Greetings-
I preach and teach and talk at churches, chapels, conferences and functions all over the USA and the world. Those that have heard me speak know that I use the Parable teaching style that Christ used and that I enjoy telling true stories of the horse and of historical facts on how Christians changed the world. Many tell me that they wish they could here more facts about our history.
So I want to share some of the ways that Christians helped change the world in ways that you may or may not realize.
When you go to the local YMCA is was set up for the sole purpose by George Williams in the 1840's to win young men to Christ" and today it serves 20,000,000 members and still features Christian values.
The Salvation Army was born in England in the 1800's in the Industrial Revolution to minister specifically to the poorest of the poor and help provide food, shelter, and support along with the salvation message.
Christian mission organizations like the London Missionary Society helped overcome and abolish world slavery, fought for equality, established Child Labor Laws, built hospitals to mend the poor and established schools to overcome illiteracy. Christians dating back in the Roman Empire were already creating homes for orphans, the abandoned and the elderly.
Christian relief organizations such as World Vision, Samaritans Purse, Victims Relief, Convoy of Hope, Texas Baptist Men, Food for the Hungry, Victim Relief Ministries and Medical Teams International work hand in hand with thousands of churches to provide relief and care to those in crisis.
What would compel young people to study medicine and then spend their lives in remote places, for little or nothing, to minister to those that have little or no access to medicine or doctors.
The answer would be the one who truly changed the world over 2,000 years ago. Jesus Christ who overcame the world and commanded his disciples to go out and proclaim the Good News and to be Good Samaritans in action!
The RTCA through its chaplains and its national evangelism programs is helping to change the world in the Global Horse Racing Village. And we thank all who support this and make this happen!
Jesus said- "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me...whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25: 35-36, 40
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
God, Galveston and the Hurricanes of Life
Hurricane IKE was a huge storm. At one time it stretched in an arch from the tip of Louisiana to the south west tip of Texas, an expanse that covered nearly 1,000 miles. Its impact was felt in Mississippi, Alabama and the panhandle 0f Florida.
It came ashore near Galveston covering the entire island in water, smashed downtown Houston and flooded East Texas and Southwest Louisiana in a gully of furious rainwater. It knocked out power in Hot Springs, Arkansas and then re-formed as a mini-hurricane in the Ohio River Valley and knocked trees down and power out in large parts of Louisville and Cincinatti before finally calming down and exiting back out into the north Atlantic Ocean.
IKE left behind devastation and destruction in the billions of dollars as well as some loss of life. Its effects will be felt for quite a long time in the sea coast villages that were turned into splinters and for Galveston Island in particular that sits with no basic infrastructure up in running that will greet 50,000 people returning on Wednesday.
Almost all of them will find homes and apartments that were flooded and rotting with the seawater that is now turning into mold, or the smell of spoiled meat in unopened refrigerators, furniture that is now useless, computers unworkable and family photos that are curled up or with images washed away.
As I served with the VRM command post at 47th and Broadway I watched the faces of those on-island survivors that looked tired and haggard, their bodies dehydrating and searching for food and water and for answers.
Why they stayed behind or the circumstances of life that left them where they are is unimportant at those moments. Times of tragedy are sometimes the only time that people are reminded of the "Whys of God". Why Me? Why Now? Why my spouse, child or neighbor? and of course the big one- "Why did God allow this to happen?"
I've learned to not have all the answers and to speak truthfully to what answers I know. I've learned to basically keep my mouth closed and my ears open and more importantly my heart open to them and to what God is saying to me.
I've learned not to be judgemental or stick that finger of righteouness at any one. I've learned to just come in the spirit of loving my neighbor, to hand out a bottle of cold water, to be able to let them know that someone cares about them and is there for them.
Prayer can be something asked for over someone and you can be a answered prayer in action just by your very presence- the ministry of presence as we call it.
I've just left the island of Galveston and I am taking "off" my VRM cap and putting on my RTCA cap to resume my focus of Evangelism and Missions at the RTCA. It is harder to that than most people will ever realize. But I take comfort in the Lord that I know we as Christians made an impact and a difference in those people's lives, one by one, sent into our path by God.
I will close with this example. I pulled into a gas station north of Houston to make sure I had enough gas to get into Galveston to begin serving with VRM.
I had on my VRM bright yellow Chaplains shirt with all my credentials hanging down around my neck and began to pump gas. I woman approached me. She was very stressed out and her eyes revealed she was hurting. She touched my arm where I have my RTCA White Horse patch and she said- "Are you a real chaplain, because I need one."
She said her name was Mary and that she had left Galveston to live at her sister's house and she was tired and broke and she just wanted to go home and was glad to know I would be serving on Galveston. She wanted me to pray for her and for the hurricane victims and for those wanting to go home to begin to rebuild their lives and homes.
I prayed for her right there at the pump and she shook as I prayed deeply for her and for the God of peace to comfort her life and those affected by IKE. When I finished she hugged me with tears running down her face and I looked up and people were all over the pump listening with their heads bowed as I prayed. Many people talked to me afterwards and thanked me for helping in the disaster response.
We do not know the impact we make on people in a crisis, we don't know all the why's and how's of things good or bad. God does! We just need to answer His call when He tells us to love our neighbors and be there to offer hope when the hurricanes of life are storming into their lives!
