Early this morning, my daughter Tori and I boarded the first of three flights that will take us to the far-away country of Thailand.  We will arrive in the capital city of Bangkok, situated on the Chai Phraya River that flows into the nearby Gulf of Thailand.  Most of our time will be spent in the far northern province of Chiang Rai, located near the Laos and Myanmar borders.  Working with Assemblies of God missionaries, Tori and I will spend our time preaching, teaching, serving in local churches, visiting orphanages, and doing a little sightseeing. 

This trip is a dream come true for Tori.  She has had an interest in Thailand since she was a little girl.  The interest grew into a burden, and the burden led to the trip.  

That a child would have a ministry burden should not sound unusual.  The Bible tells of others God called at a young age.  

• Samuel was called to be a prophet to Israel as a young boy.
• David was anointed king of Israel in his youth.
• Josiah assumed the throne of Judah at the age of eight.
• Jeremiah and John the Baptist were called to ministry while still in the womb.

​Whether this trip will confirm the call to Thailand in Tori’s heart remains to be seen.  That is God’s work.  Our part is to go.

There is an interesting statement in 2 Chronicles 20:17.  God was getting ready to do a miracle on behalf of King Jehoshaphat and the Kingdom of Judah.  So He gave this command, “Position yourselves…and see the salvation of the LORD.”  Position yourself.  Offer yourself.  Present yourself.  Then watch and see what God does.

If we sit back and wait for God to do something, we may be waiting for a long time.  On mission to secure a bride for Isaac, the servant of Abraham made this observation, “As for me, being in the way, the LORD led me” (Genesis 24:27).

The principle is that as we step out in faith and start moving in the general direction we feel the Lord would have us to go, He will lead us.  You cannot lead a stationary object.  To be led you have to get moving.  

While you are reading this article, Tori and I are in route to Thailand.  What journey would the Lord have you begin?  What are the stirrings of the Spirit in your heart?  Identify them.  Having done that, don’t just sit there.  Get up and get moving.  Position yourself by taking the first step.  You will find the statement to be true,“As for me, being in the way, the LORD led me.”

Pastor Todd Weston

Tis the season of national conventions.  The RNC convenes this week in Cleveland.  The DNC will be held next week in Philadelphia.  Both conventions will be voting to secure their party’s presidential nominee.  Whoever goes on to win the general election in November will inherit the monumental task of reuniting a divided nation.  To complete this task, they will most certainly need God’s help.

To include the words God and Government in the same sentence sends some Americans into a state of mental crisis and emotional distress.  These are they who adamantly invoke the concept of separation of Church and State.  Of course, this statement appears nowhere in the United States Constitution.  It comes from an exchange of letters between Thomas Jefferson and the Baptist Association of Danbury, Connecticut, shortly after Jefferson became president.  The phrase was used by Jefferson in reference to the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution which limits the power of the Federal Government in regards to religion thus ensuring freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.

It may come as a shock to those who strictly believe in the separation of Church and State that the concept is foreign to the Bible.  Scripture debunks the notion of a purely secular government.  Romans 13:1 declares, “There is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”  To the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, Jesus said, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above.”  While not all government leaders are chosen by God, and not all laws enacted comply with His Word, all authority is divinely ordained and delegated by God.

Secularists can remove the Ten Commandments from public property, and take God’s name off of our money and out of the Pledge of Allegiance if they want.  But they can never remove God from government because He is the Supreme Sovereign over all.  Without Him, the governments that be would not exist.

“Therefore,” Paul goes on to say in Romans 13:2, “whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.”  There is a crisis of law and order in America today.  Leaders pick and chose which laws to enforce, and which laws to ignore.  Anarchy reigns in our streets as those who serve to protect us have become targets for assassination.  These are dark days and trying times.  

While I encourage every believer to vote, and to do so according to biblical values and standards, we must realize that we cannot simply vote our way out of the mess we are in.  Even the best of political leaders cannot solve the complex issues facing our nation.  We must turn to God.  He is our only hope.  Jesus said, “With men it is impossible, but now with God; for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).

