Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ !
I Faithfully believe this is the last time I will have to extend my apologies for not having updated this blog with both Christ Based Inspiration and Ministry Updates. With regard to the ministry updates, feel free to check back tomorrow or the day after for some truly exciting news to report.
Nonetheless, I've tried extremely hard to not consume our ministry initiative with my personal health challenges. That has become a bit difficult as several of you are very familiar with the realty of my personal health obstacles, as it has become such a large piece of my personal testimony of Christ and His overwhelming love and unimaginable power for us. This, along with the devout prayers thrown my way from our ministries partner churches and prayer chains, with so many specific Thanx to Marcia Spelman's Prayer Warriors at First Parish Congregational Church in York, Maine, First Parish Conservative Congregational Church in Kittery, and Messiah Church in Wells, Maine.
So,....let's first talk about Thanksgiving. This year's Thanksgiving, for me personally, seems to have played out to have been the most wondrous Thanksgiving of my life.
First however, lets take a look at a piece of the Thanksgiving Prayer offered here at my house this year.
This year we were blessed with an 'Open House ' where members of our closest Christian family which is comprised of several different congregations of Christians in the area joined us. ( how wonderful it was to have Fellowship across the congregational lines,...so to speak ! ) Mark Cable, a contributing member of our ministry seemed to sum up the credible initiative this way,...... "Churches Should Be COMPLETING one Another,...... rather than COMPETING with one Another !."
The Thanksgiving Prayer I offered was rooted in a recent sermon from Rabbi Eckstein of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
Rabbi Eckstein was very quick to point out the fact that Thanksgiving was first made a National Holiday by then President Abraham Lincoln. In 1863, President Lincoln seemed to have the fortitude lacking in so many professional politicians nowaday. President Lincoln reflected upon a year that was ' filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. " He went on to boldly say that we should 'observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving to our beneficient Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.'
Imagine that !!!,.... A President actually mentioning, and speaking out for the many many Thanks we owe to our Father and Creator. A President cemented in God. A President whom actually advocates Christ Like living and Worship. At that time, a country founded in God by Men of God.
Nonetheless, it was enlightening to have a Thanksgiving Prayer that went a bit deeper than Pilgrims and Native Indians.
But quickly back to the personal blessings I received over Thanksgiving as I believe we should all Minister our Testimonies to one another in an effort to broaden one anothers faith. First and foremost, with regard to my health challenges. While I don't necessarily have a cure, I was called the day before Thanksgiving by my Primary Care Doctor with the best news of a powerful blessing from above. As many of you are aware, last year just prior to Goodall Hospital becoming a victim of what is often referred to as a 'leveraged buyout', Goodall Hospital had begun providing me with an aggressive cutting edge infusion/transfusion protocol. This protocol had provided a quality of life change for me which CUT the 100 + Hospitalized days, and 60 plus Oncological Outpatient Infusion days by 40 and 20. Needless to say, and as pointed out by many of you, " I had energy, and the Ministry diversified ". Next, the Mother Hospital, S.M.H.C., chose to no longer provide the protocol. ( This was a powerful blow, as only a few hospitals nationwide are providing this therapy. It unfortunately appears that the Administrative directives of this hospital relate directly to how much profit can be made on each of the 6 ICU beds in the hospital. )
B-U-T ~!!!, What a powerful and Graceful and Loving God we do have !
As mentioned, my Primary Provider instructed me that the former Director of Hospitalist Medicine has opened a private office next town from me in Wells, Maine, and that he has agreed to re-establish me with the booster protocol that so overwhelmingly and positively affected my health situation. It quite honestly brought me to tears as this would provide not simply better health, but the time necessary to carry out my life's initiative to serve our God ! With The Lord our God,.. I am The Healthiest Sick Man Alive!
It also went to further clarify to me that our prayers and journeys are carefully orchestrated by God, to cross and affect one another's paths and prayers. To this and So much more, I offer our Lord Thanksgiving!
There's MORE !!!
As if I could even fathom a greater Thanksgiving Blessing than the ones mentioned above !!! The Lord through His infinite Grace and Mercy blessed me with an even greater blessing.
