Some takeaways from a great conference

I've had a couple of days to reflect on the awesome Spiritual Renewal Conference at Harvest Church, our home church in Dothan, Ala.

Les Beauchamp, senior pastor of Trinity Church in Omaha, Neb., led the conference. Jerry Hough, LIFEcare Pastor of Trinity, traveled with him. Praise and worship was led by Wayne Sigler of Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church in Montgomery, Ala. He is the brother of our pastor Ralph Sigler.

Wayne and the Harvest praise team did an excellent job all week leading us into praise and worship of God. Martha and I felt God's presence so strongly as we worshiped.

We met Jerry Sunday morning before the first service of the conference. He is a great encourager and just an all-around great guy. We really enjoyed the time we got to spend with him during the conference. It wasn't nearly enough, but the little time we had together was great. The three of us had a great time of prayer together the last night of the conference.

Les was terrific. His messages were powerful and real. His delivery is great. And, what I like is the Les you see on stage preaching is the same Les you meet after the service. We were blessed to share a sandwich with him after one of the services. He's a great listener and he has such a great spirit. He genuinely cares about what you are talking about, and he is a man of great wisdom ... even if he is a Cornhusker fan and bragged about beating Troy. :-)

Here are some takeaways from his messages:

God really spoke to Martha and me during the conference. He challenged us in some areas and reaffirmed some things in other areas. One important thing the Holy Spirit really ministered to me was that I can't do anything in my own strength. Whether it's something I struggle with or concerns about not having enough funds for the ministry. I can't do it. I just need to turn it completely over to God and give it to Him. "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." - Psalm 55:22 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7.

Very simple teaching, but very profound at the same time. And another very important point that the Holy Spirit really ministered to me this week was, do not grieve Him: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." - Ephesians 4:30-32

Whenever we have anger, bitterness, etc., we grieve the Holy Spirit and it causes us not to be able to hear Him. He can't speak to us when we grieve Him. I've had to let some things go, and it's been great. We do indeed serve an awesome God! I certainly have been hearing a lot more from the Holy Spirit, and I notice that I'm operating a lot more in kindness, compassion and forgiveness.

The Holy Spirit also showed us that we need to spend more time in the Word. As Martha told me after the conference, "We made time for God this week. We put off doing what we normally do to be here. He wants us to do that every day ... make time for Him."

I have a very wise and godly wife. We're going to study the Bible more, and we're excited. As great as it's been doing the ministry, it's only going to get better the more we make more time for God. It's not all about the ministry work. It's about spending quality time with our Heavenly Father.

Thanks Pastor Ralph and everyone at Harvest for making this week so great and for inviting such anointed people to lead the conference.