The Unlocked Door

The story is told of a pastor who felt he could only prepare his sermons when he was left absolutely alone and undisturbed.  One day he thoughtlessly left the door to his study unlocked and his little three year old child softly opened the door and came in.  He naturally felt that his peace was being disturbed and impatiently asked, “My child, what do you want?”  The little child looked up at his father and said, “Nothing, Daddy.”  He replied, “Then what did you come in here for?”  The little child without pausing said, “I just wanted to be with you”

            One wonders in all our preparations to hear from our Father in Heaven if we could be like that child whose only desire was to come and be close to his father.  Oh the quiet assurance, the rest and peace we would then receive from God if we would only go into His presence and wait before Him, wanting nothing but to be with Him.

            But what of the unlocked door!  Every Christmas we celebrate the greatest gift our Father gave to lost humanity, the gift of the unlocked door.  In careful preparation our Father sent Jesus his only begotten son, so that by believing in the one He sent we shall be able to open that door and enter into the presence of Our Father in Heaven.  Jesus said, in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one can come to the Father except through me.  If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.”

        What a gift the birth of Jesus is and I can think of no greater way of celebrating the gift of His birth than we should take the time each day to softly open the door and enter in and say, “I just wanted to be with you.”

 

The secret life is found not in the doing of things, though they may be 

great and noble things, the secret life is found when we enter in through

the unlocked door and run into the arms of the one who loves us with a 

love so great that words fail to express its fullness.

So in this incredibly amazing season of celebrating our wonderful Savior's birth we pray that you will know even greater measures of His love, peace and joy.  May He fill your home and hearts with abounding hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Merry Christmas to all!

THANKSGIVING: ONE OF HEAVENS SECRETS

          Each morning Rex & I do our morning devotions.  This morning we were in Romans 16:3-16 and some important things came to my heart that I would like to share with you.   The Apostle Paul was greeting and thanking those fellow believers that had made an impact in his life and helped him in furthering the gospel. There were many hard to read names he included and I wondered why it was so important that he leave no one out.   Many of us have wondered why the long lists of names, called the “begats” are included in the Old Testament.  Every name on the list of the begats is of utmost importance as it represents a generation of individuals who lived, loved, dreamed, had children and passed on the lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ. And every name Paul lists in greeting and thankfulness are of utmost significance as well.

           As I ponder this question and ask the Holy Spirit about it He quickened to me that the importance of greeting, recognizing and thanking others is not of any small significance to Him.  In fact it is a part of His very nature and He tells us to “always give thanks” not only that we are His bought with a price but also for all the believers and the family of God that we are heirs with in Christ.

“Eucharist {thanksgiving} is the state of the perfect man. Eucharist is the life of paradise. Eucharist is the only full and real response of man to God’s creation, redemption, and it is a gift of heaven.”  

                                                                                                                           Alexander Scheming

          The Lord has been working on me for some months in this area of gratitude and the power of it in an individual’s life. I have come to a conclusion that we can not live the abundant life He tells us we have without thankfulness and gratitude. In fact the more it becomes the very fiber of our thought processes and our exercises in faith the more all of the fruits of the Spirit can flow through us.

“One act of Thanksgiving when things go wrong with us is worth a thousand thanks when things are agreeable to our inclinations.”              Saint John of Avila

          I am discovering that we need to exercise or discipline ourselves through the Holy Spirit working in us throughout the day in giving thanks because we really are bombarded these days with “bad news”. The more we hear and the worse the condition of our world becomes we can find ourselves easily beginning to live in the negativity and hopelessness the news is projecting.

          I am not saying we should keep our head in the sand and not be informed –but I am saying that it is of more importance that when we hear the “bad news” that we saturate ourselves in praise, and worship, in deliberate acts of thankfulness and gratitude, in disciplining our minds to think on the pure and lovely

things, to enjoy that which He has created, to saturate ourselves in His word and submit our very lives to Him.

    WHEN YOU GIVE THANKS FOR THE LIFE YOU HAVE

 YOU OFTEN WILL FIND THE LIFE YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED.

                 In the book “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp we find a young woman that discovers that in giving thanks for the life she already had, she finds the life she always wanted.  She began to discipline herself and reprogram her thoughts by listing the things and people she was thankful for. Her goal was to list one thousand things she was thankful for throughout her day. In doing this she found a depth of joy she had never experienced, giving her the ability to see and be thankful for the things that had previously seemed insignificant.  Thankfulness forced her to slow down and live life through different eyes, changing her very countenance and delivered her from the generational bondage brought on by trauma and tragedy that she had lived under most of her life.

“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”   Sarah Ban Breathnach

           As we were watching a documentary on the life and disciplines of the Shakers the other night an exercise they implemented got my attention and I found very interesting. Three times a day they made it a practice to get on their knees and give thanks so God. I am not advocating all of the beliefs and practices of the Shakers but I am sensing there is something in this discipline of thankfulness that we have neglected.

“Sometimes in our efforts to not be legalistic we have forsaken the disciplines of our faith that can actually facilitate our walking in the intimacy and joy in the Lord that our hearts are longing for.  I am discovering afresh that this discipline of thankfulness and praise through the Holy Spirit working in us is part of heaven’s secret to living the ‘abundant life’.”                                                       Lois Burgher

          So as we would conclude this newsletter to you in this wonderful time of harvest and Thanksgiving we would be amiss to not say how much gratitude we have for each and every one of you.

