We Believe

How many of us truly know what we believe as we go to church, speak the name of Jesus and walk each day trying to be faithful to the cause of Christ. The news is so full of Christians being persecuted, but one story has really captured my heart and mind.  It is a story from Iraq and a story of families torn apart because they teach their children and others about the good news of Jesus.  The story I read told of children being asked to renounce their faith in Jesus and when they refused they were killed but the parents were left alive.  If a little child is not willing to turn their backs on Jesus to save their lives, what would we do? We have never really been faced with that choice in our western world.  Yes, I know you read about people being asked not to pray in public places or churches being attacked but these are all random acts.  I know that our leaders in government are trying to make laws that are prejudiced against Christians but these are not life and death situations.  What about the reality of what is happening in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, Africa and many other nations.  They are experiencing life and death choices and many are choosing death over renouncing their faith and trust in Jesus. Heaven is their home when they die.  Praise Jesus!! The Lord has had us praying for the persecutors.  Have you thought about that?  We know that it is Father’s desire that ALL be saved!  So while we pray for those being persecuted, we pray also for the persecutors!! We pray for truth to be revealed and deception uncovered and God’s justice, God’s justice happen!  Several weeks ago we attended a local church and heard for the first time a song that has captured our hearts because it is what we believe and we proclaim it to the rooftops.  The precious worship leader leads us with great passion and truth and we watch people around the auditorium lift their voices in admission of what they believe.  Now I cannot promise you that when they walk out the doors of the church they live what they believe in their daily lives but during that moment on Sunday morning with like believers around them, they lift their hearts, lives and voices to make a statement of what they believe.  I can only pray that if faced with a soldier holding a machine gun or a guillotine ready to be used, that I along with every believer in the world would do what those children done and say NO, I WILL NOT RENOUNCE MY JESUS!! HE IS MY SAVIOR AND LORD! Below I have the link to the song WE BELIEVE!! 

Please listen and worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ, the SON OF THE LIVING GOD JEHOVAH.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtPmX7e_Rpw

Loving you and praying for you,

Charley & Karen

Heritage

Heritage – anything transmitted from the past or handed down by tradition, something inherited at birth, such as personal characteristics, status, and possessions. (World English Dictionary)

  So much has happened since my last posting.  I will attempt in our ’we love pastors blog’ to update you on our personal journey as well as our ministry journey.  The two are pretty well inseparable at this point in our lives as you will find out the older you get.  I believe the Lord desires I share with you a personal experience we had this weekend.  We know a precious family who began a family tradition of honoring their children when they reach their 16^th birthday. So far they have done this for 9 of their children.  They have 12 so only 3 more to go but we have had the privilege to be a part of several of these ‘coming of age’ birthday parties.  Each one has been unique and special as each child is also very special, gifted and anointed by the Lord for His purposes.  We are asked to pray and ask the Lord what to share with each child.  The most recent son brought forth the message of Heritage.  This young man has a Godly heritage but that is not always the case.  I want to share part of what we wrote and read over the young man being honored.

  Every person in the world has a heritage that comes from their family and they must choose whether to continue this heritage or change it.  Because we know this family, we know that they have chosen a Godly heritage based on Father’s Holy Word not only for the mom and dad but for them to pass on this Godly heritage to their children.  This son is at a place in his life where he must choose for himself. His mom and dad have chosen that ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord ‘(Joshua 24:15). We asked him ‘What are you going to do with your freedom of choice?’ Are you going to choose to continue the heritage from God and your family that has been placed before you or are you going to change? We, Charley and I, made a decision on this day to continue to pray for this young man that he will seek the Lord with all his heart, lean not on his own understanding, in all his ways acknowledge Him that He shall direct his paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).  As he follows this direction, he will continue the heritage that has been set before him.  He will hear God’s voice and God’s blessings will overtake him (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

  Take a moment for yourself to read these scriptures and reflect on the heritage you have enjoyed through your life and choose you this day who you will serve.  This opportunity to share this with this young man who has turned 16 gave us a moment to reaffirm our own commitment to provide and pass on a Godly Heritage to our own children and grandchildren.  That has been our joy through many years but today, June 9, 2014 we choose to continue that lifestyle of telling not only our family about Jesus but others about His amazing love for them.

 

Implanted Word

James 1:21-25 says: “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls. And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to.  If you don’t obey, you are only fooling yourself.  For if you just listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance.  You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you keep looking steadily into God’s perfect law-the law that sets you free-and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” NLT

