast approaching judgment unless they turn, healing power, etc.)
vi. Is this not what Jesus did immediately after being filled with the Holy Spirit? He prayed and fasted 40 days and nights, and immediately after that, the miracles and healings began accompanying his preaching. He continued that pattern up until his death (See Mark 1.35-38)
viii. What if it is hard to pray like that? You had better do it anyway.
ix. “I don’t know how!” Here’s how: Refuse to take NO for an answer. Decide it is the will of God before you start, based on his word and your fellowship with him. Then:
1. Ask and keep on asking
2. Seek and keep on seeking
3. Knock and keep on knocking

x. The Father says, “Don’t bother me. (Often, when you start intercession, this is how it seems. The situation seems dark and hopeless. But you can go at midnight! You can pray it through! You can get heaven’s bread for the one you love and care about!) The door is locked…and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you. But I tell you this ─ though he won’t do it for friendship sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.” (11.7, 8 in the New Living Translation)

Let’s close this discussion out by saying that Paul and all the early church put prayer first, before any attempt at ministry or outreach. And I don’t mean like we say, “Let’s have a word of prayer before we go.” I mean Acts 13.1-3. I mean Acts 4.29-31.
God is calling us to pray for those He does not know as his own, just as Jesus came to earth for those He did not know. The results will be huge!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who have you met at work, at the store, in your neighborhood? How far can you believe God? Ephesians 3.22 (NLT) “Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”
Don’t fall for the devil’s lie, that you can’t pray.
Just go get on your knees with an open Bible and this outline … and set an alarm, and refuse to leave his presence for an hour. Do it again tomorrow. You’ll be shocked at what he can teach you if you ask, and then don’t get right up and walk away.
Stay there and PRAY!

Check Out Dr. Mike Adams @ dradams.com

2008-02-04T08:08:00.000-06:00

There is a news/current events commentator from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington who has consistently, and in a succinct manner, addressed many of the social insanities of this present pop culture in ways that I agree with. He addresses liberty, gun control and the constitutional freedom to keep and bear arms, feminism and gay rights.
He addresses these issues in a humorous way and with such basic logic, that when people of the opposite views respond to his articles, they do not take him on in a logical response to his arguments. They just curse him and call him names and say how he should never have been allowed to be a professor on a US university. Why? Because at our universities, (where they claim diversity is god and that we should welcome all ideas and give them a chance to be heard, no matter how stupid and unworkable they are) Christian ideas and time-proven principles that work in real life, are not celebrated nor are they in any way welcome.
I can't say that I blame them. Their silly ideas look so pitiful in the light of real solid wisdom, it is better for them to make rules saying you can't use it in your college papers or in their class discussions.
It is probably embarrassing when someone with common sense listens to their drivel and laughs. That can never be allowed!

Look him up on the internet at two places.

dradams.com

townhall.com (go to columnists and look for Mike Adams)

Enjoy. It's extra good today.

Prayer Victories Originate from Our Relationship with God - Part 1

2008-01-29T10:23:00.000-06:00

When a man or woman receives Christ by making Jesus Lord of their life, a supernatural power enters their heart and begins to change them from the inside out. Jesus said, "As many as recieved him, to them he gave the power to become a child of God.
The very first thing that changes on the inside of anyone who receives Christ is this - you gain a deep sense of acceptance and adoption. There comes a knowing that "God is my Father... I am not a fatherless person any more. I belong. I belong to God. God is my father, my papa, who deeply loves me in a good and holy and pure way, and that looks out for my benefit and protects me from hurt and harm. This is not a theory, it is a fact. Read Romans 8.14-16.
When you are a newborn son or daughter of God, prayer is so easy and exiting and organic. You don't have to try to pray. God watches over you and you have a sense of his closeness and of your new relationship to him and with him. It seems he answers every prayer almost before you get it out of your mouth.
Soon, though, your father begins to teach you through that sense of closeness, which is called the presence of God, the Glory of God, and in John's writings, it is called the Anointing.
As you grow in Christ, or when enough time has passed that you should have grown in Christ, it takes more obedience, more yielding of yourself to your father-God to have that sense of his nearness and favor.
That is absolutely right and fair and is not a gospel of works. You would have no relationship with God at all, if it were not by grace alone that you enter in to his kingdom and even to enter his presence today to pray and/or fellowship with him. But by using a Binary System of "off and on," he trains you, he guides you, to do those things that please him.
If you have lost the "sense of His presence" or "the anointing," don't blame him. Realize that he hasn't moved. You moved. You missed it, somewhere, if your peace and the testimony of His voice in your heart, has decreased.
Don't despair, kids!
He pulled back a little to let you know you missed it. He didn't leave.
Take the time, right now, to open your Bible and read 1 John 1, the entire 10 sentences.
In verse 8, he is saying that if we are living without an assurance in our heart, deep and strong, of God's presence, and of our sonship (relationship) through Jesus, then we are fooling ourselves or lying if we say we haven't sinned. That does't mean you are rejected ... it means you need to follow the directions found in verse 9. "But if we confess our sins to him, he can be trusted to forgive our sins and it is justice to do so since he paid the price for all our sins with the shedding of his own blood."
Confessing your sin is like spitting it out. It is seperating yourself from it. You stop doing it. That confession and seperation ... RESTORES US TO FULL FELLOWSHIP AND SONSHIP AND RIGHTSTANDING WITH GOD!
Once again, God draws near and we sense His presence. Our hearts are assured in His presence. In that place, in that atmosphere, faith and prayer become organic. This is the foundation of the prayer of faith.
This is the ground where the seeds of the promises of God's Word can grow until our faith is strong and can be harvested through the prayer of faith. More Later!

I Am the God of Abraham and of You

2008-01-25T13:08:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to remind you...

When you are feeling like nothing is working like it should;
And the prayers you prayed to change them
Didn't feel particularly anointed;
...It is time for you to begin to talk!
Not to others, but to your own soul.
Ask your soul, "What is your problem?"
Tell your soul to quiet down and listen!
Then say:
"I serve the God of Abraham!"

What does that mean?
The God who led Abraham and kept his promise to Abraham,
Even though there was no book to read or map to follow.
That is the God who makes His promises to you!

Now say:
"I serve the God of Isaac."
God kept his promise to Isaac,
Even though he Isaac was not as bold and forceful as his father had been.
Isaac did not treat his sons fairly.
He was not a great father to his boys.
But God remembered his promise to Abraham and revealed himself to Isaac in a way Isaac could grasp.
And Isaac believed.
God will reveal Himself to your kids in a way they can grasp and believe ...
If you will seek Him yourself, with all your heart.
If you to will believe His promises as Isaac did -
Not based on your temperment -
And join His covenant with Jesus.

Now say:
"I serve the God of Jacob."
He kept his word to Abraham and blessed Jacob...
Even though he shouldn't because,
Jacob was not the firstborn son.
Jacob was not his father's favorite.
Jacob was not as strong as strong as the brother who was.

Jacob was a weasel and a cheat.
But somehow, by letting Jacob be the victim
Of the same kind of schemes he pulled on others,
God changed Jacob from a schemer to a Man of Trust
And a praying man who prevails over his circumstances,
And a Prince with God, who He renamed Israel!

Wow!

Now, memorize this passage from Hebrews 13.7,8.
"Never forget the leaders,
Who first spoke to you the Word of God.
Remember how they lived and imitate their faith.
Jesus Christ is always the same (to you, as he was to them)
Yesterday, today, and for ever."

Then, remind your own soul, by speaking to yourself,
of all the times
That things seemed dire, dark and,
And the circumstances seemed impossible to change
And you felt completely alone.
And you prayed then; and God came through.
Came through for you

Walk through it all again in your mind,
And quietly begin to give thanks.

Thank you, Lord!
Thank you for what you did.
Thank you for bringing me through.
Thank you for breaking the habits of sin,
That used to seem would never be broken.

Wow.
Wow.
Amazing!
I worship you for who that situation in my life revealed you to be.

Now, remember and worship His Name.
He told Moses, years later, "My name is, 'I Am.'
"Tell them 'I Am' sent me.
"I am the God of Abraham.
"I am the God of Isaac.
"I am the God of Jacob.
"I am the God of Jesus.
"And through him, 'I am' the God of you."
"My name is known by what I do!
"By what I've done for men like you,
"And what I'll do today for you."

Ephesians One and Ephesians two,
Brings all this to Light
The God of Jesus, through the cross;
Brings hope when there was none!

Now go do what you must today,
He'll keep His Word to you.

Praise... the... Lord!

2008-01-08T11:41:00.000-06:00

Prayer Seminar

With Phil Strickland

Materials:
· Notebook to keep my handouts in to review at home each week, and to bring back each week
· Spiral-Bound Index Cards – to hand-write the scriptures we cover in the class, because the Word of God is THE greatest key to a successful prayer life.
Preparation for the Class:
· Pray James 1.5 -8
· Pray Colossians 1.9-13
· Pray Ephesians 1.16-23 and 3.14-21.

If you want to review the last lesson, and sometimes even catch the new notes, go to

Week One – Lord Teach Us to Pray (Foundation Scriptures: Luke 11.1-13;
Week Two – What is Prayer? (Ezekiel 22.30, 31)
Week Three - Why Pray? (1 Timothy 1.18-2.4; Mark 1.35-38; Matthew 6.1-6 )
Week Four – The Purpose of Prayer
Week Five - To Whom Should We Pray?
Week Six – A Guide to Effective Daily Prayer
Week Seven – How to Pray with Power
Week Eight – God’s Promises About Prayer
Week Nine – Planning Your Daily Devotional Time
Week Ten – The Prayer of Faith
Week Eleven – The Prayer of Praise and Worship
Week Twelve – The Prayer if Intercession

Prayer is more than “saying your prayers.” It is more than a religious exercise or duty. It is communication with your Heavenly Father. Learning to pray is deciding to make Jesus Lord of your life and to really follow him. A follower of Christ who doesn’t spend time in prayer beyond church, meals, and “bedtime prayers,” is not doing much following and should be asking themselves some hard questions.
Prayer is joining forces with your Heavenly Father to see his will carried out on earth. It is entering in to living, current contact with Father God at his throne to talk about everything and anything. It is asking to get something changed in my own life or possibly in someone else’s life.
Learning how to pray is learning how to enter the Father’s presence to visit or to transact business.
Prayer is designed by God to be answered, to result in fellowship/friendship, and to be a way for you and God to share in the benefits of each other’s lives. Answered prayer and holy living glorifies God. It brings his abilities and resources to bear on human needs and desires, whether they are your basic needs of life or the broader supply of spiritual benefit, power, and grace needed to meet the needs of the world that Jesus died to save.
Through prayer, we refocus on the reality of his authority and power and in his presence we lose our fear of man. We find forgiveness and then peace for our weaknesses and failings. And we find courage to go on. Some people have never experienced this kind of peace … That’s why you are here!

Now – make this determination:
I will not study and learn about prayer, and then just “hang the diploma on my wall.” I will use what I learn in my own prayer life. I am ready to improve/increase my prayer life. I am ready to give myself to God and:
· even if it is hard for me at first, I will set aside the time necessary and do it.
· Even if I fail at first, I will not quit setting aside the time to pray and
· I will stay with it until praying is an ingrained habit in my life.

Some people say they don’t have time to pray. I don’t have time not to pray, everyday! So:

I ask you, Father, to give me wisdom and understanding in the area of prayer. Jesus, give me grace to pray like you did and to recognize I cannot make it in life without abiding in fellowship with you every day. Holy Spirit, help me, guide me, fill me, strengthen me, and make me a person of prayer.
I ask all this in Jesus mighty name, Amen!

Name:
Date
Witness:
Daily Target Prayer Time:

Psalm 145:18-20 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. NAS

Week One
Lord Teach Us to Pray

Foundation Scriptures: Luke 11.1-13; Ephesians 6.18; James 5.16-18

Introduction:

Luke 11.1-13 The disciples began to see the fruit of Jesus life was connected to his prayer life. He was telling them that they were chosen to be with him, follow him and do the works he was doing. So, one of them finally asked, "Lord, teach us to pray..." And that is what he did. You will not learn to pray until you start noticing some of the things they noticed and then, start asking some of the same questions.

Answered prayer is the fruit of every believer's life, if they are abiding in Christ. Any Questions?

1. Have you decided to follow Jesus? Learning to pray is a practical way you can begin in your quest to follow Jesus. Here (Luke 11.1-4) is the simple outline that you can follow to remember the things you need to pray about. If you follow it, you will grow in your prayer life. Why an outline?
a. If you were going to talk to someone important, and you wanted to be sure that you didn’t get tongue-tied and forget the important things, what would you do? … The outline is like having that list …
b. Check out the Matthew version of the same prayer

2. Kinds of Prayer (Ephesians 6.18). There are different kinds of prayer and each one has its own set of rules or principles that make it effective. Suppose you were to announce that after church on Sunday, we are going to have a picnic and play sports out in the field. There will be baseball, volley ball, soccer, and American football. Only this time, we are going to use the same rules for all the sports. You would have mass confusion ... We need to learn that different needs imply the use of different kinds of prayer and learn to use the correct tool for the need.
That’s what I want to teach you in this class. And I want to see you begin, here and now, a lifetime of friendship with God, through His Word and prayer of all kinds.
3. Some of the “Kinds of Prayer” are laid out in 1Timothy 1.18 - 2.4. Some rules of prayer apply to all the kinds of prayer and some of them only apply to one kind of prayer. When you read a scripture or a story about prayer, see if you can:
a. Discover what type or kind of prayer is called for by the situation,
b. Did they pray the right thing?
c. Did they get what they were asking for?
d. Are there any principles or learnings I/we can take from the story?
4. What are the limits of prayer? (James 5.16-18, Jeremiah 32.17)
a. What are the limits of God? The power is not in the prayer, the power is in the God you to whom you are praying.
b. The limits of prayer are on the man side not on the God side. Look at James 4.1-4 and Matthew 17.19-21.
5. What can you do, right now, to start your life of prayer, or jump-start it?
1. Get serious about this class. Put the strategies we discuss into action in your life.
2. Set a time for prayer every morning and give it to God, even if you just sit quietly in His presence. Do whatever is necessary to make your body comply with the desire of your heart to pray.
3. If you lack desire for a strong prayer life, apply for (ask) Grace and Mercy - Hebrews 4.16. God's grace can create the desire you lack ... "Remember your creator ..." Ecclesiastes 12.1
4. Recognize the weakness of your flesh and adopt strategies and attitudes that help will help you succeed. This is no different than what a young person has to do when he/she gets their first job and has to start getting up at 4:00AM in order to make it to work on time. Problem is, they have never seen 4:00AM except in college when they stayed up till 4:00, partying. Their body is not conditioned for a real job. They have to make it hard on themselves, do things they are not accustomed to, in order to keep this new job. That’s how serious you have to take following Jesus as Lord and learning to pray. (See Psalm 5 and Mark 1.35)
5. Learn daily devotional praying and the difference between it and deep intercession and waiting on God … Many years ago, I had faced a serious career setback in my ministry and calling and I had become a grumpy person that my wife no longer liked very much. So I started asking God to fix my wife! I felt she needed help to become a more understanding person. (That was pretty dumb, but I didn’t know that back then!)
One day, as I was working outdoors, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart (just a series of thoughts accompanied by his presence) about the answer to my prayer. He led me to stop doing my daily prayer and Bible reading alone and separate from my wife. He spoke to my heart that if we would read and pray together, his presence would begin to solve some of the problems we were having in our communication with each other.
I presented that to her, and we began to read a portion of scripture together every day, and then pray. We followed the outline of the Lord’s Prayer in a loose and fairly short manner. We opened by giving God credit for who he is, Our Father, Our Provider, Our Healer, Our Righteousness, etc., as he has been revealed to us through the scriptures.
We would not try to cover the whole Bible but just one of His names for today. Then, we would take turns expressing our shared needs, and ask our heavenly Father for the things we knew we needed for the day, such as safety, provision, healing for our family and acquaintances, and then thank him for answering our prayer today, even though the day was yet to be played out.
Sometimes we would have to stop and apologize to each other or to God for grudges and arguments. (1 Peter 3.7) This often happened while the feelings were still raw, but we wanted our prayers to work and to close the door to the devil, so … It worked. God did all that He promised and much, much more.

