Use Memory

This is probably not precisely correct English, but you cannot remember what you have not “membered.”

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Isaiah 43:26 – Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

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Unless you have committed something to memory, or at least experienced something in a memorable way, you cannot remember it.  You can only remember that which has in some way been stored in your memory.  I cannot tell you how often I have said it, or heart someone else say, “Remind me of that later.”  Regardless of the reason, one wants to be reminded.  In other words, they are asking that you say or do something that brings back the memory of something that occurred earlier.  In the terms of our Text for Today, when you remind someone of something, you are putting them in remembrance. 

In this case, the Lord calls upon His covenant people to put Him in remembrance of covenant.  That command is not given because He has forgotten any part of His covenant.  It is for our own sake.  Think of this for a moment.  How does faith come?  According to the Word of God, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.  And we know, too, that without faith it is impossible to please God.  From these two statements of Biblical truth we can clearly reason that God tells us to put Him in remembrance, not to remind Him of something He has forgotten, but to cause us to recall the Words of His covenant. You see, it is in that remembrance that our faith is both awakened and fed, and a foundation for our believing is established.  Otherwise, we would be attempting to move the Lord by a whim of our imagination, or by some presumptuous thought. 

So often in the Scriptures we are told to meditate upon the Word.  That means to mutter to yourself again and again.  It’s like a cow chewing her cud, and from that ruminating and re-ruminating, that she is able to produce milk to feed her offspring and provide us with dairy products.  But it is also that action of rumination that causes a beef cow to grow and ultimately become a source of protein for us.  It is by the milk of the Word that we grow, and it is by the meat of the Word that we become stronger in Him.  And of course, it is by hearing the Word, whether from a speaker in the pulpit, or speaking it to ourselves, that we develop strong faith to please Father.

In those moments when we stimulate our own spirit and soul by remembering covenant that it can be said we put Father in remembrance.  It is the creation of a link of agreement in which we agree in faith with that which Father has spoken in His Word.  In that remembrance is the thriving atmosphere for faith.

Manna for Today – Isaiah 43; Matthew 12:35-37; John 14:12-14; John 17:18; John 20:21; Romans 10:17

Time to Go

Multitudes are waiting on the church to show up.

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Isaiah 43:19 – Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

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If we will correctly interpret what the Word of God, certain things need to be clearly understood.  Among them are who is talking, and to or about whom is it written.  This is particularly true of our Text for Today, and in this passage, we should recognize that this is the Lord speaking about Himself and what He intends to do.  It is God Who will do this new thing, and two of the elements in this new thing is that He will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Now let us come to the book of John, and recognize two passages that speak to the same issue.  Jesus was the perfect outshining of Father.  For that reason, we can clearly understand that Jesus came to make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.  After all, Jesus IS the way, and He said, concerning the work of Holy Ghost in us, that rivers of living water shall flow out of our inner most being. 

The two passages in John are listed in our Manna for Today; John 17:18 and 20:21.  The first is Jesus speaking to Father about His commissioning to His disciples (and that includes us today), and the second is Jesus speaking to His disciples (including us) of that same point.  And what is that point?  Jesus made it quite clear.  He has sent us as the Father sent Him.  Read Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-20.  We call that “the great commission.”  And all we read of Jesus, prophetically and historically (the Gospels) are examples of what we, too, should be doing.  He laid His life down for His friends.  We are to do the same.  He healed the sick.  We are to do the same.  He preached the Gospel.  We are to do the same thing.  And in all that doing, we must not forget that He was sent to be a doer of Isaiah 43:19, too. 

Are we doing that?  To do that, we must go to the wilderness.  How many of our churches today have become prophecy club houses, where people come together to help one another feel good about themselves?  On the contrary, the church should be preparation and equipping centers for reaching the world.  And that, dear reader, means going into the wilderness to make a way for the lost to come to Christ, and to bring rivers of living water to which the dying can come and live, the sick can come and be made well, and the back slider can come and be refreshed to come back to the Lord.

Manna for Today – Isaiah 43; Mark 11:22-24; Luke 4:18; John 14:12-14; John 17:18; John 20:21 second miler – Time to GoRe: Annual Reminder to Review Your Social Se

Acts 29 – Memorable – 20

Miraculous provision is also a part of Acts 29 manifestations.

