http://www.rwoc.org/#watch-archives/mp4:23245/mm/flvmedia/1145/2/0/1/2012-7-15ApostleRonMessage-1068394.mp4
Click on this link to hear last Sunday's message at Redemption...and the last 15 minutes brings tears to my eyes everytime I watch it. I am so excited for what God is about to do with the Hispanic community in Greenville, and I feel very honored to be a part of the ground breaking that is taking place. At the end of the message, Apostle Ron brings our pastors Julio and Margie up on stage an annouces officially that Redemption in Español has become a reality.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Discerning Open Doors
This is what the Lord showed me in prayer today-
Acts 16:25-32:
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved —you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.
Paul and Silas were in jail. They had been doing the work of the Lord, and they ended up in jail because of it. Seemingly unjust, yet while there, they kept praying and kept praising the Lord. They didn't let their circumstances stop their joy. They didn't take their eyes off the Lord. Then suddenly, at the midnight hour, the darkest part of the night, the Lord shook the very foundation of that jail and threw every door open in that place. If it were me, my first reaction would have probably been, "WooHoo...the Lord has heard my prayer and I am FREE!!"...I may have seen those doors fly open and my chains fall and took it as a sign from God that it was my time to run! But the Lord showed me this morning that not every door is a door I am called to walk through. Not every opportunity that presents itself to me is mine to take. What if Paul and Silas and all the other prisoners had run off? There would have been no one there to stop the guard from killing himself. There would have been no voice of truth to bring real life to that Philippian jailer's despair. Sometimes the Lord has us in a specific place for reasons we do not know. Sometimes injustice causes us to find ourselves in situations we would never wish on our worst enemy. But what if our present situation is just a means to bring eternal life to someone else? What if the trials we are going through are part of a bigger picture? Then it will have all been worth it! Had it not been for the fact that although freedom presented itself face to face to Paul and Silas, but they obeyed the Lord and stayed to be a light in a dark place, that jailor would never have heard the message of the gospel that changed his life and ultimately his whole household forever.
So in the midst of your trial, in the middle of your pain and frustrations, keep a prayer on your lips and a song in your heart, because that which you are experiencing today might be the key to someone else's salvation tomorrow.
Acts 16:25-32:
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved —you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.
Paul and Silas were in jail. They had been doing the work of the Lord, and they ended up in jail because of it. Seemingly unjust, yet while there, they kept praying and kept praising the Lord. They didn't let their circumstances stop their joy. They didn't take their eyes off the Lord. Then suddenly, at the midnight hour, the darkest part of the night, the Lord shook the very foundation of that jail and threw every door open in that place. If it were me, my first reaction would have probably been, "WooHoo...the Lord has heard my prayer and I am FREE!!"...I may have seen those doors fly open and my chains fall and took it as a sign from God that it was my time to run! But the Lord showed me this morning that not every door is a door I am called to walk through. Not every opportunity that presents itself to me is mine to take. What if Paul and Silas and all the other prisoners had run off? There would have been no one there to stop the guard from killing himself. There would have been no voice of truth to bring real life to that Philippian jailer's despair. Sometimes the Lord has us in a specific place for reasons we do not know. Sometimes injustice causes us to find ourselves in situations we would never wish on our worst enemy. But what if our present situation is just a means to bring eternal life to someone else? What if the trials we are going through are part of a bigger picture? Then it will have all been worth it! Had it not been for the fact that although freedom presented itself face to face to Paul and Silas, but they obeyed the Lord and stayed to be a light in a dark place, that jailor would never have heard the message of the gospel that changed his life and ultimately his whole household forever.
