REVERENCE FOR CHRIST Recap

 

REVERENCE FOR CHRIST RECAP

I know I should have posted this a few days ago, but we were very tired and had some things to deal with; such as why the van overheated on the way to Campbellsville, and how the lab “lost” the impressions of Charles’ teeth. So here I am today giving you a re-cap of the Concert Sunday.

As I stated above, we were on our way to Campbellsville Sunday morning when we noticed the temperature gauge had “pegged”. We had no clue as to what was going on, so we pulled over; thankful to God that our dear friend Paula was following along behind us. Paula had spent the weekend with us and lives in Campbellsville. After pulling over, we discovered the “overflow” to the radiator was empty. Paula informed us that she had had a spray coming on her windshield but had assumed we’d run through some water on the road. We always take bottled water with us, so we had enough to put in the overflow container that would get us to the next exit where we stopped and filled the reservoir and also a gallon jug with water.

We got to the church with plenty of time to get set up and do a sound check. Paula had enlisted the aid of her son, Marshall, to help with the equipment. That young man is such a blessing; not only in his helping with the equipment but also as a friend. He is eighteen, waiting to go into the Navy and has a tremendous understanding of godly things.

The concert from our stand point was a blessing in being able to share the love of the Father with His children. Many seemed truly blessed and came up to us afterward to tell us so. Tears flowing; hugs given; and hearts touched; all the things required to signify a wonderful concert.

This concert was sort of a “follow-up” from the all-day sing back in September. The church had invited us to join in with several other groups, which was wonderful; they even had free food.

This is another instance of “action-reaction” we spoke of earlier; beginning last year at a church where we met some wonderful folk, who invited us to another church, where we met someone else who invited us to sing at the nursing home, where we met the wife of the pastor of the Reverence For Christ Church. This is also how we met our friend Paula, who is a wonderful addition to our “family”. All of these things are blessings from our Lord God. As these blessings continue to come, we continue to be overwhelmed at His outpouring of love to His children. When you love Him with a pure, sincere love, the outcome of returned love is nothing short of wondrous.

Just in case you were wondering about the van and the teeth, those situations are being resolved as I type this. The resevoir we discovered had a crack in it which led to loosing our fluids and thus overheating. The garage is getting a replacement resevoir and will be installing it soon. The teeth, well, not a lot can be said about that other than what satan meant for a bad thing, God is turning into a good thing. The lost impressions were taken a couple weeks after the extractions. The replacement impressions were done this week which means the gums are closer to being “normal” in size; no swelling; so the teeth when received will fit much better; making everything work more efficiently. This is simply a reminder that no matter what we face, God will supply what is needed to get us through. Sometimes He even gets us OUT. It truly pays to be faithful.

Till next time, watch for the signs,

Maxine

 

SERIOUS BUSINESS

SERIOUS BUSINESS

Matthew 10: 7, 9-10 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

Matthew 10: 21-23 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another:

Matthew 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 10:36, 37, 40 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Luke 22: 35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.

DISCIPLE: professed follower of Jesus

You probably know these scriptures. You’ve probably heard them preached on. Have you ever considered that they were spoken to you as well as the disciples? Isn’t that what you are if you follow Jesus and His teachings?

How serious are you about your calling; your “walk” with the Lord? We’ve heard the story of the sixteen year old girl from Columbine, who, when asked if she believed in Jesus, said YES, knowing the outcome would be the end of her life on earth. We all think we could do the same. I mean, after all, when our life here is over don’t we go to be with Him anyway? What will happen when there is a twist on the issue? Put yourself in the position of the sixteen year old with one variation; the gun is pointed to your parents; your child; your siblings; your friend. If it was THEIR life you were talking about, could you still, would you still say YES, I BELIEVE IN JESUS? This makes it a bit harder doesn’t it? We have a very dear friend who, when discussing this subject with her children, asked them the question point blank; “What should I do, if someone were to point a gun at you and tell me they will kill you if I don’t deny Jesus?” Her children all said “Mom, you have to let them kill us.” WOW!!!

