Put on the armor of light...

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else." - Acts 17:24-25 (NIV)

What else can you possibly ask for. He gives you everything! There is nothing else. God made the world and everything in it. Enjoy his great creation and praise the name of Jesus above all names.

With each passing day we are getting closer to the second coming of Jesus Christ. All praise and glory to Jesus, the risen and returning king! How exciting it is to know we will be spending eternity with the King of the Universe.

"The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." - Romans 13:12 (NIV).

When you come out of the night and into God's light, you have to dress approprietly. When you go to work you wear work clothes. Someone sees you on the way to work dressed for work, they know you are heading to work. You go for a day hike in the mountains, you wear clothes for that. Someone sees you in your hiking boots and hiking pants, they know you are heading to the outback.

It is the same with God. You must take off your clothes of darkness from your past and dress the part that you are living in light. You can defend and attack if you have on all the armor of God. Since we anticipate the return of our Savior soon, we should be putting on the armor of light every day.

Be energetic and committed to a close walk with God. You are children of the Lord and should live as children of the light.

Thank You Jesus!

Rick Hawbaker

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Right where he wants me....

That's where God has me. Right where he wants me.

I do wrestle with thoughts of am I doing what it is that God wants me to do. I do get good feelings as I see God working through me.

It made me happy as a co-worker introduced me to her mom saying, "This is Rick. He gave me a bible!"

I have never been introduced to anyone in that way before. Thinking about it later I still had a good feeling about myself. I am in hopes that this young lady will always remember me as the person who gave her a bible.

That would be so much better than to be thought of by the world's standards..."He drives an orange Hummer", "He lives in the BIG house on the hill", or "His wife bought a 50 inch TV this morning."

In accordance to God's plan for me, I have surrendered to our great God and have ask him to be the pilot, the conductor, the director of my life. I am in the palm of our Savior, bringing fresh blessings, fresh revelations and fresh manna to God's dearly loved children.

Beloved, I know that I am one of the king's men, but my heart still leaped with great joy as a co-worker referred to me and a friend as "children of the Lord". May I forever hold that title in other's eyes!

All praise and glory to Jesus, the risen and returning king!

Rick Hawbaker

Going through the ups and downs...

Some days do you feel real connected to God and then the next day you wonder why is God hiding from you? You are not alone. A lot of people have the same feeling. The ups and downs of life. The ups are the good times and the downs are the difficult times.

King David writes about such a time in his life in Psalm 27. He begins the Psalm when all is going well for him. "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall." (Psalm 27:1-2 NIV)

Then David changes his tone in his writing crying out to God to be merciful to him and to answer him. He writes in verse 9, "Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior."

Does this sound familiar in your life? When the good times are rolling you are thanking and praising God all over the place. Then life takes a turn and you think that God has run out on you. Some even question if there really is a God.

David goes on to close out the psalm, "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27:14 NIV)

When difficult times come, take David's advance - Remember the good times when God did not forget you. Wait on the Lord as he will not forsake you. Ask God for strength and courage as you wait for an answer.

Father God - You are the light, the salvation and stronghold of our lives. Thank you for being there for us through the good and bad times. Help us to remember this example in David's psalms. May we become strong as we wait for you. The great provider of all things. Thank You Jesus!

Rick Hawbaker

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(Pictured above is a statue of King David in Jerusalem)

God's splendor shines brightly over all creation...

God's splendor shines brightly over all of creation. I am elated that the King of the Universe has taken a permanent marker and sketched me into his grand scheme. I am truly grateful to be chosen out of millions to be one of his sheep.

My prayer this week is that all God's dearly loved children see his grandeur. I think so many get so busy in the rat race that they live in a fog and really never slow down long enough to clearly see our creator. And friends, God has so much more for each and everyone of us.

I encourage you to do business with the Lord this week. A real prayer is life creating and life changing.

The closer your heart beats to the Almighty, you begin to think like God, desire what he desires, love the things he loves, and hate the things he hates. Yes, your heart becomes broken for what breaks his.

God is an awesome being. He is supernatural, unlimited in power, has infinite knowledge, is perfect goodness and divine simplicity. His love is unending and grace unchanging. In Romans 11:36 (NIV), his holy word tells us, "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."

