"Blest be the tie that binds."

I witnessed a bit of heaven this past week as glory bumps ran from the top of my head to my toes. My body tingled as I felt the presence and closeness of our God, the GREAT author of everything. There is nothing greater than God. Nothing!

My experience began as I was on facebook the social networking utility that makes the world smaller. It connects people everywhere that has computer access. I was just about to shut the computer down for the night when a pastor from the far east began chatting with me. We exchanged a couple questions each and then a college student from a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean clicked on my name and she too began chatting.

There certainly was a tie that bound us together and that tie was Jesus Christ, our Beloved King. We enjoyed fellowship and shared our prayer concerns with one another. We talked of our mutual burdens and sympathized together. We told of our dreams of one day meeting the guy in the sky and being in the presence of the Holy One.

I had never communicated in a chat with someone who was living in the next day. These two Christ-followers are around 12 hours ahead of me. As I was getting ready to go to bed on a Thursday night, one of them with hunger pains was already thinking about what to prepare for lunch on a Friday. That's Crazy!

But, what is more CRAZY is that the other one said he fasted and prayed on Friday's. As I crawled in bed and hoped to drift off to sleep I found myself sweetly dreaming of the coming kingdom of God. And, that is exactly what the man had told me to do as we signed off.

I felt a presence of the Lord surrounding me with his angels as I laid in bed and prayed. I have never flown on eagle's wings, but I felt I soared around the starlit skies that night.

I took the prayer concerns of the two I had just chatted with to Jesus, my intercessor with God on the throne. I can tell you that I was being prayed for by those two that night. Our hearts were tied together. I can't express the feeling I had as I was being prayed for.

"Blest be the tie that binds." I lived those words that night. They were written by a Baptist preacher for his sermon nearly 300 hundred years ago in England. John Fawcett wrote that poem and it later became a farewell Christian hymn and is sang yet today in churches around the world.

"Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Before our Father's throne we pour our ardent prayers; our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares. We share each other's woes, our mutual burdens bear; and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear. When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain; but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again."*

Thank You, Jesus. My love for you and your dearly loved children continues to grow in my heart. Expand my area of influence for you and your coming kingdom. You are the King of Glory. I ask that you bless each and every person that reads this blog and shares it with others. Come, King Jesus. Come!

Born To Love,

Rick Hawbaker
'Jesus' Younger Brother'

*John Fawcett's Poem "Blest be the tie that binds."

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!"

God's holy word tells us in Hebrews 13:8 (NIV), "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!" Many miracles were performed by God through Jesus when Jesus was walking the dusty trails of Israel.

Even after Jesus was crucified, had risen from the dead, and had ascended into heaven, we still read of healing happening on earth. They were performed through the hands of Jesus' disciples and were happening with the very same intensity as when Jesus walked the earth.

"Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed." (Acts 5:16 NIV).

Healing is happening on earth to this very day. People are healed through prayer by touch, by a physician working through Jesus, and some are healed of sickness as God takes them to heaven where there is no sickness.

King Jesus always prayed the will of God. He prayed in Matthew 6:9-10 (NIV), "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven." People in heaven are not sick! You can clearly see it is God's will that we are also to be free from sickness and disease.."on earth as it is in heaven."

Jesus said in Mark 16:17-18 (NIV) about the signs that will accompany those who believe, that "in my name...they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." You need to find someone who believes God's word about healing. Have that person lay their hands on you and pray to God that through Jesus Christ that you will be healed.

"Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise." Jeremiah 17:14 (NIV).

In our love letter from heaven our Father tells us, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16 NIV). Pray dearly loved children of God. Pray!

Born to Love,

Rick Hawbaker

We Are In The Hands Of The Almighty...

God opened my eyes last night as a group of friends gathered at my home to study God's holy word. This morning I met with a different group of friends to pray and the same scriptures were discussed.

Paul tells us in Romans 9:21 (NIV) that the potter has power over the clay when he writes, "Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?"

God molds us like clay and makes us into what we are to become. Too often we forget that God is the potter and we are the clay. He has all power over us.

In Jeremiah, God's word tells us that sometimes the pot is marred. "But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him." (Jeremiah 18:4 (NIV)

Sometimes when we are not following the plan that God has for us, our life suddenly changes. Our potter takes us and breaks us and makes us into what he wants us to become.

