Living Word Christian Fellowship

“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving...” Psalm 26:7

Vol. 14, No. 1 January 2005

We are starting out this year with giving because the enemy is working overtime to keep us centered on ourselves.  I have found and continue to be blessed because of the spirit of giving.  It keeps me looking to the Lord for all of my needs and gives me a desire to give to others.  There is never a time when we can say I don’t have to give.  I have never seen the children of God going without bread unless they choose to do so.  I just can’t get it out of my mind about the widow who threw in two mites.  The Lord said she gave the most.  Yet today we have people, we have business men, we have retired individuals who won’t give anything to the work of the ministry.  A deceptive spirit has gripped their hearts and there is nothing that God can do to help them until they learn to give of themselves and what they have. 

God is promising a great spiritual blessing this New Year.  And I for one am going to be in the middle of it!  I don’t want anyone to know what I have given.  But it is a joy to know I have given all the Lord has directed in my heart.  Some people will never hear the Lord tell them to give to the appropriate places because of the hardness of their hearts. 

Our church is one that gives and gives and gives.  And so we continue to have bread served weekly that satisfies the need of our hearts.  I am one of the most blessed pastors I know because of the giving hearts.  And I know that God is going to bless above all that we think or ask. 

So keep yourselves always prepared to receive even as the Lord is preparing to give.

Pr. Steve

Needy Man

Sits behind his desk, ear pressed against the phone,

Oblivious,

Totally, inescapably, completely oblivious

Oblivious to the need.

The need all over himself

All over the floor, the phone, his chair

Like some grotesque, macabre mess

Don’t get me wrong, he does recognize it

He wouldn’t try so hard to clean it up if he didn’t recognize it

He cleans with control

Wipes with manipulation

Polishes with pride

But the harder he tries to clean

The worse this mess gets,

Just smears and smears

You see, he has yet to get to the fountain of this mess

The source of all this need

The source that pumps this mess with every breath, every action.

His Heart.

His undying, unrelentless, unsatisfied, unloved heart

He doesn’t realize he is the source

He is the generator of this ghostly mess

His need just keeps needing.

Oblivious

Utterly, inescapably, oblivious.

Jesus, open his eyes

Open the eyes of his heart

Let him know that he even has one,

So you can come in,

Come in with all that you are

Come in with all you intend for him to be

And clean.

By Henry Wright

January Newsletter 2005 | Principle of Giving | Attention Deficit Disorder

Pastor's Journal January 2004 | Better Than Gold | Storehouses and Treasures part 1 of 3