I went to the cardiologist today for an echo-cardiogram. The doctor prepared the machine and began the process of taking a sonogram of my heart.
​
"Huh," he said. "That's weird."
I stared at him with an expression of curiosity and growing concern. "What?"

"You said you're a law student, right?" the doctor asked.
"Yes," I replied, confused.

The doctor exclaimed, "Well, there's actually a heart in here! Want me to take a picture for you so you can prove it to people once you're an attorney?"

Melvine's day of victory arrived on Friday, February 22. She finished taking chemotherapy. To God be the Glory!

There is a custom at the Cancer Center in Athens, Georgia that when you complete chemotherapy or radiation therapy you have the right or authority to ring the Victory Bell for all to celebrate your victory.

Friday, February 22, 2019 was a Red Letter Day for Melvine. She had her last chemo.

The next step is a CAT Scan and then a meeting with Dr. Jane Huang, her oncologist.

When she was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer last September, they gave her 6 months
or less to live if she did not take chemo. The oncologist told us that Melvine's cancer was
Potentially Curable. We hung on to that good word, but most importantly to God's Word that
He had healed her already by His stripes.

​Here is the Scripture: 1 Peter 2:24, "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds (stripes) you have been healed.
NIV

Melvine's blood marker was something like 982 last September. Today, 22 February, it was 14.
Wow. What a turn around, a Miracle from God. Dr. Jane Huang told us that 35 blood marker is normal. Melvine is below that number and it is 14. To God be the glory.

When Melvine left, Bonnie Bender our friend and a retired nurse, helped her to ring the bell outside
the Cancer Clinic to symbolize her victory, or I should say, the victory God gave her.

​To see a video of Bonnie Bender ringing the Victory Bell for Melvine, Click Here.

Ringing a bell is so important. I love the hymn or Gospel song of the church, "When They Ring those
Golden Bells." Those are the bells I want to hear in heaven one day. Heaven is where I want to go.

There is only one way you and I can get to heaven when we die. It is by the way of the Cross. There is no other way. Jesus declared that He is the Way. Here is what the Lord Jesus Christ said, "Jesus answered, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6, NIV).

You can come to Jesus right now. Just call on Him to save you. He will hear your prayer and give you eternal life. The Bible says: "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (​Acts 2:21, NIV).

Let me give you a suggested prayer you might pray:

Dear God, I need Your mercy in forgiving me of all my sins that I have committed against Your Holy Laws. I believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son Who went to the Cross to die in my place and pay the penalty for my sins. I confess that He died for the sins of the whole world of people, that He was buried, and rose again the third day from the dead, appeared to His disciples for 40 days and ascended back to heaven. He is now at Your right hand making intercession for me. I asked for Your forgiveness. I repent of all my sins, and turn to You Almighty God, and place my trust/faith in Jesus to save me and give me eternal life. I receive You, Lord Jesus, as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for saving me. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

If you have prayed this prayer and truly meant it, then, you are saved, born again. God has done a miracle in your heart to make you a new creation. You are now a member of the family of God.

Now, you must tell someone, and everyone you know or meet that Jesus has saved you, that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of life.

Find a church that teaches and preaches the Word of God, the Bible. Talk with the pastor and let him know you would like to be baptized in water as an act of obedience. Read your Bible daily, pray as you go throughout the day. Meet with other Christians to study God's Word and to pray.

I recommend that you read the Gospel of John as you begin your walk with God.

I would be honored and blessed if you would write me and tell my about your conversion.

Here is my email address: hugh@hughsnews.com

My name is Hugh Morgan. 

Welcome to the Family of God.

Many know Mike Bickle as the founder of the International House of Prayer, a Spirit-empowered, 24-hour prayer movement across the globe. If you listen to any of Mike's sermons, you quickly pick up on his fiery love for Jesus and his passion for the gifts of the Spirit. But what fewer know about Mike is that as a young man—newly saved and zealous to go into ministry—he actually preached against charismatic theology.

"Here's why I didn't like the charismatics," Mike says. "The charismatics I knew in Kansas City—and this is a really negative stereotype and it's a bad attitude—but they didn't love the Bible, at least the ones I knew. They didn't love witnessing, and they didn't love holiness, in my judgmental, short perspective."

Mike, only 20 years old, didn't believe there was a second baptism of the Spirit after conversion, and he certainly didn't believe in speaking in tongues or prophecy. But then God did something totally unexpected. He provided Mike a pastoring opportunity in a rural church of about 30 to 40 people. But what Mike didn't realize until six months into his role is that the church was passionately charismatic.

