​Romans 8:18-39 The 8th Chapter of Romans is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the One who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And He Who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. 

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. 29 For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. 

31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all — how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, Who died — more than that, Who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
NIV

[Editor's comment: With these words of instruction and encouragement from the Apostle, who in his right mind wouldn't want to love and serve Almighty God. I am so glad the Gospel was given to me when I was six years old, and when I understood it, repented, confessed my sins, and trusted Jesus for eternal life, and a home in heaven. Because of what I experienced, I wanted to tell everybody, and I took the message to all the neighbors in the block of where I lived on Division Avenue in East Lake, Birmingham, Alabama. What a Savior! I love Jesus and I am not ashamed to call Him my Lord.

Do you know Jesus? Well, today is your day to receive Him. Call on Him right now. The Bible says, "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9, NIV).]

​Three nurses went to heaven and were awaiting their turn with St. Peter to plead their case to enter the pearly gates.

The first nurse said, "I worked in an emergency room. We tried our best to help patients, even though occasionally we did lose one. I think I deserve to go to heaven." St. Peter looked at her file and admitted her to heaven.

The second nurse said, "I worked in an operating room. It was a very high-stress environment, and we did our best. Sometimes the patients were too sick and we would lose them, but overall we tried very hard." St. Peter looked at her file and admitted her to heaven.

The third nurse said, "I was a case manager for an HMO."

St. Peter looked at her file. He pulled out a calculator and started punching away at it furiously, constantly going back to the nurse's file. After a few minutes, St. Peter looked up, smiled, and said, "Congratulations! You've been admitted to heaven ... for five days!"

There is no one who will love you like your mother. 

Mothers are a gift from God. They always have our best interests at heart.

They have taught us well by telling us about Jesus, reading the Bible to us, taking us to Sunday school and church. 

If you are unable to be with her on May 10th, and if she is still alive, give her a call by phone and let her know how much she is loved and appreciated.

​​I thank God for the good mother He gave me.

There was no doubt about it, my mother loved my older sister and me.

The greatest gift she gave me was to love Jesus and to trust Him with my life and future.
She had been a missionary to Hong Kong and Pakhoi, China prior to marrying our father in June of 1929, in Oklahoma City, OK, when she returned from China after 9 years without a furlough.

She taught me to be honest, dependable, trustworthy, and to give to help others in need.
I learned to respect women and girls, and when a woman or girl got on the street car and I was seated, I got up immediately and gave my seat to them. I was taught to say, “Yes. Sir. Yes, Ma'am.”

My mother taught me to be aware of and concerned for the spiritual needs of the world without Christ. As God has given me opportunity I have gone to other countries like Cuba, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Spain, Italy, and Sicily to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I know she was the best cook in the known world. She made homemade biscuits from scratch with flour, milk, and lard. They were large. I enjoyed getting a couple of biscuits when I came home from school out of the oven. I would make a hole in one and then the other, and pour sorghum molasses into the hole.  I thought I was a prince as I devoured them.
​
My love for the church and the people of God and those involved in world missions came from my mother. I have a love for Chinese people that is in my DNA. That came from my wonderful mother who died in the faith. She is now in heaven. I will see her again when I get to heaven.

​"In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11, NKJV).

As a teenager growing up, my room in our house was directly over Mother’s. At night I could see the lights from her room reflected on the trees outside my window. When I slipped downstairs hoping to talk to her a few minutes, I would find her shapely form bent beside her bed in prayer. It was useless to wait for her to rise because she would be there for hours on end, so I would trudge back up to my room. And no matter how early I awoke in the morning, I would see those lights from her window once again reflected on the trees outside. When I tumbled down the stairs, I would find her seated at her big, flat-top desk, earnestly studying one of the fourteen different translations of the Bible spread out around her. My mother chose to make abiding in Christ one of the priorities of her life.

Mother’s abiding was rooted in a love relationship with Jesus that was the secret of her life. As a result of her abiding, and the obedience that was integrated into it, the hallmark of Mother’s life was joy. Her face radiated it! Her eyes sparkled with it! And I’m left to wonder . . . what outward evidence of my inner relationship with Jesus do my children see?

Blessings,

Anne Graham Lotz

Copyright © 2014 Anne Graham Lotz (AnGeL Ministries) Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved www.annegrahamlotz.org.

