Breaking News!
I wanted to drop a note to all of my friends and family on Facebook that I will be deactivating my accounts on Sunday October 2, 2016. I thought that maybe social media would be a way to reach out for our ministry, but it has proven to not be very effective. So, I have decided that I need to fast, but due to the fact that I am diabetic fasting from food would not work so after praying and seeking what God would have me do, I opted to deactivate my Facebook. We need a solid base for our ministry and I think that I maybe got sidetracked thinking social media was the way. We will be seeking what God has for us and allowing God to direct this ministry. Even though I will no longer be on Facebook doesn’t mean that you can no longer have contact with me. You can always send us an email at reamministries@gmail.com or you can visit our web page at www.reamministries.com. I will continue to post to our web page, so if you are interested, you can find out what is happening there. If you are at all interested, you can send me your email address and become part of our E-Newsletter that I send out each month. Some would ask how long do I plan on fasting from Facebook? It will be until January 2017 at the minimum or however long God wants me to. Whatever works out, I know that God is at the very center and it will be totally in his will. You can leave a comment or you can PM me until Sunday evening if you live in the US or by Monday evening if you live overseas. God bless everyone and please join with us in prayer.
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I am no longer sure if there is effectiveness in what I am doing? I have been in ministry now for twenty-five years. Over those years, I have seen the hand of God move and touch and heal the people of the Philippines. In the US not so much because there are no opportunities. I work to make opportunities by praying and asking God to open doors but after years there is nothing. It is like the ears of the church are closed and deaf. I have actually had a pastor tell me that they no longer have evangelists come and speak because they are there and then they are gone. My response was, did not God even say in the bible, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;” (Ephesians 4:11), why would he do that if the church is going to say no to God’s word? No response from him other than this is my church and I will make those decisions. There is an amazement on my part that the churches here have closed their doors to those God has called and have in essence deprived their people of the blessings that were coming.
I think that I will limit the ministry to places where Jesus is welcomed and not where some pastors think it is their church. “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet” (Matthew 10:14) will be the accepted policy. I know that God will open doors and I don’t doubt that no matter what he will show the way, but I don’t to deal with unwilling people. There are several social media sites on the internet where ministry is being done. I love when I get the opportunity to minister to someone even though I have never met them and it is over the internet. People are searching for something and though they may not know what, they are searching and they will accept whatever shows itself first. My goal is not to let them see the other side and let them see Jesus. It is amazing to me how you can lead a person to the Lord over the internet and get them connected with a church over that same internet. I have this short story to tell you that will help show you what I am talking about. “A couple of years ago, I was on Facebook chatting with another pastor in the Philippines when suddenly another message came through. That is not funny or strange but I did not know the person at all. He was not a friend at all just a person that had seen my profile and decided to contact me. I told my pastor friend that someone had checked in and said he had a very important question for me, so I will be back to chat in a moment. I responded to the message and the person on the other end told me that he just wanted to talk to someone before he committed suicide and wanted to know if I knew anyone in his area or even myself. I told him that I was in the US and then asked where he was from. He told me that he was from Davao City on the island of Mindanao. I responded and told him that I did have a pastor friend in Davao and if he didn’t mind I would like to have him speak with him. He told me he didn’t know, and I said it wouldn’t hurt if he was so determined to end his life. I said just take a moment and speak with him what harm could it do? He said he would so I asked him for his phone number so I could give it to my friend and have him contact the man. He gave me the number and I got back on the message with my friend and told him the story and gave him the number. After a couple of minutes, the man came back on and asked me if knew the person calling him and I told him that it was my friend. The man said okay and answered the call”. I told my friend to let me know what was going on when he could and he said he would. After about three hours, my friend came back online and told me that it was a miracle of God that the man contacted me and that we were online together chatting. He told me that he and the man were talking and he asked him if he would mind meeting and discussing what was going on in his life. The man agreed and my friend found out that he was only three blocks from where the man was. Long story short, the man received Jesus into his heart and is to this day worshipping and serving God in my friend’s church”. It is those type of things that prompt a person to continue in what God has called them to do. For me, I will continue even though there is doubt in my effectiveness and I will go and do what and where he sends me. I pray constantly for the churches of my country and ask God to give the pastors of those churches discernment that they would know that they know a person is sent by God. There is a message on my heart given by God that I know he wants me to give and I will give it regardless if it is in a church or on the internet. When God called me he said to lay hands on the sick and to prophesy and that I will do until he takes me home to be with him. Thank you for letting me vent and share my heart with you. God bless you and I will be praying for you. Have you ever really stopped and looked at your Christian life? Have you ever noticed how there are so many ups and downs there are? That is exactly what I have done. I sat the other day thinking about what God has done in my life and how he has blessed me, but at the same time I thought about how many times it seemed like he wasn’t there at all. That is what I am talking about, how one day your up and the next day you’re down.
