Your Moment

Life is full of moments. Some moments seem ordinary and some seem extraordinary, but the fact is no matter who you are every moment in your life carries weight and has the potential to be an extraordinary moment. Why? Because God designed and faceted you together with a purpose in mind. That purpose is to change the world you live in by the Grace He gives you. If you're a Christian, then you are a significant world changer for Christ. Apostle Paul calls you an Ambassador of Christ, and ambassadors represent. So if Jesus blew this world up with the things He did, then we can expect to as well! (2 Cor 5:20). No matter what you're doing or where you're doing it, God has an extraordinary moment planned for your life today! I want to encourage you not to settle for anything less than extraordinary, because if God, the Creator of the universe, created us on purpose with a purpose and for a purpose, then why in the world would we be willing to settle for anything less? God has a habit of taking average ordinary people and using them to accomplish extraordinary things! So choose to be Extraordinary today! God bless!

He's Just...That Good!

God is a God of compassion and mercy. He's slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. In His Word He tells us that to receive forgiveness we need to surrender our lives to Jesus, then repent and confess our sins. And IF we will do that... He WILL forgive and remember them no more. No matter what are feelings or circumstances may say, after we turn to Him and away from our sin, and after we have confessed before Him our need of His forgiveness, God is faithful and just to purify us from our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Psalm 86:15, 1 John 1:9

Navigating Through the Storm

This last month has been challenging for my family and I. For those of you that don't know, last February my wife and I were asked to help plant a church in Chandler, AZ. Both of us being in agreement that it was the Lord, we sold our house, our car and set out by faith and moved to Arizona.

On November 27th we were faced with a huge hang up. The railroad, my employer, recalled me back to the mid-west and it wasn't optional. So with no other options at the time I left my wife and 3 kids behind and headed back to Kansas praying it wouldn't be for long.

After 2 1/2 weeks it looked hopeful that I would be able to get back to Arizona, so I headed back home. After I got there things took another turn, but this time it was worse. I found out that the railroad wouldn't transfer me because the shortage of engineers in the mid-west actually increased from the previous number and the time frame would be undetermined. It wasn't long and I found myself on a flight back to Kansas, meanwhile doing my best to take captive every thought that suggested I wasn't in the will of God.  

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say "See, its not working out for you in Arizona so it must not be God's will." But these folks don't understand that God does NOT lead you by circumstance. Romans 8:14 NLT says, For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Children of God can expect to be led by His Spirit and not outward circumstance. If we look to circumstances to determine whether or not something is God's will, then our lives would reflect a wave of the sea. Always being tossed around to and fro this way and that way, because circumstances are always changing. We must turn our focus to the Holy Spirit who is constant and stable.

Are you asking yourself, what does he mean? Let me put it like this, pretend your on a boat out in the middle of the sea. This represents your life. The waves (circumstances) all around you take you up and down, side to side over and over again and again. And after awhile you begin to feel weary because your eyes have been on the boat and the waves. However if you would get your eyes off of them and fix them on the horizon (the Lord) which is constant and never changing, you will begin to relax and like the horizon you will begin to reflect its stability through the wavering circumstances of life.

What does keeping your eye on the horizon look like in real life circumstances? Well when I received the news that I was being forced back to the mid-west, immediately my wife and I began praying for guidance. Then I called my Pastor and we prayed some more over the phone. The next night the entire lead team from our church gathered around my wife and I and we prayed some more. Then the next night was our encounter service and our church prayed with us some more. Then the next morning I was awaken by the presence of the Lord and He prompted me by the Spirit to be still and listen to His voice. He assured me that everything would be fine and I needed to trust Him that He has a plan and He reassured me that He will order my steps through this transition. Our eyes were fixed on the horizon!

It was because of this inward voice that I knew the Lord was working out a transition in my life. Though I wasn't sure how it would flesh out, at least I had direction and assurance confirmed by an inward witness. And I've cleaved to His words through this entire season. The Lord led me by His Spirit which dwells on the inside of me. And that's how He will lead you too. As believers we are to be sensitive to His voice and not be circumstance led. God's voice is real, and the more time you spend in His Word and in His presence, the louder, more often and more real it becomes to you. And this my friend is how you have peace when everything around you is falling apart.

Ready For The Next Season?

Ever feel run downed? Spiritually exhausted? Like you need to recharge you're spirit? There are many times I feel this same way. It seems like when we walk through these seasons in life that Abba Father is no where around. Sometimes I find myself questioning what I did to get here, where did I miss it? Have you ever wondered the same thing?

These moments are what I like to call wilderness experiences. Remember when Jesus was led out to the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted? The Spirit led Him there, but you don't hear anything about Him telling Jesus what He should do or give Him any clear direction WHILE He was being tempted. Nope, the enemy waited till He had already heard from the Father, then when Jesus was weak physically, Satan started to temp the Lord. You see that's how the devil is, he doesn't know what's going to happen until you do, but then when he finds out, he tries to get you to doubt. The enemy is crafty and he knows that faith is our key to unlocking God's ability in our lives. If he can keep us doubting, then he can keep us in lock down mode. The only thing that carried the Lord through those moments was faith in God's spoken Word. We MUST hold tight to our confession just as Jesus did, and if we endure, then we will walk out of the wilderness with the power of the Holy Spirit just as He did.

