FORTY SIX YEARS

Giving thanks to God, my wife and I celebrate our forty sixth anniversary today. We both acknowledge that except for the grace of God it is doubtful that we, of and by ourselves, could have fulfilled the vows of lifetime fidelity which we now celebrate. In this world of waste and disposable relationships, we without God, would too have probably have been another sorrowful statistic of failure culminating in divorce. We have had our problems, but our awareness of and commitment to God has sustained us. In this confused era of meaningless vows and irresponsible relationships we have much to celebrate. We promised that until death do we part. As we approach that inevitable conclusion of all living things we can do so with our heads held high, and arms lifted in praise. We promised to love, cherish, hold and keep. This we continue to do with the full knowledge of one anothers faults, failures, shortcomings, and the other vicissitudes life holds for all. As our bodies have aged and lost any similitude of youthful vigor and purpose our love for and commitment too one another has grown. Thank you Lord.

WHAT CHANGED ?

In Galatians 4: 10-16, we find our apostle calling some disgruntled and disaffected former followers to task for forsaking the gospel he had preached to them. He reminded them that there was a time when, although they were aware of his imperfections, they had in the past honored and loved him so much they had received him as a messenger from God, saying they would have even plucked their eyes out and given them to him. Now they despised him as their enemy because he had spoken the truth to them.

As a minister of the gospel for almost forty years I can appreciate Paul's grief and dilemma on learning that persons he had rescued from the bondage of the world had returned to the beggarly elements of the world, and made both him and the gospel he preached despised. I, as no doubt do all ministers who have stood immovable for the truth of obedience, and righteousness, in holiness, have, and do suffer, the sadness and pain of the ignominy spewed forth by those who once knew and loved both me and the gospel that I preach. This is some of the price we pay for holding forth the gospel, Philippians 2:16, without compromise.

Standing for anything entails standing against other things. Standing against anything will incur the ire of those who love and want to be justified in that which you stand against. Everyone wants to be justified and redeemed, whether it be in truth or error. Those who forsake the truth of this gospel always have been, and do remain the worst enemies of both this gospel, and those who preach it. Those who once loved our order, standards, and teachings, and then turned their backs on us, returning to the things the gospel we preach saved them from, now hate both us and the truth we preach and love. What changed ? The truth we preach didn't. Their heart changed. When their heart was toward God they loved the truth we preach. Now, since their heart is no longer toward God they hate both us and our gospel.

NOT EVEN AMONG THE HEATHEN

The day we live in is not entirely unlike days in times gone by. As I read, and listen, to the many news accounts of modern society's attitudes and amoral behaviors I cannot help but to reflect on the Bible, and secular humanities record of cultural histories. A person from my generation has at times difficulty comprehending the world of today. This world of technological miracles, and cultural disruptions where the concepts and values of old are being being dismissed as archaic and ignorant. The world is changing so fast that no one can keep pace, not even those most responsible for the changes.

What hasn't changed is the basic nature of mankind. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9. The wickedness of man is great, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart are is evil, Genesis 6:5. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge, Jeremiah 4:22. Then the Lord summarizes it all in, Mark 7:21-23. Whether we examine the personal, family, business, political, or spiritual doings of mankind we all too often have to conclude that its the fallen nature of mankind, and not the Spirit of God that orders the affairs of the lives of humankind, even those who know Christ.

Perversion of unimaginable considerations have overwhelmed the western societies of today's world. Homosexuality and un-natural sex acts are practiced and promoted by all strata's of America as it is throughout the world. Men marrying men, women marring women, all legal and approved by the decadent governments of this world. Even apostate religion has accepted, condoned, and applauded this that God esteemed an abomination, Leviticus 18:22. Paul in, Romans 1:21-32, clearly explains the New Testament attitude and position on these things. In another place he makes this statement concerning a certain immoral act, First Corinthians 5:1, "Some things should not be named even among the heathen".

THE YEAR TO COME

Good morning, and I bid you a somewhat belated new year. Today, January 7, 2012, I begin with my usual cup of coffee and many meditations on the events and responsibilities of the day, while reflecting on those of the past. I'm in Orlando, Florida with my son Shawn and his family enjoying my granddaughters eighth birthday. We enjoyed the fellowship and service of the Walkers and the Lakeland Assembly Thursday night.

Last year was a much transitional year wherein I, we, and our nation, faced many tests and disappointments, but also many success's, blessings, and rewards. Should I choose to list my blessings I no doubt would in my enumerating them begin the listing with the healing of my son Shawn. As those who read this blog regularly know he severely injured his back in 2009 and was debilitated and bed ridden for the biggest part of the next two and a half years. God, with the help of medical science of the good doctors who competently practice that profession have healed my son who is now totally recovered and fully active in all areas of his life. He is also richly enhanced in the Spirit and Word of God. The Lord used his trial of fire as an affliction unto full salvation, Psalms 119:67. God proved His intention to work a perfect work into his life. For that I will be forever grateful.

