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2010
February - Will You Be My Valentine (87k)
Here in the USA we associate February with love; more particularly, we associate Valentine’s Day with romance, but that wasn’t always the case. The word “valentine” has two meanings. It can refer to a card sent or given to a loved one on Valentine’s Day and it can also indicate any particular person chosen to receive a greeting on or around Valentine’s Day.
The original Valentine was a priest who came to the rescue of young Roman soldiers forbidden by Emperor Claudius II to marry; Claudius determined that marriage of soldiers was an impediment to a strong national defense. Valentine secretly married soldiers, but when Claudius heard of it, he arrested Valentine. Valentine refused to obey two royal orders and so an incensed emperor ordered Valentine’s execution
It is purported that while in prison awaiting his execution, Valentine restored the sight of his jailor’s daughter through his strong faith in the Lord. A friendship developed, and just before his death, Valentine took up pen and paper from his jailor, Asterius, to write a farewell message to Asterius’ daughter. He signed it “From Your Valentine.” The phrase endured. Valentine is believed to have been executed on February 14, 270 A.D.
Soon people created a holiday to commemorate Valentine. Originally, the Day did not center on passionate or romantic love, but on agape or Christian love. It wasn’t until the 14th century that the Day became associated with romantic love....
Maybe you’ve heard of the five love languages, the five ways in which love is communicated. I have put them into “T” words to remember them better: Talk (words of affirmation); Time; Tokens (gifts); Tender Loving Care (acts of service); and Touch.
What to you communicates love? Maybe you want to hear “I love you,” and someone else wants to see a little “tender loving care” in acts of service. Someone else might respond to a hug while another wants to taste that chocolate or smell the fragrance of “love.” We speak and show love with our
physical senses as well as with our minds. So we may respond with: “Sounds good.” “Feels good.” “Looks good.” “I smell love in the air.” “I can’t stomach that. Can you?”
Our testimony encourages others; but the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. Our faith might move mountains; but consider the faith of Jesus, what He knows to be true.
“Before Abraham was, I am.”
“I am the bread of life…I am the living bread.”
“I am the light of the world.”
“I am the door; by Me if any one enter in, he shall be saved…”
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.”
I am the resurrection and the life.”
“I am the true vine.”
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, which
Is and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
“I am the first and the last: I am He which lives, and was dead;
And behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have
The keys of hell and of death.”....
We talk about true Christian fellowship, getting together and having Jesus as the center of our conversation. We talk about spending time with God in prayer. We talk about getting away, coming apart from the busyness of our daily lives, going off alone to meet with God. Sometimes, you just have to plan it; and so we did.
Saturday, May 15th, a group of us from MCM met at Fern Forest Park in Coconut Creek, FL for a half day in prayer. We showed up with our water bottles, a few snacks, sun screen lotion, Bibles, note pads and pens, journals, maybe a favorite devotional book, a watch, song sheets, and whatever else we thought to bring, like maybe a family or personal budget or calendar....
Fourth of July. Behind our house is an apartment complex, in particular, the pool and patio area. Our neighbors enjoy holiday weekends with barbecues, beer, swimming, talk about sports, and setting off small fireworks that scare the kids and cause the dogs to bark and the cats to take cover under a rug. The party continues over any long weekend, and as it goes, the cursing and vulgarity increases with the alcohol intake and the anger level escalates, sometimes to having the police called to settle some domestic dispute or other. It makes for sordid entertainment for some, I suppose; but in another way, it’s sad. Is life just a party? And if that’s life, is that all there is?...
2009
The wilderness. Some are in it now. Some have been in it in the past, and you know exactly what wilderness wanderings are all about. Some sense they are headed that way. Wilderness wandering is that in-between place where a believer has been brought out of Egypt by the blood of the Lamb and by a great deliverance but does not enter Canaan and his/her inheritance in Christ because of failure to believe and take God at His Word. Now look at the redemption in Christ Jesus, the true servant/son of Israel....Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4; Luke 4). He had just been baptized by John the Baptist and experienced the delight of the Father and commissioning before the whole spirit world. The Father’s Voice rang out clearly that this Jesus is My chosen One, in whom My soul delights, or upon whom My good pleasure has settled.
With this announcement to the spirit world and those present at the time, the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness. Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit, fulfills all righteousness, is pure, holy, and good; yet He must begin the time of trial and testing as God’s servant son.