Dr. Hugh Morgan was presented on Tuesday May 5th with a beautiful quilt from the Quilts of Valor Foundation.  Please click on the video below to view the presentation. 

​Psalm 23  May the Holy Spirit quicken to your mind and heart the treasure He wants you to have today.
 The Lord is my Shepherd;
I shall not want. 
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters. 
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake. 

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over. 
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever. 
NKJV

​Two elderly couples were enjoying friendly conversation when one of the men asked the other," Fred, how was the memory clinic you went to last month?"

"Outstanding," Fred replied. "They taught us all the latest psychological techniques: visualization, association, etc. It was great."

"That's great! And what was the name of the clinic?" Fred went blank. He thought and thought, but couldn't remember.

Then a smile broke across his face and he asked, "What do you call that flower with the long stem and thorns?" "You mean a rose?" "Yes, that's it!"

​He turned to his wife, "Rose, what was the name of that memory clinic?"

​​
​God Is Everywhere
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
 
Psalm 139:7, NKJV
You and I can only be in one place at any given time because we are bound by space. Right now, I am at my desk in my home. As much as I might like to be with loved ones who live miles away or with my children and grandchildren, I can only be in one place, and for now it’s right here, in my study, working at my computer. But God can be everywhere at once. God, in all of His fullness, is present
with pastor’s worldwide trying to keep the unity of the Spirit in the midst of generations of division,
with thousands of persecuted Christians seeking to glorify God in the midst of an earthly hell,
with Christians seeking to love one another equally, in the midst of racial tensions,
with me, as I write this brief message, and with you as you read it!
Where did you think God was not? God is everywhere!
Blessings,

​
​


​Remembering Betty Von Moore le Roux
By: Dr. Hugh Morgan

I regret that I did not know about the death of my precious friend Betty Von Moore le Roux on April 18, 2026. In fact, I just heard about it on Saturday, May 2, 2026. It was my honor and privilege to meet Daneel when I was a student at Holmes Bible College. He was pastoring a Pentecostal Holiness church in the Virginia Conference and invited a quartet from Holmes Bible College to preach and sing in a youth revival. That is where he introduced me to Melvine Stewart, whom I married in 1960.
Years later when I was in the Army Chaplains School in New Rochelle, New York. Daneel took us to a Saturday night concert in Washington. On Sunday we attended the National Pentecostal Holiness Church, where Harry Correll was pastor. which is also in Washington D.C. In addition, over the years, we visited each other’s homes while on vacation. 


On April 18, 2026, at 3:11 AM, Betty Von le Roux safely crossed over Jordan to be with the Lord.
The funeral service will be conducted Tuesday at 2:00 PM at First Pentecostal Holiness Church, officiated by her pastor, Rev. Jim Gray, Rev. Frank Gentry, Rev. Marty Warren. The family will receive friends prior to the service at the church from 12:30 until 1:45 PM. Entombment will be private in the Mausoleum at Pinewood Memorial Park.
Betty spent her entire life in the service of her church as an organist, and her community as a schoolteacher. She was active in the music department of her church, The International Pentecostal Holiness Church, as the organist for 70 years. She was also a life-long member of the Women’s Ministries and Sunday School organizations in the First Pentecostal Holiness Church in Greenville, serving in leadership positions in both organizations. She served on the Church Board and a number of other church committees.
Betty devoted much time as a volunteer in the Service League of Greenville and the Delta Kappa Gamma Sorority, as well as in her Book Club, “entre nous.” She was also an active volunteer at the hospital, The Hope Lodge, and at the ECU Health Service League of Greenville Hospice. A schoolteacher by profession, she taught school for 50 years, the last 40 years in Pitt County.
Betty was married to Daneel le Roux for 67 years and they had one daughter, Anna le Roux, who passed away in August of 2025. Betty was also preceded in death by her parents, Callie and Melvin Moore and her brother, Jack Moore.
She is survived by her husband, Daneel, “I bid my ‘Sweet Love, Betty Von’ farewell until I cross the ocean of life and trials to find you once again on heaven’s distant shores.”
Memorials may be made to the SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals, 123 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27517.

