A guy was in a cave, looking for treasure. He found an old lamp, rubbed it, and a genie came out.

The genie said "I will grant you three wishes, but your ex-wife will get double."

The man agreed, and said "I wish I had a mansion."

The genie granted it, and his ex-wife got two mansions.

The man said "I would like a million dollars." The genie again granted it and his ex-wife got two million dollars.

​Then the man said, "Scare me half to death."

Greg Morgan remains in the Rehab Center in the South Tower of Northeast Medical Center in Gainesville, Georgia.

I talked with Greg twice today. He said he had been getting Get-Well Cards. Thank you for writing him.

He hopes to come home soon. I would like him to be able to come back to our home when the doctors determine he is ready.

Since I have not been able to visit him, I cannot ascertain his ability to walk and care for himself. 

Of course we believe in healing. Healing is in the atonement that is made available by the administration of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah says "With His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).  The Apostle Peter wrote, "By His stripes we were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).

We are grateful for your prayers for Greg and me.  God has heard your prayers and He is healing Greg. Most healing is gradual or progressive. Although some healings are instant, a miracle that God does. Our trust is in God (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I hope you and your family will have a good week.

Your forever friend,

Hugh H. Morgan
Father of Gregory Morgan

Encourage Magazine for January 2021

​The January 2021 issue of Encourage magazine is now available to read and download. Please Click on the word Encourage in red letters to open it.

This issue, looking ahead to 2021, includes articles by:
​
▪Presiding Bishop Doug Beacham on looking "Arising in Hope"

▪Casey Wayne Mills on planning for future leadership

▪Dr. Tony Moon on the Christian response to suicide

▪J. Lee Grady on dealing with fallen leaders
​
▪Trés Ward on Emmanuel College's discipleship focus

A Tribute to Pastor John Ingham

Author: T. Elwood Long

Rev. John Ingham has been a great servant of God ever since I met him! We first met him when we entered Holmes Bible College in the early fall of 1960.

Within a few weeks later we had formed a new Holmes Quartet and we all traveled to minister in music for the glory of God. I was the lead singer, John-baritone, Robert Ward-tenor, Avon Craven-bass and instrument player, Tommy DuBose. We traveled over South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and some in Alabama. The good Lord blessed and kept us in His will and care! We may have entered some other states I do not remember.

​I thank God for those precious brothers!

Prayer for 2021 - Day 17 - Wonsuk Ma

Day 17 is here! Get ready to be encouraged as you hear from Dr. Wonsuk Ma. Dr. Ma serves as the Dean, College of Theology and Ministry, Distinguished Professor of Global Christianity at Oral Roberts University, and Global Co-chair of the Empowered21 Scholars Consultation.  

Empowered to Serve,
 
The Empowered21 Team
 
WATCH NOW

​Arise in Prayer - Day 14 of 21

Author: Ron White

Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:19-20 NKJV)

God in our midst. Wow! Stop and think about that! Many of us gather in our family room each Sunday to join a virtual service somewhere. You may only number two or three, but God is in your midst - communicating, listening, enjoying being with you. Even if you are by yourself today, when you gather with others virtually, God is in the midst of all of you, listening and responding to your worship and to your requests. In other words, your Father responds when you agree in prayer whether you are in a church sanctuary or sitting on your sofa, whether you are physically with others or virtually with them, whether with two hundred or just two. 
​
Pray every Sunday for revival and renewal to saturate our campus this semester.

​Worshiping God

Author: Anne Graham Lotz

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24, NKJV).

To worship God means to attribute worth to God through obedience to God, preoccupation with God, and praise of God. The Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar said, in essence, “Oh, well, I worship God.” And Jesus corrected her, “You Samaritans worship what you do not know.” Why was her worship invalid? Because she was substituting the traditions and rituals of her religion for a personal relationship with God through faith. So Jesus explained, “God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24, NIV).

What does it mean to worship “in spirit and in truth”? To worship God in spirit means to worship Him in deepest sincerity from the heart as one who is indwelled by the Spirit of God. To worship Him in truth means to worship Him honestly, without hypocrisy, through faith in His Word, both the Living Word, which is Jesus, and the written Word, which is the Bible.

