Timing

The Dismantling

Posted on July 22, 2012 by mcalmond

Note: This is a personal post written by my daughter Dana Summers ***

I wanted to share with you that the Lord has been doing in my life over the last year and half.  This has been a trying year for us, as a couple, a family and for me personally.  The Lord began this year by revealing to me, by His mercy, what he was doing.  In January 2011, as I was sitting in a Bible study, I heard one word to start off my new year: “dismantling”.  “What?  I knew that this word was for me, however I hoped it was for someone else.  What does dismantling mean exactly?    The dictionary defines Dismantle as  1. to deprive or strip of apparatus, furniture, equipment, defenses, etc.: 2. to disassemble or pull down; take apart: 3. to divest of dress, covering.  He then gave me the rest:  Embrace the dismantling, Deal with fear of exposure, Remove walls of protection, Begin to see weakness as strength, Be thankful for the past, repent of regret & disappointment, Let go of expectations, Receive new directions, Receive new wisdom and  Restoration.

Apparently I had been holding on to some things and the Lord thought it was time to deal with them.  His timing is perfect, I had to remind myself of that over and over.  I am not going to lie, this has been a really difficult year/season for me.  The Lord didn’t have to let me in on what He was doing.  I am thankful that He did, but still do not have total understanding.  I have learned not to try to interpret what God is doing but to trust him in the unfolding, because it never looks like what I expected.

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Categories: Abiding, Absolute Dependency, Accountability, Anointing, Being a PK, Being Built Up, Belief System, Breaking Forth, Changes, Character, Christian Maturity, Core Values, Covering, Dependency, Divine Encounters, Encouragement, Family, Genuineness, God's Faithfulness, Hearing The Lord, Honesty, Humility, In Spirit and In Truth, Misplaced Dependency, New Beginnings, Prayer, Presumptions, Timing, Transcendence, Victory, Work of God | 2 Comments

Thoughts About Age and Changes

Posted on April 14, 2012 by mcalmond

Change comes hard for most of us and as we get older, change seems to become even more difficult. It may simply be because of our age or it is simply because when you have spent a life time moving through one change after another, change just gets harder, more difficult and seems to require more of you than ever before. The motivation, energy and drive required for these changes seems to wane and not be as sufficient as it once was, to see you through these seemingly essential changes.

The truth is however, that true change is hard, risky and is always stressful whatever its ultimate fruit and our age at the time.

As a pastor or one who has spent the majority of his life in the ministry in one form or another, I find myself in such a season of life. The real question arises for me, regarding my need for change, is simply, is it worth the effort, difficulty, stress, etc? I have experienced a lot of changes in my life, from one move after another, from one church or ministry organization after another, from one home to another, one state to another, from one ministry crisis to another and even from one job after another. So, yes, the question arises, is this change worth all of the effort, stress and hardship it requires of us to accomplish this change and the promises that these changes hopefully contain?

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Categories: A Genuine Heart Cry, Absolute Dependency, Being Built Up, Breaking Forth, Changes, Christian Maturity, Dying to Self Will, Fear of God, Genuineness, Grace, Hearing The Lord, Holy Ghost Burdens, Hope, Jobs, Mentoring/Discipleship, Ministry Motivation, Seeking The Lord Jesus, Spiritual Fathers/Mothers, Timing, Word of God, Work | Leave a comment

Getting Ready, To Begin!

Posted on March 2, 2012 by mcalmond

In so many ways I feel like I am being called back to studying like when I was first starting out in the ministry so many years ago. This is very surprising at 61 and counting. There is so very much floating around within me that apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, it is quite difficult for me to sort it all out, but I love what He is doing in me right now. For weeks now there has been a very real spiritual awakening taking place within me.

Yes, it is all quite exciting, stimulating and invigorating. It is just like being awakened out of a deep sleep. I am so thirsty and hungry for more of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Holy Word, His presence, for He who is my very life and breath. I find that I want to study, pray and prayerfully read more than my eyes and time will allow me. I want to pour through so much material all at once, devouring it and by the grace of God processing it through and through, that the sheer scope of it seems ever so unrealistic, to say the least. But I am pressing on, for I deeply want to and truly know not what else to do but go with Him to His end and for His greater glory, honor and praise.

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Categories: A Genuine Heart Cry, Absolute Dependency, Authenticity, Awakening, Being Built Up, Benefits, Calling, Core Values, Covering, Edification, Empowerment, Encouragement, Genuineness, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, God's Faithfulness, Grace, Growing in Faith, illumination, Obedience, Open Ears, Readiness, Timing | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments

Christmas, Santa And A Tree

Posted on December 22, 2011 by mcalmond

Part Two

Now as Christianity continued to expand, grow and thus celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus (Christmas, Epiphany, the Feast of the Nativity), His Baptism and obviously His death and Resurrection (Easter), the different cultures added their own marks upon these celebrations. It is these cultural adaptations, which most often incorporated some aspect of their local celebrations or local context into the celebration experience of the Birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and yes, even of what we call Easter. Now, again, taking the more positive road on this, I believe this was all done for the same purposes as we have already stated in Part One, to replace what was previously observed or worshiped, with the true worship and celebration of the Lord Jesus Christ. How successfully this was always done, I am not always so sure.

