Joe & Becky Cruse

I absolutely love this time of the year and to be quite honest, I really do love the Thanksgiving holidays! Now, I know this day gets squeezed out most of the time as stores blow from Halloween to Christmas for selling purposes but it is a wonderful time of the year to stop and say a huge “THANK YOU” to the Lord for His mercies in our lives and to let those around us know how much we appreciate them as well.

In lieu of a teaching this week, I want to do a little promo for our Thanks for Giving Revival coming up this Sunday-Tuesday, Nov 22-24.

This is our first official revival under the “Big Top” and I don’t think there is any better time then to come together as a church family and thank the Lord for where He has brought us this year! Each service, we will worship, flow, minister, teach, preach, demonstrate, pray, or however the Lord leads. It’s a great time to let “our hair down” and press into His presence once again as we worship from a heart of thanksgiving and praise. Won’t you clear your schedule this coming week, (you know those appointments can wait), and make some time to come and worship the Lord and see what He has in store for us!

And then, on Tuesday night @ 7:00 we will have our annual Thanksgiving Dinner as a church under the tent! The church is providing meats, drinks, paper products and we are asking all you folks to bring veggies, breads, desserts, (the good stuff) and join us as we break bread together for the first time in our new home! Here is the schedule for the week—

Sunday, Nov 22—10:00 am and 6:00 pm
Monday, Nov 23—10:00 am and 7:00 pm
Tuesday, Nov 24—10:00 am and our Dinner @ 7:00 pm

Of course, as always, there will be no service Wednesday night (Nov 25) before Thanksgiving to allow folks to join their own families on Thursday. In closing, I want to share this passage from I Chronicles that is an absolute favorite of mine and I especially love it out of the Message Translation.

1 Chronicles 16:9-36 (from the Message Translation)

Thank God! Call out his Name! Tell the whole world who he is and what he’s done! ? Sing to him! Play songs for him! ?Broadcast all his wonders! Revel in his holy Name, God-seekers, be jubilant! Study God and his strength, ?seek his presence day and night;

Remember all the wonders he performed, the miracles and judgments that came out of his mouth. ?Seed of Israel his servant! ?Children of Jacob, his first choice! ?He is God, our God; ?wherever you go you come on his judgments and decisions. He keeps his commitments across thousands ?of generations, the covenant he commanded, The same one he made with Abraham, ?the very one he swore to Isaac;

He posted it in big block letters to Jacob, ?this eternal covenant with Israel: “I give you the land of Canaan, ?this is your inheritance; ?Even though you’re not much to look at, a few straggling strangers.” ?
They wandered from country to country, camped out in one kingdom after another;

But he didn’t let anyone push them around, he stood up for them against bully-kings: “Don’t you dare touch my anointed ones, don’t lay a hand on my prophets.” ?

Sing to God, everyone and everything! Get out his salvation news every day! Publish his glory among the godless nations, his wonders to all races and religions. And why? Because God is great—well worth praising!

No god or goddess comes close in honor. ?All the popular gods are stuff and nonsense, but God made the cosmos! Splendor and majesty flow out of him, strength and joy fill his place. Shout Bravo! to God, families of the peoples, in awe of the Glory, in awe of the Strength: Bravo! Shout Bravo! to his famous Name, lift high an offering and enter his presence! Stand resplendent in his robes of holiness!

God is serious business, take him seriously; he’s put the earth in place and it’s not moving. So let Heaven rejoice, let Earth be jubilant, and pass the word among the nations, “God reigns!” Let Ocean, all teeming with life, bellow, let Field and all its creatures shake the rafters; Then the trees in the forest will add their applause to all who are pleased and present before God –He’s on his way to set things right!

Give thanks to God—he is good and his love never quits. Say, “Save us, Savior God, round us up and get us out of these godless places, So we can give thanks to your holy Name, and bask in your life of praise.” Blessed be God, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then everybody said, “Yes! Amen!” and “Praise God!”

Church, we are asking all of you who can—come and join us for this time of refreshing and thanksgiving to God. You will be so glad you made that special effort! (Dress warm—it will be fun!)