Looking forward into the year to come I see much turmoil both in the things spiritual and the things natural. These times are transitional and are in a tumultuous flux. The comfortable consistencies of the past are no more. Our country, as is the whole world, is in serious trouble spiritually. morally, financially, socially, politically, and militarily. We as a nation have forsaken the God of our fathers and have turned to the gods of this world for purpose and solace. The gods of greed, avarice, sex, perversions, violence just to name a few, and they all in the name of enlightenment following the god of (godless science so called) have intoxicated this world into the numbness of mental distortion. The world today is redefining everything we once were confident needed no redefinition. Even marriage, and family are now of uncertain identity and purpose.

We in the Body of Christ are also in transition. We find ourselves faced with a new set of dynamics which are more perplexing and filled with more portent of disaster than anything our predecessors ever imagined. As a result of the (coming together) of our divergent groups,that were separated for some forty years, we find ourselves struggling for a common identity and Direction. We, though of common origin, are very factionalized, and are without enough commonality of doctrine, order, or standards, to facilitate a much sought and true oneness. The subject the Devil haunts our every gathering as does the promise of the resurrection of the dead in confounding the minds of those responsible for searching for finality in this ultimate and final promise of the Lord. There are numerous subjects of equal importance that elude us in achieving the harmony in the gospel we all desire.

I know that except God intervene and give us direction there is little we can do but hold on and remain faithful. There are some who would ask; "hold on to what?". I answer thusly. Hold on to the vision of Jesus Christ, the head of the church knowing that He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith. Hold on to the vision He has given us of the restoration of the church, and overcoming. Then let us hold on to one another as we continue to earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints, Jude 1: 1-3.

MY TESTIMONY OF THANKSGIVING

By Shawn Dyal

As I have mentioned before I seriously injured my spine in June of 2009. I re-injured it and finished it off in March of 2010. I spent the remainder of 2010 mostly in acute and critical pain I was bedridden, only able to crawl to the bathroom and back to bed. I had two failed spinal surgeries one in April and one in August of that year leaving me in worse shape physically than before the operations. I started 2011 with a visit to a Doctor John Hawkins the head of the Neurosurgery department for Shand's Hospital (which is the teaching hospital for the University of Florida) at that visit he told me that there was no hope for my condition to improve, that I needed to find a good pain management doctor start taking stronger pain medication and learn to live with my pain.

This may sound strange and foreign but I now know that God placed me in this situation. God sent my affliction so that I might find him and learn to live in his presence. In Psalms 119:67 David writes before I was afflicted I went astray but now have I kept thy word. I laid in bed for almost two years and went through a metamorphosis, God began to change the very desires of my heart. Although I don't deserve it and definitely didn't ask for it God has used this physical process to cure a spiritual sickness. No I wasn't living a horrible life I had not left the church or denied God but I was traveling my own path working for but not with God. I attended all the services, was there for special events and workdays attended the occasional meeting, Ran the audio and video department, played in the band even went down front when the spirit moved but I was not serving him as Paul so eloquently describes in Hebrews 12:4 resisting unto blood striving against sin.

God put me in a position that forced me to slow down and consider my life's direction. He placed me on my back facing heaven. I began questioning him asking why. Next I began begging him asking for a healing after a short time I realized that He was working something into and something out of my life.

During this process God put me into situations where I had to defend what I had been taught and also determine if these things I was defending were actually my convictions and beliefs or something that I was only repeating and propping up. Through this process I have become irrevocably resolute and absolutely convinced of several things. First that without holiness no man shall see God. Second that God's people are to separated or set apart from this world and the things of this world. Third that sin should be defined as, and made known to be exceedingly sinful. Fourth that God is in the process of restoring his church back to the place where it was in the book of Acts. Fifth that judgement must begin in the house of God. That God is using his word spirit and ministry to guide, lead and judge his people.

In early June of this year my back had gotten to the point where I was spending all of my time in bed the pain was so great that I dreaded just rolling over from one position to another. I was suffering almost constant muscle spasms that were so intolerable they would drain the strength and will to fight from me. I was taking massive doses of muscle relaxers, pain medicine and Ibuprofen in a futile effort to control the spasms. Somewhere around that point in time I sent out a mass text while in my drug fogged pain riddled state asking for prayer (I needed relief). God's people responded I was inundated with text's, calls, emails and cards from all over the country and even overseas God's people rallied in prayer. Several assemblies joined together one Friday night and had an all night prayer meeting just for me. I am not worthy of the love that has been given me. I am humbled and grateful beyond words. I went to sleep that night firmly believing that God was going to reach down and miraculously heal me, I thought that I would wake up leaping and shouting the next morning. But God in his wisdom didn't choose to heal me that night.