The benefits of learning to pray like Jesus did are astronomical. Please give this study the attention and the honor that it deserves. According to Ezekiel 22.30, 31, eternity alone will reveal what a difference it made … or didn’t!

2008-01-02T15:43:00.000-06:00

I stumbled across a discussion forum @ Commentary Magazine. com, of whether or not the US or Israel would respond with nuclear weapons if Iran were to nuke a population center in Israel and whether or not the leaders (mullahs) of Iran are convinced that we would respond, right now. I joined the discussion and my comment was along the lines of the following:

In the comment above, "Sean" states that there is a question as to whether the US or Israel would respond to the use of a nuclear weapon against one of Israel's population centers by "nuking" them back. So far, the mullah's have a pretty good record on their judgment along those lines.
For example, they had NO FEAR of President Jimmy Carter, and they acted accordingly to rub our face in the dirt for every minute of his presidency that they felt safe doing so. Then, they stopped and released our hostages only hours before Ronald Reagan took office, also rightly judging that he was going to kick #@* and take names later. All through the election process, Ronald Reagan refused to speculate what he might do to Iran if he was elected. So the Mullahs had to look at his record of dealing with riots as the Governor of California. That was enough for them. (I have watched to see if anyone would comment along these lines in the current electoral process. The answer is "No." The "drive-by" media has no time for research and real thought in these matters. They form an opinion, drive by the site of anything happening and conclude that it confirms what they already thought and then they present it as news. They have a political agenda and it's so clear, it makes you want to gag.)
When we invaded Iraq, the Iranians (if you believe the latest estimate from the CIA) halted their pursuit of nuclear weapons (as did Libya), rightly judging that the then and current occupant of the US Presidency would react with real action to their program, and not just whining and talking as the Democrats BRAG THAT THEY WOULD DO!
Keep it up, Dems. You never have understood what bad men fear and what they laugh at. If a Democrat wins the Presidency, it will be open season on the good guys around the world.
That doesn't translate into total safety if a Republican wins, either. Just a better chance that the Islamists and the tyrants will have to weigh the consequences of their choices and maybe back off of the nuclear options.
The Democrats, Ron Paul, and Mike Huckabee have already told them that if they win, the Hamas's, the Hezbollah's, and the nations like Iran and North Korea have nothing to worry about.

Defining Prayer

2007-12-28T23:42:00.000-06:00

I 've been invited to teach on prayer by my home church. We have also talked about leading prayer for the church, so I started thinking about prayer and wanted to share my thoughts with you.

A friend of mine who pastors in Missouri, defined prayer like this:
"Prayer is more than saying prayers. It is more than a religious exercize or duty. It is communication with the Father. It is joining forces with him to carry out his will in the earth. It is entering into vital contact with the Father at his throne to fellowship with him or to get something changed in your life or another's. Learning how to pray consists of learning how to enter the Father's presence to visit or transact business."
Isn't that great and simple and clear?
It's nice to have a working definition of what you want to do, but after that, you have to start praying. You will never learn to pray just by reading about it.
If you love God, talk to him like you talk to a friend, and yet with the respect you owe him. Don't put on a religious voice, just talk.
Are you thankful for anything? Tell him.
Do you need help, or strength, or grace to change a habit? Confess your weakness and ask your father for help.
Does your family or friend have a need that they can't fix alone? Ask him to help them by meeting that need.
Understand that the cross purchased more that a place in heaven when you die. John 1.12 declares, "But to everyone who receives him, he gives them the power to become a child of God..." You have a place in heaven because you are his child ... now, and you are important to him. The Lord says, in Jeremiah 33.3, "Call out to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you don't know."
If you are new to this, I can tell you, you are starting on the greatest adventure. You are being invited to share in the rescue of the people on this planet that Jesus died to save. Read Ezekiel 22:30, 31 and join with him and with us as intercessory prayer partners that learn from Jesus to pray and change the destiny of nations!

"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land (the people) so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none."

He's still looking today. Will you learn and join the team?

Talk to me by the "Comments" button below.

Hold to God's Unchanging Hand

2007-12-26T15:57:00.000-06:00

This post is titled after a song I grew up hearing my mother and my Grandmother (on her side) sing to themselves either as they worked or in times of prayer. To get a full effect, read each verse and then follow it with the chorus:

Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand!

Chorus:
Hold to God's unchanging hand
Hold to God's unchanging hand
Build your hope on things eternal
Hold to God's unchanging hand.

Trust in Him who will not leave you,
Whatsoever years may bring;
If by earthly friends forsaken,
Still more closely to Him cling!

Covet not this world's vain riches,
That so rapidly decay;
Seek to gain the heav'nly treasures,
They will never pass away!

When your journey is completed,
If to God you have been true;
Fair and bright the home in glory,
Your enraptured soul will view!

"I heard Mama and Papa sing this as they went about their work from as far back as I can remember. It means so much to me." Betty Strickland, commenting on the this song.

I called my mom today and asked her to send me the words to the song, "Hold to God's Unchanging Hand." As I was meditating on it, I thought of yet another old song, with words that compliment the one above.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus love and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus name.

Chorus:
On Christ the solid rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

I hope you will let its timeless message break through to your soul and spirit today. The core message of the Bible, is that Jesus Himself has stood between us and the destruction that we, through our sins, deserved. That He, himself, took our place in God's judgement of sin and gave us a share in His eternal place of favor with God. And that, finally, the only requirements for receiving this immeasurable gift of forgiveness of sins and redemption for both now and forever, are for you to believe this great news and to vocally identify yourself with him, by making him the king of your life. What that means is that you pray to God and say something to this effect:

Almighty God,
I come to you with nothing in my hand to pay you what I owe you.
You are God, the Creator of everything in the material world.
What can I bring to you that you don't already have?
Only one thing. I bring you my right to choose.
I believe that Jesus lived a righteous life.
I believe that Jesus died for my sins, a just person dying for an unjust person.
I believe that what he did on the cross satisfied my debt to you, owed because of my personal sins.
From here on, I identify myself with Jesus as my Lord and Commander. Everything I can learn about him and what he wants me to do, I will make it my business to learn it and do it.
I know I will need your help and I ask you for it now.
I Make Jesus my Lord, Now and Forever!
Amen.

So, what are you waiting for?
Do it now!
Welcome to the Family!

Questions? Click on Comments below and follow the instructions.

Since Leaving Manila and What I am doing now!

2007-05-30T14:23:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much for your time and the answers you gave me. I will be praying for everyone mentioned. I am grateful to know about you and your family's ministry activities. Would love to get email addresses of any of these folks that wouldn't mind corresponding with me. I will be praying for you and with you in the days ahead and would love to hear from you concerning national issues and church issues.

Are you aware of any VCF or Every Nation outreach to Muslims? If so, would it be possible for me to correspond with the people leading those efforts? If not, would anyone there be interested in talking about the need to have one?

I am asking you so many questions, that you may be sorry you contacted me. Ha! I'm not sorry! I'm thrilled and ready to pray in earnest for your continued blessing and success.

I live in West Columbia, TX, and I drive 60 miles to work and 60 miles home every day. It's a wonderful extra two hours a day for prayer, worship and fellowship with Jesus. I am working with the Dow Chemical Company in Texas City, Texas. It is a suburb of Houston, and is the last spot on the mainland before the highway crosses Galveston Bay going to Galveston Island. I am an OSHA compliance Technician. That means I help keep Dow's work practices in maintenance and construction in compliance with US Federal Requirements for Environmental, Health, and Safety laws. I work as an inspector of work practices and conditions, and I get invited out to do motivational speeches to large projects, business groups/associations and businesses who are trying to improve their safety performance.
Every company in the US is required to track the work related injuries that happen in the course of each year and report it to the government. Insurance companies use these rates to set your company's insurance bill, etc. One other aspect of my business life that has crossed over with my ministry, is that I have pastored many, many people in the corporate community and related contractor communities, who do not have a church or minister of their own. I have married them and buried their children. As a result, some of these have given their lives to Christ and are planted/flourishing in productive local churches.

I am writing several books right now, and progress on this has been slow, because of the requirements of my job and ministry. More on that later.

My ministry license is maintained with a group called "The Fellowship" out of the Dallas/Fort Worth area and we found a great Spirit-filled church in the Brazoria, Texas area, that is impacting the whole region. Beth and I have been there for 6 years. Before that, I pastored an Assembly of God church in Freeport, Texas. In the years, I traveled to preach in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Congo, England, Belize, Costa Rica, Mexico and others. My job is keeping me closer to home these days, and I guess that is ok, cause many Muslims are moving to America. They are here in great numbers in Houston and the surrounding communities, and we are researching ways to build bridges of relationship to them.

American Churches have basically ignored them and I am praying, writing, and organizing prayer efforts to change that. At least they ignored them until 9/11. Now, the church people are struggling with feelings of anger and fear toward them, just like the general population. That is not right, but it is how things are now. Politically, the US is divided between wanting to fight the radicals who have declared war on us (Republicans) and ignore them and hope they go away (Democrats). The business people want to sell stuff to them and the Christians want to ignore them. With God's help, we won't stay that way. I am not a peacenik that says we can ignore the unlawful activities of rogues in and out of the United States. But as a disciple of Jesus Christ, I am under a mandate to bless and pray for those who hate me, curse me, and say all manner of evil against me falsely, because of Jesus. I am not given the right to hate, or to ignore "the lost" of any group. I feel like the Muslims are a great frontier of evangelism, a new "treasure hid in a field," and that it would be worth selling out to claim a portion of this great treasure. 1.4 billion people claim to be Muslim... and a lot of them will come to Jesus if they are given a chance.

Thanks again, Emil, for making my day and letting me know how you are doing. I bless you and your wife and kids. I speak God's blessings on your business interests(I would like to more about what you do, also!). I bless your church and the churches associated with it. I am thrilled that you and many others who we are friends with, were wise enough to "jump" when Christian Life made the turn that they did. I could not have stayed for those changes.

With love and blessings,

Phil and Beth

What has happened in the Philippines since we left!

2007-05-30T13:59:00.000-06:00

Phil,
I have commented on your letter in italics:
Emil,
Yes I do remember you. Thanks for the reminder.
Yes, my wife Beth and I worked for KCM and lived in the Avalon
apartments not too far from you and the Castillejo family.
I am so proud to hear from you and to know you are going on with God.
Do
you see any of our other friends? Like the ones you mentioned? I know
about Welson and stay in touch with Tecson. What about Chris and Joe
and
their families... Are they well? Do you keep up with them?
- Yes, Joe Fabregas is doing very well, serving God and lives in Malaysia. He attends our Every Nation Church in Malaysia. He is a businessman and has plans of moving to the U.S., Married w/kids
- Julius Fabregas is a pastor in Victory Christian Fellowship. He also heads a VCF ministry (TALENTS IN CHRIST)to actors and people in performing arts and media. He is married with kids
- Joe and Julius have been in VCF even before me and my wife joined the church.
- Chris Castillejo is based in the U.S. in Ventura California. He has been in the U.S. for more than 15 years. I know that he is active in his local church(I’m not sure if that is Jubillee Christian Fellowship). Chriss is still single
- I am in regular contact with these guys
How is Diane
Castillejo? What about Chris and Diane's Mother and Father?
Dian and her husband attend the church of Paul Chase south of Manila. I think that the parents of Chris also attend the same church.
Ricky and I
have seen each other here in the US several times over the years. How
is
he doing?
I haven’t seen Ricky for some time, but I get to talk to him every now and then. He is married.
When did you leave Christian Life?
Did you know Bobby Rebullida(I am not sure of the spelling) from
Christian Life? I will never forget how God used him in Bacolod, to
minister to a priest who had seen a vision of a man carrying a burgundy
Bible... It became a flourishing fellowship related to Christian Life
at
that time.
We left Christian Life when the church was turning to become Orthodox or Episcopalian Catholic. I don’t know the term, but they shifted into a denomination that is supposed to be a cross between catholic and Greek orthodox. We left when they started having liturgical masses once a month.
Bobby Rebulida (and a lot of others) left the church. Bobby started his own Christian church in Makati.
I have friends named Benny and Carmelita Langouan. They have started a
church in La Trinidad (close to Baguio) in connection with Paul Chase
and his ministries. Benny was his worship director for many years. Is
this the VCF fellowship you are a part of? I mean the same
organization...?
-I am not sure.
I would love to know about Jovie Galaraga, who was with the Foursquare
Denomination. I don't think you would know him, but he was a great man
of God with a good and honest heart. I had heard that he was publishing
some ministry magazines.
Yes, I know pastor Jovie Galaraga. In fact, he and his family have joined VCF 7 years ago. I think pastor Jovie works with us full time, I’m not sure if this is in VCF or in Every Nation .
Do you hear or see much of Eddie Villanueva? Does he and the churches
he
directed still stand in the truth?
I know that Eddie Villanueva’s church JIL (Jesus is Lord) is still going strong and are doing okay. We have close relations with JIL as a church.
Wow, Emil! Thank you for this contact. Stay in touch and let us be
prayer partners to anything you are doing that is an assignment from
God. I am working in a large chemical company that has branches in
Philippines, China, and all over the world. I manage industrial safety
for the construction and maintenance of the plants they build. I speak
to hundreds of people each week, to motivate them to pay attention to
safety as they try to achieve production goals. God has blessed this
job
and I am doing well and growing both financially and in spiritual
influence... And it pays for all the areas of ministry that I am still
involved with.
That is so true, we are all ministers. Some are called to the 5 fold ministry, and some are called to minister in different areas of society.
God Bless You, your Wife and your Children.
We are your friends and partners,
And willing servants of Jesus Christ!
Ps. I am full of questions because I love all you guys and am so glad
to
hear good news about your life and family!
Phil and Beth Strickland
What church and what company are you connected with?
God bless you guys
Emil & Crickette Abello

2007-05-30T12:41:00.000-06:00

Emil,
Yes I do. Thanks for the reminder.

