Today is Father's Day!

My Dad - James K. Rutherford - A Genuine Hero - standing next to a statue of some actor!


Dad - an OU fan - headline on paper doesn't look so good!

My Daughter, Savannah - 12 going on 20!

Dad - Almost 60 years of preaching! Many souls in the Kingdom as a result!

My Daughter - Katie - Senior Picture - Currently on European trip - in Venice today.

Me - Uncle Shan Rutherford (youngest of the brothers, preaches in Greenwood, Indiana) - Dad (World's Greatest Father) - Uncle Dean (middle brother, Outreach/Evangelism Pastor in Clovis, California - my Brother Joel (preaches in Langley, Oklahoma.)

I had the privilege of preaching today at First Christian Church in Langley, Oklahoma - filling in for my Brother, Joel, who is in Alaska, with his family, where his wife's sister is getting married.

It was wonderful to preach on Father's Day with my Dad in the audience. He even stayed for both services! His wife, Eva Jo, was kind enough to take the both of us out to lunch after the second service!

I love my Dad and am so grateful for his example of a minister, a father and a man that I had growing up.

Dad turned 79 just a couple of weeks ago. He spent almost 60 years preaching the gospel as a pastor, evangelist, church planter and more. He was a tremendous one on one soul winner!

I've learned so much from Dad - and could have learned so much more, if I'd just paid better attention.

I love you, Dad! It was great to spend part of this Father's Day with you. I hope there are many more to come!

I did miss my daughter, Katie, this Father's Day. I've spent every Father's Day with Katie since she was born more than 18 years ago - except for this one! Katie is on a trip to Europe. She went with her American Sign Language Class and her mother went as a sponsor and arranged for she and Katie to take an extra couple of weeks, just the two of them. They have visited France, but have spent most of their time in Italy. Today, Father's Day, they were in Venice. Katie did call to wish me a happy Father's Day. It was good to hear her voice, but I sure did miss not spending at least part of the day with her. I'm thrilled that Katie has been able to see so much of the world already - China for almost a month last year - and now France and Italy for three weeks! But, I still missed her today! As a Dad, I am so proud of Katie and the fine young woman she is becoming - and the goals she has for her life - to work with deaf children - maybe on the mission field.

I did have Savannah - in person - to wish me a happy Father's Day! As it says by her picture, Savannah is 12 going on 20. I can't believe that Savannah is going to be in the 7th grade this year! She is a basketball player and will get to start playing volleyball this year! She is small, but very quick and very tough! She is also very smart! When I'm not preaching, I usually run the sound and video at God's Shining Light, but when I am preaching, Savannah takes over for me! There are not many 12 year olds who are sharp enough and could be trusted enough to take care of the sound and video projection at the level we run it at God's Shining Light, but with Vanny in charge, I don't even worry about it when I'm off preaching. I know it will be done perfectly. Of course, she did learn from the best!!!

It was, I guess, a Father's Day of mixed emotions! But, life is like that, I guess.

Another Genuine Hero - Joe Hambrick - Sheila's Dad - World's Greatest Father-in-Law!

I am also thankful on Father's Day, that my wife, Sheila, had such a wonderful Christian Father!
Joe has served the Lord for many years and passed that servant's heart along to his children. Joe is a black and white sort of guy - not much gray! What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong! Joe is a man's man, a wonderful father, a loving husband, a terrific grandfather - and, as I said, the World's Greatest Father-in-Law. Joe and his wife, Bonnie, live right across our long private drive (officially, Hambrick Hill Road) from Sheila and I. Between us, we have 8.5 beautiful acres. I'll bet there are not too many people out there who would want their in-laws living right across the street, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Joe is the heart and soul of Hambrick Hill - as well as the Hambrick family. I know this - I would not have the wonderful, loving, Christian wife I do, were it not for Joe Hambrick! Thanks, Joe!

I love you, Dad! I love you, Katie! I love you, Vanny! I love you, Papa Joe!

Happy Father's Day to all of you!

Love in Christ Jesus,

Jim

Becoming a "Mega" Church

I saw this article in MinistyToday, and it really struck a cord with me.
Far too many denominations and churches are declining in membership and attendance today and I have long believed the primary cause is that so many are afraid to see the supernatural power of God at work in the church, yet it was the expression of that power which caused the New Testament Church to grow. At God's Shining Light, we see the kind of things Maloney talks about on a regular basis and it is because we are reaching those which most of society and, most unfortunately, most of the church rejects - the addicts, alcoholics, the homeless, those just released from prison. Maybe we, as the church, need to be reminded that these were the same type of people to which Jesus ministered.

Take a look at this article and let me know what you think!

"Recovering Great Power and Great Grace"
God often has a different plan for churches becoming ‘mega’
by James Maloney in MinistryToday


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In my early days of pastoring, I would sometimes complain to God, “How am I supposed to build a big church for You, Lord? Oh, God, please don’t let something weird happen today. Just let it be a normal service, please!” And invariably, some witch (and I mean a bona fide witch) would show up and start gagging and screaming during the praise and worship time. Yeah, that’ll make a good impression on the visitors.

I’d spend 15 minutes ministering deliverance to her; she’d roll around, foam at the mouth. The devil would go out and God would go in, and the witch would get saved. I’d bumble through the rest of the service and the moment the benediction was given, visitors would fly out the back doors, the windows; it was terrible. And I’d complain: “Lord, how can I grow You a big church if You let stuff like that happen? I can’t get people to stick around when we’ve got somebody foaming at the mouth!”

To which God would reply, “Well, you’ve got one new member.” I wanted the doctors and the lawyers; but He wasn’t interested in my desire to have the largest church in Small Town, USA. He was interested in a church that would turn that witch into a testament of His miraculous dominion.

