A simple and sincere prayer…
Jesus, we adore You; we place our lives before You.
No one else has so loved us or given their all to save us.
You’ve proven to be The Friend above every other friend.
In Your Name we trust, find real faith in us.
Amen and Amen.
Pastor Kerry Willis
💭 All week long my mind keeps rewinding a campmeeting moment when i was preaching -- many summers ago -- in North Carolina. It was, it seems, a Tuesday evening service and the district leader had asked all pastors to come and stand upfront with anointing oil for the corporate prayer time. Next the people were invited to come to one of the individual pastors to be anointed and prayed over.
As i stood amongst the clergy holding a small bottle of olive oil, i remember thinking no one will likely come to me because i was the guest preacher and surely folk would go only to the pastors they personally knew. And i was fine with that.
Yet, i was wrong. One person actually came straight to me. It was a precious 8-year-old girl. i bent over and leaned in close and asked her in a whisper what her prayer request was? Shaking slightly, she tearfully said in a most beautiful, yet broken southern accent these three hard-to-forget, heart-wrenching words: "My daddy’s drinking." My own heart broke in half immediately.
As i passionately prayed specifically for her little hurting heart and her daddy’s drinking, i lovingly wept along with her for Jesus to hear and to help. i never saw her again. i later learned she had ridden unaccompanied by a parent on a local church van to the district gathering.
i am unsure why i haven’t been able to get this old memory out of my thoughts all week, and still again tonight it’s what i am thinking, but maybe it’s for some daddy or mommy who has a child desperately seeking and praying that you will seek Jesus and His healing deliverance for an addiction that is breaking your dear child’s heart and maybe even tearing your family apart.
Lord, Your grace is still amazing and surely You are close to the broken-hearted. [Psalm 34:18] Help souls to seek You for new mercy and real restoration. Amen. 🙏🏼
Note: "And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil." Mark 6:13 NLT
Jesus saves.
Pastor Kerry Willis
You know how it seems some people don’t see your value?
YEAH THAT’S NOT JESUS!
He gave His very life to purchase you from, sin, death and Hell. -kww
Think on this truth and let Love Himself -- Jesus -- embrace you!
Pastor Kerry Willis
Today, my son and i are in Atlanta, Georgia, for live-and-in-person Major League Baseball. Though our Braves lost to the Yankees 5-1 in the first of a two-game challenge, all is still well.
Being together at professional ball diamonds has been our cherished daddy-and-son pastime for the past 25 years. We’ve had quite a fun run so far, approximately 30 MLB games to date. (Maybe tonight the Braves will even the score by beating the famous sluggers from the Bronx?)
As much as we enjoy baseball, no doubt the holy highlight happened today at lunch. Ever since we arrived i have sensed a strong impulsion to have a meal at a certain wings restaurant near our hotel. As we entered the establishment around noon, there she was. Yes, the young hostess was wearing a mask, yet one look into her sullen brown eyes and i sensed she was desperately hurting. Something about her demeanor was seemingly hopeless.
Immediately, Jesus began reaching for her in compassion through me. i knew the biggest reason we had driven south to Hotlanta this summer was surely for this encounter.
Her name is Angel. As she showed us to our table we had an especially unusual and deeply meaningful conversation while pent up tears streamed nonstop down her cheeks. Before leaving we would have two more tender talks and many more tears. She shared her story with Grayson and me and we prayerfully embraced before leaving. Jesus was so undeniably present.
Please pray for Angel from Atlanta. She’s been having nightmares about an upcoming date on her calendar. Let me just say, "Monday will be a big day for her life." She is only 25 years old and she needs new mercy from the God Who formed her and Who is for her. It was all to obvious that we were sent presently into her precious life to encourage her and to remind her "God is not mad at her. God is mad about her!"
The final words i said to Angel were these: "If we never meet again here -- and we probably won’t -- please promise i will find you in Heaven." She promised. Then, i said, "There will be many angels in Heaven, but i will be looking for Angel from Atlanta!" Her parting smile was so full of hope! Unbelievable how her countenance transformed from seemingly hopeless to surely hopeful in an hour.
