On this blog you can share creative ideas and testimonies of how you are reaching out to people at work, in your community, and in the market place with the love of God. Also, share your thoughts about the teaching series, 'Be Contagious', or the book, 'Becoming A Contagious Christian' and encourage others to join us as we grow together in our personal passion to reach our lost friends, neighbors, and relatives. I would love to share some of the testimonies you write in this blog with the entire CLC family. So, get out their where the lost are and care for them, share with them, and write about all God is doing through you.
God Bless You!
Pastor Randy
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Last night (7-10-07), I was privileged to lead a "wayward" young man back to his faith in Christ. He has a bible, so I gave him a copy of the "Purpose Driven Life". He seems to have lost his sense of purpose in life and his faith in Christ. I am going to lunch with him in a few days to talk with him about his new committment. Do you have any suggestions what I can share with him? He is struggling with believing that God exists. - Pastor Randy Rice
it's all about love man! that's how JC did it... he saw the crowd and had COMPASION for them!
love ya brother
chase
As I was leaving the church office today(7-12-07), I was stopped by Anna Dance, Director of the "Healing Rooms" Ministry (HR) in our church. She was very excited to tell me that a young man, who was spiritually confused but seeking the Lord, came to the HR for prayer. Within just a few minutes, Anna discovered through a few sincere questions that he had gone to church a few times in the past but had never committed his life to Christ. He then acknowledged that he needed to fully put his faith in Christ for salvation and forgiveness of sins. Anna led him in the simple prayer of salvation. He was a changed man afterward as the Lord came into his life. You might not have known this but, the HR is a wonder tool for our lost and sick friends, neighbors, relatives, and work associates to come to Christ, receive prayer for healing, or just sit down with a couple of the HR team members who can love them right where they are. Be sure to tell those who need healing, lost or saved, to check out this powerful ministry at CLC. Or perhaps, just tell them that you will pick them up and drive them yourself to the HR. As a matter of fact, one of our members at CLC had brought this young man to the HR who received Christ today. Let me encourage you to check it out and call the church @ 777-4771 M-Th. 9am to 4pm to find out how you can set up an appointment for someone you know at the HR. After Anna shared this amazing story with me, I asked her, "How many people have her and her team in the HR led to saving faith in Jesus Christ since the beginning of 2007?" She told me that she didn't quite know, but it was a significant number and she would find out. I'll let you know. If you have any questions about the HR, please let me know in this blog. I'll look forward to your thoughts and questions.
Thanks Chase!!! Keep showing the love. You are awesome. Perhaps you can share a story about some of your adventures in reaching your friends at school? I've heard a few and they are awesome! - Pastor Randy (PR)
It is wonderful to see how God works. I never imagined how adopting Nathan and Sophia would open so many doors to sharing my faith. In the last month, I have shared the adoption story with dozens of people. When people see how God is moving in your life, they are naturally curious - especially if they are lacking.
A very effective way to "open doors" is to let your life be an example, establish relationships, then step out in faith when opportunities arise. Be obedient to the nudge of the Holy Spirit. Several people have told me that my story was powerful. I simply told them it's more than "goose bumps" - it's God's confirmation. Don't be afraid to tell a co-worker that you're praying for them, or share how God has helped you through tough times. Always be prepared to lead them to Christ - the giver of life! It's as simple as "A-B-C"!
Frank,
You, Kim and your entire family are incredible!! Thank you for showing us God's love in action. Keep sharing the story and keep us up-to-date on your inspiring courage and compassion for the lost. I look forward to your future postings on this blog. - PR
well this is awesome. I will be sure to let some college kids from Cincinnati Christian University know about this blog. This is a good safe place to ask questions and seek counsel about critical, controversial and perhaps confusing issues...and just share things that may not be accepted in the campus community with the added touch of being encouraged and strengthened and loved.
I believe this blog-room is truly the heart of God.
Well here is a recent experiance to share...
I was in Aldi's grocery store just 2 days ago and came in contact with a lovely spirited woman with her 2 sons, the favor of the Lord on her boy's lives were smooth and clean --one around 14yrs. and the other around 3yrs. The mom was calm and good-hearted. A woman that had/has poured into her sons valuable treasures.
