If anyone knows Melissa…

1. Grumbling
2. Complaining
3. Unbelief
4. Disobedience
5. Rebellion
6. Jealousy
7. Selfishness
8. Covetousness
9. Fear
10. Bitterness
11. Hatred
12. Lust
13. Temper
14. Impatience
15. Pride
16. Stubbornness
17. Malice–“hurtful intent”
18. Greed
19. Anxiety
20. Judging
21. Criticism

Nona Freeman 1916-2009 was a foreign missionary to Africa. Even after her husband’s death in 1999 she continued to travel, preach and speak. She served Jesus in ministry 70 years until her death at 93 years old in 2009.

“I longed to make a bold move with my life. Yet I had no clue where to begin. Or how. With each passing day I grew more desperate. Nights were the worst. Awake and crying my way through most of them, I had only one prayer: “God, use me or take me out. Please, I am begging You. I don’t want to live this way. I can’t live this way any longer. I’m desperate to know why I’m here. Use me or take me out.” Although I was blinded to it at first, over time – painstaking time – doors began to open.” ~ Kimberly L. Smith (Author of Passport Through Darkness – such an incredible, incredible, book on missions)

For Kimberly her journey into missions began by a video of boys with no shoes in South Sudan. For me it was a documentary on HIV in Africa. I was so struck by the magnitude of pain and the avalanche of poverty and starvation and diseases on a people. Then before me on this screen was a debate not so much over the suffering though it was evident and not hidden but this documentary was a debate over responsibility – it seemed such a waste. I wanted to scream “WHO CARES!?!” but deep down I felt a burden of responsibility. I wanted to scream who cares who was right or wrong a generation ago?!? But yet generations can no longer speak up and answer for themselves and for their children that will never be now. So I scream – WHO CARES NOW??!! I tried not to finish watching but it was as though I were glued there. WHO CARES I cry as I watch…about those that are hurting and dying…because at the time I knew I had heard about HIV all of my adult life and I hadn’t cared at all until this moment. Sometimes I can’t even fathom how this heart I had could turn away so blindly at one time….but God was giving me a new heart in that moment. Yes, He was! and it was like a knife went into my heart and cut it out. My heart wasn’t pricked – it was cut out and replaced. Two hours later I felt a pain I had never experienced. It was a feeling of fervency and guilt. I was guilty and the blood of my old heart was now mingled with their blood and it was on my hands forever unless I did something. That is the way once you know. I was guilty! No, I didn’t cause their disease but I did just as much damage in the Father’s eyes by living my posh life and not caring at all what others suffer….. and in that moment I heard myself say, “Lord, what can I do? If you can use me Lord – Here am I, Lord. Send ME!!!” and then I heard the Father say, “I AM going to send you to Africa!” When God speaks you never have to question it again, though we do in the waiting.

I told my family that night on the way to Olive Garden what God had said. We were sitting at the intersection of Cox Road and Franklin Blvd. It was a moment that has since defined my life. They looked at me at first disbelieving – after all this was me. Me – someone who at the time had never traveled outside of this country or without my family anywhere. Me -who was too shy to even ask probing question on how to get involved in missions or to even speak to the cashier at the grocery store. Me – who had at the time only been saved a little while. Who did I think I was? At my age should I focus on short term home mission? Home missions are so important and I may do that one day as all missions have a place – but God didn’t say the USA. He didn’t say Costa Rica or the Dominican Republic or Jamaica or even Romania (though that was a breakthrough and special time for me). No God said “Africa!” I wondered and my family wondered what God could ever use me to do over there. It is a valid question that i have often posed myself. It is the question that I was asked when I first began to plan to go to Romania – what can you do? Everyone went around the table giving a list of things and accomplishments. At the time I didn’t have a clue what I could do for the Lord or for this team. I didn’t sing outloud. I didn’t preach or teach children or even pray aloud. I didn’t have any talents or special knowledge that seemed to be of value. No qualifications. No commissionings. No ordinations. No experience. I wasn’t medically trained. What could I do??? It is still a truly valid question.

I have the answer though, I always have since that day. I am called to GO and to CARE!

Me – who didn’t care at all honestly now cares like my life depends on it and I believe it truly does!

I wonder what is your favorite hymn or song. What is the one that moves you more than any other? Is there one?

When I was saved the Holy Ghost started opening up the scripture to me. Passages I had read all of my life and had memorized suddenly came alive and I actually heard what I was reading and they had great meaning. The Holy Ghost did the same with me regarding the hymns and songs that I had grown up singing. I grew up singing in the choir so I knew many of the words of praise songs and traditional hymns by rote…but I suddenly really felt the words to the core of these songs. I no longer sing any song to the Lord without recognizing the words coming forth from my mouth and heart and these days I am a great lover of these hymns. My favorite is “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross” by Fannie Crosby. When I heard it again it was as though it were for the very first time I was so incredibly moved by the words that I took an old hymn book and removed this page and placed it on my living room wall. It is my prayer every day.

