God's AMBER ALERT: Finding and Caring For His "Missing" Children

God has issued an "AMBER Alert" in the spiritual realm. Many of His children have gone "missing" due to pressures in their life that have discouraged them from actively seeking God, being a Christian witness and testifying of God's goodness to them.

AMBER Alerts are issued by police and broadcasted on radio and television when a child goes missing. AMBER stands for "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response." AMBER Alerts have the name, description and photo of the child, where the child was last seen and, if available, a description of the last person seen with the child. In some instances, communities organize a "search" party to help police find the missing child.

In the same way, when we find out that someone is struggling emotionally, financially, physically or spiritually, we must rally to help, as the Lord leads. We may not be able to pay that person's bills or take care of their physical needs, but we can provide emotional support by listening to them, offering an encouraging word and reassuring them in the fact that God cares for them and knows what they are going through.  

"To Live You Must Forgive"

By Pastor Patricia Reeves

Today is International Forgiveness Day, the first Sunday of August. 

Global Forgiveness Day began in 1994 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The holiday was created and sponsored by Christian Embassy of Christ's Ambassadors.

Unforgiveness has been a leading cause of illness and death, more than attacks from a gun or knife. Unforgiveness can cause illness in your body without warning or an explanation.  In the medical world, tumors are said to be a cause of stress and worry and in the spiritual realm, we call it unforgiveness.

When you don't forgive you develop a stressful life and you create a lifestyle of worries about someone or something that offended you and it occupies your time and mind 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can’t pray and you can’t get into good praise and worship because you are thinking about how someone offended you and it overtakes you in thought and deed. This is not a healthy lifestyle for anyone, especially Christians and God does not honor it.  His Word says to forgive “70 x 70” and then He asks the question: “If you don’t forgive your brethren, how can your Father which is in heaven forgive you?” Still people don’t get it, complete healing comes with forgiveness.

God is Here to Calm Our Fears!

With all that is going on around us in the world, we have much to fear. Yet, one announcement that appears many times in the Bible is "fear not"! The words were spoken to someone who was afraid of the Divine Presence of God or an angel. God also encouraged His people with these words as they were about to go into battle or carry out His directive. 

Second Timothy 1:6-7 (The New Living Bible), says that "…God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline." What is a spirit of fear? It is a something within us that causes us to lack confidence. It changes our behavior so that we are not willing to carry out God's directions. 

If God did not give us a spirit of fear, then where does it come from? A spirit of fear comes from our lack of faith and trust in God and in His ability to help us. When we do not place our confidence in God, fear takes hold of us and we  become vulnerable to, Satan, who wants to make us useless and ineffective in doing God's work (1 Peter 5:8).

We must be on guard and not allow a spirit of fear to take hold of our lives. But, it's not as easy as it sounds. Every time you turn on the television and hear the news, or pick up your phone and talk to someone who is hurting, it's hard not to become afraid. Nevertheless, we must remember what Nehemiah said when Israel's enemies threatened to stop them from rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem: 

"… Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome…"

God is still telling us today: "Fear not! No matter what you are going through, I AM with you."  Whether you're facing an illness, a financial crisis, or a divorce, God is helping you through the difficulty. During these times, we must take advice from Nehemiah and "remember the Lord."

In Psalms 56:3 (NIV), David confessed to God: "When I am afraid, I will trust in You." David was hurt and betrayed by people who were close to him. He faced near-death experiences, as well as suffering for the wrongs he committed. Nevertheless, no matter what David went through, he turned to the Lord for help. And, the Lord helped him in every situation.

God is still the Solid Rock of support for His people. He will give us the strength that we need to face any adversity, if we ask Him for help and turn our worries over to Him.

The antidote to fear is placing your faith in God. In doing so, you will "have no fear of bad news: (for your) heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord " (Psalm 112:7, NIV).

While you may be going through a difficult time, do not panic or else you will miss the voice of God who is saying: "Trust me, no matter what is happening around you. I am with you" (Isaiah 41:10). 

