God is marking out our steps.

As we continue to move forward with the ministry God is calling us into we can see the evidence of His involvement. This week I was invited to a men’s leadership meeting at church. The big outcome of the meeting is that we are going to be in fervent prayer. I was to the point about the fact that we cannot expect God to revive our church if we aren’t willing to pray. It all has to be bathed in prayer. Charles Spurgeon was asked to what did he attribute his success as a preacher, other than God? His reply was “The Boiler Room”. In the basement of the Metropolitan Tabernacle was a large room under the pulpit. It is said that on some Sundays there were 500 people sitting there while he preached upstairs. And they spent the service praying for the Spirit to be there.

The next day I was talking to my friends at the Good News Bookstore. My wife pointed out a new book and said that it looked like it was what I had talked about the night before. We put the book down and I took my wife to work. I decided to go back and get the book. But when I got back to the store I was handed a letter. In short, my wife and I were being asked to come alongside the bookstore as prayer partners and we were given a copy of that same book I was there to buy. The book is called’ “The Circle Maker” by Mark Batterson. I picked my wife up from work and drove straight back to the book store. We stood in the store with two of our friends there and one other member of the prayer partner team and we held hands and prayed. I felt God moving as much right then as I have in any church service in a long time.

Next I felt the Spirit moving me to organize a Community Revival. That is in the works and I will post more on that later. But while talking that plan over with my wife I just suddenly felt compelled to go on a Prayer Walk the next morning. I shot out a few invites on FaceBook and at 7am Saturday morning I met with my mom, our associate Pastor, and another local Pastor. We walked around the County Courthouse while we prayed for revival in our community, our churches, and our lives. My wife and a few others who were unable to attend were praying for us at the same time. Once again, despite our small numbers, God spoke. And the four of us agreed to meet bimonthly and commit to praying for Revival. And we expect the numbers to grow as we continue to dedicate ourselves to seeing God’s Holy Spirit move in our town.

And I will end with what is exciting news for me. We have been taking steps in our ministry to follow God and now, we have organized a not-for-profit religious organization named, the “Have God Will Travel Evangelism Association”. We have finally launched our official website at www.havegodwilltravel.org and are seeing the page views climb daily. God is blessing our efforts. And we continue to be a witness, a testimony, an example, or a blessing to others. Our ongoing goal is to bring honor and glory to His great name. Amen.

Peace and blessings,

Ev. W. Shannon Caplinger

Prayer Walk

Today (7/20/2013) we had our first Coshocton City Prayer Walk. It was just an idea that God put on my heart yesterday afternoon. We didn't have much of a turnout. But for such short notice it was enough. Matthew 18:20 says. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them". We found that out today. There were four of us representing three local churches. And despite our small gathering God was there and He was speaking to us. We decided to make it a bimonthly event. So we will meet at the gazebo on the corner of Fourth and Main on August 3rd at 7am. We hope to see this event grow over the next few months. We are praying for Revival in our community, in our churches, and in our lives. Thanks to Associate Pastor Mike Walters from Coshocton Baptist, Pastor Jim Gross from Word Worship Center, and Wilda Caplinger from First Baptist. Hope to see you all again in two weeks...and bring a friend. (Next time I'll try to sneak a few pics of the group.) Peace and blessings. - (Shannon)

Rolling Thunder

This trip was interesting. We didn't get many open doors for one-on-one evangelism, but that's the thing about this kind of ministry. You never know when or where the doors will open. But we did experience a God-moment. We went to a memorial ceremony by the "Rolling Thunder" chapter 5 of Ohio. They have a traveling memorial wall dedicated to P.O.W./M.I.A. awareness. During part of the ceremony the bagpipes were playing "Amazing Grace". That's when I noticed a man with his hand raised in praise. As soon as the ceremony was over I tracked him down and we had a good talk. His name was Charlie. We talked about missions and about evangelism. It turns out that his dad was a missionary in Alaska for many years. After we had finished our talk Charlie wanted to pray. So we all held hands together, (6 of us) and Charlie prayed. There we were...praying right out in the open. Unashamed. And Unthreatening. There were veterans, family members, general onlookers, and this was during a Native American Dance contest. And there we were, with Charlie praying on. The point is this; sometimes the Spirit opens doors and lets us talk to people one-on-one. But sometimes He has a different plan in mind. We just need to follow Him. There is no way of knowing whose life was touched seeing us pray. But I know many people watched. And so thank you Charlie, wherever you are. I hope we meet again in this life. But if we don't I'll be looking for you in the next. May God bless you Charlie. And thank you Rolling Thunder. - (Shannon)

God’s Hand

I have been seeing a lot in the past week or two just how much God is moving His hand in the life of my family and in my own life personally. A lot of this has been answered prayer. Some of it has been expected since I am certain my wife and I are truly pursuing His will. But there are some who believe that God just sits in Heaven and watches us try to work things out. Those poor deists are missing the boat.  I have never been one of those. Just wasn’t raised that way. Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

The surprises come, like the time last week, my wife and I were talking about the monthly budget and how tight the money was this month. We were getting a little stressed and it was time for a break. (Yep. It happens to all of us. Walking in faith is a challenge sometimes.) So I went down to check the mail. What did I find? I found an unexpected check for enough money to balance out the budget for the rest of the month! The lesson? The LORD will provide. Genesis 22:7-8 “Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will [a]provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.” How easy it is to forget that when we start getting stressed.

