Pastor's family
There is only One God, Choose who you will serve! "God or Man Deut. 6:4 / Eph. 4:5
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Heritage Youth
Conference
July 21,
22 and 23
2010
Colorado Springs,
Colorado
Make
plans now to attend!!!
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The Warrior
This morning my thoughts traveled along
To a place in my life where days have since gone
Beholding an image of what I used to be
As visions were stirred and God spoke to me.
He showed me a Warrior, a soldier in place
Positioned by Heaven, yet I saw no face
I watched as the Warrior fought enemies
That came from the darkness with destruction for
me.
I saw as the Warrior would dry away tears
As all of Heaven’s angels hovered so near
I saw many wounds on the Warrior’s face
Yet weapons of warfare were firmly in place.
I felt my heart weeping, my eyes held so much
As God let me feel the Warrior’s prayer touch
I thought, "how familiar", the words
that were prayed
The prayers were like lightning that never would
fade.
I said to God, "Please, tell me the Warrior’s
name."
He gave no reply, He chose to refrain
I asked, "Lord, who is broken that they need
such prayer?"
He showed me an image of myself standing there.
Bound by confusion, lost and alone
I felt the prayers of the Warrior carry me home
I asked, “Please show me, Lord, this Warrior so
true.”
I watched and I wept,
FOR MOTHER.....THE WARRIOR WAS YOU!
By Larry S. Clark, Copyright.
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The Apostolic Voice from the Wilderness
Newsletter
Our Little One bedroom Apartment
True reflection by, Pastor Watts
When Sister Watts and I got married I was making $5.00 per hour working for Fresno Dealer services running cars back in forth for a new car dealerships, mostly Mazda’s and Datsun’s, before they changed to Nissan. I remember when I drove the new 1981 Datsun 280z and I would cruise down Blackstone making my way to the dealership, crank the stereo, role down the windows and I dreamed that it was ours, but the day would end and I would climb back in my1968 little Blue Toyota Corolla, with no Air-conditioning for the commute home.
In 1981 the year Mama (she is my wife, but I will just call her Mama) and I got married the economy was worse then, than it is now; Inflation was 10.1 % compared with today only 3% inflation rate, so the dollar did not stretch as far as it does now. Times may get worse, but remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 24 paraphrasing a few scriptures together: “Be not troubled these things must come to pass but the end is not yet.” How many a roller coaster of life we must go on before the end comes no man can tell, but my advice is to buckle up and ride with Jesus and you will be alright.
In 1981 Gas had gone from 55 cents a gallon to $1.38 a gallon that year; sound familiar with what we are experiencing today. Food prices increased to: a dozen eggs went from 50 cents a dozen to over 90 cents, then finally topping a dollar with today’s prices it does not sound like much, but remember I was only making 5.00 dollars an hour and inflation was 10%
I remember counting Pennies and handing them to the Gas station attendant for a couple of dollars of gas to get to work. I also remember running out of gas and pushing the car quite a bit, which is why Mama is always looking at the gas gage and starts to panic when it gets below the last line! But, we use to drive every day on the last line while praying we would make it.
Our rent started out at $335.00 per month for a 2 bedroom apartment at Monterey Pines with a club house and weight room. (Oh My! did not we think we were Hoity Toity). There was no lease, so the second month they raised the rent 50 dollars because of the times to $385.00 per month. With the 50 dollar increase we could not afford the rent with all our other bills, so we moved to a one bedroom apartment for only $275 per month. If I could show you the difference in areas and apartments you would understand how Life and the truths it brings set in fast.
When I look back to that move I can see the hand of God preparing his visitation into our lives. The world would say it was a set back so soon into our marriage; we were still newlyweds and to be honest with you I realized my first lesson of having to depend on others for help and accepting it with thankfulness and gratitude. If it had not been for my Mother and father in-law’s help we would not have got into our little one bedroom apartment when we needed to, but with so many things in life, even in our relationship with our heavenly father, I had to ask for help. “You have not because you ask not,“ When you don’t ask it does not make one stronger, but weaker; it is telling the Lord you have no need for his provisions or you don’t like his method of delivery. God was so good to us even before we knew him in his fullness.
I know we did not live through the depression like our Grandparents and Great parents did, but those were hard times for us financially.
It reminds me of a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, “If I could only see the world, I will marry you.”
One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.
He asked her, “Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?” The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.
Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: “Take good care of your eyes, my dear; for before they were yours, they were mine.”
This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before and who was always by their side in the most painful situations.
Life Is a Gift and we were thankful for our little one bedroom apartment, for it is was here that the Truth was witnessed to us for the first time. In 1981 as the world was facing troubled times and uncertainty was in the air, we sat around our used hand me down kitchen table with the loose seat pad and we broke bread and our best friend shared with us the word of God.
Our little one bedroom apartment, it was here we spent the first night coming home from Church full of the Holy Ghost, both of us speaking in other tongues and going to bed that night praying together.
Our little one bedroom Apartment, I remember as if it were yesterday sitting with our brother and sister, from the church as they taught us a home bible study. I remember coming home after we were baptized in Jesus name and the joy that would light up our little one bedroom apartment.
The fellowship, as several of us would cram into our little one bedroom apartment to fellowship after church.
It was this closet of our little one bedroom apartment that we cleaned out and change our apparel, when Jesus gave us the revelation of Holiness, there is no reason for us to fill it again with Worldliness, no mater what some may be doing today. Those that are changing the old paths probably never had a little one bedroom apartment or if they did, they are not allowing God to bring them back through Prayer to remember. I say thank you Jesus, for your mercy and grace to allow me to remember our little one bedroom apartment in prayer this morning.
It was here in our one bedroom apartment that we removed our Television from our home never to see it return; why should we bring it back? Should we, just because our home has gotten bigger?
It was here my love grew stronger for my wife, the love that would bring us through the hard times and the difficult times, but trust me the good times have out weighed the bad times. If I had it to do all over again I would marry the same woman and move into our little one bedroom apartment.
To finish on a lighter note it was here in our little one bedroom apartment that when our power bill was too high to run the Air at night, we opened our bedroom window and placed a fan in the window sill, to hopefully allow some air to blow in; instead, we woke up soaked with water, the bed and all! We realized the sprinkler out side in the flower beds was aimed at our window. We laughed so hard.
Oh, those were good days in our little one bedroom apartment.
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Acts 2:38 (King James Version)
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Acts 19:2-6 (King James Version)
He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