While reading the book of James and discussing this passage of scripture during our house church one evening, I found myself reflecting on the garden I used to plant years ago.  I remember the process that happened when we tilled the soil, prepared the ground (hoeing and raking, removing the rocks and weeds) and made the rows for the seeds.  I remember also the waiting and watering that took place so that the precious seeds would germinate and grow.  When they first peeked from the ground the whole family got excited! Soon we would have beans, corn, onions, squash and tomatoes and our table would be filled with bounty.  But it is a process of preparation and growth.  The seeds had to be planted before the growth process could happen.  So it is with the Word of God, the message of the Gospel of Jesus, the TRUTH.  In verse 21 we are told that we must get rid of all the filth and evil in our lives (rocks, weeds, grass, etc) and humbly accept (receive) the message God has planted (the seeds planted) in our hearts.  That message is strong enough to save our souls.  It has grieved my heart for years to see people sitting in a service listening to the pastor feed the Word of God to them, seek to plant the Word in their life and hearts and then to watch them walk out the door and not do anything with it.  It truly was not planted for what is planted will grow and mature as it is nurtured, watered, fed the nutrients of a life lived for Christ, obeying His Word, studying His Word and acting out His Word through works of love and compassion.  I lived this way for years so I know how it feels to hear the Word but not do the Word.  What is faithful about that?  Our God is faithful! He does what He says He will do in our lives if we will seek Him with our whole heart.  If the Word is planted deep within our heart, it will come forth in our words and actions.  Do we live like believers in Jesus or do we live like the world?  Charley has told people for years, look at the Fruit of the Spirit and the Acts of the Flesh listed in Galatians 5.  Your life will line up with one of these.  Where are you today in your relationship with the Lord?  Jesus is coming soon to get His Bride, the Church.  Will you be with Him in Glory or will you be left behind?  Seek the Implanted Word in your heart and walk out each day with Jesus.  If you are going to talk the talk you must walk the walk. 1 John 2:6 says: “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” NKJ Walk, live, conduct yourselves daily, as Jesus walked.    

Pursue Me! Come Into My Presence!

Welcome to the New Year of 2013!  Goodness it has been fast paced since January 1! We knew this year would be exciting because of all the Lord has shown us.  Each year we ask the Lord what His focus is going to be for us. This year He told Charley: Pursue Me!  Then He also told me: Come into My Presence!  Wow!  We shared these messages with each other and then took His words to Him in prayer surrendering all we are into His hands.  We want to see these words manifested in our lives during this year.  So far every devotional I have read points me to His Presence and we are Pursuing Him deeper and more eagerly than ever before. Our responsibility in this world as children of God is to give witness of the truth of His Word.  In the Word is wisdom and the answers to all the questions we will ever have.  Read the story of David and Saul.  Saul was God's anointed and chosen King.  He was not following God.  He was behaving in a manner contrary to God.  He had tried to kill David many times.  David had many opportunities to kill Saul but he would not touch God's anointed.  We must do all things according to the Word of God.  We must seek His face, believe that He will hear, obey what He tells us and trust that He knows what He is doing.  You are on a faith walk for you.  Where will you stand?  With God and His Word or with people and their ideas.  Be sure you are acting under God's direction before you take a step.  He will lead and guide you.

Psalm 91, Galatians 5, 2 Chronicles 7:14

Take a deep breath of His Spirit and know that He will give you the strength, wisdom, direction, purpose, comfort, peace and everything else that you need for each moment of the day!

May the Lord encourage and bless you as you Pursue Jesus and spend time in God's Presence. 

Charley & Karen Tackett

chasnkt44@att.net

The Priority of Prayer

A major part of our ministry is prayer.  We pray for over 2800 people every evening.  We also have a joint prayer time each morning for our immediate family and many extended family.  Father gave us this mantle and it has not been a burden to carry but a joy!  These past few months a lot of our prayer focus has been on Colorado and other areas of this country experiencing fires.  In Colorado they have had numerous fires burning many thousands of acres of land, forests, and homes.  Smoke has been in the air constantly in different areas of Colorado for most of this year.  As we prayed over family and friends in the path of these fires, Father showed us His protective hand over those we were praying for.

What an awesome responsibility some might say but we look at it as a privilege to lay our loved ones at Father’s throne and to trust Him with them.  The scriptures we also pray daily are Proverbs 3:5-6, the Prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:10) and The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).  As we pray we rest in Father’s total and complete care of those whose names we speak into His presence.  I wrote about prayer last year in March and I could not get away from Father’s instructions to speak about prayer again now.  Why?  Didn’t I say it all last year!  Not at all!  So much has happened in this past year to focus our attention on the need for prayer, those on our prayer list and the power of prayer.  We have seen lives changed by prayer.  We have seen healing of physical bodies, healing of marriages and hearts, healing of emotions and the spirit and we have seen families restored. We see the effects of constant, consistent, faithful, unyielding, confident prayer.  We add new names to our prayer list almost daily and Father knows that no one is exempt from our prayers.  When He gives people to us, they are on the list and we pray for them until HE tells us to remove them or they go home to be with HIM!  Of course that is the ultimate healing and restoration!

