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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2008 - BY BRANDON HAMILTON
I will bless the Lord at all times, and His praise will always be in my mouth. In my highs and in my lows, when I’m weak and when I’m strong, I will bless the name of the Lord. When everything is perfect and when things could be better, when I’m up and when I’m down, I will bless the name of the Lord. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

He has done so many things for me; His doings are so great. All that He does is good. Though I may not understand how, it is. He is God and He is good—not only when life is going well, not only when things are how I want them, not only when everything is easy, but all the time—He is good all the time.

Forever will I praise Him. For eternity will I worship Him. Though He do no more for me as long as I live, He’s done more than enough thus far to cause me to adore Him forevermore. Because He loved me first, because He underwent unimaginable hurt and gave His life for me, I will live for Him alone.

Nothing can cause me to stop; nothing can cause me to quit. I am in this and I have endured far too much to turn away now. Though life may seem to be a series of never ending misfortunes, though I may fall short time and time again, though I may weep, though I may cry, though I may suffer much destitution, nothing will ever give enough reason to abandon my Savior and my God. Sorrow may last for a night, but His joy comes in the morning.

Though I suffer relentless anguish, I say to life, cause me to suffer all that you will, it will only result in me blessing my Lord that much more, I will become stronger, and my testimony greater.

I will clap my hands when things are dire. I will sing when things are well. I will raise my hands when things are dim. I will dance when things are great. I will shout when things are miserable. I will run when things are marvelous. I will do these, regardless as to where I am, or what I’m enduring, because He is God.

My God, You are beautiful and You are great. All that You do is marvelous. There is none like You nor has there ever been nor will there ever be. You are God alone. You have made all things. The heavens declare Your glory, and Creation shows Your handiwork. The angels sing of Your righteousness. Your people shout of Your mercy. Your Almightiness is known throughout the Universe.

You are Holy. You are worthy. You are God. Amen.

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2007 - BY KELLY HARTFIELD
All of you already know me pretty well. I’ve been attending Christian Apostolic for a little over a year now (January 4th to be exact). I love it—the people, the church, the environment… everything. I received the Holy Ghost on January 8th, 2006. It was around left side of the altar; near the keyboard.

At that time, I didn’t understand speaking in tongues or even the Holy Ghost. You could say it felt like a foreign language to me, but I’m learning more and more about Him all the time. Each time I learn something new, I love Him even more.

Of course, I’m not perfect. I do struggle with reading my Bible consecutively and other things of that sort. I’ve found it difficult, but worth trying because I’ve felt Gods Spirit, and I can see how He’s blessed me.

The real story behind all this, however, is that before coming to CAC, I was attending church elsewhere—almost every week in fact. I would listen to the preaching there, sometimes drawing on my church bulletin out of pure boredom, but it didn’t seem like I’d ever get anything out of the sermons. I would just sit there, not understanding anything the pastor was saying. I was confused as to why I couldn’t get anything momentous from the sermons.

I wanted to feel what I saw people at other churches feel, but I just didn’t understand why they felt it. I would wonder why they raised their hands and why I didn’t have the urge to do the same. I’d heard countless stories of how God had worked in and changed people’s lives. Finally, I wanted to experience Him, I wanted to know Him for myself.

I started taking church a little more seriously. Guess what I felt—nothing. This was when I just gave up. I felt like if there was a God, He didn’t want me to be a part of His family, or I just wasn’t fit enough to be a Christian.

I began attending Granville Christian Academy my freshman year. Now I was surrounded by Christians, I hoped their Godly attitudes would help me to be a better person. I came to find out it wouldn’t change anything, besides the way I behaved in school (which could have actually made things worse—it caused a split personality; I knew exactly how to act wherever I was).

I started coming to CAC at the beginning of last year (2006). I came because I was invited and because I had friends here. I had no idea what kind of church it was, no idea what “Pentecostal” meant, no idea what to expect. But regardless, I came, and in just a few days, I received God’s wonderful Holy Spirit.

After years of feeling like God had rejected me, because I hadn’t experienced anything special when I asked Jesus Christ into my heart, I finally felt God’s peace fall on me. I finally felt what I saw everyone else feeling; I finally felt the urge to hold my hands high and worship; I finally felt what I had wanted to feel for so long—I finally felt the Holy Ghost.

My testimony isn’t anything special; I never did drugs, drank alcohol, or anything like that. There aren’t any exciting deliverances to tell about. I was just a church-going girl who already knew about Jesus and the Cross, but had yet to find the narrow path. I’m still not sure why I couldn’t feel God at my old church. One thing I do know is I can feel Him here.

MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2007 - BY BRANDON HAMILTON
Like the ground must be broken, torn, and tilled for a flower to be planted, so must our lives be for God to work. God can’t plant the beautiful seed in you that He desires to if you’re not broken, torn, and tilled up.