Mike found himself in a conundrum. He was completely against what charismatics stood for, and yet he was pastoring a church full of people who were zealous for Jesus, His Word, holiness, witnessing—and the gifts of the Spirit.

"I can't really write them off as false Christians," Mike recalls saying to himself. "They're real! So we made a deal that if they didn't make me do charismatic stuff, I would let them do it in the home groups. So we made a deal, and it just went on from there. I got more comfortable with it, and my prejudices and stereotypes fell apart. And over the years to come, it just became clear to me there's a whole lot of the Holy Spirit's ministry that was a lot more than I understood."

Now Mike teaches people around the world how to have a vibrant, dependent relationship with the Holy Spirit. Not only has his around-the-clock prayer ministry grown to be one of the biggest prayer movements in the world, but countless people have learned to deeply enjoy prayer on account of his teaching.

I've known Mike since the 1980s, and one of the things he told me that has always stuck with me is that he had to learn how to make prayer enjoyable. For many Christians, prayer can seem like a dry obligation instead of a delight, and Mike says it was easy for him to feel that way too at one time. But then God taught him something interesting.

"I got the word [enjoyable] from Isaiah 56, where it says, 'I will make my people joyful in the house of prayer for all nations," Mike says. "So I took the word 'joyful' and made it 'enjoyable.'"

One of the biggest ways to turn prayer into a delight, Mike says, is through worship. He says this is key to IHOP's two 12-hour prayer meetings each day. Over the past 20 years since its founding, IHOP has never once stopped its worship, since worship teams overlap for about three minutes when they transition.
Related Articles

    Mike Bickle: How to Move From Duty to Delight in Your Prayer Life
    Mike and Diane Bickle Drop Bombshell News About International House of Prayer

"If you get anointed worship going and the prayer is together with that, the prayer is way more enjoyable," he says.

If you struggle to find joy in your prayer life, I encourage you to try incorporating worship into those times of prayer. If this is an area you would like to grow in, I suggest you read Mike Bickle's book on the subject, Growing in Prayer. I have found his teachings and suggestions both insightful and practical.

To hear more of Mike's compelling stories—including how he got saved despite growing up in a non-Christian home—listen to my in-depth interview with him below. And be sure to subscribe to my new podcast, "In Depth With Stephen Strang," at cpnshows.com. If you enjoy my podcast, rank and review it on iTunes, Google Play or Spotify.

Click Here.

Norman Dale Scott passed away at 12:25 am on February 20, 2019 surrounded by his wife of 52 years, LaDonna Scott & other family members. Norman was born in Alderson, OK on September 17, 1940 to Clyde & Bess Scott. He was #10 out of 12 children born to the Scotts. He grew up in Alderson & after high school attended university in Wilburton, OK. He spent a few years in California, Texas & Montana working various jobs & settled in Oklahoma City in the 1960s, working for Kerr McGee.

He returned to school & graduated from Oklahoma City University in 1969 with an Accounting Degree. He spent his professional career working in the oil & gas industry & health care before becoming a commercial realtor. Norman also invested in several businesses before retiring.

After a blind date & whirlwind courtship, Norman married LaDonna Rex on February 4, 1967. They enjoyed 52 years of marriage. He always wanted to serve the Lord & his church. He served on the Deacon Board of the Muse Memorial Pentecostal Holiness Church for about 18 years, and as an usher at The Bridge Assembly of God for 30 years.

Norman is survived by his wife, LaDonna Scott, three children & their spouses: Kimberly & Stephen Rice of Fredericksburg, VA, Kristen & Jerry Welch of Sierra Vista, AZ, & Kyle & Anitra Scott of Victoria, TX. He is also survived by eight grandchildren: Aram Rice of Manassas, VA, Cale Rice of Fredericksburg, VA & Tavin Rice of Eglin Air Force Base in FL, Anna Johnson & husband, Clinton, of Fulton, MO, Jadon Welch of Sierra Vista, AZ & Bryleigh, Connor and Mason Scott of Victoria, TX. Norman is also survived by siblings: Deloris Tate of Tulsa, OK, Jerry Scott of Ft. Worth, TX, Pat Pettitt of Meeker, OK, Gloria Cockrum & husband Jim, of Okc, and Rick Scott & wife, Jan, of Tucson, AZ. He is also survived by a host of nieces & nephews. Norman is preceded in death by his parents: Clyde & Bessie Mae Scott, six brothers & sisters: Laurel Scott, Loretta May Scott, Margie Faye Van Dong, twin brothers (unnamed), and Gayle Louise Scott as well as two nieces.

