Dear Church Family and Friends,
What I desperately want for my life, my family and my church family in this new year is a “Fresh Encounter” with God. “Today we're facing a period of moral and spiritual decline that is perhaps more rapid and widespread than ever in our history. Almost everywhere we go, we hear churches and people cry out for revival. They are saying that what they are experiencing is so bad, so dry, and so empty that they want a fresh touch from God. They want to experience God in the ways God's people experienced His mighty power and presence in the Scriptures and in history. Some are experiencing a fresh breeze of God's Spirit. Small mercy drops are falling in some localities. But many are saying, “We don't know what to do.” Their heart cry is: “Is there a word from the Lord? What does God say we need to do?”
“God's Word has an answer for us. God has revealed Himself and His ways as He has worked with His people down through the ages. He has spoken clearly about His expectations and standards. He has revealed principles and described examples. He stands ready to pour out times of refreshing on the dry and thirsty ground of our lives. But He's waiting on a people who are willing to pay the price of surrender and obedience to His will and His ways. He's waiting on a people who will return with their whole heart to a love relationship with their Creator and Savior. Will you be such a person? Will you join with others who are willing to be such persons?”
The above quote is from a 28 day devotional guide entitled “Fresh Encounter”. It is written by Henry Blackaby and Claude King. It is part of a study entitled “Fresh Encounter” - (experiencing God's power for spiritual awakening). It is my desire to begin preaching a series of sermons from some of the resources in this material. I hope to schedule a revival at our business meeting in January and then take the 8 weeks prior to our revival date to go through the study guide and DVD teaching sessions on Sunday evenings. The teaching sessions are lead by Henry and Richard Blackaby. Richard is Henry's son. The following is a paragraph from the material:”If you choose to study this material, you will learn what God requires of His people. Then you will face a choice: to do as He says or to carry on business as usual. Be careful to count both costs. Don't merely evaluate the price to obey what God tells you. Be sure to consider the profound loss in not returning to Him. What will it mean to your family, or your church if you refuse to follow God's directions? What will happen if you fail to do what He says? Moses warned God's people that the Word of God is ...”not just idle words for you—they are your life.”(Deut. 32:47)
See you in Church.
Serving Him Together,
Bro. Gene & Diana
P.S. May God truly provide us with a blessed NEW YEAR!!!
