Dear Family of our Lord Jesus Christ,
PRAISE GOD!! It is raining here in Albuquerque! Some parts of our area are to get snow today! We are in a record drought! But we continue to pray for rain and snow!
The Lord showed me much yesterday and this morning as I prepared this CUP for you, this CUP I know if you drink of this CUP it will strengthen your faith! AMEN!
Take your time in taking in this CUP……Many of you tell me you print them out and save them…..also that you share them with others….AMEN! PRAISE GOD!
We put out an URGENT PRAYER on Facebook yesterday (Please friend us on Facebook) Beth was in very serious condition….we prayed and then later this report came in…………
Michael Holland Further update on Beth….the doctors are calling it a MIRACLE! Tonight Beth is walking, talking and laughing, and was sitting in a chair eating potato chips for a snack! Thank you all so much for praying……It is exciting to see the body of Christ come together! We continue to stand with you Dewey for Gretchen’s healing as well!
PRAISE GOD!!!!!
A few years ago Dr. Kyle Martin of Time To Revive suggested a book to me, “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard J. Foster. When I read the book, I shared some if it with you all and received great feedback. When Michael sent that reply yesterday on the healing of Beth, I remember what Foster wrote about prayer……..as we continue to pray for Beth and family, for the results of Gretchen’s blood tests, she is wore down from finals and just beat, pray for a job for Rick, for Sammy to be free of bondage, and as we pray for Jolene and her cancer surgery. We also pray for Paul Lavoie’s 87 year old Father, Fernand who is in critical condition. You all, have prayer concerns this day I know.
We will be getting a good report on Gretchen……we have a PRAISE NOTE also, I have been enjoying conversations the last several days with my brother Daryl. I thank Paul and Rene Dokken for helping on this. We are so thankful for their love.
Here’s what I shared a few years ago about prayer from Foster’s book……….
Paul gladly announces that we are “co-laborers with God”. That is we are working with God to determine the outcome of events (! Cor 3:9) It is Stoicism that demands a closed universe not the Bible.
Let’s look at 1 Cor 3:9 which says.For we are fellow workmen (joint promoters, laborers together) with and for God: you are God’s garden and vineyard and field under cultivation, (you are) God’s building.
One more verse here Isaiah 61:3……stick with me on all this please..this is very exciting!!!!
To grant (consolation and joy) to those who mourn Zion—-to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment (expressive) of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit—-that they may be called oaks of righteousness (lofty, strong, and magnificent, and right standing with God), the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
For God’s Glory Alone!
Okay let’s look at Epictetus and Stoicism……..
Epictetus (pronounced Epic-TEE-tus) was an exponent of Stoicismwho flourished in the early second century C.E. about four hundred years after the Stoic school of Zeno of Citium was established in Athens. He lived and worked, first as a student in Rome, and then as a teacher with his own school in Nicopolis in Greece. Our knowledge of his philosophy and his method as a teacher comes to us via two works composed by his student Arrian, the Discourses and the Handbook. Although Epictetus based his teaching on the works of the early Stoics (none of which survives) which dealt with the three branches of Stoic thought, logic, physics and ethics, the Discourses and theHandbook concentrate almost exclusively on ethics. The role of the Stoic teacher was to encourage his students to live the philosophic life, whose end was eudaimonia (‘happiness’ or ‘flourishing’), to be secured by living the life of reason, which – for Stoics – meant living virtuously and living ‘according to nature’.
Foster writes that people who emphasize acquiescence and resignation to the way things are as the “will of God” are actually closer to Epictetus than to Jesus Christ. Moses prayed boldly because he beleived his prayers could change things, even God’s mind. In fact, the Bible stresses so forcefully the openess of our universe that, in an anthropomorphism hard for modern ears, it speaks of God constantly changing His mind in accord with His unchanging love. (read Exod. 32:14 and Jon. 3:10)
This comes as a genuine liberation to many of us, but it also sets tremendous responsibility before us. We are working with God to determine the future! certain things will happen in history if we pray rightly ( I add here and we repent) We are to change the world by prayer. What more motivation do we need to learn this loftiest human exercise?
I strongly suggest you read this book along with Andrew Murray’s classic, “With Christ in the School of Prayer”
I was telling Sammy yesterday, who I am counseling, that the Word of God is the Bread of Life. When we read God’s Word it feeds us to greater heights in our relationship with Him. We become so tuned into God that when we also read the works of people like Foster and Murray, people who God has ordained to write for Him, it is helps lead us to a DEEPER, VERY DEEPER relationship with our Lord.
The Lord uses others to help us grow DEEP in Him.
Yesterday as I sat in my prayer chair, The Lord showed me much as I read His Word…….He fed me, gave me knowledge as I sat in my chair.
The Lord led me to this writing of Paul in Philippians 3:13……Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Those are the words that God led me to yesterday. He also showed me this plain and simple: The darkness does not Believe in Him and does not read the Bible……the “Nothing Noise” get’s their learning from “Nothing” From “things” of this world. Make sure you are into God’s Word and prayer more than ever. Make sure you and your family know the difference., between what is of God and what is of this world……..so that when you pray, you know you are a co-laborer with God.
