Voice of Hope

Anyone who is around me for any length of time will realize that I am a proud veteran of the United States Army, having served six years of active duty.  I served at posts in the United States and I served overseas.  Those six years in my young life (enlisted at 18-years-old) shaped the rest of it, up to and including today.  My body bears the strain of those years and my mind and soul do too.  I possess two honorable discharges (one at the end of my initial service of three years and one at the end of service) which I proudly keep stored for my children and grandchildren. I served in an era of great difficulty and an unpopular war.  It was an era that saw the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and only five years later saw the murder of his brother Robert while on the campaign trail.  The era of an attempt of the life of Governor Wallace of Alabama and the murder of one of the great orators of the 20th century, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. ...

I am writing this post on a Sunday night, after a day of ministry and travel.  As with most such nights, I have fallen into my recliner, and allowed my mind to go back over the last week.  Usually, there is no rhyme or reason to the thought process, I am simply trying to unwind from the past week of decision making that goes with my ministry. As I sit listening to the mindless chatter of the television set I realize that I'm not paying attention to anything going on.  Even when watching the news I have to ask my wife what was said in a certain story, although I was staring straight at the television. Sitting here tonight, my thoughts have centered on people who are not in relationship with God.  These are people who have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, or people who have broken fellowship with Him. When most people think about the unsaved, their minds go to the drunk in the tavern or in the gutter, the crack addict, the prostitute or the profane. ...

This morning my Debra and I, along with Lindsey and Andy attended the homecoming services and decoration day at the Roberts Tabernacle church. We were reminded that the our heavenly Father loves us with an everlasting love and never takes His eyes off His children.

Matthew 6:9-13 9  "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." (KJV) Over the years, a commonly held view is that these passages should be referred to as "The Lord's Prayer."  I believe the reasoning is that since Jesus gave this example, it is only appropriate to credit it to Him.  Much like an author is credited when quoting his/her work. For years I have held a different view.  I contend that this is actually the believer's prayer which contains all of the elements of proper prayer, and because Jesus said, "When you pray...pray this way." I know there are various views, but I personally beli...

"When the storms of life are raging stand by me." Tonight I am thinking of this old song made popular in our church by Bishop Harper Hunter (1922-2012). It was a song that I heard Bishop Hunter sing, and that I played often on the old 33/1/3 rpm record player in my room. It was a song I heard my mother sing when she was facing some of the greatest storms of life that would have broken most people. She sang from her heart and she sang it with joy! This song has been going over in my mind because I drove through a severe storm on Interstate 40 today that brought traffic to a standstill. The wind was howling and the rain was blowing in sheets, at times the rain seemed to be coming from every direction. The storm lasted quite a while and grew worse the farther I traveled. Two or three times I thought about stopping alongside the road, but I realized the possibility of another motorist hitting my car was elevated, and it seemed to be best to just keep driving into the storm....

Today I drove to Columbia Tennessee, to a church that I served as Senior Pastor from 1990 to 1998.  It was my longest pastoral tenure (of three churches) and one that I could have seen as a lifetime appointment.  In fact, our former General Overseer, Bishop Billy D. Murray stated at a conference, "some of you pastors need to make your churches life-long appointments."  I couldn't wait to get to him and share that I was accepting his challenge.  Two-years-later, I was appointed as the Regional Overseer of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. The reason for the trip today was to celebrate Pastor Charles Thornburg's recent graduation from the Pentecostal Theological Seminary, earning his Masters Degree in Counseling.  It was good to see old friends from the church and even some who are not regular attenders there. Since I had a little extra time (I know, sounds weird doesn't it) I decided to drive on the secondary highways that I spent so much time ...

Posted by Sister Tracy on Facebook Last Night: "Update on Drew: He has shown some improvement today. They are still keeping him sedated but once every hour or two they let him wake up enough to do the neurological exam. He hasn't spoken but he has opened his eyes several times, he has moved both arms and legs when they tried to inflict pain on him. If they pinch a certain area he will try to go to that area with his hands which is good. Once ...today he opened his eyes, I was with him, and he followed the nurses finger with his eyes which is fantastic! Still giving him heavy meds to keep swelling down. The pressure on his brain needs to be less than 20 and it has stayed around 6 to 9 today. Please continue to pray for the swelling to go down and stay down and reduce fever and well since we're asking.......complete healing! Love to all, Tracy" Thanks Maxine

After learning about this accident I made the trip to the Vanderbilt Trauma Center and prayed for Drew and visited with his family.  I was overwhelmed by the large group of people with the family.  The pastor, Gary Riley and his wife Joyce were there, his church family was there and a very large group of his fellow students.  I also learned that our North American General Presbyter, Bishop Sam Clements and his wife Linda were there too. This is an amazing fellowship that never ceases to amaze me. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR THE LOCAL NEWS REPORT Vehicle-Train Collision Reminds Community Of Dangers - NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & Sports

Featuring Barry McDonald and the folks at the Keith Street Church, John A Stone, Pastor

PLEASE NOTE:  Contact Pastor Jeff Rice at the email below if you are interested. From: Jeffrey Rice < sixrices@gmail.com > Subject: Church Furniture for sale - $2,000 Date: June 3, 2012 7:55:19 PM CDT Lighthouse Worship Center - Sr. Pastor Jeffrey Rice We are planning on remodeling our church. (Carpet & Chairs) If you know of an individual/church that would be interested please let me know. Asking price is $2K, (27 items:)  12 ft. pews (20),  7ft. pews (2),  pulpits (2),  plant stands (2),  chairs (6),  arm chairs (4), altar rails (2).

Wayne and his wife Tina served as pastor at Manchester and Lewisburg, TN. Please join me in prayer for the family. Mr. Wayne Holman, age 54, of Tullahoma, passed away Saturday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is a native of Tullahoma and is the son of the late Edward and Alma Lloyd Holman. In addition to his parents he is also preceded in death by a sister, Judy Hodge and a brother, Troy Holman. Mr. Holman was the Owner/Operator of Wayne’s Radiator Service and was a Member of the Body of Christ. He is survived by his wife, Tina Holman of Tullahoma, daughter, Angelia (Bobby) Watson of Tullahoma, son, Christopher Wayne (Tabitha) Holman of Manchester, sisters, Sandy (Mike) Swelfer of Flordia, Debra (Larry) Thomas of Estill Springs, Grandchildren, Haley, Madison, Cassandra, Brennon, Jessica, Alyzabeth, Xavier, KeYante’ and Alissen. Visitation with the family will be Tuesday, from 5:00PM until 8:00PM at the Tullahoma Funeral Home. Services will be conducted Wednesday a...

First of all, I'm not even sure that the word defriended is even a proper word, but according to the urban dictionary it means to remove someone from your social media account as a friend. In almost every instance, this is passive-aggressive move to let someone know you no longer want to be their friend without actually telling them. In almost every case, this act is rather dramatic, and usually causes more drama. Of course, there are times when it is the appropriate thing to do, such as when someone is stalking you, or otherwise trying to harm your reputation. I will admit that I have "defriended" people and I am probably better off for doing it. After all, some folks are intentionally hurtful but more often than not, they simply get on your nerves. As most of you know, do participate in social media. Why? Well, because I want to have friends, and in order to do that you must show yourself friendly. There are other reasons, most importantly because it allows me to get in...

Today I received word that Sister Ruby Ledford was released from the hospital and has returned home. Please continue to pray as she heals. God bless.

The first camp of the 2012 season starts tomorrow.  Please join us in prayer for a safe, Spirit-filled camp.