Blessings to all-
Edward
It came ashore near Galveston covering the entire island in water, smashed downtown Houston and flooded East Texas and Southwest Louisiana in a gully of furious rainwater. It knocked out power in Hot Springs, Arkansas and then re-formed as a mini-hurricane in the Ohio River Valley and knocked trees down and power out in large parts of Louisville and Cincinatti before finally calming down and exiting back out into the north Atlantic Ocean.
IKE left behind devastation and destruction in the billions of dollars as well as some loss of life. Its effects will be felt for quite a long time in the sea coast villages that were turned into splinters and for Galveston Island in particular that sits with no basic infrastructure up in running that will greet 50,000 people returning on Wednesday.
Almost all of them will find homes and apartments that were flooded and rotting with the seawater that is now turning into mold, or the smell of spoiled meat in unopened refrigerators, furniture that is now useless, computers unworkable and family photos that are curled up or with images washed away.
As I served with the VRM command post at 47th and Broadway I watched the faces of those on-island survivors that looked tired and haggard, their bodies dehydrating and searching for food and water and for answers.
Why they stayed behind or the circumstances of life that left them where they are is unimportant at those moments. Times of tragedy are sometimes the only time that people are reminded of the "Whys of God". Why Me? Why Now? Why my spouse, child or neighbor? and of course the big one- "Why did God allow this to happen?"
I've learned to not have all the answers and to speak truthfully to what answers I know. I've learned to basically keep my mouth closed and my ears open and more importantly my heart open to them and to what God is saying to me.
I've learned not to be judgemental or stick that finger of righteouness at any one. I've learned to just come in the spirit of loving my neighbor, to hand out a bottle of cold water, to be able to let them know that someone cares about them and is there for them.
Prayer can be something asked for over someone and you can be a answered prayer in action just by your very presence- the ministry of presence as we call it.
I've just left the island of Galveston and I am taking "off" my VRM cap and putting on my RTCA cap to resume my focus of Evangelism and Missions at the RTCA. It is harder to that than most people will ever realize. But I take comfort in the Lord that I know we as Christians made an impact and a difference in those people's lives, one by one, sent into our path by God.
I will close with this example. I pulled into a gas station north of Houston to make sure I had enough gas to get into Galveston to begin serving with VRM.
I had on my VRM bright yellow Chaplains shirt with all my credentials hanging down around my neck and began to pump gas. I woman approached me. She was very stressed out and her eyes revealed she was hurting. She touched my arm where I have my RTCA White Horse patch and she said- "Are you a real chaplain, because I need one."
She said her name was Mary and that she had left Galveston to live at her sister's house and she was tired and broke and she just wanted to go home and was glad to know I would be serving on Galveston. She wanted me to pray for her and for the hurricane victims and for those wanting to go home to begin to rebuild their lives and homes.
I prayed for her right there at the pump and she shook as I prayed deeply for her and for the God of peace to comfort her life and those affected by IKE. When I finished she hugged me with tears running down her face and I looked up and people were all over the pump listening with their heads bowed as I prayed. Many people talked to me afterwards and thanked me for helping in the disaster response.
We do not know the impact we make on people in a crisis, we don't know all the why's and how's of things good or bad. God does! We just need to answer His call when He tells us to love our neighbors and be there to offer hope when the hurricanes of life are storming into their lives!
Blessings to all-
Edward
Thursday, August 28, 2008
White Horse Impact in 2008 and Beyond!
The ultimate race of life continues everyday on tracks, training centers and horse farms all around the world and especially in the USA with the work of our chaplains and the RTCA National Home Office.
A year ago the RTCA launched a national evangelism and discipleship program with the initial grant from the Foursquare Foundation and with matching funds from various ministries and contributors.
The Evangelism outreach were called the "White Horse Family Festivals" that were large scale all-day events that included family activities like bounce houses, pony rides and clowns, raffle prizes, welcome gifts, buffet "Carne Asada" meals, foot races, large scale stage settings and live bands along with Kevin Thornton and Pat Day. They hit the large racetracks such as Fairgrounds, Churchill, Belmont and Arlington Park. Smaller Festivals called "White Horse Super-ALPHA" covered smaller tracks such as Evangeline Downs, Delta Downs and Los Alamitos with a smaller evening venue but still offering welcome gifts, prizes, dinner, a musical concert by Kevin Thornton and the message brought by Pat Day.
All the tracks offered the discipleship class that was centered around the "ALPHA" program and over 15 of these events were held from coast to coast, from the midwest to the southeast and at the end over 5,200 hundred people attended with just over 1,000 accepting the Lord as their personal savior and hundreds completed the discipleship course.
One year has just passed and we just concluded the 2nd annual White Horse outreach at Del Mar with 40 coming to the Lord and we will be offering ALPHA follow ups at Hollywood Park and Santa Anita!
The White Horse Festivals are again being targeted for outreaches in 2009 that will take the team to tracks in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and many other places.
We need your prayers. We have applied for a new grant from Foursquare Foundation to launch these festivals and ALPHA programs and it has passed phase one! We will need to pray that matching funds will be raised as well.
An international grant has been applied for as well. It looks to launch the first White Horse Festivals in the world with outreaches planned for Peru, Chile and Argentina in 2009! We need your prayers for the international contributors to finance the ministries in South America and around the global horse villages.
But the Festivals, outreaches and discipleship programs are more than reported numbers. They are about the transformation of lives. At graduation after graduation I have watched and listened as racetrack workers get up and share their testimonies of deliverance from addictions or immoral life styles and they call upon their peers to come to the Lord.
