Hi Brian!

This week I want to share again from Charles Spurgeon's evening devotional. This goes right along with what the Lord has been teaching us about "testimony"! 

"And they rose up the same hour, and returned Jerusalem . . . and they told what things were done in the way, and how He was known of them." — Luke 24:33, Luke 24:35

When the two disciples had reached Emmaus, and were refreshing themselves at the evening meal, the mysterious stranger who had so enchanted them upon the road, took bread and brake it, made Himself known to them, and then vanished out of their sight. They had constrained Him to abide with them, because the day was far spent; but now, although it was much later, their love was a lamp to their feet, yea, wings also; they forgot the darkness, their weariness was all gone, and forthwith they journeyed back the threescore furlongs to tell the gladsome news of a risen Lord, who had appeared to them by the way. They reached the Christians in Jerusalem, and were received by a burst of joyful news before they could tell their own tale. These early Christians were all on fire to speak of Christ's resurrection, and to proclaim what they knew of the Lord; they made common property of their experiences. This evening let their example impress us deeply. We too must bear our witness concerning Jesus. John's account of the sepulchre needed to be supplemented by Peter; and Mary could speak of something further still; combined, we have a full testimony from which nothing can be spared. We have each of us peculiar gifts and special manifestations; but the one object God has in view is the perfecting of the whole body of Christ. We must, therefore, bring our spiritual possessions and lay them at the apostle's feet, and make distribution unto all of what God has given to us. Keep back no part of the precious truth, but speak what you know, and testify what you have seen. Let not the toil or darkness, or possible unbelief of your friends, weigh one moment in the scale. Up, and be marching to the place of duty, and there tell what great things God has shown to your soul.

I totally LOVE this! Every one of us have a story to tell and a testimony to give of the wonderful things that GOD has done for us, in us and through us! And every time we do, we give HIM the open door to do it all again and again and again! What a wonderful picture that makes! Here is another new song by Brandon Lake called "Daddy's DNA":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Also, I forgot to ever give you and Kristine our new email as we went with Verizon Internet because our Spectrum was giving us problems. r_swov@yahoo.com

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "weapons". We find it in 2 Corinthians 10:4 

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; KJV

This is the Greek word "hoplon". Strong's Concordance says: an implement or utensil or tool (literally or figuratively, especially offensive for war). Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: any tool or instrument. Vine's Expository Dictionary adds: always in the plural. HE has a multitude of "weapons" and HE knows how to use them! THROUGH US! As we stay tuned in to Holy Spirit, HE will cause us to be used for HIS GLORY as we fulfill our God given gifting and calling! When Jehoshafat went to battle BY FAITH, the LORD instructed him to put the PRAISERS first! He KNEW the secrets of warfare! Here is a new song by Brandon Lake called "Sevens":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The 'word' for this week is "testimony". I want to share a portion of a letter I received from a minister concerning the word tesimony:

A Messianic Rabbi once asked me, “Do you know what the Hebrew word for ‘testimony’ means?”  I told him I did not, and he continued. “The root word for ‘testimony’ means ‘to repeat; to do again,’ or ‘do time again.’ It does not mean only to speak about or give witness of something.” As clearly as I can recall, he continued, saying, “It’s as though time is pregnant with God’s words and power. The eternal God releases the power to do or accomplish something; it enters into time and is forever there. His words are eternal, alive, and powerful (Psalm 119:89; Hebrews 4:12). As we implement His laws and the principles of His Word, we can tap into this power. Declaring what He has done in the past – testifying – is one of the ways we do so. “We believe that when one declares God’s Word or shares what He did in the past – a testimony – the same power is released to ‘do it again’ today. That’s why we believe it’s so important to tell our children what God did in the past, and why God was angry with Israel when they neglected to teach them Israel’s history. For example, we believe that when we tell our children about the exodus – how God delivered Israel from Egypt at Passover through great signs and wonders – the same power is released again. Our children can receive the spiritual fruit of Passover and deliverance. We believe the power of what God did yesterday can be released again and again and again and again.” I LOVE this and recently shared it at church. When we speak of the things that GOD has done in our lives, the power is present to have Him do the same! AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN!  So as you stir up your remembrance of all of the ways that He has blessed you and your family in the past, you will be calling for a repeat of His power and His ability in your life and in the lives of others! I once had someone tell me that they didn't like when worship leaders kept repeating lines or words over and over, but there IS a Biblical reason for doing so! In fact, here is a song by UNITED that speaks of that called "On Repeat" :

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

This week I want to share from Kenneth E. Hagin's "Faith Food" devotional! 

The Good

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. — ISAIAH 1:19

If you are willing and obedient, it is God’s will that you have the best. (Of course, you can’t walk in disobedience and enjoy the good things of God.)

God is not a miser or a tightwad. And He didn’t put everything here in this world for the devil and his crowd to enjoy.

Some people have the idea that if you’re a Christian, you should never have anything, financially or materially. They believe that you should go through life poor and beaten down.

But Jesus said, “If ye then, being evil [natural], know how to give good gifts unto your children, HOW MUCH MORE shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:11).

Oh, God wants to give us good gifts! He wants us to have the best! He wants us to prosper and have the good things of this life! But we must cooperate with Him.

Confession: I am willing to love and serve God my Father. I am obedient to walk in the light of His Word, His will. Therefore, I shall eat the good of the land. And with confidence I can pray for the good things in life, because it is my Father’s will that I have them.

AMEN! I want to continue to encourage both you and Kristone that no matter how things APPEAR to be, GOD ALWAYS has YOUR way out of every situation! Here is Brandon Lake with "Kids" because "If you did it back then, You can do it now" are some of my favorite lyrics! 

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!