Get off of your log and tell others about the greatness of Christ. We have an obligation to demonstrate to our generation that God is truly alive. "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12 NIV).

Wow! Now that is bringing heaven to earth...doing the works that Jesus did while he was on earth and doing more. The power of the holy spirit is in us and available for us to tap into for ourselves and for others. Get on with doing your Father's business and show your generation that God is Alive!

Leading and Feeding Christ's Sheep,

Rick Hawbaker

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Look to the cross, not to the dollar signs...

Chatting with a friend over lunch a few days back, I told her of my interest to be called to a mission project to end out my working years.

Some friends think I am working a big net for God right where I am, but I want to do more.

The first thing she said was, "Oh, Rick. You would really be good at it." Second thought as she continued, "Mission projects don't pay very well."

I have come along way in my walk with the Lord. I used to think it was all about making money, too. But, my immediate answer without a blink was, "Don't you know that my Father is the King of the Universe?"

Money has very little to do with happiness. Quit beating yourself up to make money to buy things that won't make you happy. Surrender to the Lord.

Seek your Almighty Father like you seek the almighty dollar. Then you will see change. Look to the cross, not to the dollar signs.

Don't get caught up in the rat race and let your values become distorted. Don't allow yourself to become so stressed making money that you produce damage to your bodies, minds and spirits. The temple of the holy spirit resides in you brothers and sisters.

It is written in God's holy word, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV).

The temple of the Holy Spirit isn't in Jerusalem. It is in you!

We have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of Yeshua! May you be blessed by our GREAT GOD as you experience just how deep and wide and long and high his love is for you. Boldly proclaim the GREATNESS of OUR SAVIOR to the ends of the earth!

Leading and Feeding Christ's Sheep,

Rick Hawbaker

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(Pictured above is a cross in a cemetary in Jerusalem)

Making a BIG difference in a few people's lives

You may have heard enough about others in need and are filled to the brim with hearing that crap. Maybe God feels the same way. Don't you think he gets tired of people continually seeing others in need and not doing anything about. I know I can't save the world by myself, but I can make a BIG difference in a few peoples lives.

I have made friends with a Liberian refugee that is a congregation pastor on the Ivory Coast of Africa in Abidjan. The Redeemer Christian Fellowship was established 2008 with a total of 17 people. They began as a family devotional prayer group for those who were saved from the Liberian civil war.

God has blessed this church that had a humble beginning. It has increased little by little and now has 93 members. That doesn't include the visiting friends both Ivoriens and Liberians. They have orphan children left behind as their parents were killed in the civil crisis. There are also disabled refugees, widows and the old.

"Sir, we need more training. We need some bibles and tracts for the congregation." That's the exact words the congregation pastor wrote to me. He said they all speak and read English. Now isn't that crazy. I just bought another bible last week and have five in our upper room and three in my truck. Why don't I send him some of mine.

I have sang and prayed "break my heart for what breaks yours" too many times. I am so happy that God has chosen me to be one of his people. I am going to get as many bibles to this congregation that I can.I am going to help God build his kingdom on earth whenever and wherever.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels are with him and he sits on his glorious throne, and he easily separates the sheep from the goats...I will sit on the right and take my inheritance of eternal life. The kingdom prepared for me since the creation of the world. Those on the left will go away to eternal punishment. (Matthew 25:31-46)

Shalom,

Rick Hawbaker

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(Pictured above is the Sea of Galilee in Israel near where Jesus delivered the sermon on the mount.)

Beginning to flourish in God's overflow...

Have you ever gotten a word from a prophet and scratched your head and wondered what it means or what it will mean to you? In the last six weeks I have gotten three confirmations about a word of prophecy that was given to me and it is beginning to make sense.

It all began back on Saturday, October 9th when I was at the Men's Advance with 200 men from our church. I ran into a prophet there and this man that I had never met before began telling me things about myself.

The prophet said, "Looking at you I see joy. Great Joy. Joy overflowing. You are a teenager with lots of energy." He continued, "Wait. I see a goat. A mountain goat. It is sure-footed on the mountain rocks. It is jumping and leaping with joy. That goat, it is you!"

The prophet finished saying, "I don't know when, whether it is today, in two weeks or in two months, but I can see you are going to be filled with absolute joy!" Within two hours I was very happy about something that happened at the Men's Advance.

