Last Sunday, Monte was
preaching at His Sanctuary. We had a
wonderful time of ministry. Our hearts are overwhelmed by God's goodness.
We minister at the
church twice yearly. Every time we are
there, some warm and cheerful elderly ushers would welcome us. We love seeing them. Their love, enthusiasm and loving service is
heartwarming. God has given each of us
talents, gifts and abilities for service. Long ago, I read about an individual who would
faithfully prepare and wash communion cups in church. What may seem small in the eyes of man means
a lot to God. Everything that we do with
a sincere and grateful heart reaps boundless blessings from on high. God sees our hearts, He empowers us to love
and serve because we are all servants of the Lord.
How can we ever fathom how God
can dwell in us, mortal earthen vessels that are prone to fall and fail. God almighty came into our lives and shine
His glorious light in us to reveal His glory and splendour. When we focus on the greatness and
awesomeness of God, all our earthly challenges melt at His feet. He has raised His banner of victory for
us. He is the glory and lifter of our
heads. We extol our great King who reigns for all eternity.
Someone
once said that tough times do not diminish the presence of God.The harsh realities, the stresses of life,
the pain and anguish and relentless setbacks cannot destroy us because God has
given us a fighting and winning spirit.He
knows our pain and struggles.He had
gone to deep valleys that we cannot imagine.He beckons us on to a journey that reveals His love for us.When our hearts are heavy, when the way seems
bleak, when we have nothing else to cling on, He is with us.He carries our burdens and gives us strength
and hope.He gives us courage to go
another mile.He gives us courage to
press on.He opens our eyes to endless
opportunities and possibilities.He
brings hope in our despair.He sustains
us by His amazing grace and pours His love into our weary and beaten hearts. In our limited capacity, we can never fully
comprehend the extent of His empowering love. Love so deep and intense, love so pure and rich.
A
few days ago, we received word from the Society of Pentecostal Studies that
Monte’s paper has been accepted for its 42nd Annual Meeting in conjunction with the Wesleyan Theological Society,
hosted by SeattlePacificUniversity, Seattle, WA, March 21-23, 2013. (http://www.sps-usa.org/meetings.html)
The Conference Theme is "Holiness". The title of Monte's paper is “Patterning the Pentecostal Via Salutis to the Classical ‘Three Ways’ of Spiritual Formation: An Ecumenical Model for Developmental Sanctification”.
Our hearts are filled with great joy because this honour
and privilege is not something we take for granted. Memories of how God providentially met us
last year when He opened the door for Monte to present his paper in Virginia, USA came rushing into our hearts and spirit. We experienced first hand how the Lord miraculously
provided for every cent necessary to make the trip. This time round, the joy is inexpressible. We can only stand in amazement because He is
simply awesome and great. We believe in His divine provision. We know that
He has all the resources we needed. We
are thankful and we know that He is more than enough for us. We are grateful for the opportunity to see God
work on our behalf and we are mindful that the Lord is able to do exceedingly
and abundantly above all we can imagine and hope. We see His hand of love.
Journeying with the Lord is amazing. We do not
want to embark on any other journey except for the one that God leads us on. We persevere in love and hope because He speaks
His strength, grace, and love into the depth of our hearts.
We bow in humble adoration to our great God who is faithful and true.