Nothing short of a pain-filled, miserable experience, God breaking us down is something that has to happen if you want Him to take control. “From broken earth, flowers come, pushing through the dirt.” If He can’t break you the first time, He’ll keep at it ‘til all of your pride and headiness is gone. Don’t fight it. That’s the very worst thing you can do. God has a plan for you, and if you’ve prayed that His will be done at whatever costs, He isn’t going to quit ‘til that happens.

Shattering, breaking, busting, pushing, pulling, tearing—God will keep at it ‘til you are broke down to absolutely nothing; then, and only then, can His Spirit do a work in you like never before.

Think of how dirt feels before a crop is planted. There it is, complacent with its current state. Nothing wrong with where it is, but of course, things could be better. Time comes for the dirt to be tilled. The dirt that has had all winter to harden is now being broken. Torn from everything it once knew. Broken enough? Not yet, again and again, over and over, the ground is tilled, until absolutely nothing is left. After that, seeds are planted and the crop grows. In the end, imagine the feeling the ground has for bearing such awesome harvests.

In the same way, imagine how awesome and privileged you’ll feel knowing God chose to use you to minister His word. The reward would be unlike any other.

Let go and let God. Let Him use you the way He wants to. He made you, and above everyone else, He knows what’s best for you. Let Him have His way in You. Let His will be done in Your life.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2007 - BY NICK HANCOCK
This past weekend was the annual Mid-Winter Youth Retreat. To be honest, I wasn’t really expecting anything different than any other Mid-Winter. I’m usually very excited and count down the days ‘til it gets here. However, this year, it felt like it was going to be the same thing we do every year—but God had different plans.

Brother Shane has been speaking to us for quite some time now about going up a level spiritually. I believed him and I wanted to see it, but until this past weekend, I just haven’t been seeing any evidence of it. It is amazing how God can change everything so quickly.

The preacher talked about the passion of Jacob; all Jacob wanted was God; he searched for him all his life. Finally, Jacob got a hold of God; he wrestled with Him all night long, and when morning came, the Man said, “Let me go.” But Jacob responded, “No way. Not until you bless me. I have searched and searched and now I have You; I have wrestled You all night, and I want my blessing!”

Friday night’s altar call was unbelievable! I am at a loss of words; there is nothing I can say that will justify what happened that night. The only thing I can think of to say is that our youth group definitely wrestled our angels that night, and none of us left until we got our blessing.

After the fight, Jacob had a hurt thigh, so every time he felt the pain in his thigh he was reminded of his blessing; we don’t have that pain to remind us. I’m wearing my bracelet until it falls off, that’s how I’m going to remember my blessing. We need to find a way to make sure we never forget the works God did that night.

The Sunday after Mid-Winter only confirmed that God has called us all to the next level; God has called every single one of us. Are we going to answer His call or are we just going to continue living our lives they we have been? I’m not; I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go back to the way things were.

It is time we all answer His call. It is time we completely devote our lives to God. It is time we quit playing our foolish games. It is time we do what God wants. I don’t mean just every Sunday, I mean every day. God is calling, who is going to answer? It is time!

SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2007 - BY BRANDON HAMILTON
I know we've all been in a place where it seems as if no one cares anything about you. Maybe your parents are divorced and living hours away or even in different states, it seems teachers and leaders in your life have turned their backs on you, and every friend you thought you had has left you alone. It's not that the everyone is against you, it's that no one is for you. Alone, rejected, afraid, and abused. Whatever situation or circumstance has you feeling this way, know this: God still cares, knows, and loves you.

I realize how hard that truth can be to believe, but just think about Him and how He has showed Himself throughout the years in your life as well as others. Perhaps the most overwhelming would be God's sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus, on the cross at Calvary. Out of love for you, because He cares about you, Jesus died the horrible, humiliating, and painful death of the cross. He gave His life for you. For you.

He is our God. You are His friend, His son, His daughter. When no one in the world seems to care anything about you, know that Jesus still does and always will no matter what, even if you think you don't deserve Him. Jesus loves you. He loves you more than anyone else will ever be able to. You are His and He will keep you and bless you. "Though the sorrow may last for a night, His joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). Jesus will always be for you, He knows you, and He will always love you.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2006 - BY BRANDON HAMILTON
To the lost, to the searching, to the unsaved: there is hope for you. God gave His Son to die for you so that you might have life and have it more abundantly. The gift of eternal life, the gift of the Holy Spirit, is for everyone. There's nothing you can do to earn it, there's nothing you can do to become worthy of it. It is a gift to you from Him. He loves you and wants you to accept this gift; to allow Him to come into your heart and make you new. With the blood He shed for you on the cross, He is able to erase all of your mistakes, all of your failures, and all of your sins. You know your life is incomplete, you know there's something you're missing, and you know you could be happier. Accept God's gift of His Spirit and you will have found everything you've ever needed. All you've been looking for, all you've been longing for, is found in His Spirit, and He's here for you, right now, to accept.