Dan Harwell, the worship leader and associate pastor at my church, has led an interesting life. He has a powerful testimony of the call of God. Born blind in one eye, his sight was restored during a prayer session for healing. Ironically, he was there to pray for others' healing, but no one showed up, so the team prayed for him. The amazing aspect is that the optometrist he visited (as a result of his new binocular vision making his glasses prescription obsolete) claims the instruments still show his eye as sightless. She couldn't argue with the results of his eye chart test though. He sees from an eye that appears dead to the medical world. That sounds like science fiction or fantasy to some people, but Dan is living proof that God does exist and He still performs miracles.
Dan also has an ear to hear God speak to him. God spoke to him about writing a book. Another man later prophesied that Dan would write a book. Finally Dan's wife asked him when he was going to write the book God had laid on his heart. They talked it over and decided it was time to step out in faith. He quit a wonderful job and wrote for nine months living on the money that trickled in from various sources. Things were tight, but adequate finances came in during that time to tide the family over. When the book was finished, he landed another excellent job and life went back to normal. He has no desire for an encore performance. His book is now on the streets and can be purchased at Amazon and other online stores. However, it is competing against the 400,000 books that were published last year and more than 200,000 that were published the year before that. There are over seven million books listed on Amazon. Perhapps you can see why the chances of this little book ever making a dent in the world of writing are slimmer than the chances of both the Cubs and the Mariners making it to the World Series in the same year. That's a shame. This book, Gathering the Priests, has a powerful message, especially for the males of the church. If God asked Dan to write it, then obviously there are people who should read it. Maybe you are one of them. My review follows below.
My Amazon review is entitled, What good thing could come out of Madison, SD. That is the city where I was born and where Dan and I both currently reside. It was once pondered about what good thing could come out of Nazareth. We all know the answer to that one. Funny how God chooses the small things, places, and people to confound and humble the educated, powerful, and sophisticated. I needed this book. My understanding of the glory of God was sadly lacking. After reading this, I understand better what God desires for man and of man. Would you have been excited to have been one of the 300 men chosen by Gideon to do battle against overwhelming odds? If your answer is yes, you'll want to read this book and fathom how you can become one of his royal priesthood set apart to help usher in a return of Shekinah glory upon the Earth and in so doing bring healing and conversion upon our planet. Maybe God is calling you to read this book in order to prepare you for your own calling, whether you be male or female.
I truly feel that God is speaking to those who are willing to humble themselves and listen to His voice today. Some people have been called to perform special tasks for the kingdom. If you are called and you do not respond to your assignment, that call will be given to someone else and you will have an eternity to regret missing your cue. If you truly love God, now is the time to seek Him as never before. In my search to get closer to my Heavenly Father, I have discovered that He wants me to get my emotional and spiritual sustenance from Him and not from mankind. If I rely on men's (or women's) praises to give me validity as a person, I'm ultimately going to be hurt and disappointed. That message becomes clearer and clearer as I get closer to the throne. To arrive at that position, you might have to throw away many of the preconceived notions you have of God and the ways in which he works. I know I have to jettison a lot of stinking thinking in order to develop my relationship with God to where we both want it. But I realize that he is no fool who gives up that he cannot keep to keep that which he cannot lose, so I give up whatever I must as willingly as I can. The evil upon our planet grows deeper every day. God's kingdom cannot dispel that darkness unless those who call upon the name of Jesus start making it a priority to pray and spend time with God in spirit and in truth in order to augment their courage, understanding, and resolve to make a stand for their Creator and His eternal truths in these perilous times. You'll have an eternity to celebrate your wise decisions and your participation in the struggle.
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