Author: America's Keswick

The purpose of America's Keswick is to model and teach Biblical victorious living in Christ Jesus, to provide an environment in which Biblical life transformation takes place and to foster active personal involvement in the local church.

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“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened.” ~Acts 16:26-27 (NASB)

The original reason for founding the town of Philippi was to control the gold mines that were nearby and to establish a military garrison under the rule of King Philip II of Macedon. Later on down the historical line some dudes named Mark Antony and Octavian confronted the assassins of Julius Caesar on a plain west of the city. After Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus were defeated the city was reorganized into a Roman colony. When Octavian became Emperor and the Roman Senate gave him the title “Augustus”, the Praetorian Guard became part of the citizenry and a “Miniature Rome” was established. This miniature Rome was left abandoned by the Ottoman Empire sometime in the 14th century and it ain’t nuttin’ but ruins now.

Perfect back drop for one of the most infamous sayings ever to be found in the Bible, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved.” (Acts 16:30) Then comes another infamous saying, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31) A whole lotta stuff happened in Philippi while Paul and Silas were there. We meet a woman named Lydia. She is wealthy, owns a home and after her conversion turns that home into a meeting place of this first church plant in Macedonia. Lydia also becomes the patroness of Gospel messengers while they are in Philippi.

We also meet a slave girl who has a “Python spirit” that Paul casts out from her. This action ticks off those who have profit from her divination and these same people seize Paul and Silas and have them tossed into prison. The Charges? “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.” (Acts 16:20-21) “Nough said!! They were stripped down, beaten with rods and thrown into the inner most of a Roman jail with their feet in stocks. So I guess after a while one gets in the mood to sing hymns of praise to God? Eh…why not?

This place musta been real heavy on Paul’s heart while he was in a prison in Rome because he writes them a letter that does nothing but pour out outrageous joy and encouragement. I can almost see the smile that Paul has on his face as this letter is being written, remembering them as babes in Christ, ink flowing. Kinda makes me wonder what has happened over the centuries to us believers, followers and doers of Christ. Are we smiling when we claim Jesus Christ as Savior? Are we smiling when we share Jesus as Savior? Are we smiling at all at the name of Jesus? Or are we like the Grinch who stole Christmas before he actually stole Christmas?

Well over the next moments of time (as long as it takes me I guess) I’ll be sharing with some insights I got from this really cool Bible Study I ran into by Charles Swindoll titled, “Maybe it’s time to Laugh Again: Experience Outrageous Joy”. It’s a study of Philippians and I’ll tell ya as of right now it’s kinda convicting. Just like there being 4 chapters in Philippians there are 4 embedded principles of joy we should be aware of:

1. Joy in living—Chapter 1

2. Joy in serving—Chapter 2

3. Joy in sharing—Chapter 3

4. Joy in resting—Chapter 4

So I hope you’ll be joining me as I dig into this study. Maybe you could get the study for yourself ($8.99 Kindle, $10.58 paperback from Amazon) and you could e-mail me your thoughts. (I might use them in my writing with your kind permission, of course). If ya can’t get the book but have a Bible e-mail your thoughts on joy right from the Scripture. Brothers I know that we get all crazy with saying “Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess” but until then how about we put a smile on our face and increase its value because it shines for Jesus? After all, we should count it all a joy…Amen?

E-mail me at cphughes515@verizon.net

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) is married with two adult children (you may remember them from summer staff) and serves on the Deacon Board at Trinity Alliance Church in Cologne NJ

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 119; Proverbs 28

Daily Quote: “Joy. You don’t see it very often nowadays. It’s certainly not in the newspapers or nightly news. It’s not even in many churches. Have you noticed the looks on the average Sunday morning crowd? One word comes to mind—grim. Rows of overcast faces forecast dreary to mildly depressing days, with little or no chance of any laughter.” ~Charles R. Swindoll

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

 We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name. ~Psalm 33:20-21

Fan Into Flame

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“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” ~2nd Timothy 1:6

Would you say that you have a person in your life that challenges you spiritually? Someone who makes you do things to a point of being uncomfortable.

