Sometimes...

Sometimes the path is clear as day
Sometimes it's shrouded in fog
Sometimes the path is twisted and tangled
Sometimes it's dim and cold
But I can walk tall and sure
I can stand in faith and peace
For where I walk my God is there
And He is Lord of all.

A word of love, from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.

"The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith." 1 Timothy 1:5 (NLT)

Paul was a wise and powerful church leader.  His life was a wonderful reflection of Christ.  His message was "that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith."  As a servant of Christ these things should be equally important for all of us.  

Whenever we speak, those we're speaking to should be filled with love.  
Love is something that will last for all eternity and so our message should always contain an element of the love of Christ.  What are the words we're speaking? Are we always tearing each other down or are we building each other up?  Our words should contain love and be absent of all evil motivation.  Jesus said in John 13:35 (NLT), "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."  This takes in to account our words.  Let your words be filled with love.

Our message must come from a pure heart.

My pastor Garris Elkins always says, "Speak the truth in love."  The truth spoken without love can be a very damaging and destructive thing.  Most people know it when they aren't living a life that honors God.  They don't need someone to point a finger at them, they need a brother or sister to come alongside them with love in their heart ready to deal with whatever it is that isn't quite right in their life.  Speak with love that comes from a pure heart.

We must have a clear conscience.
Paul was addressing people in the church who had deliberately ignored what was right and wrong. They knew what was right, they knew how they should be living, but they chose what was wrong.  They pretended it was right and that there would be no consequences for their wrong living.  It is important that as followers of Christ we do what is right and keep a clear conscience.

We must have genuine faith.

It wasn't that long ago when my faith wasn't very genuine at all.  I did and said all the right things in church but that was the extent of my faith.  We can do this for a while but there comes a time when we must choose to either live a life devoted to God or live a life devoted to ourselves and our selfish desires.  Our faith must be genuine, it has to be real.  Otherwise, when testing comes, when life gets hard, we will fall and break.  Our faith has to be real to have any impact on the world around us.

If we are going to live like Jesus we must speak with love from a pure heart, have a clear conscience and genuine faith that is rooted in Jesus.  This is my prayer for myself and my prayer for you.  That we would be filled with the love of the Father and that we would give out every blessing that He pours out on us.  Let it be in Jesus name.  Amen.

I Will Rise

I will rise
I will not be silent
I will not stand idiolly by
I will rise
Though words pierce me like a vipor's venom
Though I fall more than I stand
I will rise
My body is weak
My soul is tired
My bones ach
My back breaks
I have nothing
Oh so tired
But I will rise
I will not be beat down
I will not stay defeated
I will not lay down in dismay
I will rise
I will rise with my King
To the highest of heights
I will not be bound by this earth
I will rise
My position is in heaven
My authority rests in Him
I will rise
To my heavenly place
I will rise
I will rise!    

We walk in freedom
We are free from sin and death
Jesus has handed us the authority that Satan took from us. Rise up into who you are! You are sons & daughters of the King! Walk in victory!

In Whose Name?

Listen to my words
For they come from the King

Hear me speak now

For it is He who speaks

Yes it is true 

I come in the name of the King

I am His ambassador 

I am His child

I carry His seal

I speak with His authority

And with His power
Listen to my words
For they come from the King

It Is Love

In effort to keep up my blog I will continue to share these poetic and sometimes prophetic verses that God has given me.  I believe they are not just for me to keep locked up on my computer.  They are for people to read and be encouraged.  I pray that your faith would be strengthened and that God the Father would touch your heart. So I present It Is Love.

____________________________________________________________________________

How do we keep that flame that is passion burning?
How does the author continue his work or a composer his masterful sound?
What is it that makes a man finish his race?
What is it that inspires us?
Why do we chase the wind and try to out last the sun?
Can we stop the moon from shining?
Can we stop the world from turning?
Where does man find his breath to live?
And where does his journey begin?
If he scales the tallest mountain if he swims the widest sea
What has he accomplished?
His name is known by more than his kin
And a metal slung round his neck
The queen may yet knight him
And the world may yet praise him
But where is the glory in all of this?
Who can he share this joy soon to pass?
All his years he trained hard and left many behind
His mother his father and mistress so fine
Yes he is alone no one can now comfort
His friends now turned enemies and lovers up and gone
He will suffer alone with the devil so pleased
This pour soul forgot the lovers decree
Love father and mother and sister and brother
Love wife and love children
And above all love God our Father
This one thing inspires
No thing can yet move without love as our song
It gives writers their script 

The poet his verse
The psalmist declares the love of our Father
And the husband holds tight his lover so dear
Yes it is true no thing can be done without a hint of love
We can govern men but they will hate us
We can build bridges but who will praise us?
We can construct great structures to show our great worth
Gather riches and spices, the moon and the stars
Make cities and nations then burn them all down
But all is for not without the power of love
Above all else love and be loved
Show the love of the Father
Expect nothing back
Our reward is heaven
We've been saved from the pit
So I will love with all I am
Because that is just good sense

A Little Overdue

As with most bloggers out there, it's hard to keep your page up to date.  I have, however, been keeping my Facebook page pretty up to date.  So if you've missed anything here's the site: http://www.facebook.com/McGarityAbroad 
With the proper motivation and some discipline I may yet get this blog up to date and post the things that God is laying on my heart.  Till then check out the Facebook link.


Be blessed.


-Anthony L. McGarity

I made it...

