“Dennis Hall’s Monthly Newsletter”
April 2010
Hey Friends, with mother’s day fast approaching I am reminded of the words Jesus spoke in Matthew 15:4, “For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ I find it interesting that this was the first command God gave with a promise attached. “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you (Exodus 20:12 NLT).Ephesians 6:1-3 says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”
It appears God wanted His people to begin to instill in their children, at an early age, the characteristics of reverence, honor, and respect. Reverence is awareness of how God is working through people and events in my life to produce the character of Christ in me. Many look for God to reveal Himself to them, but He wishes to reveal Himself through them. Reverence also involves honor, it means to prize, i.e. fix a value upon, by implication to revere. True reverence and the fear of the Lord are closely related since reverence for people grows out of a proper fear of the Lord. He is the One Who created all men and established structures of authority.
Since God is our heavenly Father, He attached severe warnings all through the Bible for those who disrespected their fathers and mothers. Jesus says, “Let them that curse mother or father be put to death. Proverbs 30:17 says, “The eye that mocks his father, and scorns obedience to his mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young eagles will eat it.”
If we can’t properly honor our fathers and mothers, then we will never have genuine honor and reverence for God. He knew this, and that’s why He attached the promise of blessings, but He also gave warnings of severe punishment for a disrespectful child.
Last night at “Steps of Christ Recovery”, the Lord Jesus allowed me the honor of honoring my mother, Stella Duckworth, pictured above. She gave her touching story of a mother’s love for a wayward and reckless son. Her video testimony is on the web site below. By the way the new streamer software has been installed, and all audio and video testimonies and sermons are immediate downloads, no waiting. Lana Walker, another respectful Godly mother and wife, gave her moving testimony a few weeks ago. The “Testimonies” are something new we have installed on the web site, there are several phenomenal testimonies, both audio and video, and we will add additional ones monthly.
Steps of Christ Recovery: The Lord Jesus has truly been working in the hearts of so many at “Steps of Christ Recovery”. I am at a loss for words at what has taken place. Friends and family, people who I have prayed years for, I thought would never come to Jesus, are on fire for our Lord. Others who had given up on church because of bad experiences have found new life. Some who just never felt comfortable in a church, not the church’s fault, have found the Lord Jesus so alive to them. This is the greatest reward of the labor put forth, to see the dead come to life and the blind beginning to see! Praise God for His goodness and mercy to us.
Stephens County Jail: We now have two seminar stations for the jail which means I have the “Anger Resolution Seminar” and the “Basic Life Principles Seminar” going simultaneously. I now can minister to three different pods at a time. The work the Lord is allowing here is nothing short of phenomenal. I would like to thank the entire Sheriff’s department and the Stephens county jail administration for allowing us to serve our Lord Jesus through the community. A special thanks to Sheriff McKinney, F.L. Estes, and Dave Horn. Dave is doing fine after the loss of Cindy, his wife of 35 years, thanks to the Lord Jesus. He has been actively involved with the recovery group and Gatlin Church. Cindy is still telling her story on our web site, see “Testimonies”
Want to Be Happy? Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”–Luke 11:28. Did you know that you can have a happy life without sin? A happy life without drugs and alcohol? A happy life without extramarital sex? A happy life without selfishness? God is not out to ruin your life. He wants it to be fulfilled. And when you are living as a follower of Jesus Christ, the happiness doesn’t stop when the party is over.
Psalm 19:8 tells us, “The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. . . .” And Jesus said, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice” (Luke 11:28). Keeping the Word of God makes you happy.
Some people have the opposite view. They think God is out to make their life miserable, while the world is where you will be liberated and have all of the fun. But the very opposite is the case. The world will bring you misery and bondage. Instead, it is the freedom of following Christ and living by the Word of God that will bring you true and lasting happiness. You have God’s Word on it.
Psalm 1:1—2 tells us, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.” The Psalm continues, “But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind” (verse 4).
So we have a choice: Either we can follow God’s Word and live a happy and fulfilled life, or we can disobey it and reap the consequences. If you want to be blessed, if you want to be successful spiritually, then you must love and study the Word of God.
Let me close with these words from Mark 10:28-31(NCV): Peter replied, “Remember, we left everything to be your followers!” Jesus told him, “You can be sure that anyone who gives up home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or land for me and for the good news will be rewarded. In this world they will be given a hundred times as many houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and pieces of land, though they will also be mistreated. And in the world to come, they will have eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” God certainly has fulfilled this in my life with every one of you. I am a blessed man indeed, to have so many loving and caring friends and church family at Gatlin Baptist Church. May God richly bless you!
Web:www.deliveredfrommeth.com E-mail:dennis@deliveredfrommeth.com
Phone: 580.606.3784
If you would like to become a partner in this ministry, please fill out the form below, clip it off and mail it to my home church. Please make out support checks in the name of Dennis Hall Ministries, P.O. Box 2117, Duncan, OK. 73534, in order for them to be tax-deductible.
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