Judges 3.16 didn’t seem like something you could wrap your brain around at first. “But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.” I thought, “Okay. What’s going on here? And what is God showing us in this rather obscure account of a deliverer of Israel?”
Ehud was different. He was an apple, but a green apple among red apples. Literally, he was shut of his right hand; so it is figured he was left-handed. He was ordinary; but the Spirit of God came upon him for a particular work. His name can mean “joined together,” “united,” “pleasant and sympathetic,” or as a derivative of Yehuda, “I will give praise,” or “I will give thanks.” He was also brave.
Eighteen years into domination by King Eglon of Moab, the people living in Jericho cried out for a deliverer. “Jericho strongholds” are those that have fallen back into the hand of the enemy after having been conquered. The lesson: conquered areas will have to be conquered again if we fail to persevere in the faith because the devil delights in “snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory.”...Ehud was chosen to lead a delegation to the king of Moab with a present, perhaps tribute. Ehud saw opportunity and took advantage of it (cf Eph. 5.16, Col. 4.5). Ehud allowed God to use his differences to make a difference in the kingdom of God.
Right now many are suffering. It’s not all physical suffering; some of it is emotional, some mental, some financial. But people are in pain right now, praying…but in pain.I don’t need to spell it out for you; you hear it, read it, experience it. But now more than before, you (and me, too) are holding on to the Word of God for your very life. That’s good; we find comfort in the Word of God.
The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, the One who comes alongside while we’re going through fires or floods (Isaiah 43) or adversity. He is there to comfort us in all our tribulation. There is a purpose to what we’re going through.
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (2 Corinthians 1.3, 4)
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about boundaries. It is God who sets boundaries, borders, and/or limits. It is God who establishes boundaries, enlarges borders, delegates authority to demarcate, and determines the destinies of individuals and nations.
All of life includes boundaries, borders, and limits. All of nature has God-set boundaries (Ps 74.16, 17; Job 26.10). It is with boundaries and borders that nations distinguish, protect, and expand (Deut. 32.8, Is 10.13, Nahum 3.13, 14).
Governments are expected to protect the borders of their respective nations. Governmental laws provide behavioral limits of people groups and control cultural norms (Pr 8.15, 16); decadent states are neither fair nor just with such limits (Pr. 28.12, 28). Ruling requires wisdom, preferably wisdom from God.
Individuals must learn to set limits on personal desires, opinions, and behaviors. People need boundaries to have wholesome relationships. People need to give definition and demarcation as to their persons, space, identity, values, behavior, etc....
I have this thing about lions. In the Word of God two lions square off in a battle for supremacy, though the imagery is applied ten times more to the Lord than to Satan. Whether imaging the devil or the Lord, the lion is tenacious, valiant, strong, fierce, devouring, and forceful, with an ability and bent toward devouring the enemies of those under his domain. The Word often mentions the teeth of lions and spans the young lion of strength and conquest to the grand, great old lion—wise, heroic, battle-tested, ruling.
Satan may be the roaring lion seeking whom he may devour and rip apart, but the Messiah is the Great Lion of the tribe of Judah who fiercely defends His own. This Great Lion also roars and shows Himself stronger than His devouring contender for the crown. A conquering lion, after all, knows from experience that once his prey is caught, consuming the prey comes only as an afterthought.
Names of things are important. Today people give a lot of thought when they name their children. Most try to think of the long-term implications. They want their children to succeed, and so they give them names they think will benefit their children in life.
God names people, too. He sometimes changes people’s names, usually in terms of their destiny or purpose. God gave Adam the task of naming the animals. In Hebrew, three different words are used: ‘ari’ which is directly a lion, sabal, which denotes a lion with a fierce countenance, and lebe, an old or grand, great old lion. The Lion of Judah is all of these. He was the young lion, strong and conquering; the older wise lion over the ages; and the fierce lion protecting His own.Joel 3.16 says that the LORD will roar out of Zion. What do we know about lions roaring?...
