The children of Israel left Egypt and wandered 40 years in the desert wilderness before entering Canaan (the Promised Land). The journey should not have taken anywhere near this length of time. So why did it? God made a covenant with Abraham long before the trip; therefore, victory was promised before the Israelites even set out for the land of milk and honey. So again why did they struggle for 40 years?

As Christians, how often do we find ourselves in a 40 year mode? We journey for weeks, months, years...pressing on and on all the while God is trying to get our attention and show us the way. If we aren’t careful we find ourselves missing out on the good things God has in store for us all the while wandering through the wilderness.

The definition of wilderness is an “in-between place.” It is the staging area for what is to come. To keep ourselves from falling into the 40 year mentality mode we must renew our minds. We must think as God thinks. To check ourselves we can ask the following questions: “What are the thoughts I am dwelling on day to day? Am I living a life that gets me to the Promised Land in days or years?” If you have been struggling for some time, maybe even years, perhaps you have fallen in to the wrong mindset. You see if you are stuck in a sour mindset, then your life is going to produce sour fruit. Just as if you are always focusing on the negative, no matter how in tune with God you are, you will continually fall short of entering the Promised Land that God has for you.

If you find yourself in a continuous state of wilderness then begin to renew your mind. Remember what God says about you in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” That verse alone shows us that God does not want us wandering around the wilderness never reaching our Promised Land! God will meet us where we are—no matter how many times we have messed up in the past God never goes back on His promise and is always there to see us through. God wants all of His children to enter the Promised Land and He wants all of us to enter into the covenant He has with us.

Your Promised Land could be renewing of a marriage or family, salvation for your children, being set free of bondage from illness or the opinion of others, or an all around freedom of negative thinking in general. God’s covenant with Abraham promised us victory in every situation in our life. The victory belongs to us, Jesus paid it all and we must claim that victory. Only God knows what our Promised Land is and we simply have to line up our thinking with His to reach it. The wilderness is the last step before entering into the harvest, but our minds will dictate how long this final step will last.

- Stacy

What do you do when you are ready to give up? What do you do when you have tried your hardest and failed? I believe that everyone asks these questions. There is a person in the Bible who certainly asked these ques-tions. His name was Moses.

Moses grew up in the house of Pharaoh. He was Hebrew, but he was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter. He lived forty years in the King’s house. One day he was visiting his Hebrew brothers. He saw one being mistreated and intervened; killing an Egyptian. He ran for his life far from Egypt. He lived in the land of Midian for forty years. He became a shepherd in the desert.

I wonder if Moses ever felt like giving up. I wonder if he ever felt like a failure. Certainly he did. When God calls him, he makes all sorts of excuses why he is unable to do the task. He tries his best to get God to choose his brother Aaron. I can almost hear Moses say, "I already tried to get one of them free, but he rejected me. No one will listen to me. God, I already gave up forty years ago. Pick someone else." These feelings are not only happening to you, they are happening to us all. Have faith. God is especially good at making messages out of our mess.

Think about this: Moses spent his first forty years knowing within himself, he was an agent of freedom for his people. He failed at forty. He ran away. He lived in a desert, having given up on that calling. Another forty years goes by the way. At eighty years old, God speaks to Moses. For the next forty years, Moses lives out his purpose. He was not perfect, but he was successful at making an avenue for Yahweh to move.

If you do feel like a failure, there is a sure way to become a success. Hear from God!

~Pastor Todd

Have you ever asked the question: "Why me?" I believe everyone, at some time, has asked this question. When faced with the threats of Queen Jezebel, the prophet Elijah said this: "I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life." He says: "I keep doing right and I’m all alone and they are going to kill me." You may feel the trials are too hard. You may feel overwhelmed. You may feel all alone. After all that goes on, the question arises; "Why me?"

Any time I start to have a pity party, and the questions arises; "Why me?" I ask myself another question: "Why not me?" Faith is a fight. We are taught to fight the good fight of faith. There are things that take place in our lives that are meant to destroy us. They are sent to destroy our morals. They attack our faith. If left uncontested, these forces will leave us in a state of helplessness. Don’t be pitiful. Be powerful!!

One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is this: Whenever you feel (remember we are led by faith not feelings) pitiful, and that question starts to ease its way out of your mouth, you need to pump yourself up with His Word. God says different things about you and your life than your circumstances say. Read His Word. Speak His Word. Do His Word. Then laugh at what seems so bad in your life.

