BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST 🔥🔥🔥 I recalled the day Mother had come home from Hamburg after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I recalled how she had hugged me and how the fountain of love had poured from her very soul into mine. Until that bright day, I had felt that she would rather give me a good hiding than give me a hug. Suddenly, she had loved me without condition, and I felt that God must have loved me in the same way. I wept at the memory of it. Now, I had betrayed that outpouring of love. I no longer deserved it, from Mother or from God. How would I ever rise above my own sinfulness? The first day of the rest of my life happened in 1951, the day I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I was still eleven years old. A special guest speaker came to Glückstadt from Finland. His name was Pastor Arthur Kukkula, and he was well known for leading people in receiving this gift. Rather than have a seekers meeting in the main hall, the local believers decided to have him come to a smaller gathering held in a home in the rural countryside. I had been to that house many times for Sunday dinner after church. It was one of my favorite places on earth. This particular farmhouse was a bit of heaven because the family had rigged a rope swing with a spare tire on the end. Anchored on a giant oak limb, the arc of the swing would send the rider out over an embankment. You could feel your stomach come up in your throat as the ground dropped away beneath you. I had spent many hours on that swing. I couldn’t get enough of it. In the back of my mind I thought that maybe I could go to the cottage prayer meeting and stay outside riding the best thrill ride in Glückstadt. “Reinhard, you said you wanted the baptism like your mother. Why don’t you go with me to this meeting?” I was shocked. My father was asking me to go. Immediately, I felt condemned by my worldly thoughts. Instead of thinking of this meeting as my opportunity to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I had been fantasizing about riding the swing. It was so typical of my naughtiness and my unholiness. “No, Hermann,” Mother quickly spoke up. “I hardly think Reinhard is ready for such an experience.” “Mother is right,” I agreed. “I will stay home.” For some reason, Dad did not accept this answer. Maybe God was beginning to speak to him about me. I wonder. “This does not sound like my Reinhard,” he said. “He is always talking about needing the baptism for his calling to Africa. Reverend Arthur Kukula is here, Meta. We should not ignore this opportunity. Besides, the Lord Jesus Himself is the Baptizer with the Holy Ghost. If He desires to baptize Reinhard, who are we to stand in His way?” And so I went with him. As we walked toward the farmhouse, I struggled with my feelings of unworthiness. How would God stoop to fill such a wayward boy like me with the Holy Spirit? I was surely not to be trusted with His priceless gift. When we arrived at the house we could hear singing. Outside, the great swing in the oak tree swayed silently in the breeze, accusing me of my tendency toward worldly thoughts. I turned away from it, fervently asking God to forgive me, and followed my father into the house. As soon as I entered the room with those saints, I felt something begin to tingle inside of me. Incredibly, it was a growing expectation that I would receive the gift of the baptism this evening. My heart trembled to think that God would do such a thing. Reinhard the null boy, the worldly boy, the naughty boy, would be visited by the power of the Holy Spirit! I began to be excited, and I felt broken inside. It was a good feeling because I felt broken before God, and I began to sense His love for me as a broken boy. Surely this gift would lift me above the string of failures I had wracked up. As Arthur Kukula spoke, my faith leapt up and shouted “yes” within me. The words of Scripture seemed to come alive in my chest. Suddenly the entire experience was no longer about me. It was about God and His great love for His children. When Arthur invited those seeking the Holy Spirit to kneel and pray I did so immediately. No sooner had I reached my knees than I was overwhelmed with an incredible sensation. No one needed to lay hands on me to pray. I received the gift of speaking in tongues spontaneously and burst out in a heavenly language. How can I describe it? Let me say first of all that there are many who have experienced the Spirit baptism in a quieter and less dramatic fashion. What follows is not a “how to” receive. It is a description of how it happened to me at the age of eleven. It seemed to come from beyond me and from within me at the same time. My mind began to receive a stream of pure light and love from the very throne of God. It flowed over me and went straight through me at once. This was far more than a mere bolt of electricity. It was as if every cell in my body was being saved, healed, and invigorated by a surge of divine power. The word love is inadequate to describe it because that word has been so abused and misused. Yet that is what the power and Spirit of God is – His pure, selfless agape love poured into us. It has nothing to do with transient human love. It reminds me of the prayer Jesus prayed at the Last Supper: … that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. All of my disappointments, feelings of unworthiness, and condemnation were swept away and forgotten. The heavenly tongue cascading from my lips was the outer expression of something flowing within me that was too wonderful for normal language. Between my spirit and God’s Spirit great mysteries were being exchanged. Paul spoke of the peace of God that passes understanding. Some blessings from God are beyond intellect. Spirit baptism is one of them. People who limit God to mere human rationality will never know this power and this ecstasy. As the Spirit flowed, I was being transformed from my human limitations to a place where all things were possible.

