Archive for February, 2008

This is actually a post that my wife sent out and I wanted to share it with you…

For those of you who have not heard me talk about my uncle, here’s the brief version.  My  42 year old uncle has lived as a homosexual for the past 15 years.  The alternative lifestyle that he has been living has been so dark and demonic at times that some of us could just not wrap our minds around. He would publically admit that he was an atheist.  As a result of this lifestyle, he is suffering with the HIV virus.  For any of you who have been around someone with this condition, you know the effects that it has on ones body.  It has been devastating, literally heartbreaking watching him wither away.  Several of us in the family have prayed for his soul for years.  In the last couple of months, he was diagnosed with cancer.  With his body already weakened by the virus, doctors were concerned whether or not his body could handle chemo.  After further evaluation, doctors had decided to go ahead with the chemo.  The chemotherapy had seemed to be somewhat successful and my uncle returned home .  A few days later, he became very ill.  He arrived at the hospital by ambulance in severe pain.  He was bleeding from his nose and rectum and to my knowledge, the cause was unknown.  He was moved into ICU and the prognosis was not promising.  Heaven was stirring , I’m sure, because prayers were pouring out.  By the pure power of God and the prayers from His people, the doctors were able to stabilize him.  But God still wasn’t finished…my mom later called me with news that my uncle had asked Jesus in his heart!!!!!!!!!  I was and still am in awe of God’s power!!! 

My prayer for all of those who have been praying for lost family members and friends is that you will not get discouraged by what seems to be an unanswered prayer.  Continue to pray for them.  Be faithful in praying for them and whether or not we live to see it, God will be faithful in answering our prayers. Don’t only speak it but believe it in your heart!!!!!!  God is good!!!

Please continue to pray for David.  Pray that God will heal him so that so many others can benefit from the testimony that this young man could live to tell!!!!!!  Thanks for all of you who have been praying and please continue to do so.  I will continue to update you on his physical status!!  Stop what you are doing right now and take the time to pray for those lost souls.  You may be the only voice lifting them to God. 

Update…

I received word from back home that my uncle David passed away last night.  Doctors discovered that he had a whole in his intestines and that their was infection.  He was in horrible pain yesterday morning.  He spoke to my aunt that morning prior to his death and told her that he could bare no more and that he knew he was dying.  About an hour later he stopped breathing.  Doctors were able to recessitate him and put him on life support.  However, all of his organs begin to quickly shut down and his already weakened body could take no more. 

Thank you for all of your prayers.  Please continue to pray for our family.  Pray that God will continue to use David’s testimony through the people that love him and knew him so well.  Praise the Lord, that he is rejoicing today in the arms of our heavenly father.  My kids say that he is dancing with Jesus!!!!  I think that is a wonderful image!!

When is the last time that we did that? With life being so busy and all that we are trying to do, especially those who are serving in some form of ministry or capacity at a local body. As I read my devotional this morning I was reading of when Jesus entered the home of Martha. Of course we all know that story and how her sister Mary sat at the feet of Jesus not helping and Martha got upset and tried to call her out and then Jesus corrected her saying that Mary was doing what was important. How often do we do that as believers? Where we get so busy doing day-to-day things that we miss what God is doing around us. How many oppurtunities that God places in front of us that we miss because that was not in our schedule for the day and we dont want to be off track. I am pulling a JB and bloggin on a conviction but I believe that I am not the only one that has this issue ;o). I pray that we all as believers can take the time to look for God’s movement and be sensitive to the oppurtunites that he places in front of us. Remember that there is nothing as rewarding as being a worker for the kingdom. That has an enternal reward!!!

God Bless ~ Tyler

That is a question that I dont really hear too much anymore so I guess that it is out of style or what ever but today I want to actually address what’s shaking? And the answer to that question in my life and in the Body of Christ as a whole is sadly nothing.  And I am sure by now that you are totally confused and wondering where this is going…well let me give you a scripture reference that I read and let you see what I mean.

Acts 4:31 (New American Standard Bible)

 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

This verse is describing what happened to the disciples after Peter and John had been arrested and then let go.  They gathered together to pray and because of that situation the Holy Spirit made movement upon them and they felt a physical shaking of the ground (considered to be similiar to an earthquake).  Ok when is the last time that you felt the earth shake or anything for that matter due to something that was happening in the Body of Christ?  Now let me go on record with our Charismatic friends that I am asking this in regards to true Holy Spirit movement towards the Body of Christ not towards an individual (that is a topic to be debated later I guess ;o) ) 

I guess what I am getting at is why on a whole are we not in a place that the Holy Spirit can move among us like the examples in the Bible?  I truly believe that our life today can be “modeled” (as I write this in a Blog) after Christ maybe not literally meaning I dont wear a robe to work everyday but I can act with a Christlike heart towards my coworkers.  I am totally blown away sometimes by the things that stand out in scripture that I have read 100 times before.  My prayer for not only my church but also for the Body of Christ is to get to a place where we are so Christ minded that we are open and allowing of the Holy Spirit to move in mighty ways that we can not expain.  I am not totally sure this “rant” will make sense to anyone else but me  so if need be just say to yourself “You know how Tyler Is!” ha ha ha.

God Bless ~ Tyler