​



​Our youth have worked hard, studied, passed all their exams, and now in a few days will graduate from their respected high schools, colleges, universities or seminaries. It is a happy time for many students and their parents. We rejoice with them.

However, I am keenly aware of some who have not done so well. They have pursued a particular course of study for a desired profession but failed the final exam after a couple of years of study. They have come up short. Some outstanding youths just don't respond well on written exams.  However, they are capable of doing excellent work in their profession or specialized field of service to others. There should be a person or persons who will come up with a plan to help students in this category to learn effective ways of learning and reporting what they have honestly learned on the written exam.

You might say, "I have nothing to offer that student. I don't understand their particular issue or problem." You're right. We will have to talk with those students in this category to know what the problem is for each student.

Those in administration of these schools of learning have fixed criteria for grading their students. They are the "gate keepers" for their profession. There have to be standards, and the student must understand that going into the program. Whatever the weakness of any student, it is my belief it can be overcome with the help of God and instruction from a person who cares about them and truly loves them.

The first step is to invite God to help you. When I was attending college, a university and then seminary I knew that I needed God to help me. In my particular case, I wanted to achieve a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a double minor in English literature and Speech. You see I had a problem of stuttering. God did not heal me immediately of stuttering like He did Oral Roberts. However, I believed He could and would. It was God Who called me to preach. In the process of being healed of stuttering, God used Dr. Sarah Lowery, a Speech Professor at Furman University, to help me. She saw immediately my problem. I had never been taught the phonetic alphabet in any of the schools I attended in Birmingham, Alabama. I now can pronounce any word I read or use in my speech or writing. I had been so fearful when I would start to speak or pray out loud. For the life of me, I could not start a sentence with "Let us pray." I could not say "Let." I learned to substitute other words to get started.

When I took any course in college or seminary, I would find out what the requirements were for the class. In most classes I would be required to write one or more term papers with footnotes, etc. So, early on in the semester, I would select the title of the term paper in consultation with my professor. I immediately went to the library, read everything I could on the subject, took notes, and wrote the paper or papers in my own words as well as using direct quotes to strengthen the paper.

I had one professor who told the class the first day that there would be only one student who would make an "A" in the class, three students would make a "B", five students would make a "C", six students would make a "D", and the remaining four would make an "F".

I was furious, downright angry with that statement. So, I went to him to let him know that I personally objected to what he had told our class. I told him that I expected to make an "A" in the class because I am a committed student and wanted to learn. I told him if I failed below that grade of "A" to let me know. He never informed me. However, I made a "B."

It is my opinion this professor, and he was an excellent teacher of the subject, that he was dead wrong in his grading system. I should have reported him to the head of his department and to the president of Furman University. I don't believe that grading scale is appropriate or useful. It is a detriment to learning.

Whenever I studied any book, I would bow my head in prayer and tell God I had about 30 to 40 minutes to study for this subject. I need Your help. I ask humbly that You would help me to learn this subject as I read this book. I promise to use what I have learned for use in the ministry You have called me to do. I want to honor and glorify You and bless those to whom I will minister in Your Name. Help me to recall all I have honestly learned and be able to recall what I need to respond on the exam. In Jesus' Name, I pray.  

You know, God always helped me and I did well. I worked hard, I was diligent, determined and dedicated in my personal study. It took pray and study, and no slacking.

I give God all the glory and honor and praise.

After I married Melvine, she became my biggest supporter. I confided in her my problems.  Once I was required to write either 19 or 21 Evangelistic Sermon Outlines with Scripture references in a Course in Evangelism under Dr. Robert E. Coleman when I was in seminary. I thought I could never do that. I told Melvine. She listened. She paused and said, "Hugh, give me that pad. I can write them myself." That was all she needed to do. Those words ignited a fire under me and I soon completed the assignment. It is important to admit and confess our weaknesses as well our our strengths. You know we have both. 

I made a vow to God early on in college that I would not study for any class on Sundays. I would devote that day to worship and rest. By honoring this commandment to keep the Sabbath Day Holy God honored me. It was Samuel who told king Saul these words:

1 Sam 2:30
For those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. 
NKJV

If we will put God first in our lives, honor and respect Him in all we do to the best of the ability God gives us, you can count on it that God will honor you and help you to learn.

