Preach it Grandpa!

Revelation 14 (The Message)

 ^6-7I saw another Angel soaring in Middle-Heaven. He had an Eternal Message to preach to all who were still on earth, every nation and tribe, every tongue and people. He preached in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory! His hour of judgment has come! Worship the Maker of Heaven and earth, salt sea and fresh water!"

MY Grandfather Lawrence Lewis was a Church of God preacher. He was a great preacher.  I love my pastors I have now. I loved to hear my Dad preach. Each preacher I've heard has had a special, individual way  to present the message of God. For some reason, I thought of my Grandpa Lewis when i read this passage from Revelation. The best memories I have of my Grandpa Lewis preaching was from Smithfield CHurch of God. For those of you who haven't been to Smithfield, and not many have, it's a little stop sign near Muncie, Indiana. Smithfield also is the home of Wapahani High School. My Grandfather had such a powerful presence in the pulpit. He was a rather tall man and he had such a confidence in his preaching. When we visited Grandpa, we attended church on Sunday Morning, Sunday Night, Wednesday night and Thursday night, and on many other occasions. Even when i was tired and napped in the church Pew, Grandpa's preaching had an impact. I don't remember one of his sermons, but I remember the message he always spoke:  "Fear God and give him glory! His hour of judgment has come! Worship the Maker of Heaven and earth, salt sea and fresh water!" He could have been a Biblical writer. His message was always straight from the Bible. 

Even though I don't remember a specific sermon, I remember his most important sermon. I remember the sermon he lived every day of his life. He was a true servant of God. He never had a lot of wealth and I'm not sure he ever owned a home. But, he was rich and he was filled with the spirit of God. He was a preacher by trade and a true disciple with his life. I hope to continue that tradition with my family. We should all be the same type of servant he was. Thanks Grandpa for your example and love of God!

Two different preachers answer to same God!

James 2 (The Message)

 ^1-4My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, "Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!" and either ignore the street person or say, "Better sit here in the back row," haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted?

Attached is a story I read on a facebook site for christian bikers. Enjoy the message:

2004 THE WORD ON WHEELS
Late one Sunday night as a preacher and His Wife and two daughters, were returning back home to Georgia from preaching a revival in daytona beach florida,They began to have car trouble while headed north on Interstate 75. The Preacher pulled off onto the first off ramp that He came to, and as he pulled into a old deserted gas station that seemed out in the middle of nowhere the car came to a dead stall and quit. as They sat there for a while it seemed like they never whould find any help out here in the middle of nowhere,with no phone and no machanic on duty. As the preachers wife and Daughters sat in the car the Preacher walked out into the dark Florida night gathering His thoughts as to how He was going to get His family safely back home to Georiga. And then God Spoke to His Spirit saying You have fathfully carried My word From Georiga through the wilderness to Florida and My word will carry You home again have faith and trust in Me. wheels ink and leather run together but don't judge a book by the cover. My workers on earth have many faces but all do the same work just in different places; Have fath.Then as the preacher walked back over to his car He overheard one of his little girls praying Oh God our patiants have run out in trusting in this old ford it seems sooner or later cars will all let You down But We put Our trust right now in You God to send somebody Anybody to Our aid amen. and As the Preacher looked in at His wife and smiled They were overtaken by the sound of Motorcycles and looked up to see at least a hundred motorcycles pulling in to the deserted service station and surrounding them.The first thought that enterd the Preachers mind was dear lord is this where My ministry ends and My family and I Meet You tonight. But as He looked out into the crowd of Men and women and saw tattoos and black leather He realized What God had spoken to His heart.Wheels ink and leather run together, He then felt relieved. Then one of the bikers who was a big man walked up to the Preacher smiled and said My name is John cramer Iam sorry if we starttled You folks, But We were on Our Way back to Georiga comming up Interstate 75 and The Spirit Of the Lord spoke to Me and told Me to get off at this exit. Are You folks alright do You need some help. The Preacher spoke up saying We sure do Iam a preacher from Atlanta Georgia My Family and I have been down to daytona over the weekend Preaching a revival, and way out here in the middle of nowhere this old Ford has died and left us stranded.The big Man just said I think We can Help You folks out of Here and He turned and whistle and two other men came over but as the man turned the Preacher noticed the words on the back of the big mans black leather jacket Heavens wheels riders for the lord. and at the bottom the name John the Baptist. still crying in the wilderness, And He thought of the Scripture in (Matthew 11:11 -Verily I say to You among Them that are born of Woman there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist)Then John turned back to the preacher saying Don't worry preacher these two Guys can fix just about anything even an old Ford. And ain't it funny how God can bring two totally differn't looking preachers from Georgia together out in the middle of nowhere down here in florida,both on the same mission just each dressed a little differn't. I also am a preacher too You see ten years ago this verry week Me and a few of these other Guys here were on Our way down to daytona for Bike Week andThough We were a lot wilder then We were met on the road to Damascus you know Daytona and the lord changed Our Hearts and turned Our Eyes in a different direction, and with Our tattoos and black leather jackets We were like the word of God said in the book of (Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change His skin,or the the Leopard His spots Then may Ye also do Good that are accustomed to do evil.) And now Our wheels are turning for the Lord, And the lord put it in Our hearts to come down to daytona every year now to hold a revival right in the middle of Bike week and every year Our group grows a little and the kingdome of Heaven even More. And just as John was finishing up His testimony, the other two Guys returned saying We got that old ford going again Preacher, The fuel filter was clogged up We took it off but it will be ok till You get back home to Georgia and can replace it. And with this The preacher and His family And John the Baptist and His gang bid fairwell to each other traded phone numbers and vowed to meet next year during bike week and hold one big revival together.though being two totall different preachers in different cloths each carrying the very same word, the word of God no matter if Your driving an old Ford or wheather Your rideing on the back of a big ole Harley davison Motorcycle looks don't count