What if it has nothing to do with a gunman and the taking of a life as we consider life. What if it had to do with God talking to you and asking you to leave your family, friends, financial security; to go to the unknown? Could you still follow Jesus as did the disciples of the New Testament? In Matthew 10: 7-10 He commanded the disciples to do just that. Matthew 10:37: He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. When God gave Moses the ten commandments, did you ever wonder why He said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”? We think of gods as “Buddha”, “Mohammad” the various “idols/gods” you see in astrology, such as the “goddess of..”; the “god of…” But we don’t realize that ANYTHING that keeps us from obeying and serving JEHOVAH GOD, is a “god”, an “idol”. That is the “before Me” part. We put things/people ahead of God on a daily basis and we think we’re “OK”.

We personally have heard of God calling one to move to a different state for ministry purposes; yet they chose to stay in their comfort zone, not believing God would provide. Another instance of a pastor commanded by God to leave his current pastorate and go in a different direction. His concern was a bank account in which he felt financially stable. Not thinking that maybe, just maybe God provided the bank account in order that he could GO in the new direction. Yet again, not trusting God’s provision. Psalm 37:25 says, I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Charles and I can testify to that fact.

There comes a time in the life of a follower of Jesus, in which we are “tested” to see how serious we are about the walk we are placed in. This doesn’t only pertain to “pastors”; “evangelists”; etc. This also pertains to the “layman” in the discipleship. Your only call may be to be a representative of God in your neighborhood; maybe even only for 30 days; as you have possibly read in regards to our move to Morristown for 30 days. I am not “tooting” our horn here, nor patting us on the back. This is just to let you know that we have experience in these matters.

There is scripture also concerning “bloody hands”. If you read Ezekiel chapter 33 you will find it. Likewise, scripture concerning “dusty feet” found in Matthew 9. When you read these scriptures, you will see the importance not only for those you come into contact with but for yourselves as well.

We have personally been in the situation of Matthew 9. We have gone to those who rejected us and the message God had for them outright. For those people we have shaken the dust from our feet and will not return to those in question. To do so would bring down the wrath of God on us. Just as Jesus said in the verses in Matthew chapter 10 mentioned earlier.

You may think we are strange; maybe even heartless; but we choose to follow after God. Many may think “I can serve God without turning away from family, friends, and financial security. But can you really? Jesus also said in, Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

How often have we heard, “God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called”? Does that only refer to “ability” to speak; to sing; to lead? Equipment also refers to finances. Charles and I have only one source of income; that is his social security. God has taken care of our every need. We even carry no medical or life insurance. Sure, satan tries to whisper words of doubt into us; he even uses other people to try and tell us how crazy we are. Do we believe the whispers, or do we trust God? There’s really only one option. WE TRUST GOD…in ALL things.

When God says leave all and follow Me, could we really leave all if we couldn’t do as Jesus said in Matthew chapter 10; He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.? We trained our children to follow Jesus and God regardless of the cost. Yet if we can’t do the same, how can we teach them? They have the same free will; the ability to choose as we did and still do. This writing is reflective of several others we have written. But it all boils down to the simple fact that the time for playing games is over. The time for blaming other people for our choices is over. When we stand before God in judgement, we will stand alone.

We have had the luxury of living in a country where we could read the Bible and not be killed for it. Other countries don’t have that blessing; yet still they will stand for God knowing they will be killed. Soon you will see the same thing in this country, nay the entire world.

Serious business. The world has talked often of the Holocaust in which the Jews, among others were tortured and killed because of “who” they were; and we think that God’s people won’t be persecuted now or in the tribulation. WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE? God’s chosen people from the beginning have been persecuted. Satan has tried to stop them/us in order to “prove” that he is more powerful, that if we ARE persecuted, we will turn from God. Christians were beheaded in Paul’s day. Nero had Christians burned alive as torches for his garden party. Those Christians followed God more closely than we do today. Why do we think we could get by virtually without a scratch? It was said by a pastor we know personally, when asked for scripture references that show the Christian will be raptured out BEFORE the tribulation, “there isn’t any. We just believe that God loves us so much He wouldn’t allow us to suffer like that.” HOGWASH!!! The Hebrews in Moses’ day were no more disobedient; in fact not AS disobedient as we are today and look what happened to them. Does God love us more than He did them? Does God have “favorites”? Could He be a righteous God if that were the case?