Yes, my wife Beth and I worked for KCM and lived in the Avalon apartments not too far from you and the Castillejo family.

I am so proud to hear from you and to know you are going on with God. Do you see any of our other friends? Like the ones you mentioned? I know about Welson and stay in touch with Tecson. What about Chris and Joe and their families... Are they well? Do you keep up with them? How is Diane Castillejo? What about Chris and Diane's Mother and Father? Ricky and I have seen each other here in the US several times over the years. How is he doing?

When did you leave Christian Life?

Did you know Bobby Rebullida(I am not sure of the spelling) from Christian Life? I will never forget how God used him in Bacolod, to minister to a priest who had seen a vision of a man carrying a burgundy Bible... It became a flourishing fellowship related to Christian Life at that time.

I have friends named Benny and Carmelita Langouan. They have started a church in La Trinidad (close to Baguio) in connection with Paul Chase and his ministries. Benny was his worship director for many years. Is this the VCF fellowship you are a part of? I mean the same organization...?

I would love to know about Jovie Galaraga, who was with the Foursquare Denomination. I don't think you would know him, but he was a great man of God with a good and honest heart. I had heard that he was publishing some ministry magazines.

Do you hear or see much of Eddie Villanueva? Does he and the churches he directed still stand in the truth? His church was running 8,000 when I preached there. I've heard 50, 000 now.

Wow, Emil! Thank you for this contact. Stay in touch. I am working in a large chemical company that has branches in Philippines, China, and all over the world. I manage industrial safety for the construction and maintenance of the plants they build. I speak to hundreds of people each week, to motivate them to pay attention to safety as they try to achieve production goals. God has blessed this job and I am doing well and growing both financially and in spiritual influence... And it pays for all the areas of ministry that I am still involved with.

God Bless You, your Wife and your Children.

2007-05-30T12:20:00.000-06:00

Phil,

This is Emil Abello from Manila. Do you still
remember me. Tecson Chua said that he was in
contact
with you. How are you? What have you been up to.
Are you still in full time ministry.
Emil

Emil,
Thanks for contacting me.
It has been almost 25 years since I was there.
Could you help me out with some details of how I
know you?
I would appreciate it, if you don't mind.

Where did we meet?
What were you doing at that time?
What fellowship/church were you connected to?

Who are some of our other mutual friends?
Are you still in contact with any more of them or
only with Tecson Chua?

Sometime ago I was in Aruba, just off the northern
coast of Venezuela,
and I met a Filipino brother working there who was a
member of JIL,
Brother Eddie Villanueva's church.

What are you doing now, Emil?
I hope that you are continuing to serve the Lord?
When we came to Manila, Beth and I had been married
for only 3 years...
Now we have just passed our 29th anniversary.
I am 50 years old and I weigh a lot mote than I did
back then.
My two daughters are grown, and beautiful like their
mother.
They are both serving God in strong churches in the
Houston, Texas area.
The eldest of the two is married to a good man and
has given me two
handsome grandsons.
The younger of the two is called into missions and
is preparing herself
to be able to pay her own way and travel the world
as a minister and
servant of Christ.

I am preaching and teaching in my home church, which
is in a fast
growing coastal area, southwest of Houston. I get
invited out to hold
special meetings for youth and missions all over
this region.
I am more in love with Jesus than ever before.
He himself is the greatest gift and promise that
heaven has ever had to
offer.

Finally , in recent months, I have been involved in
Ministry to Muslims.
I am building a prayer network to encourage
believers everywhere to not
be influenced by the media to hate Muslims, but to
love them and give
them justice and for those who hate us... To bless
those who hate you
and pray for those who persecute you and who think
that they are doing
God a favor if they kill you. Pray, and then do
individual acts of
kindness for the ones you meet.

Please refresh and renew my memory and stay in
contact with me. It is a
great pleasure for me to hear from you. God bless
you, your family and
any effort you are making in His Name!

Your friend in Christ,

Phil Strickland

Overcoming Depression and Grief

2007-05-25T11:33:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to remind you...
When you are feeling like nothing is working like it should;
And the prayers you prayed to change them
Didn't feel particularly anointed;
It is time to begin to talk!
Not to others, but to your own soul.
Ask your soul, "What is your problem?"
Tell your soul to quiet down and listen!
" I serve the God of Abraham!"

What does that mean?
The God who led Abraham and kept his promise to Abraham,
Even though there was no book to read or map to follow.
"I serve the God of Isaac."
God kept his promise to Isaac,
Even though he Isaac was not as bold and forceful as his father had been.
"I serve the God of Jacob."
He kept his word to Jacob...
Even though he couldn't because,
Jacob was not the firstborn son.
Jacob was not his father's favorite.
Jacob was not as strong as strong as the brother who was.
Jacob was a weasel and a cheat.
And somehow, by letting Jacob be the victim
Of the same kind of schemes he pulled on others,
God changed Jacob from a schemer to a Man of Trust
And a praying man who prevails over his circumstances,
And a Prince with God, named Israel!
Wow!
Now, memorize this passage from Hebrews 13.7,8.
"Never forget the leaders,
Who first spoke to you the Word of God.
Remember how they lived and imitate their faith.
Jesus Christ is always the same (to you, as he was to them)
Yesterday, today, and for ever."

Then, remind your own soul of all the times
That things seemed dire, dark and,
That you felt completely alone.
And you prayed then and God came through.
Walk through it all again in your mind,
And quietly give thanks.

Thank you, Lord!
Thank you for what you did.
Thank you for bringing me through.
Thank you for breaking the sin habits
That used to seem would never be broken.
Wow. Wow. Amazing!
I worship you for who that situation in my life revealed you to be.

Now, remember and worship His Name.
He told Moses, "I Am."
Tell them "I Am" sent me.
Because, if that is who He was,
That is Who He still Am (Is)!

Now go do what you must today.
Praising God each step of the way.
Knowing he will see you through;
So live your faith in all you do.

Praise... the... Lord!

Stand For, Fight For, and Pray for Harmony

2007-05-10T15:13:00.000-06:00

Last night, I was teaching a good sized group of Texas Christian people about the power and spiritual desirablilty of being in one accord. Or you could say, being in unity, or harmony.
Jesus thought it was so important for believers to BE BEING in unity, or in accord, that he said in Matt. 5 to stop all spiritual activity if you remember while you are doing it that your brother or sister in Christ has any grudge against you, no matter how small you see it.
You know what we American Christian's do? We say, "If you have a problem with me, that is your problem, not mine."
You had better get back in the Word of God, since you WILL give account of such thoughts and actions to the Lord.
Besides that, wouldn't you rather grow by obeying? Or grow even more, to be right and know you are right, and accept being wronged, for conscience' sake? This is an acceptable sacrifice of love in the eyes of God, who did that for you. If he had not, there would be no salvation.
As Jesus put it in Matthew 18. 19, 20 if two or three agree, I am the source of that agreement and your desires are on the right track.
Here is a desire on the right track. What if we all began to 'agree' that we Americans can be found in Jesus' description of the Laodicean Church described in Revelation 3. Then we might 'agree' that we want what he said they should want, for him to give us spiritual gold, refined in the fire; white clothes to cover our shameful nakedness (like our childish grudges and attitudes), and salve to put on our eyes, so that we can really see.
Every choice we make to relax and not take things so seriously at this point, has major consequences for our churches, our children our future and our country.
I call us all to remember the words of the hymn, "Rise Up O Men of God."
Rise up o men of God,
Have done with lesser things,
Give heart and soul and mind and strength,
To serve the King of kings!

And from the Lord of the Rings...
"Hold your ground-hold your ground! Sons of Gondor-of Rohan, mybrothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.
The day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bands of fellowship-but it is not this day!
An hour of wolves and shattered shields,
when the Age of Man comes crashing down-but it is not this day!

This day we fight!

By all that you hold dear in this good earth,
I bid you stand, men of the West! "
Men, Women, Young, and Not so Young!

All of us, we can humble ourselves more than ever and stand together no matter what. On top of that we can stir ourselves to action now, so that we are found ready when the times come that try men's souls.

Cara Called Bubbling Over with Joy. Wow!

2007-04-27T14:37:00.000-06:00

My 20 year old daughter, Cara Beth, called me today and said that as she waited at Starbucks Coffee Shop to go to church, a young man struck up a conversation with her about God. He explained to her that the Bible was not any more inspired than his own opinion. That every person has to make his own way to God.
She told him that that doesn't make any sense whatsoever, and that his reasoning was circular and defeated itself.
If your opinion is as good as anybody else's, then at least the opinions in the Bible are good. If they are not, than neither is yours.
Further, it stands to reason that there would be a protocol to approach God, since there is a protocol to approach any other person of importance... Kings, presidents, or even the mayor of a small city.
The Bible gives the protocols and since I've used them, I have experienced tremendous personal experiences with God.

The protocols for approaching God successfully include understanding what you are through sin; where your present choices are taking you; and what you can do to alter that destiny. Here are the protocols.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ( The Bible: Romans 3:23, 24)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our lord. (The Bible: Romans 6:23)
We are proclaiming: That if you will confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (The Bible: Romans 10:9, 10)
That, she told this man, is the proper protocol for approach to the Lord God King of the Universe.

Now we pray that the Holy Spirit of God will supernaturally follow up on all who hear those words or who reads them here, convincing them of their sins that seperate them from God and cause everyone to need a savior; of the reality that God sent Jesus for everyman and woman on the planet, as a way of escape God's righteous wrath against sin and those who do it; and that by giving himself to die in our place, he took responsibility for creating humanity even though he knew what some would chose; that the Spirit would reveal the judgment that will fall on those who reject Christ's free gift of eternal Life.
Cara was pumped up and full of life from her encounter.
If you have never accepted his free gift, I recommend Jesus to you.
I'm a satisfied user...
Later!

Some Flowers Have Fangs

2007-04-05T07:57:00.000-06:00

A friend sent me a picture this morning, of a rattlesnake ready to strike, hidden among some beautiful wild flowers. It inspred the following poem:

Some Flowers Have Fangs

Watch your step,
And how you drive,
Life has dangers,
You must survive.

When you walk,
Must stay alert;
Avoid the things,
You know can hurt.

When you're driving,
Other people strange;
Among the flowers,
Watch for fangs.

All that glitters,
Is not gold;
Don’t believe,
All you are told.

Things look so good,
When seen from far;
Don't sell your soul,
To chase that star.

Guard your family,
Kids and wife;
Bless your husband,
Drop the strife.

What God has said,
You can trust;
To learn his Word,
Is life's great "must".

Watch your step,
And where you dive;
The traps of life,
You can survive.

Some things glitter.
But they're not gold
Don't "buy in"
To all you're sold.

If slick man's tale,
Predicts great things;
Among the flowers;
Watch for fangs!

2007-03-21T14:55:00.000-06:00

As you may remember, I was just a few hundred yards away from this explosion in the BP plant next door to Dow-Texas City. As a point of reference, both plants look right across the bay to Galveston Island.
Our firemen responded to this emergency and came back haunted by what they saw.
It makes me sick to hear the leaders of BP stress how they disagree with the findings of the industry study group that came to these conclusions. 15 Working men and women died needlessly and many in BP had been warning of this possibility, and they were ignored. 200 others seriously injured, and only to increase profits. In London, by London, for London. It is going on in other places all the time and their lawyers are telling them to deny, deny, deny!
Shut up, and change the way you do business. Read the report below...

Subject: Houston Chronicle Report on BP

March 21, 2007, 7:37AMBP lesson on cost-cutting and safety came hard
By LOREN STEFFYCopyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
They died for 25 percent. That's how much BP hoped to save through budget cuts in 1999 and again in 2004 at its Texas City refinery, according to a report released Tuesday.
More than a decade of cutbacks in maintenance and training culminated on March 23, 2005, with a tanker-size load of liquid hydrocarbons spewing forth from an aging vent stack.
The liquid ignited in less than two minutes and the ensuing fireball turned a temporary office trailer into a deathtrap.
Fifteen workers died, scores more were injured. BP, which bought the refinery's former owner, Amoco, in 1999, has spent some $1.5 billion cleaning up the mess. That's more than 45 times what it saved in its first round of cuts, according to the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board's report.
"Cost-cutting in the 1990s by Amoco and then BP left the Texas City refinery vulnerable to a catastrophe," the report said, adding that BP demanded cuts even though equipment was in disrepair.
The CSB report confirms what was long suspected but never stated. Even the independent investigation led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III danced around the issue, finding no evidence that BP consciously impaired safety with budget cuts.
With the CSB report, the dancing is done.
Companies like to argue that cost-cutting doesn't compromise safety. Mergers, like BP's acquisition of Amoco, often require cost-cutting to make them economically viable.
Out-saving its rivals
The CSB report reveals the hidden cost of such savings. It shows how cost-cutting can trump safety, and how it can erode the diligence that keeps people alive in dangerous places like refineries.
In its drive to save money, BP skimped on hardware at the refinery, relying more on front-line employees, even as it reduced their number, their training and their oversight, the report found.
BP's strategy was to cut costs more rapidly than its competitors, essentially boosting profits by out-saving rivals. It reduced staff, outsourced jobs and even trimmed budgets for programs like fire drills, the report found.
Between 1998 and 2004, Amoco and then BP halved the budget for its training department and slashed the number of employees to eight from 20, the report said. It replaced the trainers with computer courses.
In a tour of the refinery in January, former plant manager Colin Maclean told me BP is no longer using computer courses.
In 2002, an internal study identified a critical need to increase maintenance spending at the refinery. That same year, BP executives in London demanded curbs on expenses, and the vice president of refining said the division's finances were in "crisis mode," according to the report.
So BP managers said safety was important even as they curtailed new training classes. At the same time, they decided to delay replacing the antiquated blow-down drums, one of which was at the center of the 2005 explosion.
What's worse, BP itself was aware that it was cutting corners.
"BP audits, reviews and correspondence show that budget cutting and inadequate spending had impacted process safety at the Texas City refinery," the report said.
BP, though, never bothered to review the safety impact of its cost cuts, which the report notes is essential at an aging facility like Texas City that had a history of budget cuts that had led to "mechanical integrity problems."
'Strong disagreement'
BP issued a statement noting that it accepted responsibility for the accident, that it apologized to the victims and their families and that it took steps to address deficiencies that spawned the disaster.
BP said it would consider the recommendations of the CSB, even though it has "strong disagreement with some of the content of the CSB report, particularly many of the findings and conclusions."
The CSB's report, though, targets not just the shortcomings at BP, but the larger attitudes that pervade the industry. Speaking in San Antonio on Monday, CSB Chairwoman Carolyn Merritt said she wanted other refiners to learn from BP's tragedy.
But will they? Or will the industry continue to hide behind the familiar bromides: refineries are dangerous, accidents happen, workers are aware of the perils.
The dead and injured in Texas City deserve better. Their suffering should be worth something more than 25 percent to the bottom line.