The next day I drove two hours down out of the mountains and shared the experience with my wife. We talked about could this thing that happened be what the man was talking about.

A couple days later I was checking over facebook on my phone and I ran across a message I had gotten from a facebook friend I had never met. This lady wrote to me on October 1st "you will have great joy starting in the month of October." She had written this eight days before the prophet told me basically the same thing

The message suddenly meant something to me. I got on facebook and found the lady that had written to me. She lives in Austria. I researched her information and found out she is a prophetess.

Woe! I have a prophetess from Austria and a prophet from Loveland, Colorado both telling me I will be filled with joy! Now I am getting excited. Trying to figure out just what is going to happen and what does this all mean has been interesting.

On October 30th, I was in Israel down by the Dead Sea and visiting the area the cave was in that David and his men hid in from King Saul. This was Ein Gedi where David cut the corner of Saul's robe off in the cave without Saul knowing it.

Upon leaving the area and heading back to the parking lot, three ibex ran across our path less than ten feet in front of us and they leaped high over the four foot retaining wall. Ibex are mountain goats. My wife and I were amazed. We took a couple of steps and then suddenly it dawned on us that those ibex were me!

I am waiting for the rest of the story to be revealed to me. I have been filled with joy since October. I don't know if the leaping goat was to show me I am going to be moved to a higher level with God soon or to again show me that nothing is impossible for a common person or an ibex.Or could it mean something else?

I have not recontacted the shofar blowing prophet that first told me I was going to be filled with joy, but I have been in contact with the prophetess. In her writing on October 20th, she wrote to me, "Glory be to God Almighty, the revealer of hidden treasure...Begin to flourish in his overflow."

Shalom,

Rick Hawbaker

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The LORD Surrounds His People...

I became even closer to God last week as I traveled to Israel. Nothing is greater than a closer walk with Jesus. It was great seeing where he walked, where he talked, and where he healed the sick. My love for the Lord and faith in God was strengthened.

Walking the streets I wondered if the children we were passing were descendants of Mary and Joseph. Some of the Jewish shop owners we talked with were Levites. These cousins of ours now lived in the City of David.

"As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore." Psalm 125:2 (NIV). I saw for myself that Jerusalem is indeed surrounded by mountains and I have seen that the LORD is everywhere around us.

Be a vehicle that the LORD can use to build his coming kingdom. Pray to be the one person that can do a lot for the LORD. Be a Peter, a Paul, a Schindler. Be all the time holy and all the time helping others.

Serving a living and loving God,

Rick Hawbaker

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Spying On My Heritage...

Beloved, I have just returned from a visit to the place that one day the light of the world will reign. Jerusalem. Holy Jerusalem.

It was a trip of a lifetime. I thank God and praise him, the great provider, for giving me a chance to spy on my heritage.

Sitting on the steps that Jesus taught on, seeing the pools he healed in, and cruising on the Sea of Galilee that he walked on, all brought me closer to our great God. Everything began in Israel and everything is to end in Israel.

I found being in the holy lands a tingling experience. Glory bumps popped up on my body as I visited some of the holy places. Hanging out on Mt. Zion and actually walking inside the walls where the temple will be rebuilt was really moving. Just like God, Jerusalem is amazing beyond compare.

The Arc of the Covenant, the holy of holies, is believed to be there under the Temple Mount. I had a chance to pray to our Almighty Father within 50 feet of where The Arc is believed to be. I poured out my prayer concerns to the Lord and wrote them on a piece of paper, folded it and stuck it in a crack of the Wailing Wall.

I was certainly blessed to have seen the City of David and to renew my vows to the risen Lord as I was baptised in the Jordon River. Our God is the same yesterday, today and yes, forever. He is a loving, living and healing God.

God has planted a seed in each of us. Join with me and pursue the life that God has planned for us. Let that seed grow and let it bring forth the fruit that God intended it to be.

I feel I have left a piece of myself in Israel and feel I have brought a piece of Israel with me back to the United States of America. I will continue to serve God, spread his gospel, and see lost souls saved.

Peace And Prayer To You!

Rick Hawbaker

Daily Scripture, Prayer and Praise...Check out http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Praying-4-U-/364285405278

(Pictured above is the Jordon River in Israel)