Visitation will be Sunday, February 24, 2019 at McNeil’s Funeral Service from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Funeral services will be Monday, February 25, 2019 at 10:00 am at The Bridge in Mustang, OK. Interment will follow at 2:00 pm in Sunny Lane Cemetery, Midwest City, OK.

​Norman loved the Men’s Fellowship at The Bridge. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Bridge, designated for the Teen Challenge Prison Ministry. Norman was a quiet man with a sweet spirit. He loved people & loved to tease. He wanted to participate in every family event & be a part of the life of all his children & grandchildren. His two sons-in-law & daughter-in-law were just like his own children & loved greatly. He was so very proud of all his family. He came from large family & took every opportunity to be with his brothers & sisters. We thank the Lord for giving Norman the time to say goodbye to all his loved ones before God took him home. God is good & He is faithful!

To send flowers or a remembrance gift to the family of Norman D Scott, please visit our Tribute Store. 

Covering the 6th IPHC Global Assembly in Chile

What has God shown you? Has He given you a vision of things to come? The future?

Here's a Word from the Bible, the written logos:

Habakkuk 2:2-3  Be patient, the vision will be fulfilled, and will not be overdue a single day!

2 And the Lord said to me, "Write my answer on a billboard, large and clear, so that anyone can read it at a glance and rush to tell the others. 3 But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day! 
TLB

​JOHNS HOPKINS STUDY

The National Institutes of Health has just released the
results of a $200 million research study completed
under a Federal grant to Johns Hopkins.

The new study has found that women who carry a little
extra weight live longer than the men who mention it.

With the new medication to deal with Melvine's pain in her stomach is certainly dealing effectively with the pain, but she wakes up about every hour on the hour during the night. 

Melvine finally got up at 6 a. m. on Thursday. I stayed in bed, I wanted to sleep at least two more hours. I finally got up around 7:30 a. m., gave Melvine her medication and took her blood pressure and blood sugar. In many respects she appears to be doing better than me with regard to her vital signs. I often get caught up in helping Melvine with her needs that I forget to take my medications until later in the afternoon.

We continue to receive Meals on Wheels that are delivered to our home. Today, our meal was Creamy Grilled Chicken and Crab Pasta with Green Beans. Two cartons of milk were given to us, as well. We furnished some bread with butter. I enjoyed the food. It was very good.

I had an appointment at 1 p.m. with my urologist. The first part of the procedures was catheters that made me sing high tenor and want to scream. The nurse filled my bladder with water, and with computer hooks ups to my body, they measured the water being released. This was done twice, and I survived.

I had to put on my clothes and go to another examining room where Dr. Gary Walton, used a different type of catheter with a light and a camera. I was able to see the entire procedure on a monitor screen as it passed through the urethra tube, the prostate, and into my bladder. Everything checked out good. The urine specimen was clear. 

Dr. Walton told me that I am a candidate for a Botox for the badder. Here is a brief description: 

Botox can be injected into the bladder muscle to help it relax. This can decrease bladder pressure, thereby reducing back-‐pressure on kidneys. It can also make the bladder 'calmer' and thus treat incontinence due to overactivity or 'instability'. Everyone Dr. Walton has treated with the Botox has been successful. It requires outpatient surgery at the hospital. So, St. Mary's Hospital in Athens, Georgia is my choice for this surgery. I need your prayers. The office of Dr. Walton is setting up a time for the surgery for me.

While I was gone, Jeanette Herndon Phillips came to our home and brought lunch from McDonald's. Melvine and I love the Kids Meals with chicken tenders, french fries and a soft drink. It was good. Not only do you get a meal that satisfies, but they put in a toy for tots. We give them to Bonnie Bender's grand children.

Julie, a physical therapist from St. Mary's home care, came and put Melvine through her exercises. Jeanette said she was impressed to see what Melvine could do.

Then, Jeanette, helped Melvine with putting on her makeup and eyebrows, etc. She looked terrific when I got home from my doctor's appointment.

I am taking an antibiotic that Dr. Walton gave me following the procedures in his office.

Friday morning we are to be at the Cancer Clinic for the last, we hope, chemo. Then, Dr. Huang will schedule a Cat Scan to see what the chemo has done. Dr. Huang wants to refer Melvine to an Oncology Surgeon for consultation. I am not too happy about that, for it may require surgery to open up her stomach cavity to see what they can see there with their naked eyes. That may be the best route to go, but I don't relish Melvine having that extensive major surgery. 

I don't know what Melvine and I can expect. I am expecting a Miracle, and I want to start speaking a Miracle every day several times a day.

