These Verses Renew Gladness Within My Believing Heart

These verses renew gladness within me, today, because i find myself -- as one who lives and believes in The Living Jesus -- to be a recipient of the promised blessings spoken within these holy words of hope: 

"Then Jesus told him (Thomas, an eyewitness of the Resurrected Lord), "You believe because you have seen Me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing Me." John‬ ‭20:29‬ ‭NLT

"You love Him (Jesus) even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter‬ ‭1:8-9‬ ‭NLT (Written by Peter, also an eyewitness of the Resurrected Lord.)

My Beloved Jesus, i have not yet physically seen You alive again, nevertheless, i totally believe You are! You have opened the eyes of my heart, Lord. And, i am forever a grateful debtor. Amen. 

With gladness. 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

A Powerful Passage to Preach From — John 1:1-5

Today, Sunday, January 30, 2022, i preached a message at Pitman New Jersey Church of the Nazarene. i preached from the first 5 verses of John 1, and i don’t recall a more powerful text ever in all my 30 years of preaching. 

Anyway, here’s the passage. Saturate in it a while and it will surely speak to you in some way, i know. 

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John‬ ‭1:1-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

With gladness.

Pastor Kerry Willis 

A Powerful Penitent Psalm of King David -- Psalm 51

Psalm 51 is A Powerful Penitent Psalm of King David after his spiritual fall that began with his lust of Bathsheba. Hearing it again in this up-to-date language translation really brings it home for me…

Penitent defined adjective -- feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong. 

Penitent defined noun -- a person who repents of their sins and/or wrongdoings and seeks forgiveness from God. 

Hear the Psalm… 

"God, give me mercy from your fountain of forgiveness! I know your abundant love is enough to wash away my guilt. Because your compassion is so great, take away this shameful guilt of sin. Forgive the full extent of my rebellious ways, and erase this deep stain on my conscience. For I’m so ashamed. I feel such pain and anguish within me. I can’t get away from the sting of my sin against you, Lord! Everything I did, I did right in front of you, for you saw it all. Against you, and you above all, have I sinned. Everything you say to me is infallibly true and your judgment conquers me. Lord, I have been a sinner from birth, from the moment my mother conceived me. I know that you delight to set your truth deep in my spirit. So come into the hidden places of my heart and teach me wisdom. Purify my conscience! Make this leper clean again! Wash me in your love until I am pure in heart. Satisfy me in your sweetness, and my song of joy will return. The places you have crushed within me will rejoice in your healing touch. Hide my sins from your face; erase all my guilt by your saving grace. Keep creating in me a clean heart. Fill me with pure thoughts and holy desires, ready to please you. May you never reject me! May you never take from me your sacred Spirit! Let my passion for life be restored, tasting joy in every breakthrough you bring to me. Hold me close to you with a willing spirit that obeys whatever you say. Then I can show other guilty ones how loving and merciful you are. They will find their way back home to you, knowing that you will forgive them. O God, my saving God, deliver me fully from every sin, even the sin that brought bloodguilt. Then my heart will once again be thrilled to sing the passionate songs of joy and deliverance! Lord God, unlock my heart, unlock my lips, and I will overcome with my joyous praise! For the source of your pleasure is not in my performance or the sacrifices I might offer to you. The fountain of your pleasure is found in the sacrifice of my shattered heart before you. You will not despise my tenderness as I bow down humbly at your feet. Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her. Be the protecting wall around Jerusalem. And when we are fully restored, you will rejoice and take delight in every offering of our lives as we bring our sacrifices of righteousness before you in love!" Psalms‬ ‭51:1-19‬ ‭TPT

With Gladness.