At each graduation I "charge" the new believers to take the word to their peers as Salty Roberts and other RTCA founders did for them over 35 years ago. I charge them to be the salt and light to the backstretches and farms in their workplace.
There is excitement and joy in watching the passion they exhibit in the graduation classes!
And the White Horse Riders is serving an ever increasing role of relevancy as we respond to disasters such as barn fires, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes- with more and more appearing on the near horizon.
You are going to hear more as we seek to secure equipment and materials for deployment and for more training and to increase the number of people who can respond with us.
The RTCA in partnership with our chaplains and councils is making a difference in helping transform people through God by presenting the gospel or handing out a bottle of water to the horse racing community.
Keep lifting up the RTCA in prayer and that God will give us the resources and the wisdom and discernment to do what is right for the people and to glorify His name!
All of the
A year ago the RTCA launched a national evangelism and discipleship program with the initial grant from the Foursquare Foundation and with matching funds from various ministries and contributors.
The Evangelism outreach were called the "White Horse Family Festivals" that were large scale all-day events that included family activities like bounce houses, pony rides and clowns, raffle prizes, welcome gifts, buffet "Carne Asada" meals, foot races, large scale stage settings and live bands along with Kevin Thornton and Pat Day. They hit the large racetracks such as Fairgrounds, Churchill, Belmont and Arlington Park. Smaller Festivals called "White Horse Super-ALPHA" covered smaller tracks such as Evangeline Downs, Delta Downs and Los Alamitos with a smaller evening venue but still offering welcome gifts, prizes, dinner, a musical concert by Kevin Thornton and the message brought by Pat Day.
All the tracks offered the discipleship class that was centered around the "ALPHA" program and over 15 of these events were held from coast to coast, from the midwest to the southeast and at the end over 5,200 hundred people attended with just over 1,000 accepting the Lord as their personal savior and hundreds completed the discipleship course.
One year has just passed and we just concluded the 2nd annual White Horse outreach at Del Mar with 40 coming to the Lord and we will be offering ALPHA follow ups at Hollywood Park and Santa Anita!
The White Horse Festivals are again being targeted for outreaches in 2009 that will take the team to tracks in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and many other places.
We need your prayers. We have applied for a new grant from Foursquare Foundation to launch these festivals and ALPHA programs and it has passed phase one! We will need to pray that matching funds will be raised as well.
An international grant has been applied for as well. It looks to launch the first White Horse Festivals in the world with outreaches planned for Peru, Chile and Argentina in 2009! We need your prayers for the international contributors to finance the ministries in South America and around the global horse villages.
But the Festivals, outreaches and discipleship programs are more than reported numbers. They are about the transformation of lives. At graduation after graduation I have watched and listened as racetrack workers get up and share their testimonies of deliverance from addictions or immoral life styles and they call upon their peers to come to the Lord.
At each graduation I "charge" the new believers to take the word to their peers as Salty Roberts and other RTCA founders did for them over 35 years ago. I charge them to be the salt and light to the backstretches and farms in their workplace.
There is excitement and joy in watching the passion they exhibit in the graduation classes!
And the White Horse Riders is serving an ever increasing role of relevancy as we respond to disasters such as barn fires, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes- with more and more appearing on the near horizon.
You are going to hear more as we seek to secure equipment and materials for deployment and for more training and to increase the number of people who can respond with us.
The RTCA in partnership with our chaplains and councils is making a difference in helping transform people through God by presenting the gospel or handing out a bottle of water to the horse racing community.
Keep lifting up the RTCA in prayer and that God will give us the resources and the wisdom and discernment to do what is right for the people and to glorify His name!
All of the
Monday, June 9, 2008
Arlington Park and the Old Time Tent Revival!
On Sunday morning the rain was pouring down all over Chicago and it seemed as if it was focused on Arlington Park. The tent and area we were going to hold the event on that afternoon looked like the Louisiana swamp lands- in fact we thought we saw a gator hanging out in the back of the tent. We did the secular responsibility thing and made plans B and then plan C as a backup to that. And then we did the spiritually sensible thing and all gathered for prayer with Chaplain Ernesto Reyes in the Chaplains trailer with council members and some volunteers and took it to the God of the Heavens, the creator of the universe and the one who controls, sends or resends the rain.
We prayed with believing hearts and asked God to send the SUN and then went about our business of preparing for the work of the Harvest. God answered that prayer, for within hours God pulled the rain back, the heavens began to open, the light began to shine and the SON showed up in all His glory!
What an awesome sight to hear, witness and participate in. A army of dedicated volunteers arrived and joined in with council members including Brother Charlie Matuzas and his wife who drove up from Indiana to film the event. The Harvest Church brought an incredible feast that would feed over 800 adults and children, while the registration table was manned by 10 volunteers who handed out welcome kits and gave Jesus Loves You bracelets to the kids who also enjoyed carnival games and were entertained by a clown that created balloon shapes of everything you could imagine.
A choir of 80 young people on tour of churches and prisons from South Carolina (they were sent over to us by Harvest Church) had a cancellation and dropped in on us to give a 35 minute concert. The front of the tent was rocking and clapping to the Christian music of a local Mexican Christian group- and the skies continued to clear as hundreds and hundreds of backstretch workers enjoyed the White Horse Festival that had come to honor them and bring the word of God along with some rather tasty food!