The point of all of this is simply that the celebration of what we call Christmas is indeed the celebration of Christ’s birth and this has been in the church, in various forms, from very early on. The celebration of what we call Easter, the celebration of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, has also been a vital part of the church from its very beginning. In fact, it was seen for a very long time as the greatest of the Christian celebrations or remembrances. I believe that Easter should still be our most important celebration. However, this of course is my humble opinion.

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Categories: A Compilation of Sources, Body of Christ, Celebration, Changes, Christmas, Church, Church Forms, Church History, Churches, Confidence, History, Hope, Humility, Questions, Remembrances, Seeking The Lord Jesus, Thanksgiving, The Power of God, Timing, Witness | 2 Comments

Awaken To His Praise, His Worship, For Now!

Posted on October 22, 2011 by mcalmond

In 2007, the Lord gave me this word and I wrote out what follows below. I ran across it again this evening and realized that this is already beginning to take place. There is, however, a very real concern, no, a very real growing burden that there will be, as there always seems to be, those who will stubbornly or even defiantly remain in what they know and have known for however long and won’t be open to nor respond appropriately to His, our Lord and Saviors call.

I pray the Lord will rise up and once again confirm His Word for His People to Awake and Arise in His Worship. May He continue to break forth His Anointing for His Worship, His Prophetic Worship Within and Through His Church. May we all by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit surrender to all that He is saying and bless the Lord, doing today! May we once again so deeply hunger and thirst for the Lord Jesus Christ to have His Way With Us All, that we indeed not only cry out but yield, surrender in eyes wide open genuine and authentic saving faith. Blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ!

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Categories: Anointing, Authenticity, Awakening, Body of Christ, Breaking Forth, Calling, Church, Churches, Communion, Dependency, Dying to Self Will, Edification, Empowerment, Exhortation, Father, Genuineness, God Faith, Grace, His Gift of Love, His Praise, His Worship, Holy Ghost Burdens, Hope, Humility, illumination, In Spirit and In Truth, Intimacy, Mercy, Ministry, Now Word, Obedience, Open Ears, Open Eyes, Openness, Paradigm Shift, Pastor, Prayer, Presumptions, Priorities, Prophetic, Prophetic Actions, Prophetic Revelation, Prophetic Worship, Relationship, Spiritual Hunger and Thirst, Spiritual Warfare, Steadfastness, Stirrings, Surrender, Thanksgiving, The Lord Jesus, The Power of God, Timing, Transcendence, Word of God, Work of God, Worship | Leave a comment

Let Us Arise, Yet Again!

Posted on October 8, 2011 by mcalmond

There is so very much more than we are experiencing in and of Christ Jesus. There is so very much more of the Kingdom of God than we know or understand. There is so very much more of life in the Spirit than we are living out on a daily basis. There simply is so very much more yet to do and that needs to be done; I for one, long to know, do and experience the more. I also am haunted by what I have known, have accomplished or think I know. I also understand how tempting, as I get older, it is to remain in what I have come to know and experience.

What I mean is, that what I have known, done or think I know of Christ Jesus and the Kingdom of God, seems at times to get in the way of the more. It gets in the way by having captured my attention, my heart and the battles that were for or needed to contend for it has passed. Yesterdays victories become all too easily today’s excuses. As I look forward to the more, this means more battles, contending, more stretching, more dying, more of that which we already and all too often resist in our growing in the Lord Jesus Christ. This looking forward seems to be less and less attractive when I honestly consider the cost of the past. While I know that nothing of what life and ministry has cost us compares to that sacrifice of Christ Jesus, it still, for us remains a very tangible, real and essential counting of the cost. We have given our all so many times, yet the call remains, to surrender our all yet once again.

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Categories: A Genuine Heart Cry, Abiding, Absolute Dependency, Anointing, Awakening, Belief System, Believer, Body of Christ, Breaking Forth, Calling, Character, Christian Maturity, Church, Commands, Confidence, Covering, Dependency, Dying to Self Will, Edification, Empowerment, Encouragement, Exhortation, Faith, Family, Father, Fear of God, Flesh, Following Through, Foundations, Genuineness, God's Faithfulness, God's Love, Grace, Healing, His Chosen, His Gift of Love, Holiness, Holy Ghost Burdens, Hope, Humility, In Spirit and In Truth, Inspiration, Light, Ministry, Mother, Noise and Distractions, Now Word, Obedience, Persecution, Perseverance, Pioneering, Prayer, Priorities, Process, Promises, Readiness, Relationship, Rest, Resurrection Life, Righteousness, Sacrifice, Seeking The Lord Jesus, Self Justification, Selfishness, Selflessness, Separatism, Simplicity, Spiritual Fathers/Mothers, Spiritual Warfare, Standing in Faith, Steadfastness, Tenaciousness, Thanksgiving, The Lord Jesus, The Lord's Fullness, The Power of God, Timing, Truth, Victory, Wind of the Spirit, Witness, Word, Word of God | Leave a comment

Personal Mentoring/Discipleship, Pt Two

Posted on May 1, 2011 by mcalmond

We need to disciple/mentor those whom the Lord Jesus would have us to. Therefore we need to seek the Lord as to whom He wants us to disciple/mentor and then how He wants this person to be mentored. It is then that we can begin this process with the confidence of His blessing and provision. We may and most likely will, stumble around at first. We may make it too academic and not enough of a relational experience. We may, depending on who we are, go the other way and want to make it so relational that we fail to hold our mentoree accountable and disciplined along the way. Regardless, if we will obediently give ourselves to this wonderful, albeit sometimes very trying process, we will discover the wonderful fruit of it; the joys of watching those entrusted to us, growing up into their role within their own lives, families and the Body of Christ Jesus at large. We will also have the wonderful hope of building a relationship for life.