You may be able to answer with a confident “yes I do” or you could be there thinking to yourself, “I don’t think so”. The first is easier to see the one who has laid his hand on you and sees the way you’ve been stretched. The later my not realize it but if we don’t have an obvious suiter God usually puts people in our life to “Fan into Flame” our gift from God. The problem with the less obvious is we tend to view these people as annoying or bothersome, even getting into conflict with them.

Paul, in this chapter of 2nd Timothy is Timothy’s obvious billow, he’s taken this young man and invested himself in Timothy to bring him up and keep him fresh. Paul seems to be addressing an issue of fear or a better word would be cowardice in Timothy. He isn’t teaching him a new thing, he is reminding him of what he already knows and in a sense “shaking off the dust”.

I wonder if we aren’t guilty of moving into more knowledge before we practice what we already know. Is it possible to have a fear of doing and instead of walking in what we already know we fear what it brings?

We sometimes get comfortable in our surroundings and forget what were called to do. That’s where the object of a person acting as a billow over a smoldering flame comes into play. We need those people who remind us what we already know and challenge us to act. The saying “familiarity breeds contempt” may be accurate here. It’s when we become so familiar with our surroundings that we lose respect for the gifts God has given us. Jesus has a lot to say about this in the Gospels regarding talents and minas.

The typical response when we are affected by fear is to react to our feelings and emotions which are usually wrong. Paul urges Timothy to “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you” (vs. 13,14). He says in the previous verses that we don’t do this to earn anything with God but because of the testimony of Jesus “who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (vs.9,10).

So don’t let the fire go out, allow someone to be able to “Fan it Into Flame”. Amen!

Written by Rob Russomano: Rob is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a full time staff member at America’s Keswick. He is also available as a speaker of the grace of God with a message of Hope for church events.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 118; Proverbs 27

Daily Quote:“Truth offends everyone outside its definitions. But the irony of truth is that the greater its potential for offense, the greater its potential for giving hope.”  ~David Jeremiah

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

 We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name. ~Psalm 33:20-21

Humility vs. Pride III

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When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise. (Proverbs 10:19)

I believe the speech reveals the conditions of the heart. And if pride is present that to will be exposed. “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” Plato

God gave humanity many of His characteristics like our ability to reason and process through circumstances. Hench, we are far above any other created thing in these areas. However, in Genesis 11 we observed how this can quickly can be used unproductively for kingdom work. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”(Genesis 11:4)

They forgot the judgment in Noah’s time and wanted to make a name for themselves. This story reveals that as sin continues to grow and humanity’s ability to use the common language; they could eventually be like God. The language was not the problem, nor was construction undertaking; those together simply revealed the heart and the pride of man. Consequently, God is not moved and gently rectified the situation by confusing their language.

One of the main concepts that is uncovered in this devotion; with the proper perspective, in humility, mankind can choose to use their verbiage for good. “Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. Solomon. Communication is as a grace of listening, as well as a grace of speaking.

Thank you guys for all the prayers for my family!

Written by Juan Mendez: Juan is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and full time staff at America’s Keswick.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 117; Proverbs 26

Daily Quote: “Other men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an endless hope.”  ~Gilbert M. Beeken

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

 We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name. ~Psalm 33:20-21

In case you missed them:

Core Value #3 Biblical Christian Living

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I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2

I have been sharing with you the Core Value statements for the ministry of America’s Keswick so that you can have a better understanding of WHO we are and WHY we are doing WHAT we do.

Our third core value is our commitment to teaching BIBLICAL CHRISTIAN LIVING which is the foundation of the teaching we have been presenting since 1897 from the founding of the Colony of Mercy to the present.

Our roots go back to the Keswick Convention in England and the “Keswick Message” is based on a sequence of messages that was presented at the their conferences.

In the late 20’s the Victorious Christian Testimony became a part of the Keswick ministry and our first conference was held in 1924. The rest is history.

