John 15:15-16 - "He Lives"

Last night before going to sleep I prayed for pastors. I told the Lord I was so tired but if He needed to wake me during the night I would be His faithful servant to pray. At 5AM He woke me to pray for them. He told me to pray for those who will be in the pulpit this morning to "preach boldly with clarity so people will have transformation in their lives." This week's preaching class has been kind of hard to grasp with a different approach to preaching. I keep praying the Lord will change my habits easily. I have never preached in the manner I have to in this class. The professor tells me I will make more of an impact in people's lives by following this way but it is hard to grasp. The most important thing that needs to happen when one is preaching is for transformation to occur. The 'less is more' theory is what I am being taught. I thought about this as I was praying. I don't know how many preachers follow the way I am being taught but I do know I am praying for transformation in the hearts of the people who are in services today. The Lord also had me pray for spouses of pastors who are dealing with 'junk' in their lives. Some of it is because of people's expectations of them. Some of it is from their low self-esteem. Some of it is from the enemy who wants to tear down pastor's families. But some of it is from the Lord who desires them to be stronger in their walk with Him. When I got up this morning the words to a hymn were going through my mind...

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian,   Lift up your voice and sing Eternal hallelujahs   To Jesus Christ the King! The Hope of all who seek Him,   The Help of all who find, None other is so loving,   So good and kind. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives?     He lives within my heart.

This hymn was one of my favorites when I was growing up. There is such encouragement throughout the whole song. As we serve Him, we know He is always there for us. "And just the time I need Him, He's always near" are words we can grasp and hold onto during tough days. We have hope in eternity with Him as we go through times of weariness and despair on this earth. We have the closeness of Him on this earth until the time we go to be with Him in heaven. Henry Neumister was the song leader when I was growing up. His wife Mid played the organ. There was never a time when there was not a smile on their faces as we sang. We, as pastors and pastors spouses, need to remember the words to this song. We need to remember He is always with us, in good and bad days. We need to remember His strength is our strengh when we embrace it. His joy is our joy as we allow Him to fill us. The Holy Spirit will empower us as we give Him the courtesy to do so. 

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for the reminders of this hymn this morning. Thank You for all pastors and spouses who are walking the road of obedience to Your will. Father, I know of some who are going through some tough days. I continue to pray for health needs of Junior and Mike. I also continue to pray for healing in Doc's hands. Lord, I pray for the pastor who is transitioning to a new church. I also pray for Kyle who is moving up to be a 'pastor's pastor' as DS and for whoever You have for the SC DS. Lord, may You cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing so people will see/hear You through me. I continue to pray for the challenge ahead in this Preaching class. May You wrap my head around what I need to do. Father, You are so awesome in the ways You lead me. May You continue to keep my focus on You and Your will. Thank You Jesus for being The One Who Lives In My Heart. Amen.