God has healed me of stuttering. I always feel anxious or nervous before I speak to any congregation or small group. However, when I get started I overcome it and the fear is gone. God helped me to graduate from Furman University and Asbury Theological Seminary. I graduated in the top 6% of my graduating class at Asbury Theological Seminary in May 1960. When I attended Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University during the summer of 1971 in residence (I commuted from Houston on Monday and drove home on Friday) I made straight A's in my classes in a Master of Sacred Theology degree program in Pastoral Care and Counseling). I never took a book home. I did all of my studies and writing of papers in the large library that was air conditioned. I lived in the men's dormitory. I wanted to spend quality time with Melvine, Greg and Stephanie when I got home around 3:30 p.m. on Friday.  I desired to participate in worship with my family on Sunday and the ministry at the church plant that James and Thelma McDowell were doing in the eastern part of Houston. We lived in the western part of Houston in Fondren Park. Those were some exciting and meaningful times we had together with them and the congregation of this new and growing congregation. We developed a lasting friendship with James and Thelma McDowell and their family.

I hope I have helped some student by this article that has come from my personal experience in learning. If I can help you, please contact me by writing me at my email address: [email protected]

​Ephesians 5:15-20  Take advantage of every opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

15 Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
NIV
+++++
Ephesians 5:15-20
 So be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don't be fools; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good. 17 Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to find out and do whatever the Lord wants you to. 18 Don't drink too much wine, for many evils lie along that path; be filled instead with the Holy Spirit and controlled by Him. 
19 Talk with each other much about the Lord, quoting psalms and hymns and singing sacred songs, making music in your hearts to the Lord. 20 Always give thanks for everything to our God and Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
TLB
+++++
Ephesians 5:15-20
15 So watch your step. Use your head. 16 Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! 
17 Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. 
18 Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of Him. 19 Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. 20 Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the Name of our Master, Jesus Christ. 


(From THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

​A patient was waiting nervously in the examination room of a famous specialist.

"So who did you see before coming to me?" asked the important doctor.

"My local General Practitioner, Dr. Cohen."

"Your GP?" scoffed the doctor. "What a waste of time. Tell me, what sort of useless advice did Cohen give you?"

"He told me to come and see you."

​"Remembering Bishop King”   
 