If you are in a stormy season in your life right now, take comfort knowing that God might be taking you breaking you and making you to become what he intended you to be. Take great joy and comfort in knowing you are in the hands of the Almighty and nobody loves you more than He.

It is written, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Revelation 1:8 (NIV) Praise to the King of Kings. Not my will but thine be done!

Rick Hawbaker
'The King's Kid'

Look Past Your Job And On To Jesus

Now more than ever we need Jesus Christ as we face our battles each day. I can't imagine a day without king Jesus with me, although I did try to live without him in control of my life for a lot of years. Life with Jesus isn't any easier, it's just not lonely, because you have Jesus.

I am so sorry I didn't catch on sooner. "Remain in me, and I will remain in you." That is what Jesus has promised us in John 15:4. The closer we get to our God in our walk with the Lord, the closer he gets to us.

The Great Shepard brings me his sheep to pray with and to pray for each day. I thank God for the chance to pray for others as that is the most I can do for someone. Many of God's dearly loved children are not happy with their current job situations. A lot of sad people are performing jobs they are way over qualified for and lots of people are stuck in jobs they have no interest in.

It is so sad that we can't be content with what God has given us. Why do we worry about the job we have? Look past the job and on to Jesus. Get about our father's work and build the kingdom. If you are planning on taking your story to heaven's gate about the great job you had on earth, don't bother. Nobody at the pearly gates will be impressed.

We want more and we all have a deal to make with God. We tell God, "I'll do this, Lord, if you do that." Instead shouldn't we be listening to our creator? If we would step back and look at the deals we are trying to make with the Almighty, we would see just how ridiculous our wants are.

Turn your life over to God if you are looking to be happy. Surrender to the your Maker. That's the only way to happiness. He died for you. You live for him. Seek the kingdom of God and spread the good news of Jesus to everyone.

King David wrote to us, "Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:3-4 (NIV)

Surrender your life to the Lord and trust in him always. Be still before him and wait patiently for his direction. He loves you more than you will ever know. Love is sacrifice. He sacrificed it all giving his life for you!

There Aren't Good And Bad People...

"As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man." I love that scripture from Proverbs 27 in the holy, holy word of our awesome God. That scripture has been in the bible since it was written, but it just found me a few months back.

I wrote on a facebook friends page a day or two ago that I would have loved to have been in that dominant foursome of Peter, James, John and Andrew. Can you imagine what it would have been like to hang out with Jesus? My friend later posted the comment, "I just can't wait to meet them, lol, Moses and Noah, too. lol :).

Expanding on the thought of some day rising on eagle's wings and meeting up with these greats in glory land, led me to think about one day having a chat with King David. David was a Shepard, a great warrior, a king of Israel. God says of David, "a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.' Acts 13:22 (NIV). I want to meet David.

David had a dysfunctional family for sure, but he was obedient to God and he repented. He quite possibly might be our best example of a man who asked for forgiveness and repented. After David had committed adultery with Bathsheba he prayed, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." Psalm 51 1-3 (NIV)

Today as I think about David's life, I think how he was both a good person and a bad person. But really there are only bad people. David was bad. We must just face it. Like David, we are bad. Paul said in Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

It all comes down to there aren't good and bad people like we are led to believe by earthly beings. But, there are two kinds of people. That's right. There are bad people who repent and there are bad people who don't repent. Since we are all steeped in sin and bad through and through, We Must Repent!

Don't go around feeling all secure and full of pride about yourself thinking you were raised in a church family. At best that will only get you a distant glimpse of Jesus from earth. Pride is a terrible thing. It destroys people, cities and countries. Being full of pride is what got Satan kicked out of heaven.

Walk through life with open hands and an open heart. Our God is awesome beyond comprehension. Jesus died for our sins, past, present and future. Seek the one who saves. That would be JESUS!

May your agenda be to live the life God wants you to live. That would be the WILL of GOD! Repent, believe and increase your faith!

Serving a living and loving God,

Rick Hawbaker

"Unending Love - Amazing Grace"

Twenty-four members of our church choir recently returned home from a mission trip to the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. It is great that these faithful servants of the Lord were able to get away to perform a drama workshop with Hope Partnership in Mathare Valley slum.