You know it's amazing how consistently predictable the devil can be, yet quite often we forget the solution is the Word of God. Our wilderness experiences are not designed for us to be tempted by Satan. Though that's what happens there, it's not God's plan. God's plan there is to get you away from the clutter that's been robbing your time with Him so you can hear His voice clearly. Really these wilderness experiences are acts of mercy, because God knows the stresses and concerns that trouble your heart. So He wants to get you away from all the distractions, sometimes even your family, so He can communicate to you. God is not a contender, He will not compete for you attention.

So If you're serious about serving the Lord you can expect to find yourself in a few of these wilderness experiences. If Jesus needed them, then how much more do we, who are living in this day and age? And since God honors those who honors Him, and your heart IS to do that which pleases the Father, He's going to communicate with you, even if He has to lead you out into the wilderness...

Othersminded

Millions of people today are gathering together in homes, in churches, in shelters, etc all to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus. If you're like me you cherrish these moments. It's a time where family and friends come together to catch up, and to spend time enjoying eachothers presence while sharing a meal together.

Well this Christmas I find myself among the category of a different group. I'm one of the millions spending Christmas alone. I'm not sad about this it's just opened my eyes to see that there are many people who are isolated while millions of others are enjoying the fellowship of their loved ones.

I want to encourage you during these seasons to be othersminded. You don't have to stop your traditions of spending this time with your family and friends. But how hard would it be to invite someone who's alone, someone with no one to spend Christmas with, over to enjoy this time with you? Just think of the impact that could have on a life that is so precious to the Lord that He came to earth to redeem.

This year let's truly be the hands and feet of Christ and really show others, even our family and friends what the true meaning of Christmas is about.

Merry Christmas everybody, and God bless you!

Pray...

I believe there has never been a day in the past that prayer has been needed more than today. As we get closer to Jesus' return, the enemy will come against the Church with stronger attempts to keep people in bondage. Jesus likened this time as to birth pains.

As Jesus traveled and visited all the towns teaching and preaching in the synagogues, healing the sick, restoring the sight to the blind, and curing all types of illnesses, God began to show Him down through the ages the Great Harvest. (Matt 9:36). Jesus saw a need for more workers so He turned to the disciples and said "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray..."

I am convinced that there are millions of people right now with willing hearts ready to serve God with their gifts and talents, but they are laying dormant because the Church abroad is lacking in the area of praying to the Lord of the Harvest. You see when we pray according to the Word of God, what actually happens is that it releases the Holy Spirit to search for these young willing sprits, and to usher them into to a place where they can be used mightily of God.

Back in the 1980's a pastor down in Texas by the name of David Wilkerson became burdened to pray for a church plant to reach the lost in Time Square. Time square is the most visited destination in the world with over 39 million visitors annually. So its no wonder why God would lay this on David's heart. So David made a vow to the Lord that whoever steps into the call and plants this church in Time Square, he would partner with them and help fund and support them. Then,after a year of praying to the Lord to specifically send someone to that area, God laid it on David's heart to be the one to plant it. And now, because of one man's decision to trust in God's word millions of lives have been eternally impacted at Time Square Church.

So today, I want to challenge each of you to pray and seek God. Ask Him to send more laborers into the field of harvest, and believe that He will. Who knows you may even become the next David Wilkerson...

Fearless

Every day that we are able to wake up on this side of heaven is an oppurtunity for us to be used of God and to advance His kingdom. Ephesians 1:12 even states that this is our appointed destiny. God has done everything He's going to do to qualify us for His service and His calling. Jesus has restored us back to right standing with God and the Holy Spirit has equiped us with the power needed to overcome. Now it's up to us to respond to the call.

One thing we as sons and daughters of God must realize is that we have a part to play in God's plan as well. In II Corinthians 6:1, Paul refers to himself as God's fellow worker. Since God is no respecter of persons, anyone in Christ is God's fellow worker. Like anything involving a partner you must trust him in order for your plans to prosper. I can't think of a better or more trustworthy partner to have than Almighty God. He is faithful, and if we will trust Him, His plans He has for us will prosper no matter what appears to be standing in our way.

Now the enemy knows that if he can keep us from responding or trusting God's promises, then he can keep us dormant. We, the Church must receive a revelation of this truth if we plan to fulfill God's divine destiny. The way the devil attempts to keep us dormant is by imparting fear. Now fear is the enemy of faith, but develops the same way as faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, but hearing the false vanities or lies of the enemy will bring fear. This is where the battle is fought and either won or lost.

In order to become fearless we must listen to the council of God and respond. The two most common ways He does this is through His Anointed Word and by His Holy Spirit. It is important to understand that under every circumstance the two will agree with one another. If we never spend time listening to what God is speaking to us, then we won't know the truth and faith won't enter in to set us free from fear. So, in order to become fearless you must seek God's face, read the Word and then respond to it.

Fear's source is the devil and it's a tactic he uses to get us to doubt the promises of God. But God is not having it! He said He would never leave us or forsake us. He said in Joshua 1:5 "As I was with Moses I will be with you." These are only a couple of the hundreds of faith building promises that God has sent for us to cling to. And if we will trust Him, faith will enter in and drive out the fear that has held us captive.

So today if you are feeling bogged down spiritually, I encourage you to get away and be alone with God for a while. Let God's glorious light in and drive out any fear or anxiety you may have lurking inside of you. This is God's will for you, that your joy may be full.

God bless you!

