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There is something I learned some time back that has stuck with me. One day as I was driving to our local book and bible house, God spoke to me and as He did I had to pull over to the side of the road. God asked me “How do you expect to be blessed when you hold a grudge against someone”? That statement took me totally by surprise. He showed me in my life how I was holding a grudge and that if I ever wanted to be blessed I needed to let it go and ask for forgiveness. He told me that it was something that He wanted me to do at that very moment. So, I called the person and we talked and I asked for forgiveness and was forgiven. It seemed like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders and not long after that the blessings came for something I had been praying for.
Just the other day as I was in prayer, a thought came to my mind and like many times before God began to speak to me. He was not talking in an audible voice but I could feel it in my heart. God said, how do people think that they are going to be blessed if they don’t give? I have heard pastors saying that their offerings are down and they blame it on the economy. Though the economy may change, the truths and commands of God have not and they will not. It was said in Malachi 3:8, "Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, how are we robbing you; in your tithes and offerings. Then God gives us instructions as to what we are to do, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Malachi 3:10. So with that said, how do you expect to be blessed if you are not giving to God what belongs to God? My wife and I realized some time back that our tithing was not what it was supposed to be and that we had cut down the amount thinking we needed more for ourselves. Wrong! When we started giving back to God what He wanted our finances turned around. But, it was not only in our tithes, it was in our offerings as well. God said in your tithes and OFFERINGS, there is a difference. Tithes are the commanded amount of a tenth of your first fruits and offerings is that which is over and above what God has said to give. Take for instance you pay your tithes of ten percent then your offerings would be anything above that like giving to missions or to some charitable organization. I am not sure about you but I want to be blessed and I am going to take my own advice and number one, I am asking God to check my heart to see if I am holding a grudge against anyone so that can be rectified and second I am going to increase what I give to fall under the obedience of God. I am going to do whatever it takes to assure my blessings and I am sure that it will require some out of my comfort zone events. As for you, you have to follow your own heart and do what God tells you to do but always remember what He requires of your first and foremost. God said, Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38. You can’t out give God but you can give what He commands. If you want to be blessed give and if you want to be blessed forgive or ask for forgiveness.
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It is amazing to me how we have continued in ministry for over twenty years now, and have faced so many trials along the way. We both know that God is our director and He sets the way and all we have to do is follow Him. We have been so blessed as to minister in the Philippines for so many years. We have seen literally hundreds of people come to the Lord and have witnessed so many miracles. God has truly blessed us and for that we are grateful.
We have only had a small number of opportunities in our own country to minister but we believe that all of that is going to change in 2016. We have been praying for twenty years for open doors right here in our own country and we believe that is going to happen this year. One of the things I always tell people is to PUSH, Pray Until Something Happens. We have followed that very concept and now it is like we can see things happening. Dreams and visions have been occurring that give us a small picture of what God is about to do. We will continue to pray and continue to wait upon Him. One thing that we know already this year is that in 2017 we will be returning to the Philippines to minister and maybe for a little longer than we normally go for. Some may ask why the Philippines and the answer is because that is where God called us many years ago. When we first got into ministry God told us that we would be going to the Philippines to which we replied, there is no way. We only had three weeks before going and had no passports, no money and no reservations to go with the team. After a week of resisting what God was telling us we finally surrendered and in that short time God not only provided us with our passports but with more than what we needed. It was when our plane touched down at Mactan Airport in Cebu Philippines that we looked at each other and knew that we knew this was where God had called us and we have been going ever since. I believe that this year we are going to experience such a move of God not only in our ministry but in our lives that we will never be the same and God will bless us. Get ready world we are going to be a force to be reckoned with regardless of what is coming at us. God called us to do a job and we know that His protection is upon us. Watch for us in the coming months and hear what God has to say and then follow His direction. |
AuthorAn Evangelist called to preach the gospel all over the world. To lay hands on the sick and to prophecy to everyone. Reaching out to the world that all may be saved. Archives
December 2021
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