| GEORGE'S ANGELS NEWSLETTER | |
| In Loving Memory of Bishop George E Moye | May/June 2000 |
(Notes from my Personal Spiritual Journal)
My time spent alone with the Father is normally in the mornings. This time is devoted to prayer, Bible reading, worship
and praise. I can safely say this time is the most precious part of my entire day.
When I learned that God loves me and wants to be with me, it changed my life. I was amazed and intrigued at the same time. I had
heard all my life that God loves me but, it was not until 1998 that it began to penetrate my spirit and renew my mind and thinking. I
set out on a journey to know this God who loved me and wanted to be with me.
On that journey, it was not long before Hebrews 11:6 got a hold of me as I sought the Lord diligently through His Word. The more I
read and learned about Him the hungrier and thirstier I became. As I started to get to know Him, I began to understand more and
more about His love for me. The more I began to understand His love for me, the more I began to love Him. As my love for Him
increased, the closer I found myself to Him, wanting to spend more time with Him. Very quickly, I started to look forward to times
when I could get away and spend time with the Lord. I soon realized that every opportunity I found for free time, I would read my
Bible. I was enjoying what I was learning and did not want to forget it. So I began writing down the insights I discovered during
those times. This was the beginning of a Spiritual Journal that I have come to cherish as my most prized possession, aside from my
Bible, of course.
Now mind you, I can take none of the credit for this. I had no idea what was happening to me. All I understood was that I was being
drawn to a love I had never known before. And this love satisfied all that was missing in me and my life.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever. Psalm 73:25-26
One day during my quiet time with the Lord, He led me to our theme Scripture:
God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
1 Corinthians 1:9
Then it hit me and I realized that God was working in my life, calling me into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ. One thing we
must always remember about our Christian life is that, it is a process and truth is revealed to us as we are ready to receive it.
My journey of seeking the Lord through His word made be ready to receive the fellowship of His Son.
It is through the Word of God that He draws us into relationship with His Son. I guarantee you, if you would spend regular,
consistent time in the Word of God, you will find yourself being drawn into intimate fellowship with Christ. And just as He did for
me, He will fill every void in your life and you, too, will be amazed and overwhelmed by His great love for you and your love for
Him will begin to grow and grow.
Don't just take my word for it, listen to the words of Jesus Christ, Himself in John 14:21:
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too
will love him and show myself to him.
Time alone in the Word of God by a heart willing to obey the Word leads to a love relationship between you, God and His Son. It
begins with time in the word, spent alone with the Father, bringing you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ. But best of all,
look at what the result will be ..."I will show myself to him" Jesus will begin to show Himself to you, reveal His will for your life
and give you life more abundantly.
Allow me to share with you this month some of the ways Jesus revealed Himself to me through devoted time in His word and prayer.
These are just a few highlights from my daily quiet time. I keep a journal to be sure that I can always go back and reflect upon how
Jesus is changing my life. Keeping a journal also encourages me to remain steadfast in my faith. It is awesome to be able to see how
and when God has moved in my life and it strengthens my relationship with God to discover what I have learned from Him.
You, too can learn from God and know His great love for you by first accepting His most precious gift of love, His Son Jesus Christ
as your personal Savior and Lord. For God so loved you that He gave His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, that whosoever believes
in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. What is stopping you from believing and receiving Jesus today?
You can do it NOW!! - Just bow your head and say: Lord, I am a guilty, lost, helpless sinner. I believe You suffered on the cross
for my sins and died in my place to pay the penalty for my sins, and that You rose again. I call on You to forgive my sins and
give me eternal life. Then stand on His promise, "He that hath the Son hath life," and when you have the opportunity confess Him
before men as your Lord.
Now you are a new creation and must begin to grow in the knowledge and understanding of the Bible and your walk with Christ.
First, be baptized and join a Bible teaching and believing Church where you can study the Bible and present yourself approved
workman before God and not be ashamed when He returns. Begin to share your faith with others, giving witness to how Jesus has
changed your life. See you in Heaven where we will meet the other saints that have go gone on before us.
First, let me share how the actual discipline of quiet time was taught to me.
The first person I ever known to have quiet time was my grandfather, Bishop George E. Moye. One Christmas holiday, he stayed at
my house and slept in my upper bedroom. That morning when he came down, he was smiling and glowing at the same time. I said,
"granddaddy, what happened." He said, "Oh the Lord and I had a good time up there this morning." That was all he said, but I never
forgot it.
However, every since then I wanted to know God like my grandfather did. Now from that day to this one, I cannot tell you how or
what I did step by step to come to know the Lord. But, I can tell you that I began reading the Bible and any other book about God
that I could find. It was God who began to draw me to Himself as I sought after Him. Thank God from Whom all blessings flow.
I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me. Psalm 8:7
Luke 10:38-42
Are you Mary or Martha?
The Lord showed me a truth, one morning reading Luke 10:38-42, the story of 2 sisters, Mary and Martha. He showed me how my
life was much like Martha's, ripping and running, doing all kinds of things, busy with this and that. I have very little time to devote to
just sitting at the feet of Jesus, in the presence of the Lord, soaking up His word and filling myself with His Spirit like sister Mary in
this story.
Although Martha was busy doing something important like preparing dinner for Jesus who was a guest at her home, Jesus let her
know that the "one needful thing" that was more important than anything was preparing herself to hear and to be fed by the word of
God from the mouth of Jesus.
