Welcome to: The Church that Believes
Shiloh Comes!
Gen 49:10
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a
lawgiver from between his feet, until
Shiloh
come: and unto him shall the gathering of the people
be.
Don’t pay the ransom: I’ve escaped! You may have wondered about me, the church and the ministry these past few months but let me assured you we are all alive and well. Most of you know we have been struggling to get the website functional again. We can receive donations on the site but are unable to post new things due to a problem we encountered about three months ago. Thanks to brother Dennis Champlin and a few others who suggested some options to us for building our own site but with my other responsibilities and stark lack of computer skills that is not really possible. So we have been looking for the right person to help us repair the old site or launch a new one. We have purchased the software to do this and I believe we are about to get on top of this situation.
I must tell you that in June of 2009 we leased the building for Shiloh’s Place and from that time on the challenges have ensued.
I Corinthians 16:9:
9For a wide door of opportunity for effectual [service] has opened to me [there, a great and promising one], and [there are] many adversaries. Amplified Bible
As a leader I pray at least daily and sometimes moment by moment for the Lord’s direction. Most certainly I have asked the Lord if we have been moving in the right direction and I believe he has shown me that we are. Just as the disciples had to fight through many circumstances and adversaries we must fight the good fight of faith. The Lord is using these challenges to strengthen us and harden us to difficulty. The apostle Paul faced so many life threatening challenges along with betrayal and persecution and yet he declared:
Romans 8:36-39
36Even as it is written, For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter. 37Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us. 38For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, 39Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amplified Bible
We all go through testing times and the instruction from the Lord is to go through and not stop somewhere in-between. We are in the process of possessing the land and I know the Lord is with us, in us and for us. Much of our funds have been used to continue the work at Shiloh’s Place so the funds for the website work have been slow in building. As you pray this month see if the Lord will lead you to send a special offering towards the work on the website and I know that the Lord will open a door of favor in your life. Be sure to keep this ministry in your prayers the needs in our neighborhood are so great.
In this Newsletter I am sharing with you an article Debbie wrote entitled, “The Crisis.” Most of you know that Deb lost her 17 year old son Nick in August of 2009. All I can say is that this article is so full of truth and transparency that I could not wait to get it out. It is one of the best and most eye opening things I have ever read. Please send me any comments you have about this I would love to know how it speaks to you. I have also enclosed a teaching I did on Unity in the body of Christ. If there is one central message the church needs at this time it is Unity. I hope you enjoy this vitally important message!
For those of you in the St. Pete area this coming Sunday April the 11th we are having Mickey Holiday and his worship team at Shiloh’s Place. Come and enjoy the wonderful praise team you will be greatly blessed!
Also don’t forget that at the end of this month Thursday, April 29 through Sunday, May 2nd my brother Reverend Lew Ayers will be leading a revival at Shiloh’s Place. Most of you know that brother Lew carries a powerful anointing so you will not want to miss this. If you or a loved one needs physical healing be there Lew is especially anointed to minister to the sick!
If you have also found yourself in challenging times lately; keep looking to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith, your brightest days are still ahead of you! Until next time…
Big Hugs,
Pastor Anita
Thursday, April 08, 2010
The Crisis
By Deborah K. Nelis
In every situation in life where change is needed, there will most likely be a crisis. In many cases, people wait for the crisis to tell them that change is needed; The loss of a job, the break-up of a marriage or relationship, a heart attack, a leak in the ceiling. How many times have you heard someone say after a break-up, I knew there was something wrong, I knew I was going to get fired, why didn't I plan ahead? Whether it is a health problem, a home repair, or financial planning, why do some of us refuse to plan ahead? Our lives are lived out, one crisis after another, and still somehow, we find ourselves unable to make the changes that would avert our crisis.
This was the problem for me most of my life, I was 50 yrs old before I began to embrace the reality that the crisis was caused by my unwillingness to plan or change. The first step is to tell your self the truth; I was unwilling to do anything different from what I had done in the past, yet I wanted things in my life and circumstances to be different. My life was not working, yet I was afraid to change for fear that, things could get worse. As soon as I would begin to explore this reality, feelings of despair would overwhelm me. Depression would descend upon me like a dark cloud. The voices in my head would begin to tell me, change was not possible for me; it was too late, I was too old, too stupid, too damaged, and too afraid.