Pastor Kerry Willis 

The Wonderfulness of My Weakness

My prayer this morning… 

Lord, as i seek Your face and saturate in Your word, i truly believe that i am actually winning spiritually whenever i am experiencing the wonderfulness of my weakness. In other words, i believe that You wondrously work through even the thorn in my flesh, using me, the surely weak to lead the seemingly strong. With gladness. Amen. -kww 

 "I was given a thorn in my body because of the outstanding revelations I’ve received so that I wouldn’t be conceited. It’s a messenger from Satan sent to torment me so that I wouldn’t be conceited. I pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me alone. He said to me, "My grace is enough for you, because power is made perfect in weakness." So I’ll gladly spend my time bragging about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power can rest on me. Therefore, I’m all right with weaknesses, insults, disasters, harassments, and stressful situations for the sake of Christ, because when I’m weak, then I’m strong." ‭‭[The Apostle Paul’s testimony as recorded in 2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:7-10‬ ‭CEB‬‬]

With gladness, indeed. 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Worthless Pursuits Produce Worthless -- Pursue The Worthy One!

This morning after leading our Philadelphia District Four Winds Prayer Zoom, i ended early and told the prayer partners: "Take some time now on your own to listen for the voice of the Lord." [Of course i personally did that and this is where the Lord led me…]

Jeremiah 2:5b -- CEB -- "They pursued what was worthless and became worthless." 

My prayer followed: "Lord, keep me from wasting my life in a futile pursuit of what is worthless, lest i become worthless. Lord, i want to seek You wholeheartedly for all of my days. Finding You in the present and for all eternity is a worthy pursuit, indeed. Amen." -kww 

With gladness. 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Today, i Pray for You [Say Your Name Aloud Here]!

Today, i prayed this prayer below over my district staff by name and afterwards sensed some of you following my writings may also need prayer. Therefore, today, i pray for you!

"As i pray, today, please know you [Say Your Name Aloud Here] are being lovingly lifted before the Throne of Mercy even in this exact moment. Whatever your specific personal need may be, place it fully surrendered beneath the Father's Blessing and He will surely redeem the brokenness of His own children and get glory for Himself while bringing good to us and even to others around us. Amen." -kww

With gladness. 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Fearful Slaves of Our Sin Vs. Favored Children of Father God

“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, “Abba, Father.” For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.” Romans‬ ‭8:15-17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“If we suffer with Jesus, we shall reign with Him.” 2 Timothy 2:12 KJV “remix”

Because of Jesus we don’t have to be slaves, we can be children, even heirs. -kww 

With gladness. 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

My Endless Source of Gladness

My Prayer: "Lord Jesus, Your Presence in the present is my endless Source of gladness. Amen." -kww

Happy Days happen in Your Holiness, Lord! -kww

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Join Me In Praying for Those Who Partner Alongside Me In District Ministry

Today, i sent this prayer message to leaders of the district where i serve. Please join me in lifting them and place your own life in the prayer: 

Good day, dearly beloved ones of Jesus the Nazarene — Philadelphia DAB and District Staff:

Yes, i know we will see each other during our upcoming January 25 DAB meeting this coming Tuesday at 6 p.m. — we will Zoom this time; Zoom link and agenda arriving soon — nevertheless i just wanted to say a tender “hello” and let you know you are being prayed for, today, Friday, January 21.

The three areas i am praying for you come from our USA/Canada Half-Million Prayer Mobilization Vision on the horizon. 

1. i pray for your PROTECTION. Yes, may the Spirit of Truth protect you — heart, mind, soul, and strength and preserve you blameless at our Lord’s return. 

2. i pray for your DIRECTION. Indeed, may “God be in your head and in your understanding.” Know the battle belongs to the Lord. May your whole being declare: “Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart!” 

3. i pray for your REVELATION — linked closely to direction, may God Himself be the divine goal of all of your seeking and praying. He promised in Jeremiah 29:14a — “I will be found by you,” declares the Lord. 

May you have the wholehearted peace of His holy promise. Amen. 

With gladness. 

Pastor Kerry Willis

District Servant

(Superintendent)

“Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.” Job‬ ‭16:19-21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Parish… Perish… Vision… The Lost.

"Dearest King Jesus,

i pray that You would truly make the world my PARISH so that souls will not PERISH. Amen." -kww

"Where there is no VISION, the people perish." Proverbs 29:18 KJV

P.S. Lord, for our inheritance give us THE LOST. Amen. 

https://youtu.be/4xebSUoveno

With gladness.