I have my answer for how all that seems to take place. First of all, I really have a problem with focus. You might ask what does focus have to do with it? Focus has everything to do with it, if Peter would have kept his focus on Jesus as he got out of the boat he would not have started to sink. That is what happens to each of us. We take our eyes off of Christ (loose our focus) and we begin to sink. I will be the first to tell you that I am more like a yo-yo. My focus goes from here to there in the blink of an eye. I am always wondering why things seem to fall apart when I am doing everything I am supposed to be doing, or am I. If I had to answer that question “Or am I”, I would have to say that I left my focus at the door when I entered and got totally distracted. There you go, I just hit the nail on the head, “I got totally distracted”. There is the answer to the question. The reason we lose our focus is because we get distracted. We get up in the morning and we are sitting on the top of the world and by mid-morning we are asking ourselves, “What happened”? I can’t speak for you, but I sure can speak for me. What happened is the everyday list of things to do got in the way and my focus went from praising God to how in the world could this happen. Sometimes I think we allow the things of this world to influence our thought patterns and then we are off track. Oh you will still have those who are so religious that no matter what you say, they are going to come back with an answer like. “I am always focused on what God has for me”. Oh really? Why I say that is I have a friend that said that very thing only for me to witness a total lack of focus on his part as he was heard telling someone about how he thinks God is abandoning him because he is not speaking to him. Loss of focus! I believe if you have total focus on God then if he thinks you hear it. Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but it could be a fact that we just can’t keep our focus on Jesus at all times. Although we would like to think that is the situation, we allow the things of this world get in our way. We begin to focus on our jobs, our families, our finances and seem to forget that if we were to focus on God all of these things would fall into order. But at the risk of sounding like I don’t know a thing, we are indeed human and we think on human things. Don’t let the fact that you don’t always think about God detour you, keep going as you go and God will take care of all the rest. He knows and he understands and like the bible says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9. Hang in there we are on the right track. Have you ever stopped and just look back on your life and wonder where exactly you would be had it not been for God? This is a thought that crosses my mind on a regular basis. I say, God why me? I am no good and don’t deserve what you are giving me. He is always right there telling me that he doesn’t make mistakes and that I was chosen out of millions of people to do what I do. In my own eyes I may be a failure but it is not about me, it is however about God. How about you, what do you think?
Where would our lives be right now? I can only speak for myself, but I am pretty sure I would be dead without a doubt. What a day it was in 1978 when God said Steve I want to rescue you and save you. Though through the years I have let him down miserably, he has always right there to pick me up and set my feet back on the right path. What is your story? How do you fit into the cycle of what God is doing? Can you look back on your life and remember that day that you said yes Lord? Stop and look at the situation you were in or what was it that caught ahold of you and said now is the time. I would venture to say that not one of us will ever forget that day. Some of us may have fallen away and once again are searching for whatever it is that is going to make us happy, but I can tell you this, God is the only way and no matter how hard you search you will never find the happiness that comes from serving Jesus. Don’t get me wrong when I say that it is easy but God did not make it hard, he made it easy and we are the ones who make it hard. We start out on fire for God and all of a sudden there is a small rain and our fire seems to get extinguished just a little. If we let that little rain quench us and we get discouraged we are on a downward spiral, there is a way back up but it requires complete surrender. I know what I am talking about because I am the king of discouragement. I have let what others have to say to me, about me or whatever (the rain) and as it quenched my fire there was a withdrawing of my destination and I was totally off the path. After a period of time depending upon what is happening I would see that I am failing and then begins the hard climb back up. Did I say hard climb? It is an easy climb when you allow God to show you the path. We don’t have to do it alone and that is something that I am beginning to learn. There are those of us who seem to have to struggle to get where God is sending us, but God is right there patiently waiting for us to say I can’t do this Lord can you lend a hand, and he is right there with a mighty hand up. Time and time again we will fall into the pit of taking our eyes off of God and thinking we can do it by ourselves only to begin to drown. We fall into good company of taking our eyes off of Jesus. Remember Peter, he was walking on the water and suddenly he took his eyes off of Jesus and down he began to go. You can read the story for yourself, it can be found in Matthew 14:22-33. I figure that if it happened to Peter, then I know it can happen to each and every one of us. The same Jesus that rescued Peter from drowning is the exact same Jesus that is right there to keep us from drowning as well. I feel God saying to each of us, “Keep your eyes upon what I have done for you and shut out the world around you. The world is going to destroy many men who have chosen not to follow me and the price is very high. Trust me and let me show you things that will bless you far beyond your wildest dreams. Trust me and you will see my mighty hand move in your life and in the lives of those that you are reaching out to. Don’t be discouraged, I hear your prayers and your answer is on the way. Look to me and I will show you my power and my rescuing grace. Do not be afraid and watch for me because soon and very soon I will be returning to rescue you forever.” Enough said. The grace of God is more than sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9). Trust in God and your prayers are answered. A recent conversation with a young man showed me something that really needs to be addressed. I asked the young man if he was a Christian to which he replied, “I listen to Christian music”. I hated to burst his bubble, but I told him, just because you listen to Christian music does not make you a Christian no more than walking into a garage makes you a mechanic. He said that he was told that all you have to do is to do the right thing and you would be okay with God. Once again I told him that does not make you a Christian. What makes you a Christian is you surrendering to Jesus Christ and turning your life over to him. You have a relationship with Jesus and follow what he shows you. You accept him as your Lord and Savior and turn away from the things of the world. It was at that point I asked him if he wanted to receive Jesus into his heart and he said yes, praise the Lord.