The core message is summed up in this statement that was crafted by the late Pastor Bill Raws: The core message of America’s Keswick (Victorious Christian Life) is for an individual to personally trust Christ as Savior, embrace what it means to live a life of sustained fellowship with God, live a life of obedience and holiness, experience victory over sin, and use their gifts for His glory.

Over the years this has been some big misunderstandings of the “Keswick Message.” For instance, one of the biggest concerns is that the Keswick message teaches “sinless perfection.”

Well that can’t be further from the truth! After all, I am President/CEO and you are reading this – so we already know that we can’t possibly be teaching this as a ministry.

It is true according to Romans 6 that I don’t have to sin! I CHOOSE to sin! But that’s another Freedom Fighter 🙂

The point is this – through Christ, I can live a life of sustained fellowship with God. I can live a life of obedience and holiness. I can experience victory over sin. And I get to use the gifts God has given me for His glory.

As I look around the landscape of Christianity, too many brothers and sisters are living discouraged, defeated and in bondage to the world, the flesh and the devil. We have allowed sin to have dominion over us rather than walk in victory.

We are searching for everything to fill the aching, longing holes that are in our hearts rather than filling that aching and longing with God and God alone.

We don’t have to live this way. We can live in victory. We can be on the winning side even when everything around us is crumbling.

If you’d like to find out more about the message we teach, I would be happy to send you Pastor Bill Raws’s pamphlet, SO WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE.

May prayer for you today, brother, is that you will walk in victory! I am thankful that you are joining me and the other men writing Freedom Fighter blogs. Thanks for being my friend.

Written by Dr. Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick: He has been married to his child sweetheart for 40+ years, and has three married kids, one that is engaged, and 10 amazing grand kids. He loves music and is an avid reader.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 116; Proverbs 25

Daily Quote: 

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This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

 We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name. ~Psalm 33:20-21

In case you missed them:

 

NO

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Christianity happens when men and women accept with unwavering trust that their sins have been not only forgiven, but forgotten, washed away in the blood of the Lamb. Thus, my friend archbishop Joe Reia says, “A sad Christian is a phony Christian, and a guilty Christian is no Christian at all.” ~Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long: we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Paul, The Least of The Apostles, in Romans 8

Oh beloved, it is true. We are so willing to say Yes to the things that will not help. However, in saying yes to the things that hurt us, we become unable to receive the things we so desperately need.

In saying yes to bitterness, we shut off the flow of forgiveness from Him.

In giving the nod to self, we miss the opportunity to find our true identity in Him.

In listening to the anger others point towards us, we miss His still small Voice.

In giving into doubt, we disengage the power of faith.

In believing the lies of the Liar, we forsake the only Good Truth.

In wallowing in our sorrows, we deny the strength or relational joy in Him.

In yielding to the flesh, we deaden our soul’s ability to connect with Him in spirit.

In surrendering to fear, we lose the freedom of obedience to one of His great commands to fear not.

In wishing for people to worship us, or fill us up – we dam the flows of Living Waters flowing from within.

Can we see it? There are a whole bunch of things we need to say NO to in our lives. But the reason is not behavior modification or trying to make some god happy. No, in saying yes to all the things that don’t work, we miss the greatest Yes there is: G_d Loves you. And He Loves you (and this fool of a writer) beyond the forces of physics and time and space and everything else.

So, what is it that you need to say NO to tonight? Just do it.

Written by Makala (Mak) Doulos: Makala Doulos is a child of God, a husband to his wife, a father to his children, and a teacher to his students. But mostly, he is a prisoner set free by Jesus. Love has invaded his life, crushed it, and made it new. Now, God’s Love is what constrains him to live in full surrender to the freedom The Father and Son and Holy Spirit have bought for us all. Grace and Peace to you all.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 113; Proverbs 22

Daily Quote: “The walk of a disciple is gloriously difficult, but gloriously certain.” ~Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.  Psalms 32:6-7

Do you enjoy Makala’s writing? Check out some of his other Freedom Fighter posts:

Dismal Success

The Two Sides to Our Devastation

Prodigal Humility IV

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father and son_FF 
“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.” ~Luke 15:20-21 (NLT)
 
Today I finish up where I left with humility found in the story of the lost son and would like to answer the question that I left off in my last Freedom Fighter, “So why is this a cool parable?” Well I think the biggest thing I get outta of it is the forgiveness given to the prodigal. You can heap all the ugliness you want on the shoulders of the prodigal but it all comes off with his father’s forgiveness. But it is very easy to maintain a certain animosity towards the prodigal son, after all, he wasted his inheritance and he ain’t getting that back any time soon. We all get a bit aggravated when someone wastes what we earned to give them…don’t we?
 