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Matthew 17:27 – Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

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The first 15-years of my ministry was engaged in traveling as an itinerate minister, ministering wherever doors would open to me.  On occasion, I would partner with a brother of like precious faith and we would hold meetings in a public place, often running three days or more.  Of course, part of the responsibility for such meetings would be raising the budget to pay for the venue and other expenses of the meeting.  On one such occasion, I was partnering with a dear friend and fellow-minister (Pastor Randall Smith), now of more than 40-years, in conducting a meeting in the town of Yadkinville, North Carolina.  We shared the preaching work for three night-meetings (Thursday thru Saturday), and a Saturday noon teaching service.  The meetings were going great, well-attended, God was moving mightily, but it seemed the finance was very slow in coming.  We never shared the budget amount with anyone, and never put any kind of pressure on people to give. 

We decided I would minister in the Saturday teaching meeting.  I arrived early, and since there would be no music in the service, simply prepared the sound system and microphones for a teaching service.  At noon, there was no one there but me.  Still, the meeting was scheduled, so at noon, I began the teaching session as though the place were full.  I turned on the recording system, read my text, prayed, and began to teach.  I was about five minutes into my teaching when the door to the community center opened slowly.  A man backed quietly through the door, closed it very quietly, and turned around.  He was astonished that I was the only person present.  Still, he sat down, seemed to enjoy the teaching, and took notes.  When I finished teaching, I did as we always did, and offered everyone present the privilege of giving to the Lord.  He reached into his coat pocket, retrieved an envelope, put it in the offering basket, and we prayed, closing the service; just him and me.

This was his first time to be in our meetings.  He pastored a local church, and said he would be back that evening, and so he was.  They point to be made here is this.  He said the Lord had directed him to come to that meeting, and to bring a certain financial gift to that service.  The check he gave completely covered the budget for the entire meeting.  That, my friend, is Acts 29, supernatural provision.  I made a friend that day, and we were close until his going home to be with Jesus.  His name was Gilmer Dunn.

Manna for Today – Matthew 17:24-27; Philippians 4:19; Mark 11:22-24; John 14:12-14; John 17:18; John 20:21

Acts 29 – Memorable – 19

The things we witness can help us see more clearly things that happen later.

Daniel 3:17 – . . . our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us . . .

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I grew up in a small community in North Carolina.  It was close to Winston-Salem, and I cannot tell you how blessed my life has been because of things I saw, learned, and experienced in my childhood days.  We attended a small church called the Union Tabernacle.  The pastor was Henry Hutchins, and his was a miracle story in itself.  In our church, white people, black people, and Native American people all worshipped together, loved one another, and shared life together in our community on equal terms.  In that small community, I did not know what racial discrimination was.

Our church was heated in the winter by a small wood stove that sat near the wall, between the front pew and the alter.  The stove pipe vent ran from the stove through the wall to the outside.  In the winter, that pipe would often glow red from the intensity of the heat in that wood stove.  There were occasions when Holy Ghost would move in a powerful way, that the saints would be shouting and dancing about the church.  On more than one occasion, it as witnessed by everyone present when one of the saints, lost in the Spirit, would literally fall across that red-hot stove pipe.  I have watched when the pastor’s wife would fall across that hot pipe, and the pastor would come over and lift her off the pipe and put her on a pew.  She was not burned, her clothes were not damaged, and there was no physical evidence that any thing had happened.  Yet it was witnessed by many witnesses.

My friend, that was Acts 29 in full demonstration.  I am talking about a miracle.  This would fall into the category of Jesus walking on water, people taking up stones to stone Jesus and not being able to find Him as He merely walked through the crowd, Paul being bit by a venomous viper, Daniel in the den of lions, and Paul being raised to life, completely whole, after being stoned to death in Lystra.  It is the supernatural protection of the Lord from something that would bring devastating harm, if not loss of life, to one of His covenant people.  I believe most Christians have experienced this in their lives, though many may not even be aware of it.  In fact, it is likely that every Christian has been delivered from far more than he/she is even knows.  Always remember, His mercy endures forever, His compassions are new each day, and His grace is sufficient for you.

Manna for Today – Daniel 3; Isaiah 54:17; Psalm 91; John 17:18; John 20:21

Acts 29 – Memorable – 18

The importance of words spoken cannot be overemphasized.  It’s a matter of life and death.