How about you, are you a Christian or do you think that by your good works and listening to Christian music makes you a Christian? It is not too late right now to accept Jesus into your life and start a relationship with him. The only need required is that you surrender and repent. Say, Jesus I accept you into my life. Come and change me, I surrender to you and ask you to be my Lord and Savior. Not too difficult but the biggest change in your life that you will ever have. Know that you know that when you die you will be with him in heaven. Know that your name is written down in the Lambs Book of Life. Get into a bible believing church. Get a bible and begin to read it. If you don’t know where to start, try starting with the Gospel of John and then go from there. Read the bible and listen to what it is saying to you then just follow it. God wants all of us to be saved and though there will be many who will reject him he still loves them. It says in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me”. In other words, you will never see heaven or the Father unless you have a relationship with Jesus and receive him as your Lord and Savior. Think about these words and act on them. God wants you to accept him because he loves you. Receive him and watch your life begin to change. I think many times about integrity. I know that we should not pride ourselves with anything but I can't help but to pride myself with integrity. If I tell someone that I am going to do something, then I do it. If I say that I will be there, I will. But, recently I have questioned the integrity of others.
Not long ago I had someone tell me that they were going to support our ministry each month and now several months later there is nothing. Not to judge the person but that is the type of thing that tests your integrity. We do have to understand that sometimes you get caught up in the moment and speak without thinking. I know that I do that on a regular basis. In fact when I was young, my Dad always use to say to me, Don't put your ninety mile an hour mouth in gear before you do your two mile an hour brain, so I know that feeling. But for me, when push comes to shove, it seems like I am telling a lie and not being true my beliefs. Integrity is a virtue that many people need to adapt into their lives and I'll bet you that we would see a nicer and maybe even a safer life. It may be old fashion but integrity is so important that it lets others know what kind of a person you really are. If you can't follow through with what you have said then why would you wonder why people don't trust you or depend upon you? When it comes down to it when I die I hope my wife and family hear, he was a man of integrity. As for the person who did not follow through with what they had said, it is alright and your are forgiven. God knows our heart and leave it far beyond me that I would hold anything against anybody. If you are a Christian you will know what I am saying, and if you are not then you can see that it is not alright to hold a grudge against anyone for any reason. You forgive and then you go on with what God has in your plan. Thank you for letting me clear some of the clutter in my mind and to let me assure myself that forgiveness is the only way. If you can't forgive, then remember that God can't forgive you. God bless you. This morning I would love to share with you what happened in my prayer time. Every day I stop and pray for my family, for my friends, for those I don’t even know that they will come to know Jesus and that they would surrender their lives to Him. Today is no different than any other day except for one thing. As I began to pray for our ministry I heard God speaking to me and giving me the answer to many questions.
One of the questions that I have asked over the past few years is, “God why can’t we get into the churches and share what you have given us?” I believe that today he gave me that answer. This is what I heard God say and like it or not there is so much truth in it. “The pastors of those churches are not listening because they have their own agenda. The do everything according to what I have given them, but they have shut their hearts and minds to those I have given the church as an encouragement and a blessing. They have close their doors to outsiders because they believe that they are protecting their people. They are in one sense but in the other they are stealing from their people because I have anointed others to share what I have given them to be a blessing.” I have heard that very thing about the pastor saying they needed to protect their people from things that may not be from God. This I totally understand, but when they say that they shut the door to even any possibility that God sent them. They do the very thing that the bible tells us not to do and that is not to judge. I think one of the problems in that statement is that they don’t even pray about it, they just shut the door and that is that. Not only have I heard that very statement but I have actually been told, “this is my church and only I know what my people need”. First of all, it is not your church it is God’s and second you have no idea what the people need because they are God’s people and He knows everything that they need. After I vented to the Lord, God told me just to be patient and that he had everything in his control. He said that people will know of the great things he has done through the ministry and that he will make a way. I trust God in everything and especially when it comes to the things he has called us to do. I will surrender to what he directs me to do and do it with a grateful heart with joy and happiness. My wife and I have traveled all over the Philippines and have allowed God to work through us and in us. We have witnesses some of the greatest miracles ever and he allowed us to see what he was doing. We have seen people healed instantly and have gotten reports some months later of what God had done in lives. We know that God has put a message on our hearts and if he hadn’t then he would not have called us to do this. When called to the ministry God said to lay hands on the sick and to prophesy. We do both and because of our faithfulness God has allowed us to be used by him. If you are a pastor of a church and you are reading this, I would ask that before you say absolutely not, please at least take it to prayer because you do not have any idea what God just might have in store for you and your church. Read the scripture, Ephesians 4:11-16, 11And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. God bless all of you. I am so thankful that I get the opportunity to hear God speak to me and especially when I am in prayer. He has the answers and though we may vent sometimes he always brings us back into his perfect will. Listen to what God is telling you and above all else, before you make a decision, pray. So this is what I am hearing God say, “Surrender, how long are you going to hold on to the world and reject me? How long are you going to go with your struggles and your lack of peace?”
