My Way Or The Highway

~ Pat Vick ~ 1 Comment


I see people all around me living their lives like there’s no tomorrow. Like there will be no repercussions for their life choices. Like there is no Heaven or Hell, and no Eternity. I’m not referring to people who have never known the Lord, but people who have.

I didn’t know the Lord until I was an adult. Even though I attended church off and on, and would have called myself a Christian, and yes, I even loved Jesus, I was lost. I had never experienced the biblical New Birth that is found in John 3:3-8, and Acts 2, 8, 10 & 19.

Before I was born again, I was terrorized by fear. The spirit of fear, to be specific. Thankfully, I was also followed closely by a spirit of conviction from the Lord. Satan will terrorize and condemn you, but the Lord Jesus will convict you.

Satan will terrorize and condemn you, but the Lord Jesus will convict you. Click To Tweet

Conviction is a wonderful thing, even though it doesn’t feel wonderful at all. It’s God’s mercy drawing you to repentance. I felt conviction strongly even as a very young girl, long before I knew what to call it.

So I’m wondering…where in the world is conviction today? I look around, and people are living for self. That’s not new. But again, I’m not talking about people who don’t know the Lord. I’m talking about people who do. People who have repented of their sins, been baptized in Jesus’ saving name, and been filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. People who have lived holy. People who have witnessed to others, and taught Bible studies. People who have faithfully pursued ministries, and gone on mission trips. People who have spent hours in dedicated prayer, and days of fasting. People who were once delivered from the bondage of sin, and have consciously decided to walk back into the darkness.

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 16:25)

I have made my share of bad choices since coming to the Lord. I have also had sin in my life, and had to repent all over agin. I can tell you that there is no peace outside the will of God. So, when I see people who were once living for God, but are now living for self, I’m wondering how they sleep at night. How can a person who knows right from wrong, holiness from sin, Truth from deception, live for years as if it’s “My Way or the High Way?”

There is no peace outside the will of God. Click To Tweet

No matter how many days, weeks, months or decades you live for self, God is calling you to live on the High Way. No matter how much fun you are having, there is coming a day when you will stand before God and give an account for your life. Hopefully, you will have come to repentance before then. At any rate, when you stand before Him, you will know for certain that every minute you spent out of His Will was a complete waste of time, energy, health and life.

I beg you. I beseech you. I implore you…Listen to the voice of conviction. Repent and start traveling on God’s High Way.

“And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” (Isaiah 35:8)

 

I Have An Idea! What If You…?

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What if you minimized, or even excluded, everything in your life that distracts you from your true calling?

What if you began to focus all your time and attention on what will last for Eternity?

What if you severed relationships that were harmful to your spiritual health?

What if you spent time every single day talking to the Lord about His will for your life?

What if you actually asked Him to guide your decisions throughout the day?

What if you realized that what the world calls success is only temporary?

What if you began to purposefully align your thoughts with the Word of God?

What if you stopped allowing people who don’t live according to God’s plan to guide your life choices?

What if you started digging into the Word of God for yourself, and learned what He says is required for salvation?

What if you began to care more about what God desires for your life than family, friends or co-workers?

What if you got up every morning and decided, “I’m going to live for God today?”

What if you repented of the sins that are separating you from God?

What if you asked a Man or Woman of God to baptize you in Jesus’ name?

What if you asked the Lord to fill you with the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in other tongues, just like the Bible describes?

What if you chose to sanctify yourself unto the Lord, and live a Holy lifestyle?

What if you stepped out in faith and did the thing God is asking you to do?

What if you did what you know is right so that you could lay your head down at night and sleep peacefully without fear of not waking up?

What if you lived in a way that caused you to be excited about going to Heaven?

What if you decided to be a true Christian?

”And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

What Do You Need To Release So That You Can Be More For Jesus?

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

We are living in a unique time. There are so many frustrations, and yet so many opportunities. Everywhere we look, there is another opportunity to serve the Lord in a deeper way. It really depends on what we allow to hold our time and attention.

LEARN TO LET GO

I’ve made a few adjustments lately that I hope will help me to focus on things that are more important. You may think they are very small things that aren’t even worth mentioning. I agree that they are small, but definitely not insignifanct.

I let two hobbies go recently. I really enjoyed doing both of them. One was Book Folding. It involves folding the pages of a book into designs. The first time I ever saw a book folding project, I knew I wanted to do it for myself. I did finish several projects, but as time went on, I spent more time thinking about the projects I needed to finish, rather than actually doing them.

Because thinking about doing the Book Folding projects was stressing me, I decided to give this hobby to my daughter-in-law. I gave her all the patterns that I had, and freed my mind from having to think about future Book Folding projects.

