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"Tell me More Pleeeeease !"
1 Peter 1:8 "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory." Abby's Dad was in the Army and had been on a long Deployment for the last 3 years. She had only been 6 months old when he had left while her older brother Sam was 8 years old. She was now almost 4 ; and Sam was 9. Their Dad was coming Home in the next month and the whole family was sooo excited waiting for The Day! They were planning some very special dad's favorite outings and Dad's favorite foods.Abby would listen as her mom talked about the places to go and the foods to eat. She couldn't remember very much about her Dad ; she had been just a Baby; but now she would pump her Mom with questions: "Does Dad like baseball?" "Will we go on a picnic? Does he want to see my gymnastics?" Will he remember me- sometimes I can't remember much about him?" Her Mom would give her exciting examples of what Dad loved to do and even some of those they had done while Abby was a Baby. Tell me More Pleeease! She could never hear enough and wanted to be "up on everything" by the time Dad got Home! When she had exhausted Mom, she would start on Sam. Since he was older, he knew more stories. She made Sam take her out to "play catch" when she found out Dad liked baseball. She made Sam tell her about some overnight camping that he had with Dad before he left. Abby was slightly jealous of her brother but was glad he knew so much about Dad. Abby got Sam to teach her how to ride without training wheels so that the whole family could take bike rides together. Tell me more Pleeease! Is this not what we Do?! Tell others about our Dad who is on His Way. We do not know everything about Him But we know enough to excitedly tell them how much that He loves us and we love Him. The better we know and have known Him, the better we can describe Him and get others ready for Him to come back!! We're not talking about some historical figure - as important as they may be. We are talking about our Father and our Savior who is coming to actually take us Home with Him! Excitement should creep into our voice as we talk and help others to know Him. Pleeease tell me More!
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John 3:8
In the 1780's the first steamboats were first being tested - even long before Robert Fulton. How wonderful this was because Man could now be free of the Wind. Up to this point man had been dependent on the Wind for his power and movements. Sails were unfurled to catch the power of the Wind. In fact if the winds did not blow, the boat went Nowhere and the captain would be forced to ask the crew to Pray for Power of the Wind to return. There were even sections of the Ocean where there were extended time periods without the Wind; these were called the Doldrums. But Not Anymore: Man could NOW manufacture his own power! Sails were now only for those purist, for pleasure or for those visionless who failed to see that the grasp of power was there for the taking - without the former dependence on the Wind. In fact the combustion engine would soon overtake steam - and nuclear power would overtake the combustion engine. Sails and the Wind had practically become irrelevant. Could this be the State of the Believers and Churches of today? Has dependence on THE WIND been replaced by our well-oiled strategies and methodology? Do we no longer need to cry out to Heaven for the Return of the Wind because now we have formulas and publications that have made the Doldrums avoidable? Were not even the Doldrums the very mercy of God to remind us just how reliant we were on the Wind? Instead today the Doldrums actually follow us as we steam around "making Progress" but going nowhere. We were Reborn with the Wind of the SPIRIT and the Church was born with the Mighty Rushing Wind of the Holy Spirit; do we somehow think that now we can make it under our own "steam" and power?! The Steam of our own designs and ingenuity will never, ever replace the Wind. Books and conferences may point out helpful viewpoints but they will never replace Prayer and the Crying out to Heaven. Could "Fulton's Folly" have backfired on the Church by believing that man's power could be substituted for the Power of the Wind? Raise a Sail. Drop to your knees. And Cry out to Heaven for Return of God's Wind - the Holy Spirit! |
Pastor Stephen WilloughbyPastor Steve grew up in Columbia,South America, where his parents served as missionaries for 25 years. After graduating from Capital Bible Seminary, he was invited to serve as Assistant Pastor at FBCP. He has served in that capacity for twenty years before taking on the position of Senior Pastor. Archives
October 2025
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