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Mark 11:23 – For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

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In the late 70’s, I was an itinerate minister, ministering wherever a door would open; churches, prisons, schools, nursing homes, and even conducting crusades on my own as I believed the Lord led me.  I was speaking in the Sunday evening service at a Church of God of Prophecy in my hometown.  We had a wonderful service.  The praise was high, the worship rich, and the message from the Lord strong.  As I ended the message, I opened the alter for those in need.  We were richly blessed to see people saved and filled with Holy Ghost.  Several people came for healing, standing at the alter waiting to receive from the Lord.  As I came to each of them, I asked what the need was.  After ministering to several folks, I came to one lady who said, “I want you to pray for my arthritis.”  I perceived an unction from Holy Spirit to simply go to the next person.  I did and continued on.  When I came back to her, she said the same thing; “I want you to pray for my arthritis.”  Again, I simply went to the next person. 

I watched her out of the corner of my eye, and saw that she was becoming somewhat irritated.  The third time I came to her, the request was the same.  As soon as she said it, I said to her, “Dear sister, your arthritis doesn’t need prayer.  It’s killing you just fine without it.”  This time I waited for her response.  At first, she appeared shocked at my words.  But over the next few seconds, the look on her face changed, and she excitedly said, “I want to be healed from this arthritis.”  Her hands were gnarled and twisted with the arthritis; her major joints were stiff and almost unyielding.  It was obvious she was hurting, but the truth had finally come alive in her heart and mind.  At that moment, I gave a faith command for her to be loosed from the arthritis, and for her joints to be made straight.  As I praised the Lord for the answer, she began to rejoice.  In a minute or so, she had both hands stretched toward heaven, and her joints were completely loosed.  And when I looked closely at her hands, they were normal in appearance, all swelling and inflammation was gone, and she was free.  She realized that Jesus has TAKEN our infirmities, and BORNE our sicknesses, and that which comes on us today does not belong to us.  And that faith still works today, 19-centuries after the writing of the Scriptures has been completed.  Acts 29.

Manna for Today – Mark 11:22-24; Matthew 8:17; John 14:12-14; John 17:18; John 20:21

Acts 29 – Memorable – 17

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Can you imagine seeing a dead man rise up and walk?!  Ask a blind man who now sees.

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John 11:43 – And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

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I was there in early 1999; and so were hundreds of others.  I was part of the leadership team leading about 50 people to a two-week mission trip to Arequipa, Peru.  We had ministers, educators, doctors, and more on this trip.  Our medical teams, along with volunteers from a local hospital, conducted daily medical clinics.  Our lead medical person was a highly regarded cardio-thoracic surgeon.  We had people working with children and youth, others were involved in construction at a local church site, and we had our first taste of a school of ministry, training local ministers in leadership.  And nightly, we held crusade meetings under a tent, and each meeting was a standing-room-only crowd.

It was in one of the nightly crusade meetings that the following took place.  One of our ministers had delivered a sermon, and all of our team was involved in alter ministry, praying for so many people with so many needs.  A man came into the tent during that time.  He was curious about the crowd.  As he stood watching, he did what a man would naturally do.  He decided to lean on one of the main tent poles; it was about 20-feet high, and made of aluminum.  (Here it helps to understand that the electrical current that supplies everything in Peru is 220-volts.)  It was raining lightly outside, and we did not know that water was running down the aluminum pole through the metal brackets that held the inside lighting.  Unknown to anyone present, the pole had become electrified.  When the man in question (his name was Manuel) touched the pole, he was instantly electrocuted.  It looked like his body was suddenly spun around the pole, and the momentum threw him about 10 feet away.  People immediately began to scream for medical attention.  The cardio-thoracic surgeon, and his team, came to him immediately, while some of our team wrapped the poles in cardboard and tape to insulate them, preventing further danger.

After several minutes later, the medical team stood up, saying there was nothing they could do.  Manuel was dead.  The Spirit of the Lord moved on me strongly.  I went to his lifeless body, knelt beside him, and said to Father, “I will do what You say.”  Then I said to the dead man, “Satan cannot have your life through this.  You shall live.”  Finally, I gave a faith command, “Live, in the Name of Jesus!”  I laid my hand on his chest, and suddenly, he began to breath.  Our doctor briefly examined him.  Manuel was alive!  Within seconds, he was standing.  And in only a few moments, he had become a Christian.  I was there, and so were hundreds of others, witnessing Acts 29 in person, 20-centuries after Jesus was raised from the dead.  It’s real, my friend; it’s real!