Jesus, keep me near the cross,
There a precious fountain
Free to all, a healing stream
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.

Refrain
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadows o’er me.

Near the cross I’ll watch and wait
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand,
Just beyond the river.

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends”. John 15:13

Thank you Veterans, both of the Nation and the Kingdom!!

I am the wife of a Veteran and I am very proud of our years of service to our country. For every Veteran there is a family that also served in some way. I am also the daughter of a Veteran. My dad’s military history and then death by suicide years after his discharge…and the groundbreaking federal court battle that followed, led to the establishment of the first real mental health care for our nation’s military and veterans. See, my dad sought help but instead of help he was immediately discharged. He was shamed by the country he served and sent out and his medical file “swept under the rug.” No one wanted the responsibility for the wounds but that they neglected him as a person and in doing so left the family with absolutely nothing, including a dad, compounded the injustice. Freedom isn’t free! But no more would emotional wounds of battle be just “swept under a rug.”

My dad was not just a veteran of the military, he was also a veteran of the Kingdom of God. He was both a Sailor and a Preacher of the Gospel -a church planter in the Northwest while he was in the Navy and then later a pastor of several churches in the states of Washington and North Carolina.

The battle wounds of the military and the ministry have many similarities. As a daughter I felt that I lost much in battle. Some good had come out of it, but my lingering pain propelled me to help those that I felt were still being “swept under a rug” because of wounds. There was too much shame attached to ministers that were suffering and because of the stigma most ministers wouldn’t ask for help. I had seen this with my dad but following the suicide of a pastor while I was a military wife, I joined with other like-minded individuals in Hampton Roads Virginia and we started a pastoral counseling center working with the military community but mostly as a group our primary focus was on giving free care to ministers and their families. We purposed never to turn anyone away and to this day we have not. We hired and then trained some of the best professional pastoral counselors in the state. Today it is our privilege to work almost exclusively with these two categories of Veterans – those that have laid down their lives to serve our nation and those that have laid down their lives for the “High Calling of God in Christ Jesus!!” For me, it is a great honor to know each of them to the extent I am allowed and I am incredibly grateful for their service.

Freedom isn’t free! Thank you Dan and dad! Thank you Veterans!!!
—–

Something I feel I have to say: Those that know me well know that I have changed a lot over the last decade because I view everything now as a TRULY saved person and true disciple of Jesus Christ. I have also changed though because the mental health system has changed so much and I have seen so many men and women fall to the “power” this field seems to give. I take great issue with what I consider abuses and abusers in mental health care… but there are some great counselors and pastors that give excellent Biblical care and I believe in that kind of care with all of my heart. The insurance system may or may not pay for this type of care, but I find God always makes a way. Please get care but please don’t compromise!!!! Follow Jesus – He is the healer and deliverer!!!!!! I know firsthand and if He did it for me, HE WILL DO IT FOR YOU!!!

A revival began on Father’s Day, June 18, 1995, at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida. Millions of people are reported to have attended the revival with more than 100,000 salvations.

The atmosphere of the church was charged with the presence of the Lord. Something happens to saints and sinners alike when we encounter His manifest presence like what was occurring in that place.

One of the hallmarks of the revival was the song “Mercy Seat.” It was sung every evening for five years during the altar call for salvation. It was such a stirring song. A 14-year-old named Charity James sang it for all of those five years.

Recently, I read Charity’s story about the song as told by Teena L. Myers. It really spoke to my heart. It is an amazing illustration of the five loaves and two fishes told in the gospel of Matthew chapter 14.

“Charity had been singing in revivals since she was ten-years-old and had grown weary of the same routine: a church invited a special speaker, she sang a special song, meetings were held daily Wednesday through Sunday. She never witnessed a true deep change in the people and her heart drifted away from her Savior.

The process of restoration began when her mother heard “Mercy Seat” on the radio and believed her daughter was meant to sing it. “I don’t want to hear it,” snapped Charity.

“This is a great song, you need to hear it,” her mother pleaded. Charity consented to listen to the song but didn’t like it. Her mother encouraged her to listen to the song again.

Charity started the song again and listened to the lyrics. “The lyric’s seemed to melt into me. I had never heard a song like this before. That happened shortly before my fourteenth birthday, which is the day before Father’s Day,” said Charity.

On Father’s Day 1995, Charity stood to sing Mercy Seat for the first time in the independent church her family attended. The power of God filled the church. People that Charity had known most of her life came running to the altar. An hour away, Steve Hill stood to preach the now famous sermon that started the Brownsville Revival.
Three weeks later, Charity’s mother, a devout Christian who longed for the presence of God learned about the Brownsville Revival and encouraged Charity to attend. She wasn’t interested in attending another revival but agreed to make the hour-long trip to Brownsville with her mother.

Charity and her mother had attended every night of the Brownsville revival for a week when her mother announced, “Charity, you are supposed to sing “Mercy Seat” here. I know it.” Fearful of singing before the large crowds that the revival attracted Charity said, “No way, that’s not going to happen.”