I truly believe that 2019 is the Year of the Double Portion or Double Blessing according to Isaiah 61:7.

Please remember Melvine, Greg, and me in your prayers.

We stand in need of prayer. 

Thank you all for standing with us in your prayers.

Have a blessed Friday and a glorious weekend.

Tell someone about Jesus today. For me, it is as natural as breathing. I thank God for the gift of an evangelist He has given me. I love to tell the story about Jesus.

You may write us at:

Hugh & Melvine Morgan
17 Sweet Apple Lane
Winder, GA 30680

Watch Global Assembly Live!
Watch the Global Assembly evening services live from Catedral Evangelica de Chile (Jotabeche)
on IPHC Ministries Facebook page!
Thursday, February 21, 2019; 4:30 p.m. CST
Friday, February 22, 2019; 4:30 p.m. CST
View the Global Assembly Schedule in the IPHC App!

Please Click Here on this Hyperlink I have prepared for you to see the worship service in Chile.

May God richly bless the 6th IPHC Global /Assembly from Catedral Evangelica de Chile (Jotabeche)

Your friend in all seasons,

Hugh H. Morgan
Founder, CEO, Hugh's News, Inc.
Email: hugh@hughsnews.com
Website: www.hughsnews.com

​FEBRUARY 21, 2019 KEVIN SNEED

Chile Dance
The 6th IPHC Global Assembly convened on Wednesday, February 20, 2019, at the Sheraton Santiago Hotel in Santiago, Chile, with approximately 450 registered delegates from over 25 countries. Formerly known as the World Conference, this assembly brings together the IPHC global family for three days of worship, fellowship, testimonies, and vision casting every four years. The focus of this assembly is Arise 2033, the vision given to the IPHC through Presiding Bishop Doug Beacham as the IPHC moves toward the 2000th Anniversary of Christ’s resurrection.

Billy Graham obeyed God’s call to “go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19, NLT). Now a year since his passing, The Message Lives On is available for you to watch and share here.

See the remarkable ways the Lord sustained him in difficult times and used him to share the Gospel with nearly 215 million people around the world.

You’ll also discover how God is working through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association today—and how this Gospel ministry is only possible because of friends like you.

Today, there are more people alive than ever who haven’t heard the Good News of Jesus Christ. When you give, you will help reach them with the same message Billy Graham dedicated his life to preaching—“the gospel of Christ, … the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16, NKJV).

 
Watch Now
With your gift today, we’ll send you a DVD copy of The Message Lives On, which includes the funeral service of Billy Graham as a bonus feature.
     ​

Today's benediction was written by the late Billy Graham some time before he passed away.

Billy Graham was 99 years old when he went to glory. However, if you add 9 months he was in his mother's womb, he was 100 years old. The Bible teaches that life begins at conception. One example is the life of John the Baptist in his mothers womb. He leaped for joy in the presence of Jesus Christ who was in his mother's womb (Luke: 1:36-45).

Now, here is today's benediction written by Billy Graham. It is anointed and I hope that you will sense the anointing of the Holy Spirit as you read this benediction or blessing:

​Wife texts husband on a cold winter’s morning:

"Windows frozen, won't open."

Husband texts back:

"Gently pour some lukewarm water over it."

Wife texts back 5 minutes later:

"Computer is really messed up now.”

Forgiven. Peace with God through Jesus Christ solely by grace through faith. Restored to fellowship.

The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians is about this indescribable gracious gift. Nobody can do enough good works to earn salvation; 1500 years of Moses Law proved that. And, no one is righteous enough to deserve forgiveness by God. The horrible crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man and Son of God, clearly demonstrated what our redemption cost God. Forgiveness is our only hope, but it can never be bought with money. Simon the sorcerer learned that (Acts 8:20). 

Who would be so foolish as to say to God, “I’ll pay you a billion dollars for a mansion in your heaven.”  Even a trillion dollars would not begin to pay for the wickedness of the crown of thorns alone on Jesus’ holy head, and would not even make a down payment on the flagellation, or even the first nail.

The Holy Spirit inspired Isaiah to announce God’s invitation, and the grace of God revealed at Calvary made salvation free: "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost (Isaiah 55:1). 

Ah! only grace took Jesus to Calvary, because of “the great love with which He loved us” (Ephesians 2:4 KJV). Who can stand at the foot of Jesus’ cross, watch the agony of His death, and smugly say to Him, Jesus, you owed it to me? Even a lifetime of good works under the Law is not enough to pay Jesus for the brutally wicked death He died in our place.