Now we are goimng to take a break from this in-depth lesson…….and then come back with termendous messages from Pastor Steve Fuller of Mercy Hill Church in San Jose and Shari Hardway Johnson………These messages will make you run around your house 7 times!!!!! stay tuned…………
This Saturday night at 6pm on Dewey and Friends Pastor Jim Montoya is with us to share on Christmas and also sing some Christmas songs for us!!! KAZQ ch 32 on line at Kazq.org watch many of our tv programs of the past at www.fggam.org Merry Christmas
Sunday I will be Preaching at Christ Full Deliverance Ministries 2501 So Blvd. in Rio Rancho at pastor Marty Cooper’s Church.
“Life in Christ has radiance so bright that all the dark shadows of negativity become sunspots of brilliance. Our ministry is to learn the beauty of exchange, firstly for ourselves, then to apply those truths to others so that they can be set free.” Graham Cooke
Let Go. Otherwise it grows, & comes through all the nooks, crannies & doors to hold you captive. Soon you’ll be wrapped so tight you’ll never be free. That cost is just too great.
Okay before we go into our other two lessons of the day………
I love the humor that Darlene shares with us from time to time………… Jerry Cheesehead in Edgewood this one is for you!!!!!……..to arm you with more jokes about Minnesota people!!!! LOL LOL LOL
Sven and Ole, two Minnesota engineers were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking up. A woman walks by asks what they were doing.
“Ve’re supposed to find da height of dis flagpole, “said Sven, “but ve don’t haff a ladder.”
The woman took a wrench from her purse, loosened a couple of bolts, and laid the pole down on the ground.
Then she took a tape measure from her pocketbook, took a measurement, announced, “Twenty one feet, six inches,” and walked away.
Ole shook his head and laughed. “Ain’t dat just like a voman! Ve ask fer da height and she gives us da length!”
Sven and Ole have since quit their engineering jobs and are currently serving in the United States Senate.
One more FUNNY BONE for your weekend……..
A Pastor went to his church office on Monday morning and discovered a
dead mule in the church yard. He called the police. Since there did not
…
appear to be any foul play, the police referred the pastor to the health
department.
They said since there was no health threat that he should call the
sanitation department. The manager said he could not pick up the mule
without authorization from the mayor.
Now the pastor knew the mayor and was not to eager to call him. The
mayor had a bad temper and was generally hard to deal with, but the
pastor called him anyway.
The mayor did not disappoint him. He immediately began to rant and rave at
the pastor and finally said, Why did you call me any way? Isnt it your
job to bury the dead?
The pastor paused for a brief prayer and asked the Lord to direct his
response. Then, he replied Yes, Mayor, it is my job to bury the dead,
but I always like to notify the next of kin first!
The following touched my heart so very much! Very, very much! I found it through Pastor John Piper. This is written by Steve Fuller, Lead Pastor at Mercy Hill Church in San Jose.
Maybe you have longed for healing, for a job or for a baby or for a wife. You have faithfully and earnestly prayed for weeks and months — even years. But you are still sick, still unemployed, still childless, still single.
And you are disappointed. In fact, you are disappointed by God.
I Can Relate
For many years my wife and I longed for pregnancy. We longed and prayed. And longed and prayed some more. Couples we knew got pregnant — but we did not. And we felt deep disappointment.
But God’s Word calls us to live by faith. And faith means trusting all that God promises to be for us in Christ Jesus.
So then, what does God promise when we are disappointed?
Lack No Good Thing
One promise that’s helped me over the years is Psalm 34:10, “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” This promise is for those who seek the Lord — those who are saved by faith in Christ and are seeking to know God.
And God promises that those who seek him will lack no good thing. Which means, if something is good, God will give it to you.
Now that’s hard to swallow.
After all, you are still sick, unemployed, childless, single.
So how is God fulfilling his promise to you?
The Greatest Good
What helped me understand this was to ask: What is the greatest good?
Here’s what David said –
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” (Psalm 16:2)
And Asaph –
Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You I desire nothing on earth.(Psalm 73:25)
And Paul –
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. (Philippians 3:8)
So the greatest good is God himself — knowing God in the person of Jesus Christ.
This is not just knowing about God. This is actually knowing God. This means to feel his glory, sense his love, experience his presence. When we experience God in this way, we are so full that we desire nothing else. God is the only all-satisfying good, which is why he is the greatest good.
What Makes Something Good
So what does God mean when he promises we will lack no good thing?
Healing can be good, but so can lack of healing.
If God is our greatest good, then what makes something good is whether it brings us more of God. So being healed of a sickness can be good since it can bring us more of God by showing us his power, mercy, and goodness. But not being healed can also be good since it, too, can bring us more of God by bringing us even more nearness to him.
That’s what Paul experienced with his thorn in the flesh –
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
So if God chooses not to heal me, it’s because sickness will bring me even more of his all-satisfying presence than healing would have brought me. In that case, even though I’m lacking healing, I’m not lacking any good thing — because the sickness is how I will experience the most joy in God.
Since God is my all-satisfying Treasure then what makes something good is whether it brings me more of God.