Trusting God

You hear it all the time said in the Christian circles, "Trust God." But at times this can be easier said then done. If you have been on any kind of an assignment from God you know that it's going to require faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. One tall tale sign that you are not in faith is that you are impatient. Faith is always coupled with patience. If God has ever called you to step out on faith and to trust Him for the impossible, then you know how hard it is to be patient, especially when there is a timeline involved. One thing we as sons and daughters of God need to remind ourselves is that God is in control of our lives, and that He is faithful to complete the mighty work that He started in us. He's the Author AND the Finisher of our faith.

As many of you know already, my family and I have been asked to leave everything in Kansas and to move to Arizona to help plant a church. In order for this to take place we need nothing short of a miracle. We are trusting in God that some how some way we are going to get there before September 25th. To be real honest, I don't know how in the natural. The good thing is I don't have to know how. I just need to keep believing God till it happens. One thing I like about living as a child of the kingdom is that God will always provide an opportunity for us to apply our faith. Because of this, He gave us the Holy Spirit and the Anointed Word of God to help us along.

One of my favorite stories in the New Testament is when Jesus told His disciples lets go to the other side of the lake, then He went to sleep in the back of the boat. This reminds me of where I'm at right now. The Lord said, "Eric, I'm calling you to be a part of New Heights Church. Let's go to the other side." (My wife and I have established that this is God's will for us.) The next part of the story says they (Jesus & His disciples) started across to the other side with other smaller boats following them. Then a great storm arose and waves crashed into the boat filling it with water. The disciples woke Jesus up shouting, "Don't you care that we are going to die?" Through this journey I'm on, there have been times where I have felt that the Lord was sleeping and no where to be seen. There are times that as I'm battling the storm and the waves continue to break down on top of me I've felt like screaming out to God, "Don't you care!" but I realize that He does care and that He gave His life so that the authority of the enemy, who's the source of the storm, would be stripped of his power over me, and that now because of the Blood that was shed for me, I have authority to stand up boldly and shout, "Peace! Be still!"

God's plan for them was to go over to the other side of the lake to the region of Gadarenes to deliver a demon possessed man, also, that the word that the Messiah had come would spread to that region. The enemy resisted this, and that was the reason for the fierce storm. To cause fear to come into the hearts of those going to do the will of God. Notice in that story that nothing is said about the other little boats making it to the other side? When we are on a mission from God, we are going to come against resistance from the enemy (storms). These storms are designed to weary us and to cause fear in our hearts so that, like the little boats, we would turn back and say, "This is crazy! What was I thinking?" However, the kingdom of God suffers from violent attacks of the enemy, but the violent take it by force! If we do not quit, but keep our faith in God, then we are the violent and we are gaining back that real estate which was lost in the garden and there isn't anything the enemy can do but panic when we realize Jesus is still in the boat with us, and that He has never left us.

I don't know what it is you're going through or what mission from God that you are on, but if you find yourself in the midst of the storm and the waves are breaking into the boat, remember that Jesus is still in there with you. Stand up in the name of Jesus and shout peace be still! James says resist the enemy and he must flee! Put your faith in God, and He will see you through whatever is standing in your way from obtaining His will for your life. God's grace is sufficient for whatever it is. There's power in the blood of Jesus, wonder working power!

God bless!

Love Is Our Destiny

God made the mountains and has tamed the oceans. One glimpse of Him is enough to burn our eyes for He is so full of glory we cannot bare the weight of it! Many of us have set our affection on Him and we worship Him with all of heaven because He alone is worthy of all praise. He made everything and created it just like He had pictured it inside His mind. All that we see was once a vision dwelling on the inside of the creator Himself. Then He spoke words filled with a creative force we call faith, and those words became exactly what He imagined.

In this very same way God created man, male and female. Everyone of us was once an image inside the creator of the universe. That picture He had of us contained a destiny that we were purposed for. Everyone on this earth has been hand selected by God and given a call in life, even before we were formed in our mother's womb. God knew us before we were even born because we were His idea. He has sent each of us here with a purpose and has equipped us with gifts especially for that purpose, but in order to obtain this destiny, God has purposely left out the key ingredient. Christ.

God created us to be purpose driven, and since we were His idea, He knew that we would not stop for nothing until we reach fulfilment of our destiny. So in reality we are all striving for Christ. God's plan here was to give us the choice. Jesus Christ is the key however that opens the door to God's grace, and there is no other.

Now, failure to realize that we are ALL (saved and unsaved) God's idea can be devastating to the body of Christ. This is why Jesus, the Master, gave us the great commandment to love one another. Even though some don't recognize Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they were still an image inside God and inside of them lays dormant the destiny that was formed by God. That destiny, if cultivated by Christ's love, will glorify the one we set our affection on and bring the light of Jesus Christ to many...

Love is the answer and love is enough...

God bless!

Cultivating Love

It is said that when the apostle John had arrived to an extreme old age and could with difficulty be carried to the church in the arms of his disciples, and was too weak to give any lengthy exhortations, he would say no more at their meetings than this:



"Little children, love one another."



The disciples and fathers wearied of this constant repetition of the same words said, "Master, why do you always say this?" John replied, "It is the Lord's command, and if only this is done, it is enough."



To love one another isn't the easiest thing to do, but with grace from the Lord nothing is too tough. If we are having troubles in our love walk, chances are we are not spending enough time in God's presence. The cure of course is to get before His Word and let it transform the way you think. Though your spirit is reborn, your soul (mind) must be renewed daily in order to obtain the joyful life of abundance God wills for us. The beatitudes seem like steep tasks to the unrenewed mind, but if you will renew your mind daily, they will become words of love and you will begin to crave them in your heart and for your life.



