Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Home sick today! Sick most of yesterday. But there is good news. Got final grades in Philosophy today. Scored 91% for another A! I am now considered a Junior with a 4.0 average. Is God not awesome!  Been to the doctor. According to him I have some kind of viral bug going around. He will not sign off for me to go to work tomorrow. Bummer. God knows I need the money and time at home is lost income. But He has always provided. I have no reason to think that He will not continue to do so. More good news. I have the first draft of bylaws completed. I expect that there is still a lot of work to do on them. Now, I have other documents that must be drafted. I’m so tired. I think the medications the Doc gave me for nausea are beginning to take effect. I’ll lie down for a little while and go at it again shortly. Thanks for being here and thanks for your continued prayers.

God Bless,

Lonnie

Well there is news. The new session of school began yesterday. I am taking philosophy and Evangelism. Evangelism is something dear to my heart and I believe that God is going to get me through without a great deal of angst. Philosophy, however, appears to have the potential to cleave my skull and induce major headaches. I know that God will get me through it. He has gotten me through thus far. I’m just wondering if there will ever be a class that just cruises through. The answer is decidedly NO! Anything worth accomplishing is going to require real dedication and effort. I know God has a plan in regards to subjecting me to all this study. Sometimes I wish that He would let me in on it. But somethings have to be done in faith. This seems to be one of those things. My abilities to read and comprehend have been greatly expanded and my writing skills have improved dramatically. God is a great God and I am honored that He has moved me in this direction of learning.

The meeting with Dr. Sandra Newsom Saturday was enlightening. She was a fountain of information and posed serious questions in regards to planning the legal formation of the ministry. She also had sound answers for many questions. The search for a Board of Directors is on. There is so much to do. There are surveys to be written. Contact information to be gathered. There are many documents to be drafted and filed. Dr. Newsom is also helpful in that she has contacts with attorneys and certified public accountants that will help with setting up the structure that will benefit the ministry. God has granted me a vision and held me for so long while He grew me to the point that I can be used. The growing pains have been tremendous yet I know that the growing pains are only just beginning.

“For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” (Zechariah 4:10)

Well this session of work at Liberty University is completed. I scored 93.5% in the second course of Theology and 97.8% on the New Testament. Since mid-October I’ve read the entire Bible! I have written eight critiques and forty five responses to critiques written by fellow students. I have also read through about 4000 pages of text books, listened to 72 hours of lectures and taken a great number of quizzes and exams. I have fared well to maintain a 4.0 average. Each of these classes is a standard college course crammed into eight weeks.  God was there with me every step of the way and He worked me hard for it but I know that I could not have done it without His support and guidance from the Holy Spirit. I have found myself “preaching” to myself through many of these studies. I guess it is the Holy Spirit’s way of teaching me that if I can’t state it in a way that makes me believe it then how can I hope to help others believe. It has been tiring, exhausting, and the most fun I’ve had in years. I’ve always been told that you get out of your studies what you put into them. Well, I’ve put everything I have into them to the point of collapse, literally. I wouldn’t drive myself so hard if I didn’t care. God deserves excellence in all that we do. After all, Christ gave all He had for me. I have this week off, or so I thought until I opened up the Course Content for my classes starting next week. It looks like there is much to do and yet I have but just so much “free” time to commit. Add to that, I am now leading a prayer group at church on Wednesday nights, so I’ve cut out one evening of study altogether. But you know what? God is going to let me learn from all of this. I am certain that the time for rejection, opposition, consternation, and ridicule are coming. I am certain that the day will come when no matter how tired I am God will call upon me to give that little extra push. So, I guess you could say that I am in basic training. Now, bring on those classes in Evangelism and Philosophy. Bring on the Wednesday Night Prayer groups and Sunday evening Discipleship classes. With God’s on my side, we’ll grind them all out joyfully and come out victorious!!!!