I also love working puzzles. Actually, I love the idea of working puzzles because my mother always worked puzzles. The thought of working puzzles made me feel close to my mom. In reality, however, I spent more time thinking about making the time to work puzzles than I ever actually worked puzzles. It became stressful clutter in my mind. I made the decision to put away my unworked puzzles. Perhaps I’ll bring them back out in a later season of my life, but for the season I’m in, they only caused me frustration.

DECIDE WHO YOU WANT TO BE

As I said at the beginning, there are so many opportunities to serve the Lord in a deeper way. We have to choose to let some things go, so that we can pursue more meaningful ministries and pastimes. The world will tell you that you can have it all, and do it all. The truth is that you can have and do a lot, but the more you choose to allow into your life, the less you will be able to do any of them really well.

I’ve decided that I’m going to be a Reader, Writer and Bible Teacher. These are ministries. I am  also going to be a chicken herder and a beekeeper. These are hobbies. All of this, along with being a Wife, Mother, Memaw and Pastor’s Wife makes for a very full life. That is why a few things had to go.

I encourage you to take inventory of your own life. Who do you want to be? How do you want your life to look? What possessions, ministries, hobbies, relationships and thought processes are truly important to the person God has called you to be? What things need to be released so that you can pursue your best life for Jesus?

”A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;” (Ecclesiastes 3:6)

Have You Denied The Name of The Lord Jesus? What Are You Going To Do About It?

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The Island of Patmos

The book of Revelation was penned by the aged Apostle John while in exile on the island of Patmos. The island was used as a labor camp for prisoners at that time. History tells us that John, Jesus’ beloved, was boiled in oil for his witness. When God refused to remove John’s candlestick and allow him to die, he was then banished to Patmos as would be a rapist, or a murderer or one who had been an imminent threat to the Roman crown.

What did that old, weathered man of God do to be sentenced to such a fate? He dared to preach the name of Jesus Christ. The name of Jesus is spoken so loosely in the time we live, but it wasn’t so in John’s time. When he and other believers spoke the name above all names, it was with unfathomable love, and intense reverence.

In John’s lifetime, church was not a place. It was who John was. Who believers were. Everything the church did revolved around Jesus’ name, especially baptism.

As seen in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, all baptisms were performed in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. The first generation of Christ followers, or Christians as they were called, knew nothing but, and practiced nothing but baptism in Jesus’ name.

There was no trinitarian method of baptism for the first century believers. It simply didn’t exist because it hadn’t been invented yet. Let that sink in.

Under the unction of the Holy Ghost, John wrote the book of Revelation in the mid 90’s, just 20-25 years after the city of Jerusalem with its beautiful temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. John was the only first generation disciple left alive at this time.

Even this early in church history the enemy was coming against the name of Jesus, and causing people to disrespect, disregard and disavow the Name above all names. It wasn’t until 325 AD, at the Council of Nicaea,  that the Roman Catholic so called “church” made an official edict that anyone who baptized in Jesus’ name was to be anathema, that is cursed. The false doctrine of the trinity was officially established at this time, as well as mandatory baptism in the trinity formula, “Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

The Holy Ghost in John foresaw this blasphemous treachery against the name of Jesus. God instructed him to pen these words to the churches in Pergamos and Philadelphia, two of the seven Jesus’ name assemblies that existed in Asia Minor at that time:

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.” (Revelation 2:12-13)

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.” (Revelation 3:7-8)

These anointed words beg the question, how was the church in Pergamos holding fast Jesus’ name? How was the church in Philadelphia not denying Jesus’ name? These two churches, and others, were staying faithful to the name of Jesus in their baptismal formula.

If John were alive today, he would without a doubt be grieved beyond measure that the majority of all believers who claim Christianity now baptize in the trinitarian formula that he warned against. He would be begging you to abandon support of this erroneous doctrine that not one first generation Jesus follower believed. He would be begging you to turn back to the original baptismal formula of the early church, and not deny the name of Jesus Christ.

John was imprisoned, BOILED IN OIL, and banished to an island work force penitentiary because he stood firm on the doctrine of Christ, among which was the necessity of baptism in Jesus’ name. So, I ask you, as John would if he were here today, have you denied the name of our Lord? If you have been baptized any other way besides in Jesus’ name, you have. Are you actively denying the name of our Lord? If you refuse to be baptized in Jesus’ name, you are indeed denying the only saving name of Jesus Christ.

History tells us that John was eventually released, and spent his last years overseeing those seven assemblies of Christ followers in Asia Minor. I have no doubt that he never baptized even one soul in the deceptive trinitarian formula. Instead, he went to his grave preaching, teaching and baptizing every soul he could in Jesus’ name.