FISHEROFMEN.50megs.com NATHAN NEWTON. 

The Real Deal!

2 Corinthians 11 (The Message)

 ^7-12I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it. With Christ as my witness, it's a point of honor with me, and I'm not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think. It's not that I don't love you; God knows I do. I'm just trying to keep things open and honest between us.
 ^12-15And I'm not changing my position on this. I'd die before taking your money. I'm giving nobody grounds for lumping me in with those money-grubbing "preachers," vaunting themselves as something special. They're a sorry bunch—pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers—posing as Christ's agents but sham to the core. And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn't surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they're not getting by with anything. They'll pay for it in the end.


My Dad was a Methodist Pastor.  He did not go into ministry full time until my senior year in high school.  He started out as a Gideon, accepted two churches on a part time basis before he turned to full time ministry. He moved around as Pastors do in the Methodist Church.  I was always so proud how honorable he was and how he had an impeccable reputation.  It's not always easy being a full time preacher.  We used to tease Dad about only having to work on Sunday, but we knew the truth.  Pastors rarely work a simple 9-5 day or a 40 hour week. They rarely take long vacations or have full days off. Besides the after-hour meetings, constant bombardment of phone calls from "the flock", funerals, weddings, hospital visits, counseling, managing the church personnel, church finances and writing an occasional sermon, it can be grueling. Through all of that, I never one time, heard my Dad complain or turn someone down.  He was so honorable.  The pseudo-preachers, lying preachers, crooked pastors, immoral pastors, always grab the headlines.  But, the Real Pastors, the ones who work the long weeks and are concerned about honor and keeping things open and honest, just go about their schedule serving in quiet and effective ways. He was not perfect, none of them are.  But, he was careful never to be a burden to the church. He served with honesty and integrity, even when the message had to be "tough love". He was humble and made sure people knew he was nothing special, just a simple servant.  Most REAL pastors are like that.  God sent these wonderful servants to share his message. Don't get discouraged when you hear about pastors who masquerade as God's servants. Don't lose faith when you witness first hand the type of pastor Paul was describing. They are only a small minority and will always get their just rewards in the end. If you look closely at your Pastor, more than likely you will see he is the real deal!

Lord, Thank you so much for the servants you send to Preach the Gospel.  We praise you that your spirit guides their lives.  Please protect them and their families from harm.  Bless them abundantly,  help them to focus on you and not be distracted by the things of this world.  Give them rest, renew their spirit daily, and provide them with your wisdom to lead.  In your great and powerful name, Amen.