Prayer: Dearest Jesus, i am so humbled and grateful that You would entrust us to be found "showing up" presently in Angel’s broken life, so You could be found "showing off" personally as her restoring Lord. i am a great and grateful debtor. Even now, i intercede for this cherished soul, Angel from Atlanta, asking that Your mercy will continue to renew everyday in her life, especially as this coming Monday approaches and then beyond. Turn her scary nightmares into Your splendid dreams. Amen and Amen.
Presence Matters Most!
No Invisible People!
Pastor Kerry Willis
Added note: On the way to the ballpark later in the day, i sensed the Lord leading me back to the restaurant to tell Angel i had asked my friends to pray for her. Her smile enlarged as her hope expanded. Thanks prayer partners. In Eternity we will get the rest of the story. To God be the glory.
O that i could somehow truly describe to those in bondage the absolute freedom that is mine and can also be theirs only in Jesus!
Let it be so, my rescuing Lord.
Pastor Kerry Willis
What a blessing this Lord’s Day to preach from this passage recorded in the Gospels:
“Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me and be my disciple,’ Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with such scum?’ When Jesus heard this, he told them, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.’” Mark 2:13-17 NLT
So glad to be one soul among those Jesus has called. i believe He calls every soul. With Jesus there are no invisible people.
Pastor Kerry Willis
My Lord, my heart adores You and Your holiness. i live to love You. You alone are Everything i desire.
My Lord, my heart adores You and Your holiness. i breathe to please You. Your wonder cannot be surpassed by anyone or anything.
My Lord, my heart adores You and Your holiness. Apart from You no good thing can i expect to ever experience.
My Lord, my heart adores You and Your holiness. To be a sanctuary of Your Presence is the utmost purpose and passion of my existence on earth and for all Eternity.
Amen and Amen.
Deo Volente — whatever God wants!
Pastor Kerry Willis
Yesterday, while listening to "Softly and Tenderly" by Sara Groves, this song also came up. It blesses my heart.
Almighty God, You are always faithful.
Pastor Kerry Willis
This old song of invitation reminds me of altar calls inside the old Free Grace Wesleyan Church chapel located alongside the Old Ferry Dock Road on Harkers Island, North Carolina. i am grateful for my childhood church.
Softly and Tenderly Jesus is calling,”Come home.”
Pastor Kerry Willis
i have learned so much from my family and especially my Mom, Lady Melba. My Mom’s maiden name is Davis. She has taught me that some days your nerves seem frayed. And it’s alright. In our immediate Davis family tree, "bad nerves" have been a reality. Those who don’t understand it, just don’t. Those who do understand it, just do.
If all of this nerve-talk makes no sense to you, it’s okay, it really is. Yet the idea of nerve problems is a reality for many people. And here’s the clincher, it’s not usually an indicator of your spiritual life. It’s just part of being human.
So, why am i writing this today. Honestly, because some days my nerves seem frayed. And, i have some of that Davis DNA happening in my own life, today. Want an example of what it’s like? The smallest of tasks can seem daunting, even overwhelming. It’s like an unpredictable yet undeniable paralysis of the mind.
Is it a big deal? Not necessarily. Just somewhat "unnerving." At times i feel a little up in the air mentally and life seems a little raw emotionally. There’s no apparent reason for it.
So, i will simply keep looking to Jesus and know He will help me to carry on. Maybe the Davis’ "bad nerves" is akin to what the apostle Paul called "a thorn in the flesh." It’s part of what our family has dealt with for generations. Nevertheless, in it all, God has proven over and over and over again that His grace is enough. Here’s the good part, while at times my human nerves do seem frayed, yet always Jesus is my holy hope and stay.
So, all-in-all, all is well. In fact, when people ask me what "frayed nerves" feels like, i always say: "Homesickness for Heaven."
"But we are citizens of Heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like His own…" Philippians 3:20-21a NLT
i hope my vulnerability helps you in some way, today. Writing about it helped me break through a little.
Another thing my Mom taught me: "Let us pray one for the other." Grateful. Very.
Trusting always.
Pastor Kerry Willis
My Dearest Lord,
As night has fallen and sleep seems close, i must confess You love me most.