So when God promises that we will lack no good thing, he means we will lack nothing that would bring us more of God and we will have everything that would bring us more of God.
So if you lack healing, or a job, or children, or a wife, you are not lacking any good thing because God has ordained this to bring you more of himself.
Why Am I Disappointed?
When I feel disappointed by God it’s because at that moment there’s something I’m longing for more than him, whether it be healing, employment, a child, a wife. As good as healing, employment, children, and marriage are, none of them will come close to satisfying me as much as God himself will.
So when I’m disappointed by God there’s a problem with my faith. I’m not trusting that God himself is who he says he is for me in Jesus. I’m not trusting him as my all-satisfying Treasure.
So what can I do?
Help to Overcome Disappointment
Here are steps I have found helpful –
- Come to Jesus Christ with your disappointment, trusting him to meet you and change your heart (Psalm 40:1–3).
- Confess that you are longing for something else more than him. Ask him to forgive you through the Cross. Receive assurance of complete forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
- Plead for the work of the Spirit to change your heart, strengthen your faith, enable you once again to experience Jesus Christ as your all-satisfying Treasure (John 6:35).
- Since the Spirit does his work through the Word, find Scriptures describing God’s love, power, and majesty — and promises concerning God as your all-satisfying Treasure. Pray earnestly over these Scriptures. Fight to trust them (Galatians 3:5).
- Continue praying over and trusting these Scriptures until you feel the Spirit changing your heart and you once again experience Jesus Christ as your all-satisfying Treasure (1 Peter 1:8).
- Pray over God’s promise that he will ordain every trial to bring you even more heart-satisfaction in him (2 Corinthians 4:17). Do this until the Spirit strengthens your faith that whatever you lack will bring you even more of God.
- Also pray over God’s promise that he will take care of everything else you need (health, work, money) in such a way that it will bring you even more of him (Philippians 4:13, 19;Matthew 6:33).
- Continue to pray for the other things you desire (healing, employment, children, marriage), but fight to keep trusting Jesus as your all-satisfying Treasure (Psalm 43:4).
WOWE what a message! Now here is our Dear, Dear Friend Shari Hardway Johnson……….
The Most Precious Gift to Give this Season
At a recent conference that I spoke at another speaker, Denise Stewart, made one of “those” statements that I did not forget. It’s the kind of quote I always hope that I make when I speak; words that will get stuck in their craw as we country folk so eloquently say. Something I continually struggle with is knowing and understanding the will of God for my life. I so desire to be there but always question “am I?” Denise, a beautiful, humble woman of God so simply stated a truth it set me back in my seat thinking, “Wow, why didn’t I think of that?” Simply this
“To know you are in the will of God; obey every day.”
That’s it? Yes, that’s it. If every day we simply listen to the Holy Spirit and follow His direction, we are in the will of God. It’s so simple, it’s crazy! In my study of the Character’s of Christmas, I discovered one commonality among them; obedience. It is for certain the reason God used them in such a mighty way. They were ordinary people; nothing about them would put any one of them on a higher plane than us. God used them because they were willing, unquestioning vessels of mercy and grace, each given the opportunity to carry the gospel.
Obey in Awe
Luke 1: 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.
When the angel of the Lord told Mary of the Lord’s plan, Mary said “let it be!” She understood the coming days of ridicule and persecution. And yet she willingly went forth,- believing that if God could place a child inside her womb, He could certainly take care of the folks on the outside of her! That is the mindset that we need to accomplish spiritually be used of God. God has a purpose, and if He has chosen you for that purpose, nobody can stand in your path to completion so long as you are obeying the Holy Spirit.
Obey in Astonishment
Matthew 1:24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
I don’t know how astonished Joseph was when the angel of the Lord had spoken to him, but I know how astonished I’d be! I’d have probably had to change the sheets before I could do the Lord’s bidding. Joseph rose up from his sleep and obeyed. Can I tell you that much of the church needs to have the pants scared off of them by an angel or two? It’s high time we awake and obey what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. I know I’m not the only one who feels an urgency to share the Word of God and get as many people under the blood of Jesus as we can, starting with family and moving out in the world from there.
Obey in Adoration
Luke 2: 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
The shepherds were the lowliest in the neighborhood, the outcasts of society when a heavenly host brought them the news that the Savior was born. They didn’t come to the religious or the political leaders of the day; they came to the willing commoners. It is no wonder they proclaimed it the “Good News!” Nobody in the neighborhood would have ever thought that the Lord would send His messengers to stinky, dirty shepherds in the field. It is a truth when I tell you that I’m shocked that God would use me to share the gospel. It is only because I’m willing, not because I’m worthy. I understand the shepherds need to praise Him.
I explained to my young teens in the Sunday School Class Sunday morning that God desires vessels to pour Himself into, but they must be cleaned by the blood of Jesus. Not perfect… but willing and obedient. Let Him pour Himself into you this Christmas season; give God the gift of obedience.
AWESOME SHARI!
Merry Christmas! For God’s Glory Alone in the Love of our Lord Jesus Christ, Dewey Sharon and Family
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Thank you,
Dewey Moede
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