After the Holy Spirit finished expressing things to them that only He would know, the mom reached for me..."Let me give you a hug", she said with the light of the presence of God on her face."God bless you", she said as she glanced back at me while walking away.
She knew Jesus, yes, but it's always so exhilarating for me to witness when people experience the "truth" that Jesus knows them even better and that He sees and that He cares.
Hey, I'm interning at the healing rooms. I love it. I'm getting healed up along with those being prayed for. It's so cool. I've come to realize healing is such a vital part of this life. I need a dose often..because I'm always growing towards maturity.
We should never allow shame to keep us from the cleansing of the Lord. He only wants whats best for us and for us to experience His fullness of joy.
Thanks Kim,
You are living the contagious life!! The grocery store is a great place to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, strike-up a conversation, and then, turn it in a spiritual direction. God will give us opportunities when we are open to Him. I cant't wait to hear from the campus crowd! No question, or thought, or struggle is too hard for God. Thanks for the encouragement. - PR
ok I don't have a double personality. I put the right words in for my blogger site (when you click on my name on the previous post) but I forgot to put the number "2" at the end and so if you clicked on my name you went to another sunshine and rain."frosted lemonade". I am really not Wendy! So if you click on the "Kim" on this post, you'll get me (spoken with a deep,low spooky voice) Life is funny
Today (Friday July 13th), I went to lunch with the young man I prayed with three nights ago to come back to his faith in Christ. Good News!! He is following his faith in Christ. He's reading his bible, praying, and reading the book I gave him "The Purpose Driven Life". He is also getting more excited about his life and his future walk with the Lord. Keep praying for him. - PR
The harvest is ripe, and I want to go get it. Jesus wants told me that he is always with his people. I really like the scripture that says love one another as I have loved you. I want to love like Jesus. Love is the best geft you can use. If I do not have love I have nothing. Jesus saw Abba love first before he prophesied or healed the sick. Love comes first
Thanks Micah! You are right. If the lost don't experience genuine love from believers they will be less likely to put their faith in Christ. Love is the primary motivation God desires us to possess when interacting with those who are confussed about the truth of th Gospel. Keep caring and sharing, and you will please the heart of God by helping reach the unconvinced around you. - PR
I had the privilege to teaching the youth two weeks ago and I taught on salvation. During the course of preparation, the Lord inspired me to include this statement: "Don't put the Great Commission before the Great Commandment." I researched both, and here is what they say:
The Great Commandment
37 Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." - Matt 22:37-40 (NKJV)
I was curious about the original word used for neighbor in this text so I looked it up. In the Strong's Greek & Hebrew Dictionary there were three definitions. The first definition was a friend. So a neighbor is a friend. That makes perfect sense. The second definition was “any other person, and where two are concerned, the other (thy fellow man, thy neighbour), according to the Jews, any member of the Hebrew nation and commonwealth.” Sounds like today’s equivalent in the church of “Hey Brother,” or “Hey sister.” It was the third definition that blew my mind.
The third definition stated the following: “according to Christ, any other man irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet.” Let me repeat that “according to Christ, any other man irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet.” That means who we live by, regardless of their beliefs or religion, are our neighbors. And the part that still keeps me awake at night thinking about it, is the end of the third definition: “or whom we chance to meet.”
So basically, my neighbor is actually anyone at any point in my life anywhere in the world that I have a chance to meet. How many people will that end up being? And what does Jesus command me to do?
“You shall love you any other man irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet as yourself.” - JC
WOW!
Good word Jason! In the Great Commission and the Great Commandment Jesus gives us not only the "way" to reach the uncommitted, but also the "why" we should. The why is simply God's love, the way is us going to them and sharing both God's love and word in relavent ways. It's the greatest adventure in life to partner with Jesus and help the unrescued find the safety of God saving grace. Stay contagious! - PR
Do You Know Jesus?
Connie Ryan © 2007
I pass her by
on the street every day
Walkin’ the dog
we smile and we wave
She’s working her garden
looking for rain
Can’t get the courage
to even ask her name
But I wonder – as I walk on by…
Does she know Jesus?