Then the rationalizations would begin, this is what your life is, why can’t you just let yourself be satisfied after all you’re not in a insane asylum (God knows you should be after everything that has happen to you).You’re not a prostitute or drug-addict (if you don’t count the alcohol or the sexual promiscuity you use, to avoid intimacy). You’re not a murderer or child-molester!
These thoughts would fill my head and I would be overcome with feelings of exhaustion and hopelessness. I did not see this as the Satanic attack that it actually was. I believed these thought were mine own.
I had Christian friends who tried to open my mind and spirit to the reality that; I had a enemy, his name was Satan, his propose was to destroy me and to stop my God ordained destiny. (John 10:10) I did not hear them for many years, instead I believed the lies the enemy had been feeding me my whole life. When my friends would talk to me the enemy would talk LOUDER. They would say God loves you and he has a good plan for your lifeâ€ï¿½ (Jeremiah 29:11) But Satan would say they don’t know you like I do, if they ever saw the true you they would be horrified! You know how depraved you are. Then he would show me every vile, disgusting thing I had ever done. Then he would say, “They mean well and they really do care about you, but they don’t know the truth and you must never let them know, for then they would reject and abandon you. You see it is hopeless, you can never have the good life they have because you, my friend, are not like them.”
Does any of this sound familiar? For me, I believe all of this started in my abusive childhood, I cannot remember a time that I did not feel inadequate, less than, not as good as other people. As long as I can remember, I thought everyone was looking down his or her nose at me and my sibling. My Father and many other adults used terms (which I overheard) like gutter snipes, rug rats and earth urchins when referring to us.
What I did not hear were words of praise, acceptance or approval. The only affirming thing I remember hearing, was that I was the pretty one (rag doll). My oldest sister had the distinction of being dubbed “poor little Pammy, she is so sickly.” Never hearing affirming words made it easy for the enemy to feed me bad thoughts about myself.
I have shared this, to connect to those of you who are struggling with these thoughts and feelings of despair as I have. I hope to start you on your journey to recover your self-worth through the truth of your loving heavenly Father and His immeasurable love for you. (John 3:16) Another thing the enemy will always do is isolate you; he does this by making sure that we believe we are the only ones dealing with these thoughts and issues. I have come to tell you he is a liar and the Father of lies (John 8:44).
I Thank God that about 5 years ago, (by His grace) I was able to begin the journey of walking out of the deception that had destroyed my life. The first step is to refuse to believe the LIE! Any thought that tells you, that you are anything less then the precious child of the Most High God is a lie. Make no mistake, it has been a journey, there have been tears, and a fight, but it does get easier, as you train your thoughts to agree with what God says about you. He loves you. Remember you are the apple of his eye. ( I John 4:10)
I want you to know I was so damaged by the time I was a teenager that if anyone spoke loving words to me, I would soak it up like a sponge. I would allow people to exploit me just to have love and approval. But in my heart I trusted no one, My father molested me from the age of 5-12; and then I was raped at 15 years old by someone I trusted, so I decided I was only good for one thing: sex.
I began to think I was a sex-addict, but discovered in truth, I was hiding from intimacy. Any time I let someone get close to me, it always ended with me being hurt and disappointed, feeling bad about myself and hearing the voice of the enemy “YOU’RE DAMAGED GOODS! YOU WILL NEVER BE ANYTHING ELSE!” That is the lie that cost me most of my life. What a waste of all those years. I think one of the most painful things for me is the loss of all that time. Time I could have been enjoying my children and family, my friends and the love of God, instead of always being afraid someone would find me out. It is hard to believe, but I thank God for; “The Crisis“ that lead me to discover the truth about who I am in Christ. Who he designed me to be and what my talents are and that no other person can do the things God has planned for me to do.
My challenge to you is to reject the lies of the enemy, embrace your Loving heavenly Father, and dare to believe his Love for you. Tell yourself the truth about the choices you have made in the past. Determine to ask your Father before you make a decision; believe that he will lead you out of the mess that you have made of your life. Do not make a move out of fear or pride. Open your heart to Jesus and let him be your friend, your love, your joy and your Lord!
God Bless You,
Deborah
Loved
Ones,
Monday, September 14, 2009
Never before have the words of the great author Charles Dickens book The Tale of
Two Cities been so poignant in my life, “It was the best of times, it was the
worst of times.”