I was discussing the issue of this ministry with one of my college professors from a previous Theology class. I pointed out Psalms 139:13-16 (I am not going to write it out for you, pick up your Bible and READ it!) and explained that if we view the special needs as having something “wrong” with them then we are in essence stating that God is prone to accidents. Not only that, but God is subject to make mistakes. Now, we know God does not experience accidents nor does He make mistakes. “Ooops”, is not in the vocabulary of God. What IS wrong with the special needs is how WE perceive them. They are different than the status quo thus, there must be something “wrong” with them. This could not be further from the truth. I would have hoped that you actually  picked up your Bible and read Psalms 139:13-16. If you had you would realize that even those with “special needs” are indeed perfect creations of God. My professor, a Godly man and a true Scotsman who walks closely with God and is much better trained than I am, posed the following statement that made me stop and think. “I wonder if our greatest handicap is not our fallen state. Running from this state of being fallen instead of embracing it (that we may come to know Christ intimately) may be the reason that we often times overlook our own deficits, and seeing the pronounced “deficits” in those with “special needs” take note of and highlight those deficits instead of our own.”

Wow! That is a mouthful of wisdom! I know that I would have come up with that if he had not beat me to it! Seriously though, there is a great deal to think about in that statement. Our society is one that laughs at the misfortune of others because it has highlighted the “deficits” of others to prevent them from recognizing their own. The sad fact is that the Church is much the same. Are the special needs really “special needs”? Are they really handicapped in God’s eyes? Who has the wrong perception? Is it society? Is it the Church? Is it God?

I believe that God has had it figured out for ages. He gives us the Word and the Holy Spirit that we may arrive at His solution, not necessarily our solution. That’s what we should all be striving for, God’s solution.

God’s blessings,

Lonnie Richardson

It has been a tough month. Cheryl has had bronchitis, I have had some  kind of head cold for two months now, and the grand baby has had a persistent cough that no one seems to know what the cause is much less how to get rid of it. The weather has been hard for travel to and from work. School has been very difficult and nerve wracking. But you know what? It will be alright. The only way that we are going to get through this, just as we have gotten through other difficult times, is by declaring a total dependence upon God. God tests us occasionally to see if we will remain faithful. He never promised smooth sailing, just a safe place to land. Indeed, with all that is going on, I know that we will come through intact and stronger for doing so. It is not the situations that we find ourselves in that get us down and weaken us. It is how we react to those situations. We must continually and unceasingly continue to “LOOK UP”.

Enough said for now. I will be back for a more relevant post Sunday afternoon.

Until then, God Bless,

Lonnie Richardson

Yes, it has begun. 2K10 is opening up a new year and God is opening doors in the process. Back in October of last year, a woman, her two daughters, and a friend came down to East Tennessee for a short weekend visit from the Chicago Area, Lombard to be exact. Her name was Roberta Beckman. Roberta is the single mother of three special needs children and believe me when I say that she has a story to tell of trials and tests in raising her children. Yet, she discovered a faith that has consumed her and despite the hardships that she has endured she has continued to “look up”. During our visit I “indoctrinated” Roberta in regards to my findings in the Bible regarding God and His Special Angels and their families. She listened aptly and praise God she understood exactly what I was talking about! Just kidding about the indoctrination but we did share a lot about our beliefs and how we came to accept those beliefs from the Word of God. Roberta confided in me after she left and had returned to Lombard that God had spoken to her in my house as she was packing. “Ten months,” is what He said to her. No more. No less.