Lying there in his hospital bed
Getting ready
to go down for some tests
I feel the stirring deep in my soul
an inner knowing
he’ll soon be going home
And I wonder – as I walk on by…
Does he know Jesus?
Do they know Jesus?
Do they know Jesus?
Do they know Jesus…
He’s the Son of God
Sunday morning, Bible in hand
Saying ‘hi’…giving hugs
and shaking hands
There in the back row sitting alone
I see lost and broken
looking for a home
And I wonder – as I walk on by…
Do they Jesus?
Oh Lord make me a fisher of men
How do I feed Your sheep?
How do I tend Your lambs?
Don’t let me walk on by
I need the courage to stand
and ask the question…
Do you know Jesus?
Do you know Jesus?
Do you know Jesus…
He’s the Son of God
Connie, I can't wait to hear your new song. When you're done with the music let me know and we'll arrange a Sunday for you to sing it. These words cut right to the point of our challenge to reach out with God's love. The new series and book, "Becoming a Contagious Christian" is going to better equip each of us to build relational bridges to those without Christ. This blog is a way we can encourage each other, pray for each other, and celebrate when we are able to lead someone to Christ, or lead them closer to a committment to Him. Keep your love and compassion, they are the main components of being contagious. - PR
Last week, as I prayed with my youngest daughter (22), I felt led to ask her if she wanted to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit! Praise God she said yes!
A few days later she told me her new boyfriend shared with her that he needed to 'get right with God.' He asked his father to go to church with him this past Sunday and they both went to the altar and rededicated their lives to God! When they got home, the boy's mother said she wants to go next week.
I told my daughter, "Who knows? perhaps you have been chosen for such a time as this..." God is on the move!! Praise Him!
God is truly working through your daughters desire for more of Him in her life. When God's people become like salt and light, as Jesus said, others will see that God really does transform a persons life, and want that for themselves. To God be the glory for this wonderful turn of events in your life, family and friends. Stay Contagious!!! - PR
Hi my name is dj and God has given me a very unique way to share my faith it is I writ poems for special occasions or just to say I am thinking of you. Now I take no credit for this for I know not how to write poetry but He does and He does.. Great DAy in Jesus DJ
I think this is so awesome!! I love blogs
Thanks DJ,
Poetry is another way of communicating your faith. One of the best ones I've ever read is the one called "Foot Prints". It's my favorite. Keep writing and reach the lost DJ, the Lord will honor your work. - Pastor
Hi Ya Allll...
:O)
I think you have something here Pastor! (*BIG Grin*)
As you know I have not been around (CLC) much, these last couple of months, the Lord has had me else where :O); however the Lord has been downloading into my Spirit so much it's been hard to keep up!
I best describe it like "Being in a Cocoon"...or "Snuggled in the Hallow of His Hand".
At any rate...
The BOTTOM LINE???? (What He spoke to me overe and over in so many different ways)In a NUTT SHELL???
L O V E ....Is the Key.
Sounds elemtary doesen't it?
Nah! After all....noone really cares what we or WHO we know until they know we CARE.
Ohhhh and one of my FAVorite songs by Todd Agnew,
"Which Jesus Do YOU Serve?"
Shalom~AmyColleen
You're right Amy! Love is the bottom line. John 3:16 shows us that God's motive for giving His Son to lost humanity was love. In the same way, our motives as believers must be love if we are going to give Jesus to others through our words and deeds. If we do, we will see precious friends, neighbors, and relatives coming to saving faith. Stay contagious! - PR
Will you allow me to?
wipe away the tears fo teh crying
Will you allow me to?
eal the sick and the dying
Will you allow me to?
Have compassion on the lost
Will you allow me to?
bring my peace for I've paid the cost
What? You say
Why are you asking me?
You are God
now how can this be
For I can only use your arms to comfort and hold the crying
And I can only
use your hands to heal the sick and dying
It's up to you to
lend me your hands to heal the sick and dying
it's up to you to
lend me your heart for the lost
Only you can allow me to
bring my peace to those the enemy has tossed
For together is the only way
for us to reach the world today
you should not go without me
I'm powerless without you because of the tree
FOr I need your eyes on Earth
to see the need
I need your mouth
to speak my heart that plants the seed
I need your hands
to touch and comfort some
On Earth as in Heaven
My kingdom come
Your Father God - dj
Hey guys!
