Shine Your Light #113

John 8:12

Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." (NAS)

John 1:4-5
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (NAS)

Matthew 5:14-16
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden."Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (NAS)

Spelunkers travel through caves. They understand the meaning ‘pitch black.’ The minute the lights go out it is impossible to see your hand in front of your face. Turning on flash light or a carbide light illuminates the cave. Darkness is dispelled and light permeates the interior of the cave. Why? Because light overcomes the darkness.

You are the light of the world because the life and light of Jesus is in you. His Holy Spirit reflects the image of Christ. Our light shines in a dark world (a world without the light of God) and brings glory to God. The basis of the New Covenant God established through the life and death of Christ and His precious blood and His resurrection is the life of Christ in the heart of a believer.

Colossians 1:12-14 "giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (NAS)

We have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God through the blood of Christ by granting us the forgiveness of sins and the deliverance from darkness into His marvelous light. And it was all for the glory of God. Celebrate your freedom from darkness into light. Rejoice in the forgiveness of your sins. Praise God that you are a part of His Kingdom.

_______________________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings from Tempe where the summer never ends!

When we lived in Wisconsin we often felt as if the winter would never end. This year we believe the same about summer in Arizona. Still daily above 100 degrees. I am ready for a change.

Sandy and I are excited about being home for a couple of weeks before we head to Salem, Virginia to lead a conference. We return home for nine days after that and then will be in a retreat in Columbus, Ohio.

God has certainly blessed and we praise Him for watching over us. We ask for prayer for next Monday, October 4 when I have the tube in my liver replaced. It is always a time of concern. Pray that I will not have infection. That seems to be the number one problem with the exchange.

We are still praising the Lord for such a great time in Louisiana. Our hope is that we were an encouragement to the folks at New Covenant Church and Christ's Community Church. We are so aware how much they encouraged us.

Light Reflectors #112

2 Corinthians 3:18
“And all of us have had the veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us we become more and more like Him and reflect his glory even more.”
2 Corinthians 4:1 “And so, since God in his mercy has given us this wonderful ministry we never give up.”
2 Corinthians 4:6-7
“For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. But this precious treasure —this light and power that now shine within us—is in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and not our own.” (NLT)

The Bible gives us great insight into life. It says that our lives in Christ are mirrors that reflect the glory of God. Our ultimate purpose in life is to glorify God. We are not here for our comfort or happiness but for Him and for His glory. As a believer in Christ the Holy Spirit lives in you to reflect the image of God. The more mature we become the more we become like Jesus the more we bring glory to Him.

Our ministry is to be reflectors of the His glory so that God is known, praised and worshipped. The light we reflect is the image of Jesus. His love, mercy, compassion, grace and truth are reflected to everyone as the image of God. The interesting thing is that God does that through an imperfect, weak and dying body. That in turn gives more glory to God because His power is expressed and not ours. Our weak bodies are the vessel by which God shows Himself. To Him be the glory.

Why not let your light shine. You may think you are weak or undeserving. Well, guess what God can still use you. It is because of your weak earthly vessel we call the human body that you cannot take the credit for who you are or what you do. God receives all the glory.

Let Jesus shine through you today.

______________________Today' personal note from Dennis

Greetings from Tempe, AZ.

Yes, we are home again after two wonderful weeks in Denham Springs, LA. We stayed with our dear friends the Tuttletons and were able to see many old friends. We lived in Denham Springs from 1980 to 1982.

The past two Sundays I had the privilege of preaching and telling of the good works of the Lord to New Covenant Church and Christ's Community Church. Sandy taught at Christ's Community on Saturday and Sunday.

We are home for about three weeks before we head to Tabernacle Baptist Church in Salem, VA. Our friends the Elmore's have served there for many years. We will be sharing our seminar, "Celebrating Life" with them.

I will again have my liver tube replaced on October 4th. Please pray again that I have no infections. It has been three months since it was replaced. That is the longest I have gone since it was placed over 1 1/2 years ago.

The pictures include a picture of Don Tuttleton and me beside the camper he fell off of almost a year ago when preparing to come to AZ. The plans are to finally make it to AZ in January of 2011. The other picture is of a boat ride I took down in the bayou of south LA. What a great place. The only problem is I didn't have a fishing pole in my hand. The other picture is when I finally found a line and a pole. My friends Tommy Steward and Don Tuttleton and I spent an afternoon fishing off Tommy's deck. What a great time.

God bless all of you and thanks for your prayers. I continue to be blessed and encouraged by the hand of God upon my body and life.

You are a blessing to me and Sandy. We love you all.

True Purpose #111

Genesis 15:1,5-6
1After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do notfear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great."
5And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars,if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (NAS)

Faith is our response to the revealed word of God. When Abram was told he was to be the fa-ther of a great nation his response was to believe God. How often do we not respond in faith?We try to “flesh” it out or do it our way. Romans14:23 "whatever is not from faith is sin." (NAS)

We try by all our power and abilities and means to make something happen. God does not receive the glory nor is He pleased with that which is not done in faith. We also try to enlist other people to help us “flesh” it out.

