These words from the Emmaus Road Bible story inspire my soul:
“As they sat down to eat, Jesus took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:30-32 NLT
Let us experience a real Jesus awakening. Amen.
Pastor Kerry Willis
i am praying for a spiritual awakening. This song helps to express my desires, at least in part…
i want to see You, Jesus.
Pastor Kerry Willis
It’s a spectacular September Sunday afternoon and all is well. My hounddog Lucy is running and playing and barking, all-the-while, as multiplied hummingbirds are flying in and out and all about in the summer breezes above my head. The clouds look like cotton candy against a soft blue sky, the grass is full and green, and the air is crisp and clean. Even, three mourning doves perched on the neighbor’s roof are adding peace to my heart, mind, soul, and strength.
And to think, God prepared all of this for me to enjoy. Makes me anticipate with mysterious wonder just one marvelous thing…
…What else might God be preparing for those who love Him? Whatever it is, it’s beyond even spectacular!
"… No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT
Indeed, All Is Well!
Pastor Kerry Willis
After 20 years, i still vividly remember September 11, 2001. i was vision pastor at Harrisonburg First Church of the Nazarene in Virginian’s Shenandoah Valley.
On that terrible Tuesday morning, i had a golf tee time with three other staff members and four of our senior citizen guys from the local church. On about the ninth hole, my executive assistant, Angela Sipe, called my cell phone. "Have you heard about what’s happening at the Twin Towers yet?" i had not. After a brief understanding about the morning confusion, i lost all interest in golfing. We quickly rode the golf carts back to the clubhouse and made our way back to the church.
i remember thinking, "Is this World War III?" Once back at the building, our whole staff gathered in the teen room and watched the rest of the morning happen live on tv. The pain was indescribable. Immediately i called for a sacred assembly, yes an evening prayer vigil. The church was packed with members and neighbors. What a solemn gathering.
i heard about a chapel service that day at our Nazarene Global Minsitey Center near Kansas City, where one of our General Superintendents, Dr. Jerry Porter, was asked to speak. He came to the mic and said only two words and then sat down: "JESUS WEPT!"
In the wake of this horrific day, these words recorded in 2 Corinthians, chapter 4, were my confidence and still are:
"We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken." -- From 2 Corinthians 4, The Message Paraphrase
i love You. i need You. i want You, Jesus! Still on September 11, 2021.
Pastor Kerry Willis
The problem with the world is the world cannot depend on us as the church to live what we preach. When the world looks at us they need to see the Kingdom of God. -LaMorris Crawford
Lord remind us Your Kingdom is within us. Amen.
Pastor Kerry Willis
“… I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” Revelation 7:9-10 NLT
This Scriptural preview of Heaven is powerful for me as a pilgrim journeying THERE…
Pastor Kerry Willis
"The antidote to exhaustion is not necessarily rest; the antidote is wholeheartedness. You’re so tired through and through because you are only half here and half here will kill you after a while." Brother David Steindl-Rast
Jesus, lead me on a journey to wholeheartedness.
Pastor Kerry Willis
