Greetings to you!! I want to share some good things that I witnessed during the first three months of ministry of 2007. In January, Pat and I ministered for several days in Molalla, OR with Pastor Mike and Dell where I saw a new, genuine hunger for the things of God and the people drawing closer to Christ with a passion to rid themselves of hindrances and weights in their lives. The following week we “flew south” where we ministered at Christian Life Center in Kenner, LA (New Orleans Airport area) with Pastor Jeff and Jennifer. They are indeed “true worshippers of God” who are building the Kingdom of God through prayer, God’s Word and simply loving people! Mike and Lorraine Brown, our dear friends from Pensacola are helping Jeff and Jennifer develop these “hurricane hit” people into strong warriors and worshippers for Christ.
          

         We then traveled to Pensacola, Florida where our dear friends Buck and Glenda invited us to minister for two days to the “Christ-Mates” of Brownsville Assembly of God, our home church for fourteen years. The Lord accomplished some deep work in the lives of the couples who participated; changing hearts and attitudes. Brownsville Church is doing well; there is a fresh healing anointing that is tangibly present that Pastor Evon Horton received from the Lord through Benny Hinn while he ministered in Brownsville in January. Many came to the altar to receive their physical and mental healing as hundreds were impacted deeply by Pastor Benny’s teachings. Some folks are returning to make Brownsville their home church again. Thank you my Lord for your restoration that I see evident in this House! The Sunday Morning Service in Brownsville was refreshing; Pat and I were able to worship the Lord openly and freely, the Word of God was direct and encouraging, and we were able to “catch up” with many of our friends from Pensacola; and meet some new ones, too.

           We were invited to minister in Jay, Florida where Pastor Jeff and Lorissa are walking in instant obedience to the Lord. During the Christmas Holidays, the Lord directed Pastor Jeff to Isaiah 22:12-14 - to fast, pray, weep, mourn, and to cry out for the power and presence of God to return to the church! A spirit of brokenness and humility in the people was evident; the women had their heads covered which signifies mourning and some of the men had their heads shaved which also represents mourning. Sackcloth was draped on the floor all around the altar area of the church as God’s presence and direction was strong. I ministered a message entitled “Get Rid of the Leaven in 2007” which truly was God’s message for this church, exhorting and instructing the believers to let God search their hearts for any sins (leaven) that would hinder their walk with their Master. During the evening service we prayed for their community, their schools, and the State of Florida, asking God to bring down His glory so their community be saved, healed, and delivered.

           We returned to the Northwest to minister several days in Winston, Oregon where Pastor Ed and Rose are growing God’s church into a holy habitation for the Holy Spirit! During the two week period before we came to this church there were forty (40) people in this church who were baptized in water; demonstrating a stronger desire to live unashamed for Christ and to become a bolder witness for HIM! A group of young people had just returned from Generation Unleashed, a powerful youth conference at City Bible Church in Portland where the Pastor’s youngest son was baptized with the Holy Spirit and God called him into the ministry! Thank you Lord for your faithfulness! This church has strong Sunday school participation, powerful worship and the presence of the Lord is very real. I see the leadership team in Winston being groomed for greater things of the Spirit. Pastor Ed and Rose; keep moving forward!!

 
           I traveled to California the following week for some great meetings. I ministered for three days at Hosanna Worship Center in Chowchilla, CA; a church that has a deep hunger for God’s presence and a love for absolute truth. This is a “Philadelphia Church” as the people have kept the word of God and not denied the name of Jesus. Pastor Bob, a humble servant of the Lord and a teacher of God’s Word and his wife Joanne are doing a good work for the Lord here. On Sunday evening I spoke in Merced, CA at Faith Missions Ministries, a multi-cultural church that Pastor Harold and Rosie are growing with the Lord’s help. The word of God is revered in this church and holiness is “a way of life”. I laid my hands on the five (5) team members and prayed for favor, protection, and Holy Ghost power be present with them as they travel to Luzon, Philippines for three weeks. Lord, give them “fruit that remains”.

           The next week I preached the Gospel at Coulterville Christian Fellowship in Coulterville, CA, an old, gold mining town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. One young lady came forward and rededicated her life to the Lord as she heard God’s call to get right with the Lord! God is bringing families back together in this town and their corporate worship is deep and anointed. Pastor Jim and Jacque have been here for a number of years and continue to feed the poor through their monthly feeding program.

           The next Sunday I was invited by Pastor Chad to minister at Family Worship Center in Chowchilla, CA. This church meets in a school gym during the morning service because of space considerations. I see the Lord God doing a strong and consistent work in lives of the people as I exhorted them to “G-O” – “go out”! Go out and preach the Gospel to every creature. The word “preach” means to explain, to talk about, or literally, “let your words flow”.

         I drove back home to Oregon with lots of snow and wind through the mountains, but then Pat and I traveled to Langley, Washington to minister in Pastor Glen and Shari’s church called House of Prayer. Although we had a flat tire traveling across the ferry (a divine appointment), we had a wonderful time of ministry here. We also shared our vision with the congregation and witnessed their love for Christ and their deep love for missions. Their former pastor and his wife are currently in Ethiopia working with their son on the mission field.

 
           After coming home for a few days we drove to Centralia, Washington to minister for several days in the Open Bible Church with Pastor Jon and Eija, a hungry couple who have a fresh desire for more of the Lord in their lives! This was our first visit to this church; one young lady rededicated her life to Christ on Sunday Morning and was baptized on Wednesday night along with three others! The Lord is pleased when His people open themselves up, sincerely ask Jesus Christ to forgive all their sins, are water baptized and begin a brand new life with Jesus Christ in total control, During the services, many responded with a new desire to be more like HIM. Several pastors from the area attended the services and brought some of their people with them. Is this called unity?

            We will be ministering in Aberdeen, Washington during the next three days with Pastor David and Corrine. Pastor Dave has a baptism service planned where ten believers will be immersed in water as a public display of what the Lord is doing on the inside.

The Deception of the “King and I” -a word from Pat

           Too often we can erroneously think of our relationship with the Lord as being solely between the “Lord and I.” The truth is that it is impossible to separate our relationship with God and our relationship with others as they are delicately and intricately entwined.

         Firstly, it is impossible to separate our love for God and our love for others. When the “lawyer” in Matthew 22:36 asked Jesus, “which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus answered him in verses 37-39, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There are times when it will be just “God and me”, but our love for God is also worked out in our love for others. “If someone says, “I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” 1 John 4:20.

          Secondly, it is impossible to separate our receiving forgiveness from God and extending it to others. “But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15 NLT If we desire to receive “new mercies” every morning, we must be willing to extend “new mercies” every morning to others.

           Thirdly, we cannot separate the fear of God and our relationships with others! If we truly fear God, the fear of the Lord will not only govern our attitude and actions toward God, but the fear of the Lord will also govern our attitude and actions toward others as evidenced in the Word of God. Nehemiah, a governor in the land of Judah, spoke this about the former governors in Nehemiah 5:15 NLT….even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act that way.” What way did Nehemiah act? He did not take advantage of the people and thus demonstrated his fear of the Lord. We can also see this in Leviticus 25:17 NLT - “Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other.

           Lastly, it is impossible to separate our faithfulness to God and our relationship with others. "Say to the Israelites: 'When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the LORD, that person is guilty.” Numbers 5:6 NIV.

           I will be ministering the full impact of this message soon, but here we can see that it is not just about the “King and I”, but also about our relationships with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Let us not be deceived into thinking that it is just about “The King and I”!!