Tim and I walked around the block and prayed for our neighborhood this am. It felt so good to reach out even if just in the spirit. It's all important, even the little things we do. It all adds up to victory when we obey God's little nuggings.
love,
Deb Wells
Thanks Deb!
Prayer walking is a very real and strategic part of God's plan to reach our neighbors and friends. God listens to prayers that we pray on behalf of others. In response, I believe He dispatches His angelic hosts, and the power of His Holy Spirit when we pray for the people we live among. In other words, He prepares their hearts to receive the gospel. Now, (and I know you do this) begin looking for opportunities to care (for them) and sharing (the gospel) with them. We are going to become better equipped to do this over the next several weeks in my sermon series, "Be Contagious". Stay on fire for Him! - PR
Theneatest thing happened last night we were praying for a girl and she has mental problems as we were ministering to her she went into a chanting or babbling as we were ministering to her it continued and the next thing we knew her spirit rose up in her and she started to very faintly to say Jeee jee and as she proceeded her spirit eventually broke through the babbling and she said Jesus I love Jesus I love Jesus and she broke out into crying actually sobbing it felt like her spirit was so relieved to be free of the torment that it just sobbed and then she was just given her prayer language those of us who were ministering were so honored that He had allowed us to be present when she was set free and this miraculous thing happened. Our God is such an awesome God!! -dj
Thanks for this wonderful report DJ,
The Healing Rooms (HR), and those of you who are praying for people in this minsitry to the hurting, are being used mightily by God to reach the sick and the lost. I am very excited about this deliverance and salvation. Many wonder, why don't we see (today) the miracles that are written in the bible. Well, its more than likely that Christians are not allowing God to use them where they are. We are all on the "front lines" in our everyday lives. We must choose to be used in order to see the miracles. Stay Contagious, DJ! - PR
Hi Everyone,
Over the past two Sundays at CLC, we have seen two people come forward at the end of the sermons and publicly confess Christ as Lord and Savior. Also, another young lady has rededicated her life and is going to be water baptized. Others, not during the services have let us know that they have recommitted their lives to Christ or come to Him for the very first time. God is at work through us. Let me encourage you to begin reading, or keep reading the "Be Contagious" book and the Gospels during the next five weeks. Also, make your Impact List (those you are praying for God to save) if you haven't already. Pray for them and continue to reach out to the spiritual confused around you. Let's bring as many uncommitted people to church as we possibly can, especially on "Bring A Friend Sunday" August 19th. I know God will honor our obedience to His Great Commission. I'm praying that as we become more contagious for the Lord Jesus Christ, it will start an "epidemic" of His love and salvation among those who have never known Him, and many will come to saving faith. Stay Contagious ;) ! - PR
Wow...I have been reading the book....alot of good stuff!
I would like to share something that happened in my garage...that made me really start to think of the importance of
"Bringing the Church to the Unbeliever THROUGH the LOVE of Christ"....by the Great Commission..."THEREFORE GO and make disciples of all nations,....." ["baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."]Matt 28
Church is fine….....for believers.
However.....
LOVE is what the world needs most.
I am finding more and more that God is tugging on my heart to spend more time OUTSIDE the walls of the church....in the fields, which are ripe for harvest;
I believe church is for discipleship, fellowship, healing and restoration.....an occasional salvation but if we look at the life and times of Jesus and his Apostles Salvation happened outside the four walls of the churches....and the conversation I had with my neighbors was just another confirmation of what God is showing me....
+++ +++ +++
Me and My neighbor
+++ +++ +++
Just last week I was talking with one of my neighbors; a confused soul at best.
We got into a friendly discussion about life and destiny and being able to know or not know if we will live forever. The conversation went on for a while; I asked my neighbor to join me at church; both he and his teenaged son. The conversation ended in a friendly manner with my neighbors following words….
“Are you really all that you say you are?
Is what you [God] have to offer only [offered] there at your church?”