However, the father made the decision to give his son his share and in this day and age that just might go down as the “norm” but back in the 1stcentury it was wasteful. The society surrounding this family would have been appalled to see the father running down the road to love on his son. No matter how much he missed him this boy still squandered his father’s earnings. And that society was so steeped in what The Law said, how The Pharisees interrupted it, that it would not see the forest for the trees in what was going on. If they would have just remembered what went on back in The Garden, when their originals parents were “naked and ashamed” maybe, just maybe, they would have seen humiliation being flipped into humility. But they were too busy being…offended.
 
Ya see the moment the son comes back into the picture the father can now speak to his son. I’m sure that before the “prodigal living” actually took place the idea of it had been nicely harbored in the heart of the son. Ever been so stubborn over something that you couldn’t be reasoned with it going a different direction? (Tell me no…go on…I dare you!!) Well this is where I see the younger son. Having been a prodigal myself I know that once my mind was made up to do this act of “riotous living”, the coals were thrown into the furnace and the train kept-a-rollin’ all night long (sometimes into the wee hours of the morning) and when I woke up from this little adventure regret was on the back burner. Until spiritual famine got the better of me and a need to have faith kicked in.
 
Andrew Murray put it like this, “Humility and faith are more nearly allied in Scripture than many know. See it in the life of Christ. There are two cases in which He spoke of a great faith. In the first instance, the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home.” At this humility, Jesus marveled and replied, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” (Matt 8:8,10) In the second case, the mother humbly spoke,“That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their master’s table.” And the Lord answered her, “Dear woman, your faith is great.” (Matt 15:27-28) It is humility that brings a soul to be nothing before God that also removes every hindrance to faith.”
 
And this is what really makes the parable of the prodigal so cool. It shows how it is gonna take a complete empting of self to bring one to feel humility (and NOT humiliation), to find the faith within ourselves to ask for forgiveness and to receive grace and mercy. Simply put in YHVH’s Word…” Trustin the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” (Psalm 37:3-4) Yes sometimes one has to travel through the wilderness to find the end of their self but it is good having the promises of YHVH make themselves worth the journey? Today take a moment and understand what you have been saved from by making Jesus Christ LORD and SAVIOR. Faith and Humility can make this walk well worth the journey. Amen?
 
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) is married with two adult children (you may remember them from summer staff) and serves on the Deacon Board at Trinity Alliance Church in Cologne NJ.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 112; Proverbs 21

Daily Quote: “Humility makes the soul fear that it would dishonor Him by not trusting Him wholly.” ~Andrew Murray

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.  Psalms 32:6-7

Read past entries in Chris’s “Prodigal Humility” series:

Prodigal Humility III

Prodigal Humility II

Prodigal Humility I

Turning Questions into Answers

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questions

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” ~Philippians 1:6

There’s not much I enjoy more than an inquisitive person who is showing a willingness to learn. Especially when that person is being drawn to God and is full of questions. As I sit and try to answer their inquiries and see a moment of illumination as the Holy Spirit makes sense of life’s toughest questions.

I’ve also come across people who are always asking but never learning, it’s as if they really don’t wanna know they just wanna ask. Jesus addresses this in Mark chapter 4 when describing them quoting Isiah the Prophet ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.”

He gives a parable of a Sower spreading seed. After addressing an inquisitive crowd that show up because of the miracles Jesus performed they seem to walk away with more unasked questions.

It’s only to the small group and His Disciples that stuck around that weren’t satisfied. “But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.” Jesus commends them by saying, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables”.

