Best of June: Part 3

Random Thoughts 6/26/08 1:01 am
Tonight was a quiet night in prayer. I had a very difficult time getting and keeping my focus and that gave place to negative and doubtful thoughts. Eventually I got up and began to walk around the sanctuary meditating on the words that I got that day and some things I shared with Denicia. One in particular that wound up becoming my focal point was removing distractions from between us and God; more specifically God removing distractions from between us. I saw it happen in my own life and wondered if the same thing was happening at the Embassy Church. Once the distractions were removed, I found a renewed and deeper relationship with God; deeper commitment, deeper roots, deeper desire, etc. Then its at this point where I am growing to go and produce more fruit. I was looking at the possible future of the ministry and how a lot of people have left, numbers are down, money is down, etc. I’m wondering if God is removing things that have been distractions so that we can get back to his heart. As if we are being pruned and prepared to go and bear more fruit. That’s the word I walked away with on tonight, we are being pruned so that we can go and bear more fruit.
God gave me a glimpse of where I will ultimately be and then he scaled me back or pruned me to prepare me for what he showed me. he realized that I was not ready to walk in what he showed me so he put it back up on the shelf, keeping it in view but out of reach. My roots are being deepened so that the storms and persuasions ahead will not uproot what is planted. My priorities are being deepened so no matter how high he takes me, I will never become proud and forget what got me there.

Random Thoughts 6/29/08 5:32 pm
I guess I can start last night with prayer. I remember praying for today’s services, specifically praying that the praise team would worship in spirit and in truth and not out of self. Then on this morning as we began praise and worship, I was fighting the thoughts that those on the praise team were not singing from their spirit but out of flesh. Then God convicted me with the question, did I believe that God could rend their hearts and prepare them for this morning’s service? I prayed for it last night but then on this morning I didn’t act as if He heard my prayer and answered my prayer. He brought to remembrance, Hebrews 10:23, “let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess because he who promised is faithful”. I was not being faithful to the prayer that I prayed and in essence doubted what God could and would do. After repenting, God showed that he was still faithful and his presence filled the sanctuary. We had a young lady who saw our early morning broadcast on television and came to service and gave her life to Christ. She said she wanted to get delivered from getting drunk and high and we prayed it in. God is faithful! He confirmed his word throughout service when Pastor’s message was specifically dealing with God being faithful.
One more thing from the 8:45 service; before Pastor began to preach he looked at me and called me Pastor. He told everyone to stop calling me Emmanuel and begin to call me Pastor until I am confident in it. I wasn’t caught off guard because I had heard that spoken before and over the last few weeks a few of the sisters in the ministry started calling Pastor E. If that’s where God is taking me, I’ll follow.