I just stood in silence for a second and didn’t even have a moment to answer before he continued and said,
“No thanks, I’ll stay home and get some work done,
And say a prayer along the way…
I’m sure that God won’t strike me dead on that one!”
+++ +++ +++
I had shared with him about my beliefs as a Christian and "our" beliefs as a church. We are nominal neighbors, at bests....haven't had but a few interactions to date. The Lord has allowed my husband and I to stand up and speak up for this man in our neighborhood and in court, so he is thankful to us. I know the Lord is opening doors for a relationship, both for us personally and for him and the Lord.
:O)
I tried a direct approach. {something that is not very difficult for me] but realized after thinking about what he shared with me "LOVE" and relationship and PRAYER;
i.e. "Bringing the Church of Jesus Christ" to him;
is really what is going to bring salvation to him.
Shalom~ AmyColleen
Thanks Amy!
I am so thankful for believers like you who are involved in sharing the love of Jesus to neighbors in their area. It stands to reason that over 90% of people who come to Christ, come to Him because a friend or a neighbor share the love and message of Christ. Stay with it, and stay contagious, you just might see this man and his family come to Christ because of your friendship and care!! - PR
Butler County Fair Outreach - Update:
Six more come to saving faith in Jesus Christ! :)
Over the past week, Scott Hageman and our team of volunteers have passed out hundreds of bible, shared the gospel of Jesus Christ, and prayed for dozens of people in our small 10x12 booth at the B.C. fair grounds.
God has done incredible things through His team and our prayer warriors. Six more precious souls have turned to Christ as our team has reachout to meet people where they are.
What an exciting demonstration by our team of stepping out in faith, reaching out in love, and giving out the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all who were willing to listen.
Please pray for these new converts and the follow-up that will and is taking place. God is doing what He promised when we are willing get into the harvest... save the lost! Praise God!!
Stay Contagious!
Pastor Randy
Glory!!! That is sooooo Awesome !!!
Lord I THANK you for all that Scott and Cathy do for you and ask that you Bless them and their precious one!!
I think bring people to the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the most Beautiful and Awesome way we can tell the Lord we love Him!
Glory to God for every ONE of us who has been lead to the Cross!!!
Thank you Lord God!!
I would like to share the revelation with you all, if I may, I received as I was waking up this very morning....
Please take a moment to read on …..
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups (12-ounce package) NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
Okay! Okay!!
NO I am NOT loosing my mind...stay with me here!
Above you see a recipe for the
ONE AND ONLY
"Original Toll House" -
"Chocolate Chip Cookie"
There is only ONE
“Original Toll House Cookie Recipe”
[I am sure we will all agree Nestle has the patent and copy rights to prove it in court!]
We can give this exact recipe, without flaw, along with the correct ingredients to as many people as we so choose. However, [and THIS is where the “light” went off in my head this morning] not EVERYONE who gets this list of ingredients and in fact, the ingredients themselves will end up with the infamous, “Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies”….Why not? Simply because there are NO INSTRUCTIONS included in this gift.
Now I know this probably sounds very elementary to many of us, but the truth of the matter is….Honestly, I have several friends that sadly enough, given the ingredients for these cookies, even after having made several hundred dozen of them in their lifetime, probably could not make them correctly without having the recipe [instructions] right in front of them to follow, line for line.
So…what does this have to do with Bringing people to Christ?
If you haven’t caught on yet…..EVERYTHING!
There is ONLY ONE WAY to JESUS...the Bible clearly states how to get there and how to keep our salvation.
I have been struggling with the question…. “Why?”
“Why do so many believers fall so soon after they have come into the kingdom……Why do they give into wrong ways of thinking….Why are they so close and just not there?”
“WHY, when the WORD of God [the instruction book] tells us just how it’s supposed to work?”
I think, this morning the Lord showed me that we have been many times, bringing people into the Kingdom and giving them the “ingredients and the list” and then sending them on there way….When we need to work on making sure people not only have the list, the ingredients, the instructions and some even need to be instructed.
Just like there are always those “Suzy and Harry Homemakers” in the kitchen…when it comes to cooking..[they never NEED cookbooks] you will always have those who will grab hold of Biblical truths and jump right in.
But then there will always be those who need that cook book and even maybe a tutor!