   April 23, 2026, is the eightieth anniversary of Bishop J.H. King’s homegoing. At the age of seventy-six, he went to Heaven in 1946 at Anderson County Hospital in Anderson, South Carolina after twenty-three days of hospitalization.  
   For almost three decades following his election as General Superintendent of the Pentecostal Holiness Church in 1917, Bishop King was the most important leader of the denomination. Church historian Douglas Jacobsen, in his highly praised book, Thinking in the Spirit: Theologies of the Early Pentecostal Movement, ranks King as one of the major Classical Pentecostal theologians in the United States during the period 1900-1925, and as “the most articulate early spokesperson” for Pentecostalism’s Wesleyan-Holiness wing and theological subtradition.i In the words of IPHC Bishop Joseph Synan in 1960: “By all means, we should keep alive in our midst the memory of this great and good man and the things for which he stood.”ii 
 Life Overview 
   Joseph Hillery King was born on August 11, 1869, near Anderson, South Carolina. This was in the post-Civil War, economically devastated South. He was the second of eleven children. The family was poor. His father was a sharecropper and tenant farmer. When Joseph was born, the family lived in a one-room log cabin. His first exposure to organized Christianity was in a rural Baptist church near home.  
   During Joseph’s thirteenth year, the family moved across the Savannah River to Franklin County, Georgia, just a few miles north of Carnesville. The teenager was soon regularly involved in a rural Christian congregation, Allens Methodist Episcopal Church South (MECS). On his sixteenth birthday, he was converted to the Christian faith in Wesleyan-revivalistic fashion at a camp meeting sponsored by Allens Church. Joseph’s first self-claimed experience of Wesleyan entire sanctification occurred two months later at a Carnesville MECS holiness convention. 
   The young man left home at twenty years of age. After a four-month enlistment in the United States Army, he made what he later described as “a tragic choice” when he wedded Miss Willie Irene King in Augusta. (There was no blood relation between them.) Sadly, they separated after three months because, according to King, she opposed his involvement in Christian ministry. The divorce happened about ten years later. The Reverend did not remarry until 1920, and only after his first wife had died. King’s second wife was Blanche Moore. They had four children: Easter Lily, Joseph, Jr., Virginia, and Mary Ann. 
   When Joseph King was fifteen, while plowing a cotton field, he received God’s call to preach. He had not yet been saved! Reverend King began credentialled ministry in the MECS with an exhorter’s license in 1890. The next year, he transferred his membership to the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) and was upgraded to a preaching license. Until 1898, he served MEC congregational circuits in middle and north Georgia. During that time span, he also earned a certificate from the U.S. Grant University School of Theology in Chattanooga, a MEC seminary. In 1898, King left the MEC and joined B.H. Irwin’s Fire-Baptized Holiness Association of America (FBHAA) as an “ordained evangelist.” 
   King succeeded Irwin as General Overseer of the FBHAA in 1900. For some six years, he led the leadership in removing from the organization what they viewed as doctrinal, mystical, experiential, and public worship extremism. This is when he began to build his reputation as a stickler for relative “order” in public worship and as an opponent of “brainless fanaticism” and “religious extravagance.” At the 1902 General Council meeting, the denomination’s name was changed to the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church. The group joined the Pentecostal movement in 1906-1907, and merged with the Pentecostal Holiness Church in 1911. King was elected as General Superintendent of the Pentecostal Holiness Church in 1917. He served in that post for twenty years, and then from 1937 until his decease he served as one of multiple General Superintendents, for five of those years as Chair of the organization’s General Board. At the 1937 General Conference, Reverend King, Reverend Dan Muse, and all future General Superintendents were bestowed the honorary title of “Bishop.”  
  Legacy 
   Bishop J.H. King’s influence was primarily in the Fire-Baptized Holiness and Pentecostal Holiness denominations, not the Pentecostal movement as a whole. His legacy for the IPHC may be summarized in terms of three major contributions to its history, development, and culture. They are some of the reasons why he has been dubbed “the Pentecostal aristocrat” since at least the 1940s. 
   One, he had a strong vision for and actively pursued quality general and higher education “under Pentecostal Holiness influences” for the organization’s constituency. For example, and overall, he was probably the major influencer for the founding and development of Franklin Springs Institute during its early decades (renamed Emmanuel College in 1939). 
   Two, Bishop King worked persistently for adequate Bible and ministry training for the denomination’s clergy. For instance, his Bible conferences became a veritable Pentecostal Holiness Church institution in the 1920s-1940s. Their primary purpose was to train ministers in Scripture and biblical theology. 
   Three, Bishop King labored frequently over the decades for a balanced approach to Pentecostal spirituality and Spirit-inspired public worship. Along with other leaders like G.F. Taylor and G.H. Montgomery, he worked to discourage and sweep from the ranks the emotional, mystical, experiential, demonstrative and doctrinal excesses of early Fire-Baptized Holiness “Irwinism” and the early Pentecostal Holiness Church. These extremes included disruptive overemotionalism and over-demonstrativeness in public worship assemblies, doctrinal error, a sectarian condemnation of other Christian denominations as simply unsaved, and spiritually arrogant and judgmental legalism with respect to dress code and dietary restrictions. For example, one of the most infamous doctrinal errors of early Fire-Baptized Holiness “Irwinism” rejected by King was the teaching of multiple and normative post-conversion, post-entire sanctification experiences of Spirit empowerment labeled the baptisms of dynamite, lyddite, selenite, and oxydite! The following is a vintage 1917 King quotation in that connection: “Happifying ignorance has reigned long enough, and it is time that sound wisdom and sobriety were enthroned in its place.”iii 
  Conclusion 
There is no better way of gaining a concrete sense of early IPHC culture than by reading about and studying the life of Bishop J.H. King. For a detailed account of the life and ministry of this great IPHC pioneer leader, see Tony G. Moon, From Plowboy to Pentecostal Bishop: The Life of J.H. King (Lexington, KY: Emeth Press, 2017). One purpose of this book is to inspire readers to pursue the same level of dedication to the Lord Jesus and the church that Bishop King exemplified for some six decades of productive Christian life and ministry. 
*For thirty-eight years, Dr. Tony Moon taught Bible, ministry, and Pentecostal history courses at Emmanuel University in Franklin Springs, Georgia. Since retirement from Emmanuel, he has enjoyed a ministry of research, writing, teaching, preaching, and pastoring.  