400 chairs were filled inside the tent and hundreds spilled outside and stood alongside the side less tent and leaned in to listen.
Chaplain Ernesto and I greeted the people and MC'd the event as we helped lead an old fashioned, gospel singing, gospel preaching, tent revival in the heart of the backstretch village at Arlington Park!
As the sun began to set Kevin Thornton brought his inspirational message and testimony in English and Spanish songs and in sharing from his heart how God had filled the void in life, even while at the top of the musical charts, and had all the world had to offer as success. He helped set the stage as we had people slow down and begin to focus on what God had laid on the heart of Pat Day to come and tell them.
To wild applause Pat Day and our old RTCA brother in Christ and former Chaplains Rep Luis stepped up on stage and for the next 25 minutes they brought the word together as one team!
And then the moment of truth beneath the tent. After delivering his message, Pat had them pray to receive Christ and then to come forward to the altar and make a public declaration. At first no one moved. And then a woman holding a small child boldly came forward and walked to the altar area and then turned and looked at the crowd. And then another woman came forward and then two women, no four and on and on they came. And then men began to come forward to the applause of believers and soon the altar area was full.
Kevin sang Amazing Grace as Chaplain Ernesto and I led tens of people outside the tent and to an area where we could talk to them and explain about the ALPHA program and how Chaplain Ernesto would help lead them in their growth and that the RTCA would be here to walk with them. Pat joined us as we made a circle of unity and welcomed our new brothers and sisters in Christ into the family of God united in the citizenship of heaven.
Fifty people signed the commitment cards stating their acceptance of God as their savior and Lord! Many more will be coming forward publicly soon.
The God who stopped the rain brought the waters of eternal life to over 50 people that night, beneath a tent that shook like the old time revivals!
Thank you Lord for Chaplain Ernesto and his council and his volunteers and his wife who supports his ministry! Thank you Chaplain Luis for stepping in and helping translate and for helping build the relationship with Harvest Church and for all that the church did for feeding so many people! Thank you for Kevin and Pat who are not ashamed or afraid of sharing the gospel of Christ! Thank you chaplains for continuing to run the race to bring thousands to Christ on your tracks and farms and training centers! And thank you RTCA and RTCA supporters who keep this ministry goal of helping people win the ultimate race of life through Jesus Christ the White Horse Rider!
We prayed with believing hearts and asked God to send the SUN and then went about our business of preparing for the work of the Harvest. God answered that prayer, for within hours God pulled the rain back, the heavens began to open, the light began to shine and the SON showed up in all His glory!
What an awesome sight to hear, witness and participate in. A army of dedicated volunteers arrived and joined in with council members including Brother Charlie Matuzas and his wife who drove up from Indiana to film the event. The Harvest Church brought an incredible feast that would feed over 800 adults and children, while the registration table was manned by 10 volunteers who handed out welcome kits and gave Jesus Loves You bracelets to the kids who also enjoyed carnival games and were entertained by a clown that created balloon shapes of everything you could imagine.
A choir of 80 young people on tour of churches and prisons from South Carolina (they were sent over to us by Harvest Church) had a cancellation and dropped in on us to give a 35 minute concert. The front of the tent was rocking and clapping to the Christian music of a local Mexican Christian group- and the skies continued to clear as hundreds and hundreds of backstretch workers enjoyed the White Horse Festival that had come to honor them and bring the word of God along with some rather tasty food!
400 chairs were filled inside the tent and hundreds spilled outside and stood alongside the side less tent and leaned in to listen.
Chaplain Ernesto and I greeted the people and MC'd the event as we helped lead an old fashioned, gospel singing, gospel preaching, tent revival in the heart of the backstretch village at Arlington Park!
As the sun began to set Kevin Thornton brought his inspirational message and testimony in English and Spanish songs and in sharing from his heart how God had filled the void in life, even while at the top of the musical charts, and had all the world had to offer as success. He helped set the stage as we had people slow down and begin to focus on what God had laid on the heart of Pat Day to come and tell them.
To wild applause Pat Day and our old RTCA brother in Christ and former Chaplains Rep Luis stepped up on stage and for the next 25 minutes they brought the word together as one team!
And then the moment of truth beneath the tent. After delivering his message, Pat had them pray to receive Christ and then to come forward to the altar and make a public declaration. At first no one moved. And then a woman holding a small child boldly came forward and walked to the altar area and then turned and looked at the crowd. And then another woman came forward and then two women, no four and on and on they came. And then men began to come forward to the applause of believers and soon the altar area was full.
Kevin sang Amazing Grace as Chaplain Ernesto and I led tens of people outside the tent and to an area where we could talk to them and explain about the ALPHA program and how Chaplain Ernesto would help lead them in their growth and that the RTCA would be here to walk with them. Pat joined us as we made a circle of unity and welcomed our new brothers and sisters in Christ into the family of God united in the citizenship of heaven.
Fifty people signed the commitment cards stating their acceptance of God as their savior and Lord! Many more will be coming forward publicly soon.
The God who stopped the rain brought the waters of eternal life to over 50 people that night, beneath a tent that shook like the old time revivals!
Thank you Lord for Chaplain Ernesto and his council and his volunteers and his wife who supports his ministry! Thank you Chaplain Luis for stepping in and helping translate and for helping build the relationship with Harvest Church and for all that the church did for feeding so many people! Thank you for Kevin and Pat who are not ashamed or afraid of sharing the gospel of Christ! Thank you chaplains for continuing to run the race to bring thousands to Christ on your tracks and farms and training centers! And thank you RTCA and RTCA supporters who keep this ministry goal of helping people win the ultimate race of life through Jesus Christ the White Horse Rider!