Manna for Today – John 11:1-44; John 14:12-14; John 17:18; John 20:21

Acts 29 – Memorable – 16

No matter where Satan shows himself, reckon with him; never reason with him.

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Mark 5:8 – For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

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In the early 80’s, a few years before I began my pastoral work, I was speaking in a meeting in a local school in China Grove, North Carolina.  It was a special service set up by local ministers, and was being held on a Saturday evening in the school auditorium.  There was a powerful, tangible presence of Holy Spirit that only seemed to reach new levels as the service continued.  During the alter service that followed, many people came forward to receive healing and deliverance, and prayer for other issues, too. 

Unknown to us was the fact that the custodian who has opened the auditorium to us had been drinking prior to the opening.  He had sat in a dark corner of the back of the auditorium, listening to the music at the beginning of the service.  He enjoyed it, so he decided to stay.  The alcohol had taken such a toll on him that he was unable to leave, and so had to sit there and witness all that was going on.  I looked up from ministering to one person and saw one of my host ministers coming toward the stage, helping a man beside him to stay on his feet.  He had seen the custodian sitting in the darkness, and approached him.  The custodian told him he wanted to be free from alcohol and give his heart to Jesus.  And there he was, waiting for ministry. 

I asked him his name and why he had come.  He told me his name and why he had come.  I asked him if he was ready to confess Jesus as Lord and accept Him as his Savior.  It seemed as though his tongue was tied.  He tried to speak, but could not.  Very quickly I realized that we were dealing with more than just alcohol.  We were dealing with a demon spirit.  At that moment, an oppressive and foul odor suddenly flowed out of the man.  It was sickening.  I knew it was a demonic manifestation attempting to put us off track from the work at hand.  Instead of attempting to reason with my senses and circumstances, I chose to reckon with the devil.  I cast the devil out in the Name of Jesus.  The man fell to the floor as if dead.  In seconds, he stood back to his feet, weeping, crying out for Jesus to save him.  And amazingly, the foul odor was gone, and even his breath was as sweet as a child’s.  I led him in prayer according to Romans 10:9-10, he prayed that prayer, and was gloriously born again.  Our team prayed for him yet again, and he received the baptism in Holy Ghost and spoke with tongues as the Spirit gave utterance.  Another glorious manifestation of Acts 29, nineteen centuries after the writing of the Scriptures was complete.

Manna for Today – Mark 5:1-20; Romans 10:6-17; Luke 11:13; John 17:18; John 20:21

Acts 29 – Memorable – 15

Often, the Lord makes a way that can be used more than once.  His revelation knowledge is forever.

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Genesis 26:18 – And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

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The incident of which I write today follows a pattern of Father demonstrating His power on more than one occasion.  I’m writing again today of someone being healed from multiple growths, usually tumors of some kind, in their body.  I have witnessed Father do this so many times, and this is only one of them.  I was ministering in Ocho Rios, Jamaica in the late 70’s.  A young woman who was a business owner of two local shops had been attending the meetings.  She was originally from India, where she had lived with her grandmother who had raised her.  She had been to several meetings, had been born again, and later in the meetings was baptized in Holy Ghost. 

On several occasions she had come to me at the close of a service with specific questions about points of our teaching, and each time had walked away with peace in her heart about what the Scriptures said about her question.  During those encounters, I had noticed two or three marked bumps (actually large) on her face and neck.  It was during the alter ministry one evening that she stood before me desiring us to pray for her healing from those bumps, telling us at that time that she had them all over her body.  She had some past surgeries in which some were removed, but to no avail; they kept returning.  But that evening, something was different.  She wasn’t coming for a diagnosis, or a surgeon’s knife.  She came to receive the manifestation of what God’s Word declared belonged to her.  As I stood, quietly listening to the Lord, Holy Ghost reminded me of a similar situation I faced back in my hometown.  Having been re-minded of that, I spoke to the growths, commanding them to be dried up from their roots, and that they would not return.  She accepted that faith declaration over her and returned to her seat magnifying and glorifying the Lord.

The next night she returned to our services, and brought with her family and friends as witnesses, and a testimony of the power of God.  She declared, and demonstrated visible proof that the growths were gone from her face and neck, and her family and friends verified that they were gone from the rest of her body.  She was completely healed.  I saw her again upon future times of ministry in Jamaica, and she was still healed; no growths.  Can I get an Amen?  There you have it.  Acts 29, nineteen centuries after the Scriptures were completed.