~Pastor Todd

Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Mark 9:23

The way we believe effects our lives. The way we view ourselves, our lives, our world, and our God is the way we overcome or succumb. YOU, as an individual, will never rise above your beliefs. WE, as a church and as individuals, must believe for more from God. We must believe for His best. If this Scripture is true, what is possible? What are YOU believing God to do in YOUR life?

I have found something out. YOU will never do what you do not first believe. You will never believe, truly believe, without confirmation from God’s Word. You will never have confirmation without time spent studying and meditating on His Word. Daniel 11:32 says: "…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits."

Dare to believe BIGGER in 2013!

~ Pastor Todd

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" This is a phrase you will hear a lot at the beginning of 2013. People will be making their New Year’s resolutions: eat less, exercise more; read my Bible and pray every day; walk in love, and the list goes on and on. The Bible says that the "spirit is willing; but the flesh is weak." Most New Year’s resolutions are dropped and forgotten by February, so how will we be able to accomplish what we want to, or what the Lord has spoken to us? It will not be "by might or by the power of our will or the flesh, but by the Spirit of the Lord." We need to feed our spirit with the Word of God; depend on Him to be our Help, and He will do it!

Strand of Pearls JANUARY meeting will meet at Jim N Nicks, January 28 at 6:00 p.m.  ***Childcare will be provided at the church***

- Sandra Arnold

"The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow."

January is typically the month we make resolutions. We commit to making changes in our lives for the better. Starting this January, we will be meeting on Sunday nights to learn about kingdom finances. We will be discussing tithing, investments, planning, blessing, business, etc. I will be teaching some of the classes and others members of our church will be teaching also. I encourage everyone who is hungry to learn more about prosperity to attend. In Deuteronomy 29:12, God says we will be a lender and not a borrower. How do we do this? Come to the class and find out.

~Pastor Todd

Luke 2:43-45 (NKJV) "When they had finished the days, as they returned, the boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and his mother did not know it, but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when the did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him."

How do you lose Jesus? If Jesus is as important to us as we say He is, how do we lose Him? This Christmas season is an excellent opportunity to either remember Jesus or to forget Him. We can show the world the hope that they have been longing for, or we can hop in this hole of commercialization and forget the Jesus who has so richly blessed us. I have chosen this Christmas to be His witness. I have chosen that this season will be a celebration of His birth and life; not mine. In my life, Jesus will be remembered and celebrated this Christmas more than any Christmas before.

We live in a different world than the one our parents and grandparents grew up in. Today, people relate more with Santa, Rudolph, stockings, fireplaces, Christmas trees, and presents than Mary, Joseph, a barn, an angelic choir, shepherds, wise men, and the baby Jesus. If we lose Jesus, specifically around this season, what kind of world will our children grow up in?

Today is a day of reckoning. What will you do? Will you let the cares of this world, at this time of year, cause you to forget Jesus? Will you shout and proclaim Him for all the world to hear? The choice is yours, but I encourage you: DON’T LOSE JESUS!

- Pastor Todd

A nip in the air, leaves changing color, football games, Fall festivals-all these are signs of the season we are entering. There are seasons in life as well as in nature. A season is a measure of time but maybe, right now, you feel you are stuck in a season without measure, with NO end. Just as surely as seasons change, our God does NOT change, but He will change those season if we trust Him. Look at these Scriptures and be encouraged to BELIEVE and TRUST a God who changes things.

Psalm 37:5 “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He will bring it to pass.”

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.” (AMP)

God Bless! 

Ms. Sandra

Please join us for our SOP meeting October 15 at 6:30 p.m.  Food and childcare provided. No fellowship following.

Revelation 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

If the Bible says we overcome by Jesus’ blood and our testimony we, as a church, are guaranteed victory if we tell our stories. We need to be willing and able to give our testimonies at any time. The church in America has been silent too long. Our assignment from now on is to be vocal about the Jesus we serve.  No more cowering down in the corner afraid to offend our friends and acquaintances. Now is the time to speak out. We must if we want to be victorious in this fight that the Lord has set before us!

~ Pastor Todd

Do I matter? Is what I do really that important to God and His Kingdom? I mean I’m not Billy Graham, Joyce Meyer, or T.D. Jakes. I’m just me. I just go work my job. I come home. I do it over and over again, day after day. I’m nobody in God’s Kingdom. I have nothing to offer.