2007-03-21T11:08:00.000-06:00

Hi, folks. I'm back. Sorry to be out so long. May have lost everyone, it has been so long. I have been buried with a new assignment and I will be talking about it as time goes by. Herschel, how are you doing? How's your mom?
Eric, I heard you were having an amazing response and show in Fla... that is great news. I have some great ideas and input on the upcoming project... ie. let's plan a monthlong event as apposed to trying to sign people up for a lifetime commitment. Of course, lifers are welcome. God will have to call them and sustain them.
What about the Stricklands, the Walters, the Threshers, the Steckers? Linda Wilson, how are you.
I have the 2 smartest, cutest grandkids in the world. I am holding their picture up to the screen. Can you see them? I know I'm right. No question about it!!!
Question...
Since we are saved by grace through faith, and not by works, why does Jesus seem to think he has the right to tell us what to do and when?

Ah, Yes! The Real Hillary Shines Through!

2007-03-01T09:10:00.000-06:00

In an excellent review of the in-fighting between the "presidential hopefuls" of the Democrats, Donald Lambro (townhall.com 3/1/07) points to Hillary's severe attack against Obama as a reminder of just who these people (the Clintons) really are. This last week, even the traitorous New York Times said that her lashing out sends a message beyond what she intended it to send.

But I think there are far more telling and sinister indicators than this one.

In a warning that went out from her campaign manager, Mrs. Clinton warned all the Democrat fund raisers and workers who may be tempted to support Obama or one of the other Dem candidates, that "We will remember those who were for us and those who were against us," when we become President of the United States.

Have you heard that phrase before? Of course you have. President Bush said that in refering to nations who would or would not stand with us against terrorists who blew down the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They were/are real enemies. But the only place Mrs. Clinton can think to use that phrase is in a poorly veiled threat against fellow Americans who may prefer another candidate in her own party over her. Can you hear the hiss?

How will you remember, Mrs. Clinton?

Will you keep a list?

Could that be called "an 'enemies' list?"

If you promise to remember, and you keep a list, doesn't that put you in some nefarious company?

Richard Nixon comes to mind; and Evita Peron. (You know, "Don't cry for me, Ar-can-saw-ya! the truth is, I never loved you," Evita.

Just for the record, some of us saw this side of Hillary long ago, and said to ourselves, "Thank God, she has no real authority beyond fame and popularity with the political left. It limits who she can hurt."

Well, well, well! If she becomes president, all bets are off.

It's in her dna. She will hurt people for real, including the Dems on her promised "list."

That is one promise you can count on her keeping.

Later.

Why Islam is Advancing in America and Around the World

2007-02-16T08:05:00.000-06:00

This is not an attempt to give a scholarly treatment of the questions we Christians ask about Islam's worldwide advance. This is an opinion based on having travelled in Muslim areas of the world and observing its advance in America.

Islam is on the move because they have "the Eye of the Tiger." They are hungry. Hungry for victory. Hungry for glory for their God and their Faith.
Hunger is a great motivator. It drives a man to work who otherwise would not work. It causes men and women to be willing to sacrifice, scrape together resources, and move to new areas in order to achieve the goals for which they hunger.
They hunger for and crave vindication for their faith, and they lay themselves, their money and their children, on the line to achieve the goals in which they have been taught to believe.
AND THEY FAST IN UNISON. When they do that, they release tremendous spiritual power. It does not matter what/who the source of that spiritual power is. Their rich people fast. Their poor fast. The young and very old participate in the fast, and it sends shockwaves of spiritual power and influence and credibility throughout the earth, and gives spiritual life and energy to their causes, their evangelism efforts, and their discipling. Even when that discipling is in Wahabbism, a radical Islamic sect and doctrine that is being taught in many of their AMERICAN mosques. Al Quaeda is an offspring of the Wahabbist doctrine.

No system, or religion has ever elevated as many people and brought blessing to as large a number of people, as the worship, obedience and discipline of Jesus Christ. Islam hasn't.

Judaism didn't. It birthed Christianity and we owe them gratitude for our existence and for the foundation that they laid of the worship of God and of the Law and the Prophets upon which we base our faith.
We are not better, higher, smarter, or more loved by God than them.
We make mistakes, and we have our charletons who claim our banner and don't really practice it.
But America's system of thinking, our conviction that everyman is accountable for his own success or failure, and our willingness to let a man choose his own way AND either enjoy the consequences of his choices or suffer them, have brought tremendous blessing to more people than any other system in recorded history.

But we are in big trouble.
We have become victims of our own success. Many of us have come to value security more than freedom. Both as a nation and as followers of Jesus Christ, we have become soft because life is not as hard as it was even 30 years ago. We have lost our hunger and our thirst for victory, for sacrifice, and for the glory of our God, our nation and our cities.
We don't want victory, we want ease.
We don't want compassion, we want insurance against any kind of sacrifice and loss.
Our country, our churches, and our families are divided.
There is no national leader to stand up and say, "I am calling this nation to fasting and prayer for the success of our national and spiritual goals."
No one stands up and says "I will lead the charge in fasting and prayer. I don't have to fast, but I long for justice and compassion and for 'what is right' to prevail over wrong! So, I will be fasting and asking the help and guidance of almighty God, knowing that if He doesn't intervene, we don't have a chance at either national or personal success. Won't you join me in my quest?"

We have lost our "blessing," which was the source of our success in the past.
We think it was our education. It was not.
We think it was our superior philosophy, but the philosophies that did succeed, came from the teachings of Christ.
What "Blessing," you may ask?
Why, the "Blessing" that was promised by Jesus to those :

who were poor in spirit, not haughty in spirit;
who mourn(weep and fast) over the toll on humanity of crime, disease, disasters and unjust courts and governments;
who were humble and meek, not the two-legged sharks;
who hunger and thirst for justice, not those who glory in greed and injustice;
who were merciful to their neighbors and family, not turning their back on those who are in need or suing them over minor or imaginary offences in a lust for unearned wealth ;
who are pure in their motives, not having manipulative alterior motives;
who are working for peace, not using the disadvantage of others to constantly stir up discord;
who are making a stand in behalf of those who are being persecuted for doing and desiring what is right and just and fair.

THAT BLESSING is the blessing we have lost as a nation, and as a church. Jesus has the power and authority to bless those who pursue these desires, from any nation or background. The Scriptures say, in Colossians 1:15-17,

"He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him were all things created: things in heaven and on earth, visible or invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

If our nation no longer seeks his help or his blessing, don't be surprised when our systems of government, of transportation, of financial operation, and education, begin to fall apart. What? What's that you say? They are already? Maybe we should humble ourselves, repent for our national condition and our personal sins, and begin to ask, seek and knock for a return to the place of His blessing. In the meantime, Islam offers an alternative "order" or system and many Americans are looking to them/it in spite of the authoritarianism.
Certainly there are those who see this and are praying and fasting and hungering and thirsting for an intervention by God.

A few folks are longing for a revival of the spiritual life of the nation that will once again birth social and political justice and equity. But for the most part, we have lost the hunger, the drive, that causes us to risk and if necessary, give our all, to see it achieved.

Our founding fathers, with all their human faults and failures, had the "eye of the tiger." They had a driving hunger for true political freedom and justice that would be equal under the law for rich or poor. They wanted it so badly, they declared their indepencence from Great Britain and pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor in their attempt to achieve it.

I am by no means a national leader, but I am going to humble myself to God. I'm going ask God to forgive us and send spiritual renewal to more than just a few churches. I know that without His help and blessing, our hope as a nation and our dreams for helping the poor, are lost.

Won't you join me?

Later.

Finding the Power to Change

2007-02-15T11:15:00.000-06:00

Have you and your mate (or your parents, or your children) ever fought over something and one or the other of you said, “This is how this always goes. I should have known how you would respond.” And truth be known, they were right, even though you didn’t admit it to them. When that thought comes, has it ever been followed with the thought, “Well, that’s just the way I am. Like it or lump it. Accept me or leave. That is the way I am wired?” Have you ever thought that when the reference was not another person, such as your mom or dad, or you children, etc? Have you ever thought that about God, and about what you thought he expected of you? To love and to give; to lead and forgive; to pray and bless those who have wronged you?
Have you ever thought, “Well, God, I wish things were different and that I was a more ___________ (fill in the blank yourself) person. But I am not, and I am just going to have to accept it. And so are you!” At this point is where the explanation often comes, “This is the day/age of Grace.”
What people often mean when they say that is that Grace is when God doesn’t look at what we have done, and judge us according to what we deserve. Actually, that is partially true. He does allow anyone and everyone access to His Presence through prayer. And that is an aspect of grace. But grace is not an excuse or a coverup for sin or weakness. It is power to change. It is the power and strength and personality of Jesus Christ transmitted/transfused by his beating heart into our immediate weaknesses, changing us from one who had continually failed on certain points, to a person graced with the ability to say no to sin and yes to God’s requirements. Read Romans 6 concerning the effect the cross can have on us. Then read 2 Corinthians 12: 9-14. It defines grace as the power of Christ and the strength of Christ. He has enough power to change you and help your relationships with God and people.
The Blood of Jesus can cleanse you from ANY sin and deliver you from ANY weakness. The Blood of Jesus can cleanse and free your offended conscience even when you are still feeling torn, and weak and guilty before God. His blood, which was shed in an act of substitution and guilt-payment, gives you ACCESS to God if you will only believe it and accept it.
Think of it. Open access for common people. Free access for poor people. There are many, many, wealthy people who are paupers, spiritually. Either way, it is the man or woman, boy or girl that knows/recognizes their poverty in spiritual things that Jesus accepts and helps.
Don’t you remember the Beatitudes? Listen to them from the New Living Translation:
• God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
• God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
• God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.
• God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.
• God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
• God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
• God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
• God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
• God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. (Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in Heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.)

Oh, Man! You are not stuck in your past, in your sins, in your personality, or in your family-inherited weaknesses and tendencies.
The Blood of Jesus will cleanse anyone who recognizes their weaknesses as sin and confesses them to Jesus in prayer. You can do that right where you are. God can hear you anywhere, and turn your place into his place, in an instant.

The Blood of Jesus has the power to change you from what you are by birth, to all that He planned for you to be, before this earth even existed.

There is an old song that we used to sing in church when I was growing up called “Power in the Blood.” Even if you know the words, read through them slowly and let the hope they bring penetrate your heart. We have “know-it-all” Christians who are failing to honor Christ in their lives and ministries, because they supposedly already know all of this… The song goes like this:

• Would you be free from your burden of sin? There’s power in the blood! Would you, over evil, the victory win? There’s wonderful power in the blood!
• Would you be free from your passion and pride? There’s power in the blood. Come for a cleansing to Calvary’s tide. There’s wonderful power in the blood.
• Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow? There’s power in the blood. Sin’s stains are lost in its life-giving flow. There’s wonderful power in the blood!
• Would you do service for Jesus your King? There’s power in the blood. Would you live daily, His praises to sing? There’s wonderful power in the blood.

Chorus:
• There is power, power, wonder-working power, in the blood, of the lamb. There is power, power, wonder working power, in the precious blood of the Lamb.

There is hope for you!
There is power, for the preacher who can’t clear his mind of sinful thoughts… And, for the prisoner, who has never before tried to be pure. Come to Jesus, right where you are, right now. Tell him what you are facing. Ask him to deliver you from temptation and the control of the Evil One. He has already paid the price for your sins. He is waiting for you to ask and then wait quietly in his presence for his answer. You will be shocked!!!!!!!!!!
Later.

Using Updated English Translations to Study the Bible

2007-02-11T16:39:00.000-06:00

The Full Life Study Bible, edited by Don Stamps and Published by Zonervan Publishing Co. has been a great aid to me in my personal devotions and in studying for messages and Bible lessons. Don was a missionary to Brazil for the Assemblies of God denomination.
In China,it has become known as the Fire Bible, because of the picture of fire on the cover. It has been a great help to native pastors around the world because of the extensive notes and references and subject studies that are very true to the scriptures.

It is a great help to anyone who wants a better or clearer understanding of God's word. And remember, it's not deep that we are seeking. It's clear that we seek. However, if you see clearly, you can see deep, too.

Remember, "to study" is to set the table properly with foods that match the needs of those who are going to eat. Prayerful and worshipful "meditation" of the truths studied, in order to internalize, digest, and begin to practice those truths is the eating of the meal. A good explanation of the word "meditate" is "to chew" or "to stew on." The Full Life Study Bible is a great help in this process, as are many others, I.E. the Life Application Bible.

There is not an English Translation that I believe is THE translation, because I don't believe English is THE language that God favors over all other languages.
A group in our corner of God's great vinyard has received a special revelation that the King James Version is the ONLY true version of the Bible and that anyone who uses any other version is reserving for themselves a special corner of hell."After all, if the King James Version was good enough for the Apostles, it is good enough for me." ( I don't know if they say that, but what they do say is about the equivalent of that.)

This is an embarrassing ignorance and arrogance.
Have you ever seen the movie "Popeye" where Robin Williams plays the cartoon sailor and Shelley Duvall plays Olive Oyl, his sweetheart. It is hilarious when you see the town of New Haven, at the beginning of the show and the townspeople walk around singing,"Sweet New Haven, God must love you..." because they think it the most beautiful town on the planet. Their problem is the same as those above. They have never been anywhere to know there are people all over the world that God loves and that many do not speak English, the King's or anyone else's.

The King James Bible is fine, good, a blessing, and if you want to read from it for whatever reason, I'm sure it's fine with God. I know it is fine with me. I suppose I would use it if I knew I was going to speak in a church that used it all the time. This is not a religious point or my preference that I am addressing. I feel that it will lessen your evangelistic effectiveness and your effectiveness in discipling a new generation of young believers in the Body of Christ. I know that it throws unnecessary roadblocks in the path of seekers of Christ and forces teachers to spend time explaining the hearers OWN language to them when the language that they use every day can carry the same thoughts to the hearers if it is employed. And I hate it when you inconvenience the spiritual babes to accomodate the supposedly "spiritually mature." That is wrong, as a principle. Jesus said, "Children are to be given a priority consideration. If you cause one of my little ones to stumble, it would be better for you if a milstone were to be hung around your neck and you were to be dropped into the deepest part of the sea." Now, I don't know about you, but to me it seems that if that would be BETTER, I don't want any part of what he has in mind for those who cause his little ones to stumble. Do you think that he is only referring to the physically young and not the spiritual babes?