I challenge you today to start renewing your mind with the Word of God. One chapter a day in the New Testament Monday-Friday and you will have read the entire New Testament in one year. Each day you will be building a life of joy, peace and fulfilment, and you will begin to walk out the great commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ.



God bless!

Fully Devoted Living Every Day In Jesus' Name

Is your devotion time with the Lord becoming more of a formality than worship? Devotion to the Lord is essential to growing out of spiritual adolescence and into maturity. Like anything however, if you lose focus of the purpose it can become something you have to do rather than something you want to do. Daily devotion to God is giving God place in your life. It's showing Him honor; it's showing Him that He carries weight in your life. God says that He will honor those who honor Him, but those who lightly esteem Him, He will despise (1 Sam 2:30).

In this day we live in, we are surrounded by so many distractions. For the child of God it is easy to get off track and lose sight of the purpose of life. If you are asking yourself what is the purpose of life for a Christian, let me remind you. Our purpose here on this earth is to reach hurting, broken, unsaved people with the healing/saving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The purpose of daily devotion to the Father each day is so that we stay rooted and grounded in His love so that we can stay useful and produce fruit for the Kingdom. If we are not rooted in God's love then we are at risk from falling into the snares of the enemy. All the lavish blessings in this world were given to man as a reward for His diligence and dedication to the Lord. The enemy uses these sometimes to distract us from our purpose and tries to get us to chase after these things rather than after the one who gave them to us. God exhorts us by saying, "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these other things will be added to you."

One thing you may need to do in order to prevent from losing focus in your daily devotion to God is restructure your time with Him. You may need to personalize it. What I mean is you might want to take a few scriptures from the Bible, for example, Ephesians 1:5-8, sit down and write your paraphrase as if God were personally speaking to you. This will help you to grasp the love of God for you personally. This I believe keeps my heart breaking for the things that break His. I find myself growing deeper in love with Jesus. And it sets the tone and motivates me to press in and walk my life out living every day in Jesus' name! Couple this along with heartfelt meaningful prayer, and watch your life blossom into a life of abundance!

God bless!

Why The Fire Of Trials?

There comes a time in every person's life where they will not understand why things happened the way they did. This is a situation that calls for us to exercise our faith in God and to trust it and rely on the Lord. Every issue of the heart will and must be put to the fire for testing. Those who trust in and rely upon the Lord Jesus with a pure heart and with pure motives will withstand the flames and will not perish. However, for those that trust in and rely upon their own understanding, even those who claim to be children of God but have impure motives will be consumed and burned up by the same flames that others withstand. Choosing life is choosing to trust in the Lord even when you don't understand why things happen. Those who choose to walk away from the Lord during tribulation judge God's character and question His integrity. So they disqualify themselves to receive Eternal life. One way to stay strong during these trials is to surround yourself with other people of faith. Many folks are out in the world alone and are out there perishing due to lack of faith. I encourage you to find a good Bible teaching church and quicken your spirit with good faith building teaching and preaching. God's Word is the nourishment for our spirit and if we go without it we invite death itself to come into our life. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Don't delay but make it a priority in your life right now. God bless!

Prophetic Word

Surrender it all and keep back nothing! Take heed to what measure you give for by that same measure I will give back to you. I gave you my best and bankrupted heaven for you. Now will you give me your best? Are you willing to hearken to my voice and obey my commands? Or are you going to do just enough to get by like the 5 foolish virgins? They ran out of oil at the midnight hour, and so will you if you hold back! He that will, hear what the Lord has spoken!

Strive

Many believers today suffer from an undeveloped spirit. What does that mean? It means that they have the potential to grow but lack the motivation it takes to get there. God has already done all He's going to do to sustain us from the enemy. We have all been given a measure of faith, and now it's up to us to take what He has given to us freely and apply it to our lives and own it!


As believers we need to become transformed by the renewing of our minds daily. Proverbs 4:20-22 tells us My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body... If we find ourselves before the Lord daily, we will find out that God yearns to use us to witness to those who don't know Him. Through the Bride of Christ, God extends His hand of love to the world. God wants to enter into covenant with each of us, but we must trust in, rely upon, and adhere to His Word.


We as the children of the Most High God are suppose to grow and increase spiritually by constantly surrounding ourselves with people and resources that will help us and aid us to develop a deeper relationship with God. One resource many overlook is that of the Holy Spirit. He is to be our guide and our teacher, but many are so undeveloped that they do not know how the hear from Him. Many believe or hope that one day they will get zapped and miraculously overnight they will become perfect or mature. It doesn't work that way. Reading God's Word daily helps us to tune into the voice of the Holy Spirit and hear what He is telling us. As we make adjustments to our lifestyle we begin to develop and grow spiritually. This "light" begins to grow brighter, and God's lead becomes more clear and precise.


I believe that God is raising up a generation full of power and authority! A generation that is going to win nations for Christ. So as a body of believers, as the Bride of Christ, we need to do what is needed in equipping ourselves daily so that when God calls us to stand in the gap of righteousness, we are ready for action and not having to introduce ourselves to His will in the matter. We should strive to be like Christ, so those who don't know Him will see His glory on us, and want to be with Him as we are with Him. This will only happen if we know His Word.

God Bless!

The Good News!