I believe that God turns our questions into answers when the questions are a heartfelt desire to draw near to God.” Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” is a promise we see in James 4:8a when we’re told to come to God with a humble heart.

When my motives are to desire a more intimate relationship to the Lord, in His timing I am comforted with His assurance and love. Some of my deepest worries come when I ponder my future but Paul nails it when his questions are answered because of his relationship with Jesus by saying with confidence ”That He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”.

Confidence is a slippery sloop when it is in ourselves but when your questions are being answered and you are walking in the Spirit of the Lord our confidence is in Him. So don’t stop asking if your looking for “The Answer”.

Written by Rob Russomano: Rob is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a full time staff member at America’s Keswick. He is also available as a speaker of the grace of God with a message of Hope for church events.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 111; Proverbs 20

Daily Quote: “You will never really love until you love someone who hates you.”~Jack Hyles

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.  Psalms 32:6-7

Humility vs. Pride II

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FF Juan

“I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”

When I began to plan on this 3-part message around humility, I never could image what lied ahead of my family and me. I started last week with humbling yourself in the Lord and in a week, life humbled me.

After writing last week’s devotion My wife I were on our way to get a sonogram to see and hear our new baby’s heartbeat only to find out we lost him/her. Sad day because we were really looking forward to meeting or second child.

Rough few days and our emotions were alive all the way to the surgery to deliver what remained. When we went to pick up the medication, we discovered that we had a whopping $0 available balance in our checking and savings account. Our accounts were completely frozen and were put on fraud alert. We were hacked!

Fellows, can you image being at the hospital with no money for the co-pay to pay for a surgery that will deliver your unborn child. Let’s say humbling is one of the descriptions.

But God! In humility, God drew Diera and me closer to each other and moreover closer to Him. “I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.” Life might be throwing you a curve ball, but the Lord will speak to your heart. “Though the LORD is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar.” Psalm 138:6

Written by Juan Mendez: Juan is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and full time staff member at America’s Keswick.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 110; Proverbs 19

Daily Quote: To love someone means to see him as God intended him ~Fyodor Dostoevsky

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.  Psalms 32:6-7

Core Value #2 Prayer

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Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Last week began a series on blogs on the Core Values of America’s Keswick.

Core Value #2 is our commitment to PRAYER.

In our original document, PRAYER was our #4 value but last year we moved it to #2.
From the inception of our ministry, PRAYER has been an integral part of everything we do. As William Raws began to grow in his walk with the Lord, he made prayer a vital part of his life and ministry, and I am thankful to say that ever since the ministry of America’s Keswick was founded in 1897, prayer remains a vital part of all we do.

In just about every book of the Bible, you will find references to prayer and its impact on the life of any man or woman who wants to be what God wants them to be.

Show me a man or woman who wants to be used of God, and I will show you a man or woman who makes prayer a commitment in their lives.

When I saw the movie, WAR ROOM, it increased my desire to be a man of prayer – and not just a man who prays, but one who prays boldly and courageously.

Can I share some quick thoughts about courageous prayer with you?

  • Concerned about your marriage? Pray courageously.
  • Concerned about your kids? Pray courageously.
  • Concerned about your job? Pray courageously.
  • Concerned about your health? Pray courageously.
  • Fearful about where our country is heading? Pray courageously.
  • Concerned about your church? Pray courageously.
  • Are you struggling with sin in your life? Pray courageously.
  • Are you facing a big decision? Pray courageously.
  • Are there burdens on your heart that you can’t share with anyone else? Pray courageously.
  • You don’t know how to pray? Pray courageously.
  • You know what you want to say but don’t know how to say it? Pray courageously.
  • Don’t get hung up of a prayer formula and there are good ones. Pray courageously.
  • Don’t get hung up do I kneel, stand, keep my eyes open or closed – Pray courageously.
  • Don’t have a prayer closet – Pray anywhere and at anytime – just pray courageously.