By the way, I still thoroughly enjoy the King James Translation of many passages. My heart finds comfort in many of the Psalms and the translations of the Gospels, because I grew up hearing them from my mother and dad and my many teachers.
But I would no more use the King James for general reading in a meeting than I would try to teach the Bible in English without an interpreter, in China.
Outsiders DO NOT UNDERSTAND.
Young people CANNOT stay with you.
And I want them to understand God's thoughts.
If I feel I must use a passage from the King James, I take time to explain it (if necessary,) but it is a rare thing for me to do these days.

All of that to say, I use (and recommend)the New International Version for public meetings and especially for international teaching and speaking. I recommend the Full Life Study Bible in the New International Version.

I also use Peterson's Translation, known as "the Message."

Most recently, I have used the New Living Translation. The people I teach have enjoyed it, also. It is a very clear translation and it is simple enough for children and as Peterson puts it in 1 Peter 5:5, for "just plain people."

I feed on God's Word to grow myself and I study and meditate in His truths to be strong in the face of pressure:

1. From the world,

2. From my body's desires for comfort and pleasure, and

3. From attacks from the the devil.

From the overflow of my personal relationship with God, I share God's Word, rightly divided and personally practiced, with the people that God sends to me.
Later.

The Angel in Mid-Air Shouted, "Give God Glory!"

2007-02-05T12:16:00.000-06:00

Do you know what that means?
It was used on TV last night, by two very popular and powerful men. One was white and the other was black. I don't know the white man's name, but he is the team owner of the new world champions of American Football, the Indianapolis Colts. The black man was Tony Dungy. He is their head coach and a great man.

Many of you know what it means and practice it to a greater extent than I do.
But I am attempting to catch up!
I am not going to delve into the dictionary here.
I want to talk from the other way - really, the main way - which we learn what words mean. By hearing them used in context.

And one of the few places you hear the term "Give God Glory," is in a biblical or church setting. In that setting, it means that God deserves the ultimate credit, because he gave us the raw materials and the wisdom to use them. It means that I would be lying (by NOT telling the whole story) if I let you congratulate me and I did not give credit to other people and to God for what on the surface appears to be MY accomplishment.

As I have been reading "the Revelation" book in the Bible, I have seen this phrase in various forms throughout. It has reminded me of my past promises to be thankful to God for His help and blessings, and to be thankful to people who have helped me:

get where I am and
have what I have and
know what I know.

In Revelation 14: 6, 7, (NIV) John wrote,

"Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth - to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He said in a loud voice, Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of His judgement has come. Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.

It seems that God is going to give people a last chance to escape judgement if they will just acknowledge Him in a small way, as the creator.

You don't have to be a Bible Scholar.
Or a preacher.
Open up your eyes and look at the creation around you and have the sense of a child.

If there is a creation, there must be a _ _ _ _ _ _ _. (Seven letters, rhymes with "theater")

Think, Think, Think.

Have you ever seen an atom? I haven't. Most of us haven't. Yet you will take the word of a professor of science, who works at the state university and who is as sleazy and untrustworthy in character and you will take him at his word that he looked into a microscope and found that atoms are one of the building blocks of all matter.

If I were to point to the beautiful globe that sits next to my dad's pool table, and tell you that no one had anything to do with creating that globe, that it just formed itself that way, with its abalone and mother-of-pearl nations, and its polished brass mounting, and the names of the countries painted on them, if I said that, you would call me insane.

And if I said I gathered up the raw materials of that "work of art" and threw them off of a tall, downtown building, and when I took the elevator down to the street, and shazaam!... here sat this globe! If I were to tell you that, you would not even answer me, because it is so preposterous.

But then you push a much more preposterous theory. That the universe just dropped itself into a state of order that is googols more complex than my dad's globe... and you mock me for my ignorance?

"But," they say, "All the scientists agree on this."
Really?
Does that make it so?

Not so long ago, all the popular scientists used to agree that black people were inferior, too. Meanwhile, good and godly and wise black men and women just kept building, and inventing, and discovering and founding businesses. Men like Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, and more recently, Martin Luther King, Jr.
• (And before you bring up anything about him that has been used to discredit him, remember the threats that were made against his life. He didn't make that up, did he! Remember how he stood against his own supporters who wanted to strike back with violence against those who were violent against them and he refused. Remember the jail time for sitting at the lunch counter and how that he didn't curse them, or hate them. My God, that is living more like Jesus than most of us do with long lives not cut short by a bullet!)

I could add my personal friend, George Redman, to that list. He was a chemical plant operator and is now the lead safety tech for his plant. This man knows his business. I count on him when I or the people I work with have to venture into the process areas of his responsibility.

What about my friend and Christian brother, Lloyd Geters, who knows more about electricity and especially how to apply its principles to industrial uses, than I ever will. He knows how to build it, how to fix it, and how to do all of it safely.

Don't tell me how many people don't accept them as equal. That only reveals strong the strong ignorance of the accuser, not that of the people they accuse.

God is so good. He loves everybody and once again he is calling to anyone who will listen and think beyond the seen world and ask this question. "Who made all of this creation that I can see?" Jesus once said that God causes rain to fall on both good people and unjust people. He sends blessings to everyone. Can you find it in your heart to give him credit, glory, for the good things that have come from him?
Ask in your inner thoughts for an understanding of who God is and send it out. He will answer you if you will get quiet and think.

I'm convinced that God not only made the physical world, but that he is helping me in the details of my life, right now.
I didn't do it all by myself.
I am not a self-made man.

So, I am thankful to you God, the Creator of the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them. I give You the credit for the good I have seen in my life. And, I repent for the evil that I have instigated in words and deeds, and I ask you to forgive me and help me change.
I ask you to let me know you and understand who you are. Guide me to the truth, and not just some religious opinion.
Thank you, Creator.
I give you glory!

Later!

How Would You Like Dignitaries to Visit Your Place?

2007-02-02T15:54:00.000-06:00

If you could have a "one to one" visit with one of your heroes of the Past or Present, who would it be?
Who is the greatest dignitary that you can imagine sitting down to talk to?
Is it President Bush?
Or Hillary Clinton?
Is it a singer or a movie star?
Is it someone who is still living?
Or since we are just wishing, is it someone from the past?
Marilyn Monroe?
Bob Dylan?
Winston Chuchill?
Iron Lady Thatcher?

WhenI was about eleven, one of the Beatles claimed that they were now more popular than Jesus Christ! Maybe you wish that one of them would come to your house 4 the afternoon.
Just once!
Did you know that only one person out of that list has ever offerred to come to your house for more than a visit?

That person is Jesus Christ.
Jesus said:
Soon, the world will no longer see me, but you will see me.
Since I live, you also will live.
When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me.
And because they love me, my Father will love them.
And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.
One disciple asked, Lord, how are you going to reveal yourself only to us, and not to the world at large?
He replied, All who love me will do what I say.
My father will love them, and we will come amd make our home with each of them.

Jesus really is worth getting to know.
You will find him walking through the pages of the Bible.
The Father God, the Lord Jesus, and the Mighty Holy Spirit, are looking for a chance to move in with those who are interested in their company, I mean, their friendship.

How do you get their attention?
Start reading the Bible and trying to practice what Jesus told you that you must do.
Each time you are going to try, ask Jesus for his help.
Tell him that you are aware that his commands (like "love those that hate you" )are impossible unless he helps you. Then, ask him to help you.
He and the Father will come to you, right where you are and help you and if you want them to, they will move in with you, and things start looking up from that time on.
If Jesus tells you to get rid of something, some habit or sin, he will more than make it up to you in better things to replace what you gave up.
When you begin to feel his presence at home, at work, in your car, or in your cell, Oh, Man! you have just started living!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chp.13 Rise of Antichrist: Greatest Tyrant of History

2007-01-22T12:37:00.000-06:00

Revelation 12 sets the stage for chapter 13. It is a short, sweeping review (historical interlude in the Book of Revelation) of Satan and how he comes to the point in Chp 13 where he makes his stand and calls the Beast out of the sea. (vs. 1-3)

From the beginning of human history, Satan, or as he is referred to in Rev. 12, the Dragon, has been lurking at the gates and doors of humanity, deceiving if possible and destroying (Jn 10:1-10) any who he could get his hands on.

Genesis 4:6-8 (NLT) says,
“Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”

God loves and is close to people throughout the earth whose hearts break in longing for justice, for the humble in heart, for the pure in heart and for those who have been persecuted for doing what is right and just. God will give the meek an opportunity to chose right over wrong in the days ahead. His plan, revealed in the Revelation concerning the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation, will sweep in a harvest of souls that our greatest evangelists could have only dreamed to see (Revelation 7: 9-17).

During the Tribulation ‘s 7 years, the church is not being drawn together in cohesive groups (a work of the Holy Spirit) during this time, but souls are being saved by the millions.

The Antichrist will be in the place of political and judicial power, but to good people around the globe, he will be abhorrent! They will see him for what he is, and hate everything that he represents. Defying him will be an honor, refusing the mark a challenge to his authority, and death, if it comes, will be a relief...

(This is a short introduction to a teaching I gave last week to a study group I lead. It is based on the the Bible and specifically on the Book of Revelation. It is a glimpse into the near future for those who desire to see... If you would like to have a written review of the entire class, I will email it to you if you will request it in the comments section below.
Thanks.

late nite excuses

2007-01-19T22:49:00.000-06:00

I am, once again, getting to my blog at 10:25pm, a regular time, for a regular guy, with a regular job. I have a lot that I want to say, but I am usually sleepy when I sit down to write, and often when I check on it later, I see grammatical errors that I usually would not miss.
I apologize now and won't spend a lot oftime making excuses. I hope to have better times and a more polished product, later.
Really, polish is not what I am after. "Clear" is what I am after.
I learned that from an ex-Air Force fighter pilot turned Bible teacher, and who became my friend. I haven't seen him for several years now.
His name is Hugh Smith. Hugh was a highly decorated fighter pilot. He was/is an even better Bible teacher.
As a pilot in Vietnam, Hugh flew missions into North Vietnam and fought above/with the firefights on the ground. One of these, it seems like it was nicknamed "Hamburger Hill," because our boys were being chewed up like meat being shoved through a meatgrinder.
Hugh and the fighters with him would make bomb runs until they were out of bombs and then make strafing passes until they were out of ammo. Hugh said he noticed that every time he flew over the North Viet Cong, they had to duck into holes and stay there for at least 45 seconds. In that 45 seconds our guys would gain ground and find cover that was saving their lives.
Hugh sent all his team back to the air base and he made several more runs alone, even though he was out of bombs, bullets, and almost out of fuel. He made several passes and they ducked, but after 2 runs and no shooting they quit ducking and started shooting at him.
He told me that if they would have forgotten the shooting and just thrown one of their frying pans straight up in the air, it would have brought him down. He was flying @ about 15' over the enemy's heads. When they finally quit ducking, he flew over again and this time he dumped the gas to it, and hit his afterburner. That is crazy if your about to go down for a lack of fuel, but sounded like abomb and all the enemy hit the ground again, and our guys made another very critical advance.
When he turned back for the base,he saw that he wouldn't have enough fuel to fly back in a normal pattern, so he got back up high, and ran out of fuel on his approach, and glided in for a much too fast landing...
He was highly decorated for his valor because of his actions in this battle.
Now, back to "clear."
Hugh told a group of us that were tryng to teach the Deep Truths of the Kingdom. We were very impressed with ourselves. Or maybe it was just me that was very impressed with MYSELF. Anyway, Hugh told us in a message he preached in a campmeeting in Diamond, MO, that it is not "Deep" teaching that we should be striving for, but "Clear" truth.
Hugh told us that in Japan there are some in-land lakes that are thousands of feet deep. He said the water was crystal clear. Amazingly clear. So clear, that a small exploration sub that was moving around inthe lake @ 600' below the surface could be seen as though it were only 5' down. That's clear water.
It's not deep that we need to strive for. It's clear. Simple truth.
Funny thing is , if you study and pray and prepare your teaching, and instead of complex, you make it clear, "clear" will allow you see deeply.
Now, after all the years I have preached, prayed, and served, I see that he is right. The Gospel is the power of God.
I love you all.
Later!

God Knows How to Take Care of You - Enjoy

2007-01-17T21:31:00.000-06:00

In the last blog, I mentioned a story in a devotional book. The story, “How to Raise Money for Missions,” was a real inspiration to me.
The author was asked to come to the New Jersey shore to speak at 3 churches. His friend, who invited him to speak, had to leave town on an emergency before he arrived.
I can tell you from experience, that is an uncomfortable position to be in. When he arrived at the 3rd church he was to speak at, he discovered that the pastor of the church was unable to attend, also. So, he had to run the service alone and then he was supposed to:
· Tell about his mission work
· Describe his needs
· And receive an offering for himself

As the congregation sang, and went through the form of the service, he became very aware of the fact that they weren’t saved. “There was sadness in their worship, routine in their service, a mundane flow of words and liturgy, form without substance. I shared the simple gospel instead of sharing about missions and taking up an offering.”
He said he couldn’t talk about missions to people who were not themselves saved, so he described the opportunity that is offered for everyone to have a personal relationship with God through Christ.

After the service, the people were angry. They came to hear about missions. They did not come to be “preached at.” Also, a few stopped for a moment to inform him that they did not agree with him that anyone could have a personal relationship with Christ. All this was done within 3 minutes of the end of his sermon, and the lights were turned off and everyone was gone.
He said to himself, “I really blew this one… “ He was flooded with a sense of guilt and felt like a total failure.
Well, there was one other person still in the building and he came to me and shook my hand. The missionary offered him a trade, “If you will drive us to lunch, I will buy. They went together to a hotel, and ordered a big lunch, then the man began to pepper Steve with questions about a personal relationship with Christ. He wanted to know if I really believed that one could actually have a relationship with God.

When he went to pay, the man said for him to put up his money, that he owned the hotel.
“When I left, I had a nice check in one hand and the keys to his 4X4 in the other hand (for our mission work in Mexico”). Later, the man called me and told me that he had come to Christ and was now going to a nurturing church where they preach the Gospel.
Maybe, just maybe , His preaching wasn’t such a failure after all.

I can so identify with everything that happened that I feel it as I read it. Somehow, one must work through all of this and share the gospel, and forget the hurt and disappointments, and then lead folks to Christ, no matter the setting.
Remember, Jesus Christ really is alive.
You can know him.
You can't control him but you can put yourself in a place where he comes by, like positioning yourself on a road where someone might pass by.
A blind man did that once, in Israel.
When Jesus passed by, the man began to call out, "Son of David, have mercy on me."
Other people shushed him, embarrassed by his actions. But he called even louder, "Have mercy on me."
Jesus, surrounded by a crowd, stopped, and asked for the man calling for him to be brought to him. "What do you want?" Jesus asked him. "I want to see," the blind man said. Jesus healed him.
What do you need? Hang out on His road and ask for help when he comes by. And he will come.
The question is, Where is the road that Jesus walks down , now?
He walks throught the pages and verses of a book- The Bible.
Go to the section called the Book of Luke.
Hang out there.
He is like the wind.
You don't know where he comes from and you won't know where he is going.
But like the wind, you will know when he is there.
Read the Book of Luke.
In the Bible.