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Categories: Anointing, Awakening, Being Built Up, Belief System, Believer, Benefits, Body of Christ, Boundaries, Breaking Forth, Calling, Character, Christian Maturity, Church, Commands, Core Values, Covering, Edification, Elders, Empowerment, Encouragement, Exhortation, Family, Father, Fields of Ministry, Following Through, Foundations, Grace, Growing in Faith, His Gift of Love, History, Holy Ghost Burdens, Hope, Humility, Lost and Alone, Loving One Another, Mentoring Children/Youth, Mentoring Men, Mentoring Women, Mentoring/Discipleship, Mercy, Metron, Ministry, Mother, Obedience, Openness, Perseverance, Prayer, Preaching, Priorities, Process, Promises, Protection, Remembrances, Sacrifice, Seeking The Lord Jesus, Selflessness, Spirit of Truth, Spiritual Fathers/Mothers, Spiritual Warfare, Standing in Faith, Steadfastness, Surrender, Teacher, Teaching, Tenaciousness, Thanksgiving, The Lord Jesus, The Power of God, Timing, Training, Transformation, True Love, Truth, Word of God, Work of God | 1 Comment

A Bit of Early Church History, Pt One

Posted on April 16, 2011 by mcalmond

Acts 15:21 (NKJV) For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

With all that is being said and questioned of today’s Church and its Forms, I thought I would post a little bit of Church History that has to do with the structure and form of the very early church. Church structure has a well established History that extends well beyond the time of the Lord’s disciples. In the end, however, I am fully convinced that it is not so much that we need newer and more progressive church forms but rather new hearts in relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ, each other and the world in which we live.

The early Christian Church structure in all probability came from the Synagogue System that was vibrantly in place at the time of Christ Jesus. While there seems to only be vague and uncertain evidence of the synagogue before the exile period of Israel, there is evidence that the synagogue system most likely began during the exile period. It was very likely under Ezra that this system of worship was developed, even while the nation was in exile. So this puts the synagogue system beginning before Israel’s returning to the promise land or possibly very shortly thereafter.

Either way it began in a simple way, with a simple structure and grew from there. We find possible evidence of what the synagogue worship structure may have been like, in the gathering of the people of God in the 8th chapter of Nehemiah. It is here that we see a gathering of all who could understand, men, women, and even children. We see public prayer, thanksgiving, and the reading and explaining of the scriptures, by a variety of leaders led by Ezra, so that all who heard could come to understand what was written. There was also corporate responses to what was said; especially the responsive, “Amen, Amen followed by a lifting up of the hands, a bowing down of their heads and worshiping the Lord God Almighty. It is thought that this was clearly an early form of synagogue worship. Later in history we see this very similar form take its rightful place in the synagogue system at large. [1]

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Categories: Body of Christ, Church, Church History, Churches, Empowerment, Fields of Ministry, Finding the Right Church, Foundations, History, Questions, Simplicity, Source, Teaching, Temple, Timing, Training, Work of God | Tags: | 4 Comments

The Need For Wisdom

Posted on April 10, 2011 by mcalmond

How do I explain what it is that I feel the Lord is doing within me? I mean, there is certainly a moving, a realigning, a reasserting of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ within me and I believe will also be manifested through me as well.

We have been on the shelf for a rather lengthy and extended period of time. Yet, all of a sudden there is once again, a fresh resurgence of the prophetic within me as well as a fresh leadership dimension awakening up within me. This is all serves to make doing what I need to do, each and every day, to continue to pay the bills, all that much more difficult. I know that for now, however, I must keep doing it but my heart is less and less into it. The Lord knows.

There is the expectation that the Lord is going to re-release me to move out again in the ministry for which he has chosen me, yet, only He knows when, where, and how, that will take place.

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Categories: A Simple Reminder, Anointing, Awakening, Boundaries, Breaking Forth, Calling, Character, Disobedience, Dying to Self Will, Fields of Ministry, Grace, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Humility, Intimacy, Lies, Light, Mercy, Metron, Ministry, Ministry Motivation, Noise and Distractions, Now Word, Obedience, Priorities, Process, Prophetic, Prophetic Revelation, Protection, Repent, Repentance, Rock, Seeking The Lord Jesus, Self Justification, Selfishness, Simplicity, Spirit, Steadfastness, Timing, Unrighteous Ambition, Vulnerability, Waiting on the Lord | 2 Comments

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