We put together a pamphlet last year to help with courageous praying. Here is the link so you can download it, or if you will write me, I will send you a hard copy. (Pray Courageously pamphlet)

If you want to see God make a difference in your life, in the life of your family, or the world around you – become a man who prays courageously.

W ritten by Dr. Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick: He has been married to his child sweetheart for 40+ years, and has three married kids, one that is engaged, and 10 amazing grand kids. He loves music and is an avid reader.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 109; Proverbs 18

Daily Quote: “Prayer is serious business. To be in God’s presence is holy.” ~Living the Battle Plan 

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.  Psalms 32:6-7

 

Dismal Success

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There will be no “knights in shining armor” in God’s kingdom; our armor will have many dings and dents. No, no perfect Hollywood heros will ride to save the day; just wearied saints to look to God and, in weakness, find Christ’s strength. This, indeed, is the essence of God’s kingdom: divine greatness manifest in common people. ~ Francis Frangipane

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. ~Paul, The Least of The Apostles, in 2 Corinthians 1

Oh beloved, it is true. There are parts of who we were that are painful beyond belief. We have failed and hurt others. We have been hurt by the failures of those we thought we knew. All of our lives – really – are in the past, but the past really does taunt us at times.

Pain

Failure

Loss

Mistakes

Suffering

Experience

Growing

Hurting

Missing

All of the wisdom that has come to our lives has really only come through the cruel taskmaster of experience – whose main mode of instruction is mistakes. We have been beaten smooth and to a shine. And while we really are looking better on the inside and the out, the pain of getting to this place really hurts.

If we are willing though, we can choose to allow the pain to simply be what it is. And it is OK to hurt. There is a purpose to it, even though while we are in it, it is the last place that we would like to be.

Firstly, pain dissolves (if we let it) our confidence in our own abilities to handle things. As we see the scrolling list of the ways we did not succeed in our own strength; as we feel the loss inherent in being misunderstood by others, even when we are doing things well, we come to the end of believing that what we do (in and of ourselves) can really make any difference.

Secondly, pain drives us towards (if we let it) towards the only One who can actually comfort us through the entire process. The more abundant the pain, the greater the provision of The Comforter. And in this space we understand that the process of pain is the only pathway to real joy. It is as if the exercise of our emotions in pain is the primer upon which G_d paints the masterpieces of His real Love for us.

Thirdly, but only if we let the first and second thing happen, we gain something through all our failure and pain: We come to find that we are successes at nearly everything we have failed at. Don’t be confused by this. It is simpler than it seems. The athletes with the great scoring records usually also have the greatest number of misses. And in the same way, our pain and failure can now become the way that we bring comfort and success to others.

Can we see it? It is the Kingdom. Loss is gain. Failure is success. Suffering is joy. It is the way of the real world that has already begun and is yet to come. Yes, one Day all of the suffering will have served its purpose and will be washed away in a flood of the joy that has come from it all. And yes again, the suffering and pain is foundational to us arriving in that place.

So are you hurting? Have you failed? Good. These things really are the gateway to true and lasting comfort and success. Tonight is your night beloved. Time to see the purpose for the pain. Time to see the success that will be born through the failures in your past.

Written by Makala (Mak) Doulos: Makala Doulos is a child of God, a husband to his wife, a father to his children, and a teacher to his students. But mostly, he is a prisoner set free by Jesus. Love has invaded his life, crushed it, and made it new. Now, God’s Love is what constrains him to live in full surrender to the freedom The Father and Son and Holy Spirit have bought for us all. Grace and Peace to you all.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 105; Proverbs 15

Click Here to Download our 2016 Daily Bible Reading Plan

Daily Quote: “What makes authentic disciples is not visions, ecstasies, biblical mastery of chapter and verse, or spectacular success in the ministry, but a capacity for faithfulness. Buffeted by the fickle winds of failure, battered by their own unruly emotions, and bruised by rejection and ridicule, authentic disciples may have stumbled and frequently fallen, endured lapses and relapses, gotten handcuffed to the fleshpots and wandered into a far country. Yet, they kept coming back to Jesus.” ~Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: 

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him. ~Psalm 28:7

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