So in the midst of your trial, in the middle of your pain and frustrations, keep a prayer on your lips and a song in your heart, because that which you are experiencing today might be the key to someone else's salvation tomorrow.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Jon Turns Seven
What a great day we spent with special friends here at the house for Jonathan's 7th birthday! It was simple and relaxed and perfect. Couldn't have asked for a better day! Happy Birthday my sweet seven year old! Here are some photos:
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| Sarah, Jonathan and Gaby, ready for some red velvet cake! |
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| We love you Nelson and Karina!!! |
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Complete with a soccer tournament in 95 degree heat...I opted to take pictures!  |
Sunday, July 1, 2012
The Catholics and the Protestants
Last night, we were invited once again to come and lead a prayer meeting with a group from Georgia. In addion to the family (of 15+ people), this time several families from their Catholic church joined the meeting. It's amazing to watch the Lord move in this group of precious people. They have a hunger for something real. Many have expressed that the leaders in their own church, although moved with good intentions, have not been able to help them spiritually. There was an awesome time of words of wisdom and prophesy in operation there. It was as if the Holy Spirit was gently revealing himself to these people, so that they can begin to trust him in a new way. All together, there were about 25 adults (and more children than I could count) and both times we have come together, powerful things have taken place. It's not every day that Catholic people place themselves in the same room with a couple crazy Pentecostals...but the Lord has helped us to be sensitive to His Spirit, speak in love, all the while remembering it is His job to bring people to salvation, not ours. As Luis started out by saying last night, our only agenda is to worship Jesus. We don't come with any other intentions than that. And really, isn't the gospel just that simple anyway?
One interesting thing that happened to me personally last night was during a time that we were all in one big circle, and Luis asked us to all hold hands and pray. While I had the hand of a young man beside me, I immediately saw an image of a noose. The Lord gave me a word for that man, but being only the second time getting together, and the first time I had met this young man, I was hesitant to open my mouth. The meeting continued, and I couldn't shake the feeling I had. At the end, I knew I needed to go and speak to that young man. As appropriate in the culture, I asked Luis to go with me. I told the young man what I saw during prayer and how the Lord had shown me that there was a suicidal spirit over him, manipulating his mind, trying to convince him that his life was worthless. But that the Lord wanted him to know that his life was planned by God, and He had a purpose in creating him, and that God had placed a treasure inside of him. That God wanted to use him in a great way, but he needed to give himself to God completely. That God accepted him just as he was, and he didn't need to get everything together in his life, but rather to just come as he was, and let God put his life in order.
After that, I felt a calm inside of me, and I felt like I had done what the Lord had asked of me. The young man came up to Luis after we were all done and told him "everything your wife said was true", and he began to recount to Luis all that he had gone through over the past couple of years. There are countless other things that happened last night with other people. It is exciting to see where God is moving. "Redemption en Español" has been just as exciting, and although we are transitioning, each service is so full of life changing revelation. What an exciting time to be alive, knowing that God is getting ready to create a spiritual explosion in the Hispanic Community. What an honor to be a part of this great move of God!
One interesting thing that happened to me personally last night was during a time that we were all in one big circle, and Luis asked us to all hold hands and pray. While I had the hand of a young man beside me, I immediately saw an image of a noose. The Lord gave me a word for that man, but being only the second time getting together, and the first time I had met this young man, I was hesitant to open my mouth. The meeting continued, and I couldn't shake the feeling I had. At the end, I knew I needed to go and speak to that young man. As appropriate in the culture, I asked Luis to go with me. I told the young man what I saw during prayer and how the Lord had shown me that there was a suicidal spirit over him, manipulating his mind, trying to convince him that his life was worthless. But that the Lord wanted him to know that his life was planned by God, and He had a purpose in creating him, and that God had placed a treasure inside of him. That God wanted to use him in a great way, but he needed to give himself to God completely. That God accepted him just as he was, and he didn't need to get everything together in his life, but rather to just come as he was, and let God put his life in order.
After that, I felt a calm inside of me, and I felt like I had done what the Lord had asked of me. The young man came up to Luis after we were all done and told him "everything your wife said was true", and he began to recount to Luis all that he had gone through over the past couple of years. There are countless other things that happened last night with other people. It is exciting to see where God is moving. "Redemption en Español" has been just as exciting, and although we are transitioning, each service is so full of life changing revelation. What an exciting time to be alive, knowing that God is getting ready to create a spiritual explosion in the Hispanic Community. What an honor to be a part of this great move of God!
Just in Time
We're having a heat wave...a tropical heat wave...
Last weekend, we bought a pool for our back yard-just in time for the 100+ degree weather that hit us yesterday-can you say PERFECT TIMING?!? It's so hot we are having Arizona flashbacks! Here's some pictures of two of our little frogs:
Last weekend, we bought a pool for our back yard-just in time for the 100+ degree weather that hit us yesterday-can you say PERFECT TIMING?!? It's so hot we are having Arizona flashbacks! Here's some pictures of two of our little frogs:
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