Salvation Springs Up

by Joe Cuda

"You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the Lord, have created it. Isaiah 45:8

It was a night of family worship & prayer, a time where Shirley, Joel and I get together with our extended family to seek God's face. Over the past several months we have had a number of family meetings in one of the local churches, and have seen the hand of God move powerfully in answer to specific prayers. Tonight we anticipated another great night, but the Holy Spirit had a surprise in store for us that would be even greater than our expectations!

At this particular gathering we asked for testimonies about answers to prayers from our last meeting. We began to recount some of the major ones and gave praise to Jesus for His blessings. The testimonies spoke of some desperate physical, financial, and other needs -- God worked His wonders in them all. What joy as I realized the difference our corporate prayers were making in our family.

We focused on the greatness of God as we praised and worshipped Him. Songs of the Lord were born and prayers were expressed. At some point we shifted from live music to CD for soaking in His presence. Joann Macfatter's CD, "Messengers of Fire", turned out to be just what the Holy Spirit ordered -- releasing us to a realm of the Spirit of God that filled the room with His glory.

About an hour later, as the music continued, Shirley and her sister, Peggy, needed to go outside to the car. They noticed, in the darkness, a man walking his dog. He spoke to them and asked what was going on inside; they explained, and talked a little, eventually asking if he lived nearby. He turned and motioned across the street toward a house that had a lighted cross on the door and answered, " I live just to the right of the cross". That comment was too pointed to pass up! Shirley asked if he'd ever "been to the Cross". That turned the conversation toward spiritual matters. Turned out he was very ready for a much needed change in his life. A "recovering" alcoholic, he told them some of his story. They listened and invited him in to the church.

Once inside, we all had the pleasure of meeting this man, Robert. We listened as he explained more about his life and how he wanted a change. Shirley asked him if he wanted Jesus in his life. He responded with a resounding yes, revealing hunger for the spiritual in his life.

Each of us had an opportunity to share a nugget or two from the Lord. Our nephew, Dion, led out in prayer concerning Robert's battle with alcohol, Peggy and others joining in. I had a word about God's great love and healing power. Robert prayed a prayer of forgiveness and was gloriously born again! Praise the name of the Lord!

We laid hands on him and prayed some more. When the prayer was over God had given him a sign that this was real. He said our hands were penetratingly hot while on his shoulders. We explained that this was the fire of the Holy Spirit -- that same fire was now inside him. With tears in his eyes I gave him a big strong hug. I could feel the water of his tears of joy through my shirt. Others gave him hugs and we welcomed him into the family and Kingdom of God.

What a wonderful surprise the Holy Spirit had given to us. Another person plucked from the hand of the evil one and brought into the glorious light of Jesus Christ! We asked him if he would like to stay with us while we worshipped and prayed some more -- he said he would love to. Dion ended up talking with him at length about the things of the Spirit and we invited him to come to the church on Sunday. He was all for that and even said he would like to be baptized soon.

We gave Robert a Bible and Shirley showed him where the book of John was and suggested he start reading there. We'll be keeping in touch with him in the days ahead and covering him with prayer as he journeys on the road with Jesus.

By this time it was about 11:30pm. Dion offered to take him out to Denny's and all of us would join in, but Robert had to get up early to go to work, so he graciously declined.

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

Thank you Jesus for showing yourself strong -- for loving us when we don't deserve it -- for your AMAZING GRACE!

Happy 61st Anniversary ZA & Olive

Yes, it is 61 years to this day that ZA & Olive were married. Congratulations for holding onto Jesus and each other for all those years.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!
From Joe, Shirley & Joel

President Bush Proclaims National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2007

Courtesy of Breaking Christian News

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America:

White House Staff/AH (Jan 21st, 2007)

America was founded on the principle that we are all endowed by our Creator with the right to life and that every individual has dignity and worth. National Sanctity of Human Life Day helps foster a culture of life and reinforces our commitment to building a compassionate society that respects the value of every human being.

Among the most basic duties of Government is to defend the unalienable right to life, and my Administration is committed to protecting our society's most vulnerable members. We are vigorously promoting parental notification laws, adoption, abstinence education, crisis pregnancy programs, and the vital work of faith-based groups. Through the "Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002," the "Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003," and the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004," we are helping to make our country a more hopeful place.

National Sanctity of Human Life Day serves as a reminder that we must value human life in all forms, not just those considered healthy, wanted, or convenient. Together, we can work toward a day when the dignity and humanity of every person is respected.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Sunday, January 21, 2007, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

— GEORGE W. BUSH

Source: White House

Tumor Healed in Olympia!