We had such a great rejoicing at the Grand Opening of Shiloh’s Place on August 9
Our Pastor Sister Daisy and her daughter Lisa Davis drove all the way from
Martinsville, Indiana to help us kick off the services. Pastor Pat sent his love
and his spirit with them. They brought my dear friend and a strong woman of God,
June Roe and her daughter Teresa. My beloved brother Lewis Ayers was here to
help and encourage and rejoice with us. My mother-in-law Shirley Dix came and
danced and sang praises to the Lord. My Brother Brian Fisher was with us singing
a wonderful song by Josh Groben, “He Raised Me Up.” Pastor Dennis Lopez was
there with his intended Doreen, they were a great help and encouragement to us.
Kim Perrine came with her unique rock ministry and Father Gerald Giunta came
with his saxophone, blessing us with a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace. My
sister Debbie stood by our side working tirelessly for many months to get the
church ready for the opening. My son Josh and his fiancé Cindy, her mother Penny
and my granddaughters Gwyn and Chasity were there to celebrate with us. Our son
Adam and his fiancé Nichole came the day before with our nephew Nick and helped
cook, carry and move things at the meet and greet. Our daughter Maggie and
son-in-law Scott donated their wonderful sound system to us and we knew that
their spirits were with us even though they were unable to come.
Rob and Pam Kennard donated a new bass and a new lead guitar. Pam worked for
weeks on our website, flyers, notices and paperwork. Others from the
neighborhood and The St. Pete Dream Center joined us in song and praise. Lisa
did a wonderful job leading the praise team, she mentioned our Pastor Pat Davis,
(Her Daddy) many times and we felt his spirit with us in her. Pastor Sam
Infanzon and his lovely wife from the St. Pete Dream Center brought a wonderful
word about new beginnings and our hearts were full. The long awaited vision had
finally come to pass and we were grateful to God and excited about the future.
How could we know that less than 48 hours later we would lose our sister
Debbie’s son my beloved Nephew Nicholas Benjamin Hutsen just outside of our
house? As I said in my notices, “The Lord has trusted us with a great sorrow.”
Nick had been struggling with drug addiction and many emotional problems due to
being sexually abused as a child. He left this world at 2:30 am August 11th
2009, he was 17 years old. Some of you know that Al and I had been trying to
help Nick and took him into our home in August of 2008. We know that Nick was
born again at River of Life church under the ministry of Pastor John Quigley. He
often tried to witness to friends and he told me many times that he loved Jesus.
God will not send people to hell for a sickness in their mind any more than he
would for a sickness in their body. We love him with all of our hearts and we
will hold his precious memory with us, until we reunite with him in heaven.
We had been working with Nick for the last 11 years to help him overcome the
shame of being sexually abused as a young child. Nick’s greatest fear was for
anyone to know that he had been sexually abused. I believe it was that fear,
which took his life. This is why I wrote my book, “Jesus Loves Me”. If you are a
person who has been sexually abused you must find someone that you can talk to
about it. You must get help to know that the shame is not yours!
YOU DID NOTHING WRONG! I DON’T CARE WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES WERE!
The adult or the person who abused you is the one who did wrong. You did nothing
to bring this on yourself and you must work to allow God’s healing into your
heart and soul. I am living breathing proof that he can and will heal the
deepest and most debilitating wound.
If you are a person who has sexually abused others, we can be almost certain,
that you were also sexually abused. PLEASE, GET HELP SOMEWHERE! I know it is
difficult to trust anyone with something so self incriminating but you must get
help before you wound more people. The far reaching affects of this are
immeasurable.
Forgive me if I use this Newsletter as a platform but as you can clearly see we
must get this message out because the consequences can be deadly if left
unchecked.
Going through this has been the greatest test of my life and my faith. I have
exposed my own abuse to the whole world in hopes of getting through to others
before it is too late and yet I was unable to help my own dearly loved nephew.