Later.

Back to More Important Things

2007-01-15T14:56:00.001-06:00

Last Friday, a friend of mine gave me a good book, which
I recommend to anyone interested in closely following
Christ. The book is "Walk With Me a Few More Steps" by
Steven Beam.
I have never heard of him before, but this book of devo -
tional thoughts and articles, in which he writes, is loaded with
experiences very similar to mine. It is a great bag of great seeds.
What kind of seeds?, you may ask. Seeds of Greatness...
I have been deeply moved as I read its short
chapters.
One that stood out to me was a chapter entitled,
"How to Raise Money for Missions." It is great for anybody
in Christ, but especially for anyone who has shared the cucifixion of
going where you are not welcomed, preaching what they don't want to
hear and trusting God to make something out of my failures!
Outstanding!
More on this!

Bush Speaks: What I Want to Hear

2007-01-10T19:33:00.000-06:00

The President is going to speak in a few minutes.
I would sure like to hear from the American Eagle and not the "chicken little" that is cowed down by the democrats' recent win at the polls.
But nobody ever calls here and says, "Phil, what is it you are hoping to hear?"
Here's what I would like to say if they did:

I would like to hear that we are NOT going to stop chasing our enemies at the borders of Iraq. If they come into Iraq from Syria and Iran and Saudi Arabia, we are coming to the source with whatever it takes to make you break out in hives every time you even thjink about supplying our enemies. (That really is what we did in Vietnam. We have an Iranian /Iraqi version of the Ho Chi Min trail, down which China, Russia, Syria and Saudi Arabia are funding, feeding, and resupplying the forces that are killing Americans. And I want to see us STOP IT. We can do it.)
We are already fighting Iran. Face it. Wrap your brain around it. Realize it is going to take an all out effort to win. And to win is all that is acceptable. It is not acceptable for us as Americans to live in fear of a group like the ones facing us there.

I am not going to sit back through another war where our greatest danger is the American political left's (read "democrats") fear of winning a war because it "just isn't nice."
I DON"T CARE WHAT THE REST OF THE WORLD THINKS OF US.
The French don't like us? Give me a break!
We have had to go save them from their own BRILLIANCE (read "cowardice") twice in the last 100 years. I don't care what they think.
By the way, many of the French love us and appreciate what we did. Those Folks are still worth saving, too. They fought the Germans in their own country with their bare hands and raw courage. But like here, they are muzzled by their government and their press.

I want the president to "unleash" the real power of the American war machine.
I want to fight with a will to win.
I want to hear how we at home can help.
I want us to open factories that build our own weapons.
I want us to fund alternative fuels.
I want us to refuse to lose.
I want the cowards in the Republican Party and the Democrats who are sure that nothing will work to be exposed as the weaklings that they are.
I want to keep our promises to the Iraqis that we encouraged to stand up with us for something better for their children.

I don't want to face the shame of another Hungarian revolution where we fail to act (Eisenhower.)

Or another "Bay of Pigs" where we sit on our "Kennedian" hands while brave men are abandoned to death and prison.

Or another Rawandan masacre, while we wait for the UN to act to save people's lives. What a joke and a waste of money and hope!

Or another Jimmy Carter paralysis while our people are held hostage.

Or another Bush ( Senior) sell out of the Kurds, who we abandoned after encouraging them to rebel. O my God, what shame!

Or the cowardice of 8 years of Clinton while, to collect money for himself and his campaign, he sells our state secrets to China. (I knew it when it was happening and as the years go by, we will find ghastly levels of treason and perfidy took place with their knowledge and approval.)

I want to see our "free" press (who are not objective at all, but are totally anti-American) removed from the war theater and a real full fledged advertizing campaign both in Iraq and America, since that is what the Main Stream Media is fighting US with and which it seems, that too many Americans are impressed with...

I want our leaders to unleash our courage, our creativity, our "dogs of war" and make Iraq the 51st state, if we can't get the leaders to agree. By God, take the bit in your teeth and your destiny back into your own hands, America!

That's what I thought George Bush was saying when he stood on the ash-heaps of The World Trade Centers and the Pentegon.

Those are the things I want to hear and see.

And I pray that someone is listening.
Later!

Al Qaida, Justice, Peace: Where are the Republcans Hiding?

2007-01-07T00:14:00.000-06:00

I have blogged twice today and then bumped something that deleted them both. That is frustrating.
The one I just lost was about Justice Delayed by the current Bush administration. I can comprehend the NYTimes and their lack of interest. They are a liberal propaganda rag that is not interested in anything that looks bad on famous liberals. What about how bad slanted coverage looks on your paper?
But I don't understand the President's administration, the justice Department and the congress (both parties) total unwillingness to move against Sandy Berger, or the treasonous national secret leaker's(we are listening in on possible al Qaida conversations) which leads us back to the "times," doesn't it? The only thing they are interested in protecting is the career of democrats their aganda.
I thought that the low level crooks being seated in high places was taking a break when Clinton and his Gang left office. But NO, We are still assaulted daily by these Guys!!! If I were president, I would try to achieve justice in these issues so that peace can reign supreme in the United States of America.

Support the Troops

2007-01-03T07:08:00.000-06:00

From the time the twin towers fell on September 11, 2001, I have supported our military efforts to confront our declared enemies and to try to "drain the swamp" that supports, or creates their misery. That effort, however, has cost me very little in a personal way so far. That could change in the years ahead, since I have two young grandsons that are growing up right now and will have to face whatever is out there in the years ahead.
I have had to ask myself, where would I stand if it were my sons, if it were my grandsons, who were in uniform, and who were facing death, and/or possible disfigurement from war wounds, etc. So far, I think that my politics would still be the same (that is, if we will fight to win, not play around, but use our power without apology.)
If it is bad enough to go to war over, it is bad enough to win.
Anyway, here is a website to do something right now for the troops who stand between us and certain major and on-going acts of terror.
Join me in giving our support in both moral ways, like prayer, cards, and then, consider some cash.
Here is one of many ways. I will tell you who I support financially, later. Click here, http://www.letssaythanks.com/FromTheTroops.html and listen to this Marine's song.
Don't support a war politically that only costs the troops and their families. Do something now.
Later.

Saddam's Career Takes Turn for the Worse This Wk!

2007-01-02T16:43:00.000-06:00

Hi, folks,
Happy 2007!
What happened to 2006?
I was just getting used to it.
Last week, I wrote 3 checks and I didn't have to change the year and initial the change!

Did you hear that Saddam Hussein was executed last week?
He was hanged.
He died in a merciful way given the kinds of unspeakable tortures he perpetrated on totally innocent people that he brutalized.
There was no way to exact justice from this monster in one lifetime.

He died proclaiming his innocence, which is the primary mark of a total reprobate.
When a person's mind is void of judgment and has no awareness/consciousness of sin, he is a reprobate. Awareness of sin is a primary function of the Holy Spirit, and there is no forgiveness because there is no desire for forgiveness.
Justice only begins with this hanging...

We can't get back the lives he took,
We can't get justice, true.
But Saddam won't ever kill again,
His career was just cut loose
By a real short drop,
and the sudden stop,
at the end of the hangman's noose!

(by Phil Strickland... 2007-all rights reserved)

More later-Happy New Year!

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends...

2006-12-30T12:24:00.000-06:00

I want to introduce you to my friends, Jamie and Donice Gibson.

It's hard to know where to start to tell you who these guys are to Beth and I.
Beth worked with Donice at the church offices in West Columbia for several years and got to know her in a lot of different and stressful situations that can arise in both in people's personal lives as well as at the office. Beth, Donice, Suzanne, Linda Wilson, Linda Ragland, Cindy Mann, and others forged a friendship that can only come to people whose hearts share the same values. They went to work every day to serve, with no agenda but a pure heart toward God and toward the leaders to whom he had assigned them. (This is by no means a complete list of the fabulous team that worked there. These are the ones I can think of tonight.)
Donice was raised in that church and she loved everyone there. She showed it every day. She showed it when everything went right and church people acted like Jesus was really the Lord of their lives. And she lived her faith when it didn't go that way. And just in case you don't know it, it doesn't always go that way.
It seems to have a special barb to it when Christian people, who worship with you, turn and backbite you. But even now, you can't get that team of ladies that worked together in those days to tell the things that were done to them by self important people.
Occasionally, when referring to something particuarly egregious that was done to one of the OTHER team members, they will tell you what really happened. They won't defend themselves, but they will tell the truth when one of their friends is attacked and accused of some nefarious motive.
Now, anyone who knows Beth(my wife) knows she is a person who keeps her mouth shut and who from her heart refuses to judge the motives of other people. (Sometimes that drives me crazy, cause I'm so far behind and below her in that area of obedience to Jesus. She won't agree that I have true and deep insight into the reason someone has pulled some un-Christ-like stunt and that gives me the right to tell others what those motives are.)
A few years ago, I learned that someone accused Donice of being evil. I told Beth what was said about Donice. WHOOOWEEEE! I can't recall all the things Beth said and probably wouldn't put them in here if I could. But I remember the tone. I assure you, it was right and based on her firsthand knowledge of Donice's character. She did say, in short, that if you can know Donice, and still call her evil, you probably do not know Christ yourself and are attributing/projecting YOUR character and motives to her.
Donice is one of the greatest Christian women I have ever known. She is a woman of prayer and compassion. I would rather have her praying for me when I am in trouble than any of the folks you see and hear about in books or on tv. Why? God made it that way. You can pray with real compassion for those you know and love.
She is a woman of fun and humor and faith and she is one of the great friends of our lives.
How could we ever say we are not RICH, when God has placed friends like her and Jamie in our lives. Isn't amazing how that characteristics that anyone would call "good," are found first and in the greatest abundance in Jesus? Donice is, in so many ways, like Jesus. She has a sweetness and a goodness about her that was in her Mother and in her Father and before that was in their Creator and Lord.
She is also a great worshipper. She plays the piano and sings and just leaves the planet and gets lost in the spirit. She was that way before the revival that we all experienced in 1994 and after that it only increased in power and effectiveness. I think that right now, if you were to put a piano in front of her, you would be amazed at the anointing and the presence of God that accompanies her worship. One thing I know for sure. If she worships, and the presence of God, the mighty Holy Spirit of God, comes into the room, there is no limit to what God can accomp;ish in the lives of those who are participating.
Now, Jamie is just as good of a friend as Donice is, and Jamie is like Jesus in other ways. As in the case of Beth and I, one of the best things that can ever be said of Jamie, is that Donice saw something valuable and good in his heart and fell in love with him. Jamie is a walking miracle. I have known so very few people who have been exposed to the levels of strife and disobedience in people he should have been able to trust, i.e. his early church relationships, etc, and still be walking with Jesus after all these years. He still loves Jesus. He is a giver to missions and to outreaches and to his friends. He still brings forth fruit that is consistent with being a child of God.
As a young man growing up in a church in Bay City, he witnessed a fist fight behind the pulpit, as an "elder" tried to force the pastor out of the pulpit. He was raised around constant backbiting and distrust of anyone and everyone except their little group and then saw the evil that this produces, and saw it very close to him.
When he was in high school, he dedicated his life to Christ anew, and started going to early morning prayer with his pastor, who then had an affair in the church.
Still he loved Jesus.
Later he met Donice and he discovered that there really are some people who have a pure heart and who follow God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. He found as so many of us have, that it is not always the famous and the known leaders, who get paid for their ministry that are the greatest example of a what a follower of Jesus looks like. Often it is the folks who don't get paid that are the "saints." ( He saw real Christian living in Donice's father and mother, and Jamie is living for God today in a real and special way.)
Jamie is our mechanic and he is a good one. He has had to be good to keep our cars going. He gives good advice, he works hard.
We have spent so much money with him that he keeps promising to dedicate the new wing of the shop he will to us... "The Strickland' Family Pavillion is dedicated "to people who would rather fix their old cars than to pay for a new one! YEA!!!!!
Jamie and Donice are for real. They are our great friends, and I am better for having known them. It really makes me thankful.

Betty Strickland: Out with All the Kids

2006-12-27T08:36:00.000-06:00

My teenage friends from church were my real friends. I liked my friends at school, but we were not as close to each other as I was to my friends at the church(Trinity Assembly of God.) Because we didn't do all the things my friends at school did, i.e., dances, movies, and parties, when we could, we would "hang out" together. That's how we knew if we or others were starting to "backslide." If we started to go to all these things, it was symptomatic of beginning to get cold spiritually and look to the world for pleasure instead of to church, Christian friends, and Jesus himself.

Now, Before you knock it, you should at least examine the thinking we had and not "throw out the baby with the bathwater." There were good things about that and some overly judgmental things. Kenneth Hagin used to tell us to have as much sense as an ol' mule. You've got to "eat the hay, and spit out the sticks!" A large percentage of those kids have become Christian leaders and strong examples of godly living in their chosen fields of endeavor.

Going out together after church became easier as we got older and got our driver's licenses and older model cars. The older teenagers would drive us to whatever we were attending and the younger ones loved it. Many of our older teen friends were very good to us, even though we were unable to pay them back. I still appreciate it and encourage others to take the younger kids and treat them like they are important, not like they are a weight and a pain, and totally in the way.

My dad travelled a lot, so a lot of times my mom would go out to eat after church with us kids. They didn't mind and neither did I. She either was or had been their Sunday school teacher and they all respected her and liked her.

So it wasn't unusual for her to be with us at a restaurant on Admiral St. after church one Sunday night. It was "Across the Street." That was the name of the place. You sat down in booths and each booth had a phone on the wall that you used to call in your order. When your order was ready, they would buzz your phone and someone from your table would go to the counter to pick up your order. No wait staff was required.

On this particular night, my mother was the only adult with us and we were taking up a section of 2 or 3 tables. When the order was placed, mom ordered onion rings. This place had great onion rings, really different than any we had seen before. They were great big, thick and delicious. The one catch to those onion rings was that they charged 3 times as much as any other restaurant for onion rings. But they were good. As a matter of fact, it makes me hungry for one right now.

Anyway, they buzzed our phone, and some of the teenagers went up to get the food. When they came back with the trays of food and began to hand them out, mom wanted to know if those kids ate some of her onion rings between the counter and the table. There were only six onion rings on that plate. Now like I said, they were big, and they were good. But they weren't that big and they weren't that good! Everyone was looking at her plate still on the tray, and the guys that carried it swearing that they didn't eat those rings. Mom said, "Give me my plate," and started for the counter.

You should have seen the shock on everyone's face. They had never seen anyone challenge a place like that. "What she gonna do? they asked. Well, the only thing new about this to me was that my friends were surprised. I said, "Well, when she comes back, she will either have her money back or a whole lot more rings on that plate." "No way!" everyone was hollering and now were standing up in the seat of the booth or in the floor where they could see what she was going to do.