Manna for Today – Mark 5:1-20; Philippians 2:7; John 14:12-14; John 17:18; John 20:21

Acts 29 – Memorable – 14

Is it possible that our failing to see slows, or even stops, manifestations of God’s power?

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Luke 13:11-12 – And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.  And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.

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It was around 1979 and I was speaking in a church in my hometown of Winston-Salem, NC.  On this par-ticular evening, there was a lady who had come whose body was plagued with a great number of tumorous growths.  They were all over her body, and wherever skin was exposed, you could see them.  They created great blemishes on her face, hands, and arms.  At the close of the service, I called for anyone who desired healing to come for ministry.  She was one of the people who came forward.  I could clearly see them wherever her skin was uncovered.  I had two sisters in the church come and touch them, and they could also plainly feel many other such growths under her clothes on her body. 

I chose to take a moment and wait for the Lord to give me any specific instructions or insight.  Two things came to me very quickly.  I remembered from my study how the terms like “emerods” carried the meaning of “tumor” as well.  Emerods are a kind of swelling, or growth that causes a rising in the flesh.  There are also places in which that term can mean “strong holds.”  And then the Lord reminded me of our Text for Today.  The ladies of the church, with hearts of compassion had taken this young lady aside to clearly see some of the growths on her body.  They returned saddened by what they knew this young lady suffered.  At that point, I spoke as Jesus did, that this young woman, being Christ’s, and therefore the seed of Abraham, should be loosed from this spirit of infirmity, and then rebuked the growths in the Name of Jesus, cursing them as Jesus did the fig tree, that she should not suffer from them or their fruit, from that day onward.  In moments, the growths that had been visible on her face, arms, and hands were gone.  The same group of ladies took her aside one again, and in moments you could hear them shouting and rejoicing as they came running back into the sanctuary.

You already see it, don’t you?  Acts 29 in full operation, in plain sight, before many eyewitnesses, and all that almost 19 centuries after the writing of Scriptures were fulfilled.  God has not changed.  Jesus has not changed.  Holy Spirit Who manifested all the signs and wonders of the written book of Acts has not changed.  You can be assured of what that means.  It still happens today.

Manna for Today – Luke 13:10-17; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; John 14:12-14; John 17:18; John 20:21

Acts 29 – Memorable – 13

God knows what to do even when we don’t.  Tune into Him.  Listen to Him.  He won’t steer you wrong.

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Mark 5:8-9 – For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.  And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

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In our Text for Today, we see that Jesus, in dealing with the demoniac knew what kind of spirit possessed the man, but did not know its name.  So, He asked.  But some would say that Jesus knew everything.  Had He been operating as God in the earth, that would be so.  But Jesus was not operating as God in the earth, but as a prophet under the Old Covenant.  The New Testament says Jesus made Himself of no reputation.  One translation says that He emptied Himself of all divine privilege.  The point I am making here is that as a New Testament saint, you may often find yourself in a place where you do not know all the facts at the time you are called to a moment of ministry.  But, God does!

I was speaking at the midweek evening service of the Piedmont Believer’s Convention in Concord, NC in 1982.  The ministers who partnered in that event shared pulpit responsibilities, and we were having five services daily; 9 & 10 AM, 2 & 3 PM, and 7 PM.  It was in the 7 PM Wednesday service that this event took place.  As I ministered the Word that evening, I perceived the urging of Holy Spirit to speak to a certain lady who was sitting in the second row.  I had not seen her come into the meeting, and I had neve met her before.  Holy Spirit instructed me to tell her to rise, stand up straight, lift her hands, and praise the Lord; that He had a specific healing for her body.  I told her, and immediately did exactly as I had spoken.  Her rejoicing erupted into dancing before the Lord.  It was at that moment that those who had brought her to the meetings leaped to their feet rejoicing.  You see, when she came into the meeting, she came with a special cane in each hand, and those assisting her by helping stand somewhat erect, which she could not do alone.  Yet there she stood, completely erect, walking and dancing before the Lord with no assistance needed.  We had witnessed a miracle of complete restoration.  When she departed that evening, she was walking without assistance, and someone else was simply carrying her canes. 

There it was again, almost 19 centuries after the New Testament had been competed; Holy Ghost was demonstrated the truth that Acts 29 was still being performed among the people of God where God’s love was the order of the day, and faith was the way He did it. 

Manna for Today – Mark 5:1-20; Philippians 2:7; John 14:12-14; John 17:18; John 20:21