Well, it has begun. As I write, she is hard at work putting together a respite program. The first ever within Gods Special Angels. She has negotiated for facilities, and is preparing a web site, procuring volunteers within the health care profession and within that “Ten Months” time frame will have a working respite program for families. Now this is being done by one woman with little or no resources, an extremely limited income, and three special needs children. You want to talk about faith? You want to talk about obedience? Let me direct you to Ms. Roberta Beckman in Lombard, IL. She WILL NOT accept being told that she CANNOT bring forth this ministry. She KNOWS that she CANNOT do it, but she KNOWS that GOD can do it THROUGH her! And my friends, He is doing just that. She is building a ministry that God gave her and confirmed it through me that she is to do it. I can see a time when I will call upon Roberta to travel this nation to assist others in building similar ministries in communities throughout the land. She is a warrior for God. You know what? She does not have anyone there to pat her on the back, or offer encouragement when things do not go right, or to give her praise for what she is doing. She would not accept the praise even if it were given. She would say, “Give God the praise. I am just a tool He is using to break the ground so that seed can be planted.” Father, I pray that you would send me one thousand Roberta Beckmans.

Now let me say this. Roberta has a long, difficult road to travel. She has already traveled a long, hard road to get to where she is. Matthew 22:14 tells us “For many are called but few are chosen.” It took me a long time to understand this Scripture. God calls many every day to do His work but few will step forward to accept the calling. Roberta has stepped forward, accepted the calling, and has set about the work appointed to her. Have you accepted YOUR calling?

It HAS begun. God has taken writing from this ministry, taken it from East Tennessee to Lombard, Illinois to a woman whom He had prepared and called to do His work and set the wheels in motion. Thankfully, she stepped forward to be chosen and accept the call.

Having said all that I would like to challenge all of you. Have you heard the Holy Spirit calling you? Have you heeded the call? Or, have you ignored it? This is just one ministry that has begun to help special needs families in this great nation of ours. Will your ministry be the next? Pray about it.

May God pour His blessing upon you all abundantly,

Lonnie Richardson

Well, the first eight week term at Liberty University has been completed. With over 3000 pages of text read, read every book of the Old Testament, about 10% of the New Testament, 70 hours of lecture on DVD, 8 papers written, 20 critiques written, two midterm exams, 8 quizzes, and two final exams God got me through with scores of 97.3% in Old Testament Survey and 98.6% in Theology. I can honestly say that it was 98% God and I contributed maybe 2%. Yes, God did it but He worked me hard to do it. As one of my dearest friends with a Phd. in Psychology once eloquently stated, “Lonnie you are a stuff knowing dude.” But that is not accidental either. My dad had a sister in law who was a teacher, a very dedicated teacher. She taught my dad in the second grade and held off on retirement until she taught me in the second grade. My folks were thirty seven years old when I was born so that should give you some idea of the time this lady spent teaching. She was an “old school” teacher and not learning in her class was not an option. She had my folks start reading to me when I was an infant Mom began by reading me nursery rhymes and dad read farm journals to me at night. By the time I was five I was reading newspapers. By the time I was eight I was reading on high school levels. Growing up in a very rural area where resources where slim to none and being an only child, books became the primary source of entertainment. I read everything about anything and I learned a great deal in the effect that I can talk to just about anyone about anything. Now that may sound like I am bragging but I assure you that I am not. Those who know me will tell you that I have learned to be humble with humility to a great extent. Those same people will tell you that I am not afraid to take a stand and fight for that which is right should the time and need arise. I have made mention of all this for one simple reason. To give God the Glory. He made me what I am. He gave me the intellect, skills, talent, and gifts that I possess. These gifts were developed, not necessarily at the time for His glory but ultimately that He may be glorified.

My reasoning behind all this is really simple although I may have made it appear complex without meaning to. Simply, I put myself into the Bible with prayer and a dedicated discipline to not simply know about God, but to know God. I have never read or studied so intensely or with such focus on anything in my life as I have in the past eight weeks. I have come to some primary conclusions. (1) I am confirmed that this course of study is what God wants me to do although I am as yet uncertain what His overall plan is for having me go through it at this time. Yet, I will be obedient in faith. (2) I believe that if you can get people into the Bible, the Bible will get into people. Once this is done the family will be stabilized and God can do His best work. (3) Pay attention pastors, I believe that if you apply the second conclusion and practice what you preach, then you will have prepared an army to go into battle of spiritual warfare winning souls to Christ whereby hell will be plundered to populate heaven.  (4) That II Timothy 2:2 “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” should have a very special meaning for all of us.

