The Land of Ozz

I sat tonight watching a Billy Graham TV special. The TV special pointed to the Billy Graham Web Site where you can request a free copy of Beth Moore’s book “Jesus, the One and Only”. I heard about this free offer from my new friend Stacy Harper over at Mind and Media last week. I have recently signed on as a book reviewer with Mind and Media.

The message I received from the Billy Graham TV special was telling me once again how turning to Jesus can bring a peace that passes all understanding. I have spent much of the past two weeks listening to pastors in person, on the radio, on TV, and on tape or CD. I have listened to upwards of a dozen sermons in less than two weeks. This has become one of my favorite activities. I rarely listen to the radio unless there is a sermon on. I plug in a tape or CD on a particular subject when I can’t find a sermon on the radio. This week I have been listening to a sermon series by Dr. Charles Stanley. I have recently finished a series on Revelation by the late Dr. Adrian Rogers.

The best messages I have heard in recent months were at a local church in North Charleston, SC last week. The World Overcomers Ministries Christian Center hosted a faith conference. Boy was this great timing for me. There I got to hear Dr. Jerry Savelle and Dr. Charles Capps speak on faith. I also picked up a tape of Dr. Creflo Dollar who I got to hear in person last year at World Overcomers Ministries Christian Center.

My favorite message this past week was from Dr. Jerry Savelle last Wednesday night. He told one story of a farmer named Upe that ended up being the delivery man for one a God’s many blessings to Savelle’s ministry. I was so affected by the story that I went around for a couple of days openly asking God, “where’s Upe?” Well, God answered my question. Upe showed up at my house last week. Upe did not literally come to our house, but the same types of blessings poured out on our family last week that Dr. Savelle spoke of in his message. I can only say that my wife and I sat with our mouth’s wide open when realizing what God had done for us. We literally recieved more than one finacial blessing within days of asking for God’s help. All it took was being obedient and having faith. I say “All it took” like it was some easy deal. It was not easy by any streatch of the imagination.

I had been struggling for weeks with questions regarding my son’s recent diagnosis that have the cardiologist calling for open-heart surgery sometime within the next few weeks. Other things bearing down on me were two missed promotion attempts in recent months plus some personal financial questions that needed answers. We finally put our house on the market last week to help us to begin to move towards financial freedom. My wife and I struggled for months over whether to try to sell our house or not. We finally bit the bullet and put our financial future in God’s hands. People who find out that we are selling the house ask, “where are you going.” I proudly say, “I don’t know. The answer to that question is up to God.” We are looking into other homes that will fit or current budget a little better, but we really aren’t at all worried about it. God has a plan and we will follow it.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD. Isaiah 55 :8 (NIV)

Maybe our next home will be on an air strip. Maybe our next family vehicle will look like this:

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 15th, 2006 at 10:33 pm and is filed under Faith, Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.