January 8, 2021
From Pastor Dennis:
Today, I am writing to encourage you, child of God, “do not lose hope!” There is only one way to do that, and it is to keep the faith delivered to us through the Holy Scriptures. Discard all else, but keep the faith! In Paul’s letters to Timothy – 1 Timothy 1:18-19 (NCV) – Paul encouraged Timothy to remember the words spoken over him. Here is what he said: 18)Timothy, my child, I am giving you a command that agrees with the prophecies that were given about you in the past. I tell you this so you can follow them and fight the good fight. 19)Continue to have faith and do what you know is right. Some people have rejected this, and their faith has been shipwrecked.
God has not changed His mind about you! He loves you and what He has done and still doing in your life is real. Agree with Him! His encouragement to us all is to keep trusting in Him with all of our heart and do not lean upon our own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all we say and do and He will direct our pathway in life. The power of darkness is surging in the earth as I write. But, we can fight the good fight and still win the victories that are important to God and to us!
Continue to live life by faith, not sight! Do what you know is right according to the manual on faith, the Bible. There may be many who turn from the way of the Lord in all that is happening in our nation and in our world. But, this will only cause trouble and disaster to come upon those who abandon the principles of faith as presented in the Word of God the Bible. Here is a final word…
Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior]. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment]. (Hebrews 4:14-16 AMP)
May His Grace, Peace, and Love be upon you…in Jesus’ Name! AMEN
-Pastor Dennis Langford
I am not a politician! Neither I nor my companion are politicians and do not aspire to serve in any political office. We are Christians who do our best to follow the teachings of Jesus in the Bible about loving God, loving people, and serving both.
We do have biblically sound convictions about how this nation is governed! I want to encourage you right now to keep the faith and let go of your doubts. We asked for the will of God to be done. He hears the prayers of the righteous, so rest in Him!
Remember, God knows the end from the beginning. And I am convicted that He works all things together for our good.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8 NKJV)
It is a good time now (as it is always) to seek after the Lord through reading the Bible and praying to Him in the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ! Drawing close, and staying close to God provides overcoming strength to keep on “keeping on!”
As a young man, my developmental years were spent in a church with my family that was a “country church”. There were a lot of good people in the church body and more good people in the community where I lived. Many of those people, in addition to my family, spoke into my life and helped me grow in my personal faith. One such person was a man by the name of John Tharp. Brother Tharp was not a typical “worshipper” in the church where I grew up, but, he was a very profound thinker. I do not know who originated the statement, “If God seems far away, who moved”, but, it was Brother John Tharp that impressed it upon me. A dear sister from my church created a poster with that message on it and the poster was placed in a shadow box. As far as I know – over 50 years later – it is still there to remind worshippers of the need to seek after God in order to stay close to Him.
Some messages are enduring for a reason. As Christian believers, our faith is the most precious treasure we have on this earth. If God seems far away from you today, you can find Him in the Scriptures. Faith comes from reading and obeying the Word of God. Faith encourages us to pray, engaging the journey of faith for the glory of the Name of our God and of his Son, Jesus Christ.
It is my hope that a voice from my past – that of Brother John Tharp – will give you newfound inspiration and courage to face your day with God. Most importantly, I want God to come near to you today. I believe He will as you read His Word given to all of us, and as you pray to Him about your needs in the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Thesis #24: “The New Apostolic Epoch” By: P. Douglas Small
We sprinkle prayer into our worship celebrations – but we avoid real prayer, intense prayer, culturally offensive prayer, lament (which makes up 40 percent of the psalms). We prefer only “pretty prayer, politically correct and positive prayer.
Prayer: Help us as believers in Jesus Christ to not shy away from speaking the Truth and most importantly, living the Truth! We believe Your Word, Lord, and we also believe it is the best prescription to combat the evil that exists all around us! Enlighten us to know the Truth thru reading your Word and gaining understanding and wisdom from the Holy Spirit!
Stir our spirit by Your Spirit to be strong in our resolve and courageous in our actions to address in prayer the issues that cause so much trouble in our nation. We need Your blessing and favor, and that is going away from us because of sinful disobedience by many who choose to disobey Your commandments. May our prayers be filled with expectation and hope of reversing the trends toward moving away from You in our laws and governance. Your word is still true that “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people!” Help us to be undeterred in our living, praying and speaking out on biblical truth, whether through prayer in our closets or in the public ear. We know that you promised to hear our prayers when we pray in Your Name.
Establish us O God in the trenches of prayer for our nation and our world. When the enemy comes to pilfer, plunder and destroy Your work, we expect to see the mighty move of Your power like an overwhelming flood against our enemy and his legions!
We know that through the power of the Name of Jesus, the battle will be won, the war will be successful! And so, we pray in the Name of Jesus for victory, today, now, against our enemy and against the enemy of righteous who is the enemy of all men everywhere!
Amen!
Thesis #23: “The New Apostolic Epoch” By: P. Douglas Small
We have developed techniques, adopted from the world, to enhance the worship experience. Artful worship enhancement of itself is not a crime. It is the substitution of genuine worship for artificial engagement of the senses, a substitution for the real ‘Presence’ of God that is destructive to both our lives and to God’s purposes.
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,…”
(Acts 3:19 NKJV)
O, God, we call upon You to hear our cries of repentance today for neglecting to seek You. Help us to make You the central focus of our worship. Guide us to that place in our worship where we connect with You in the understanding that Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Savior, has built a bridge of acceptance, love and living before You in the grace of Your forgiveness and through the ransom of His own life and blood.
Help us keep proper perspective on the presentations of those gifted with special abilities to inspire us through their God-gifted talents of music, of dance and art. All glory belongs to You, for all things great and small, that reveals the magnificence of Your acceptance of all who call upon You, and worship You from the depth of their own heart with all their strength and ability.
Should we lose focus on the central theme of our worship, send Holy Spirit to bring us back and reestablish our sense of devotion to You and our humility before You.
We sincerely and humbly request that you grant these petitions in the Name of Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Nazarene. Amen!
