Author: admin
Letter of the Month: Revival in a Circle
You and your family have been on my heart this week and I just wanted to let you know that I have been praying for you…and will continue to do so. Don’t we always need prayer? Raising kids in this world, a world that offers everything ungodly, is quite the challenge. But God is always faithful! We can never stop praying, loving, teaching, expecting, hoping, and KNOWING that they are in the care of the God of the Universe, the Creator who loves them more than we do! He will never let them go; He will never let us go!
On a little different note….
One of my favorite Pastor’s to listen to, (along with our Pastor at SOTH), is Pastor Jon Courson. I read your blog this morning and the story shared by your friend, Dean Bradshaw. It just stirred my heart, as did the story I heard today from Jon’s teaching. I wanted to share it with you because it came out of a study of II Kings 22-23 and the revival that came through King Josiah’s actions.
From: Jon Courson – #S291 – The Road to Revival – II Kings 22-23
“In the late 1800’s there was a great evangelist named Gipsy Smith. He had traveled the world twice, preaching in every Continent, in many countries. Wherever he preached, revival broke out. One day a delegation of people from a certain community came to Gipsy and said, “We so desperately want to see revival in our area. It’s so dry and dead. What can we do to see revival?” Gipsy said, “I’ll tell you exactly how it will come about. You go home. Lock yourself in your bedroom. Take a piece of chalk. Put a circle on the floor of your bedroom. Kneel in that circle and pray fervently and brokenly that God will start revival in that circle.”
That’s where it starts. Not so much praying for others; it is getting on your face and praying, “Let it start with me!” How quick we are to say, “If he would just change, or if she would just change.” Draw a circle and pray – “Lord, change me!”
May we turn to the Lord, as young King Josiah did, “with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our strength, according to the Word of God.”
May you sense the Presence of the Lord today in a mighty way! May His peace and strength reign in your home.
God bless!
Jody Kern
Bridge
Would you be afraid to drive across this bridge?
The tallest is 240 meters (787 feet) high and the overall height will be an impressive 336 meters (1102 feet). This will be the highest bridge in the world.
I would have a hard time with this bridge, and I don’t know if I could actually get up the nerve to drive across it. Could YOU? Would YOU?
I think of people who are afraid to share their faith. For many, this is an easy task, but for others, it is an EXTREMELY fearful situation to walk up to someone and begin a conversation concerning salvation.
This is exactly why God gave us the Holy Spirit to help us overcome such fears. There are MANY things to take into account when sharing one’s faith, but the main issue is an issue of eternity. If we DON’T share our faith, eternity hangs in the balance for those who have yet to receive Christ. I like to think that God crosses my path with another individual and that it’s a sense of destiny.
When I begin to share my faith, God will do the rest. He will soften the person’s heart that I’m talking to. He will give me wisdom. He will guide my thoughts. He will give me boldness. He will use me to simply plant seeds in that person’s life
It’s strange, but driving across that bridge in the picture above requires FAITH… and sharing Jesus with those who are lost ALSO requires FAITH… It might not be easy… It might cause you to be nervous… but put your faith completely in the Lord, and He will be the one that will enable you to share your faith
Who do you know that the Lord is prompting you to go and talk to? Why not take that BIG step of faith and share Jesus today!!!
A girl named Emma and a teacher named Joseph
When I arrived, it was such a powerful lesson of Shepherd’s influence here in the valley. Sometimes when you preach week after week, you fail to realize how much a difference the Lord is making in people’s lives.
Emma is a high school senior who helps to spearhead the Christian Club at Burroughs High School. She had invited me to come speak to their group. This group of 20 to 25 students meet once a week over the lunch hour, and they usually have a guest speaker. Emma is a member of our Church and had also gone with us to Japan several years ago on our missions trip. I just wasn’t aware of the fact that this young lady is making this kind of difference in her school.
How many high school students do YOU know here in L.A. that are leading a Christian Bible study at a public high school? I was rather impressed with Emma’s leadership and commitment as she lead this gathering. How pleased God must be that Emma would be willing to lead and organize a Christian Club in the midst of 2700 students in a public school environment!!!
I was soooooooooooooooooo blessed when I walked in and was actually able to preach God’s word in a public high school.
I did not know that in order to have a Christian Club in a public high school, there must be a teacher who is willing to host this club. Surprise!!! When I walked into this particular classroom, GUESS WHO the teacher is that is willing to host this class?
Lo and behold, it is a man by the name of Joseph Hadaya. And GUESS what church Mr. Joseph Hadaya attends? Yep, you guessed correctly… Shepherd of the Hills Church.
I have seen Joseph many times in church (he is an USHER on Saturday nights), but I never knew what he did for a living. I didn’t know he was a Math teacher in a public school.
Let me tell you… I went to that school thinking I wouldn’t know a soul, and as I walked the halls and went into the classrooms, there were several students who came up to me and said, “Hello Pastor Dudley.” One boy named Aaron actually had me sign his yearbook! I’m sitting at this desk, signing a year book and REJOICING at how God is using Shepherd to make a difference in so many lives…. And then I started thinking that this is just ONE high school. We probably have teachers and students in EVERY school in this valley that love the Lord and have joined us in making a difference for Jesus in this Valley…
So… I just want to thank Emma and Joseph for standing up for Christ, and I want to thank ALL OF YOU who do the same each and every day. May God continue to bless and anoint HIS church so that the world might believe.
In love,
Dudley
Apples
The following email was one such email. I thought it was fitting because of the sermon series we’ve been in and because of our theme for the year. This article spoke to my heart, and I hope it speaks to yours, too…
As you read this, think about what you would do!
A few years ago, a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night’s dinner.
In their rush through the terminal, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.
ALL BUT ONE !!! He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain that he would be taking a later flight.
Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did. The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time, helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table, and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, “Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did”.
“Are you okay?” She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, “I hope we didn’t spoil your day too badly.” As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, “Mister….” He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, “Are you Jesus?” He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: “Are you Jesus?”
Do people mistake you for Jesus? That’s our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life, and grace. If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk, and act as He would.
Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It’s actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day. You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.
Please share this post. Sometimes we just take things for granted, when we really need to be sharing the things that we know…
Thanks and God Bless.