Blessings,

Anne Graham Lotz

Copyright © 2021 Anne Graham Lotz (AnGeL Ministries) Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved www.annegrahamlotz.org.

Matthew 10:7-8  The message . . . The Kingdom of heave is near
7 As you go, preach this message: 'The Kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
NIV
+++++
Matthew 10:6-8  Go to the lost in your neighborhood . . . bring health to the sick.
Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. 7 Tell them that the Kingdom is here. 8 Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously. 
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

While two families were waiting in line to see the Washington Monument, their two five-year-old boys were getting acquainted.

"My name is Joshua. What's yours?" asked the first boy.

"Adam," replied the second.

"My daddy is a doctor. What does your daddy do for a living?" asked Joshua.

Adam proudly replied, "My daddy is a lawyer."

"Honest?" asked Joshua.

"No, just the regular kind," replied Adam.

Greg is currently in the Rehab section of Northeast Georgia Medical Center in the South Tower, the older part of this large hospital. 

He is expected to wear his clothes instead of the traditional hospital gown with the back out. He called me on Friday night and told me he was cold and needed a sweatshirt. At that time of night, I could do nothing to get him clothes. I called Jodi Butler Eason, the daughter of Wayne and June Butler, and she suggested that he ask his nurse for a warm blanket. Jodi is a speech therapist and works with people in rehab, and consequently knows how to deal effectively with these issues.

I called my friends who are helping us in this time of need. Bonnie Bender and her daughter, Sunshine, had worked to clean his room. Actually, Sunshine had done the work while Bonnie worked on other things in our home. It was amazing the transformation Sunshine has made. Pam Kesling, our pastor's wife, had set up my files so I would be organized in paying my bills, etc. and for the first time in months, we could sit at the kitchen table and eat there once again.

Sunshine told me where the clothes were in Greg's room. I have to walk with the aid of a rollator walker. It is too wide to go through the narrow door to his room so I could not look for his clothes.

I called June Butler who has done so many things for me, helping me with all kinds of paperwork to help Greg make application for disability, etc.  June talked with her husband, Wayne, and they found some clean sweatpants and shirts Wayne was no longer using that were the size of Greg.

Today, Saturday, my care giver went into Greg's room and found the clothing he needed, and bathroom items he wanted. She found his traveling suitcase and neatly packed it all, including the sweatshirts and pants, Wayne brought to our home. Wayne then left with the suitcase to drive to Gainesville, GA to drop off the suitcase for Greg at a designated place for such things. So, what Greg needed has been provided by friends in record time. Greg called me and told me he had gotten the suitcase.

What a blessing all these people are to us. My cleaning ladies came today to clean our home.  They come every other week. It is nice to have a clean house.

There are many other things I could tell you God's people do for us, e.g., a friend who orders my groceries and has them delivered to my home.

I am a blessed man.

It has been exactly one year ago, January 17, 2020, on Friday, that Melvine breathed her last breath as I said the hardest words to say, "Goodbye."

Now, I didn't say it that way. I could see she was dying of a recurrence of ovarian cancer. Bonnie Bender, a retired nurse and a dear friend of ours, was with us until the end. She was administering liquid Morphine to kill the increasing pain in her body.

I drew near her bedside in our bedroom. Once again, I told her how much I loved her, and cherished almost 60 years of marriage. I had courted Melvine for three years before we were married on Saturday, August 13, 1960, in the Draper Pentecostal Holiness Church in Eden, NC. I told her that I would be eternally grateful that God had given her to me to be my wife. We were both faithful to each other all those many years. I loved her with all my heart, soul, mind, and body. I had to practice what I had taught and preached over the years. I told Melvine that I sensed the end of her earthly life was drawing to a close, and I didn't want her to hang on to life because of me. Then, I released her soul and spirit into the hands of God, and her head and face moved to her left side toward me, and she breathed her last breath. She was gone. Her body was there, but she went immediately into the presence of God. That is what the Scriptures tell us, and I believe it and do not doubt it. The Apostle Paul wrote these words in 2 Corinthians 5:

2 Corinthians 5:7-8
 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 
NKJV

It is my belief that Melvine has seen Jesus and will be with Him forevermore, and has been reunited with our children who preceded her in death, her parents, her sister, and other loved ones and friends. She is enjoying the pleasures of unending joy and delight in her new home in heaven.