1. Douglas Jacobsen, Thinking in the Spirit: Theologies of the Early Pentecostal Movement (Bloomington: Indiana U. Press, 2003), ix-xiii, 14, 136, 164. 

1. J.A. Synan, Christian Life in Depth (Franklin Springs, GA: Advocate Press, 1964), 7. 

1. J.H. King, “From the General Superintendent,” The Pentecostal Holiness Advocate 1.19 (6 Sept. 1917): 10.  

                                                       

​Your Pain Has a Purpose
 Have you ever been hurt by someone? Have you been used, lied about, abused, cheated or deceived? Have you ever done a lot for someone and then, when you needed them, they didn’t have any time for you?
Everyone experiences mistreatment of some kind, and forgiveness is not easy. But I’ve learned through personal experience that if you refuse to forgive, you are in for a miserable life!
For many years I hated my dad because he sexually abused me throughout my childhood. But all that did was make me bitter and hard to get along with. It didn’t change him, and it it certainly didn’t do me any good.
When they were in their old age, God spoke to my heart and told me He wanted me to move them close to where my husband, Dave, and I lived and take care of them until they died. At first, I resisted this idea because there was nothing in me that wanted to see them, much less spend money on them and meet their needs.
I told Dave what I was thinking, and he said if God was telling me to do this, we should do it. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but he was right, so we moved them into a house near us and took care of them until they died.
It wasn’t easy...but I can honestly say now that it is one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made. God honored my obedience and gave me the grace to do the right thing, and before he passed away, my dad asked me to forgive him and he accepted Christ as his Savior.
The reward of forgiveness far outweighed the pain I had gone through for so many years!
The story of Joseph in Genesis Chapters 37-50 is also an amazing example of what God can do in our lives when we choose to forgive. When he was 17 years old, his 11 brothers sold him to slave traders because they were jealous of him and hated him.
Joseph was taken to Egypt and bought by Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. God gave him favor and Potiphar made Joseph overseer of his whole household (Genesis 39:5). But when Potiphar’s wife became angry because Joseph wouldn’t go to bed with her, she lied, claiming he had tried to rape her, and Joseph was thrown in prison.
Genesis 39:21 (NIV) says, “The Lord was with [Joseph]; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” Joseph was put in charge of all the prisoners because the Lord was with him and gave him success in whatever he did!
Eventually, God gave Joseph favor with Pharaoh, and he was promoted to a position second in command to Pharaoh only, ruling over the land of Egypt. Several years later, his brothers came to Egypt for food because of a terrible famine, and this was his chance to take revenge on them. But Joseph wasn’t at all interested in vengeance.
When he revealed his identity to his brothers and saw that they were afraid he would harm them, Joseph told them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20 NIV).
Joseph is a powerful example of how we can mature in our faith and character when we go through hard times. He chose to maintain his integrity with God no matter what it cost him personally, and the reward was far greater than the pain he had endured. As a result, he was able to fulfill God’s plan for his life and help many people who would have died from famine.
God has a plan and a purpose for your life, too! No matter how badly you’ve been hurt, I want to encourage you to trust God’s love for you and His ability to bring healing to your soul. Refuse to live an angry, bitter life because of the way someone has mistreated you, and instead, pray for them and love them, doing good to them as you have an opportunity to do so (Matthew 5:43-45).
Let God use your pain to develop the fruit of the Spirit in your soul (Galatians 5:22-23) and make you everything He has created you to be. As you do, others will see the love and goodness of God through your life and be drawn to Him!

​​Hurry up and wait . . .



​That was our motto when I played trombone/sousaphone in the Quantico Marine Band for three years during the '50s. We were expected to be present 30 or more minutes prior to the event when we played for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Vice President Richard Nixon, Senators or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sam Rayburn. God was teaching us that as musicians in the Marine Corps we were there to serve others by playing inspiring Marches as well as popular patriotic songs.

We became accustomed to delays. Whether it was hot, cold, or a lovely mild breezy day we, one group of Marines, were there to wait until the highly honored government officials showed up for the special called occasion.