Get into the Bible. Allow the Bible to get into you. Therein lies the truth, wisdom, and strength that will be necessary to grow in spirit that will allow you to reach out and meet the needs of the special needs and their families. More than likely, you will find that many of your own needs have been or will be met in the process.

God Bless,

Lonnie Richardson

I am neck deep into my studies as an online college student. I am currently taking Old Testament Survey and TheologyI. Let me say this. Online education cannot necessarily be translated into EASY education. There are five lectures each week for each class. Approximately 100 to 150 pages of reading each week in addition to reading the entire Old Testament in eight weeks. There are quizzes, exams, and critiques to write and comments about critiques to write, and then there are comments in regards to the comments to write. I am between overwhelmed and flabergasted. I get up at five a.m. and go to work. I return home about 4 p.m. and bury my head in the Bible or a text book about the Bible and I stay there until 9:30 or 10 p.m. everyday. Having said that, I am having the time of my life. Do not concieve the thought that I have abandoned this post. I am merely following in the direction that God is leading.

Okay, it has been a few weeks since I posted. I’ve been busy getting enrolled in school at Liberty University and getting classes scheduled, and attending webinars. But then one excuse is as good as the next one and none of them are worth the breath it takes to express them. So I’ll not waste anymore time making excuses.

Roberta Beckman, her daughters, Anna and Danielle, and her friend Sally came down to East Tennessee all the way from Lombard in the Chicago area to visit the first weekend in October. We really had a good meeting where I laid out the entire vision of the ministry to her and I think that she was somewhat impressed by the entire scope of things. Not that she was impressed my me at all but with what God has shown me and the work that He has ordained.

We took them all to church Sunday morning and had a good meal afterwards. Then we took them into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park for a drive around Cades Cove. I believe that they had a good time as Roberta’s daughter, Anna, was  ready to move lock, stock and barrell to East Tennessee. We enjoyed having them and treasured the moments we got to spend sharing, praying, and enjoying God’s great creation around us. God Bless!

You know, I must admit that at times I have been legalistic and judgmental in my beliefs. I guess that the faith was weak and I was looking for an excuse to be disobedient to our Heavanly Father. I have come to realize that we are all sinners despite what ever position is held. This applies to Pastors, Evangelists, Deacons and other people who may or may not be in Church Leadership. I know that I have been guilty of harboring ill and judgmental thoughts towards someone for slight inconsistancies in conversation. Now it is true that we all (Church Leadership and those of us who are not in Church Leadership) should be mindful of our thoughts, words, and actions. Matthew 7:1-5 states: (1) Do not judge so that you will not be judged. (2) For in the way you judge you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. (3) Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? (4) Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye, and behold, the log is in your own eye? (5) You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (NASB)

It doesn’t get much plainer than that. It is not our place to judge or strike out in an ill manner at others, especially our leaders at church. Yes, they are leaders but they are human and humans will disappoint you from time to time. Even in the best marriages spouses will disappoint each other from time to time. It is pure love that keeps them together. Likewise it is pure love that we should show towards others when they falter in the slightest. Many people are so legalistic that even the slightest infraction or sin will cause them to condemn the other to no resolution. I know because I have been guilty of it myself. The Holy Spirit led my wife to show me a piece of scripture that explained clearly what I should be doing when I am genuinely slighted or I merely think that I have been slighted.

2 Corinthians 13:7-9 (7)  Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved. (8) For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. (9) For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak but you are strong; this we also pray for, that you be made complete.

Father I pray that when I see or hear one of your servants falter that You do not allow my faith to be decreased. Grant me the faith and love to lift them up to you in prayer that You may convict their heart that they repent. I pray that You make them complete. Let not the thoughts of legalism, judgement, or contempt even flicker within me. I am Yours as they are. Forgive us all and place us upon your path of righteousness.

God Bless,

Lonnie Richardson