Yes, Calvary is a gift of God through Jesus Christ to all who believe and repent with Godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10).

The Holy Spirit blessed Paul to give to all generations a clear explanation of salvation as a gift, revealed and anchored in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Consider: “If a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law” (Galatians 3:21). The Message nails the point: 
“We Jews know that we have no advantage of birth over "non-Jewish sinners." We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do we know? We tried it — and we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen! Convinced that no human being can please God by self-improvement, we believed in Jesus as the Messiah so that we might be set right before God by trusting in the Messiah, not by trying to be good” (2:15-16, MSG). 

Martin Luther viewed this simple statement as the heart of the Gospel. It was foundational in his developing the doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone that launched the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation. 

Justification is a legal term. It asserts all people are guilty as charged, and the indictment reads, “Rebellion against God.” We have no plea to make; indeed, we can never do enough works of righteousness to make anything close to a plausible defense.  The Law makes clear we are guilty as charged. All we can do is admit the righteousness of God’s judgment by entering a plea of guilty, knowing our offense is capital and the punishment is death. It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment; the wages of sin is death (Hebrews 9:27; Romans 6:23). Our names are on the court record. Viewed through the eyes of divine justice, we are all convicted felons.   
 
I was lost and undone without God or His Son, 
when He reached down His hand for me.
By: G. E. Wright

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed good news because it offers the one-and-only way out– trusting in the sacrificial death of Jesus to forgive and forget about our sins. This blessing happens when we come to God with a contrite heart in genuine repentance. The gift of God is eternal life because Jesus Christ offered Himself as our substitute, and Jesus keeps His promises. Our Messiah responds to genuine repentance with total forgiveness, and even erases all the charges against us. He lets us walk out of court as free men and women – justified – with our record wiped clean of all present and past sin, leaving no evidence we were ever in court. That is the justifying grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ.

THE RIGHT TIME CAME, and we can be eternally grateful Jesus Christ unveiled this unspeakable gift.

“When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts [the Holy Spirit], the Spirit Who calls out, "Abba Father." So, you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir (Galatians 4:4-7). 

“The full rights of sons” – what a gift for all who repent and accept Jesus as the Son of God. Yes, the Holy Spirit inspires the cry of “Abba Father” [Father Father] by every new believer. And the Father’s warmly felt reply comes speedily: Welcome my beloved to the family of God. The result is every child of God feels adopted and accepted as sons and heirs. Indeed, the value of the inheritance is without price: “everything God has belongs to us” (Galatians 4:5, TLB).  

!f the birth of Jesus had occurred even twenty years earlier, for example, everything would not have been in place, including a substitute for such people as Caiaphas the high priest, and Judas. Would there have been another Mary, and Joseph? What about spineless Pilate? Or another John the Baptist? Or the twelve disciples, and Barnabas of Cyprus, and Saul of Tarsus? The list goes on and on. 

Roman roads and its governmental system would have adequately been in place. But what about a Caesar Augustus who would order a special tax that would get a Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, the place where Jesus had to be born to fulfill prophecy? (Micah 5:2, 6).

God foreknew the people in the drama of the ages would come together naturally in a thirty-year window of time in first century Jerusalem, so that each of the participants freely and by their personal choice would play their roles in the drama of the ages. God did not manipulate the people and their minds so that everything fell in place, fulfilling each of the prophecies regarding the life of Jesus. God violated the free will of no one. 

Instead, at just the right time, Jesus paid the price for our redemption with His own blood. Paul expressed it in classic Trinitarian language, including God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God in Tri-Unity was fully active in the incarnation of Jesus the Messiah, and the inheritance of all believers was the result: “So, [we] are no longer slaves but God's children. Since [we] are God's children, God has also made [us] heirs” (Galatians 4:7, God’s Word translation).
​
It’s almost too good to be true – but it is true.  Surely you can hear your Heavenly Father speaking in your soul, “I’m so happy to have you in my family!” And surely you want to respond, “Abba Father!”

I learned in late Wednesday afternoon that Norman Scott, the husband of LaDonna Rex Scott had passed away.

I immediately called the home and talked with LaDonna. She told me that Norman passed away at 11:30 Tuesday night, February 19. I forgot to ask how old he was, but I would guess he is 78 years old.

They are planning a memorial/funeral service for Norman Scott for Monday, February 25, 2019, at 10 a. m. at The Bridge Assembly of God Church in Mustang, OK. McNeil Funeral Home, 525 W State Hwy 152, Mustang, OK 73064, will be in charge of the services.