Nothing in our flesh or in anyone else’s flesh pleases God. Why not allow God to workthrough His Spirit to accomplish the miraculous and bring glory to Himself? Faith is believingthat God is able and He only needs our cooperation not our best to accomplish what He wantsdone. Then and only then can it be said, “to God be the glory great things He has done.”

What is God saying to you today? Is He asking you to trust, have faith in Him, to accomplishwhat He wants done in your life. Why not say, “yes” to God and allow Him to have His will in your life. You may be facing trials and struggles and God is asking you to just believe He is able and willing to come to your side and lend you the grace and love to see you through your need. True purpose in life is to bring glory to God.

____________________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings from Denham Springs, LA!

What a great time Sandy and I are having in LA. Sunday I preached at New Covenant Church and saw so many old friends. Sunday afternoon they held an open house for us. We are so blessed to have so many friends in so many places. God has certainly blessed our 45 years of ministry with wonderful people.

Saturday and Sunday Sandy and I will be preaching and teaching at Christ's Community Church. Please be in prayer for our ministry.

Many of you have asked about my Dad. He is settled into the nursing home and doing well. I thank God for a good place for him. He is in good spirits and is physically much better than he was for while. Thanks for your prayers for him.

We should be back in Tempe on the 21st. God bless you and your family. May this be a special week for you. ~DGW

Any Room Left? #110

Acts 3:12
12 But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? (NAS)

Where does the credit go when something great happens in your life?

We easily like to think we made a great accomplishment or that somehow we can take credit and brag about it. Peter was eager to not allow the healing of the lame man to be credited to himself but to the Great Physician. Often people will try to shower you with credit when only God is the one who deserves the glory. Peter quickly reminded everyone that it was not by his power nor was it because he was pious enough but only by the power of God alone that a lame man was now healed. Our purpose is always to glorify God and give Him credit for all good that comes our way.

There is a story of a young martial arts student who was having tea with his master. He said, “I have learned all you have to teach me about defending myself. I want to learn one more thing now. Please teach me about the ways of God.”

The master took the teakettle and started pouring the student’s cup full of tea. Soon the cup was full and began to spill over onto the saucer. The master continued to pour the tea until it spilled over the saucer and then onto the floor.

The student finally said, “Stop, stop, the tea is spilling over. The cup can’t take any more.” The master then looked at the student and said, “You are so full of yourself that there is not room in your life for God. It is not possible for you to learn the ways of God until you learn to empty yourself.”

Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. (NAS)

_____________________________Today's note from Dennis

Greetings from Tempe, AZ (where it is still a hot summer)!

Sandy and I traveled to the White Mountains of AZ over the holiday week-end and spent a few days camping. We celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary on the 4th. The pictures show what a year can do. Last year on the 43rd I was in the hospital, this year camping. We praise the Lord for His special blessing to give us another year together and look forward to another.

We will be in Denham Springs, LA the next two weeks.

We will be preaching and teaching at New Covenant Baptist Church on the 12th and at Christ Community Church on 18 and 19. It will be great to see old friends.

We have been asked to teach on Wednesday nights November 17 and December 1 and 8 at Church on Mill. We will be sharing our latest study on "Celebrating Life." It will be great to be back at Church on Mill to teach.

I pray you will have a wonderful week and that God gives you insight into His Word for something special He is working on in your life.

Thank God we are never done and "that He who began the good work will complete it."

~ DGW

Is Your Wall Broken Down #109

Nehemiah 1:3
And they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire." (NAS)

The people of God had been taken into exile into Babylon and the city of Jerusalem had been left behind and was now in shambles. Nehemiah had just received word back from his brother and some other men of the conditions in Jerusalem. There were only a few people left in the city and they were in poor condition at the best, and the city wall was broken down and because of the destruction of the gates the city was unable to be protected.

Nehemiah, highly motivated, determined to go to Jerusalem and inspect for himself the great City of God. He first went to God in prayer for the strength, support, and assurance to face the awesome task. Sometimes we are faced with little support, great distress, and broken down defenses.

It is that need that causes us to do as Nehemiah did and go to prayer. Nehemiah realized this project was far more than he could handle. He needed the direct intervention of God. Will you find purpose in your life today through the needs that face you and then realize they are much bigger than you are and call out to God for His intervention.

Only through the hand and heart of God can you find the victory in the midst of your need. God is not only able but is willing to be your strength, support and assurance. Turn to Him for your need right now.

____________________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings from Tempe, AZ!

This has been a great week. We were able to get my Dad into the nursing home. I was able to see friends and family in Eldon, MO and in Springfield, MO. I got in a couple of days fishing on Table Rock Lake in southern MO. I enjoyed every minute of it, too. Had the privilege of preaching to a group of Carnival folks in Crane, MO.

Sandy and I will celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary
on Saturday (4th). We are taking a few days to spend in the White Mountains of Arizona to celebrate.

God bless you today and may He meet the needs of your body, soul and spirit.

I love sending you words of encouragement. ~DGW