A number of incidents recently have pointed me to see God’s hand at work. But yesterday was probably the most dramatic. I got a phone call. Loved ones were in a wreck. It wasn’t pretty. I raced to the scene, half of me worried sick, the other half calmly praying for all to be well. It turned out that the car was a total loss. But both of my girls escaped with minor cuts and bruises. I was moved to immediate praise to my God. And I was reminded of two critical verses. Isaiah 65:24 “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.” God listened to my prayers. But He answered them before I even knew to pray them. His angels were there on the scene long before I got the phone call. And of course this one goes through my mind a lot. Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” And how thankful I am that there is indeed nothing too hard for my God.

Peace and blessings,

Evangelist  W. Shannon Caplinger

Trial Run

We took our camper on a trial run to Wolf Run State Park for a weekend in May 2013. Everything checked out good. And we had a much needed time of relaxation and contemplation on God's mission for us. While we were there we met some really nice people. A club dedicated to micro-campers was there that weekend. (Those teardrop shaped things you see behind motorcycles and Mini Coopers.) Many of them were home-built. Too small for us since we plan on living in ours. But we realized the potential for this part of our ministry. God was really speaking to us. And so it begins... (Shannon)

When tragedy strikes

                I was recently watching an interview with Ray Comfort. He and another guy were talking about how America seems to have turned her back on God. He also noted how churches get flooded with people after a tragedy like 9/11 or hurricane Katrina. But he also pointed out how soon after the dust has settled the crowd goes away again. And he said that these people come in seeking comfort and the reason they disappear so soon is that they leave without any real conversion experience with the Holy Spirit. And I am inclined to agree.

                Well it just so happens that I have a theory about this phenomenon (not surprising, right?). I believe the problem is two-fold. The first problem is that people who claim to have little or no faith in the “True and Living God” have an inborn sense of the truth, whether they admit it or not. God has given everyone a certain degree of light. Just enough that we choose to either seek more of that light or reject it completely. When tragedy strikes these non-believers are drawn to seek that little light they deny. So they attend church for a brief period. They soon leave because the tragedy passes and their fear and concern subside. The reason they soon walk away with no real conversion is that too many Pastors stop preaching the real Gospel immediately after a tragedy and they revert to some watered down message about God’s love, peace, and comfort. The people get no conviction of sin. They don’t hear the truth about human depravity. Instead they get a “comforting” message, a “feel-good” message. They need to hear the truth. They need to be made aware that we as humans are doomed to a most miserable eternity. Then they should be informed that we do have one hope. And that one hope is found in Christ alone. Remember that the “Good news” that Jesus died to give us life, is no news at all if we don’t know we are spiritually dead (John 10:10). And if we as Pastors, preachers, Evangelists, and congregations are praying for their souls, then the Holy Spirit would be more likely to convict them of their sin. Maybe a better way to say it would be that they would better understand what that conviction is when it comes. Then they would be more likely to turn to Christ and find a real conversion. They wouldn’t disappear so soon if that would happen.

                But, so I’m not accused of placing all the blame on Pastors, let me get to the second part of the problem (although this part can also be blamed on watered down preaching). These non-believers have a misconception about God. Yes God is loving. In fact, He is the very essence of love (1 John 4:8). And He does want to comfort them and give them peace (John 14:6 & 14:27). But in order to find those things from God we must first find God. God promised that if we are truly seeking Him, we will find Him. “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13. So in addition to watered down preaching, the problem stems from people who are not seeking God. They seek peace. They seek comfort. They seek answers to tough questions. They seek blessings and restoration. But they do not seek God. There is a big difference. And all these other things will only be found by finding God. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33.

                So to solve the problem we all need to be making two things clear. We need to make it well known that our God is someone well worth seeking. Don’t just seek God for answers, blessings, peace, and comfort. Seek God to find God. The second thing that needs to be made evident is that we are born into this world as sinners. And as sinners we are separated from God. We cannot do anything to reconcile ourselves to God. But Jesus died and rose again to offer us reconciliation with our Creator God. After we are reconciled to God He can then give us His peace, comfort, and understanding. When people genuinely find God, then they will stay instead of disappearing back into the world they came from. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 and Philippians 4:7)

I hope this will inspire some of you.

Peace and blessings,

Evangelist W. Shannon Caplinger