It takes a commitment of time and money, lots of planning, sacrifice and love, to go on a trip of this nature. Those that got to go became broken-hearted as they witnessed what God was doing there in the people of the slums in Africa.

Their trip home had them helping the Lord as well as they flew across the Atlantic. It turned into a 40-hour adventure of being in airports and in the air. They flew from Kenya to Rome where they switched planes and then headed to New York City. A little way over the Atlantic a lady toward the front of the plane began having a heart attack.

Word was sent to the back of the plane for assistance. A R.N. that was with our church group, went to help the heart attack victum. Seeing that things were heading down hill very fast for the woman in need, she sent word to the back of the plane to our church group to start praying and start singing.

The people prayed and began singing "Amazing Grace" and it wasn't long before most everyone on the plane joined in. The plane turned around over the Atlantic and headed back east. It landed in France and a waiting medical team rushed on the plane, stabilized the victum, and took her to the local hospital for further medical care.

The lady survived and is still alive to this day. "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 118:1 (NIV)

"Our God is greater, our God is stronger. God You are higher than any other. Our God is Healer, awesome and power. Our God, Our God..." *

Awesome Lord, thank you for all of these loving people singing and praying together that day on the plane. I praise you for that story of victory. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the glory bumps you have given me as I share such a story. You are a truely awesome God. Mighty to save! All Glory and Praise to your son, Jesus.

Serving an awesome God,

Rick Hawbaker
'Born to Love'

*That's the chorus from 'Our God' from the album Passion: Awakening by Chris Tomlin.

I Am The King's Kid...

The heartland of America is where I was born in the 50's to a family that worked and lived off the land. The Lord has always been with my family and our love for Christ has grown in all of our hearts. The Lord has blessed us and is ever present with all of us.

I am one of God's very own sheep and boldly profess I am the king's kid. Being the king's kid is grand. I can't think of anything that would be better. The closer I get to king Jesus, the closer he gets to me. Satan doesn't like what I am doing because I am advancing the kingdom of God! I have chosen God over Satan and have never looked back. I love the way God loves me!

Those who are Christ-like are to be the light of the world, but you can't be the light of the world if you are not plugged in. You have to know the word of God and apply it in your life. That's how you defeat Satan. Get plugged into a small group or two with Christian friends and be in hot pursuit of Jesus Christ. Seek the kingdom of God. Make yourself available to God to do his work and keep in rhythm with the holy spirit.

When is the last time you made God crack a smile? Is Jesus pleased with our progress? It is written in Matthew 25 that it will be easy to separate the sheep from the goats when the Lord returns for his people. Are we doing enough to build the kingdom of God? Are we doing anything?

The Lord told the prophet Samuel just before he anointed David to be king over Israel, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV).

Repent, believe and grow in faith. Don't hurry through life and miss Jesus. Slow down from the run you are on. Take time to look for God working around you and join him in helping others. There is nothing outside of Christ. He is all we need and all we have. Be an outpost for the kingdom of God!

Do you know the God you are worshipping. More importantly, does God know you?

Serving a living God,

Rick Hawbaker
'The King's Kid'

Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus!

"Stand up, Stand up for Jesus! ye soldiers of the cross." I stood up and sang that song with great enthusiasm many times as a young teen. I had no idea what spiritual warfare was and knew very little about the God I was worshipping. I just knew that getting together with friends was a good time and getting together at church one evening a week is what all the good kids did.

I have since come to know evil in this kingdom of darkness and have come to know the Lord and his shining light. God's Holy Spirit continues to sanctify me as I advance the Kingdom of God. The councils of hell shake when my feet hit the floor in the mornings. Satan is very real to me as he was to our King Jesus. If you are ignorant to the fact that there is a war going on for you, then you are probably losing the battle.

There is not a word known to me that states just how great our God is and there is no word that states how bad Satan is. As you make a stand for Jesus, the spiritual forces of evil attack you, and attempt to knock you down from your stand for righteousness. I have a friend that has a strong relationship with Christ and every time his family prays in his home, his five year-old daughter screams and cries, "Satan is king of my heart!" You can't tell me there is not an evil force among us.

