The Half-Million Mobilization of Prayer is underway for the USA-Canada Region of the Church of the Nazarene. From Jeremiah 29:11-14a, we are praying together prayers for PROTECTION • DIRECTION • REVELATION.
Today, to get us praying together, i lead our regional focus in a short but sincere prayer for REVELATION…
Please pray with me and then keep praying please!
https://vimeo.com/667895921/2199a07857
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
Lord, i remain available to You, Yes, here i am, Lord. i willingly surrender all of me for all of You. Again.
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
Almighty Abba Father, thank You that You hear our prayers. The burden of this world seems especially heavy some days. Today, is one of those “some days.”
Wars and rumors of wars abound. Clouds of darkness threaten to disturb our hearts, minds, and souls. Nevertheless, You are still our Reigning Prince of Peace. You are surely drawing near to us as we are desperately drawing near to You. We recognize these truths by faith. Help us to realize these truths undeniably, too, as we keep on trusting You.
Spiritual warfare also rages all around us during these unusual days. Enlarge our awareness of Your presence in our lives. Embolden us in faithfulness, servanthood, love, belief, prayer, holiness, and Christlike attitude. We want to be at all times Your sanctified sanctuaries, yes, true carriers of Your life, love, and light in a seemingly hopeless world.
We know that Your Eternal Holiness has dominion over our temporal heaviness. Reign over us and within us, King Jesus. Surely, You are with us always to the very end of the age. Amen.
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
As i pray for Ukraine and the invasion by Russian troops there, this verse is clearly comforting my mind…
“Don’t fear sudden terror or the ruin that comes to the wicked. The LORD will be your confidence; he will guard your feet from being snared.” Proverbs 3:25-26 CEB
Let Us Pray!
Pastor Kerry Willis
Click this link for a great devo piece titled “Finding Peace in Disorder” written by Pastor Linette Thomas…
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bK9pXajOM4TUXAK1jVHDcWKyIcIA-2lH-yzQqcqom5c/edit
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
This Gospel story — from a day in the life of Jesus — touched my heart deeply, today:
“A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” “But he kept on looking around to see who had done it.” Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” Mark 5:25-34 NLT
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
This link will lead you an article published by Holiness Today and it is a resource in helping to describe why Wesleyan-Holiness people should not be defined as fundamentalists. Yes, it is a theological idea but it has very practical ramifications.
https://holinesstoday.org/why-wesleyans-arent-fundamentalists
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
Time marches on. Yes, 2022 is well underway. While these are surely still unusual days, the journey onward and upward on the Highway of Holiness continues.
In January of 2021, the Lord seemed to give me two words of focus: “Simply Trust!” With the arrival of January 2022, two new words came clearly into focus: “With Gladness!” My prayer recently has included these four words: “Lord, help me to ‘simply trust’ You ‘with gladness.’ Amen!”
On day nine of the new year, this message rang out — loud and clear — as part of my quiet saturation time in the Lord’s presence:
“Nothing gives the believer as much ‘gladness’ as fellowship with Jesus Christ, for the believer finds in close communion with Jesus Christ both Living Water and Living Bread. Therefore, with gladness, let us all drink and eat to the full for we are those who have Jesus Christ Himself as our inheritance.”
At our recent Four Winds Prayer Retreat, i talked about my Mom’s goal in prayer simply and profoundly being Jesus Christ Himself. With the Lord alone as her deepest desire, my Mom has surely lived her whole Christian life “simply trusting” Him “with gladness.” It does not mean trials and troubles have been absent, quite the opposite, nevertheless, in all of her trials and in all of her troubles she passionately testifies that the Lord has proven to be both present and trustworthy without fail. At age 80, “with gladness” she continues to drink from the fountain of His Living Water and to dine at the table of His Living Bread.
i am inspired along these lines of gladness with the opening words of a Larnelle Harris song:
“i can be glad for my Hope is in the Lord, for He gives a confidence this world doesn’t know. He’s the Lord of all creation, and whatever the situation, i am glad for my Hope’s in the Lord!”
This passage of Scripture fuels these thoughts i have shared:
“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
Would you pray with me:
“Lord, because You alone are our Living Water and Living Bread, help us to ‘simply trust’ You ‘with gladness.’ And Lord, please grant over our lives YOUR OIL OF GLADNESS FOR OUR MOURNING. In Your Name we ask it. Amen.”
Pastor Kerry Willis
Note: Originally written January 29, 2022 as a Four Winds Forecast newsletter article to our district family
i share with you a short but sacred opening greeting my Mom and i shared on the phone today:
Me: Whatcha’ doing this morning, Mom?
Lady Melba: Just got done putting everything in God’s hands, again.
With Gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
My mentor, Pastor James Spruill, wrote these timeless words several years ago on Love and Holiness:
LIFE LESSON:
Love and Holiness are two words that get kicked around a lot these days. Volumes have been written about love. Holiness often gets swept under the religious rug as something unattainable. If you define love the way Hollywood does these two words aren’t even related. The confusion is perpetuated when love is defined by two people shacking up in a one night stand in a cheap motel, and the same word used for the kind and gracious acts of Mother Teresa giving her life for the poor and dying of India.
And then there is Holiness defined by the way someone dresses or as a title, "Your Holiness" it is enough to confuse anyone. I mean no disrespect to those who are thinkers who seek to help us understand the Love and Holiness of God, but much of what they write is just recycled thought from the liberal professors they studied under.
It is true, God is Love, but it is also true that God is holy and the two cannot be separated. With God they are always compatible. We can express our opinion but love and holiness are not what we say they are, they are part of the essential nature and character of God and that never changes.
The Scripture says, that Jesus is the exact representation of God, because He is God. Jesus said, "He that has seen me has seen the Father," so Jesus best defines love and holiness with His life. Anything He ever said or did was always compatible with love and holiness. When he took the whip into the temple, turned over the money changers tables and cleaned out the place he did not cease to be love or holy. When he spoke painful truth to the Scribes and Pharisees he did not lay aside His love and Holiness.
We need to stop trying to make God who we want Him to be, stop trying to make His love accommodate our sin and stop thinking that holiness is something you can put on. The way Jesus defines love and holiness they can only be found IN HIM. Where do you get your definitions? It is too important not to think about. [James Spruill]
John 14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Hebrews 1:3 who being the shining splendor of His glory, and the express image of His essence, and upholding all things by the word of His power, having made purification of our sins, He sat down on the right of the Majesty on high,
These verses have been on my mind like a prayer for a few days…
“So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.” Romans 12:1-2 GNTD
Jesus, i surrender myself again to You. With gladness. Amen.
Pastor Kerry Willis
i am so humbled to have been entrusted as one of the writers for the upcoming issue of Holiness Today Magazine that will exclusively highlight the Half-million Prayer Mobilization Movement for the USA-Canada Region of the Church of the Nazarene. My article titled “Revelation” came as inspiration to my own heart, mind, soul, and strength and i pray it will inspire many to seek our Lord wholeheartedly, all the while, anticipating that He will prove Himself present. Pray with me as i was also asked to record a personal prayer around the word “Revelation.” Video below.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/667895921?h=2199a07857
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
If you need encouragement, i invite you to saturate in these words spoken by Jesus that comfort me deeply. If you read carefully and prayerfully, i believe you will gain a new perspective.
"If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor--Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever-- the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you. "I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, bereaved, and helpless]; I will come [back] to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. On that day [when that time comes] you will know for yourselves that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. The person who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him [I will make Myself real to him]." Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, "Lord, what has happened that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus answered, "If anyone [really] loves Me, he will keep My word (teaching); and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling place with him. One who does not [really] love Me does not keep My words. And the word (teaching) which you hear is not Mine, but is the Father’s who sent Me. "I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor--Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you. Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]" John 14:15-27 AMP
Note: i am also swimming in this passage from the Old Testament, today:
"Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) and with the house of Judah (the Southern Kingdom), not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," says the Lord. "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," says the Lord, "I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. And each man will no longer teach his neighbor and his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me [through personal experience], from the least of them to the greatest," says the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness, and I will no longer remember their sin." Jeremiah 31:31-34 AMP
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
“… All personhood is externally rooted in the One Great “I Am” of the Trinity! Isaiah rightly rebuked Babylon when twice (Isaiah 47:8 and 10) Babylon declared with the spirit of all the ages, “I Am and there is none besides me.” The spirit of our age is no different than that of Babylon and the same headlong destruction which they received will fall upon us if we do not affirm that He alone is the great I Am, the one Person from whom the dignity and true identity of all personhood must flow.”
— Timothy Tennent
Click link for the entire piece titled, “The Restoration of Personhood”
https://timothytennent.com/the-restoration-of-personhood/
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
Here’s the audio link of my recent guest appearance on Pocket Pulpit. We had a conversation about casting light in darkness via social media.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4NmIkw0ztueIp1vV19BLR2
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
It was early afternoon and i stepped out of the house onto the porch and sat down. Immediately, i realized that the wind seemed to be especially alive. Powerfully, a verse of Scripture that Jesus spoke to Nicodemus flooded my mind. It was an invigorating few moments of inspiration for my whole being.