So here's my first official update:

The house I'm staying at is up outside the city. I share the house with Elizabeth, and Lindsey, and two Haven interns from France(Gayton & Cedric). In mid March I'll have a roommate from America who went through YWAM in northern Ireland.

Last night I met Lindsey and Evanne as they were on their way to a prayer meeting with Pádraic and Elizabeth.

Pádraic and Evanne are married and live on the other side of town. They're from Cork and they are, as far as I can tell, in charge of the Haven. Elizabeth and Lindsey are from the states and they are in charge of the interns and the different volunteers of the Haven.

The Haven is about a twenty minute walk from the house. I definitely took a few wrong turns on my way into town. But I finally made it:) Its a nice walk downhill. Beautiful old houses and a great view of the city as you're coming in.

Once I made it to the Haven Elizabeth & Lindsey showed me around. They have a nice café with a good lunch selection. They also have a coffee bar!!! This excites me:) As most of you know I love making coffee so this will be fun for me. Connected to the café is an area for little ones to play during the day. It is also turned into a hang out area where the youth of the city hang out and sometimes it is a meeting place for different things. They also have a Christine bookstore with quite a lot to choose from.

Elizabeth then introduced me to Pádraic. He's a nice Irish fella(married to Evanne). I think I'm going to like him a lot. He told me a little history of Cork and told me the condition of the church. He believes that God is about to shake His church here and pump some life in its veins. I pray that I would get to be a part of that shaking.

The main city part of Cork is surrounded by the river Lee that forks around it. The Irish for Cork is "Corcaigh" which means marsh. And here I thought it was an actual cork that plugs up a bottle of wine. There goes my thinking they have the best wine in Ireland. But maybe they do. That being said, the city was originally built on this marshland.

It sounds like they're gunna be keeping me busy while I'm here. I'll work in the café and with the youth when they come in. I'll be there on the youth nights. And it sounds like I might help a pastor named William outside of Cork with some youth stuff and teaching little kids as well.

All in all, I'm pretty excited to see what God has in mind while I'm here. It's going to be quit the ride! But I'm ready to be stretched...I think:) That's all for now. I'll post more later.

Be blessed,
Anthony L. McGarity

Ireland Anyone?

My dear friends & family,

Happy New Year! I hope your Christmas was wonderful and that you had plenty to eat.

In 2007 I went to Ireland with my mom for vacation.  We had a blast! We hopped in a car and drove around the whole country.  We saw castles, kissed the Blarney Stone, explored caves, and ate at some pretty good pubs.  I fell in love with the people on that trip.  They are such good-natured and loving people.  When I got back home I had a dream that I was driving in Southern Ireland and I saw a church appear in a field.  When I woke up I knew God had called me to go to Ireland and preach His Good News.  

Since 2007 my vision for Ireland has continued to increase.  Now more than ever I am excited to join in with God in the things He is doing in Ireland.  It’s been a long time coming but this February I’m packing my bags and heading over.  I’ve waited patiently and had time to mature a little.  Now is finally the time.  For the past few months I’ve been saving my pennies and I’m almost ready to go.    

Ireland is a country that has heard the Gospel, but many have forgotten the power and authority that we have as God’s children.  Many have forgotten what it means to have intimate relationship with Jesus.  God wants to restore His people to a place of intimacy with Himself.  When I go to Ireland I want to remind people of these things.  God loves us and He wants to be a part of our lives.  He wants His people to walk unafraid.  He wants us to walk in authority over the kingdom of darkness and speak His light and hope into hopeless situations.

While in Ireland I’ll be working with an interdenominational organization called the “Haven.”  They are located in Cork, Ireland which is in the southern tip of the country.  The Haven has many different ways of outreach into the community.  On Wednesday nights they have a youth group where lots of teens come from the neighborhood to hang out and experience the love of Christ.  They also have a daycare center, counseling, bookstore, and a cafe.  At different times during the week they have outreaches into the city.  I’m excited to get a taste of all of these different ministries and build relationship with the people I’ll be meeting.

I’m leaving for Ireland this February and I need the support of my friends and family.  The first way you can help me is, of course, by donating financially.  Checks can be written out to “Living Waters,” which is my home church.  Just attach a note indicating it’s for me.  You can also write them out to me and send them to my mom’s house.  

The second way you can help me is through prayer.  Here are some prayer points that you can use:

• That I wouldn’t hold anything back and that I would pour out all that God is giving me.  
• That I would show the love of God to all those who I will come in contact with.
• That I would move in the power and authority that God has given me.
• That I would walk as one of God’s anointed children.
• That I would have favor with the people that I minister to.
• That I would be unafraid and walk in boldness and courage.
• That the things that I do would be fruitful.
• That I would trust in God all the way.
• That I would be refreshed and refueled by God daily.
• That everything I do would be for the glory of God.
• That I would make connections for when I plan a future trip.
• That I would come home on fire for God and ready to do more for His kingdom.
• That I would walk in intimacy with Jesus.
• That I would carry His word in my heart.
• That I would enjoy my work and be full of joy.

I thank you all very much for your support.  You are a tremendous blessing to me and I will hold all of you in my heart as I go over seas to share the Good News which is this, God loves you and wants to have a deep, meaningful, personal relationship with you.  May God bless every one of you who reads this letter.  I pray that God would shine His love in your life.

Be blessed, 

Anthony L. McGarity

 

Facebook: Anthony L. McGarity
Email: amcgarity60@gmail.com
Blog: downloadsfromthefather.blogspot.com

Living Waters Foursquare Church
2200 Roberts Rd.
Medford, OR 97504