Friday, June 6, 2008
The God of Love and a Kiss
I was driving home and listening to the radio, a song was playing, it was a song by the group U-2 called "In the Name of Love". A Christian group had re-recorded it and it was playing on my Christian station. The song contains lyrics about Christ and they were singing the line "one man betrayed with a kiss".
And it got me thinking of the irony of the night that Judas led the Romans to come and arrest Christ in the garden. To identify Christ, Judas walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek.
The irony of the fact that God is Love. In Love God gave us the free will to choose Him or reject Him, that in Love God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to give the salvation message. That in Love Christ told us to love our neighbors, to love our spouses, to love ourselves and in love take this message to everyone in the world. And in Love, Christ sacrificed himself to pay the ransom to free mankind on the cross!
And yet, the very act of betrayal came from a kiss to identify the God of Love.
How is our Love life?
Are we honoring God in action? To love one another, to lift up and love our families, our neighbors and our world? Or are we betraying the God of Love with a kiss?
I would like to recite one of the most famous verses from the Bible in regards to Love it comes from the New Testament book of Corinthians 13:4-8:
Love is patient; love is kind.
Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way: it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
And now faith, hope, and love abide,
and the greatest of these is love.
It will be my prayer for you, that this is the Love you will reflect to each other and share with each other and bring as much joy and happiness as possible into your lives under the guidance of the Lord.
The Lord of Salvation, lover of your soul, friend of sinners and the God of Love!
Have a blessed and wonderful day and spend it in Love.
And it got me thinking of the irony of the night that Judas led the Romans to come and arrest Christ in the garden. To identify Christ, Judas walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek.
The irony of the fact that God is Love. In Love God gave us the free will to choose Him or reject Him, that in Love God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to give the salvation message. That in Love Christ told us to love our neighbors, to love our spouses, to love ourselves and in love take this message to everyone in the world. And in Love, Christ sacrificed himself to pay the ransom to free mankind on the cross!
And yet, the very act of betrayal came from a kiss to identify the God of Love.
How is our Love life?
Are we honoring God in action? To love one another, to lift up and love our families, our neighbors and our world? Or are we betraying the God of Love with a kiss?
I would like to recite one of the most famous verses from the Bible in regards to Love it comes from the New Testament book of Corinthians 13:4-8:
Love is patient; love is kind.
Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way: it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
And now faith, hope, and love abide,
and the greatest of these is love.
It will be my prayer for you, that this is the Love you will reflect to each other and share with each other and bring as much joy and happiness as possible into your lives under the guidance of the Lord.
The Lord of Salvation, lover of your soul, friend of sinners and the God of Love!
Have a blessed and wonderful day and spend it in Love.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Riding the White Horse in the Ultimate Race of Life
We know that the White Horse is one of the symbols of the RTCA. It is taken directly from Revelation 19:11. We believe that Christ is seated upon the White Horse and he is called Faithful and True! (Amen) And all who love horses should rejoice because the horse is obviously a creature that exists in Heaven and is the chosen vessel that Christ will return to judge the Earth. Verse 16 tells us Christ wears a robe and on his thigh or jockey pants are written the words- "King of Kings and Lord of Lords".
While the prophecy written in the book of Revelation can occur at any minute, hour, day, week, year or decade- we need to be involved in the Harvest fields right now.
We do not know how long we have on this planet, we are not guaranteed another sunset or sunrise, so let us be found going about the work of our Father in Heaven.
The RTCA has endeavored to take on a great and awesome task. Presenting the gospel on the racetracks, training centers, farms and ranches of the horse racing community. With a goal of leading at least 25,000 people or more to Christ by the year 2010.
As I reported at our March conference in Seattle, we have already crossed the 16,500 person mark!
In addition to the tremendous ministry work of our local chaplains, the RTCA in partnership with the Foursquare Charity Foundation and some key individual partners have launched the White Horse Evangelism Festivals and follow up ALPHA discipleship programs.
Since August of 2007 the Festivals have come to the tracks at Del Mar, Bay Meadows, Churchill Downs, Sam Houston, Fairgrounds, Evangeline Downs, Delta Downs and just held one May 19 at Belmont Park with its sister track of Aqueduct. The next festival is scheduled for June 8 at Arlington Park. Alpha programs have been launched or are underway or will be coming to- Hollywood Park, Bay Meadows, Golden Gate Field, Santa Anita, Los Alamitos, Sam Houston, Churchill, Lone Star Park, Fairgrounds, Belmont, Evangeline Downs and Evangeline Training Center, Delta Downs and Arlington Park.
For a program that was targeted to carry out 8 Festivals and 8 ALPHA programs we have stretched out to 24 places, tracks and training centers!
We will be celebrating not only ALPHA graduations in the next few months but will also be holding baptisims as well!
Over 1,000 people have come directly to the Lord from these events and hundreds have enrolled in the ALPHA classes- with more to come.
But, it is extremely important to remember this, it is not about numbers. It is not keeping up with stats like a baseball game. The numbers are important only for what they represent- that each one of them encountered the Lord, that each one of them was transformed the moment they called upon and accepted Christ to be their savior. The numbers are important to know that the Lord of the Harvest is calling His people home through the race track chaplains and ministries!
