Every year when the challenge comes around (220 summer challenge) it always amazes me to see what God does and says while going on a media fast. In our challenge we cut off all media streams and seek the Lord. More time to pray, read, seek God, get closer to love ones. It’s truly incredible how much time we spend inundating ourselves with the latest news or just simply wasting hours bugged out not realizing that we are wasting valuable time. As we are now a week into this year’s challenge I am once again reminded of how good it feels to be cut off from the foolishness of the world and the bad news of today. My spirit is saturated with the Good News and my mind clear to hear the voice of the HS. I pray that in this challenge God will speak to me about things concerning our nation, church, and youth ministry. With the responsibilities on my shoulders it is imperitave that I hear from God consistently. I encourage you to do a complete media fast for a season and see how different your life becomes overnight! Get down a good book and stimulate your brain. Dig into the Word and build your faith. Seek God with your extra time and see Him move like never before.

Rom 12:1,2– I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world (media, magazines, movies, TV), but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Word, prayer, church, and cell), that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Notice: once your mind is transformed and renewed you will become supersensitive to the will of God in your life. Many want to know His will but don’t want to shut of the tv to seek it out! Decontaminate your spirit! This is the word for today.

So many of you have been praying for my dear wife Amy and God has begun a sovereign work of healing in her body. Praise God! In the wake of this present crisis many of you have been asking about my personal battle and thus I wanted to give an update.

Looming ahead of me is the necessity of at least 2 more operations. From a medical perspective this is fact and yet with the eyes of faith we are looking for miraculous intervention at every point. This action has been pushed timeline wise by my doctors but has not been a true possibility for me to consider until Upside Down2 is over with. I felt guided by the HS to stay here and rest until this critical time is passed and then pray about pursuing what is deemed necessary after the conf.

I am imploring your prayers to ask our Lord Jesus for a supernatural intervention and manifestation of the healing already payed for on Calvary. As you can imagine, I DO NOT want to have any more surgeries or anything of that nature for the rest of my life. We continue to seek God’s face concerning these matters and God has sent men like Jim Hockaday and Past. Buzzy Sutherland to walk with me daily in stirring up my faith. Faith that is not impassioned or energized is faith not in operation. Your prayers and aggreement are critical in this battle and will be heard by Almighty God on my behalf.

Pray for the supernatural strength of God to do all that He has entrusted me to do. Pray for speedy and miraculous resolution to pressing medical dilemnas that face me even now. Pray that God would be glorified in all that is said and done in the midst of this great battle of faith. Continue to lift up my bride Amy and agree for a completed work in her body. Words cannot thank you enought for standing with us in this time. The victory is nigh and the enemy already defeated!

2 Cor. 1:10,11– And He DID deliver us from mortal danger. And we are confident that He will CONTINUE to deliver us. He will rescue us because YOU are helping by praying for us. As a result, many will GIVE THANKS to God because so many people’s prayers for our safety HAVE BEEN ANSWERED. Hallelujah!!!

Over that last couple of days we have had relatives here from all over the south. This was a rare Stockstill\Mitchell reunion. (The Mitchells are my Papa’s mother’s people). It is so amazing when you see people you either don’t know or barely know that share so much in common, including looks! My papa, Roy Stockstill, is one of 2 surviving siblings that came from Joel Ernest Stockstill’s family, my namesake. My Great grandfather was a great man of prayer and preaching. I learned some most interesting things about him. My Aunt Dot, Papa’s sister, said that she would go with him to preach in the African American churches there in Picayune, Miss. when it was unheard of for a white man to do such. She said they loved his preaching because it was so straightforward, remind you of anyone? As she has had the chance to hear me minister she says that it is like hearing him preach again. Isn’t that amazing? A man that was my great grandfather, who I never even met, setting a pattern of spiritual life and ministry that would be followed by me decades later. This is the power of heritage!

I can see in my family the same traits of humor, story telling, to the point opinions, and godly morals. God is truly amazing in how He created us in families and gave us such similar traits in all 3 dimensions of body, soul, and spirit. How encouraging to know the path that I now walk on was paved by men and women of God that lived lives of prayer and ministry.

The Scripture that is in my spirit from this discussion and thought is found in Rom. 11:16- And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their children will also be holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

Sorry everybody, my internet has been out for a few days. I had asked you all to pray on Monday for Amy as she went in for second treatment and I am happy to report that all went well! Amy is doing great and other than a few occasional side effects from the chemo she is rolling forward in the healing of Christ Jesus. I will be posting soon so stay tune….