Our agenda here on earth is not to run around looking for evil and to stomp out Satan. That would be letting Satan set our agenda. We are to do the work of the Lord, just like Jesus did, and when Satan attacks and intimidates us, we are to stand against every hint of spiritual opposition.

Stand firmly for Jesus. We will be attacked, but we must not be frightened. Never consider retreating, but instead advance. We must advance the Kingdom of God! That's how Satan will be defeated.

We are citizens of a much greater kingdom than we are in now and we are here only for a short time in exile . Our strife will not be for long. Prepare yourself to fight off evil when it is present. There is a crown of life waiting for those who persevere.

James told us "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12 (NIV)

Rick Hawbaker
'He Died For Me. I Live For Him!'

Warriors For Christ, Half A World Apart, Working Together To Build The Kingdom Of God...

I began writing a Christian blog toward the end of March. Who would have thunk over 1,300 people would visit the site from 22 different countries in the next five months.

People from around the world have clicked on 2,800 pages to read the 69 blogs that God has written through me.

About the same time, I started a Praying 4 U fan page on facebook. That too has turned into an international adventure with nearly 100 interactions per week with the 180-plus fans.

God has blessed me and enlarged my territory of influence for him. Through these two ventures I have been able to share scripture, prayer, and stories of how God has worked in my life and through me. God has kept me in his word daily studying to learn more. I have gotten to know some of God's children in places like Zambia, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines and Pakistan.

I have been praying for people and missions in various places and have received letters that these faithful servants of God are praying for me. It really is a small world in the grand scheme. Here we have warriors for Christ, half a world apart, praying for one another and working together to build the Kingdom of God.

We will never know how much our awesome Father loves us. Be in hot pursuit of the King of Glory and get as close to this super being as possible. Desire the gifts of the holy spirit and use them as you are the hands and feet of the Almighty.

It is written in the bible, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:4 NIV). Paul told us in Philippians 4:13 (NIV) "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." And you can too!

Use the power of the Holy Spirit that God has given you and seek him in everything. You won't be disappointed. Eternity with Jesus and his gang will be worth all the suffering we face here in Satan's Kingdom. All glory and praise to our risen Savior, King Jesus! We shall live forever through him!

May God Bless You,

Rick Hawbaker
'King's Kid'

Rascal...

Our awesome Father loves us more than we can ever imagine. He even loves us on our very worse day. On the day we have our back to him and on a day that we think we certainly don't need or want him, God loves us! Why does he loves us so much? Because we are his children.

I had an older than old man working for me in a big box retail setting. This man, Willy, wore a smile from ear to ear daily and greeted everyone with interest and kindness. Having grabbed the short straw in most every situation, this man lived by himself in a one room empty apartment and slept on the hardwood floors with roaches running around him and mice climbing up the walls.

Many years ago his wife had caught him in bed with another woman. Looking down he told with shame, "the look she gave me will not be forgotten." He never saw his wife or kids again. He filled the void in his life with alcohol and never gave much thought to giving up the bottle.

Once his story was revealed to me, I immediately began helping him and hooked him up with other Christ-followers in the workplace. We provided things he needed and prayed for him. He had been to a Christian church a few times, but didn't feel comfortable sitting there as his past haunted him.

I talked to him almost every day and shared Jesus with him. I would share stories out of the bible and told him how great God is and how he was moving in my life. As God's light shined through me often he told me he wanted what I had and told me so almost every day.

One night I talked to him about our great savior for an hour and a half in the parking lot with a full harvest moon low in the eastern sky. He would not take the leap. He would not jump and receive Jesus as he was Muslim and felt he would be letting down his strong heritage if he turned to Christ.

Finally, I pointed at the moon and said to him, "Willy, you see the moon up there.There is a song by Matt Redman, "You Never Let Go!" that says, 'And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on. A glorious light beyond all compare.'

I continued, "Everytime you see the moon from now on, I want you to remember what I just said because there is a light that is coming for the heart that holds on. A light that is coming for us. No matter what you have done in your past, you are a son of God just as I am. You can have what I have. Repent and believe in him. God loves you!

Willy never did receive God as long as I knew him, but he told me many times that I was a rascal. A rascal because from that night on as he drove home in the dark, he would look at the moon and think about the Jesus I had.

Rick Hawbaker

'Serving King Jesus'