I learned spiritual responsibility from this lesson. There is nothing more important than the time spent alone with the Lord. Yes, we
have other responsibilities and things to tend to, but Jesus said, there is one thing that is needful and we should be careful to tend to that.
This is why I believe my Grandfather spent quiet time in the morning, that way God was first and everything else followed. Jesus
instructs His disciples to "seek ye first the Kingdom" and during His ministry, he often spent time alone with the Father in the
mornings (Mark 1:35). See the September issue of GA Newsletter "Fixing Your Eyes on Jesus."
This was enough proof for me to pattern my devotions after my earthly and heavenly example of morning devotions.
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:1-3
Romans 7:18-25
The Battle of the Flesh
Always, during devotional time, certain truths are revealed to me. Most times, they are things I have been wondering about or
something I read that I did not understand. Then it is like a light comes on inside and it becomes clear, this is an example of one of
those times.
I read: The more pure and holy the heart is the more sensitive it will be to the sin that remains in it. Wow!!! I thought, this is so
ironic. I was under the impression that the more holy and pure my heart, the less sin I should find there and whenever I did find sin I
would feel defeated and disappointed in myself. When in fact, this is the work of God sanctifying my soul for Heaven. Rather, I
should rejoice in the fact that I am sensitive to sin. The next thing to do is to confess it and be cleansed by the Holy Spirit of God in
accordance with 1 John 1:19.
The struggle with sin in our flesh is the battle of a true Christian. One who is not struggling with sin should reconsider their standing
as a Christian. In reading Romans 7 about Paul's struggle with sin, it sounded very much like my own -- the good things I want to do
I don't do and the things I do not want to do, that I do. But, praise God for the Holy Spirit who will rescue me from this struggle
because the Spirit is stronger than the flesh. As I seek to live according to the Spirit, I will less and less fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Therefore, there can be no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus Roman 8:1
This was a wonderful truth I learned that morning. It set me free from the trap of Satan in making me feel defeated and frustrated. God loves us and He encourages us in our walk with Him. Anytime you are feeling condemned or defeated, it is not from God. There is a great difference between the conviction of God and the condemnation of Satan. (Sounds like a great topic for us to study one day).
Suffering
Problems in my own life and requests for prayer from others, keep me before the Lord seeking an answer to the dilemma of suffering.
I have to tell you, I am still finding the need to constantly return to the grace of God for help in this area. I have learned a lot of
things about suffering but the only principle that gives me hope and strength is that God is in total control of everything in my life.
He is Omniscient and knows all things before they happen so nothing catches Him by surprise or unaware or unprepared. He is
Omnipotent and has all power over all things so nothing is beyond His authority or ability to handle. And best of all, He is
Omnipresent and is every where at the same time with all power, all knowledge, willing and able to take care of me.
This is what I tell myself and others who come to me with sufferings and problems. I usually rest in the fact that I don't know or
understand anything of what or why this or that has happened. I just know Who is in control of it all and I seek to concentrate on
Him and His nature and not on the problem.
Let me share with you some of the Scriptures I read to calm my spirit and feed my faith in times of suffering:
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are
insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should
not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do
not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it
begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And,
"If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. 1 Peter 4:12-19
-----------------------
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If
any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But
when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. James
1:2-3
Read Daniel Chapter 3 for a thrilling story of 3 Hebrew boys who stood up for God against the Babylon King.
After reading about Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, see if you can identify three lessons their experience teaches you.
Lesson No. 1: The three Hebrew boys were good friends and stuck together against the enemy. They refuse to bow down and
worship the King's idol. They believed in worshiping God and God only. This teaches that we should find friends that believe in
what we do and are willing to do what is right even if no one else does.
Lesson No. 2: Sometimes you will have to stand for what is right even if you have to stand alone. It is never a good idea to "go with
the crowd". And even if you have to stand alone, know that you are never alone. Just as God rescued the Hebrew boys in the fiery
furnace, He will be with you when you do what is right and He will protect you too.
Make up your mind to stand for God because He stands for you.
Lesson No. 3: It takes courage to stand for what you believe in. Cowards go with the crowd. They have no courage or strength to say
no. It is easier to say yes and be "one of the guys". It took great courage for the Hebrew boys to stand up to the King and say "we
will not serve false gods". But, where did they get their courage and strength? Their strength and courage came from trusting in their
God. They told the King, "Our God is able to deliver us and He will deliver us, but even if our God does not deliver us, we will not
serve your false gods." That is courage. Courage to face even death if they needed to, because they would not go against their God.
It is unlikely that you will ever have to face death for doing what is right. But, you may face rejection from other children and you
may even face ridicule for being a Christian. Just remember, to stand for God because He stands for you.
Did you find any other lessons taught by this story? Write me and let me know. Discuss them with your parents and share them with
your friends. God loves you and so do I.
During the Summer months, the GA Newsletter will be published bi-monthly. The next issue will be July-August and will be mailed
early August. Please remember to pray daily for people listed on our family prayer list. Remember to send in your prayer requests
and/or praise reports.
Enjoy your summer and vacations. In September I look forward to receiving Guest Articles from those who have promised.
Visit us on the Web: www.angelnews.org
Email Address: phyl4jesus@angelnews.org
Address: PO Box 30 Warrenton, NC 27589