More information will be given in Hugh's News as the details are finalized.

I never knew the word, "Hump Day" until after I married Melvine Stewart. We were living in Wilmore, KY, in the basement apartment of Joe and Jo Ann Fletcher. Melvine taught school during my seminary days. One Wednesday Melvine said, "Today is Hump Day." I had never heard those descriptive words referring to the middle of the week. She patiently told me what it meant.

Although no one wants to wish his or her life away, yet we all talk about the week and look forward to Friday and being off from work for a few days.

Today, Melvine woke up at 6 and told me it was time for me to get up, too. I tried to reason with her and try to convince her of the time. Although the pain pills help her to be free of pain, yet it is confusing her mind, and I don't like it one bit.

We got our second order of food from Meals on Wheels.  A young lady, Torri, about 22 years old delivered our meals. She was a lovely young lady and eager to learn more about older people.

Here was our menu:

Honey Lemon Chicken over White Rice Pilaf
served with Cheesy Brussels Sprouts

I prepared a piece of bread with butter for Melvine's lunch as well as mine.

I had to run some errands in the afternoon. First, I took cleaning to our Cleaners. Then, I mailed some letters, and went to the bank to deposit some money in the Hugh's News, Inc. bank account. Then, I went to Verizon to cancel my phone, a smart phone which I never learned to use, and I have lost it. I have no idea where it is, although I did look. The young clerk was unable to successfully do what I wanted him to do for me with cell phones. So, I terminated my visit to Verizon. I finally had to go to come home to make sure Melvine was alright. 

Meanwhile, I needed wiper blades for my 2010 Lincoln Continental Towncar, and I was able to purchase them at Auto Zone. I got tired of hearing the old windshield wiper blades making a scrubbing sound. Two men from the store took off the defective blades and put on the new ones.

I got home and Melvine was okay. Of Course she wondered where all I had been. 

For supper I prepared tomato soup with saltine crackers. In addition, I ate a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich. That was so good.

I watched some television with Melvine, took her vital signs and gave her the medications prescribed by several doctors.

Thursday, I have an appointment with my urologist's nurse. She will run a test that will make me sing high tenor as she checks the bladder and the flow of urine. Hopefully, I will get a Botox to control my water elimination. I need your supportive prayers.

Bonnie Patch Bender will stay with Melvine while I am gone. She will bring us lunch. So, we will have Meals on Wheels for supper.

​Pro-Athlete comes out ... as a Christian evangelist! - preaches to 100 million - Billy Sunday

A baseball star, Billy Sunday played for the Chicago White Stockings in the 1880's and later the Philadelphia Phillies.

Born during the Civil War in a log cabin in Iowa, his father, who was a Union Army soldier, died of pneumonia when Billy was a month old. He wrote in his autobiography, "I never saw my father."

During his childhood, there were ten deaths among his relatives. Poverty led his mother to send him and his siblings to the Soldier's Orphans Home.

At age 15, Billy Sunday struck out on his own, working several jobs before playing baseball.
His career took off when he was recruited by A.G. Spalding, owner of the White Stockings and founder of Spalding Sporting Goods Company.

Billy Sunday became one of the most popular athletes in the nation.

While leaving a Chicago saloon with some other players in 1886, he heard a group of Gospel singers on the street from the Pacific Garden Mission.

Attracted by the hymns, as they were the same ones his mother used to sing, Billy Sunday went closer to listen.

He attended services at the mission and experienced a conversion, becoming an evangelical Christian.

Billy began attending YMCA meetings and quit drinking.

That same year, he went to Jefferson Park Presbyterian Church where he was introduced to Helen Amelia "Nell" Thompson.

Her father disapproved, considering baseball players "transient ne'er-do-wells who were unstable and destined to be misfits once they were too old to play."

Her father eventually relented, gave his blessing, and Billy and Nell were married September 5, 1888.
Nell encouraged Billy, who was naturally shy, to begin speaking.

She went on to organize all of his evangelistic meetings, with him admitting to "never yet gone contrary to Mrs. Sunday's advice."

Billy Sunday gave up making $5,000 a year as a professional baseball player to working at the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) for $75 a month.

On FEBRUARY 17, 1889, a national sensation occurred when Billy Sunday came out as a Christian evangelist, preaching his first sermon in Chicago.

The local press reported in sports' terms:

"Center fielder Billy Sunday made a three-base hit at Farwell Hall last night. There is no other way to express the success of his first appearance as an evangelist in Chicago. His audience was made up of about 500 men who didn't know much about his talents as a preacher but could remember his galloping to second base with his cap in hand."