Retired Air Force Chaplain, Major General, Lorraine K. Potter, the first woman Chief of Air Force Chaplains, wrote this the other day in a lovely greeting card with a hand-written message: "Melvine was small in stature, but large in spirit--she filled the room with smiles and laughter."

The writer of the Book of Proverbs says it best when describing his mother and I would like to apply it to Melvine:

​Proverbs 31:10-12  Melvine was a wife of noble character which means courageous according to Professor Paul Oxley, retired from Emmanuel College.
A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies. 
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value. 
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life. 
NIV

So, on this first anniversary of her death, I honor my bride and wife once again who has brought good to me all the days of her long and fruitful life. I will always love Melvine. She was the joy of my life, and a confidant of unequaled loyalty, love, and faithfulness.

I will see Melvine again in heaven. I long to go there when God determines my departure from this life to glory.

My love and prayers to John's family. He was a prince of a man. A compassionate leader who always desired the best in and for people. I cherish the personal meals and fellowship we shared at various merits and conferences. A good man. A godly man. He truly cared for others as well as his family.

David Oxley​, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The People to People team would like to thank you for your support of Christmas Spirit project. Because of you, Children around the world were able to receive a gift, hear the Christmas story, and celebrate the birth of Jesus. 2020 was a hard year for many, and we are so thankful for each of you who partnered with us to share Jesus with those around the world.

​OTHER INFO- If needed: 
PTP Christmas Spirit project #: 09033PC
Online giving link: https://give.iphc.org/project/ptp-christmas-spirit

Editor's note: Bryan Nix is the director of People To People. He has a love and passion for children and people in need. He is a breath of fresh air and is doing a superb job in his role of ministry in IPHC World Missions Ministries.

Let us support Bryan's projects as God directs us to give.

You and I can make a difference in the lives of many children that will outlast time itself.

​I know Bryan's parents and grandparents. He is the product of a godly lineage. I salute Bryan Nix.

​Arise in Prayer - Day 13 of 21

Author: Ron White

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (Luke 6:12 NIV)

Praying all night would be difficult for anyone, but praying through the night is an entirely different matter. Anyone can do it. Start by praying yourself to sleep. As you lie upon your bed waiting for sleep to come, pray for others by name. If you awaken in the night (for some of us it's when we wake up in the night), pick up where you left off or begin praying about the new day ahead. If worries are waking you up, pray about what worries you. And when morning comes, before you place your foot on the floor, pray the Lord's Prayer or Psalm 23 or just a few words of praise from the depths of your heart.

Pray for more of our students to be called to full-time Christian ministry. Pray for responsive hearts and minds to the call of Jesus Christ to a life of service.

Pray every Saturday for the preservation of religious freedoms throughout our nation. Pray that no law, regulation, or court case will impede Christian colleges and universities from maintaining scriptural standards.

​Our God-Given Counselor

Author: Anne Graham Lotz

"It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:7, NIV).

Following supper the night before He was to be crucified, Jesus unburdened His heart to His disciples. He knew He was going not only to the cross but, after the resurrection, back to His Father in heaven. His disciples would be like orphans. Had He taught them all they needed to know?

The disciples must have begun to sense His heavy burden. Without Jesus, how could they ever meet their own needs, much less the needs of the multitude? They had given Him their very lives for three years. How could they possibly manage without Him?

Jesus knew their fears. So He began to tell them how they would go on in His absence. He told them they could live, not just somehow, but triumphantly, because “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you . . . I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever” (John 14:18, 16, NIV, emphasis added). Jesus would remain with them, not physically, but in the invisible person of the Holy Spirit.

Blessings,

Anne Graham Lotz

Copyright © 2020 Anne Graham Lotz (AnGeL Ministries) Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved www.annegrahamlotz.org.        

​Day 16 is here!  We pray that you are enjoying 21 Days of Prayer for 2021 and that the Holy Spirit is speaking to you through these videos.  Prepare to be challenged and inspired as you hear from Omar Cabrera Jr.  Omar is the Senior Pastor of Iglesia Visión de Futuro in Argentina. 