Pastor Kerry Willis

Jesus Gave Himself Fully to Every Audience Regardless of the Size

Yes, Jesus ministered His Words of Life to the multitudes as they came to His borrowed hillside sanctuary beside the sea. He also ministered Good News to only two on the road to Emmaus and let us not forget, Jesus often gave Himself fully to an audience of just one soul at a time like Nicodemus [Nic at night], even extending His Living Water to one seemingly invisible outcast woman at Samaria’s well. -kww 

With gladness. 

Pastor Kerry Willis

Lesson, Observation, Thought -- COVID-19 Pandemic

Ministry lesson i have learned and observation i have made and thought i have had since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic until the present: "Father God, The Gardener, knows how to prune His trees for a preferred future fruit-bearing season. We will reap a harvest if we faint not. Let the one who has ears to hear, hear and understand.” -kww #riddle

With gladness.

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Truth and Light

Recently, my brother in Jesus, Pastor Byron Hannon, prayed this prayer aloud. It resonated with my own heart so i spoke the Amen: 

“Lord, i want to follow truth as a blind person longs for light. Amen.”

And “Amen” again! 

With gladness. 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

A Personal Psalm

At last week’s prayer retreat, Pastor Mark Justice invited all of us in attendance to take time to write a psalm of our own as unto the Lord. This was mine: 

“The Lord watches over me like a hawk, not to alarm me or to harm me, but He watches over me as a lover watches over His beloved. 

The Lord’s presence embraces me like a holy hug, not to hold me captive or to control me, but to love me and to be my life.

The Lord has me in His sights and holds me steady in the strong vice of His victory. Selah.”

With gladness. 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

“MIGHTY TO SAVE!”

Isaiah 63:1 contains three powerful words about Holy God, reminding us He is “MIGHTY TO SAVE!” Let us never give up in praying for our lost loved ones. Why? Our God is “MIGHTY TO SAVE!” -kww 

Let us pray and believe and share the Wprd of God! 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Jesus and Nicodemus -- The Written Words and A Video Clip

This familiar encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus is tenderly touching my heart today: 

"There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a Jewish leader. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could do these miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered, "I assure you, unless someone is born anew, it’s not possible to see God’s kingdom." Nicodemus asked, "How is it possible for an adult to be born? It’s impossible to enter the mother’s womb for a second time and be born, isn’t it?" Jesus answered, "I assure you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don’t be surprised that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ God’s Spirit blows wherever it wishes. You hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. It’s the same with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said, "How are these things possible?" "Jesus answered, "You are a teacher of Israel and you don’t know these things? I assure you that we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you don’t receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Human One. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the Human One be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him isn’t judged; whoever doesn’t believe in him is already judged, because they don’t believe in the name of God’s only Son. "This is the basis for judgment: The light came into the world, and people loved darkness more than the light, for their actions are evil. All who do wicked things hate the light and don’t come to the light for fear that their actions will be exposed to the light. Whoever does the truth comes to the light so that it can be seen that their actions were done in God." John‬ ‭3:1-21‬ ‭CEB‬‬

This scene from "The Chosen" especially warms my own heart, mind, soul, and strength. 

https://youtu.be/_p2XIUK9VgA

With Gladness.

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Four Winds Prayer Retreat 2022 Underway

Our Philadelphia District Church of The Nazarene Four Winds Ministers’ Prayer Retreat is now underway, January 11-13, 2022. Join us in prayer from wherever you are. 

Our focus this evening is “The Wonder of Listening.” 

Some of our prayer focus: 

1. Expect the Lord to Speak — Luke 8:18

2. The Need to Hush — Psalm 46:10a

3. The Art of Voice Recognition — John 10:27

Pastor Delbert Bieber led us. 

With Gladness.

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Servant Leadership / Vision & Burden & Obedience

Servant Leadership was/is revealed to us in the life of Jesus Christ. From Him we see that servant leadership is all about serving God and others and not at all about satisfying one’s self. It’s not about fulfilling our human dreams but it’s about being faithful to God’s holy vision. “Where there is no *vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18 [And vision is another word for *burden.] Lord, help us to be obedient to the Heavenly vision. With Gladness. Amen. -kww

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Time Baffles Us. But Why?

