Tag: Holy Spirit

Finishing 2016, Starting 2017

by laurelhillumcBible study / Pathway of Grace

How can you make the end of a year a point of breakthrough instead of just a place you start over? Realize God is drawing us forward to repentance. Now is not the time to substitute regret for things undone with repentance of dead works. When we repent, we are aligning ourselves with the new grace and mercy God is giving us today.

What’s the one thing God is fervently stirring you to do? Let every other resolution or goal reflect that priority. You may pursue multiple goals but what you won’t let yourself do is change the order of those goals until God commands you to do it. I’ll repeat that to remind you: We may pursue multiple goals but we won’t change the order of those goals unless God commands us.

Don’t fall into the trap of your day determining your actions. Instead, let’s make sure our actions determine the day! And, let’s make sure our actions reflect our priority.

Remember, God has assured us of the Holy Spirit’s guidance and the instruction of His Word to conform us into the image of His Dear Son. Let us remember to follow.

Norman Ramsey

P.S. Don’t fall into the trap of having priorities – plural. Have a priority. Do it first and then everything else can get in line after that.seekfirst

P.S.S. Read the Laurel Hill United Methodist Church January newsletter and calendar.

P.S.S.S. Read the Norman Ramsey Ministries 2016 Year End newsletter and be blessed as you move into 2017!

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After the Elections…

by laurelhillumcUncategorized

Mondaelection-2016y, people from the churches in our community gathered at Four Mile Creek Baptist Church to pray together for our nation and the elections. Yesterday, Tuesday, the elections were held and with, what many viewed as, surprising results. Today, I wanted to lift up the same prayers that were prayed on Monday and ask you to continue praying them into the future.

Just like these prayers, our absolute need for the Lord and His grace remains unchanged. The call remains constant: “The time has come,” Jesus said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) The Apostle Paul says it this way, “I  urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.” (1 Tim. 2: 1-6)

These are the prayers that are worth repeating.

  1. That God will glorify His name in the nation after this election.
  2. That the president and president-elect will listen to council from God’s Word.
  3. That the president and president-elect will follow the Constitution.
  4. That God will protect the new president from the influence of the evil one.
  5. That God will teach the new president to know and trust the Lord.
  6. That God will influence the decisions of the new president to bring godliness, justice, and peace to the nations.
  7. That God will protect the new president and his family from any harm.
  8. That God will enable the new president to carry out his duties with humility towards God and all the people of this nation.
  9. That God will give the new president a tender heart towards those he leads and
    serves.
  10. That God will give the new president courage to make choices that are pleasing to God in defense of the nation.
  11. That the pastors of this nation may be filled with the Holy Spirit to proclaim God’s truth in power and conviction.
  12. That the churches of this nation may experience a revival.
  13. That the youth of our nation will turn to God.

Remember and repeat: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16: 34

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Follow and Pray for Annual Conference

by laurelhillumcUpcoming Event

Watch Annual Conference via live stream on website, Facebook
Live streaming of the 2015 Virginia Annual Conference will be available, beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, June 19, from the Virginia Conference website,www.vaumc.org, and from the Virginia Conference Facebook page, www.facebook.com/vaumconf. Or go directly to http://livestream.com/VAUMC/AC2015. The live streaming will AC-2015-color-logoshow all sessions of the three-day conference, including worship at 11 a.m. Sunday, June 21, when Bishop Young Jin Cho will preach. Local churches may show the live video of the Annual Conference worship service during their Sunday morning worship services. Click here to download liturgy for the service that may be used in a church bulletin.

Pray as well for Theresa Duke, Kirby Miller, and the pastor to make every decision with the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Pray for those elected to represent us at next year’s General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference. Also, pray that we will bless the ministry of the Society of Saint Andrew. The pastor’s CD’s will be on display at their table and every CD sold raises $5.00 towards feeding the hungry while we are at Conference.

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Thoughts on Annual Conference

by laurelhillumcUncategorized

2014ACLogo “Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me” – fall afresh on us – was the recurring cry of this Annual Conference. Oh, that it indeed might happen and happen again and again. This is our prayer as we move forward into the remainder of 2014.

For what do I give thanks as I think about this year’s Conference? I think of our Bishop Young Jin Cho. I give thanks for his leadership and his spirit of encouragement and exhortation. I give thanks for our Bible study and worship and the speakers who provoked us to love and good works as they shared. I give thanks the Virginia Annual Conference is #1 in giving support to missions! I give thanks for the testimonials we witnessed of churches growing and being revitalized. I give thanks for the four and a half tons of food that was shared through Cans 4 Conference, for the $145,000 raised towards the Initiatives of Hope, for the exhortation to partner in the fight to Imagine No Malaria, and for the 41,218 Kits they were brought to Annual Conference. Most of all, I give thanks for the brothers and sisters in Christ with which I could see and speak as we gathered together in Hampton.

What concerns me as we move forward in fidelity to Jesus Christ? I am concerned we could move away from the call to prayer and renewal given by our Bishop as we spend time talking about issues of sexuality. I am concerned the big picture of God’s redemption in Jesus could be overshadowed by our snapshot on sexuality. Let me be nostalgic for a moment. I long for the day (like when I was converted) when we call the lost to be saved and sinners to become saints. For those struggling to obey the commands of Christ, I am concerned we will call them to be receptive to the spirit of the age rather than receive the Spirit of Holiness that provides greater inward pressure for wholeness to our soul than any other resolving measure we take for the appropriate use of our passions.

I am concerned about us acting on the basis of stereotype and narrowly focused social concerns that help one while hurting another. I am concerned we push for the enactment of laws to substitute for the grace and the liberty of the Spirit. We approved a resolution for a “living wage” while voting down the opportunity to apply the standard to ourselves first. The maker of the motion insisted we needed to take this action to reflect the Jesus he knew. But, the Jesus I know doesn’t force everyone into the same mold but does call the 2/3 of business owners cited by the maker of the resolution who are in favor of raising the minimum wage to act in good faith on what they believe. We have stereotyped business owners as all rich and self-serving when that is just not the case.

Mostly, I pray for grace and liberty to abound and that each of us and all of us can abide in a place of repentance and alignment with the Truth. I give thanks knowing God will be at work in Jesus Christ through the indwelling Spirit to bring us there!

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When a Plan Comes Together!

by laurelhillumcUncategorized

Hannibal Smith of the A-team says, “I love it when a plan comes together!” I do, too and I was a witness to such a coming together this week. Last night, we concluded the first Varina-wide Revival. The Route 5 Corridor pastors sought the Lord together and believed an event needed to occur where we crossed our racial and denominational barriers. This week the walls came tumbling down. I thank all of those who made this week so good. I thank the Lord! I thank my fellow pastors. A big “Thank you” goes out to the music ministers of our various churches who did a terrific job of making it easy to praise the Lord. I thank all of the folks who came with open hearts to receive the word of the Lord and for our preachers who brought us the word: the Dr. Dean John W. Kinney and the Rev. Dale Hathorn.

Through them we were encouraged to watch for what the Lord will do rather than get stuck looking at our problems. We were encouraged to be a person of praise. We were told to run to the well for living water; don’t sit back and wait for someone to bring you some. Get desperate for a deep drink of living water. Don’t hold back; there is an endless supply. Take the lid off of our box and throw away the sin, the doubt, and the fear and freely enjoy a new experience of the Holy Spirit!

If you were there please share your comments and where you discern the Lord leading us next. This is Annie Rutledge with Dale!daleatrevival

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