We must continue to pray, we must continue to remember that a lot of these people are being delivered from the personal struggles with drugs, alcohol and sexual addiction.
The ALPHA program helps them in their growth as Christians as they are ministered to by our Chaplains. But, the devil will come at them from all angles. So lift them up in prayer, pray for our Chaplains on the front lines of the backstretch and pray for their families and the councils that support the ministry.
We are not about the numbers. We are part of helping people hear and see the gospel in action as we want them to accept Christ and win the ultimate race of life!
While the prophecy written in the book of Revelation can occur at any minute, hour, day, week, year or decade- we need to be involved in the Harvest fields right now.
We do not know how long we have on this planet, we are not guaranteed another sunset or sunrise, so let us be found going about the work of our Father in Heaven.
The RTCA has endeavored to take on a great and awesome task. Presenting the gospel on the racetracks, training centers, farms and ranches of the horse racing community. With a goal of leading at least 25,000 people or more to Christ by the year 2010.
As I reported at our March conference in Seattle, we have already crossed the 16,500 person mark!
In addition to the tremendous ministry work of our local chaplains, the RTCA in partnership with the Foursquare Charity Foundation and some key individual partners have launched the White Horse Evangelism Festivals and follow up ALPHA discipleship programs.
Since August of 2007 the Festivals have come to the tracks at Del Mar, Bay Meadows, Churchill Downs, Sam Houston, Fairgrounds, Evangeline Downs, Delta Downs and just held one May 19 at Belmont Park with its sister track of Aqueduct. The next festival is scheduled for June 8 at Arlington Park. Alpha programs have been launched or are underway or will be coming to- Hollywood Park, Bay Meadows, Golden Gate Field, Santa Anita, Los Alamitos, Sam Houston, Churchill, Lone Star Park, Fairgrounds, Belmont, Evangeline Downs and Evangeline Training Center, Delta Downs and Arlington Park.
For a program that was targeted to carry out 8 Festivals and 8 ALPHA programs we have stretched out to 24 places, tracks and training centers!
We will be celebrating not only ALPHA graduations in the next few months but will also be holding baptisims as well!
Over 1,000 people have come directly to the Lord from these events and hundreds have enrolled in the ALPHA classes- with more to come.
But, it is extremely important to remember this, it is not about numbers. It is not keeping up with stats like a baseball game. The numbers are important only for what they represent- that each one of them encountered the Lord, that each one of them was transformed the moment they called upon and accepted Christ to be their savior. The numbers are important to know that the Lord of the Harvest is calling His people home through the race track chaplains and ministries!
We must continue to pray, we must continue to remember that a lot of these people are being delivered from the personal struggles with drugs, alcohol and sexual addiction.
The ALPHA program helps them in their growth as Christians as they are ministered to by our Chaplains. But, the devil will come at them from all angles. So lift them up in prayer, pray for our Chaplains on the front lines of the backstretch and pray for their families and the councils that support the ministry.
We are not about the numbers. We are part of helping people hear and see the gospel in action as we want them to accept Christ and win the ultimate race of life!
Monday, April 21, 2008
The Race is being Waged in Heaven!
(May 6, 2008 is the RTCA Global Day of Prayer. For full information on Global Day of Prayer click on the Evangelism 2010 section on the RTCA homepage. On the Evangelism 2010 section you will see the title- “Global Day of Prayer”. Click on that section and you can see the hours available for prayer. Send your prayer times to Chaplain Daniel Corte at:
He will sign you up. You can also send your prayer requests to him as well to post on the site.)
The Race for Souls is being waged in the Heavens!
Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The Whitehorse Festivals and ALPHA outreaches have reminded me of the truth of this verse. We have seen the powers of the darkness come against the team on a personal basis and a group basis.
We have experienced technical difficulties that are numerous to list. But one of the most frequent one involves the sound system. It does not matter how perfect the sound check goes, how great the equipment is or how professional the sound technician is- at a key moment when Kevin is singing or Pat is giving the word, the sound will suddenly break down or have problems.
We have had delivery problems, late arriving flights, slow cooking and long food lines, indifferent attitudes at first from people arriving at the outreaches, and of course tiredness or illness that strikes the team.
All we do is STOP! We go silent. We realize that we have done all the “earthly” things possible in planning or operating the outreaches and events. We also realize that the battle is not in the flesh. We wait on the Lord! We give it over to our God!
He has never failed us and Satan has lost every time!
We just had two more events occur at the racetracks at Santa Anita and at Los Alamitos and between the two nearly 100 more people have come to accept the Lord as their Savior. Over 700 people have accepted Christ at our White Horse Festivals and ALPHA discipleship programs! Do you think the prince of darkness is pleased with these results?
Do you think he will again come against us at the planned May events at Evangeline Downs, Delta Downs, Belmont and Arlington Park?
Do you think we need prayer?
Of course the answer is YES for both questions.
As we continue to prepare for the May 6th Global Day of Prayer. Let’s meditate on the following word of God-
“With all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in perseverance and requests for all the Saints.”
Ephesians 6:18
So please be a prayer warrior for the RTCA on May 6th. Do not grow sleepy or lazy during the prayer time you are selecting for the Global Day of Prayer and if possible fast on the day of prayer.
Pray for the spiritual warfare being waged above us. Pray for the great harvest that is underway at racetracks in the United States and pray for a global revival that will sweep through the horse world!