Knowing the truth and rightly dealing with it are two totally different scenarios. For an example, knowing that we are created in the likeness and image of God is one thing, walking in the light that we are created in the likeness and image of God is another. Let me just say this for edification, we are not what our bodies say we are. Our bodies are just the outside appearance and deep within we are so much more than that. Our bodies do not define who we are as a person. Our spirit defines who we really are. This is why it is so crucial that our spirits go through the rebirth and renewing processes. Also, this is why our flesh needs to go through the purification process or better known as trials. Many of our battles as believers occur due to the fact that our flesh wants to determine what we do in life. And sadly, many do allow their flesh to dictate what they do with their lives.

If our flesh is not dealt with and put into subjection, then it becomes dangerous for our eternal destination and spiritual development. I have heard many people ponder why things have to be so difficult sometimes. I hope to shed some light on this question by stating that if everything came so easy in life then we would never strive to develop spiritually. As an end result our destiny would end up in flames…No pun intended. Naturally we are a lazy being. Supernaturally we are created in the likeness and image of God. We are created to walk in glory and dominion forever, communing and walking in the cool of the day with the one who created us! Now since the fall we lost that glory and dominion, but thanks be to God that there is hope. Christ, the Anointed One has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having been made a curse for us so that the blessing of Abraham would come on us all who believed in Him! Now we are reborn and recreated spiritually. We have been given a spirit of power not of fear. We can do all things through Christ, the Anointed one, who strengthens us! All things are possible to him that believes! And now there is nothing too tempting to overcome, there is no stronghold strong enough to overcome the strength of Him who is in us! This, my friends is the Good News in which we preach! God in us! No longer do we have to be bound by the limitations of our natural abilities! No longer do we have to live in the bondages of doubt and unbelief and “well you just never know!” ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE BECAUSE WE BELIEVE!

I pray that you would find the encouragement you need in the Word of God. Do not wrestle with doubt and unbelief, and do not believe that you are not strong enough. Knowing the truth and putting your faith on it will produce the results of freedom. Do not condemn yourself by focusing on how much you messed up and how bad you have failed in times pass. Condemnation will destroy your faith. Focus on those things that are of a good report. Build yourself up on your most holy faith and keep striving toward the goal. Run your race with sheer focus that you are not going to quit, and when you are tempted to quit, quote 1 Corinthians 10:13, God is faithful and will not allow me to be tempted above that which I am able to withstand, and God has made a way! Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me! And then pick back up where you stopped. Do not accept defeat. God can never be defeated and God’s spirit resides in you making you an overcomer in Christ Jesus! God bless!

Understanding Faith, Hope, And Patience

You know life is so much easier when you’re a child of the King! Amen? God’s plans are so awesome! Every day I learn so much from the Holy Spirit from so many different channels. God is simply amazing! That being said, I hope you all don’t think I am presenting to you what I am learning as if I have already mastered everything I share. I feel lead to say to you like Paul said to the Philippian Christians in Philippians 3:12-14, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Amen! The things I post are the things the Lord has revealed to me and I’m just spreading the message. Thank you for understanding… Okay enough chat, check this out!

Everyone knows that is tough trying to be patient when you are waiting for something good God has promised to happen. It’s like Christmas morning when you wake up early to open up gifts and mom and dad want to sleep in. The anticipation is just about more than you can stand. I know in my life, even right now as I type, there are things I’m believing for that are huge life-changing events. And it’s tough to be patient, but what that really means is: I haven’t fully given it over to the Lord and put my complete trust in that God is going to do what He says He’s going to do. Often times we get caught up in trying to figure things out. I often find myself trying to predict the future. What I mean is I sometimes try to anticipate how God is going to work things out. How He is going to orchestrate it all. How He is going to do things. Every day I have to remind myself of God’s will. That can only be done by sitting before His Word and meditating on what He said in it. God’s Word is His thoughts written down on paper so that we can renew our minds and mold our thoughts after His. Godly people are Godlike thinkers. Without reading God’s Word we cannot truly have faith in God. Romans 10:17 says, Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So if I find myself entertaining the idea of how God is going to make things manifest, I have stop myself and get back into the arena of faith. This is completely natural to try to see how things are going to transpire and then believe it. But God’s ways are not our ways and our own thoughts that are produced by our own desires cannot even come close to God’s thoughts. He has access to way more than we can even think to imagine. Hebrews 11:1 says, Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things NOT seen. So by this scripture we can declare that if we are trying to reason in our heads and try to picture how God is going to do things, then we are not in faith. Faith believes without seeing it. Faith believes even when every circumstance or evil report says there aint no way! Faith believes that God is able to do what He said He would do.

Now that we know what faith is, let me say this: Faith is not hope. Hope is important, but faith is not hope. You see hope believes that there is a chance in the future that it may be God’s will. Faith takes the blessing now! Hope is future tense, Faith is present tense. You see, faith IS… the substance of things hoped for… Hope cannot stand alone and endure with patience without faith. Faith IS the substance that brings your hope to reality! Hope is very important, but when you find hope it’s important that you continue on and enter into the arena of faith where you find the substance to the things you hope for. So often times hope comes and we pray, and we pray, and pray, and pray, but no results manifest. It’s because we are not praying in faith. Kenneth E. Hagin quoted someone who quoted someone else that, “The believing prayer always ends in the glad confession: It’s mine, I have it now!” This is so true! Mark 11:24, believe you receive and you shall have! Jesus didn’t say you might have it or keep hoping that it is God’s will. He said believe you receive and you shall have it! Believing you have something before you see it, is walking out your faith in God’s Word. If we are to become godly, then we must train ourselves to operate like God. God would never tell us in His Word to do something that He didn’t do Himself. Romans 4:17 says, “…God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;” God called Abraham the father of many nations before he ever had any children. The very next verse (18) we see Abraham, against hope, believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations. You could say it like this: Abraham, when there was no hope, had substance of things hoped for (faith), that he would become the father of many nations according to the Word of God. He believed God even though there was no hope! Now we see why Abraham was the father of faith. No where do you read where Abraham spent countless hours toying around with the thought of how God was going to make him a Father of many nations when Sarah’s womb was barren. However, we do see what happens when you get impatient and try to make things happen in your own strength. You create an Ishmael. But that’s another story for another time.