For those of you whom have heard my personal testimony at a Southern Maine Church, Bible Study, or Men's Group function, you are aware that prior to being saved, I lived what could certainly be called a checkered past........ I thank God daily that He is a forgiving God and that he will ultimately judge me as the man I became as a result of His planned diversities. I feel richly blessed that God chooses ordinary men to achieve the most extraordinary things in His name.
In living the checkered past mentioned above and prior to being saved, I damaged the relationship between my own Father and myself quite seriously.
Since being saved, I have been unable to re-establish a healthy relationship with my father. Quite honestly, not having him in my life after throwing off the old man, and becoming anew through Jesus Christ has caused me very deep despair and a feeling of lonliness. ( I again offer Him my Thanksgiving for providing me a wife of tremendous love and support, and a great contributor to my new life in Christ)
But again I offer our Lord Great Thanksgiving as when I called my Father to wish a Happy Thanksgiving
he seemed to have an open heart to me. Frankly, we had the first encouraging conversation In many years.
My faith dictates to me that the Lord has stirred the Holy Spirit within my Father. I firmly believe the Lord to be 'in-process' of answering my prayers to re unite my father and I.
Forgive me for rambling on, but I wanted to share my testimony of Thanksgiving blessing with you all.
What a powerful and loving Father we all have! Reflect on your days as you close them, I think you can find that every day is THANKSGIVING !
And Remember,...... " Right Believing leads to right Living " !
See Ya Tomorrow with MINISTRY NEWS !
GOD Bless !
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Monday, October 13, 2014
The Holy Spirit's Power and Our Effort - Part 1 by Francis Chan
Happy Monday !
Today is the day that the Lord has given us, .... I pray that the inspirational video below will aid you
in rejoicing in the ever present Jesus Christ today.
I read a verse taken from this video ( 2 Peter 1 v.5 ), after watching it. VERY POWERFUL !
As a matter of fact, it seems to have etched itself onto my soul. I pray it provides the same to you.
Time has certainly become quite the commodity these days. That said, if you presently don't have the 45 minutes to view this video by Francis Chan presently, I implore you to come back to it.
Great Stuff !
Warm Blessings in the name of Christ Jesus,
bill
Today is the day that the Lord has given us, .... I pray that the inspirational video below will aid you
in rejoicing in the ever present Jesus Christ today.
I read a verse taken from this video ( 2 Peter 1 v.5 ), after watching it. VERY POWERFUL !
As a matter of fact, it seems to have etched itself onto my soul. I pray it provides the same to you.
Time has certainly become quite the commodity these days. That said, if you presently don't have the 45 minutes to view this video by Francis Chan presently, I implore you to come back to it.
Great Stuff !
Warm Blessings in the name of Christ Jesus,
bill
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Ministers of Christ
" Bretheren, if any among you wanders from the TRUTH of God, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death cover a great multitude of sins. " ......(James 5:19-20)
At times, a Christian's greatest deterrent of sin can quite simply be the life of another Christian or brother/sister in Christ. However, many Christians believe it to be ' none of their business ' if another Christian should choose to sin. Perhaps this perception stems from being perceived as judgmental if they were to respond to anothers sin ( God KNOWS. we've each got plenty of our own ! ). The modern world and the ever expansive clamor for self-righteous ways is a persuasion for people ' NOT, to get involved '.
But does watching another person fall prevent us from being a loving Intercessor for Christ and our Christian responsibilities ? hmmmm!
As Christians we are all well aware that sin brings death ( Romans 6:23 ).
Sin kills relationships, tears apart marriages, dulls life's joys, and as we see happening at an alarming rate, is destroying PEACE around the world.
SO,......... when we see a brother or sister ' wander ' from the truth into error,
how should we respond ?
Most of us know,.... but ALL of us need to be consistently reminded that the answer to this ( and most all ) of life's sensitive questions such as the aforementioned is readily found in The Walk of Jesus, as outlined in The Gospel.
Quite simply friends, ..
" What Would Jesus Do ? "
When our Savior saw sin it broke His ever-caring, ever-loving heart as outlined in ( Matt. 23:37-39 ), He wept over entire cities when He saw them rejecting the TRUTH . This is how deeply He cares,... that we may experience the insurmountable blessings that are righteous to us simply by living With, In, and Through Jesus Christ !!