When she got to the counter, she stood there for a few seconds and the workers were just going on as if she wasn't there. Some were talking to each other and ignoring her. Others were busy with other orders. She stood there for a few seconds and when they didn't acknowledge her presence, popped that plate down on the counter top, just hard enough to make the onion rings jump up in the air and back down on the plate. When she did that, it froze everyone behind the counter, and they all looked at her with wide eyes. She simply said with authority, "I didn't order a half order of onion rings. I ordered a full order. Three people ran over there to get her plate, saying "Yes, Ma'am, Sorry, Ma'am, and Right Away, Ma'am! When she brought that plate back, there were enough onion rings on the plate for everyone to have a few.

Well, our group nearly fainted. "She's tough." "My dad wouldn't even do that." and mostly just "Woe, baby! Did you see that." I enjoyed everyones' reaction even back then, but now I know how unusual it was to grow up with parents who were willing to pay for good things, but when what was paid for was not delivered, to stand up for a just and fair settlement of the issue. And I don't mean a law suit, either. My mom knew how to "set her jaw," point her fingers at the counter, lower her voice like the Godfather, and look anyone in the eye, and 'splain things. There has not been very many times when I was around that she didn't get what she was asking for. This was not pride or a better-than-you type of attitude. It was a demand for justice and fairness.

That is why it was so foreign to me when, in the 60's and the 70's these movements for women's liberation started. My mom was already liberated. Sometimes you even felt sorry for the fool salesman or clerk who tried to trick her or talk to her like "you are a woman - you can't understand." Even then, she did not lose her cool. But she didn't back down, either. How liberated can you get?

She still has a strong sense of worth and I picked up some of that from her. I am proud to be her son, and to have passed some of that same dignity on to my children and hopefully to my grandchildren. I'm proud and I'm very, very thankful.

Mom's Influence on Me and My Friends

2006-12-26T16:24:00.000-06:00

My mother has probably had the greatest and most positive influence on my life of any one person ever. That may sound like someone stating the obvious, at first blush, but I don't think so.

Remember the statement that was made by Paul to and about Timothy? He said that the faith that had been known and seen in his mother and grandmother, could now be seen in him. In 2 Tim. 3:14, 15, We find Paul referring again to what Timothy had been taught from childhood, even infancy. "But as for you, continue in what you have learned, and have become convinced of, because you know those of whom you learned it. And how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

My sisters and I received a foundation in the scriptures that few people outside of our small circles of influence would understand. How that literally from infancy we had the Bible stories of the Old and New Testaments read to us, over and over. We were told in our ears, in our Sunday School Classes (taught by our parents' friends) that God loved us, knew us, waited on us and wanted us to know Him. We were taught that when we pray here, even in the midst of trouble, our voices were heard by the almighty God, and that He loved to answer prayers of kids just like us. The closest thing I know to compare to how my mother, and both of my grandmothers taught us and read to us from the scriptures, would be how Jewish boys were/are raised in preparation for their bar-mitzva. ...From a child you have known the holy Scriptures...
The adults that I knew did their very best to live a godly life, both in public and private. Doesn't mean they were perfect, but they had integrity of heart.

My mother was a leader to all the young folks in my church. Many of them have become influential in their world and have told her and me that she had a major impact on their lives. Men like Alan Allen, Randy and Ronnie Darden, both of whom have been burned in separate electrical accidents. Bobby Whiteley, pastor in Salisaw, OK, who has walked through times of great personal trial, but when the world stopped shaking he had a faith in God's love and power that my mother helped put there. Women of faith like Kim Nance, Suzy Morrison, Sherry Darden, and others - many others. Women like Kim, who has been a stable, solid influence on wave after wave of ministers and missionaries who graduated from Agape School of World Missions in Little Rock, Arkansas, were raised in my mother's Junior High Sunday School class. Kim was not from a stable home, but God put something solid in her heart in those early years that has stood the test of time and trouble.

I remember my mother preparing for her class by telling us kids not to bother her while her bedroom door was shut. She would have her Bible, her lesson book, and a list of the kids who were part of her class. She would shut the door and begin to call the name of each child before God, and ask Him to help them. She would ask God to come to her classroom and manifest himself in the hearts, lives, and needs of these kids. Many were already in trouble with drugs, rebellion, illicit sexual relations, and from horrible, unstable homes. She would pray and begin to weep for them, for their parents, and for their future. I heard her say that unless God would somehow do miracles in their lives that would over-ride the negatives and help them, they would never become productive members of society, of church, and of heaven. He heard those prayers and is still working in our lives.

In the late sixties and early seventies, our church young people began to be pulled hard by the outside world. Some of my best friends began to be pulled by sin and rebellion. Our parents joined together to fast and pray in what they called a prayer chain. It was prayer around the clock and they did it until God revealed Himself to the kids in that small church and to hundreds of our school friends an amazing revival that changed the course of our history. That is a story for another day.

Only eternity will reveal what their prayers accomplished for us and for the people we have influenced, and those yet to be influenced by them.

My mother is still doing it, now. How can you put a price on that kind of person, of prayer, of unconditional love? You can't.

I sure am thankful!

My Response to Carmelita and Benny

2006-12-26T10:12:00.000-06:00

I wrote the following response to Carmelita and Benny as they are stepping out by faith to start a new church. I did not include any personal aspects of their letter. As a father in the Lord, I try to encourage and as Peter said(2 Peter 1:12, 13), I want to help you remember the important things that will help you succeed in your ministry.
I include it here because whatever new beginnings you are facing this year, you should run through the check list that Jesus Gave us in Matthew 5, 6, 7.
Make sure you are following Him in truth and that, like Abraham Lincoln said once when he was asked if he believed God was on the Union's side in the American Civil War of 1861-1865. He responded to the effect that the real question is not whether God was on the Union's side, but whether or not we (the Union) are on His side!
That is still the question we must ask, not in our human effort at ministry. But in the light of His word and His ability to produce it in us by filling us with the Holy Spirit.
Enjoy!

Carmelita and Benny,
It sounds like great things are happening in your life and ministry. I am glad that you are not letting what other people think stop you in your obedience to the call of God. Even if we are wronged, we are not to return evil for evil, as some do and as I have been guilty of myself. I am a real follower of Jesus, though, and have repented and gone to Him for His help(Revelation 3:14-22). In Matthew, Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people persecute you, insult you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets that were before you. Later in chapter 5, verse 43, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you:
"Love your enemies;"
"And pray for those who persecute you;"
"That you may be sons of your father in heaven." (That means ...if you don't love, pray and forgive from the heart, you are NOT acting as a son of your father in heaven! And as a disobedient son or daughter are probably moving toward some very unpleasant discipline!!! You ask, "How do you know?" You ask, "Where did this man receive this wisdom?" Hah! Don't ask... just try it for yourself if you are feeling really tough!)
"If you love those that love you, what reward will you get?" (None. There is no debt, no imbalance left by that action; It creates no upward pressure, because everything is balanced. But if you love those who hate you, then you are giving, or investing, more than is being given back and it begins to create a pressure in the spiritual dimension; a pressure to bring God’s blessing down on you!
"Are not even the tax collectors doing that?" People with NO spiritual awareness or knowledge can love those who love them and bless those who bless them!)
And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? (Apparently, even showing the courtesy of a greeting is not something that God overlooks!
Hey, if that is so with an outsider, do you think he notices when you are angry and won't greet your wife/husband?
Do you think this is hindering us and our ministries? In the very same chapter he gives the cure... There will be stuff of your flesh that needs to be cut off that will be as hard to do as to pull out your eye or cut off your hand! Cry out to God for help and DO IT ANYWAY! If not, you are not following Jesus and will soon be one of those religious leaders yourself with a little church and mad at the next new guy that God sends to minister in that area!
Forgive your enemies, or you will become your enemies... and hate yourself worse than you hate them.
Forgive. Love. Pray. Bless. Greet. Rejoice. These things are impossible to do without help from God.He might as well tell us to walk across the South China Sea. If you read this and realize how impossible it all is in your own strength, you begin to get hungry, desperate, thirsty, and willing to fast for help to change. It is not just my enemies that need prayer. It's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.
Here is where you begin to beg for more of the Holy Spirit. More help. More comfort. More strength.
You weep at your own failure and inability to forgive, even with those you love.
He will answer and refresh you.
He will cleanse you by his blood, and immerse you again in the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit is able to give you victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Go to Him again and wait in His Presence.
The miracles of changing you, and helping you crucify the flesh and resurrecting IN YOU the character of Christ, have not passed away anymore than the healings and miracles of his earthly ministry.
But too often, we have stopped pursuing Him. Read Revelation Chapters 2&3 again, and do what he instructed them to do, if you need to.
Renew yourself and don't get caught off guard by the things that you mentioned that other pastors are doing. Finally, when the time comes and God sends another pastor or ministry to that area, don't do to them what is being done to you.

I love you guys, and I know that if you will build your church on the solid rock of both practicing the commands of Jesus and teaching others the words of Jesus Christ, your ministry to that part of the country will flourish!!!

Write again soon,
Phil and Beth

A Letter from Our Friends in the Philippines

2006-12-26T09:37:00.000-06:00

This is a letter from a Lady who is teaming with her husband to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Philippines (just North of Manila, in the mountains.) She is Filipino herself and has been a missions overseer for a large outreach, based in Manila.
As an overseer, Carmelita Langouan gave guidance to many pastors who were planting churches for many years. Now, she, along with her husband Benny and their kids, are moving to a new area to plant a new church. It is in the mountains North of Manila, in the vicinity of Baguio.
Beth and I helped to disciple her in the Lord for several years. She is very important to us, like one of our own daughters. I hope to take my daughters there to meet her some day.

Read her letter and then read my response to her and her husband Benny. Enjoy!

Dear Phil and Beth,

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all. It's cold here in Baguio this time of the year. The City is full of people from all over the country. Some areas of the Philippines are still hot like summer. We are so glad we live here now.

Our family is doing fine. Benny will be finishing his responsibilities at the Church here in Baguio till the end of the month. And then we will be moving to La Trinidad this summer April 2007(April is HOT). La Trinidad is about 30 minutes away from Baguio. We will be opening and pioneering a new Church there.
Our Bible Study and campus group from Trinidad has grown. They have had to travel to Baguio to attend our services. Our youth service in Baguio is in the evening. A few weeks ago, some of our youth from La Trinidad got robbed. Because of that, the parents are not allowing them to travel to our services in Baguio anymore. They want us to open a church in their area. Actually, this is not a surprise. We have known that this is the direction we would be moving and now I believe that this is the right time.
We will have our first service in January 2007. We are excited. The Lord is connecting us to the City leaders in La Trinidad. The former mayor is a good friend of Benny's. He will be helping us with the Student Center we are planning to put up. This Center will be “good bait” for all of the students.
The former mayor said that it has been his dream for this city to have a student center. I think it will be perfect for the students, since the city does not have a mall or recreation center in Trinidad.
We are excited! Two weeks ago we announced to our group that we will officially open the church in La Trinidad in January. They were happy and excited.
The biggest church in this area is Pastor Michael’s church. Do you remember him? You used to preach in his church.
A lot of the churches here are not happy we will be opening one. They've been in this area for years, but most are still very small. Sometimes jealousy is still working among the ministers, but we are not going to allow them to disturb us in what God has for us.
God is giving us creative ideas to reach out to the people and they seem to be working out very well. For example, Benny is developing a student band in each of the area schools.
That's all for now!
We will share more next time. We love you guys dearly. Give my love to your children and hugs to your grandkids. A big hug and a kiss to Art and Barbara (Beth's parents, with us for Christmas). Tell Barb that the first bite of your turkey dinner will be mine.
Miss you all very much.

Carmelita

Betty E. Hair-Strickland; Meet My Mother

2006-12-23T12:01:00.000-06:00

My mother is the best mom in the world, bar none. You may think you have the best, but you are mistaken. And I guess that's ok and understandable. Wrong, but understandable. You are entitled to your wrong opinion.

Mom graduated from highschool in Collinsville, Ok in the early 1950's. She was the youngest of 5 siblings and was very close to her father. Although he died before she married my dad, and had me, I felt like I knew him because of how mom talked of him and of what he thought and said.
Some of the things that she told about him that I can remember include:

The first time a business sent a monthly statement of outstanding debt, he felt like they were treating him like a dead beat. He took it to them and told him that his word was all they would ever need to get paid. I think they took him off the mailing list.
He loved to sing and passed that on to my mother. All the Hair kids could sing and read shape notes. All of the old campmeeting/hymn type song books were written with shape notes. Anyone who could read and sing shape notes, could sing four part harmony if you could establish a starting note (Do, Re, Mi...) He sang in quartets with men, and with couples in the church. He sang duets with my mother, all through her growing up years.
He loved it when justice prevailed... in any situation of life. He believed in balance.
His favorite verse in the Bible was Proverbs 14:34 "Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."
He was a man of faith.
He was a man of prayer.
He was a tither and he believed that God would supernaturally bless and preserve a tither, i.e., that God will keep His Word.
He grieved over the way some of his girls' husbands treated them, and avoided them because he feared what he might do to them. (to someone not raised with a sense of justice, that may seem terrible to you. But it is simple and fair to me. Don't hurt my family!)
He would sit with his family on the porch of their farmhouse after a hard days work and talk and sing with them. It was in these settings that he built his love for God and his love for righteousness into my mom's lfe.

My mother is a leader in almost any crowd, and could have succeded as a professional in any field. What she chose to do, was to invest in us kids and to back my father's dreams.

That choice also enabled her to pursue one other great love. She loved missions and missionaries. She loved them, she prayed for them, she supported them with her own money and prayed for more money to give to them. She wrote to them, and she taught us kids to do all of that, too.

This was something she picked up from her mother. Even though they were very poor, her mother would set aside a few pennies per week from her grocery money and after six months, put a five dollar bill and mail it to a minister in India that she felt was doing a good work. I believe we will see ways in heaven in which gifts like that are like the little boy's lunch that Jesus used to feed a multitude.

Mom became a leader of the women's ministry of the churches we were part of and helped raise thousands of dollars in the 1960's, ten thousand's of dollars in the seventies, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in the 80's and 90's, and on into the present, to support them as they take life changing, body-healing, drug and alcohol delivering, and eternal destiny changing gospel to the nations.

She knows much about where the gospel is advancing and where it is struggling under terrible attacks of persecution and discouragement. She has watched the impact of the gospel on nations and held on to the life lines and been as much a part of that advance as the people on the front lines. And she taught her kids and hundreds of other people to do that, too.

My mom and dad are well known in the Assemblies of God Missions movement in Springfield and across the country for their giving, praying, and love for missions. I am so proud of them. I am proud of my mom. I am so very thankful.

I Married Up!