Chick-fil-A has always caused controversy for being a Christian company and standing strong in their beliefs. ✝️ They refused to celebrate Pride Month.

from Nicky Gumbel ...

Graham Staines was a missionary serving in Odisha India, where he worked closely with people suffering from leprosy and others often ignored by society. For years, he cared for the sick and lived out his faith through quiet, consistent service. But in the late 1990s, tensions in the region were rising. Hostility toward Christians and missionaries was increasing, and opposition was becoming more visible. He could have returned to his homeland in Australia. However, despite the hostile environment, he chose to stay and serve the people through his relationship with Christ. In January 1999, after attending a Christian gathering, Staines was sleeping in a vehicle with his two young sons, Philip and Timothy, when a mob surrounded them and set it on fire. All three were killed. The tragedy shocked the world. A man known for serving the vulnerable, along with his children, lost their lives in a brutal act of violence. But what followed carried just as much weight. His wife, Gladys Staines, publicly forgave those responsible. In the face of rising hatred and devastating loss, she chose the same faith her husband had lived by. A faith that does not disappear under pressure. A faith that holds even in the fire. Who do you need to forgive? Not because it is easy, but because Christ calls us to it.

A word for April 15

Tim Hawkins - Wrong Psalm

SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG ... .... THE ROCK THAT DOESN'T ROLL - LARRY NORMAN

Ephesians 2: 20

Rick Renner shares on Romans Chapter 15 : verse 14

Romans 15 : 14

Elevator Boy- His Prayer !

Here is the first recording of Ralph Carmichael’s “He’s Everything to Me.” This beloved song was written for the groundbreaking 1965 Billy Graham film “The Restless Ones.” Ralph recorded the song numerous times, but this is the original soundtrack version. It features an all-male signing group that included Paul Sandberg, Paul DeKorte, Dick Bolks, and Paul Sjolund. Ralph also titled his 1986 autobiography after this great song.