Jesus prayed vigorously for His disciples to be strong when temptation came near. He warned those who were headed toward a ' spiritual stumble '. And as was shown at Calvary, .... He was even willing to die to save us from our own sins. He was aware of the spreading devastation caused by sin.
Our Savior was and is so full of grace and mercy, in His unfailing love for us,
that He NEVER simply ' watched ' or stood without warning while His children were led from the ' narrow path ' to the ever widening ' highway of sin '.
He ALWAYS took a pro active role in re-directing us back to the Father !
' Minding our own P's & Q's ', may save us some awkward times and discomfort, but it will in no way help a Brother or Sister who may need help
returning to the Lord. Please, pray ever fervently for ALL of our Brothers and Sisters. This my friends will ensure our Christian motives, and better prepare us to appropriately minister to them appropriately if the need should present itself.
A portion of the TRUTH of Christianity is that we are all accountable to one another to be Ministers of Christ. Let us pray that we are ever alert in the event that God asks us to minister to our friends in Christ.
In The Mighty and Loving name of He Who is Most High !............AMEN !
Friday, September 12, 2014
The Lord Delights in His Children
Within Jeff's video below, I find a great analogy between that of our Lord and Father and that of an earthly father. As you will see, the Lord delights in us,...( all of us ) , just as an earthly father delights in his own children.
Just further Proof and Truth that we are created in " HIS " image. .....Amen!
Praise God !, and please pray for all earthly fathers. That they too will delight in their own children, and demonstrate the Christian Responsibilities of the important duties of demonstrating the Lord's expectations of us to our children and our Christian Familial Legacies. For in this, fathers may be considered the earthly patriarchal potter as they mold and hold the family unit in the name of Christ Jesus.
Pray this, live this, show this. For SO much depends on the Christian stability of today's modern and vulnerable family units. " Let's mold our families into a healthy representation of The Body of Christ ! "
God Bless, and enjoy the video !
Bill
Sunday, September 7, 2014
God's Perfect Peace !!!
Happy Sunday !,...and, what a beautiful Autumn day Our Lord has Given Us.
Upon awakening this morning after a 90 degree very humid and physically exhausting day, I was overcome by a strong feeling of God's Peace.
After a rather rough day filled with personal trial, this feeling of God's Peace is a welcome blessing.
I reflect on on a book written by Jack Hartman in the early 80's. Pastor Hartman's writings on the Deep Inner Peace of God may well be the most compelling and revealing written realization of the Un-paralelled Love of God that I've ever read. Truly a 'Must Read' although hard to find as it's out of print.
But let me convey some of Hartman's understanding of how God's love results in this 'Deep Inner Peace of God'.
The Creator who spoke us into being is obviously more than capable of handling virtually Any circumstance that would ever come up against us and our human frailty. " For with God nothing is ever impossible...." Luke 1:37
The winds of life blow in very uncertain direction, the waves of life toss unexpectedly, but they have NO power over the Holy Spirit living inside each and every one of us through the Love of our Father and Savior. Jesus taught humanity this great Truth centuries ago on The Sea of Galilee.
As Jesus and His disciples crossed the lake that evening, a furious storm of more than hurricane proportion arose out of nowhere. The giant waves tossed and filled the boat to the point of understandable human distress. (Mark 4:37)
The disciples were terrified by the strength of the storm, yet Jesus remained calm and peaceful. As a matter of fact, he slept until His disciples frantically woke Him and expressed their fear of capsizing and drowning.
A beautiful event next took place as " He arose, and rebuked the wind, and instructed the sea,.........PEACE,......Be Still ! " ... and the wind ceased, and the water calmed. He said to them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it ye have no faith?" ... (Mark 4:39-40)
The same great peaceful Lord to command the wind and sea so very many years ago remains living inside each one of us today! For Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever! ( Hebrews 13:8 )
He doesn't want us to be worried or afraid today any more than He wanted His disciples to be worried or afraid. When the storms of life come at us, He wants us to be still and know He is God.
He wants us to face every challenge, obstacle, or hurt of life with calmness derived from true Faith that He is indeed our protector,...our sufficiency, our guardian. For, fear and worry indicate our level of Godly Trust,.....FAITH !
Calmness in the face of adversity indicates that we do trust Him.