Please send in your prayer times and prayer requests to Chaplain Daniel. And be watchful of the results from your prayers and the prayers of all those with the RTCA!
Blessings-
Edward Smith
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The Prayer of a Righteous Man
(May 6, 2008 is the RTCA Global Day of Prayer. For full information on Global Day of Prayer see previous article. A series of devotions on prayers will be presented throughout 2008)
So, go boldly to the throne of God, cloaked in the grace of His son Jesus Christ. Lift up the RTCA and the RTCA chaplains and councils. Pray for the continued evangelism and discipleship programs underway in racetracks all over the world.
Blessings to all reading this- Edward
James 5:16- “Therefore confess your sins to each other
and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and
effective.”
There is so much written into this very short and simple verse. And it will be a joy to look at God’s word and see how this verse applies to us.
Question- how many of us here today really feel righteous? Let’s be honest, when we sometimes approach the Lord in prayer- do we carry guilt and shame and a feeling of unworthiness when we talk directly to God?
Let’s contrast James 5:16 with the following verse. Please turn in your bibles to:
Romans 3:10-11
As it is written- “There is none righteous, not even one, there is none who understands. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks God.”
Wow- does this not directly contradict James 5:16? No one is righteous, yet God tells us in James that- “the prayers of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
Is this a spiritual….hum?
Let’s take a look at another verse.
2 Timothy 2:22
“Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
So this is telling of the character of righteousness which is- Faith, charity, peace. and a pure heart.
So, in Romans, which is used many times in evangelism as the “Roman Road to Salvation” is the book that illuminates the sin of man. It shows us that man- in our natural and unforgiven state- are not righteous and are not the ways of a pure and Holy God.
James and Timothy are talking to the believers and followers of Christ.
Lets take a look at some facts here.
Prayer is mentioned in the New Testament- 100 times
Righteousness is mentioned 600 times in the bible.
In the original English language the word righteous or righteousness contained the meaning of Righteous, Justification and Justice all in the same word. The word was linked to Christian thought, that when Justice is rooted in a person and the ways of God, then God’s ways of love are esteemed and carried out on the earth.
Like 2 Timothy- there is the word Love.
In its original meaning it meant conformity to God’s standard of right and wrong. The three words were not broken out as they were now- they were one all encompassing and powerful word.
Do not confuse good behavior with righteousness. Not if the original meaning of the word is applied from God’s point of view.
So from the book of Romans- we clearly see whom the unrighteous are.
So how do we approach God in prayer as a righteous person and know as the word of God states- that the prayer is powerful and effective.
Answer- when we come humbly bowed before the Lord, and realizing that righteous is not based on good behavior or good works- that the righteous is not earned and does not make us better than anyone else. It means as believers that our filthy rags are covered by the righteousness of Christ. That righteousness only comes from Christ- that we/you/me are in Christ and Christ is our righteousness. We are forever His even in our failures and made righteous by His grace.
As Romans 6:13 says to the believers-
“do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
So now that righteousness of the believer is established- what are the values of prayer that make it powerful and effective.
Prayer has PRAISE and PRIVILEGE
Christ modeled the prayer that thousands of Christians pray daily- The Lord’s Prayer.
Matthew 6:9-13
Our Father which art in heaven- hallowed be thy name
That opening statement gives praise to our Lord as God, the Creator, who resides in lofty heaven- it gives honor to the one who is holy. And at the same time it allows us the privilege to address him personally as Father- we are His sons and daughters.
Let’s look at other values and elements of prayer.
Prayer has Power- Because God answers prayer and things begin to happen and sometimes the answered prayer is no- because of things yet unseen or understood, that would be harmful or destructive. Be patient in prayer and accept the answer God provides!
Prayer has Promise- it is not to be looked upon as a lotto request. But it does go out with promise- and it is always answered. We can have joy and anticipation in looking to the promise of something happening.
Prayer has Purpose- William Wilberforce had the visions God gave him through prayer and the answers to create the purpose of abolishing slavery in Britain and in the world. He clung to those visions provided through prayer through all the adversity and trials he faced in helping to abolish slavery in the British Empire!
Prayer is Personal- Lift up your family, friends and yourself. Reveal all your inner fears, sins, weaknesses as well as your praise and thankfulness. Thank God for all He has done for you. Remember those things.
James 5:16- “Therefore confess your sins to each other
and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and
effective.”
Let’s look at James 5:16 again, through the eyes of God. From the correct application of the word righteousness and see the value of praying as a righteous man or person-
Enter the prayer in the spirit of purity of heart- confessing your sin, making right with people that you may have wronged, use prayer do be healed, to be made healthy- to be made pure and clean under the awesome righteousness of the Lord. And in the cloak of the righteousness of Christ, loose the baggage, pray for others first, confess to God, praise God, thank God, adore the greatness of the love of God. Tap into that power and know that God will answer your prayer- in one form or another- in His will and time- that is what makes the prayers of the righteous so powerful and effective!
So, go boldly to the throne of God, cloaked in the grace of His son Jesus Christ. Lift up the RTCA and the RTCA chaplains and councils. Pray for the continued evangelism and discipleship programs underway in racetracks all over the world.
Blessings to all reading this- Edward
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Global Day of Prayer & The Continuing Race for 2010!
Greetings to the family and friends of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America.
