Of the angels he says, 'Who makes his angels winds, And his servants a flame of fire.' Hebrews 1:7 WEBWhen the preacher walked past our row of seats, it seemed like you could feel heat coming off of him. When he looked at you, it was as if he looked straight into your heart and saw how black that it really was. You felt as if he could see everything that you had ever done wrong in your life. It was uncomfortable, and I could not help but look away.
I was not used to this. You could usually sleep through the service at our church and no one would notice. Though I was saved and had attended church for years, this visiting speaker whom I had never seen before or since, walked in an anointing that I did not know existed before then.
He called my friend up front who was sitting beside me, and began to tell him about the three car accidents that my friend had been in, and how God had spared his life so that He could use him today. He had never seen my friend before, yet he was spot on about his past. I could see that God shared secrets with this man.
After this he called me up front and told me that God had given me a mathematical mind, and an ability to understand things complex. That one day I would be in the ministry, so to begin to prepare myself for it. I was around twenty years old when he gave me that word, and I painted houses for a living.
It excited me, and I went through Bible college at night and earned a degree, but when I graduated, every door was supernaturally shut. People would schedule me to speak at their church, then cancel the night before. I ended up working on computers for most of the next twenty years and eventually forgot about the ministry altogether. I figured that I had either missed Him, or wrecked His plan for me somehow.
Years later, our computer business dried completely up and after months of job searching, we could find nothing. The final week that we were getting ready to move out of our house, I was suddenly pushed into full time ministry as a pastor. It was the furthest thing from my mind at that point, but it was a wide open door, and the only job open to me.
'Prepare yourself' meant a lot more than Bible college and it took twenty-five years, but here I am today. Now I use the technical skills that I learned along the way to build the online church here and to send out our devotional each day. Refreshing Hope maintains its own server farm built by us, running code that we wrote, and we are using it to spread God's word around the earth.
I wrote all of that not to build myself up, but to say that my outlook on Christianity changed a lot that day when I watched a man walk under a heavy anointing by God, and prophesy things that came true twenty-five years later. He was the genuine article and he carried the Holy Spirit like a flame. I want that, but it costs everything. Total commitment.
I learned that day that there is a level of walking with the Lord that not everyone has. Sure, we will make it to heaven, but there is an anointing for those that press into the heart of God right now. There is an intimacy to be had, while we are living here.
Prayer: Heavenly Father I know that You are there for me, and I want to be here for You. Use me Lord. Speak to me and through me. Help me to encourage others in their walk with You. Let me lead others to You. Anoint me to help bring in the harvest and guide my steps today, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.Note: Happy Sunday! All are invited this morning to join us for our weekly RHM Live church service! Join us for our weekly time of worship, interactive prayer, and fellowship, as well as an encouraging message. To participate in the chatroom you need to have a site account, but if not, you can still watch the video of the study. Service starts at 10am EST, but all are encouraged to show up 15 minutes early for fellowship, and to make sure the stream is working for you before we start. Here is the link to join:
RHM Live > You can subscribe to our daily devotional here <
thank you pastor!..
Amen.
Amen praise God ! Happy Sunday morning to all may everyone have a bless Sunday
Help me to be a good example dear God amen.
God has plans for us that we have not planned for ourselves. Some of the abrubpt changes that we make in life, such as quitting jobs, were actually part of God's plan and timing, all along. Thank you for these, Lord. I know that these were blessings from you when I needed them.
Amen, brother, amen <3!
Lead us God and we will follow. Amen
Amen!
Amen!!
AMEN!
Amen! Thank you so much for this wonderful devotional! You are always so clearly filled with the fullness of God :) God Bless you and dear Sylvia so much :)
Dear Father I'm here, use me and lead me to that You have for me. I know I'm a sinner but Your grace will cleanse me,in Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Amen and Amen! What a message, what a testimony and what an eye opener, especially for me! Thank you so much Pastor Dion! The Lord works in mysterious ways in all of our lives, we all are at different stages in our growth and maturing process. He sees the full picture and whatever it takes to bring us to a point in our lives that He can truly use us. Thank you so much for starting out and building the RFH ministry and outreach! I greatly appreciate you and Sylvia, and thank the Lord for you both! "Numbers 6:24-26"
amen
Father forgive me of all my sins and help me to be who you want me to be. I need help saying the right things to my lost family and friends. They need you today, and I need more of you to reach the lost. In Jesus Name I ask and receive, Amen
Amen!
Amen Lord
Amen. Praise God! Thanks Pastor Todd! Heavenly Father I know that You are there for me, and I want to be here for You. Use me Lord. Speak to me and through me. Help me to encourage others in their walk with You. Let me lead others to You. Anoint me to help bring in the harvest and guide my steps today, in the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.