This Is What I See God Doing

I don't know about you but, this is what I see God doing at CWS:

I see ... a fellowship hall with laughter, worship, & united in prayer.

I see ... a sanctuary full of people with standing room only.

I see ... overflow parking lots opened and jam packed.

I see ... a main road traveled by many on foot to get to church.

I see ... lives we know and strangers usually not seen in a church.

I see ... broken and hurting lives shedding tears of pain, hurt, and joy.

I see ... lives give their heart to the Lord.

I see ... people being set free by His grace, Word, and power.

I see ... lives living out love. 

I see ... families connecting to the church.

I see ... a church that is about to burst at the seams.  ENLARGE!

I see ... a weekend of fellowship, building relationships, prayer, hard work, reaching into the community, and a celebration of epic proportions.

I see ... this not just for "Easter" weekend but every time we gather.
Enjoy The Ride,

Cecil

When God Taps You On The Shoulder

When you get that tap what will you do?  I got that tap on the shoulder on April 26, 2005.  Almost 8 years exact to the day, I have made a decision to resign from my place of employment to enter full time ministry. 

I will be stepping into the river as Joshua instructed the priests before they crossed the river to enter the promised land.  We are trusting God to do His miraculous work through our lives for His glory and Kingdom.  I've thought about this moment for years and it didn't play out the way I thought it would.  He made it reality in only the way He could ... AMAZINGLY!  The announcement to the church was made last Sunday on Vision Sunday.  Watch it here:

When I committed my life for ministry, I said, "I don't know when, where, how but He will lead."  He has been preparing me through learning experiences in life, ministry, and employment at a large and growing multi-ethnic church (Bethlehem Assembly of God).

An excerpt from the always-in-process ministry manifesto:
"The selection, call, and results will all be because of His grace. Charles Spurgeon said it well, “I always say to young fellows who consult me about the ministry, ‘Don't be a minister if you can help it,’ because if the man can help it, God never called him. But if he cannot help it, and he must preach or die, then he is the man.” There is a passion God is burning inside of me to plant churches that minister to all people. My intention is not to be successful, but I want to be effective. God will take care of the success-factor. I remember Dr. Wallace Sibley stating at our ministerial commissioning service, “God didn’t call us to be successful but He called us to be faithful.” I have been called to live my life with a real-time awareness and consciousness of God. There has to be a dream and a purpose behind anything we do for the Lord. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18) I want to be faithful to God’s vision in and for my life.

God has been and is doing a great work in my personal life. My beautiful, loving, and discerning wife, Sherin is a tremendous blessing to me in life and ministry. God blessed us with two precious daughters, Abigail and Kayla.

I believe that everything that is happening in my life in these days is leading me to the ultimate step of faith of stepping out into the full-time ministry. He is moving all the pieces of the puzzle around me into place and in His time, He will move me into the right place according to His will. The life I have enjoyed literally and figuratively growing up in the church is a blessing for me and my family."  
Enjoying The Ride,

Pastor Cee

This Was Fun

Looking back, I really had a good time with this series.  I know I learned so much and the Holy Spirit taught me a lot about the text and bringing it to life.  It felt like reading through a short story with every emotion, highs and lows, different characters, and a great story line.  The past several weeks in studying, praying, preparing, and presenting the REDEMPTION series has been a great experience for me.  I believe it was a blessing to the church as well.  Get on the road to redemption.  There's no place better!

(download the CWS app: bit.ly/12rohNI)

We can go from bittersweet pondering on all that we have lost or keep trusting in God to lead us back to Him through His love for us.  Get yourself together and decide to follow Jesus and if and when you do, your comeback has started.  Just cling to Jesus, no one else, nothing else, just cling to Him!

(download the CWS app: bit.ly/12rohNI)

We can receive the grace of God and grow in it because it sets us up for success, gives us access, it protects and provides for our needs, and its simply amazing!

(download the CWS app: bit.ly/12rohNI)

There must be more than this.  We sometimes settle for OK.  But OK is not in the vocabulary for God because He is excellent.  Life isn't always smooth sailing.  There will be rough patches, storms, and threshing floor experiences.  You might be going through a "ground zero" in your life right now, but don't let Satan make you think you are done.  You must rest in Him and His grace. 

(download the CWS app: bit.ly/12rohNI)

Is the person you are today, the person you want to be tomorrow? Are you bold enough to carry out your purpose? Are you willing to make an impact wherever you go?  Somebody is watching your decisions today because your decisions will affect your generations tomorrow.  What will your decisions today say about your tomorrow? Are you going to live and trust in the law that is limited or are you going to abide in the fruitful grace that is Jesus Christ.

(download the CWS app: bit.ly/12rohNI)

Enjoying The Ride,

Pastor Cee