                 We give thanks for you always and pray for His abiding presence in His love, joy, and peace for each of you,

Much Love and Gratitude,

OUTPOURING IN GERMANY!

                                        OUTPOURING IN GERMANY!

Volume 9 - Issue 111                                                                                                   October - 2011

 

             As we flew into Dusseldorf, Germany this past month we both were anticipating our trip into Germany, which is actually the place of Rex's heritage from both his mother and father.  This was our first opportunity to minister in Germany and we were in for an amazing time. It was both a blessing and an honor to be invited to be a part of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in this church in the neighboring town of Duisburg.

                From experience I have come to know that a true outpouring of the Holy Spirit is present when you see that the youth are on fire.   Immediately as we entered the doors we witnessed the youth worshiping and loving His presence in complete abandonment !  There was so much joy, laughter and love between the people and it was obvious that they were hungry for more of Him!

                What beautiful music this was to our ears!  As I watched these youth worship I was taken back to the stories I read of Evan Roberts and how he had a youth band travel with him bringing high praise and worship before he spoke throughout Wales and the amazing revival that began which changed his nation and quickly spread around the world. There was that kind of atmosphere in this gathering of people in Germany. Which manifested itself in the tangible presence of our living God that loves with an unending and intimate love. I could sense it with all of my being and I was quickly taken into His presence.  That is the place every heart was made for, to be in that place of intimate communion, being totally captured by Him.   Once you have been captured by Him you will always seek to be with Him in that place of total acceptance and grace for it is the only place our hearts can find true rest. This is the place of Heavenly Bliss here on earth.

  

THE HEART OF OUR FATHER

                We taught, preached, prayed, and imparted throughout the 6 days we were with them.  We were so delighted to have been there and gave what we believe the Lord had for us to give in this season.  I imagine if you asked them what was most notable it would be the last message where Rex ended his preaching with the personal stories about his German grandfather and his own father.  Many were touched and weeping on the floor as the Lord healed their hearts and delivered several from unforgiveness or disappointments they had toward their earthly fathers.  There were so many that were overcome with the heavenly Father’s love, as the Holy Spirit revealed His true nature to them, that it was awesome to witness the transformation that took place within their hearts. He is so good!

                One of the things we enjoyed the most about being there ourselves, second to the presence of God in this place, was the true family atmosphere we experienced with them.  Every day we ate together in one of the churches families home next to the church, as well as in Pastor Martin and Heike’s home.  We “broke bread” with them every day as we got to know one another better, it was just as one would imagined it to be during the days of the early church.

                 It really is hard to have that same kind of fellowship when you go into an American Restaurant where you can hardly hear each other above the noise and you know hardly a soul. Rex told our daughter’s I loved it so much that I was ready to move there after we got home.  But then I love that kind of fellowship! Food, conversation, laughter, love and all of it surrounded by families comprised of all ages of people! I think that is part of what we were made for! Not to impress anyone but to just be ourselves and enjoy each other, living together in His love and unity! And yes I think that includes food in every culture! And the German people, their culture and food were wonderful! Yeah God!

                Again I want to say how honoring it is to go and be used of Him in such a place and in such a time as this! May He go out from that place and spread throughout Europe bringing another Awakening of the Fire of His love and changing the fabric of society once again. May He have mercy on us and bring an Awakening no man can stop in this nation and throughout the earth as well! And may He be glorified and worshipped as King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s! For He deserves all Praise and Honor now and Forever!

                This was really a ‘God Trip’, not only for us but as many shared it also was for them as well.  From the first moment we were there we connected with the people in a very powerful way.  The message of the Father that we were privileged to share with them pierced their hearts and brought healing to so many.  It is also very interesting to us that this was the first place we came to minister after our book was published, ‘Our Father’s Heartbeat’.

THE HARVEST IS HERE IN THE FATHERS-LAND

                You may not realize this but at the heart of the revival we have been apart of called ’The Father’s Blessing’ has at its primary foundation the message of “The Father Heart of God’.  Speakers like Jack Frost, Ed Piorek and James & Denise Jordan are the primary speakers on this subject.  They in turn were powerfully impacted by Jack Winter who was impacted by Major Ian Thomas, a British officer in WWII who was so overwhelmed by the scenes of hopelessness on the faces of the orphaned roaming the streets of Germany after the war, that he began a ministry based on the heart of the Father that still is in operation in Germany. 

                How fitting that we should go to Germany to be used to spread the love of the Father to so many that are crying out for His love and acceptance.  That is why it is so important for each of our partners to realize how integral they are to this ministry and the message it is bringing to not only Germany but around the world.  Pastor Spreer has asked us to come back next spring and speak at a meeting he host every year comprised of pastors from not only Germany but other countries so they may hear the message of the Father’s heart.  He feels that it is time for Germany and neighboring countries to be impacted by this message.  What an opportunity!

                That is why we need our friends who have witnessed our heart to pray and consider coming alongside of us and financially partner with us to go and minister in these churches.  The harvest is at hand.