So often times God lays a purpose or vision in one’s heart, and hope enters. Then, more often than not, that hope disappears after patience wears off. This is not the will of God! God gives the visions with every intention of making every part of that vision become reality. It’s the thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). To understand why things don’t manifest in the natural we must look at what is going on in the spiritual realm. When God gives you the vision, this allows hope to enter into your spirit. Immediately a battle in the heavenlies begins between the rulers of the unseen world (Satan’s cohorts) and God’s Angels and ministering spirits. The rulers of the unseen world immediately try to thwart the plans of God for your life. We see a good example of this in Daniel 10:13, “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.” So often times as soon as the hope comes, hope is lost because of this battle in the heavenlies. Faith never gets a chance to bring the substance to hope because hope perishes due to the lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). So what can we do to be sure we are doing everything in our power to help defeat the enemy? We need to build ourselves up on our most holy faith praying in the Holy Ghost (Jude 20). By praying in the Spirit you speak mysteries to God (1 Corinthians 14:2). These are not mysteries unknown to God but they are mysteries unknown to us and the enemy. You see when you pray in an unknown tongue your spirit prays but you have no knowledgeable understanding (1 Corinthians 14:14). However neither does the enemy! This is one of the spiritual weapons God has equipped us with to defeat the enemy from destoying our faith to receive the blessings of God for our lives. You see, since we are locked in the natural realm we can’t see what needs to take place in the spiritual realm in order to turn loose the answer to our prayers. But the Holy Spirit does, and He dwells in us. He helps us to pray for the things we have no knowledge of. He is our intercessor (Romans 8:26). God has not left us orphans. He has equipped us with everything we need to rule and reign with Christ Jesus here in this life! If we would only learn to put our complete trust in God and not try to understand how every detail is going to unfold, the vision that God lays in our heart will become reality. This can only be accomplished by having faith in God! Kenneth E. Hagin always said, “I could never figure out how a brown cow could eat green grass, produced white milk, then churn it and you get yellow butter. But the whole time I’m trying to figure it out I’m drinking the milk and enjoying the butter!” I know that sounds silly, but there’s truth to that. We need to learn to just trust God. If we can allow God to work through us, then we can be sure that everything will work together for our good and according to His purpose. Hallelujah!

A Quick Journey To The Truth

In today's cultural world there has been so much confusion about which religion is true and which is not? Who's right, who's wrong? Is there a God, is there not? I believe that this is due to a lack of truth being taught in the the Body of Christ. I remember on my journey in searching for the truth about God I noticed a difference between what I read in the Bible and what I saw in today's church. The Bible says that the children of God are to be one way, but the church folks I saw were nothing like it. So my journey began with trying to find out why.

First, like most who embark on this adventure I tried to do things on my own, which didn't last long. My grandpa Rev. Jerry Houchins, was very helpful, but being young and full of self pride, I thought I needed more conformation outside of my family's view of God. Folks tend to cast down people's world views that have been raised in church because folks that haven't been raised in church believe that those who were are brain washed. Later I found out that my grandpa's view was right on, and I wish I could have told him that while he was still here, but I know he's up there in the cloud of witnesses Hebrews 12:1 talks about. Praise the Lord!

Anyways, I began to look and watch for folks that appeared to imitate what I saw in the Bible. I met a lot of nice moral folks, but there always seemed to be something missing in them. It was almost as if something was holding them back. It seemed that they had faith, but they weren't quite sure how to operate it. I thought it rather strange that people would spend time talking and singing praises to God about how wonderful and powerful He is and then when tragedy hits their faith is no where to be found. It was all confusing to me. This behavior is contradictory and gave me the feeling of false hope. So I made a promise that if God was real, and if His Word is truly infallible and full of power, then I would follow Him. I promised God to give Him my life and my very best effort. I vowed to follow Him where ever He would lead me. But if there where no manifestations to go along to confirm His existence, then I would go on being my own man.

So I began to get in the Word, and God brought a friend from my past into my life. This friend of mine, who did grow up in church, gave me some Cd's to help direct me. From that day on my life as well as my family's life has never been the same. I began to apply the Word that I learned from those Cd's to my life and God began to transform me into a new creation. Results that God's Word promised started to show up in my life. I began to see things from a very different perspective. Everything seemed to be more clear! The veil was torn from my eyes and God opened my life up to a life full of joyfulness in Christ! I didn't arrive over night to a place where I was fearless, but over time as I would see God's mercy and how faithful He is to His Word and the fear began to leave my heart. Now, as long as I would stay in His Word, I never feared or fret what they enemy tried to put in my mind. But if I quit feeding my faith by not reading and meditating in the Word, fear would creep back in my heart, and my life would begin to unravel and become full of doubt and unbelief. However as soon as I would get my eyes back on the Word things would get better! I quikly realized that reading God's Word is a must in order to live a victorious life of a Christian.