Delays are a part of life. They happen to all of us over and over again.

I have come to understand that Delays often have a purpose for our lives. God speaks to us in the still small voice of our hearts and thinking processes in moments like these.

One purpose is to give us a time to stop and rest.

In Psalm 91, we find these magnificent words:

Psalm 91:1-2

91 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 
2 I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge
and my fortress,
my God, in Whom I trust." 
NIV

Another Scripture that comes to my mind is written in Isaiah 40:31:

Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint. 
NKJV

When I was a child, my mother gave my sister and me the opportunity to take a nap in the afternoon. Some twenty years later it was my experience as a Marine to take a small segment of time in early afternoon after we have had lunch to lie down on my bunk bed to go to sleep and rest.  It gave me renewed energy to stay up later in the evening to play games, go out on a date, see a movie on base, or go bowling.

Delays are one of God's methods to show us a greater purpose for life and living.

You will recall how Jesus loved Martha, Lazarus, and Mary who lived in Bethany. He often visited with them, ate the good food that Martha prepared, enjoyed the fellowship with Lazarus, and renewed a teacher/student relationship with Mary who sat at His feet as He taught. He spent many nights in their home. One one occasion Jesus said, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head" (Matt. 8:20, NIV).

The love of Jesus for his friends did not prevent Lazarus from getting sick and dying. His sisters, Martha and Mary, promptly notified Jesus of the sickness of Lazarus. Jesus did not act immediately. Instead, He waited a couple of days to go. In the meantime, Lazarus died and was buried. The hurt and the expectations Martha and Mary had were quickly made known to Jesus. Both sisters said the same thing they had rehearsed over and over again as the waited impatiently for Jesus to come to their home. The visit of Jesus, the Son of God, was delayed with a purpose.

"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21, NIV).

The narrative is beautifully written by John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, and I quote it now for you to read once again:

John 11:
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 "Where have you laid him?" He asked.

"Come and see, Lord," they replied. 

35 Jesus wept. 

36 Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" 

37 But some of them said, "Could not He Who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" 

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 "Take away the stone," He said.

"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." 

40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me." 

43 When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"  44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." 
NIV

Yes, Jesus could have kept Lazarus from dying, but He had a higher purpose for Lazarus. That purpose was to reveal that Jesus has authority over life and death. He raised Lazarus from the dead. Notice that this miracle was not a resurrection, but a resuscitation back to life. You see Lazarus had to die again. In a true resurrection a person dies and is resurrected never to die again.

The Apostle Paul tells us that the risen Christ is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Death here is spoken of as one falling asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20, NIV).

In The Living Bible it reads like this: "But the fact is that Christ did actually rise from the dead and has become the first of millions who will come back to life again someday" (1 Cor 15:20, TLB).

Because of this miracle many of the Jewish leaders believed on Jesus, and it was the miracle that sent Jesus to the cross.

What are the delays in your life? God wants to reveal to you a much higher purpose for your life and destiny. Place your trust in God today.

A police officer found a perfect hiding place for watching for speeding motorists.   

One day, the officer was amazed when everyone was under the speed limit, so he investigated and found the problem.   

A 10-year-old boy was standing on the side of the road with a huge hand painted sign which said, “Radar Trap Ahead.” 

A little more investigative work led the officer to the boy’s accomplice: another boy about 100 yards beyond the radar trap with a sign reading “TIPS” and a bucket at his feet full of change.     

​









​"I'll not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands" (Isaiah 49:15-16, NKJV).

Noah was totally helpless to change his situation. There was nothing he could do except to stay on the ark and tend to the needs of his family and those of the animals until God in some way brought deliverance. He had to keep his faith in God while simply waiting out the silence that followed the storm.

Although He had been silent, God had not forgotten Noah. In fact, since Noah and his family were the only living persons on the face of the earth, we can be sure they had God’s total, undivided attention every moment.

Do you think God’s silence in your life means He has forgotten you? Oh, no! God says He has engraved your name on the palms of His hands. He says that a mother could forget her nursing baby at mealtime before He could forget you! You are in God’s heart and on His mind every moment. He is fully informed of your circumstances and will bring about change when He knows the time is right.

Blessings,

Anne Graham Lotz