When push comes to shove, what will YOUR answer be? The tribulation is fast approaching, thus the reason for the title of this “talk”. It’s time to get REAL. It’s time to get SERIOUS. Will you stand faithful when it’s time for your ultimate decision?

PREPARE, THE TIME IS AT HAND.

© 08/24/2009 Maxine Branthoover

 

 

 

I THINK OF GOD

 

 I THINK OF GOD

 

 When I think of God as Father,

I become the little girl waiting for Daddy to say,

“Come to Me, My child.”

Then I climb up on His knee

and feel His love for His children.

 

When I think of God as El Shaddai,

I become the servant kneeling at His feet

in humble spirit to hear the words, “Well done”,

and feel the pride in His heart for the

faithfulness of His servants.

 

When I think of God as Comforter,

as the trials of this world seem to overtake me, and I feel lost and alone;

I call out to Him and He meets me in my secret place, wraps His arms

gently around me and whispers those words I know, yet still long to hear,

“It’s alright, My Child, I’m here and you will NEVER be alone.”

 

When I think of God as Creator,

I have to step back in awe as I consider the magnitude of

Who He is and am left speechless

as He spreads forth His hand to reveal things

as yet unseen by these mortal eyes.

 

　When I think of God as Protector and Provider,

I look to Him when the pressures of the

evil one attempt to ensnare me.

And I feel the safety and security of the One Who says,

“I am here, My child. Be at peace and know that all is well.”

 

I think often of God and know that whatever I need He will provide.

And the cares of this life will fade into oblivion when I climb up,

kneel down, call out, step back, and look up.

 

I think of God as my Father.

I think of God as Almighty.

I think of God as my Comforter.

I think of God as my Creator.

I think of God as my Protector and Provider.

I think of God as ALL I need

and know that all is well.

 

© 08/14/2009 F. Maxine Branthoover

LUCK: a four-letter word

Definitions:

luck :        1.  that which happens to a person, as if by chance, in the course of events:   to have good luck.

              2.  good fortune ; advantage or success considered as the result of chance; to wish one luck.

              3.  some object on which good fortune is supposed to depend.

 

fortune:      5.  chance: luck

              6.  that which falls or is to fall to one as his portion in life or in any particular proceeding.

              7.  lot; destiny.

              8.  chance personified, commonly regarded as a goddess distributing arbitrarily or capriciously the lots of life.

 

chance:      1.  the absence of any known reason why an event should turn out one way rather than another; spoken as if it were a real agency; chance governs all.

             2.  fortune, fate, luck.                                                                      (definitions from The American College Dictionary by © Random House—New York)

 

 

 

 

Luck—a four letter word used commonly in daily living by so many and yet, by its many definitions, a word that is tied to chance and fortune so strongly that they are used interchangeably.

It is very interesting to find that the word luck and the word fortune do not appear in the Holy Bible (reference the 1611 King James Version) and the word chance only appears 6 times—5 of which use it in reference to “it just happened” and the 6th is used when the Philistine priests and “diviners” talked of the Holy Ark and “God and chance causing the outcome”. It is apparent to me that by their very definitions, the words come from the dark side; the occult; sorcery; witchcraft; or whatever label you choose to put on “the other side”.

Why then are the words so frequently used by Christians? Examples I have heard: “We prayed to God to spare us from the tornado—we were so lucky to survive.” “We escaped with our lives, we had luck on our side.” “The car just missed us—luck was with us.”

I was personally involved in a situation where a dear friend asked for prayer for a particular desperate situation. A few days later, I asked how things were. The response I received was, “We were so lucky; it turned out OK.”

I know in my heart God answered the prayer only to be denied by those blessed. Is it not a slap in the face of Jehovah God to plead with Him from an anguished heart for His mercy—only to attribute the results to luck?

Have you ever done it? Have you found a four-leaf clover and felt “blessed” that it would bring you good luck? Isn’t there a hypocrisy in that thought?

Think back, if you will, to a time in your life when you were especially blessed and you attributed it to luck. Now, I ask you—why would God continue to bless and bless and bless only to be denied the praise for the blessing? He will you know, even as He did throughout the ages—but!!!