It is interesting to note that Nicky Ben was greatly loved. Nick’s sister
Adrianne and her husband Tim also helped raise Nick. Nick’s brother Ronald often
told him that he could call and talk with him anytime. His brother Tony tried to
counsel him and comfort him. My husband Al who has experience in treating drug
abuse took Nick under his wing and mentored him. My sons Josh and Adam saw Nick
two or three times a week. Josh and Adam confronted Nick about doing pills just
weeks before he died and they thought that they had gotten through to him. If
you know of someone who is messed up on drugs, DON’T HESITATE TO TELL A
RESPONSIBLE ADULT IMMEDIATELY! But Nick was holding on to his hurt and his anger
so tightly that he could not open his fists or his heart to receive the love and
understanding offered to him. Please share this letter with your teens and
anyone who you suspect has been sexually abused. WE MUST GET THIS MESSAGE OUT
BEFORE ANOTHER YOUNG MAN OR WOMAN GIVES UP ON LIFE!
If you have gone to our web site you may have noticed that we started our: “In
the Nick of Time” fund. We send our deepest thanks to our sister Annette
Anderson, our Aunt Florence Cromlic and others who have made a donation. We
will be using these funds to reach out to troubled young people. If you would
like to send a donation to this fund be sure to mark it “In the Nick of Time”.
Keep our family in your daily prayers right now as we reach out to our Lord to
heal this deep wound. Pray especially for my sister Debbie, Nick’s mom who feels
this loss more profoundly than anyone else.
By God’s great grace we have continued with our services and the Lord has sent
us such precious people. Pastor Dennis and Doreen were a rock of strength to us.
Father Gerald Giunta and Kim Perrine were strong and steady and so very loving
to us. We have several people from the neighborhood now attending the church and
have had more visiting. The Lord sent us precious people to lead us in worship
and we are so grateful for Curtis and Shirley Lynn and the Acts of Genesis band!
I know that many will be touched by their beautiful music ministry. My
mother-in-law Shirley stayed with us until last week cooking cleaning and
bringing love and comfort. The Lord has sustained us in our darkest hour and
comforted us as only He can.
We have had some sweet services and a strong spirit of the Lord with us. My
brother Lew delivered a powerful message about the Lion’s roar before he headed
home and it strengthened all of us. Our boys Josh and Adam were a wonderful
comfort to us and we thank God for them. Our Step Mother Edna flew in from
Missouri and stayed with Deb for several days after the funeral. Surely the Lord
covered us with loved ones.
We are going on with God. We are moving forward with the church as the Lord
leads. Several people have contacted us asking about our “Church Unusual”. I
tried to explain to them that we are unusual in the fact that we have several
people from different denominations and we have not asked that they renounce
their denomination to attend. This may sound like an average non-denominational
church but to me the difference is that in this church we will unite under the
truth of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Messiah. We will work through differences
of doctrine and interpretation. At times we will agree to disagree but we will
always walk in the great truth of John 13:34-35 and I Corinthians Chapter 13.
We are often tempted to be annoyed and frustrated with the beliefs of other
Christians and it can only be pride that would make us think we’ve got all the
truth on the gospel. It is arrogant to think that we and our little group are
the only ones that are going to be saved.
I do believe that there is one non negotiable qualification for being saved and
that is the belief that: Jesus was born of a virgin birth, he was the son of
God, he died for our sins and he rose from the grave on the third day with the
keys to death, hell and the grave. In his own words;
“I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by me.”
John 14:6
I am saddened that I encounter so many Christians who are intolerant and
critical of their brothers and sisters in Christ. It reminds me of a story I
heard a famous preacher (who shall remain nameless) tell several years ago of
Father Abraham who took a stranger into his tent on a dark night. He
welcomed the stranger and took him in and fed him at his own table then later
they sat and talked companionably by the fire. As they talked Abraham discovered
that this stranger was a heathen and did not believe in the One True God, the
God of Israel. Immediately he grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck and the
seat of his pants and threw him out into the dark desert. He went back to his
fire fuming and sat to contemplate the stupidity of some people when the Lord
spoke to him and said, “I have been patient and tolerant with this ignorant man
for 40 years, and couldn’t you have endured him for one night?”
The question is: In this story, are we Abraham, or are we the stranger?
We love you, we are keeping you in our prayers please keep us in your prayers. I
want to thank each one of you with all my heart for your words of love and
compassion they meant the world to us in our great sorrow. To those of you who
have sent donations; I pray an amazing blessing on you and all those you love.
Let us run this race with integrity and determination all the way to the finish
line. Our God and his mission are worth it all!