Pastors Steve and Pattie Reeves Wish You A

Hearing From God Through Prayer

By Pastor Patricia Reeves

Many years ago I often called my Mom and asked her to pray for me concerning different issues in my life, such as jobs, finances, and travels. I waited for her to call and give me "a word" she had heard from God. 

My mother was my "knees and my ears" (the one who prayed and heard from God on my behalf) and I saw no real need to develop a personal prayer life. I was content and trusted her to be the vessel God would use. However, it all came to a sudden halt when God called my mother home suddenly in 1982. It shook my world. As a result, I came to the realization that I needed a personal prayer life. I needed to tune my own ear so I could hear from God. This was rather frightening because my mother had been my crutch for so long and I was very comfortable with it. 

As my world was turned upside down, Romans 8:28 came to reality; …and we know that all things work together for good to them  that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. I set out to find the good in my Mom's passing and joined a local Wednesday night prayer group for answers. 

I went in seeking comfort and was trained to be an intercessor. I learned how to intercede on behalf of others and not just pray for my needs. I enjoyed praying as much as I did worshipping. There was nothing that hindered me from my Wednesday night prayer meetings. This was my lifeline. Week after week I communed with God and felt His love draw me closer and closer. I began to understand that prayer sets the atmosphere over things, and worship brings the presence of God. I also learned that you receive supernatural impartation (divine grace to be able to do in the natural what humanly can't be done) when you obey God in prayer. I now know the prayer is the key to heaven, and faith unlocks the door. 

I began to yearn for the voice I so often heard my Mom speak of. When I first began to hear God's voice when in prayer, I hesitated to repeat His Words. I longed for God to speak to me, not understanding the many times He had already done so in the form of a song, a scripture, a sermon, or through a passing stranger. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but now I know. I had heard the authentic voice of God.

God's River of Revival is Flowing Your Way

By Sonia Green

Founder, Outside the Camp Ministries

Chad Pregracke has a passion for cleaning America's rivers. For the past 15 years, Pregracke has been pulling out tires, refrigerators, washing machines and more out of the Mississippi River and other rivers across the country.

As a native of East Moline, Illinois, Pregracke grew up near the Mississippi River, which supplies drinking water to millions of people. In an interview with news station CNN in 2013, Pregracke said he consistently saw trash in the Mississippi River while working as a commercial shell diver when he was a teenager. 

Unable to shake the desire for cleaning the river, Pregacke obtained a grant from Alcoa in 1997. He began that summer to clean the Mississippi River, and has been pulling out trash ever since, but now he does it with help from other volunteers who share the same passion. 

Pregacke wants to see the waterways clean and flow unhindered across the country so that millions can have the drinking water they need to survive. 

Just like Pregacke has this natural passion, God has a spiritual passion to rid people of the debris and trash that clog them up and hinders them from experiencing the flow of God's Spirit. 

God, and only God, can cleanse us from the inside out by His Spirit so that we can experience a revival – a new beginning – in our lives. When we experience spiritual revival in our lives, God's "river" flows through us and purges out of us all that is not of Him – envy, selfishness, hatred, jealousy and other soulish sins.

What is God's River of Revival?

Revelation 22:1 (MSG): Then the Angel showed me Water-of-Life River, crystal bright. It flowed from the Throne of God and the Lamb, right down the middle of the street. 

Revelation 22:1 describes the Water-of-Life River, also called "the River of Life," as "clear as crystal" which means its waters are not muddied; they do not mix with the earth along the river basin. Because God's River is pure and refreshing; it cleanses us and causes us to experience revival.

A river must have a source that is higher than itself. Usually, a river originates in the mountaintops and flows downstream to reach the valleys. God's River of Revival, when flowing freely, joins our relationship with Him (the mountain) to the place of our need (the valley).  The higher the mountain, the greater the flow. The deeper the valley, the greater the flow, the stronger the power of the current.