Courtesy of Global Legacy --

David from Olympia told the story of a man in his church who runs a shop. A customer, whom he had known years ago, when asked how he is doing, answered, pretty bad. I have a tumor in my head that is going to kill me in a month. The man prayed for him, and God knocked the customer to the floor. Fearing he had had a grand mal seizure, the other employees were upset, and the brother calmed them down. A half hour later, the man walked out to return a month later and testify, "Let me tell you what happened. I went back to my doctor, and the tumor is completely gone!"

CA Prison Testimony

This report comes from Global Legacy --

Terry from Sonora, California reported good news from the Sierra Conservation Center, a prison in Jamestown, California. In recent months, they've seen an increasing move of God, with many inmates being filled with the Holy Spirit. Religious demons are leaving, and the men, who are pressing in to know God, are enjoying dreams and encounters. More inmates are on their worship team. There are three prisons: a minimum, medium and maximum. One Christian inmate on the medium had it on his heart to do a concert there, and he received favor to organize it. They had five bands, two of which were Christian. They opened it up to other inmates, so there were a Mexican, a rock and a blues band. They got to play together, which connected the Christians with the others. They held the concert on the yard, and it could be heard everywhere and got to preach the Gospel to 1500 men, who were all out on the yard at the same time, doing various activities. People were being healed in two different sections in healing lines. There were about 30 healings in two different waves. People were still being "whacked" by God for days afterwards. An event on the yard had not been scheduled in 16 years. Because it was so successful, inmates on other yards wanted it there, so they are going to do another concert on another yard. Even the officers were touched. The brother who put this together is Ray Spencer, former drummer for the Guess Who, has been attacked with cancer; readers are requested to pray for him. Those around him are believing for his healing. He is really fathering a lot of the men out on the yards.

Revival and PRAYER QUOTES

-From- http://www.sermonindex.net


"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our
bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their
knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for."
-Charles Spurgeon

"The new wine of revival will shatter the old wineskins of formality."
-Leonard Ravenhill

"We need a baptism of clear seeing. We desperately need seers
who can see through the mist--Christian leaders with prophetic
vision. Unless they come soon it will be too late for this generation.
And if they do come we will no doubt crucify a few of them in the
name of our worldly orthodoxy." -A.W. Tozer

"It doesn't take an extraordinary person - just devotion to our
extraordinary God - to live an extraordinary life." -Unknown.

"The shortest distance between a problem and the solution is the
distance between your knees and the floor." -Anonymous

"In the Irish Revival of 1859, people became so weak that they
could not get back to their homes. Men and women would fall by
the wayside and would be found hours later pleading with God to
save their souls. They felt that they were slipping into hell and
that nothing else in life mattered but to get right with God... To
them eternity meant everything. Nothing else was of any
consequence. They felt that if God did not have mercy on them
and save them, they were doomed for all time to come."
-Oswald J. Smith

"In every generation the number of the righteous is small. Be sure
you are among them." -A. W. Tozer

"We fear men so much, because we fear God so little. One fear
cures another." -William Gurnall

"Making heaven on earth is our business." -William Booth

"If your faith can't be tested, it can't be trusted." - Unknown.

"If we look carefully within ourselves, we shall find that there are
certain limits beyond which we refuse to go in offering ourselves
to God. We hover around these reservations, making believe not
to see them, for fear of self-reproach. The more we shrink from
giving up any such reserved point, the more certain it is that it
needs to be given up. If we were not fast bound by it, we should
not make so many efforts to persuade ourselves that we are free."
-François Fénelon (1651-1715), Spiritual Letters

"Is what you're living for worth Christ dying for?"
- Epitaph of Leonard Ravenhill

"Beware of prayerless tears and beware of tearless prayers."
- Unknown

"Pray hardest when it is hardest to pray."
- Charles H. Brent

"Your character is who you are when no one but God is watching
you." - Unknown

"Could a mariner sit idle if he heard the drowning cry?
Could a doctor sit in comfort and just let his patients die?
Could a fireman sit idle, let men burn and give no hand?
Can you sit at ease in Zion with the world around you DAMNED?"
- Leonard Ravenhill

"And When I am dying, how happy I'll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee."
-Author Unknown

“Preach abroad….It is the cooping yourselves up in rooms that
has dampened the work of God, which never was and never will be
carried out to any purpose without going into the highways and
hedges and compelling men and women to come in.”
- Jonathan Edwards

"No sort of defense is needed for preaching outdoors, but it would
take a very strong argument to prove that a man who has never
preached beyond the walls of his meetinghouse has done his duty.
A defense is required for services within buildings rather than for
worship outside of them.” - William Booth