December 2016 Blog Posts (23)

Please click here to read the entire prophetic…

New Year’s Day is coming and rather than just celebrating the turn of a calendar page, let’s make the day meaningful by seeking a fresh touch from the Lord!

Urge your church to become a part of, ’22 Days of Fire.’ It’s a Christ-centered way to start out the new year.

The first step this year is the New Year’s Day worship service, including prayer to rededicate your life and your church to the Lord and His purposes. A fellowship…

Even though Christmas day is past, it is a good thing to think about the meaning of the birth of Christ, just as Mary pondered all those things in her heart. (Luke 2:19)

This may surprise you, but the purpose of Christmas is missions. Jesus was the apostle, or missionary, sent to us by God. Hebrews 3:1 reads,

"Therefore, holy brothers and companions in the heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession."

But this verse assumes that if you…

I often wake up with a hymn or chorus on my mind. I awoke Christmas morning with the words of an old hymn, “Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?”   It may have been motivated by a cartoon by my friend Joe McKeever, in which Mary and Joseph are around the manger with Mary holding the baby Jesus, and Joseph exclaiming, “Let’s stop, Honey, and thank God for Jesus.”  It caused me to wonder if anyone prayed at the manger. After the shepherd’s had seen Jesus, they returned,…

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises. Rom 15:13 AMP Bible

The Angel of the Lord came like thunder to the shepherds’ hillside on the first Christmas Eve. With his startling voice, he had to tell them not to be afraid. "Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all people! For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord!" The heavenly host must have flashed like lightning in the sky. "Glory to God in the highest, peace good will to men."

You may not imagine that you could ever…

There are probably few images more evocative than the manger – that of the shepherds and the Wise Men kneeling before the babe, Christ Jesus. We know that it is unlikely that the two groups were there at the same time, and also, the Biblical record doesn’t include the angels that we place around the primitive scene, but we sense that in that moment kings and common men, indeed, heaven and earth were drawn together. It is a kind of cosmic, but simple image. God has come – in innocence. And…

I come as myself.

Just as I am.

This moment.

My feelings, my fears

My joys, my sadnesses.

You see me as I really am

You know me

Through and through

You see all

All that I am

Or ever have been.

Every experience in my life is laid before you.

Every image I have seen

Each touch, each sensation

Every word…

PURPOSE  2

It seems strange to me that so many people are trying to live without thinking about the purpose of their lives. Of course that casts them onto the mercy of their glands. Last week I pointed out several things like comfort and pleasure that are illegitimate purposes for life. This week I will surprise you with two more possible purposes that are often less than God's plan for us.

Success is not necessarily…

I've just read a blog of an intercessor about Christmas - for her "T'is the season to be jolly" was not possible for several years since losing her son in a traffic accident. Thanksgiving and Christmas were awful, painful reminders of her big loss. But now, there is enough healing and peace to celebrate the birth of Jesus again. The love of the Lord, that carried her through dark times, has broken through at last. Missing her son will always be there, until they are united in the Lord, but…

Almost everyone has used an automobile GPS navigation system. We turn it on. It finds our location on the face of the earth within a few feet. It identifies the street we are on and the direction in which our vehicle is headed. We input a destination – even points along some route. We set additional perimeters – fast route, scenic route and more. And then the journey begins. The GPS barks out the commands – turn right, turn left. Keep to the right. Move to the left. Merge onto this road or…

In prayer this week, I felt the Lord's desire to know His people - really know us, intimately. Sometimes we think this isn't possible because it seems so hard to hear Him. Into this difficulty, God desires to speak hope, because from His perspective, things look VERY different! The following words are what He gave me to share with you.  - …

Are you aware of the presence of God around you? Maybe you are thinking about that amazing time at church or that prayer time at church camp. It was just so amazing. We use language like, “God was near” or “God seemed so real.” Those words help us capture our awareness of the presence of God around us. 

God’s word teaches us that God is everywhere all of the time. David even asks the question, “…where…

One of the greatest tragedies that is sweeping the modern world is confusion and therefore corruption of purpose. In how many areas of life have we confused our purpose and so lost all hope of fulfillment?

IS COMFORT YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE?

In John 12:27,28 Jesus said,

"Now is my heart troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to…