My family and I attend church each and every week. We go to church on Sundays (mornings and evenings), Wednesdays (evenings only), and Thursdays (evenings; this is when the choirs have their practice times and learn new songs to sing at forthcoming services).
Church may be considered boring or unnecessary to a lot of people, but to our family, church is very important. We take church so seriously because daddy had always done so, and he wanted to make sure we had a semblence of biblical foundation in our lives. He wanted to make sure we knew about Jesus and His ways; and how much Jesus loved each and every one of us.
Now, daddy went to a Pentecostal church here in town each and every Sunday, but mommy and us kids went to a Catholic church across town; daddy's church was a lot closer. But mommy was raised Catholic, and she really didn't understand how a person could possibly be "born again" after they had already been born into life. And she didn't understand the concept behind "being saved." (I can still remember her asking daddy time and time again: "Saved? From WHAT?")
But then Ronee' and Johnny started going with daddy after they expressed a desire to accept Jesus into their hearts, and now three people started attending Christ Community Assembly of God, which was the name of the church that daddy (and now Johnny and Ronee') attended each and every Sunday.
Well, one hot July day (Sunday), the people at Christ Community Assembly of God put on this play about heaven and hell; it was called "Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames"; and Ronee', daddy, and Johnny had invited us to go to this play. So, we went, and--you can probably guess what had happened.
We ended up accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. First mommy and I did, and eventually, as the weeks went by, one by one, the rest of our family did, too. Other than Richard, our family was just about complete. We were ALMOST a Christian family. (Richard is still having doubts about Jesus at the present time; he's had a lot of problems, and he is still dealing with the bad memories. He is also quite angry, and he doesn't really want to hear about Jesus right now.)
Which is okay; eventually, Richard will come around and realize that he needs Jesus. Then he shall repent and ask forgiveness; but until that day, all we can do is pray, wait--and hope.
This has been a little over a year ago, right before the Fourth of July, since we first stepped into the sanctuary of that Pentecostal Church. We now call that Pentecostal Church "home".
Christ Community Assembly of God is a nondenominational church; that is, people of all faiths are welcome to attend whenever they want; nobody is EVER turned away. But it is a church that is ALIVE with the Spirit of the Lord, and the Bible is preached in a BIG way. The body of believers is made up of friendly, caring people who love and worship the Lord in whatever they do, and they never turn away a stranger. The people are on fire for Jesus, and you can clearly see Jesus in their faces and in their eyes as you gaze upon the church members.
The church has five different pastors (one for the young/teen kids, one for the smaller children, one for prayer, an assistant pastor, and the senior pastor, who is the head pastor of the church), but the senior pastor is most involved in doing the work of the Lord; and he takes this VERY seriously. He came to the church nearly 10 years ago from Louisiana, and he has seen this church grow from under 200 people to over 1,000 in just 10 short years. What he has done for this church is nothing short of incredible. He has gotten young kids and whole families to come to church, and he has made coming to church a family affair. Pastor Bilkey is a very vibrant preacher, and when he preaches people most definitely LISTEN because he has you HOOKED. He is really good, and his sermons are thought-provoking and quite memorable. He finds the perfect message each and every time, and his sermons are often timely and right to the point.
Pastor Bilkey is a firm believer in the Presence of the Lord; and he will often call upon the Lord to enter the church; and when He does, people are often affected. This is why, when you come to one of the services, you may hear people speaking in strange languages ("speaking in tongues" it's called; it means that the Lord is showing Himself through people, and it can be a very powerful tool), or people crying or laughing. Or you may see people falling to the floor and start to shake or laugh or cry uncontrollably after they are ministered to or prayed over. This is called "being slain by the Spirit", meaning that Jesus is working on that person and when He does He does it in a majorly big way.
Now, I realize this may look (or sound) odd to a lot of people, but to me and my family, this is part of the church's atmosphere, and we rather enjoy seeing the Lord at work on people's lives. Jesus is a lot closer than people may think, and this often brings on tears or laughter.
And stuff like this has happened to me. I'll be sitting in a pew one Sunday morning, and I may start speaking in tongues as Jesus gives me something to share, and I'll just start rattling off in this language I have no idea of what I am speaking; or I may start laughing or crying and fall from my seat and onto the floor. It is really powerful, and there isn't anything like it. It is a lot harder to explain; one needs to actually EXPERIENCE "being slain by the Spirit" to know what I am talking about; all I can say is this: it's rather unique--and QUITE UNFORGETTABLE!!!!
Since going to Christ Community Assembly of God I have made a ton of terrific friends, and I have really enjoyed spending time reading the Bible and praying for people, whether they are my family or friends, or even complete strangers that people ask prayer for. I have also had the opportunity to minister to other people about Jesus (I was in the drama "Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames" this year; I was one of the kids in the family where the little boy dies and they are reunited in Heaven), and I am in the children's choir. (I sing alto.) So I go to church at least 3 times a week, and I really enjoy it.
Next year Pastor Bilkey is taking a bunch of young people with him to Africa, and he has already invited me. He says that I would be perfect; after all, I have a brother and several sisters from that part of the world; so I am rather familiar with Africa and her culture; plus one of my good friends is originally from Africa (M'buti). I have SOMEWHAT of an idea about Africa, and I could be a shining beacon to that part of the world.
I think I'll take up his offer on that..after all, how many young people can actually say they have travelled to AFRICA????
In "A Touch of Your Presence" are words that would inspire, encourage and strengthen one's soul when faced with challenges and difficulties and to know the awesomeness of God's power.
GLIMPSE OF AN ANGEL IS NOW AVAILABLE. A PORTION OF ALL SALES WILL GO TO HOSPICE TO THUS ENABLE THEM TO HELP OTHERS WHO ARE SOON TO PASS TO THE OTHER SIDE. NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
From the Caribbean Sea to Machu Picchu in Peru, and from birds to flowers and butterflies, Reflections and Treasured Wonders offers a collection of images gathered from around the world.