A word for April 14

Charlie Kirk - The Problems with Delusion

YOU FAILED TO PAY THE PRICE” By the fall of 1949, the Allens began to hear stories about miraculous healing meetings that were taking place. The evangelists conducting the meetings weren’t necessarily outstanding preachers. In fact, many preachers were more eloquent in their sermon delivery than these evangelists, but when these healing evangelists prayed for the sick, miracles happened so quickly, no one could count them. The Allens refused to believe half of the stories they were told, but their curiosity was aroused. One day, a friend gave Allen a copy of the publication The Voice of Healing. After reading it, Allen said, “As I read its pages, I laughed in ridicule. Fanatics, I thought, as I closed the magazine and laid it away in my study.”15 Some of his church members came from these tent meetings with glowing reports, but Allen discounted them and felt they were drifting into fanaticism. Personally, I don’t believe that was his true heart in the matter. He might have spoken those words, but I believe he was incredibly stirred inside, because he knew this was his own call being manifested before his very eyes. However, it is possible to become so backslidden in one’s calling that the things one once held as precious and attainable are now a distant memory. Not long after this, some minister friends persuaded Allen to go to Dallas and attend an Oral Roberts tent revival. Along the way, he remembered the experience he had with God in his prayer closet many years ago, recalling the thirteen things that stood in his way of walking into the miraculous. Being out of his spiritual office and trying instead to be a pastor had caused him to shelve the vision God had given him. As he approached Dallas, he became more and more aware that there he would witness the very thing God had called him to do. “But I had never paid the price for God’s miracle-working power in my life,” he added.16 He was captivated by the tent meeting and by the power of God being displayed through Roberts, feeling as though he was living in the book of Acts. Miracle after miracle took place as he watched, but it wasn’t fanaticism; it was God’s miracle-working power. As he sat watching the prayer line, he again heard the voice of God say, “My son, eleven years ago you sought My face.... Eleven years ago I called you into the same ministry.... But you failed to pay the price and to make the consecration. Therefore, you have failed to do this thing which I have called you to do.” With tears streaming down his face, Allen lifted his hands and cried out, “Lord, I’ll do it!” GOING, GOING, GONE! Two Sundays later, he resigned from his pastorate. He would have left the first Sunday after his return, but his wife asked him to wait and make sure he was doing the right thing. Immediately, pastors from all over the nation called for his services as an evangelist, and in less than a month, a new pastor occupied the pulpit. The Allens kept the Corpus Christi church as their home base and traveled out from there. They moved all their possessions into a house trailer, and in less than three months after his “breakdown,” A. A. Allen was on the revival trail. Allen began studying the list of thirteen requirements the Lord had given him eleven years earlier. He couldn’t believe all the time that had been lost. Eleven years! As he studied the list, he noticed that numbers twelve and thirteen had not been accomplished in his life, but that every other item had been marked through. Finally, with great determination, he was able to mark through the last two. After that, noticeable miracles began to take place through his ministry. In May of 1950, Allen sent his first report to The Voice of Healing magazine, the result of a great campaign in Oakland, California. Of the meeting, he wrote, “Many say this is the greatest revival in the history of Oakland.... Night after night, the waves of Divine Glory so sweep over the congregation that many testify of being healed while sitting in their seats.”18 In 1951, Allen made a great leap. He decided to purchase a tent and advertise himself as a “healing” revivalist. He heard of a tent for sale, equipped with lighting, seats, a platform, and a public address system, all for $8,500! But he had only $1,500, so he called the minister and made the offer of $1,500 as a down payment. The owner told him that another preacher had just called and offered the full price, but he would pray about the matter and call him the next day. The next day, when Allen called the man, he wasn’t surprised to learn that the owner had decided to give the tent to him with a $1,500 down payment. The rest was to be paid in $100 payments, as Allen could afford, so the tent was his! On July 4, 1951, the A. A. Allen Revival Tent went up for its first campaign, in Yakima, Washington. - God’s Generals ( A.A ALLEN ) 📕

Today is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. The name comes from the Hebrew word "shoah" meaning catastrophe, utter destruction or desolation. It was established in 1959 on the anniversary of Warsaw Ghetto uprising on April 19, 1943. The television movie, Skokie, aired on November 17, 1981 on CBS. It was produced by Robert Berger for Titus Productions, directed by Herbert Wise and written by Ernest Kinoy. The story, based on actual events, focuses on concentration camp survivor Max Feldman (Danny Kaye,) his wife Bertha (Kim Hunter) and their teenaged daughter Janet (Maren Kanter.) They live peacefully in the Chicago suburb of Skokie, Illinois where Max has just discovered that a group of Nazis planned to march through their town. Danny's performance is powerful and one to watch. He has seen first hand what the Nazis had done back in Germany and he wasn't about to go through that again. He wasn't going to ignore them, no,not this time. He would rather fight and spill blood if he had to. After making that impassioned speech, Danny looked around and noticed tears in the eyes of what he thought were were Hollywood extras. They were actual Holocaust survivors. As Danny remembered "everyone one of them had tattoos on their arms "

Bible verse for the day shared by Canon J John

Mel Gibson recently made a bold statement, referring to abortion as “human sacrifice,” a comment that has stirred strong responses across cultural and faith conversations. Whether people agree with his wording or not, the statement has reignited a deeper discussion about the value of life. For many Christians, the issue centers on a foundational belief that life begins in the womb and is created by God. Scripture speaks clearly to this conviction. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5). “You knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). At the same time, this is not just a theological issue, it is a deeply personal one. Many carry real pain, regret, and trauma connected to abortion. Because of that, Christians are called to do both. Stand firmly for the value of life while also extending compassion, grace, and truth. The message of Jesus is not only about conviction, it is about redemption. Forgiveness is real. Healing is possible. And no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace.

From Nicky Gumbel ...

A word for April 13