If ever there was a time for Christians to be awake and alert, it is now. Now is the time to have our lamps filled with oil, to be ready, to be watchful, to pray, to repent of our sins, to think about our lives and the choices we make daily. Now is the time to get it right with God. We need to repent sincerely; and with God’s grace, recover ourselves from every snare of the devil. Now is the time to redeem the time given to us. Now is the time to put away the things of
darkness, to put off the “flesh” and sin nature, and to put on Christ, to manifest in ourselves the fruit of the Spirit. Now is the day of salvation, and we are to rejoice and be glad in this day.Now is the time to reflect upon “whose we are and whom we serve.” It is time to crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts, to walk in the Spirit as led by the Spirit. It is time to be done with the works of the flesh, which make evident that the flesh wars against the Spirit, and to put off lawlessness by seeking the Spirit to manifest in us the fruit of the Spirit.
Healthcare reform is a big issue right now in the USA. Some think of it more as health insurance reform. People are up-in-arms over all kinds of things, from the quality of care, to the cost of care, to how much the government will step in to control life spans, or even if one gets born at all. Death and destruction vie for dominion in this nation and around the world; but God is the God of the Living. Think! Pray!
Sanctity of Life. God made human beings in His image and likeness. He made Adam and Eve deathless. He gave them qualities like reason, personality, and intellect, and a capacity (though animals have souls) higher than other creatures. He commanded man to have dominion (not domination) over every living thing that moves on the earth. (Genesis 1.27, 28) He made the Sabbath for man that both people and animals and even the land might rest. (Genesis 2.3; Exodus 20.8) Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden to tend and to keep it alive. Adam gave names to each living creature. (Genesis 2.15, 19-20) As Adam was created to live in relationship with his Creator, so also Adam was to live in relationship with God’s creation, the work of God’s hands. The point is; he was to live and to sanctify life....
Proverbs 17.22 declares that a merry heart does good like a medicine; but a broken spirit dries the bones. Other translations say “rejoicing heart” or “joyful heart” or “laughter.” We need to laugh, giggle, and just roll over in laughter; not all the time, but sometimes.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up
That which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down,
And a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn,
And a time to dance…Ecclesiastes 3.1-4
Scripture warns against coarse jesting, delighting in indecency, obscenity, and foolish talking. Wholesome laughter, however, is to be encouraged. We don’t need to tear others down and/or laugh at other’s tragedies, like someone slipping on a banana peel. We can laugh at things that are just plain fun and silly, or when something unexpected happens to make us laugh.
David the psalmist cried, “Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and your lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to your mercy remember me for your goodness’ sake, O Lord.” Psalm 25.6, 7
Have you ever cried out to the Lord like that? Or have you prayed a heart cry like Hannah? “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will give unto your handmaid a man chi ld, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.” 1 Samuel 1.11
Certainly we want God to remember us always, though in desperate times we cry out to him from the depths of our being. The time of Malachi was such a time because prophets had predicted God's blessings but years had passed and those prophecies of hope were yet unfulfilled. With expectations blasted, dreams shattered, hearts broken, and many lives laying in ruin, people knew disappointment, disillusionment, and discouragement. To add to that, they were hypercritical of God's ways; faith and worship eroded
or when something unexpected happens to make us laugh.
The year was 1997. Even then, we had been celebrating Christmas at Craighouse with a Christmas dinner followed by caroling in the streets for some four years.We approached our last house Men, women, and children, thirty in all, walked the streets of Ft. Lauderdale with the trumpet, the trombone, the tambourines, and the voices of Christmas. Grouping ourselves in a huddle, we made our selection. The carols of Christmas filled the air, testifying to our neighbors the announcement that Jesus Christ, God’s final Word, has come.
Moved by the words and the sudden trueness of our voices, we sang with increasing boldness and beauty. Two thousand Christmases became real to us as we stood there in the long tradition of carolers carrying to the world the joy of Jesus’ birth.
2008
“Just a stray.” That’s what the woman across the street called her cat Buddy. Buddy likes to come visit us. Just as darkness descends, he makes his way across the street to the safe place between our house and the garage. I have a place there for him. He’s rarely hungry, but I bring him out a little cat food and some clean water and I have a nice blanket for him to lie on. But one night he showed up with a one-inch gash in his forehead and cuts; so I took him in a cat carrier to his owners to let them know he had been injured, most likely by a raccoon....