About two weeks later I woke up around 4:00a.m. in extreme spasm that would not stop at about noon I finally crawled to the car and had my wife help load me up to take me to the hospital but the spasms became so extreme that we didn't make it out of the driveway before I was screaming for her to stop. I fell out of the car crawled back into the house made it back into bed and laid there in agony and unending spasm. after spasm. Around 4:00 I finally asked my wife to call 911 and request an ambulance to take me to the hospital.They kept me about 4 hours and filled me with some kind of industrial strength muscle relaxer that finally settled the spasms down some then said that's all they could do for me and sent me home. I felt hopeless.

The next morning my Dad came over and was sitting beside the bed praying with me. We were in sincere, heartfelt prayer begging God for answers. While in prayer God put a name in my mind a man that was customer of mine that I had not talked to or seen in several years. The name was DR. Timothy Groover he is an anesthesiologist but more importantly he is the son of the pastor of an apostolic church here in Jacksonville and he is a strong believer in Jesus. I haven't called him in years but I immediately picked up my cell phone and his name and number were for some reason still in my contacts. I asked my dad to please call Dr. Groover and see if he could find us some help. He answered immediately my Dad began to relate to him my plight and he immediately started off by praying for me. He told my Dad that there was a surgeon that was trying some unconventional surgery methods that was having amazing results and that he was going to speak to him for me. The next morning my Dad received a call from Dr. Javier Garcia-Bengochea my Dad again explained my plight and let him also know that my insurance was expired and I had spent my life's savings on the previous two surgeries. Dr, Garcia got my cell phone number from my father and said I'll call him. Several days later I was beginning to despair again he had not called me. It was after 10:00 at night on Sunday night he called my cell phone from his cell and said he wanted me in his office the next morning and that I was not to worry about the money. I arrived at his office he looked at my MRI and x-ray's turned around smiled really big and said I can fix you. two weeks later I was on the operating table. It has been right at four months since that surgery; I am able to walk several miles I am working full time today I in the course of my job had to climb 160 feet of steep stairs and climb out onto a catwalk above the local coliseum here in Jacksonville. I can do just about anything that I need to tackle. By the way God worked everything out so that the total hospital bill came in several weeks ago total medical cost $3.00.

To all of you that have been praying for me I am humbled and grateful beyond my ability to express. God has done a wonderful thing in my life he has used this time to heal me not just my body but my mind and spirit as well. I am so grateful that I have been placed in the midst of his people and have been called to be one of his chosen few. It's not because of anything good in me or for any other reason than I am committed to try to be worthy to be a vessel of honor in his house.

I am thankful!!!!!!!

CREATION

All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made, John 1:3. He created man on the sixth day, Genesis 1:26-28, God created mankind. All mankind, all races of mankind. Red, yellow, black, and white, they were all beautiful in His sight, Genesis 1:3. However, there was no man to till the ground. That is to say there was no man to bring forth a cultivated product according to His plans and purposes. So God reached into the dust of the earth and formed Adam, Genesis 2:5-7. Dust ... Genesis 3:16, Genesis 18:27, Numbers 23:10, First Kings 16:2, Isaiah 41:2, Men are as dust, and great men are raised from the dust. Adam was formed from the dust of the earth. God reached into the masses of humanity and extracted a man for His purposes, to bring forth in His likeness, and in His image; a cultivated product.

All men without God are beasts, Ecclesiastes 3:18. Man without God are not so, (they have no spiritual relevance) but are like the chaff which the wind drives away, Psalms 1:4. Without God man is none of His, Romans 8:9. Until god breathes His life into man he has no preeminence above any other of the beasts, Ecclesiastes 3:19.

This is why a second birth is necessary. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit, John 3:3-6. Until someone is endowed with the Spirit of God all they have is natural life with all its natural purposes and propensities. They live, they breathe. they bring forth according to their kind, and they die, even as do all other natural living things. Without God man is a soul. With the breath of God man is a living soul, Genesis 2:7. A soul without God has mortal life and purpose. A man with God is endowed with the Spirit that has immortality is endowed with immortal life and purpose, First Timothy 6:16, Second Timothy 1:10.

CERTAIN DISAPPOINTMENT

It is true, always true, if you hold too tight for too long, giving too much, while expecting too much, you are destined to be sorely hurt and grievously disappointed. All flesh is self seeking, self justifying, and self serving. Our adversary the devil takes whomsoever he will at his will, Second Timothy 2:26.