Trust in the Lord,... Trust in the Word,... Trust in the fact that when we are faced with what seem like monumental problems, we should never be discouraged because we do not believe we can handle them. Instead, we should see the Glory of God in our weakness, and realize that this is what enables the Lord's strength to be released in our lives.
We must realize that we can't do anything of real significance by ourselves and that everything we need comes from Him. " Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God"
( II Corinthians 3:5 )
Review this thought,these scriptural verses,... engrain this thought to your souls,........the Gracious and Merciful outcome is indeed " The Deep Inner Peace of God ". A peace that surpasses virtually ANY obstacle, and provides us the Joy of Christ in all we do.
With The Love of Christ, AMEN and God Bless You !!!
Upon awakening this morning after a 90 degree very humid and physically exhausting day, I was overcome by a strong feeling of God's Peace.
After a rather rough day filled with personal trial, this feeling of God's Peace is a welcome blessing.
I reflect on on a book written by Jack Hartman in the early 80's. Pastor Hartman's writings on the Deep Inner Peace of God may well be the most compelling and revealing written realization of the Un-paralelled Love of God that I've ever read. Truly a 'Must Read' although hard to find as it's out of print.
But let me convey some of Hartman's understanding of how God's love results in this 'Deep Inner Peace of God'.
The Creator who spoke us into being is obviously more than capable of handling virtually Any circumstance that would ever come up against us and our human frailty. " For with God nothing is ever impossible...." Luke 1:37
The winds of life blow in very uncertain direction, the waves of life toss unexpectedly, but they have NO power over the Holy Spirit living inside each and every one of us through the Love of our Father and Savior. Jesus taught humanity this great Truth centuries ago on The Sea of Galilee.
As Jesus and His disciples crossed the lake that evening, a furious storm of more than hurricane proportion arose out of nowhere. The giant waves tossed and filled the boat to the point of understandable human distress. (Mark 4:37)
The disciples were terrified by the strength of the storm, yet Jesus remained calm and peaceful. As a matter of fact, he slept until His disciples frantically woke Him and expressed their fear of capsizing and drowning.
A beautiful event next took place as " He arose, and rebuked the wind, and instructed the sea,.........PEACE,......Be Still ! " ... and the wind ceased, and the water calmed. He said to them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it ye have no faith?" ... (Mark 4:39-40)
The same great peaceful Lord to command the wind and sea so very many years ago remains living inside each one of us today! For Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever! ( Hebrews 13:8 )
He doesn't want us to be worried or afraid today any more than He wanted His disciples to be worried or afraid. When the storms of life come at us, He wants us to be still and know He is God.
He wants us to face every challenge, obstacle, or hurt of life with calmness derived from true Faith that He is indeed our protector,...our sufficiency, our guardian. For, fear and worry indicate our level of Godly Trust,.....FAITH !
Calmness in the face of adversity indicates that we do trust Him.
Trust in the Lord,... Trust in the Word,... Trust in the fact that when we are faced with what seem like monumental problems, we should never be discouraged because we do not believe we can handle them. Instead, we should see the Glory of God in our weakness, and realize that this is what enables the Lord's strength to be released in our lives.
We must realize that we can't do anything of real significance by ourselves and that everything we need comes from Him. " Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God"
( II Corinthians 3:5 )
Review this thought,these scriptural verses,... engrain this thought to your souls,........the Gracious and Merciful outcome is indeed " The Deep Inner Peace of God ". A peace that surpasses virtually ANY obstacle, and provides us the Joy of Christ in all we do.
With The Love of Christ, AMEN and God Bless You !!!
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Beth Moore !
Happy Tuesday to All !!!
With the Summer winding down, Memorial Day done, and kids off to school, it's a bit like a new beginning.
But then again, our merciful and gracious God is the provider of oh so many ' new beginnings '.
Personally, I am excited with the ending Summer as it provides me additional time to devote to Christ.
This morning I found a great Beth Moore quotation and would like to share it with you. It goes like this:
With the Summer winding down, Memorial Day done, and kids off to school, it's a bit like a new beginning.
But then again, our merciful and gracious God is the provider of oh so many ' new beginnings '.
Personally, I am excited with the ending Summer as it provides me additional time to devote to Christ.