One day He will come for us and we will be with Him forever but for today, for now, He has a plan and a purpose for our prayer ministry.  I cannot tell you the excitement when we get that call or email and we hear how our prayers have been answered. Our hearts are lifted, our spirits soar, our lives are enriched beyond words just to pray and trust Father with the dear ones He has given us.  How is your prayer life?  I am reading an amazing book sent to us by a dear friend that tells about praying for strangers.  When our friend told us she was sending the book, she said, this is YOU! As I read though the book and listen to the stories of the author’s encounters for prayer, I am in awe that our Father works in such miraculous amazing ways to draw people to those willing to pray.  We have experienced it ourselves but reading about the author’s encounters has refreshed me again to all that has happened over the past 13 years of CKM. 

May you be encouraged to make prayer a priority in your life!  The Word of God is full of scriptures about prayer.  Pray believing and expecting and you will see the Glory of God manifested through your prayer life and the answers to your prayers.  Our God hears and He answers!  We have confidence and assurance! We pray and leave the results in Father’s hands!

Prayer is our responsibility to God.  It is addressing God in word or thought involving these:  praise, thanksgiving, confession, petition and intercession.  Father wants to fellowship with us.

Prayer is the means by which believers communicate with God and receive guidance for their lives.  Effective prayer depends on faith and a right relationship with God.”  Faith is essential to prayer. “Asking for oneself and for others (intercessions) is an important aspect of prayer.”

Intercession – seeking the presence and hearing of God on behalf of others.

Meaning of Prayer and Intercession: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications and prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior” 1 Timothy 2:1-3

Prayer of believers for believers: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19

Prayer for Healing: Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.  And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:14-16

Prayer for the Lost (Salvation): “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.” Romans 10:1

Intimacy with Christ

What an amazing year this has been! I say that every year, at least it seems so, but this year bounded in with so much potential and yet great struggle. Why is that so? The world is in chaos, well, some don’t think so but we know that the world is in chaos, just look at the news. There are many interruptions in health, weather, finances, and even religion. Who is speaking to us today? We are hearing lots of voices and many are trying to sway us from our designated path of faith. They have some good arguments but they also promote lots of lies. The truth is not in them. The Lord told us that we would have many false teachers in the last days. Well, all that the Word has spoken about the last days is happening right now. On Friday mornings I am in a ladies Bible study and we are reading through the book of Isaiah. Oh my goodness how revealing this has been! Isaiah spoke as if he lived in this century, at this hour. He was speaking of Israel and all that the people of God were experiencing but you can see this country all through the message. I want to share some scriptures from that study and also encourage all of us to draw close to the Lord. That is where our strength, courage and great faith will abound because the days ahead will be challenging. We must develop an intimate relationship with Jesus. A deep abiding personal relationship where we hear Him and He hears us and we communicate on a deeper level than we have ever done. It is so needed for us to walk in victory through the last days. I am reminded of the need I had when I met Charley and we began talking about spending our lives together. I wanted to know him, his likes, his dislikes, his desires for the future, his goals, his hurts and his challenges. As we progressed in our relationship we began to see what made each other tick and how to interact with each other. After we married then we began to know each other in an intimate deep abiding and personal way. That has grown over 44 years of marriage, valleys and mountain tops and it continues to grow. How do you learn all of this? By communication! He talks and I listen. I talk and he listens. We share our deepest thoughts and ideas. That is how we have an intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus. We talk and He listens. He talks and we listen. We read His Word, His messages to us, from Genesis to Revelation, His message to us is powerful, cutting into our heart and taking out all the impurities and leaving us with refined silver and gold. That is how I see it and that is how it is with me. I want to have that purification process happen within my life. The scriptures I wanted to share are to encourage and bless you. Please go and read them for yourself. Time spent in God’s Word is never wasted time but so important for building the foundation that you will stand on for eternity. Praise God!!!

Isaiah 5:20-21 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

And this passage that means so much to us!

Isaiah 6:1-8 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Isaiah 33:5-6 The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.

Isaiah 35:1-4 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you”.

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas

Hello dear friends! It is Thanksgiving week and the Christmas season! Oh how I truly love this time of year and not necessarily because of the Christmas tinsel and songs but because the whole world is focusing on Jesus whether they know Him as Savior or not, He becomes the reason for the season for many. The banter is always interesting about nativity scenes and Christmas carols in the stores. We had a sales clerk tell us Happy Holidays last week and we immediately said Merry Christmas. She wished us a Merry Christmas too!! We go with the joy of the season and the joy of the Lord wherever we go but this time of year we want people to know who we serve and love. Over the past month many of our friends on Facebook have been posting daily what they are thankful for and quite a few have put scriptures online. I wanted to share some of the scriptures I put on my page with all of you. May you be blessed and encouraged that we have so much to thank our Lord for and Jesus IS REALLY the reason for the season.

Ephesians 3:14-19 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to throw away; A time to tear, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace.

Psalm 95:1-2 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Psalm 121:1-2 I will lift up my eyes to the hills-from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

James 1:5-6 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Each day as I have voiced my thankfulness, I have been thankful for my precious husband, my children, all the many prayer warriors, my dear friends, Father’s beautiful world, the air we breathe and the voice we have to praise and adore our Lord, my wonderful sisters in the Lord, and for Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone and a Very Merry Christmas too!!