Also, don’t forget prayer in the log cabin this Wednesday night @ 6:30! These Wed. night prayer meetings are powerful. This week we will be praying for the sick and for the upcoming revival.

Have a great week!

Blessings,
Ps Joe and Becky and the team

I trust your week is going well and you are resting in knowing that God is in complete control.

This coming January, I will have written on the subject of prayer and praise for three years and believe me, I have looked at these topics from right to left, left to right, up, down and inside and out! I have used every scripture reference I could find and read from others whom I really respect. From the hows, the whens, the wheres and the whys—I have covered prayer and praise as the Lord has directed.

So is there something I’ve left out? Is there something yet to be discovered? Probably so because like our Heavenly Father, who is many faceted, His Word and His Ways are past finding out! (Rom. 11:33) Just when you think you know all there is to know about a subject, you really come to realize, you are only just beginning!

Which brings me to this thought. From time to time, we should go back to the basics to refresh our hearts and our minds and to keep us on course as to the motives of prayer. With that in mind, here are 5 very basic and simple reasons we, as a church, dedicate one service every week to prayer and praise.

1. We pray because we love God.

We spend time with God in prayer and communion because we love him. Just as a man and woman in love desire to be together and communicate, so we - if we love God - will desire to be with Him and to fellowship with Him in proportion to our love for Him.

2. We pray because we depend on God.

God is our source. He is our life (Colossians 3:4). Through prayer we receive the comfort, the strength and all the other resources that we need in life - both naturally and spiritually. Prayer - relationship to God - is as necessary to the spiritual life as air to the natural life.

3. We pray in order to resist temptation.

“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” (Mt. 26:41). Much sin is the result of the sin of prayerlessness. Through lack of prayer, we are weak, and Satan gains the advantage in our lives.

4. We need to pray because it is necessary for men to invite God to act in salvation.

God gave the earth to Adam and his descendants. We must invite God to work here. If no-one invites God to work here, Satan (the god of this world through man’s universal rebellion - 2 Corinthians 4:4) will dominate the affairs of men. By inviting God often and specifically, multitudes can be saved that would otherwise be lost.

5. We need to pray because God commands us to pray.

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 4:2). “Then he [Jesus] spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not lose heart.” (Luke 18:1). The need to pray is as great as the authority of God which commands us: “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer is so vital to all that God wants to do on the earth, and so essential to us, that God commands us to do it all the time.

So, considering these very basic thoughts, let’s join us hearts and our faith together as we agree this week for:

• A fresh passion for God’s presence in our Worship
• A fresh hunger for the Word of God
• A fresh fire of the Holy Ghost to inhabit us
• A fresh desire to see the glory of God revealed in us and through us
• A fresh zeal for the lost and for soul winning
o A fresh vision to see our city changed by the power of God—starting with our local neighborhoods
• A fresh faith for the supernatural healing and provision of God
• A fresh revelation on giving

Someone might say, “Ps Becky, I’m fine. My life is ok. I don’t need to come and pray.” Friends, prayer is not just about your needs. Corporate prayer is about the needs of others. Scriptures tell us in Gal 6:2, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Church, we want to encourage each one of you to join us this Wednesday night @ 6:30 in the lodge for a time of powerful, corporate prayer and praise. You will be so blessed by making that special effort.

Finally, don’t forget the new Sunday service times—9:00 am for Equip (great food and fellowship) and 10:00 am for one powerful service. Invite someone to come to the house of the Lord this weekend and let’s see their lives changed forever!

Have a fantastic week!
Ps Joe and Becky and the team

Greetings in the Name that is above every name JESUS!

As promised, I want to update you on our first service on the land. The weather was perfect, the praise was powerful, and the people celebrated with all their hearts! The anointing was so tangible and I know many people where touched by the Lord in a fresh new way. The prophetic came forth in such a clear way and the Word of the Lord was made known among His people!

It was the first time in a long time, that all of our congregations had been together for worship. We had 4 separate services in the old building because of its size so it was amazing to have the family all together at one time.