The answer to this question for everyone who asks is: YES, YOU DO MATTER TO GOD AND HIS KINGDOM! You do have something to offer! In Matthew 25, Jesus relates a story to us of three servants who receive talents. One receives five. One receives two. One receives only one. The five talent servant doubled his talents to ten. The two talent servant doubled his talents to four. The one talent servant buried his talent in the ground. He saw it as insignificant. I see this all over the body of Christ. People see what they have as insignificant and because of this they do nothing for God’s Kingdom.

What you have been given by God is not insignificant. He gave it to you, and there is expectation to use what He gives you. You can change the world if you can learn to use what God gave you no matter how insignificant it looks to you. Remember David defeated Goliath with a slingshot. So pick up your slingshot and defeat the giant in your life.

~ Pastor Todd

THE PAST: AN ENEMY OF DESTINY

God has a purpose for every person born on this planet. He has endowed everyone with certain gifts and talents to help them accomplish their purpose, which He has instilled in them. The enemy uses several tactics to try to get us away from our purpose and calling. One tactic is to keep us focused on the mistakes and problems we have had in the past, instead of the destiny God has for us.

Our focus should always be on the instructions God gives us, instead of the limitations we believe are placed on us because of our past. Some of us may have had an awful childhood with abusive parents. Some of us might have done things illegal, immoral, or just plain wrong in our past. Our enemy will always bring these past events up in our mind when God calls us. One thing I have learned in my years of ministry is that the call of God is more powerful than the limitations of our past.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

~ Pastor Todd

“Tomorrow the Enemy of Today”

Some times in a prophetic church, people focus on what God is going to do in the future, instead of what God is doing right now. They believe God is going to do something, but at this present time He is inactive. Nothing could be further from the truth. God is always active, ready, and willing to act in our lives. It is our perceptions and beliefs that limit His actions in this present time, not His divine will. God is always seeking opportunities to move in our lives. Yes, He does have plans that are for our future, but He is more concerned about the right decisions we need to make today. These decisions are what lead us down the path of our destiny. Do the thing God has called you to do today, and the future will take care of itself.

Matthew 6:34 “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

~ Pastor Todd

One thing we need to remember in our lives is to never stray far from the road God has placed us on. We all are faced with many choices in our lives. There are choices we make every day. There are choices we make every hour. There are choices we make every minute. It is amazing to me that a small choice we make in one of these minutes could push us right off of the road God has specifically designed for us. It is sad to say but it happens all the time. One bad choice leads to another and another and another…… The end result of all these bad decisions is an "OUT OF ORDER" life lived according to our own rules. We step away from the protection of Almighty God, and succumb to our own lusts.

When we strive every day to do God’s will that day, when we strive every hour to do God’s will in that hour, when we strive to do God’s will every minute and second of our days; then we know we are exactly where He has placed us. The challenge this month is to be an EVERY SECOND CHRISTIAN. I am almost certain we will make some mistakes; but when we do, repent and start over. Give God your all and see what happens in the month of April.

~Pastor Todd

Spring is right around the corner and even though we have had a very mild winter, I am ready for longer days and blooming flowers. This is a time when we see new life coming out of deadness, which can serve as a reminder that our spiritual lives might be a winter season--dormant or even worse, dead--but Jesus has come to give us LIFE and life more abundantly (John 10:10).

In Ezekiel 37, the Lord carried the prophet and set him down in a valley full of dry bones. The Scripture says these bones were VERY DRY. The Spirit asked, "Can these bones live?" He then told the prophet to prophesy (speak) to these bones and they will live. The prophet obeyed the Lord and those bones lived again. I encourage you to speak the Word to seemingly dead situations in your life and as we are told in Mark 11, "You can have what you believe and say."

God Bless You—

~Ms. Sandra

Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

There are many things we do as parents to make sure our children are successful. We make sure they attend the right schools. We make sure they enroll in the right classes. We help them with their homework. We cull out bad influences. All of these things are important but the most important thing we can do for our children is to create an environment saturated with Word and Presence of God. We do all this world suggests, and some of the suggestions are valid; but the world ignores the Creator of the universe.

Our responsibility as parents is to read the Word to our children. We should make them commit to memory Scriptures that are relevant to the situations they are going through. Dedicate time in the day to talking about the mysteries of God. Have praise and worship music playing continually in your house. Pray where you children can hear you. Teach your children to pray. If we want our children to be successful let's follow God's example. Don't let Sunday be the only time they hear someone pray, read the Bible, or sing praise.

~Pastor Todd