During the next 46 years, till his death November 6, 1935, over 100 million people heard Billy Sunday preach.
His preaching carried on the revival tradition of:

    Scotland revivals beginning in the 1730s; 


    First Great Awakening preaching of George Whitefield; 


    Second Great Awakening camp meetings; 


    pre-Civil War preaching of Charles Finney; 


    1857 New York City's Noontime Businessmen Prayer Meeting Revival led by Jeremiah Lanphier; 


    post-Civil War evangelist D.L. Moody; and 


    Welsh revivals at the turn of the last century. 

Sunday proclaimed in Des Moines, Iowa, November 3, 1914:

"When may a revival be expected? When the wickedness of the wicked grieves and distresses the Christian ...

What a spell the devil seems to cast over the church today! ...

If the church was down on her face in prayer they would be more concerned with the fellow outside. The church has degenerated into a third-rate amusement joint ...
It is as much the duty of the church to awaken ... men and women of this city as it is the duty of the fire department to arouse when the call sounds.

What would you think of the fire department of Des Moines if it slept while the town burned? You would condemn them and I will condemn you if you sleep and let men and women go to hell ..."
Sunday added:

"Christians have lost the spirit of prayer ... Religion needs a baptism of horse sense ...

If you go to a farmer and say ... God will give you crops only when it pleases him and it is no use for you plow your ground ... That is all wrong ...

Revival may be expected when Christian people confess and ask forgiveness for their sins ... Break up your fallow ground ... Stand up and let people know you stand for Jesus Christ ...

When may a revival he expected? ...

When ... ministers ... thought they would die unless a revival would come to awaken their people, their students, their deacons, and their Sunday school workers, unless they would fall down on their faces and renounce the world and the works and deceits of the devil ...

A revival ... returns the church from her backsliding and ... causes the conversion of man and women; and it always includes the conviction of sin ... A revival helps to bring the unsaved to Jesus Christ."
Billy Sunday preached on prayer:

"The man who truly prays 'Thy Kingdom come' cannot pass a saloon and not ask himself the question, 'What can I do to get rid of that thing that is blighting the lives of thousands of young men, that is wrecking homes, and that is dragging men and women down to hell?'

You cannot pray 'Thy Kingdom come,' and then rush to the polls and vote for the thing that is preventing that kingdom from coming.

You cannot pray 'Thy Kingdom come' and then go and do the things that make the devil laugh.

For the man who truly prays 'Thy Kingdom come' it would be impossible to have one kind of religion on his knees and another when he behind the counter; it would be impossible to have one kind of religion in the pew and another in politics.

When a man truly prays 'Thy Kingdom come' he means it in everything or in nothing."
American Minute-Notable Events of American Significance Remembered on the Date They Occurred
Billy Sunday's preaching against alcohol led to the passage of the 18th Amendment. He stated:

"I am the sworn, eternal, uncompromising enemy of the Liquor Traffic. I ask no quarter and I give none.

I have drawn the sword in defense of God, home, wife, children and native land, and I will never sheathe it until the undertaker pumps me full of embalming fluid, and if my wife is alive, I think I shall call her to my beside and say:

'Nell, when I am dead, send for the butcher and skin me, and have my hide tanned and made into drum heads, and hire men to go up and down the land and beat the drums and say, 'My husband, "Bill" Sunday still lives and gives the whiskey gang a run for its money.'"

In 1910, Billy Sunday preached a historic revival in Joplin, Missouri, a mining town known for hotels, women of the night, gambling and saloons.

Rev. Frank Neff of the Independence Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church in Kansas City, and president of the Ministers Alliance of Joplin, told reporters:

"We expect a great clean up in the city, but it will be in the nature of a religious awakening which will result in a permanent clean up and will come from a sincere desire of the people."
During Joplin's "Fifty Days of Sunday," Billy Sunday explained:

"A revival is the conviction of sin.

Inside the church there must be a spiritual revival before it gets outside."
In his animated style, Billy Sunday said:

"Temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole. Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in."
Billy Sunday warned not to remove the Bible from public schools:

"Rivers of America will run with blood filled to their banks before we will submit to them taking the Bible out of our schools."
One cannot but wonder what Billy Sunday would think of news reports of modern-day school shootings?

Perhaps more important than a national conversation on guns, he would call for a national inquiry into what killer kids are being taught in public schools.
...