Seeing lives transformed brings me joy. Like Paul said, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.” (1 Thess. 2.19, 20) Over the past 15 years of Mary Craig Ministries, we have seen hundreds of lives transformed by the power of the gospel. We specialize in small group ministry because Jesus demonstrated his interest in the one. He died for individuals. He took time to minister to people individually. He may have spoken to crowds, but He discipled twelve. He may have fed thousands, but most of those left when He began giving “hard sayings.” He may have inspired multitudes, but when He started revealing the cost of following Him, only a few remained....
We recently returned from our mission to the Rhineland. The prophetic word to Belgium is on our website in the prophetic section 2008. We were there to root out and destroy ancient strongholds and to build and to plant the kingdom of God, among other things.Netherlands was another target nation. While Rev. Jim Craig and I were in Amsterdam, two of our Board Members, David & Betty Patten, were in New York City. There they prayed a prayer strategy concerning the roots of New York (which the Indians deeded to the Dutch and which went back and forth between being New Amsterdam and New York
before ending up as New York)....
Our son has a 3x5 index card wedged into his bedroom mirror. It says, “Don’t ignore God.” I thought about that reminder one day as I sat watching the people of Amsterdam go about their daily routines. Jesus said in Matthew 24.38 that “as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”...
More than five years ago the Board of MCM set out to glorify God by displaying His goodness and graciousness to all; to advance the Christian faith through representation and recommendation; to minister to Jesus by serving His people; and to be in a position of being blessed by God by being a blessing to others. With this in mind, we set a goal under the direction of the Holy Spirit to break the strongholds of the curse and remove barriers to the blessing of God by serving as a “paraclete” to those in need of a Barnabas through symbolic, strategic, and specific acts of good done in Jesus’ Name and for His glory.The Barnabas Project seeks out forgotten people and communities in the South Florida area and targets them for blessing, a little lift up, a little encouragement, to give them hope. The Barnabas Project has gone everywhere from Belle Glade, Florida, to Homestead, Florida, and many places in between. It began with a handful of people and one small truck and has grown and grown into major distributions....
Fifteen years ago this ministry began because Dr. George Callahan of New Covenant Presbyterian Church challenged us to organize it behind the three-fold call I had received. That call was to bring healing and restoration to the body of Christ, to prepare the Bride of Christ for His return, and to call to repentance and resurrection those nations where God would send me. Fifteen years later we are an international ministry with a thriving community outreach called Craighouse®, an expanding Barnabas Project, media ministry, and a world mission outreach that has taken 34 mission teams to 63 nations on all seven continents.....
We’re in a race, not to earn or merit eternal life, because eternal life is a free gift of God’s grace merited by Jesus Christ who lived and died and rose again that those who heartily put their confidence, reliance, and belief in Him might receive Him. In receiving Christ, we receive eternal life; for Jesus lives by the power of an endless life.
We’re in a race for the believer’s crowns. We are to endure hardness and fight the good fight of faith. We are to overcome. We are to fulfill the destiny that is ours in Christ Jesus, living out the purpose for which God created us. We are to be witnesses unto Him that loved us and that brought us out of bondage, out of darkness into His light, redeeming us with His own precious Blood....
Dusty, dry, dead religion, cities of the dead, pyramids built for the dead, temples to the no-gods, desert regions, deceptive hidden rooms in the tombs of the pharaohs, people walking around in fear of the next terrorist attack and possible death; yet in that spiritual darkness there was the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a light shining in that darkness.
It was a mission filled with contrasts. Against the spiritual darkness with its apathy, the mocking, and the ridicule of Jesus’ miracles, stood the Truth. Even as some pastors took their theology from movies like Bruce Almighty and others taught that Jesus is not the only way to God as one travels on the journey that leads to everlasting life, the Truth came forward in the Word of God, that Word which some denied as being inerrant and infallible....
2007
I believe 2007 will be a year of prosperity for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe we will see the Spirit of Burning and Judgment moving across the globe but we will also come to understand that it is through judgment that deliverance comes to God’s people. I believe that many will come to repentance and faith and thus the gospel will begin to prosper in their lives. In an atmosphere of perfect judgment will grow a division between the holy and profane and more believers will abandon their desire for compromise, corruption, and complacency in their walk with Christ....
There is no place on earth like Ethiopia. It has its own unique culture, history, calendar, way to tell time, geography, and church. It is truly another world....
...