At the conclusion of the service, dear Pastor friends came and gave us a word that was so powerful from
1 John 5:14 and 15 which says

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

“They said that because we have our confidence in God, He has His confidence in us and that as we keep looking to Him, we can claim this powerful verse and stand on it to it’s fulfillment in possessing the land. HALLELUJAH! So Lord, we continue to put our confidence in you and your word for it cannot lie”.

Numbers 23:19-20 says,“19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?20 I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it”.

Mark 13:31 says,“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away”.As we agree in prayer this week, let’s meditate on these passages of scripture as we put the pressure on the Word of God!
1. Praying for families and singles
2. Praying for jobs and businesses
3. Praying for finances and favor
4. Praying for ministries and opportunities
5. Praying for souls and new partners
6. Praying for the anointing to destroy bondages
7. Praying for the sick

Our Wednesday night Recharge service is a highlight of the week. You absolutely do not want to miss out on Wednesday nights @ 6:30 in the lodge. And this coming Sunday, Equip is @ 9:00, Sunday Celebration starts @ 10:00, Centre de Adoracion is @ 2:00 and Four12 is @ 6:00.

“Lord, bless your people this week. May your grace and favor be upon them and may they be light in a dark world. We love you Jesus and give you all the honor and all the glory for you alone are worthy to be praised!” AMEN!

Blessings,
Ps Joe and Becky and the team

Ok…so THIS IS IT! (MJ doesn’t have a corner on that phrase!) The day before opening Sunday on the land and we are so excited we can hardly contain ourselves. There’s so much to do and so little time but we will go as far as we can today and trust God that we did our best and He will carry it the rest of the way!

Thanks for all the prayers regarding the weather. Today was a little cool but beautiful clear skies and no rain! Mr. Steve Rickman finished the dirt work under the tent late yesterday evening and now it’s time for the plastic and carpet. Ps Rusty Gross, Ps Jess Tomac and Ps. Ryan Cruse have been working on running electrical wiring to the studio and tent and wow—that is a big job. As soon as that is completed, they will finish out the two portables so that they are classroom ready.

Debbie McMullen, Ps Jenn Tomac, Ps Vanessa Cruse and friends have been working tirelessly on the Kid’s Centre areas/nurseries and have them looking really nice. Debbie has written the entire curriculum for this coming year around our 5 core values and it is awesome. We are so blessed to have incredibly gifted and anointed team members!

The church that is taking our old buildings was moving some things in today. That was an odd feeling but we have left those buildings in great shape and I know they will be blessed as they continue on with what we leave behind.

You know—it’s okay to look back but you never want to “go back” or live in the past. It’s really important to remove that rearview mirror and keep looking forward. Paul said it best:

Phil 3:12-14 says, “ 12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”.

Friends, are there some things from your past that you need to let go of? Maybe bitterness or offenses have come and you keep rehearsing them in your mind? Don’t let the mistakes of yesterday cloud your today—shake off the weights and “strain forward” to run your race to its completion.

We’ve made lots of mistakes through these 37 years in full time ministry and I’m sure you, dear reader, have made a few as well but thank God for Jesus—His blood doesn’t just cover our sin—His blood obliterates our sin and we stand whole and complete in His righteousness! HALLELUJAH!

So in closing, let’s agree in prayer that we won’t look to the left or the right or behind but we will keep our eyes right on Jesus—He is the “author and finisher of our faith!” And His plans are to prosper us and give us that hope and future He has promised us. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Tomorrow will be a busy day for the family here in Austin but will you also agree for a harvest of souls, a harvest of favor in our area, and a harvest of finances that will bring glory and honor to the Lord and His Kingdom?

Thanks so much for standing with us this week. I will update you and send pictures from the services on Sunday. Until then—

Much love and blessings,
Ps Joe and Becky and the team

PS Don’t forget to set your clocks back 1 hr tonight before you go to bed and you CWC folks—dress warm in the morning! It’s gonna be a bit chilly but great dancing weather!!!!