​ Disciple, Learner   Tony Evans

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave as his master. - (Matthew 10:24–25)

The word disciple means “learner, student.” The ancient Greeks had disciples in the realm of philosophy. Plato, often called the “father of philosophy,” developed a system of thought that dealt with issues of epistemology, and issues related to the meaning of life. Plato discipled his student Aristotle, who took what he had learned and built “gymnasiums,” or academies.

In the ancient world, gymnasiums were not arenas for sporting events.They were training centers to teach students Plato’s thought and the system developed by Aristotle, known as Aristotelian logic. The students thus trained were “gymnatized,” which is the verb form of the Greek word for gymnasium.

So successful was this discipling process that it allowed the Greeks to influence the whole Greco-Roman world. This process was called “Hellenization,”in which people who were not Greek began to adopt Greek thinking, language, and culture. That was all part of this concept of discipleship.

Th New Testament picked up this concept and put it in a spiritual context so we would know what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Discipleship involves an apprenticeship in which the apprentice, or student, is brought toward a particular goal.

The word disciple itself means “learner.” It refers to a student who follows the teachings and pattern of another so closely that the student becomes a “clone”of the teacher, to use a modern-day term. We could also call a disciple an apprentice, someone who stands at the side of a skilled master in a trade to learn that trade thoroughly.

Reflection: If you were apprenticed to Jesus Christ, what would you want to learn from Him? Where can you study in His Word to learn this from Him? Where is God giving you the opportunity to use what you have been learning from Him?
God, I want to learn. I want to be Your disciple—Your apprentice. Teach me Your path, give me Your thoughts, fill me with Your love and desires.

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"The prudent understand where they are going, but fools deceive themselves" (Proverbs 14:8).

Bill Walsh, the former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, was thought eccentric because of how extensively he planned his plays in advance of each game. Most coaches would wait to see how the game unfolded, then respond with plays that seemed appropriate. Walsh wanted the game to respond to him. Walsh won several Super Bowls with his "eccentric" proactive approach. He was a coach who looked into the future.

Looking ahead is the process of creating the future before it happens. People who learn to do it "understand where they are going." Like Bill Walsh, it involves deciding your actions in advance so that your life will respond to you. What are the benefits of such a proactive pursuit?

Looking ahead gives direction. It's like using a highlighter on a road map to indicate where you are, where you are going, and how you are going to get there. The highlighted road map not only provides information for where you are going; it also suggests where you are not going.

Looking ahead helps us to create rather than react. With each step along our journey, we are faced with a choice either to create or to react. Many people spend their entire days reacting. Like goalies in hockey, with pucks flying at us all day, we react. We react to news, cars in traffic, people, events, challenges, and obstacles. A better way involves making choices and following plans.

Looking ahead saves time. "One hour of planning saves three hours of execution." Planning yields a savings return. We only have twenty-four hours in a day and 365 days in a year. If we don't use them wisely by looking ahead, we will forever forfeit those gifts.

Looking ahead reduces crisis. Our daily lives have two controlling influences: plans and pressures. When we look ahead and choose to plan, we take charge and control of our days. If we fail to look ahead, we will spend our days in crisis mode. We will fall into a trap of panic planning--planning on the fly with no time to effectively map out a strategy.

Looking ahead maximizes energy. Failing to look ahead, we dissipate our energy on less important matters, improper agendas, and lost crusades. We waste our time on the trivial many. But preparation often energizes us!

Be wise. Look ahead. It's eccentric but well worth the effort.

"Be kind and compassionate to one an­other, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32).

There are a lot of things God knows about me that I wouldn't want anyone else to know. God has enough on me to bury me! But you will never know any of it because God won't tell.

This is precisely how you and I are forgiven: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (Ps. 103:12). Our sins are "wiped out" (Acts 3:19). It is as though our sins don't exist anymore—they are gone, gone, gone, gone! Insofar as our standing and security with God are concerned, they will never be held against us.

Joseph is sometimes referred to as a type of Christ—a person in the Old Testament who, long before Jesus came along, displayed characteristics of Jesus Himself. Despite his imperfections, Joseph was indeed a type of Christ in many ways. His ability to forgive his brothers as he did foreshadows Jesus' actions toward His disciples. Scared to death and ashamed over the way they had deserted Jesus when He was arrested, they were huddled behind closed doors when the resurrected Jesus turned up unexpectedly and declared, "Peace be with you!" (John 20:21). The disciples were totally forgiven—and they knew it.

We all have skeletons in our closets; some are known to others, many are unknown. It is comforting to know that God freely and totally forgives all of our sins and will never tell what He knows. That is the way Joseph forgave. And that is the why we are urged, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Eph. 4:32).

Excerpted from Total Forgiveness (Charisma House, 2002).