How were you baptized? Like the Apostle John, I beg you to find a man or woman of God who will baptize you in the only saving name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins.

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38)

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

God Knows. Let That Be Enough.

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

A year ago today, my youngest son and his wife were in Bangladesh on a mission trip. It was definitely a high point in their life and walk with God. I was so vey proud of them, and thankful for their opportunity to be a part of something so powerful and eternal.

Caleb came home from that trip with the flu. He flew the 17-18 hours from Dubai sicker than he had ever been in his life. The next morning, when he asked to be taken to the doctor, we knew he was seriously sick. He was treated for the flu, and all seemed well.

Soon enough, Covid arrived, and the lockdowns began. Still, our family was together and healthy way out on our farm. It’s amazing how things can change so suddenly. One day we were fine. Then next day Caleb couldn’t breathe without severe pain. From emergency room to Vanderbilt ICU in a blink.

Pneumonia had been growing undetected in his lung for a couple of months since he had the flu. He had to have surgery to drain the fluid from his chest cavity. Over 2 liters of fluid. Alone. All we could do was pray. The Lord was so merciful to bring him home to us.

More Covid. More lockdowns. Online Church. All travel plans cancelled. Family members with Covid. Powerful men and women of God being taken home to their reward. People we never thought we’d have to go through life without. Gone into their eternity.

Breathe.

Riots. Bizarre election. The country has gone mad.

My mother-in-love contracts Covid. No underlying health issues. We had to say goodbye in the wee hours of December 26th. Never expected it. Would have never dreamed we’d be here without her so soon.

Still, God is good. He is faithful. He knows the future, and the past because He’s already there. If we had known a year ago what our family would have to endure over the next twelve months, it would have shaken us to our core. We might have failed God had we known. I’d like to think we would have stood strong, but only He actually knows for certain.

Sometimes when we want to know what’s coming, it’s best just to know that He knows, and let that be enough.

“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” (Psalm 27:13-14)

4 Reasons Why Prayer Gets The Job Done

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

Men love tools. It doesn’t matter if they are city slickers or farmers, preachers or drunkards, musicians or writers, accountants or lumberjacks. They LOVE tools.

My husband and two sons have a vast and varied collection of tools. From precision machinist tools that will measure the minuscule width of a human hair to massive combines that harvest huge amounts of grain at once. Tools make everything easier. Having the right tool, and knowing how to use it, gets the job done, big or small.

A frustration of mine is to find tools that the men in my life just “had to have” still packaged in their boxes months, and even years later. At some point, they saw their need for the tool. They acted on that need to purchase the tool. They were so proud of the tool when they brought it home from the store. Yet, somehow the tool got pushed to the side and forgotten about.

It’s fun to see my husband find a tool that he had lost, or had forgotten that he had purchased. What excitement! It’s like Christmas or his birthday. Would you believe that sometimes those recently found tools get lost again without being used?!

The Church has a lost, forgotten, and definitely underused tool at our disposal called Prayer. There are countless tasks that are vying for our attention, and God has not left us unequipped. He has given us the tools that we need to get His work accomplished in the Earth during these last days.

Much of the time, we attempt to work the problem using our own finite reasoning. It’s a lot like using your teeth to open a soda bottle instead of a bottle opener. It’s not necessarily that it can’t be done, but it’s going to be less efficient at best, and painful at worst.

Why is it that we feel like we are not getting the job done if we resort to prayer first, rather than last? Why does that make us feel less than? Shouldn’t we be seeking for God to get all the glory?

FOUR REASONS TO PRAY

  • Prayer is universal. It is not restricted by time, distance or language barriers. You can send a prayer to the other side of the world, into a specific situation, for a person who you can’t even communicate with. Prayer will get the job done.
  • Prayer is powerful. There is no other tool that can be depended on so certainly than prayer because it is backed by our all powerful God. Our prayers are limitless because our God is limitless. You can send a prayer strategically into an impossible situation, and prayer will get the job done.
  • Prayer is invisible. The enemy cannot see prayer coming. It is like a stealth military jet that can fly below the radar into enemy territory. You can send a prayer behind enemy lines, and get out without detection. Prayer will get the job done.
  • Prayer allows God’s will to be done. Many times we anguish over situations that we are powerless in our humanity to do anything about. Often, we don’t even know the words to say when we pray about them. When we pray in the Spirit (tongues), we allow God’s will to have free course. You can pray in tongues over a situation, and God will intervene in His divine wisdom. Prayer will get the job done.

No matter what situation you have in your life, what problem you are concerned with, or what craziness is going on in the world, PRAYER is the spiritual tool you should reach for first. Perhaps the tools in your spiritual toolbox have gotten lost or misplaced. It’s definitely worth rounding them up, getting them organized, and putting them to work. Prayer gets the job done!

”Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

As always, I encourage your feedback. Blessings, -Pat

Everyone Dies. How Does This Make You Feel?

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment


“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15)

Everyone dies. This statement brings me comfort. It should bring you comfort, as well. If it doesn’t, there is a deep spiritual reason as to why not.

You may ask, “How can the knowledge that everyone dies bring comfort? To me, it means that every single person who has ever lived (with the exception of Enoch and Elijah, but that’s for a different post) has passed through the doorway of death. From this life to the one that comes after. From this realm of existence to another which is just as real, but invisible to us at the moment.

To die is not to travel a path that no one has ever travelled before. On the contrary, it is a well-worn path which has been traversed by doctors, lawyers, presidents, kings, drunkards, drug addicts, worshipers, prayer warriors, sinners and saints, the very good and the very evil. All have passed through this door. So will I. So will you.

Knowing that I will one day pass through this doorway should not cause me to fear. It should give me solace in the fact that death is natural. It is part of living. We are born. We live. We die. Unfortunately, most of humanity spend so much of their time dreading dying, that they never truly live.

If I spend my allotted time so fearful of death, how can I make my life matter? It is the knowledge that I will one day die which causes me to pursue the most noble life possible. The realization that I only have so many decades, years, days, moments, breaths and heartbeats to make something valuable of my life keeps me hyper focused on the importance of every decision I make.

Everyone dies. Again, I point out that if this statement causes you undue anxiety, then something is off kilter between you and God. People who have a deep and abiding relationship with their Creator know that He is working all things for their good. We are assured in His Word that He has gone to prepare a place for us, so that He can bring us to live with Him and the saints of all the ages forever. We know that when the God of all glory came in the form of a man, Jesus Christ, that He gave Himself as the only perfect and pure sacrifice for our sins. We read that even though he died for our sins, He also was resurrected to immortality. So will we be if we are born again according to His Word, and abide in Him.

When Jesus died on the cross, He didn’t go to his death kicking and screaming in fear. On the contrary, He declared, “It is finished,” and gave up the ghost. (The Holy Ghost) He knew that He had accomplished everything He had come to do. He was ready to yield His flesh to the process of death, and walk through the doorway into the spiritual realm.

Everyone dies, but I will live forever. Yes, my body will die, but my spirit, the part of me that is conscious and aware, will go immediately to be in the presence of the Lord. At the rapture of the Church, my spirit will be joined to a new and immortal body, and I will live with Jesus and the saints of all the ages for all eternity.

Even though my flesh shrinks away from the thought of possible suffering, everyone dies, and I am comforted by that fact.

CALLING ALL WIDOWS

~ Pat Vick ~ 1 Comment
“Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.” (1 Timothy 5:5)

There is a call going out from the throne room of God in these last days. It is an urgent and fervent plea for the saints of God to pray and fast like never before. The call is to all who will hear and obey. However, there is one group of people that is equipped to accomplish it better than any other.

There are those among us who are often forgotten or overlooked. This is a terrible tragedy since they hold the greatest potential for ushering true revival into the world. Widows, who the apostle Paul called “widows indeed,” meaning they have their eyes set on Jesus, and not the pleasures of the world. They spend their time in prayer and fasting, seeking God for their families, and for a lost and dying world.

These women are the unheralded heroes among us. They often feel that they have lost their purpose. Perhaps they were pastor’s or minister’s wives. Their lives were previously filled with ministry, and now they sit alone waiting for an opportunity to serve again.

We often see them as precious and fragile pieces of porcelain that must be set on the highest shelves to keep them safe. We unknowingly label them as relics of the past. Yet, inside of their very being are vaults of wisdom gleaned from lifetimes of experiences. What a waste. What a shame. What a tragedy.

We must pull widows indeed from the safe storage boxes that we have relegated them to. We must interact with them. We must sit at their feet and learn. We must listen. Most of all, we must encourage them to pray and fast for our families, congregations, communities, nation and world.

Calling. All. Widows. God leans in to hear your prayers. If you are desiring to minister, and don’t know when, where or how to make that happen, I encourage you to enter into a season of prayer and fasting. I beseech you to go before the throne of God for the Body of Christ as only you can. The Spirit is calling you to your greatest and finest hour of selfless ministry.

Look around you. We are in the last days before Jesus returns for His bride, the Church. If we are going to have revival, it needs to be now. If we are going to reach the lost, it needs to be now. If we are going to do something beneficial for the Kingdom, it needs to be now.

Calling. All. Widows. We need you more than we ever have before. In this winter season of your life, you are truly more valuable than you have ever been.

“Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.” (1 Timothy 5:5)