Your kindness truly floods my days and Your grace continues to amaze.
With morning Your loving mercy will renew, and give me strength to keep on trusting You.
Amen and Amen.
Pastor Kerry Willis
Lord Jesus, i love to hear Your voice and i always especially need Your words of rest recorded in Matthew 11:28-30…
"Then Jesus said, ‘Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.’" Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
i am so very grateful, dearest Jesus, that You alone know my true needs and You tenderly care so very much about restoring rest to my life -- heart, mind, soul, and strength. i am forever in need and in want of Your real presence. Amen.
You are my Righteous Rest, Loving Lord!
Pastor Kerry Willis
Your awesome presence, dearest Jesus, is everything, all the time, to me.
Apart from Your everlasting embrace, i would be totally lost for forever and today.
i rejoice in knowing You continually come after me, always desiring to know me deeply and to flood my existence with Your holy kindness.
Thank You precious Lord for Your amazing compasssion towards me; it cannot be denied.
Your very presence is my vital essence. i am not abandoned by You, for surely i am among Your beloved ones.
i am a great and grateful debtor. i want to be incredibly devoted to You without end. Amen.
Maranatha!
Pastor Kerry Willis
"He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he." Proverbs 14:21 NKJV
If we will minister mercy to the poor, happiness will find us. -kww
Homework: Let’s be merciful in generosity to some neighbor poorer than ourselves today and see if holy happiness happens in our lives.
Pastor Kerry Willis
“When life gets complicated, simply trust Jesus!” -kww
“Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Hebrews 11:6
Lord, i want to trust You in these days. Give me faith. -kww
i want to be found believing totally.
Pastor Kerry Willis
“Jesus replied, ‘You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.’” John 13:7 [NLT]
Simply Trusting.
Pastor Kerry Willis
Thanks Pastor Adrian Mills and Harrisonburg First Church of the Nazarene in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. It was a blessing to return today with Good News to the local church i pastored some 24 years from 1994-2018. It truly was a sacred privilege.
My message from Mark 2:1-12 was titled "Redeemed and Restored."
Here’s the YouTube Link:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UKJdvRX7i1M&t=8s
Have Good News! Must Travel!
Pastor Kerry Willis
This morning i awoke with a single Scripture reference extremely strong on my mind.
i immediately looked it up— Matthew 8:7 NLT:
i am sensing i should share it publicly just in case someone needs to claim it, today.
“Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”
Pray always.
Pastor Kerry Willis
In talking with my Mom, Lady Melba, today, she reminded me of this old song of the church and said she sings a portion of it almost every day of her life. Today she quoted the last verse to me on the phone and I had to go and find a YouTube link to share on my blog. I pray that Jesus is precious to you and to me.
Please Love Jesus Passionately!
Pastor Kerry Willis
i am blessed to preach from this passage this coming Sunday, August 8, 2021, on my first return to the pulpit in 3 years at Harrisonburg, Virginia Church of the Nazarene where i pastored for 24 years from 1994-2018. It is a sacred privilege.
Mark 2:1-12 [NLT] © 1997 Edition
[1] Several days later Jesus returned to Capernaum and the news of His arrival spread quickly through the town. [2] Soon the house where He was staying was so packed with visitors that there wasn’t room for one more person, not even outside the door. [3] Four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. [4] They couldn’t get to Jesus through the crowd, so they dug through the clay roof above His head. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. [5] Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My son, your sins are forgiven.“ [6] But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there said to themselves, [7] “What? This is blasphemy! Who but God can forgive sins!” [8] Jesus knew what they were discussing among themselves, so He said to them, “Why do you think this is blasphemy? [9] Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? [10] I will prove that I, the Son of Man, have the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, [11] “Stand up, take your mat, and go on home because you are healed!” [12] The man jumped up, took the mat, and pushed his way through the stunned onlookers. Then they all praised God. “We’ve never seen anything like this before!“ they exclaimed.
i love bringing Good News!
Pastor Kerry Willis
“Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”Mark 1:35 NLT
Lord, help us to find our secret times to restore our strength as we seek Your face in prayer. Amen.
Pray always.
Pastor Kerry Willis
