April 2004 Volume 7 Number 4
Dear Friends,
Wow, another month! Sometimes it really flies by. This is our 7th year of ministry, and our 7th year of these newsletters, letting you know what is going on, how God is working and how YOU are a part of it all. I read the most interesting thing on the CNN webpage the other day, it still has me in awe of God. There was a young man in another state who had committed a murder, but he had deceived everyone. He had covered his tracks so well that the officials had determined it was suicide, he was in absolutely no danger of being caught, he was free, or so he thought. Then he happened to go see the Passion Movie. Well the Lord knows all things, and you can’t hide from Him. This young man saw what Jesus had done for him, and how his own sins had put Jesus on the cross. That was just too much and he knew he had to have some real freedom. Repentance is what brings real freedom. So he did just that, truly repented and confessed his sins. You see in his heart he realized that by keeping unrepented sin hidden he was continually pounding those nails into Jesus’ hands and feet, and that he would rather have those scarred hands lovingly hugging him, and those scarred feet walking with him. So the young man turned himself in to the local authorities, and will probably spend the rest of his life behind bars, BUT HE IS FREE!!!! Free from guilt and shame, free from worry, free from wondering if he is going to be "found out". You see it is our own sin that keeps us captive, our own sin that keeps us bound. When people ask me to prove that Jesus is real, I tell them I used to wake up every morning feeling guilty, but now there is no guilt. Not unless I choose to hold onto something. And I could if I wanted too, hold a grudge, keep an attitude, keep a little bitterness here or there. But it isn’t worth it, it is senseless compared to HIS freedom. If we hold onto things, we keep Him on the cross, He is held off from working in our lives. It is only when we submit that His fullness is revealed in our lives. So I ask you, is there something hidden in your life, some little thing that you are holding onto? Something from "way back when", maybe you haven’t committed murder in the flesh, but maybe in words? Maybe in thought? Maybe think your better than someone? Maybe think your more righteous, or have a better way? Do you really want Jesus on that cross, heavy with the weight of your sin? Do you really want the beating to continue, the beating that He takes for you, in your place? Do you want to "continue crucifying Him all over again, and subjecting Him to public disgrace?" (Heb 6:6) Or do you want FREEDOM!!! I choose freedom! My will is not worth it, my way not good enough. Even if I’m right, who cares, compared to freedom! Free to love the unlovable, freedom to serve when it’s not my style, freedom to worship and dance with my beloved Savior with nothing hidden between us! I urge you to come clean with HIM today! Get FREE!!!
FAMILY MINISTRY-
We purposely make it a point to do as much as possible as a family. If you want to have a "fruitful family ministry" it must be a priority. Of course we all can’t go in the jail or prisons with Jim, but we can be available to pray while he is there. It is very rare for one of us to be ministering in one place and another in another place. Even when we are not all together we are supportive of one another. The Lord blesses this and makes us "approachable" to some we might never reach. In America we tend to separate too much, yet this isn’t the pattern in Jesus’ example. If a young boy in his teens hangs out with only others his age, what will he learn? You guessed it, probably a lot of foolishness. But if he hangs out with his friend and their whole family he is exposed to some Godly older wisdom, some younger beautiful childlike faith, and maybe even some "sisterly advice". We praise the Lord that he has recently opened even more doors for us to minister as a family, He really knows what he is doing!NEW THINGS-
April and I (Penny) will be ministering at the Lawrenceburg Women’s Aglow the first Monday in May at the city Administration building, let me know if you would like more details.At our local First Assembly of God for the last few months April has been leading worship at the Wed night youth service along with Beau and about 5 other gifted musicians, we have been really blessed by these services!! Pure young hearts touch the Lord and inspire us to worship with abandonment.
We are still working on April’s newest CD, hope to have it in your hands soon!
COWBOYS FOR CHRIST-
As the middle TN chapter of Cowboys For Christ we will be joining up with Team Up For Jesus to do a Cowboy Service at the National Trail Ride in Big Sandy TN on April 18.RADIO TUES NIGHTS 6PM- WMRB 910 AM-
Every week a whole hour of non-stop Jesus talk. Recently we had as a guest a young man named Brandon, he was such a blessing as he shared how he had been in many services, been at the altar more than once, but kept on pursuing the Lord, until finally his whole life changed! He is now consumed with the things of the Lord. The Lord honors persistence, I believe He even delights in it.PRISONS AND JAILS-
Sometimes there are big crowds and sometimes there are small crowds but the result is always the same, the Lord always comes where He is invited. Recently at the service in Clifton He was so evidently there as He showed up for one of the largest crowds ever. Everyone could tell He was there and everyone flooded the altar. There was salvation, deliverance, and healings. Then at a very small gathering at the county jail, Jim had a young guy with tattoos covering most of his body just weeping in his arms, the young man confessed that he was sick in his body, sick in his mind, and sick in his soul. He completely gave up and collapsed in Jim’s arms, they prayed and wept together and he was healed. Many, many times the Lord will allow us to be His arms to the needy and the hurting, to love them with His love. There is no greater fulfillment in ministry than when this happens, yet it comes as an overflow of our own time with HIM. When people ask what we do I usually answer, mostly, we pray. We spend time in His presence, then we share that with others.WWW.AWESOMEGLORY.COM-
Our site is constantly updated, and added to, I have added our Cowboys for Christ page at www.awesomeglory.com/cfc . Also I have updated the "about us" page at www.awesomeglory.com/aboutus . We add to it almost daily, and have also added many of our past newsletters at www.awesomeglory.com/news/archives. I try to also update the events page often with a schedule of where we are ministering, join us! We invite you to subscribe to our newsletter by e-mail at www.awesomeglory.com/subscribe. Thanks so much, I also love to hear feedback on the site!IN CLOSING-
We are still sending out free copies of April’s CD "Love Songs to a Savior" to anyone who asks. We have recently had requests from Africa and Malaysia and Japan. For those of you who feel led to pray God’s will for us and/or give to this ministry, know that you are part of touching lives all over the world. You keep us praying and ministering full time. Every salvation and healing we see is also something you are part of and we thank you so much. We are moving into a time where some more equipment is needed and traveling expenses are of course going up. We operate solely from what is supplied by the Lord through the body of Christ so please continue to pray that needs are met.We love y’all dearly!!