Pastor Randy...I believe you touched on it [again as you have in the past] in your last post....The "Following Up" of the new converts.
This is so important and I, for one...am going to make it even more of a priority in my life.
Bless the Lord! For He is soooo Good!
Shalom ~AmyColleen
Thanks Amy!
I'm reminded of the Parable of the Sower. The word of God is what brings forth fruit in the lives of people. Their heart is the soil where the seed is planted. Unfortunately, only one in four in this parable allowed the word of God to bring forth fruit in their lives.
We are like sowers of the word of God too. Jesus called us to share the gospel with people everywhere we go. When we do, people are bound to receive it and get saved. Not everyone though, will allow the word of God to bring forth fruit. There are too many things that they allow to choke, hinder, or comsume the word. It is those who allow the word to bring forth fruit that we can continue to disciple. The others, we can only pray for and hope they change their heart condition toward the word of God.
Here's a good thing to remember about this parable. When we are sowing the word of God, to all who will listen, we do not know who will recieve the word upon good ground and bring forth good fruit. Fortunately God does! We, however, must be faithful to sow it. All to often in the body of Christ isn't sowning the gospel in the hearts of those who do not know the Lord.
On the other hand, it seems like alot of energy in the body of Christ is being spent on discipleship. If only we balanced our energy equally between evangelism and discipleship better in our lives, and in the body of Christ. I think we would see much more fruit for the glory of God.
I heard a powerful statistic the other day abou this. Most normal churches have over onehundred worship services a year, several hundred small group and bible study meetings and Sunday School class, dozens of men's and women's meetings, scores of committee and board meetings, etc. which accumulates to hundreds and hundreds of hours and thousands and thousands of dollars. A worthy investment indeed!
However, if we in the body of Christ would balance the effort to share the gospel and give as much time to evangelism we would no doubt see a huge influx of precious souls into the kingdom and into the body of Christ, where these new believers could benefit by the large effort we put into our church culture.
My prayer is that we would become as much involved in evangelism as we are in church activity. We obviously have a long way to go until that happens, but I believe it can happen because most Christians really want to be effective in their dialy lives to reach the lost.
Our new "Be Contagious" series is an important tool to help equip each of us to become more effective in reaching the lost around in our daily lives at work, at home and wherever we are. Everyday believers are on the front line but so many do not have the confidence to share the word of God. Discipling people to "Be Contagious" with their faith is one of the most important parts of discipleship we can offer. My heart is incredibly encouraged by all that God is doing when we simply share the word of God with those who do not know Him.
Keep up the good work of caring for the lost and sharing the gospel. Once we get them saved, I'm confident there is enough disciplship going on in the body of Christ to take care of many more unsaved people. When we are out their with them, let's bring them the gospel of Christ.
Stay Contagious,
PR
Jesus said to one your sins are forgiven take up your bed and walk and sin no more. To others He healed them and out of that place they became born again. For me being a contagious christian is both sometimes God heals and then that opens the door up for them being saved or even recommitted. I have a boss at work her name is Erin and she went into premature labor and it was very premature and had twin baby girls they were 1pd and something the one baby girl didn't survive after about a week but the other one is hanging in there but she is fighting the same thing that the other one succumbed to. She last week was having the same symptoms and I really felt God wanted me to ask Erin a series of questions regarding her faith if she had any or not. Come to find out since the babies have come she hasn't been able to go to church and yet she is not married. Living with someone. So I proceeded to ask her if she believed in the healing power of Jesus. Particularly the verse that says the same power that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you. She said Oh yes she had heard of that infact someone had given her a prayer cloth when she first went into the hospital. But she had tucked it in her pillow case and they changed rooms with her and it was lost. I told her Erin that cloth is just a symbol we can use anything and so I procceeded to give her a kleenex and prayed over it and that weekend the symptoms left the baby and she is doing good. The infection was gone. SO then I had a beanie baby little stuffed animal and I felt that God led me to pray over that and give it to her for the baby (she already had one and Erin loves them) so now she has that annointed beanie baby right in the crib, the kleenex was also lost. But while on this journey with Him I have come to the understanding that we must really be led and not just jump ahead of Him.. He knows exactly when someone is ready or able to receive what you are saying. You know Jesus said in John 5:30 (I do nothing apart from my father as He tells me that is what I do, I do nothing on my own accord. This process has to be God inspired and God led. That way we also if it is Him led will take no credit for it ourselves. Be blessed DJ