This morning I found a great Beth Moore quotation and would like to share it with you. It goes like this:
Satisfaction Guaranteed
God is not only the answer to a thousand needs,
He is the answer to a thousand wants. He is the fulfillment
of our chief desire in all of life. For whether or not we've ever recognized it,
What we desire is unfailing LOVE.
Oh, God, awake our souls to see-- You are what we want,
not just what we need. Yes, our life's protection, but also our
hearts affection. Yes, our soul's salvation, but also our heart's
exhilaration. Unfailing Love. A love that will never let me go !... ' Beth Moore '
This is a great one to think on ! And I thank my Sister in Christ ' Susan Brindle ( a true woman of God )
and a Sister in Christ met in Christian Fellowship. For she is responsible for introducing me to the work of Beth Moore. Spend time in Christian Fellowship folks !........"Talk about a win-win situation !"
God's Peace to you ALL !
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Please Forgive Me !
Hello Brothers and Sisters in Christ !
I am so profusely sorry for having not updated the blog for the past week. But please know that arrangements have been made to rectify the issue should it arise again, which I pray it will not!
I had told myself that I in no way wanted to use this blog to use it as a platform to tell my own story.
However, with no posts for a week I believe I owe you all an explanation.
Those of you whom already know me are aware of my health dilemma. But, for those of you whom are unaware, I suffer from a combination of Auto-Immune diseases as well as a Neurological disease.
All of which are incurable, and have clinical symptoms that when active, trigger one another.
That's where I will stop, as I do not want this Ministry to be identified with my health, but with
Christian Fellowship.
All I know is that I am truly Blessed with the most amazing relationship with Jesus Christ, and Godly Fellowship with all of you ! This my friends is the very best medicine I could ever ask for.
It allows me to face virtually any health challenge with CHRIST, and find blessing in any day and under any circumstance! I have honestly grown through this diversity and am actually happy to have it be part of my life!
I've said it before many many times,.... " I am the healthiest sick man that you will ever meet ".
Truly, I can relate to the famous quote of Mother Theresa which goes like this :
" I Know That God Won't Give Me Anything I can't Handle,...........
I Just Wish he Didn't Trust me So Much ! "
Or,......." He didn't bring me to it,.....not to bring me through it ! " , Truly, it has been the vehicle by which I have developed a deep personal relationship with our Lord and Savior.
I move forward in life with the deep understanding of the scriptural verse that states
" By His Stripes,... I Am Healed ! ",...........and So Are You!.............PRAISE GOD !
So !, that said, ready yourselves for several page postings, and some truly exciting announcements. May God Bless your week,...and may you be blessed with the deep inner peace of GOD !
AMEN !
I am so profusely sorry for having not updated the blog for the past week. But please know that arrangements have been made to rectify the issue should it arise again, which I pray it will not!
I had told myself that I in no way wanted to use this blog to use it as a platform to tell my own story.
However, with no posts for a week I believe I owe you all an explanation.
Those of you whom already know me are aware of my health dilemma. But, for those of you whom are unaware, I suffer from a combination of Auto-Immune diseases as well as a Neurological disease.
All of which are incurable, and have clinical symptoms that when active, trigger one another.
That's where I will stop, as I do not want this Ministry to be identified with my health, but with
Christian Fellowship.
All I know is that I am truly Blessed with the most amazing relationship with Jesus Christ, and Godly Fellowship with all of you ! This my friends is the very best medicine I could ever ask for.
It allows me to face virtually any health challenge with CHRIST, and find blessing in any day and under any circumstance! I have honestly grown through this diversity and am actually happy to have it be part of my life!
I've said it before many many times,.... " I am the healthiest sick man that you will ever meet ".
Truly, I can relate to the famous quote of Mother Theresa which goes like this :
" I Know That God Won't Give Me Anything I can't Handle,...........
I Just Wish he Didn't Trust me So Much ! "
Or,......." He didn't bring me to it,.....not to bring me through it ! " , Truly, it has been the vehicle by which I have developed a deep personal relationship with our Lord and Savior.
I move forward in life with the deep understanding of the scriptural verse that states
" By His Stripes,... I Am Healed ! ",...........and So Are You!.............PRAISE GOD !
So !, that said, ready yourselves for several page postings, and some truly exciting announcements. May God Bless your week,...and may you be blessed with the deep inner peace of GOD !
AMEN !
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