Here’s the verse:
“The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” John 3:8 NLT
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
In Jeremiah 2 CEB, the weeping prophet records a sad situation, in that, God’s own people "have switched gods, though their new gods are not really gods at all." V. 11a
Jeremiah 2:8b CEB says: "…the leaders rebelled against Me; the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, going after what has no value."
Then in Jeremiah 2:11b CEB this idea of "switching gods" is accented even more: "Yet my people have exchanged their glory for what has no value."
God Himself seems stunned, seemingly by the words that follow in Jeremiah 2:12 CEB: "Be stunned by such a thing, you heavens; shudder and quake, declares the Lord."
And these heart-wrenching words are heard in Jeremiah 2:13 CEB: "They have forsaken Me."
Let us pray: Lord, let us not choose to be slaves of worthless gods, when we are destined to be Your children, yes, the beloved sons and daughters of Holy Father God! Amen.
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
Preaching from this verse on Sunday morning surely encouraged my own soul. i was really kind of beside myself with gladness as i proclaimed The Good News found in these words…
"The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone."John 1:4 NLT
"The Word" is another title Jesus wears, of course. HE, THE WORD, gave LIFE to EVERYTHING and LIGHT to EVERYONE!
Enough already!
With gladness, indeed!
Pastor Kerry Willis
While recently reading and saturating in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, i mined a few truths for my own soul:
Here’s one: "In a fallen world it makes perfect sense to me that we should expect to experience seasons, not only of gladness, but also times of pain, heartache, and suffering."
And another truth: "If we somehow only knew happiness and managed to avoid totally all the trials and agony in this world, we would surely be ruined as human beings. We would be filled with only self-centeredness and spiritual shallowness. To know only happiness in a hurting world, we would without doubt be among the cruelest of characters, lacking true substance and tender sympathy." -kww
Indeed, "There is a time for everything…" Ecclesiastes 3:1a
Reminds me also of a New Testament truth penned by The Apostle Paul:
"The righteousness that I have comes from knowing Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the participation in His sufferings. It includes being conformed to His death so that I may perhaps reach the goal of the resurrection of the dead." Philippians 3:10-11 CEB
With gladness… at all times.
Pastor Kerry Willis
Today, during my quiet time, one simple yet profound portion of just one verse -- yes, God speaking through a few words penned by the weeping prophet in Jeremiah 2:8a CEB --stopped me as a spiritual leader in my own tracks for a soul-searching season of reflecting, repenting, reviving and refocusing.
Hear the words:
"The priests [the spiritual leaders] didn’t [did not] ask, ‘Where’s the Lord?’ Those responsible for the Instruction didn’t [did not] know Me." Jeremiah 2:8a CEB
How sad for God to have to say that His own people had forsaken Him and forgotten His faithfulness and that those entrusted to lead the people to God are first and foremost the guilty ones. Painful. God forgive. God forbid.
Question: Pastors, spiritual leaders, do we ask, "Where’s the Lord?" Do those of us entrusted to point people to the Lord really know the Lord for ourselves?
My mind quickly remembers similiar striking words of Jesus recorded in Matthew…
"Not everybody who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will get into the kingdom of Heaven. Only those who do the will of My Father Who is in Heaven will enter. On the Judgment Day, many people will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name and expel demons in Your name and do lots of miracles in Your name?’ Then I’ll tell them, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from Me, you people who do wrong.’" Matthew 7:21-23 CEB
Prayer: Lord, before i would ever dare to spiritually instruct others, i definitely want to spend my days and nights asking, "Where’s the Lord?" i must [and i do] desire to know You intimately for myself so that i might be finally trustworthy as Your witness to others. Amen.
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
Jeremiah 29:11 is among the life verse of life verses for many believers. At the South Jersey Nazarene Zone pastors prayer time this morning in Millville, New Jersey, our focus came from Jeremiah 29. Hear Jeremiah 29:11, today, in its tender context:
"This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: "Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare." This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them," says the Lord. This is what the Lord says: "You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you," says the Lord. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land." Jeremiah 29:4-11, 13-14 NLT
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
Apart from Jesus Himself there would be no Hope for my never-dying soul. Apart from The Atonement He performed by shedding His own Blood on the Cross, my sins could not be dealt the death-blow necessary for me to know Holy God in a right relationship for forever and today. Therefore, my soul magnifies my Saving and Sanctifying Lord. Indeed, Hope has a Name. Jesus. -kww
"Come now, let’s settle this," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool." Isaiah 1:18 NLT
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
Today, i invite you to pray, pray, pray with me. Why do i say “pray” three times? Because there are three specific areas i invite you to spend some time right now if possible to pray into.
Please…
1. Pray prayers for Protection.
2. Pray prayers for Direction.
3. Pray prayers for Revelation.
In The Name of Jesus. Amen.
Thank you.
With gladness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