Empowered to Serve,
 
The Empowered21 Team
 
WATCH NOW

Jeremiah 32:39-41  May God grant us one mind and heart as we honor and respect Him
39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear Me, so that they will never turn away from Me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. 
NIV
+++++
Jeremiah 32:39-41
39 I'll make them of one mind and heart, always honoring Me, so that they can live good and whole lives, they and their children after them. 40 What's more, I'll make a covenant with them that will last forever, a covenant to stick with them no matter what, and work for their good. I'll fill their hearts with a deep respect for Me so they'll not even think of turning away from Me. 

41 "'Oh how I'll rejoice in them! Oh how I'll delight in doing good things for them! Heart and soul, I'll plant them in this country and keep them here!' 
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

​Who would ever believe you could scramble letters in words to give a different meaning?

PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:  
BEST IN PRAYER

ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters:  
MOON STARER 

THE EYES:      
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE
 
THE MORSE CODE:
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS
 
DORMITORY:  
When you rearrange the letters:  
DIRTY ROOM

ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters:  
IS NO AMITY

SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:      
ALAS! NO MORE Z'S

A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters:  
I'M A DOT IN PLACE

ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:  
TWELVE PLUS ONE

Greg is making progress daily. He got a thorough workout on Friday, January 15, 2021.

I just learned today that Greg is in the inhouse (within the hospital) rehabilitation center. He is now required to wear his clothes. He told me that he needs some sweat shirts and sweat pants. It is my understanding that when he is released from this unit, they want to send him to a regular rehab facility that can take care of his particular needs. No schedule has been given for that to happen as of yet.

I am grateful for the support of my friends who have stood with me through this whole episode, as well as friends from our local church family. Everyone has been so good to Greg and me. And I am grateful for each and everyone of them.

I talked with his nurse a couple of times and with Greg. In fact, Greg called me from his room.

He is not on any IV's. His vital signs are good. He is eager to come home. That will happen in due season.

I let him know everyday that God loves him, and that I love him. I always pray with him when we talk. Each prayer is different according the mood and need that Greg might have at the moment.

We are trusting in God.  I frequently quote Proverbs 3:5-6:

Proverbs 3:5-6
 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; 
6 in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight
NIV

The People to People team would like to thank you for your support of Christmas Spirit project. Because of you, Children around the world were able to receive a gift, hear the Christmas story, and celebrate the birth of Jesus. 2020 was a hard year for many, and we are so thankful for each of you who partnered with us to share Jesus with those around the world.

​OTHER INFO- If needed: 
PTP Christmas Spirit project #: 09033PC
Online giving link: https://give.iphc.org/project/ptp-christmas-spirit

Chris Orvin was the only son of D. Sherrill and Velvalee Orvin. The Orvins served as missionaries to Hong Kong for eight years and Sherrill served as the Director of People to People Ministries for 25 years. Chris was born with a genetic disorder known as Werdnig-Hoffmann Disease and on August 4, 2008, Chris went to be with the Lord. Although he was confined to a wheelchair all his life, Chris was always a vital part of his parents' ministry. He not only contributed to the Orvins' work overseas, but he was a faithful People to People child sponsor. In 1990, the Chris Orvin Endowment Fund was established in his honor. The first $1,000 was contributed by Chris and his friends out of a desire to ensure the longevity of People to People as it seeks to meet the needs of vulnerable people around the world. The Orvin family now lives in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, where they continue to advocate for People to People Ministries.
​
OTHER INFO- If needed: 
Chris Orvin Endowment Fund (COEF) project #: 09031P
Online giving link: https://give.iphc.org/project/ptp-chris-orvin-endowment-fund

Editor's note: Bryan Nix is the director of People To People. He has a love and passion for children and people in need. He is a breath of fresh air and is doing as superb job in his role of ministry in World Missions Ministries.

Let us support Bryan's projects as God directs us to give.

You and I can make a difference in the lives of many children that will outlast time itself.

​I know Bryan's parents and grandparents. He is the product of a godly lineage. I salute Bryan Nix.