So tune in to the televised national conventions.  They are sure to be entertaining.  Be a good citizen and exercise your right to vote in the upcoming elections.  And when you enter the ballot box, vote the Bible!  But most of all, pray.  “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land”  (2 Chronicles 7:14).

May God bless America once again.

Pastor Todd Weston

The year was 1974.  I was stumbling through the no-man’s land called adolescence.  At the age of thirteen, I had emerged from childhood, but was years away from adulthood.  When I think of myself at the age of thirteen the word that comes to mind is “awkward.”  That says it all.

I was at youth camp the summer of 1974 when my friend, Jerry, took it upon himself to play matchmaker.  This is the same Jerry I wrote about a few weeks ago who went down with the homemade raft in the pond behind our house. After the stunt he pulled at youth camp, I realized we should have left him in the pond with the sunken raft!

Jerry decided to set up a date for me with the prettiest girl at youth camp.  A “date” at youth camp meant you sat together at the evening service, then went to the snack bar afterwards for hamburgers and ice cream.  I was an awkward thirteen-year-old.  She was a sixteen-year-old beauty queen.  Frankly, this thing was impossible from the start, but Jerry was determined.

I will never forget the humiliating moment when Jerry walked up to the beauty queen, muttered a few unintelligible words, then turned and pointed me out.  All I could think to do was grin and wave.  The look on her face said it all.  Let’s just say I knew at that moment the deal was dead in the water.  Jerry the matchmaker, failed.

Did you know that the Holy Spirit is a matchmaker?  He was sent by the Father to seek out and secure a bride for Jesus the Son.  Like any good matchmaker, the Holy Spirit doesn’t draw attention to Himself.  He doesn’t talk about Himself.  Rather, He talks about the One He represents.  The Holy Spirit speaks to us about Jesus.  He seeks to bring us to Christ so that we might fall in love with the lover of our souls.  This is His ultimate mission.

My friend, Jerry, failed me in his efforts at matchmaking.  But the Holy Spirit did not fail in bringing me to Jesus.  He succeeded!  Because of the Holy Spirit I can say about Jesus, “I am  my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine” (Song of Solomon 6:3).  I am included in that great company of believers called the Church - the Bride of Christ - thanks to the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Todd Weston

Have you ever wondered about the unique roles of the members of the Trinity throughout time?  While all the three members (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are clearly present and active from Genesis to Revelation, there appears to be periods of biblical history when the ministry of one is emphasized over the others.

The Old Testament emphasizes the person and work of God the Father.  The ancient world was devoted to the worship of many gods (polytheism).  Through the nation of Israel, God revealed to the world the existence of the one true God (monotheism), and what He required (the Law of Moses).  Before Christ’s work could begin, these basic truths had to be established.

And then we come to the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) which emphasize the person and work of God the Son.  While the presence and activity of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are obvious, the focus of the gospel writers is the story of Jesus - His virgin birth, sinless life, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection.

Beginning in Acts 1 through the remainder of the New Testament, the emphasis moves to the person and work of God the Holy Spirit.  Beginning on the Day of Pentecost with the birth of the Church, the work of the Holy Spirit continues to this very day.

It’s interesting that in the Old Testament, God the Father prepared the world for the coming of the Son.  Through prophetic words, pictures, symbols, and types, the Old Testament pointed to the coming of Emmanuel - God with us.

It’s also interesting that in the Gospels, especially as Jesus neared the end of His earthly ministry, He prepared His disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit.  The Father sent the Son, and the Son in turn sent the Holy Spirit.  The Son spoke of the Father, and the Spirit speaks of the Son.

As the Son clothed Himself with flesh in the Incarnation, so the Spirit has clothed Himself with the Church (corporately and individually) which is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  It is through the Church that the Holy Spirit carries out His ministry in the world. 

So it comes down to this.  The Father spoke of and sent the Son.  The Son spoke of and sent the Holy Spirit.  At the Rapture of the Church, the Holy Spirit will present a Bride to the Son in the clouds.  The Son will in turn present His glorious Bride to the Father in heaven.  And through it all, God will be glorified.

Amazing! 

Pastor Todd Weston