Thanks DJ,
This is a wonderful example of being sensitive to the Holy Spirit and meeting poeple at the point of their need. It thrills my heart when I hear of our CLC members reaching out and ministering to the sick and afflicted. I think it thrills the Lord's heart too. Stay Contagious! - PR
An Addendum to the story about the premature baby today at work Erin and I was talking and I told her that tonight was the healing rooms and I was going to go and have all the ones there lay hands on a piece of cloth that she and I had come across as her prayer cloth., She said that would be wonderful. The baby is now 2.5 pounds and she is growing if all is well she should reach 4 pds in a month and then Erin can hold her... So I told her we are standing with her. Also a woman came tonight to healing rooms with ovarian cancer and in chemo we laid hands on her and all I kept hearing in me was Psalms 91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the almighty shall abide under the shadow of the almighty...... very powerful we all need to camp there. The power of God fell and God wanted her to know how much He loved her and that He was with her and the phrase on Earth as it is in heavn there is no cancer/sickness in heaven therefore we do not allow it here on Earth. God just wanted to encourage her to not be moved to stand and not listen to the satan lies and it was so amazing I love when God teaches us all. We learned that lies are twofold one is an argument which the devil uses hlf truths or possibily what it could be and then there are the lies of the devil for he is the father of lies, to be honest I have harder times with the arguments rather than the out and out lies. For it could be... but I am going to do as Jesus did and combat them with the :it is written... so all that is left to say is GO GOD!!! Have a great day in Jesus dj
"Just some food for thought" Recently I was talking to a new friend of mine and she has some special needs. She was sharing with me about something that I think while we are talking about being a contagious Christian we may want to remember. It is simply this. She shared with me that she has to sometimes make herself come to church because no matter where she goes when she comes in its not long before some "well meaning" loving Christian comes up and because she has hand braces and some special needs they come up and pray for her sometimes they just come up and put their hands on her never asking her or never even speaking to her just prays and then goes on their way. She said that she really is trying to walk out of beind offended for she knows that Jesus said to not let your self be offended. But she said that it happens all and it causes two things to happen. First she said it can make her feel "less than" because she says no matter where she goes they want to pray for her and also fix her" she made the statement that she loves God and He is her daddy. Also 2nd she says that it does create a separation, most do not see her as "her name" they see here as "handicapped" she said she for along time wanted to quit coming to any church because she said she felt either "singled out" or someone in need of repair and someone who needed to be fixed all the time. You know, I said to her I know that has to be hard she said yeah it has in the past caused me to want to stay away. I asked her to please forgive us and I said I was going to represent the body of Christ and ask her to please forgive us. I wonder how many more feel this way? That is why we need to do and say only what we hear our Father in heaven tell us. Jesus said He did nothing apart from hearing the Father and we need to also do this. I heard Him say to me "You need to learn to live in my grace and when you have that Grace then move but when you are feeling drained or exhausted check back and see if maybe you stepped out and I didn't step with you" I also heard it confirmed the other day when some friend said there is Zeal of God and there is a Zeal for God. We need to stay His Zeal not for Him.. Blessings and have a great day in Jesus dj
Oh an update on Erin baby she has gained another 5 ounces she is up to 2pds 10 oz close to 3 and erin got to hold her Sunday!! You go God!!! blessings dj
I was about half-way through chapter 11 (Making the Message Clear) of "Becoming a Contagious Christian" when the Lord dropped this gem into my spirit, "Spend time with Me and I will make you a fisher of men! Tell of the wonderful works that I have done for you. I will prove myself to them."
Praise God that when He is lifted up that He will draw people to Himself!
:O)
Oh...Liz....
Such a beautiful truth that can some times be too often forgotten or otherwise "burried" in our man-made, although well intentioned programs.
It is afte all
ALL ABOUT "Jesus", now isn't it?
Blessings, AmyColleen
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