Fear is of the enemy, and it is his strongest weapon to bring the believer back into bondage. But fear cannot stand in the presence of the Almighty Word of God! This is how Jesus guarded His heart in the wilderness when the devil came to tempt Him.. Jesus said, "It is written..." You see He was established and rooted in God's Word! And if Jesus needed to be established and rooted in God's Word, then how much more do we need to be? We build a solid defense against our adversary by framing our minds and life on God's Word! So when the devil comes around to try and deceive us with his lies we don't have to acquaint ourselves with God's will in the situation! We can say, " Devil, it is written I am the righteousness in Christ, and God has put all things under His feet and gave Jesus to be the head over all things to the Church which is His body and so now I am filled with the fullness of Christ whom strengthens me and you are nothing! I cast you out in the name of Jesus!" And James 4:7 says he must flee. Hallelujah! God's Word is written upon our hearts for it is life unto us(Proverbs 4:20-22). Fear has kept many out of the presence and promises of God. Fear has dominated believers from entering into the power of God's anointing.

In these last days it is crucial that we the Body of Christ figure out how to tap into the power of His anointing and begin to operate in it. Grace is much more than just saving us from hell. It's the power to do the things we were commissioned by Jesus to do! (Mark 16:15-18) We alone in our own strength cannot do this, but greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world! We are new creations in Christ! We are to bring the message of Jesus Christ to the world! And that is we don't have to be poor any more! We don't have to be sick any more! We have been delivered form the hand of the enemy and are no longer a slave and in bondage to sin! Isaiah 53 says to whom that believe this report the Arm of the Lord is revealed and that arm is mightier than anything we might imagine. In one place the Bible said that Jesus cast out demons by the finger of God. If that's true, and it is, then how much stronger is the Arm of God? I don't know about you but I believe the report! Isaiah 52 says awake and put on thy strength! This is the message! We are the Sons and daughters of God! He is our God our Strength, our Deliverer, our Healer, our complete source of all things that are good. He alone we trust! So if He is to you all these things, then it's time to lay down your fear. Pick up the Word and declare it right now! Its time to bring out your light from underneath that basket, and let it shine for the Lord! Isaiah 60 says, "Arise, Shine; for thy light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." It's time to come out from among the them and shine for the Lord! Hallelujah! Glory to God!

A Love Like Jesus!

Along with the New Covenant, Jesus has given us a new commandment. In John 13:34 Jesus said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." But to truly understand what Jesus is saying, you have to know how Jesus loved. So how did Jesus love others?

Matthew 9:35-38 reveals the true passion of Jesus' heart for man. "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest."

We the believers, are the laborers Jesus said to pray to the Lord of the harvest for. Those who are bound by the enemy are great in number, too great for just one man to minister to them. God knew this and sent His only begotten Son to destroy the yoke of the enemy, and He did. That part is finished! However, many are still bound by the devil's cleaver lies. We the laborers have been given empowerment, an anointing; the Holy Spirit, to carry out the works of Jesus. Jesus is the head of the Church, and we are His body. We are to be powerFULL not powerless. Jesus said in John 14:12, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." So in order to love others as Jesus has loved us we need to operate as He operated. Jesus is a Christian's example and role model. He came and taught, preached, and healed. This is our example to follow! Jesus taught us that what He did we are to do. Jesus is the best leader, and He lead by example. True compassion for man is shown by giving.

I thank God for His Word every day because it truly does bring freedom! Freedom from the bondages of the enemy. God sent His Word and healed them the Bible says. I am convinced that if everyone would get their eyes on the Word and believe God, then every strong hold of the enemy that has appeared to be hindering us will vanish! After all, all the roadblocks in our way are only false vanities, or false appearances of the enemy in his attempt to keep the believer from operating in His blood bought authority. Everything the enemy can do to us as children of God has been blocked by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ! The Bible tells us that Jesus has stripped the devil of all his power (Hebrews 2:14). The same anointing Jesus operated in has been given to His body, the church. Oh! if we only knew the real power of this anointing... Jesus said you can move mountains! Philippians 4:19 declares that God has supplied all our needs according to His bank account, and that's far greater than we can wrap our little brains around.

If the believer is hindered it is because of our own thinking. The Bible tells us to renew our minds by the Word of God. This requires that you walk by faith and not by sight. We often want to know how everything is going to happen before hand, but God doesn't work that way! He says in Hebrews 11:6 that it is impossible to please Him with out faith. Faith is the evidence of things not seen, so how is acting on things after you know all the details walking by faith? It's not! The things of God are not always going to make sense to us on this side of heaven. Often times they are beyond our comprehension or human reasoning. But God sent us His Word to line us up to receive His best! Build upon the foundation, which is Christ, by molding your thoughts and life by the Word of God! The scriptures are God's thoughts written down for us to shape our thoughts after Him! Now it's a matter of obedience and putting our faith in God!

If we will believe Jesus at His word, and do the things He has commanded us to do. And if we would lay aside our doubt and unbelief, God would use us to move mountains in our lives and other's as well! We are to be the body of Christ! We are to be His voice calling, His hands healing, His feet walking in this broken world. We are to be chain breakers, His peace makers, To bring hope and joy to others, and imitators of Christ by spreading His love. And we do that by carrying out His written will (Mark 16:17-18) So what do you say? Do you want to be a world changer and fulfill the purpose God has called you to? Or are you just going to sit back and be content producing little fruit? I don't know about you but I want to hear those words of the master say when I come before the throne, "Well done good and faithful servant."

God bless!