Last year on May 8th we had an incredible time of unity as we prayed together and fasted together for a 24 hour period. We came together as one body of those who serve the horse racing community and shared in times of prayer walks in the backstretches and front sides of the race tracks, in the training centers and in farms and barns across the globe. We read devotions and brought the prayer needs and requests up to our councils circulated them on emails and posted them on our web site. We signed up for prayer times on a 24 hour clock. And beginning at Midnight we began to pray together as the home office called chaplains and councils beginning in New Zealand and working around the world to Australia and Kenya and Puerto Rico and Canada, the USA, Argentina and Chile.
It was incredible, and awesome and inspiring!
This year we are declaring May 6, 2008 as our RTCA Global Day of Prayer.
It is our prayer and hope and anticipation for another Global Day of unity and fasting and reflecting and praying as a corporate body of believers. Bringing the prayer needs and requests from our family for all of us to pray over them.
Since last year we have seen tremendous growth in the RTCA ministry both in the USA and Canada and around the world.
But we see Kenya has plunged into a violent civil war and we need to lift up our Chaplain John Kaoto who lives in Nairobi.
There is strife and economic pressures everywhere and we need to pray for peace in the world.
Dr. Torres will be giving us a devotion on prayer inspired from the places in the Holy Land he just finished visiting.
We will have global devotions on prayer that will be posted on our web site throughout the year. Written by our chaplains and councils in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, England and hopefully- Kenya.
Keep praying for the continuing Race for 2010. The original RTCA Evangelism Vision 2010 plan is already out of the starting gate and hundreds came to the Lord and hundreds completed discipleship courses under the ALPHA program in 2007. Adding their numbers to the thousands that accept the Lord each year due to the work of our Chaplains and councils on the front lines of the tracks and farms.
Over 10,000 have accepted the Lord as their Savior over the last 4 years!
Pray for the upcoming Festivals and ALPHA programs that are scheduled for Feb 19 at the Sam Houston Track under Chaplain Daniel Corte, Jr. and on the 20th of Feb at the Fairgrounds Race Track in New Orleans under Chaplain Waverly Parsons.
Pray also for Pat Day and Kevin Thornton who will be bringing messages in word and song and sharing the word and their testimonies, pray for Chaplain Ted Carreras from Hollywood Park who will translate the message. Pray for the council members and volunteers who will be setting up all these events and pray for the Christian musicians who will add their songs to the festivals.
Pray that our denominational partners will join in as we grow these festivals and discipleship programs and take them to all parts of the USA and to the ends of the earth!
So, join the RTCA at our national conference in March in Seattle as we report on the ministry and come together to fellowship and pray together. Join us on May 6 as we will come together to pray in unity globally. Join us everyday and throughout 2008 as we have declared it the year of Prayer!
May you be blessed by God-
Edward Smith
Last year on May 8th we had an incredible time of unity as we prayed together and fasted together for a 24 hour period. We came together as one body of those who serve the horse racing community and shared in times of prayer walks in the backstretches and front sides of the race tracks, in the training centers and in farms and barns across the globe. We read devotions and brought the prayer needs and requests up to our councils circulated them on emails and posted them on our web site. We signed up for prayer times on a 24 hour clock. And beginning at Midnight we began to pray together as the home office called chaplains and councils beginning in New Zealand and working around the world to Australia and Kenya and Puerto Rico and Canada, the USA, Argentina and Chile.
It was incredible, and awesome and inspiring!
This year we are declaring May 6, 2008 as our RTCA Global Day of Prayer.
It is our prayer and hope and anticipation for another Global Day of unity and fasting and reflecting and praying as a corporate body of believers. Bringing the prayer needs and requests from our family for all of us to pray over them.
Since last year we have seen tremendous growth in the RTCA ministry both in the USA and Canada and around the world.
But we see Kenya has plunged into a violent civil war and we need to lift up our Chaplain John Kaoto who lives in Nairobi.
There is strife and economic pressures everywhere and we need to pray for peace in the world.
Dr. Torres will be giving us a devotion on prayer inspired from the places in the Holy Land he just finished visiting.
We will have global devotions on prayer that will be posted on our web site throughout the year. Written by our chaplains and councils in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, England and hopefully- Kenya.
Keep praying for the continuing Race for 2010. The original RTCA Evangelism Vision 2010 plan is already out of the starting gate and hundreds came to the Lord and hundreds completed discipleship courses under the ALPHA program in 2007. Adding their numbers to the thousands that accept the Lord each year due to the work of our Chaplains and councils on the front lines of the tracks and farms.
Over 10,000 have accepted the Lord as their Savior over the last 4 years!
Pray for the upcoming Festivals and ALPHA programs that are scheduled for Feb 19 at the Sam Houston Track under Chaplain Daniel Corte, Jr. and on the 20th of Feb at the Fairgrounds Race Track in New Orleans under Chaplain Waverly Parsons.
Pray also for Pat Day and Kevin Thornton who will be bringing messages in word and song and sharing the word and their testimonies, pray for Chaplain Ted Carreras from Hollywood Park who will translate the message. Pray for the council members and volunteers who will be setting up all these events and pray for the Christian musicians who will add their songs to the festivals.
Pray that our denominational partners will join in as we grow these festivals and discipleship programs and take them to all parts of the USA and to the ends of the earth!
So, join the RTCA at our national conference in March in Seattle as we report on the ministry and come together to fellowship and pray together. Join us on May 6 as we will come together to pray in unity globally. Join us everyday and throughout 2008 as we have declared it the year of Prayer!
May you be blessed by God-
Edward Smith
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