Undeterred by Charity’s objections her mother spoke to the youth pastor, who brought Charity to the attention of Lindell Cooley, the minister of music at Brownsville. “I was so nervous my knees were knocking when I sang for Lindell. My life changed that day. On the way home, I looked out of the car window at the moon and stars and recommitted my life to Christ. Whatever God wanted me to do, I was ready to yield my life to him.”

Lindell scheduled Charity to sing “Mercy Seat” during the offering the following Friday. She sang the last note and found herself face to face with Steve Hill. “Will you sing that song again during the altar call?” he said. That request resulted in Charity singing “Mercy Seat” every night of the revival for the next five years.

Charity grew thoughtful as she shared her final thoughts. “I didn’t have much to offer God. All I had was a song. He took the little I had and changed the world around me.”

There is so much we can get from this story like the persistence of godly mothers, the unlikely people God will use to do mighty things, and of course, giving God your 5 loaves and two fishes and watching Him change the world around you with them.

I love to read the stories of revivals but even more I long to see corporate revival for myself.

Lord, do it again with us.

Today in the daily Bible we began the book of Daniel.

I have studied this book quite a bit but am always left to wonder why in our modern day corporate studies and our retelling of Bible stories, we usually use the Chaldean names (or Babylonian names) given by the King when we speak of Daniel’s three friends instead of their Hebrew names. I much prefer the Hebrew: Hananiah, Misha’el, Azariah over Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

What is in a name? If you have never looked at this, you may find it interesting. I have listed the meaning of their names below – for the Hebrew and also the Chaldean names given to them. I have also included these for Daniel. I can understand fully why the king would want to change their names, but I can’t understand why I would ever want to call them such. I believe when we meet these three mighty men of God in heaven we won’t be calling them by any Babylonian name…Praise GOD!

Hebrew etymologies:
Daniel means “God is my Judge”
Hananiah means “Jah who is gracious”
Misha’el means “Who is like God?”, also means “to feed” or “to provide”—as in how a husband provides for his family
Azariah appropriately means “Jah has helped”

Chaldean etymologies:
Daniel was given the name Belteshazzar, meaning prince of Bel or Bel protect the king.

It has been asserted that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s names all pertained to pagan Babylonian gods.
Shadrach possibly is derived from Shudur Aku “Command of the moon god”
Meshach is probably a variation of Mi•sha•aku, meaning “Who is what Aku is?”, and may have been an alteration of his Hebrew name Mishael
Abednego is either a corrupted or deliberate use of Abednebo, “servant of Nebo/Nabu,” or Abednergo, a variation of Abednergal, “servant of the god Nergal”

As I left my little prayer “room” this morning I was reminded of this. At the beginning of 2007 I said the words “Here am I Lord! Send me!!!” and I meant it with all of my heart. I asked the Lord to use me in the ministry where He could most trust me. I asked to go to the worst places; to places where most others didn’t want to go; where faith in God was the only option. I wanted to be changed by faith and I wanted a greater measure to live out this American life in the same way I read that the disciples had lived theirs.

So I thought the best way for God to answer that prayer was to send me to Mozambique for a season of study and ministry with Heidi Baker and Iris Ministries. They were seeing miracle after miracle and many salvations. It was my dream to love on and  do something for the Lord with the poorest of the poor, the widows and orphans – preach the good news to the nations. Had my passport ready and over half of my support raised but then God spoke something to me about His dreams and it touched my heart so much that I gave it back – the funds and plans.

See, I thought God was going to send me to Mozambique for a couple of months but instead God sent me to the prayer room.

I still sometimes dream my dreams but in the end…His plans are not my plans and His ways are not my ways. I pray some day I am changed so much from “glory to glory” that they are one and the same!

Studying Isaiah with Allen Hood of International House of Prayer University. Tonight he went over The Titles and Descriptions of the Messiah in the book of Isaiah. Even as he just read them you could feel the Presence of God. Truly touched my heart so much I wanted to share. Here are the names he read tonight

 The Branch of the Lord

Adonai

The King

The Holy, Holy, Holy

The Lord of Hosts

Immanuel

A Stumbling Stone

A Rock of Offense

Wonderful Counselor

Almighty God

Everlasting Father

Prince of Peace

Root of Jesse

A Banner to the Nations

Gatherer of the Remnant/Outcasts

Holy One of Israel

Righteous One

Crown of Glory

A Diadem of Beauty

A Stone

King Reigning in Righteousness

King in His Beauty

Judge

Lawgiver

Savior

Glory of the Lord

Excellency of our God

Shepherd

Redeemer

Servant

God’s Elect One

Yahweh

Warrior

Light to the Gentiles

Despised of Man

Mighty One of Jacob

Arm of the Lord

Tender Plant

Man of Sorrows

Smitten by God

God’s Righteous Servant

Maker

Husband

High and Lofty One

Zealous Warrior

Everlasting Light

Anointed One

The Speaker of Righteousness

Angel of His Presence

The Glory of Israel 

The Glory of the Nations