Happy New Year, to those who mean all the world to us. Welcome to the Year of our Lord 2022. The first few days of a new year are always considered to be a time of reflection and a time of resolution. It has been said the resolutions are only made to be broken.

Our resolutions as Christians are different than non-Christians for one reason. Our resolutions are vows and vows are not made to be broken.

The theme we have chosen for the New Year is, FOLLOW THROUGH IN 2022. I decided long ago that I could never be all that God wanted me to be with a WEEK END MENTALITY of the Christian life.

Early in my walk with God, the Lord made this verse so real to me, that it became a life conviction. Here are a couple of sources, the Message and the Passion Translations, for us to consider as we turn the page into a new chapter of our life.

“So, let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.”

This is not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together, (as some have formed the habit of doing). In fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each other onward as we anticipate that day dawning.

The same verse in the King James Bible is used as a set up for Hebrews 11 which is the Heroes of Faith chapter we all are familiar with. The writer uses this and admonishes the readers to ‘SPUR’ OTHERS ON, TOWARD LOVE AND GOOD WORKS. HEBREWS 11:39 holds a message for each and every one of us:

“So, don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion. It won’t be long now, he’s on the way; he’ll show up most any minute. But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust; if he cuts and runs, I won’t be very happy. But we’re not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We’ll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.”

Knowing there is no chapter separation in the original scripture manuscripts, gives a whole new meaning to Hebrews Chapter 11, we know then that to be preserved we must persevere by faith. “So, then faith, is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.”

IMPERATIVE FOR EACH OF US TO RECEIVE THE END OF OUR FAITH.

THE JANUARY FAST BEGAN ON THE 3RD OF JANUARY AND WE INVITE YOU TO FAST WITH FOR GREATER THINGS ARE YET TO COME, GREATER THINGS ARE STILL TO BE DONE.

We give God thanks for all he has done for us in 2021 and the marvelous changes made in the sanctuary. As you have heard me say in the past, FIRE FALLS ON SACRIFICE, I believe God has seen our faithfulness and as the songwriter has written, “You prepare the fire, I’ll provide the sacrifice.” I am going into 2022 with this in mind and I believe the fire is on the way.

I believe in you.

Pastor Cleddie

To all those who share life with us, in some way, Happy New Year, to each and every one of you

I wanted to fill your mind and heart with expectations as we approach the Year of our Lord 2022. I decided I would share with you my NOTE TO SELF, which may last longer than a new year’s
resolution.

Note to self-2022:

These are random thoughts I have catalogued along the way.
1. Remember, no one really loves a warrior until there is an enemy at the door.
2. Remember, it is useless to continue trying to recycle what god has decided to replace.
3. Remember Cleddie, it is better to be annoyingly positive and incurably optimistic than to be destructively critical and negative and hateful.

With Capital Letters, remember.
“THINK ABOUT THIS. WRAP YOUR MINDS AROUND IT.
THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS. TAKE IT TO HEART.
REMEMBER YOUR HISTORY,
YOUR LONG AND RICH HISTORY.
I AM GOD, THE ONLY GOD YOU’VE HAD OR EVER WILL HAVE—
INCOMPARABLE, IRREPLACEABLE—
FROM THE VERY BEGINNING
TELLING YOU WHAT THE ENDING WILL BE,
ALL ALONG LETTING YOU IN
ON WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN,
ASSURING YOU, ‘I’M IN THIS FOR THE LONG HAUL,
I’LL DO EXACTLY WHAT I SET OUT TO DO,”
ISAIAH 46:10
4. Note to self: trust in god’s timing, rely always on his promises, wait for his answers, believe in his miracles, rejoice in his goodness, and above all relax in his presence. (get lost in it and your problems will vanish your night’s turn to days)
5. Remember what Hosea had to say about what god is really after.

“I’m after love that lasts, NOT MORE RELIGION”. Hosea 6:6

God Can Do It Just Like... THAT!

AND FINALLY, CLEDDIE REMEMBER,
IT WAS GRACE THAT CARRIED YOU THIS FAR AND BY GRACE YOU CAN CARRY
ON.

To all those who and alongside us and are privileged to walk by faith and not by sight, rememberthat grace is our greatest need. 2022 here we come blazing for Jesus with hearts filled with love for God and mankind. Good Bye, 2021 and it may be smart to remember your front wind shield is a lot bigger than your rear-view window.

We love you and are blessed to have you in our lives, We would not want it any other way, at this point in my life I have lived in Kentucky longer than I lived in Texas, so does that make me a briar hopper?

Providentially Yours,
Pastor Cleddie and GayNell

MERRY CHRISTMAS, TO ALL THOSE WHOM GOD HAS ALLOWED US TO SHARE LIFE WITH.
CHRISTMAS 2021

HOW CAN IT BE POSSIBLE FOR CHRISTIANS TO FAIL WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE?