To our surprise we find that Ethiopia is considered the head of all African nations. The Eighth Africa Union Summit was preparing to meet at the U.N. building starting Monday, January 29th. Leaders from 40 African nations come together to discuss the problems and issues of Africa. They came with their entourages, Mercedes cars, flags, and much excitement. Security was high. The weekend God chose for us to be here was no accident....
If anything stood out on our mission to Ethiopia, it was access to God. The prophetic word to Ethiopia was well received. The people in the Assemblies of God church in Addis Ababa applauded, cried “Amen,” and participated with outstretched arms pointing North, South, East, and West. This 14,000 members and growing church has come to the knowledge of Christ opening the way to the Father through His Blood sacrifice. They freely come within the veil even as they meet Christ without the gate.
But in Axum, a place whose culture extends back to the Queen of Sheba, kings and kingdoms, the Falasha Jews, and Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, access to God blurs in a blend of progressive revelation. Women and children cling to gates of a church open only to men. The free grace of the gospel is cloaked with the garments of a religious system of ritual re-enactments designed to help illiterate people understand the Bible’s message but which can also become a religion of works-righteousness, a form of godliness but denying the power of God...
While we were in Ethiopia, we had only one 8 oz. bottle of water a day rationed since we had decided to carry with us as much as we could for the street children in Addis Ababa. That meant that by the time we got to the last day of the mission trip we were out of water and dry, dry, dry....
Jesus Christ shed His blood to cancel the guilt of our crime. In addition to showing His own love for us by dying the death we deserve, He became a ransom, forgives our sins, takes away our condemnation, gives us the basis for a clear conscience, brings us to faith, absorbs the wrath of God, and “does the devil in.” He reconciles us to God, frees us from bondage, secures our resurrection from the dead, opens access to the Holy of Holies, and shows us that the worst evil is met by God for our good and for His greatest glory.Jesus didn’t stay on the cross....
“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Peter and Andrew were fishermen. They knew how to catch fish. But they straightway left their nets and followed Jesus into the unknown. Jesus transformed their lives. He still transforms lives today....
How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. We are, today, the sum total of the choices we have made day by day over the years....
The world’s a big place. You can barely see the two people walking along the shore in this picture, but they are there. Sometimes we feel that way; we feel very small in a great big world. We may seek power, to feel like we are more in control, but essentially, we hang at the fulcrum between life and death, death and life. We live at the edge of existence, somewhere between the beginning and the end.I just went through an experience that abruptly demonstrated this to me....
Ten of us (Rev. Jim took the picture) trekked up to Belle Glade, Florida, July 21st. Any kind of missions work, local or global, requires a spirit of adventure. Our MCM team certainly has that!...
Mother Teresa intrigues people of all faiths and even people with no faith. Maybe it’s because she won a Nobel Peace Prize or because the Roman Catholic Church is considering her for sainthood. She is widely known for her great works among the poor of Calcutta and for the Order of the Missionaries of Charity which she founded.Time magazine recently featured her in their September 3, 2007 issue in an article entitled “Her Agony” by David Van Biema. Apparently, Mother Teresa battled dryness, darkness, loneliness, torture, and doubt of the very existence of heaven and even of God for some 50 years after receiving a call from the Lord in a vision. She describes a dark night of the soul that never lifted but for a brief moment. She may have been right when she wrote in 1951 “that the Passion was the only aspect of Jesus’ life that she was interested in sharing: ‘I want to…drink ONLY (her emphasis) from His chalice of pain.’” (Time, page 41)...
We experienced a shortfall in funding of $4,000 this summer. Shortfalls mean cutbacks in ministry, and, of course, lead us to pray all the more earnestly to our Heavenly Father. He is the Source and Sustainer of MCM since its inception in 1993.
While praying for everyone connected to MCM, as I do, I was lead by the Holy Spirit to Psalm 5. This psalm of David is in itself a prayer for protection and guidance....
Do you have Christmas traditions in your family? Do you have certain foods you associate with Christmas Dinner, someone who always hands out the packages, special dinnerware, decorations passed down from the generations? Do you have a tradition of giving certain gifts only at Christmastime and/or a tradition of giving to others less fortunate? Do you put up the tree on a specific date?
These are ways we bring continuity to Christmas in our individual families, but one thing we do as Christians remains constant for the past 2007 years. We marvel at the glory of the Incarnation and wonder that our God should be so gracious as to send His Son to be our Savior....