2006-12-22T10:08:00.000-06:00

I married up. You know, don't you, that means it was a better deal for me... Not that Beth has ever acted that way, but it is a fact. I am a blessed man for having found this woman. She is great in many ways.
For one thing, she is my friend. She is my best friend. We like each other... most of the time, anyway. She followed me around for several years while I attempted to be a great minister, and what I needed was to become a better person. She began after a while to put on the brakes and say "Wait a minute, here." She loved me and had proved it, but it was her will of forged and tempered steel that started demanding communication improvements, growth in integrity, and stability from me. On the last count, she did not demand that I stop preaching, etc, but that I find the will of God and stay with it and quit jumping around all the time. That is something that had to happen. I have learned it so well, that I have had trouble in my mind with the thought of stepping out again and taking the risks necessary to realize my dreams. (I will do it, but it is not easy anymore.)
But I have Beth with me and I think we will do alright.
She is stable. She is humble in her estimation of herself. Not enough to let anyone run over her, but she is not too good for any job in the church, or at home. And, she's pretty sure that I 'm not too good for any of those job's, either. That's good for me. I know it is. It's bound to be. I think...
That reminds me of the two lines of men trying to get into heaven. One entrance was marked, "Entrance for Hen-Pecked Husbands" (for my friends from outside the USA, that means men who are constantly being told by their wife what they ought to do and he says, "Yes, dear" and does it). This line had so many men in it, that it stretched down the street and out of sight. The other entrance said, "For Non-Hen-pecked Husbands." There was only one man in that line. The men in the long line kept looking at the guy in the other line and whispering among themselves... Finally, one of the men couldn't stand it any more. He yelled over to the only guy in the other line, "Hey, man, what are you doing in that line over there?" The man in the "Non-Henpecked Line" yelled back, "I don't know. My wife told me to get in this line!"
Of course, that's not true of me and my relationship with Beth. Mister, I wear the pants in my family. (I asked Beth and she told me I could try it for a few days... as long as I didn't let it go to my head.)
Now, the truth is - that the quality of person that Beth is, has pushed me toward a more balanced and more Christ-like character. I can honestly say that I care more about what she thinks of me than of what anyone else in the world thinks of me. She is honest, and has less of an agenda for others or ulterior motives, than anyone else that I have ever known.
I got the better part of the bargain when I got her, and I promise you that Jesus knew what He was doing for me when he sent her from Denver to Tulsa to meet me 29 years ago... and I am so thankful!

Irv and Pat Eddy, My Friends

2006-12-20T12:37:00.000-06:00

Irv and Pat Eddy are two of our great friends in Texas. We first met them at the Christian Center Church in West Columbia.
Irv is a quiet, hard working man that is cheerful and so much fun to be around. He is always interested in what other people are doing and never seems to mind if he gets a load of bad news when he cheerfully asks, "How are you?" I've unloaded my woes to him more than once and he takes it all in and starts praying about it on a daily basis until you let him know that God has answered in a positive way. That's a real friend!
He used to work the sound system at church and so was always sitting in the back. Then, in August of 1994, revival hit the Christian Center like a tornado, and Irv went from the back to the front. It was amazing. That was when we became really good friends and it has never changed.
Irv works, helps his kids, and assists Pat in her ministry, and is a constant help to the city of Brazoria concerning their drainage system woes.
Pat is Irv's wife of many years. She is one of the most positive and compassionate people I have ever met. She over-flows with the love of God. She is the leader of a ministry called The Christian Senior Citizen's Center. She works there 5 days a week from early mornings to late "dark -thirty!" She is a powerhouse of love, energy, prayer, and fun.
Their ministry has kept many senior citizens from going hungry, and God alone knows how many they have kept from committing suicide. Many have been saved through this ministry. Think about that and what the implications are of a ministry that reaches senior citizens for Christ. It is John Wesley's "Soul Saving Station three feet from the Gates of Hell!" They are rescued from despair by the love of God that the Center shares with anyone and everyone.
Have you ever thought of someone as a great person, but when you got to know them personally, you were dissapointed? Not the case, here! The closer you get to these two, the more you realize that they are "for real."
I am proud to know them, to be financial partners in their ministry, to have Beth volunteer with them, and most of all, to be their friend.

Milton and Anice Fenley, Our Friends

2006-12-19T08:14:00.000-06:00

Milton and Anice,
We love you both and you are very special friends.
Milton, I appreciate your years of service to jail ministry. God hasn't forgotten. And your work at Phillips Oil Co. There is no telling how many people your life impacted and influenced for the Kingdom of God. We know it was a lot, cause I was at your retirement party... But, I met you at church and your giving, loving and participation in the advancement of the local church and of its mission to the whole world will be remembered in eternity. You are a man who loves and supports missions. Your Giving has preceded you into Heaven. No, you can't take your money with you, but you CAN send it on ahead by investing in missions. Thank You!
Anice, WOW! What can I say that is strong enough to express my admiration of your life and ministry. You both have ministered to us directly with words of encouragement and by your confidence that God will keep His Word to us, whether written on the pages of the Bible or on the secret pages of our hearts. And, of course, you were right about that every time! You have been a real friend to Beth and I.
In reality, I am blown away by the calling God gave you, many years ago to teach school and public school at that. I know that you have impacted and influenced more people for Christ than many evangelists who get paid to preach. I see your love of the children and your dedication and giving to see them blessed, taught, fed, bathed, deloused. I have seen you going to the school during your off hours to prepare, to decorate, and God only knows what else!!! It all shows that you have more than a job. You have served those children as though you were serving Jesus Christ Himself. Nothing you have done has been nor will be in vain. God will cause the children to remember your heart, and be drawn to Him.
Kenneth Copeland said that he recieved Christ in to his heart as he was led in what to say by his 3rd Grade Sunday School Teacher... not in the class, but on his own livingroom couch, 12 to 13 years later. He said he could still hear that man's voice in his mind and in his heart. I have no doubt whatsoever, that God will bring your voice back to many people and your love, your wisdom and your witness will be right there with them in some very dark hours of their lives!
Finally, Jesus said if you give one of these little ones a cup of water in my name, there is NO WAY you will be cheated out of your reward.
Know this; I will be cheering you and Milton all the way... both here as a friend and at the banquet... you know which one! The rewards portion of the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. That will be me standing in my chair (so I can see) and screamin' myself hoarse, if you can get hoarse in heaven. I'm gonna try!

Thanks for your long term friendship.

Merry Christmas, 2006!

Phil and Beth Strickland

Soar Like an Eagle, (but don't forget your family)

2006-12-12T14:16:00.000-06:00

How are you guys doing?
I want to talk to those of you who, like me, have dreams of accomplishing long held goals and visions.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with being intense and single minded in your pursuit of great purposes. Really, this is where many people fall short of fulfilling their hopes and dreams. It is a definate key to answered prayer, to request things that are burning inside of your heart and not the stuff you would "kind of like to have." It is what sets your heart on fire that stirs heaven's blood when you pray. Also, getting that vision started requires an intensity that those you love and lead and provide for, are going to have to understand and be patient with the unusually intense person that you have become during this time of intensive prayer and work.
But, (and that is a big but) you must trust God enough to put your dream in His hands and while He is working in your behalf and usually in the unseen realm, you are taking care of the basic responsibilities of being a husband, a father, and a faithful leader in your CURRENT local church.
Keep a tight reign on the basics of fellowship, loving and leading your family, dating your wife and not leaving her with all the kid stuff and house stuff while you do the "important" stuff.
Do not become SO single minded that you get out of balance. What does it profit a man if he gains...?
Many people gain their dreams but they walk all over the people that they love. Their success is not God given, but self actuated and self maintained. They end up like the guy on Ted Mack's Amateur Hour who is spinning plates on a stick. He has to keep running back and forth and catching the ones that are about to fall.
We need God to breathe His Life into our dreams. What He starts, He maintains! It's still a lot of work, but when you do it in Him, you can sit down after six days of work and the world won't stop spinning and fall down around your feet. Remember Colossians 1: 17 NLT, "He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together." Or, in KJV... everything holds together in him. WOW!
Jesus is still saying... "If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father... When you obey my commandment, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow.
(Jn 15: 7, 8, 10, 11 NLT)
Until next time...

Greetings and News

2006-12-11T19:56:00.002-06:00

Hi, folks! How are you? We are great in most ways and the things that aren't are being managed by the King! I have been leading a study on the Book of Revelation and it has been one of the highlights of study in my life. I am having so much fun teaching them God's Word. I have the most interesting and interested group of students that I have fellowshipped with in years. As we study and talk among ourselves, we have sensed the Presence of Jesus and believe that the reading and the promised blessing that comes with the reading, is accomplishing in us the same thing it did in John as it was revealed to him.

Cherry, my eldest daughter, has continued to grow in the Lord and as an adult. I have watched her make many selfless decisions that reflect a current and vital fellowship with the Lord that is being energized by the Holy Spirit. I am very proud of her. She is being mentored by a friend of ours who we have known for years and in whom we have much confidence. Stacey McCarron Collins and her husband Mike have befriended Cherry and JC in an unusual way and we are deeply indebted to them. Stacey was one of Ralph and Shirley Hagamier's team that I first got to know in Zaire (Now the Congo) in 1994. She is a great missionary still, and I believe God alone is responsible for bringing her and Mike into Cherry and JC's life. By God's grace, they are watering the seeds that Beth and I and had planted over the years of our lives.

When 9/11 happened, I told my girls that one of the key values for every Strickland to pass on to their children is to be a missionary... to be God's voice to their world.

God bless you all.

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

2006-12-09T16:43:00.000-06:00

For those of you who are unfamiliar with a blog (short for a Web Log), it is much like a room full of your friends that have come together for your birthday party. Everyone is equal, but it's my blog. Of course, you still try not to say stuff that is stupid or boring, yet you are more relaxed and open than you would be at a "company meeting."
Until word gets around that this is a blog worth visiting, many of the people who will be logging on to this page will be people who I know and who know me personally. However, in the future, new people who begin to log in will want to know who WE are, not just me. They will read what I say and then click on to your comments to see who else is reading what I have written and what they thought about it.
Right away, I am going to write about my friends and family. I want to tell our story, and just like you would if we were in a room together, instead of a virtual room, I want you to let me know if you remember a story differently than I do. In the same way, I may stick with my story and argue the point, but you are welcome to defend yourself and your view/memory.
I love my family and my friends. I won't write about people I don't love and respect. I won't try to embarrass anyone... ever.
Actually, what I want to do is to say thank you to everyone whose life has affected mine in so many positive ways. It would be a shame to live and die, and have never said thank you to those of you to whom I owe so much.
Apart from the Lord himself, my greatest debt is to my parents. Anything I say will understate my debt to them. I don't know how to thank them adequately for their love, their unwavering support, their giving and sacrifices, their example of love, commitment, maturity, and hard work. Their words, and their attitudes are interwoven into my letters, my daily life and conversations, my poetry and now, these musings with you.
Right there with them would be the influence and impact on my life of my wife, Beth. For this cause a man leaves... and cleaves! She is the one greatest gift and compliment that God has ever given me. She is beautiful. She is quiet. She doesn't like the spotlight. She can be as tough as she needs to be... with me and with salesmen. And still today, in our 29Th year together, she is still my best friend. She's Trevithick!
Her parents and brothers have been the best in laws a man could ever have. I love them all and appreciate their friendship and support.
Lastly, I want to tell you about my friends. To do that, I am going to write about them and what they have brought to my life. Just as with my family, there is no way for me to write about everything that my friends have done for me and all the ways they have influenced me. So, if I miss something important to you, PLEASE share it in the comments.
I will write about my friends in no particular order and especially since I have never rated my friends in terms of importance, neither the length of the article, nor the order of their reference has any bearing on the value I place on each one.
This is the one area of my life, that of my family, my mentors, and friends, that I am stinking, filthy, RICH. more later!

Personal relationship with Christ

2006-12-08T09:16:00.000-06:00

It would be easy for a Christian leader, or a pastor, to look at my first post and say to themselves... "This site is designed to speak to outsiders, to people new to faith. However, we all may want to re-think that proposition. My opening statement was: Your personal relationship with Christ is the most pressing issue in the universe. That has to include you!

Mr. Pastor, or Mr/Ms Christian Leader, if you ever loose sight of that fact because of other urgent issues, you are already starting to sink. Go back, and carefully read the first three chapters of Revelation and then tell me you are getting a free pass. These chapters are a preview of the judgement seat of Christ that Paul speaks about.
.
How busy are we?

Let me ask you this... As you mature in Christ, do you get more dependent on prayer and personal devotions, or less dependent because of your vast knowledge of scriture and of human behavior? Do you become more aware of your strength or of your weakness?

Look at Daniel's life. The higher he was placed up the "corporate" ladder, the more he felt he HAD to seek God 3 times a day! That doesn't just mean he was "so devoted to God that he wouldn't miss his 3 habitual prayer times" when a law was passed against prayer. It may have been that he was more afraid of trying to conduct the affairs of the Babylonian Empire without God's help than he was of the lion's den.

What about you?

Are you satisfied with the relationship with God that you are now enjoying. If you are satisfied, and don't want to start anything that may push you out of your comfort zone, you are already in trouble. You are not among those that Jesus called "Blessed."

He said, "God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him. God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice (Gr. for righteousness), for they will be satisfied. God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right (or pursuing justice), for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven!... The smartest thing we can do, is go get in line with the things that He blesses, and quit trying to figure out why He is not blessing what we are doing!!!

You see, if you have lost your sense of spiritual poverty, of desperation for more of God, and you think you are rich and full and in need of nothing, you are deceived. Instead of contacting a great evangelist or pastor to pray for you, get alone with Jesus and begin to ask Him for a right heart and a fresh revelation of how things really are, you know, as He sees it. You may be surprised. I have been before... but that is a post for another day!

Knowing Jesus Christ Personally

2006-12-03T19:30:00.000-06:00

Your personal relationship with Christ is the most pressing issue in the universe. Do you know Him personally? Have you ever committed your past to Him and received the forgiveness He offers to those who come to Him humbly and confess their sinful condition?
You can begin a relationship, a permanent friendship, with Jesus, right where you are. The main question is, are you ready to make Him the Lord (the Boss, el Patron) of your life? Often, people want Jesus to guarantee that they won't go to hell (you know, they want fire insurance), but they don't want to live in a permanent place of friendship with Him. Some may say that they aren't going to bow down to anybody, but they do. They may worship themselves or they may worship money and material things. There may be someone who you have pictured or as the psychiatrists say, imprinted, as an example of success, but I have never found anyone who compares with Jesus of Nazareth, who is also called the Christ. If you don't know Him personally, I want to invite you to read the stories of His life in the Bible. Start in Mark and Luke of the New Testament. One more thing - ask God to reveal Him to you - then relax and read.
I've found out that He will come to your house, your room, or your cell. You are not too good for Him and you also aren't too bad for Him. You will find that as you read His Word, He will walk into your life and be your best friend. He will forgive your past, heal your present and give you hope for your future. Give it a try. Test it for yourself. Any questions? Hit the COMMENTS button. God bless!