Every time—EVERY TIME the word luck is used, the very use of it denies the existence of Almighty God! Think about it! Dwell on it! Its very use in our language habits is another subtle deception of the enemy satan. I am reminded of the analogy—”tell a lie often enough and people will believe it.”  Look at the situation the world is in today.

Think on these things and the next time you use the four-letter word luck, picture the hurt in the Father’s eyes. Amen, Amen, Amen

 

 

 

© 7/11/09 Charles E. Branthoover 

 

 

WINDSOR GARDENS: WOW!!!

Windsor Gardens: WOW!!!

　

A word I don’t use often but Charles uses almost daily…WOW!!! What a glorious, God-blessed time we had with the staff and residents of the Windsor Gardens Assisted Living Home. WOW! Charles giggles when I use the word because it’s so out of character for me. When I see the moving of God, it’s something I expect to happen, so “WOW” rarely comes into play for me. But there are those exceptional times when nothing but WOW will do. This was one of those times. We knew God had something special planned due to the severe attacks from the enemy, satan all week.

We arrived at Windsor Gardens a bit earlier than planned due to another engagement that was scheduled “short notice”. (Grandview asked us back when they found we would be in the area.) This though, allowed us time to relax for a while between times. We’d begun our day at 6:30 AM, needing to be in Campbellsville by 11:00 their time but 10:00 for us; and we left home at 8:30 CST. (Campbellsville is on eastern standard time; what in this area is called “fast” time.) Our muscles reminded us of their age rather quickly, loading and unloading our sound equipment 3 times throughout the day. But God is faithful and enables us to do this. We did have some help at both places with unloading which was a blessing. Charles says “don’t get old, old hurts.” But even youngsters will hurt sometimes, especially if they “over do it”. So I really don’t know that age is the problem, more like inactivity around the house. Needless to say, after over 12 hours of travel, ministry and such, we were tired folk when we got home. I love it when your tiredness comes more from “spiritual” tired rather than physical tired. It’s those times when you can feel, “job well done.” When you hear people respond to you with, “Now I know why you’re here.” “I’ve never seen anyone show true love from God the way you do…you can FEEL it.” Yet they know beyond the shadow of a doubt, it’s not us they are seeing, but our Father.

We did have a few comical moments as well. We were doing one of our popular songs, “Somebody Say Amen”, and as usual we try to get the “audience” to participate; yes even in nursing homes and assisted living they love it. I went over to one gentleman to let him shout “AMEN” over the mike when we got to the proper spot. You can imagine my surprise when he shouted, not AMEN, but “HOLLYWOOD’S WAITING ON YOU”!!!; it blew my mind to say the least. A comment made to Charles by one of the lady residents after we were done: “I always wanted to sing alto in the heavenly choir when I get there, but after hearing you two, I think now I’m going to sing tenor.” LOL Charles told her, “But I’m a bass.” She then said, “Yeah but you sang some good tenor.”

Such a joyous time we had. God allowed for good weather, and a bit cooler temperatures. We’d had really bad storms all week, tornadoes, strong gusty winds, heavy rain, thunderstorms, high humidity…all of it. We were assured the night before that it would be a beautiful day. We knew it meant a “spiritually” beautiful day but it was weather-wise as well. It did rain with some lightening while we were singing at the Grandview, but it wasn’t bad and was all cleared up and sunny by the time we were ready to move on. The rain in this instance dropped the humidity and the temperatures, making it a beautiful day all the way around. When we got to Windsor Gardens, we elected to wait a bit before unloading and setting up as we were early; so we sat on the “front porch” with the breeze blowing and the fragrance of the flowers waifting past; so peaceful and just what we needed for the “break” the Father planned. I could easily have fallen asleep.

We found out we must have been listening to the “inner voice” about not getting unloaded because a piano truck pulled in and had come to switch out the grand piano for an upright. The grand it seems was in need of some sort of repair. Had we unloaded and set our stuff up, it would have been in the way for them to change out the pianos. See how it works when you listen to the voice of God? He knows what’s gonna happen in the next few minutes; the next few hours; days; etc.,etc. and He will prepare you for it if you listen and obey HIS voice.

This didn’t start out to be a long a synopsis, but I trust that the Father is telling me what to say as I type. He’s One I can take dictation from.

Bless you all. Maxine.