2006
Kroy Ellis and Pastor Jim gave such an informative, insightful, and exciting presentation on Jerusalem’s Destiny that many want to know more about this city that God chose as the place where He would put His Name. Kroy’s testimony about how God worked in his life through the prophetic word and personal guidance is also helpful to you who want to know more about how God moves in our lives to find and perform His will....
I remember standing in the Majdanek concentration camp in Lublin, Poland a few years back. In the midst of memories of the horrors of the holocaust, with hundreds of little shoes piled up fifty years after the fact and the shower rooms and death chambers still trying to tell us the story, I marveled as I looked up and saw such a blue sky overhead. There in the camps the walls were crying out, but up above, the glory of God overruled....
I remember. Years ago that was the fear. If you became a Christian, God might send you to Africa as a missionary. Or, you would be witnessing to someone on the street and out of the blue they would try to divert your attention and hope to catch you off guard by asking, “But what about the heathen in Africa?”Well, folks, there aren’t so many heathen in Africa any more and the “dark continent” is shining with a lot more of the light of Jesus Christ these days. As to being sent there, yes, God just might send you to Africa. I’m now going back there for the third time....
Mozambique became the 60th nation where MCM mission teams have gone. Stephen, Sue, and I thank you for your prayers, as they were all answered, from the luggage, timing, weather, finalizing contacts, staying healthy, everything! We worshipped with the Maputo International Christian Fellowship and called in the nation at their Sunday evening prayer service. We declared the prophetic word at that service and everyone prayed for Mozambique. It was truly set up by God.On Monday we met Delci at the House of Ants. I’ll be writing about this unique ministry to 500 children at the outskirts of Maputo in my message of the month [See Missions - Mozambique]. This Brazilian woman, a Presbyterian, has devoted her life to the poorest of the region. Her commitment to Christ challenged us and her love for the children inspired us.
The $800 we brought House of Ants along with the suitcases of clothing, toys, and supplies came as a surprise, and as an answer to prayer. You see, in Mozambique there is no public education, no free schooling for children. Everyone has to pay, even the poorest of the poor. So, House of Ants pays for schooling for as many children as they can. The bill was due, and we were God’s way of providing the means for paying the school bill. Every dollar went for
education.....
...The first pictures come from Casa das Formigas (House of Ants), a residential home caring for 500 children daily. Read more about the faith-walk of its founder, Delci, in my message of the month for June [See Missions - Mozambique]....
Summer’s here and most of the nation is celebrating our freedom, Independence Day. Like this beautiful little fish, who is all alone and away from “school” and a support group, we often think of freedom as being independent, on our own, and not under the tutelage or influence of another. The interesting thing is that in the Word of God, true freedom comes as we recognize our utter dependence upon our Creator, entrust our lives to Jesus Christ as our Redeemer, and yield control to the Holy Spirit as our Paraclete.....
...As we celebrated 13 years of ministry Saturday night at our Africa Night Fellowship Dinner, I looked out at the people who attended. I was so happy to know that many of those who came had received the opportunity to fulfill their callings and destinies in Christ at Craighouse®. Many had been on mission trips, from Jamaica to Singapore, to Jerusalem, to Eastern Europe, to Africa, to Antarctica, to Europe, to Brazil, to Chile, to Argentina, etc. People had witnessed for Jesus on all seven continents through MCM....
Recently, someone gave me a prayer based on the premise that we can “command the morning” and create our own destiny, not our destiny in Christ—just our destiny. As I went through this prayer I was greatly disturbed, not just because scripture verses had been taken out of context, misconstrued, and used for personal gain, but also because I could see something brewing in the caldrons of hell, a deadly potion so intoxicating, so fascinating, so appealing to the flesh, that it could tempt the very sons of God to miss all that God has for them in Christ.I prayed about this and asked the Holy Spirit what He was saying to the Churches, and this is what I received August 11, 2006:...
Leading the thirsty to living waters is something we do regularly at Craighouse. It involves getting over ourselves in order to pay attention to someone else. It means seeking connection with people who may have different backgrounds, different "worlds," and different ways of looking at things than we do. It means, therefore, asking questions with a sincere desire to know someone, being authentic, and giving what we have....
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