I really don’t think that people want to pay attention to what God is saying because they may have prayed and not got an answer or they may have had a bad experience with church or other Christians. I have an answer for that, “you are not to put your eyes on the world and what is going on around you, you are to put your eyes upon Jesus”. Isaiah 45:22, “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” People seem to have the wrong idea of who Jesus is. They say well this person did this, or that person did that, but their focus is totally off. You cannot judge Jesus by what others do. Following Jesus is a relationship with Him and not with other Christians or with this or that church. A one on one relationship with Jesus Christ, period. If people could just take their eyes off of what is going on around them and look to God, then their lives are going to change and there will be joy and peace in their lives. God wants us to surrender to him and his ways so that we will be a part of the Kingdom and be with him at the end of time. He will change our lives and he will make a way where there seems to be no way. Ephesians 3:20, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. I am not a perfect Christian in any way shape or form. I have many problems and every day is just not the best ever. I have struggles and I don’t always turn to God first, I usually turn to him as a last resort or I have no other alternative. That is my fault and no one else’s. I know what to do but there are those times I forget to surrender to him and let him into my life. I love God with everything that is within me and though I make many mistakes he still loves me and still forgives me even when I think I don’t deserve it. God is saying to me and to you, Surrender, turn from the ways of the world and turn to him and though things may not change around us right away, they will change or we will be given the grace to see it through. Surrender to him and we will regardless of what is going on in the world be with him at the end of time. Surrender to him and though we may be under attack, we will have the peace of God and there will be a covering over us. Don’t try to change yourself, Surrender to him and let him change you from the inside out. God bless you, and I hope and pray that in some way this will help you to understand more that it is about a relationship with Jesus and not what the other people are saying or doing. Well I have been away for a while but I am working at getting back into my blog. I have been working on a new book and also taking a writing class to help with the editing. The book is coming along as is the class and so I thought I would put some of what I am learning back into our web page.
One thing that I am going to research before moving forward is finding out just how many people read the blog. So, I would ask if you do in fact read this blog then I would appreciate your comments. My goal is to reach out to many people around the world and I just need to see who is reading. God bless you and if you don't mind fill out our Contact Form. Pastor Steve I believe that is now time for all mankind to pay close attention because God is preparing for His return and like it or not it may be sooner than we think. God is giving each and every one of us a final opportunity to turn to Him. He is saying, “hear my voice and prepare for I am returning soon. Get yourself in order and your heart clean before me.”
I don’t know about you but the signs of the times are so prevalent and as the bible has told us we need to be prepared for His return. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:27 NIV. He is returning soon and you need to keep a vigilant watch and if your heart is not right with Him or you have never accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, you have this chance and it could be your last chance, only God knows. Don’t be caught and not know Him because it will be the biggest mistake of your life and you will spend eternity trying to change your decision but to no avail. God has given us an opportunity don’t let it pass you by. You have heard ministers and leaders everywhere telling you to be prepared for years and now I believe that time is upon us. How long do you expect God to wait with all of the rampant and ungodly things occurring in our time today? It happened to Sodom and Gomorrah and these times are even worse than then. God spared no one in the cities as the bible says in Genesis 19:25, The Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying the buildings, the people, and all the vegetation in the plain. The only thing different from then to now is that God will destroy the world and not just a couple of cities. Not one single person will survive except for those who have accepted Jesus into their hearts and know Him as their personal Savior. John 14:6, Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me. Unless you have that relationship with Him, you will never see the Kingdom of God. This all comes about by what I seen in my prayer time and I believe that God wants me to be one of the many to send out the warning to help others get prepared for His return. Hear the word of the Lord and be prepared. |
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
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