Acts 4:33 says, “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” Megadunamis (“great power”) is that explosive supernatural, miraculous power released in the church on a mega scale. Megacharis (“great grace”) is where we get the word charismatic—“God’s grace freely given [manifested] in the ordinary course of people’s lives.” As with Antioch, God is establishing a church today with great power and great grace. The apostolic spirit creates a grace-filled congregation that operates with impressive authority. God is creating a church that is attractive, involved, reproducing and multiplying.

Why people will come, stay and grow in your church will correlate directly to the level of mega-grace and mega-power that operates in your services. It’s not just about your community outreach programs (and, yes, those are vitally important!); or your rockin’ praise and worship (keep it up!); or your carefully constructed, three-month membership program (don’t stop that either!). Ultimately, working with all of the above, it’s your desire to permit the prophetic and apostolic anointing to have pre-eminence in your services. It becomes your passion to maintain a legitimate expression of God in your meetings.

God must peel off the exterior of your church and reveal the muscle underneath—that is His power moving apostolically and prophetically through the body. You must want to get back to the rawness of the Holy Spirit moving like a rushing, mighty wind. This only comes from church leadership having a sense of security in God. They know He won’t lead them astray, so they permit Him to move as He sees fit.

When that kind of operation is permitted, your congregation gains a level of recognition. The glory they receive in church rubs off on the people around them, at work, at home, at the grocery store. Powerful Christians become extremely attractive to the outside world. It’s divine magnetism, where people are drawn to them saying, “I want what you have!”

And sure, you might have to put up with a little foaming at the mouth at first as these new people come in. But once they’re set free, some of them become the greatest movers and shakers for the Lord. I don’t know about you, but I want those kinds of people.


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James Maloney is president of The ACTS Group International and author of The Dancing Hand of God.

You are God's Masterpiece - Excellent!

I just saw this video today - EXCELLENT!

Check it out!

It says/shows what so many of us struggle with day in and day out.
Most of the time we try to just ignore the areas of our life where we fall short, but when we really look at our lives and we see all the areas of failure and shortcoming and it can be overwhelming to the point that we begin to believe that not only could God never use us, but that God could never even love us.

NOT TRUE!

God loves us even when we fail, even when we sin, even in our apathy.
We - YOU and I - are special - we are, and always will be God's Masterpiece.
We just need to yield ourselves to Him fully and completely, so that He can chip away all the junk we've collected and to make us into the Masterpiece He created each one of us to be.

Father - Make me YOUR Masterpiece!

Love in Christ Jesus,

Jim

Guilty or Not Guilty

The nephew of some very dear friends of ours, was on trial this week. He had been charged with a very serious crime which he did not commit. We all want to have faith in our American System of Justice - that every crime will be punished and every innocent person be set free. Unfortunately, our justice system is NOT perfect. Sometimes criminals go free - even worse, sometimes innocent people are found guilty.

Sheila was in court with the family these last few days, but I was not able to go to the trial, except today for closing arguments. In this case, justice was served and this young man was found not guilty.

We all wanted to believe that would be the outcome. We felt the defense attorney did an exceptional job in his handling of the trial. But, when that jury goes out and begins to deliberate, you cannot help but be extremely concerned about what they will decide.

As I sat in the courtroom today, I was reminded of the couple of times when I have stood before a judge and a jury, with my future at stake, awaiting the reading of the verdict, never knowing for sure what the outcome would be - Guilty or NOT Guilty.

I was reminded, too, that one day each one of us will stand before God Almighty and it will not be just a few years or even the rest of our life which hangs in the balance, but our eternal future will hang in the balance. Only there will not be a jury, there will be no prosecuting attorneys and no defense attorneys. There will be no questions about the facts entered into evidence - no defense - no argument. God and God alone will decide the verdict. Our life will be reviewed, laid open, and the verdict read. And we will be forever and eternally either Guilty or Not Guilty!
No appeals, no probation, no parole.

God, as judge, cannot be anything other than just. And, the Bible tells us that the wages - the reward - the verdict - for sin is DEATH!

But, God is also LOVE! And He does not want anyone to be found guilty and to die, but He wants everyone to be found NOT guilty and to live eternally in His presence.

John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world (that includes me and that includes YOU) that He gave his one and only Son (Jesus), that who ever believes in Him might not perish, but have eternal life."

But, here is what many people don't understand - when we stand before God on that Day of Judgment. The verdict has already been decided!

John goes on to say (3:17) "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (18) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned ALREADY because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

When you and I stand before God for Judgment - the verdict will have already been decided - and WE are the ones who make that decision!

You see - we are ALL GUILTY - but in God's great love for me and in His great love for YOU, He sent in one and only Son to this earth, to be born as a baby, to live a sinless life, so that He could take the punishment of all of your sins and all of my sins upon himself and die on a cross 2000 years ago in your place and in mine - so that we might be found not just Not Guilty, but INNOCENT on that Day of Judgment - IF - and it is a big IF - we have believed that Jesus was the Son of God and we have asked Him to be our Savior and we have allowed Him to become the LORD of our life.

Really, it is that simple!

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life, and NO MAN comes to the Father, except me.

Are you ready to face the Judgment?

Are you prepared for the Verdict?

If you've never accepted Jesus as your Savior and made Him the LORD of your life, then you need to do that TODAY!

It is the most important decision you will every make on this earth, because it is the only decision which has eternal consequences.

If you want to be forgiven of you sins, to have Jesus be your Savior and Lord, to receive God's Spirit to live in your life to help you become the unique and special person God made you to be and to know absolutely and for sure that when you stand before God you will stand INNOCENT, just follow the instructions on the right under How to Find Jesus!

And then let me know of your decision!

Love in Christ Jesus,

Jim