In the past I have told the story of moving from Houston to the heart of Texas. We had seen hundreds saved and many who were saved at that time followed the Lord into ministries. Today, even their children are in the ministry and are living out the legacy of something that started in our hearts at an altar long ago. As I was driving out of Houston, with my U-Haul hitched to the bumper of our car, the Lord ask me a question that I refused to answer for 20 or so years. I had just passed 59 North traveling West on Loop 610, when I he asked me a question. As I was looking at the city of Houston in my rear-view mirror, I was thinking, about the people who God had wondrously touched. I wondered out loud about who would pick up the mantle and work with those who God had saved and had become a part of our lives like family. I laughed at the thought of how the boys, most of them Mexican young men, were angry when we adopted Kyle and how they concluded he was just to white. I thought about the long nights in the inner city and days when I would come home at night and Gay Nell, Krista and Kyle would already be in bed for the night. The other side of this is that by morning I would be gone back to the school to meet them and have a prayer meeting with 50 to a hundred young people in the cafeteria for prayer. This all started one day when Gay Nell and I were driving to church on a Sunday afternoon and a prayer came out of my spirit. I prayed, “Oh God, give me that school”, by which I meant give us a revival in the school. To my surprise God spoke to me and said, “Son, I have given you that school.” Gay Nell said, what did you say and I said, God just spoke to me and said, “I have given you that school.” The result was that after going to the principle and asking him for permission to do an assembly. He obliged and the Lord confirmed His word to us. Dale and Barbara Dailey joined us and lived in the house and worked with us in ministry for the next 5 years. You can’t do a lasting work without God giving you people who share your passion and love for God. In all they worked alongside us for eleven years in all.

Gay Nell and I had started a youth ministry and a core group of two to three hundred young people would meet with us every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday Night at the place we called the SALT INN. It was a place where we all knew one another’s names. Church life became the culture, which impacted dis-enfranchised youth; latch key kids and the loneliest boys and girls you would ever meet.

I had followed my father in law as pastor of the Oaklawn Church and loved the people that we served. Then God spoke to me to move away from Houston. I wrestled with it like it was a devil who was talking to me, only to find out it was really God that was leading us in a new direction. I was as I was leaving Houston God asked me this question, “Did you love me as much as what I gave you to do?” I chose never to allow myself to love what I was doing from that day forward. I was thinking about this and these thoughts came to mind.

Ephesians 3:16
New Living Translation
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

Are You Aware That It Is Our Responsibility, to make others feel loved?

When Christ makes His home in our hearts, as we trust Him. Our roots grow down into God’s love and keep us strong. Where does divorce and separation come from? How do couples and children and parents drift apart? I think we discover the answer herein. Their roots don’t grow down into God’s love. It is a painful experience for the partner that no longer feels the love or their spouse, husband or wife. I had never thought about something I read recently, flawed roots produce feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, worthlessness, anger, a fear of intimacy and so much more. The opposite is what a healthy root system produces in self-esteem, confidence, and selfassurance, just as God’s love produces a sense of wholeness in your mate and or your children. As a pastor I have seen to many people who do not realize that they are the problem in their marriage and the negativity in their own children who they dearly love. Strong roots systems require:

TIME TO GROW
To the degree you put your roots deep down in the love of God to that degree you will experience a greater love for your husband, wife and family.

PROTECTION FROM WHAT CAN KILL
You need to recognize what can kill your love and keep your roots from going down deeper into the love of God. I have seen marriages end because the root system in God was faulty and weak.

THE NEED OF A DEVOTIONAL LIFESTYLE
What would happen to you if you only ate one meal a week? Your adversary knows when you are weak and he preys on the weakest in the herd. Maintaining an intimacy with Jesus is necessary for you to be all He desires for you to be. Remember Jesus told Peter, “Satan has desired you to sift you as wheat.” Remember Christians fail when it comes to love because their roots quit growing deeper in the

Love of God. My prayer for you today is:
Ephesians 3:16,17 NLT
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

IS CHRIST AT HOME IN YOUR HEART?
THIS CHRISTMAS LET’S MAKE SURE HE HAS ROOM IN OUR HEARTS WHEN THERE WAS NO ROOM FOR HIM IN THE INN.
THANK YOUR FOR MAKING THE CONFERENCE SUCH A HUGE SUCCESSS. TIME AN ETERNITY WILL WRITE THE STORIES OF THOSE WHO DID MORE THAT JUST HEARD THE WORD THEY ACTED ON IT.

I BELIEVE IN YOU,
Pastor Cleddie and GayNell Keith

P.S. Thank you for your prayers of faith for GayNell she is out of AFIB and getting
stronger each day.

KINGDOM CONNECTION’S & PROVIDENTIAL PATHWAYS

Psalms 46:10, is a simply stated staple in my life of faith; “BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.” As I have walked with God through the year, I have been reminded by that verse many times to put things in neutral. It is astonishing how often people find themselves seemingly out of control. Allow me to remind you in this busy season when life is moving at break neck speed, to consider this admonishment as seen through other translators eyes.

If you are like me, the first thoughts of the morning seem to follow me through the day. Thanksgiving is this week and as a nation we people will be mobilized in the next six weeks like no other time of the year. Millions will leave their homes to visit family and friends and some will take a long-needed break from the pressing events of the last two years. Hotels will be over run, restaurants will be full and waiting lines will get longer. Black Friday has already been expanded and online shopping is at an all-time high. Billions of dollars will be spent and as always everything will seem to change for a few days but everything will still be the same. My early morning musing today was:

This expression is usually the salutation or what you find at the end a letter. However, after the month of appreciation the church and friends have lavished on GayNell and I, I am sure that I could never find the words of our total appreciation in regard to your kind and considerate words. We love the privilege we have had sharing life with you.

Thank you for Forty Years of Friendship, Fellowship and Faithfulness as we have Followed our God Given Passion and have literally spent life together.