Time baffles us.

"Our bafflement about time shows in the amazing custom of presenting gold watches to retirees who no longer need to keep track of time." - Neil B. Wiseman 

"Time is like a moving circus, always packing up and moving away." - unknown 

"There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens: a time for giving birth and a time for dying, a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted, a time for killing and a time for healing, a time for tearing down and a time for building up, a time for crying and a time for laughing, a time for mourning and a time for dancing, a time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones, a time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces, a time for searching and a time for losing, a time for keeping and a time for throwing away, a time for tearing and a time for repairing, a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking, a time for loving and a time for hating, a time for war and a time for peace. What do workers gain from all their hard work? I have observed the task that God has given human beings. God has made everything fitting in its time, but has also placed eternity in their hearts, without enabling them to discover what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:1-11

Time baffles us. But why?

Could it be that we are baffled by time because God has placed eternity in our hearts? -kww

With gladness. 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

2022: A Year to Pray Through

The old timers of holiness used to refer to effective praying as "praying through." Henry Blackaby said: "It’s a rude thing to rush an eternal God." i like to be aligned with old timers when it comes to praying through and not rushing God. 

My mom’s goal in prayer is, and always has been, God Himself. That is, to come to a place in her prayer where she is aware of the Lord’s presence no matter how long it takes. The old timers of holiness referred to this type of a goal in praying as "waiting on the witness of The Holy Spirit." Yes, i like to be aligned with old timers when it comes to seeking diligently, even waiting on the witness of The Holy Spirit in prayer. 

In this post i am giving a clue to the title and focus of my 2022 District Servant’s report that is scheduled for our District Assembly the last Saturday of April. The theme will be "2022: The Year of Praying Through."

Note: i am not waiting until April to engage this theme. It’s already underway in my life. i invite you to join in with me. In other words: "Let Us Pray… Through!"

With gladness. 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Epiphany! The Day My Dad Was Saved! [Capt. Billy’s Conversion]

It’s Epiphany! The Day we remember Wise Men coming to worship the Christ Child in Bethlehem. What an Epiphany it must have been for them. 

On Epiphany Day, January 6, 1969, during the fourth watch of the night -- about 3 a.m. in the morning -- Jesus made Himself known to my Dad saved my Dad during a storm while aboard the family fishing trawler at the docks in Wanchese, North Carolina and saved his soul. It was truly an Epiphany for Dad, Capt. Billy, and for our whole family.

* Epiphany -- a manifestation of a divine or supernatural being. A moment of sudden revelation or insight. 

With Gladness!

Pastor Kerry Willis 

"Cry My Eyes Out!"

i feel akin to Jeremiah more than any of the other Old Testament prophets. Perhaps so, because he was called "The Weeping Prophet/Preacher." i find it difficult to trust a preacher who sheds no tears. [Remember, "Jesus wept." John 11:35]

In about a week the pastors and some spouses of the Philadelphia District Church of the Nazarene will gather together for our Four Winds Prayer Retreat. May each of us come with a heart like Jeremiah’s whose heart was broken for his God and his people. 

This verse below is at the the heart of Jeremiah’s ministry and i want it to be at the heart of our ministry as well. Pray with us and pray for us. Eternal souls are in the balance. 

"If you are too proud to listen, I will go off alone and cry my eyes out. I will weep uncontrollably because the LORD’s flock will be dragged off into exile." Jeremiah‬ ‭13:17‬ ‭CEB‬‬   

This Passage is So Hopeful -- Gladness to My Spirit

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord anointed me To bring good news to the humble; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of GLADNESS instead of mourning, The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61:1-3‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Pastor Kerry Willis 

My 2022 Verse of Holy Scripture

Just want to share the verse of Holy Scripture i am holding close in 2022: 

“I will be present for you,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 29:14a CEB 

I totally claim Your promise, Lord. Amen. 

Pastor Kerry Willis