Lord and Savior

Many believers seem to be confused about the redemptive plan of God. God's Word tells us that you will know a person by their fruit. This is how we know as Christians who are the needy. People that are consumed by the pleasures of this world are very clear to someone that is a child of God. God's design was never to become like the world so much that we blend in with them. He called us to live separate from them. Not in segregation physically, but our desires are to be for the things of God and not for the lustful desires of this world! You can tell what people are passionate about when you talk to them because what ever they are full of kicks back out of their mouths. For some it's sports or motorcycles or cars or hunting and fishing and the list goes on and on. Then when they ask me and I talk about the things of God like going to church, my small group, reading my Bible and doing the work of God they bind up and harden their hearts. Why?

There seems to be some confusion in the minds of people in what truly took place as Jesus was beaten, hung on the cross, buried and resurrected. I say this because when you receive the revelation of who we are in Christ and what God has restored back to us that was lost in the garden of Eden, through the precious shed blood of His Son Jesus. There is nothing boring about the things of God! In every circumstance and every trial we find ourselves going through God has supplied the victory through His redemptive plan of Christ! That means all your needs are met! All, every single one of them! And that's on this side of heaven as well as the other side! As He is so are we now in this world God says! If you are sick with any disease or sickness, we are made well because Jesus borne our sicknesses and carried our pains. Jesus said that all things are possible to him that believes. Jesus said the things I do you shall do too, and even greater works than these shall you do, because I am going to be with the Father, and anything you ask for in my name I will do for you! Glory to God. That means no longer do we have to put up with the bondages of this perverse world and the god of it! Our enemy is now made our foot stool and we are now more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus! How is this not good news to him that believes! How could someone not want to love a God who loves him that much?


You know writing a check is a good picture of how to operate in the spiritual realm. Your strength or money,to buy something is in the bank. When you need something you pull out the check book or debit card and you write a check or swipe your card for the purchase. Even though you did not physically supply the actual funds for your need, you provided the substitute. Well that substitute is faith in the name of Jesus! Your bank is heaven! We have a God in heaven that can supply all our needs according to His riches and it's been supplied by Christ Jesus! Now our check or debit card is our faith in Jesus. Faith in that Jesus has supplied everything we need. He said my grace is sufficient! That means nothing is lacking, we have everything we need now in this world to reign in life! That means when cancer's ugly head pops up you cut it off like David did Goliath's! You stand on the Word of God in faith, that God's grace is sufficient. When finances are short you stand there and declare the Arm of the Lord over them, and that God's strength is with you and it's by His strength alone! And even when you can't see how victory will ever prevail you stand there and sing praises to the Lord until victory shows up! God said my Word I have given you and it shall not return to me void of power! There is power and virtue and authority in the name of Jesus for the believer! And when the Lord is more than your Savior but He's also your Lord, you can declare that you are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus! And the enemy must flee! Shout it out if you believe! Hallelujah!!!!

Humbled

Sometimes I get so impatient! I cannot think of any situations that became better when I rushed into them without taking time to process. Sometimes my mouth runs faster than my brain and I begin to say things that aren't wise (to say the least). When this happens I feel so stupid! However, it is in these moments where I learn to most about myself. Today I had one of those moments. One of the leaders at church asked me a question and my response was, "well I'll have to pray about that and seek direction from the Lord before I commit to anything." It sounded wise at the time, but when I went to discuss it with my wife it occurred to me that I had no idea why I needed to pray. Actually what I needed to do was praise! I immediately found Pastor and corrected my stupidity, but what was to follow would be the life change.

I walked away with a sense of humility... How could I have been so stupid! I thought. I began to search myself and my motives of everything I am doing. Am I doing this over here because that is what the Lord is leading me to do, or am I doing that because that's what I want to do for the Lord? I believe there are things in our lives that need to be checked. What I mean is, I believe we need to be honest with ourselves and ask if this is what we want? Or is this what God is leading us to do? I believe there are some necessary steps that need to be taken before you reach the destination God has for your life. We are being molded by the Lord through our experiences. The result of the experiences is that we are prepared and equipped to do the things God has called us to do. Sometimes we get so caught up in the reward at the end that we forget to count the costs involved. We live in a culture that says, "I want it and I want it now!" And it's so easy to carry that over into our walk with the Lord.

God works on His time not ours. He knows what's best for us. Jesus said in John 10:11, "I am the good shepherd..." Up in verse 4 He says"...he (the good shepherd) goes before them and the sheep follow him..." So many times I want to lead the Lord in the direction I want Him to take me. You could say, I want my own head. I am ashamed of myself for this. But did you know God uses humility to correct us? For me it's an effective way to learn and learn quickly! I don't like feeling stupid, do you? Then I am going to make corrections to my thinking. This is where many miss it. Some are full of pride and want to make excuses for their errors instead of admitting fault. Well, God says I resist the proud, but give grace to the humble. I don't know about you but I want grace and not resistance from God!

When you do or say something stupid and you find yourself humiliated the best thing to do is ask for forgiveness, repent, and go on down the road. So Lord, please forgive me for getting out ahead of you. I am sorry for being stiffed necked and not yielding to your direction. Please forgive me Lord, and help me to be sensitive to your voice. With your Holy Spirit go before me and guide me down this path. You are the Good Shepherd! I will follow your voice where ever you may lead me. Thank you Lord for your patience with my stubbornness. Illuminate to me where correction is needed, and by your grace I will do it, as well as all you have called me to do! And as I do I will give you all the praise and glory in Jesus name, Amen!