Simon says, “Master we’ve worked….” Into the night, the fisherman did what they knew how to do but still got nothing. Days like this come for all of us. Remember the old game of Simon Says?! If Simon didn’t say it and you did it, you were out. If Simon did say it and you did what he said, then you were safe. Luke 5:5 tells us what Simon said to Jesus. People had been crowding around Him listening to the Word of God. Jesus got into the boat belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little from shore. Simon may or may not have listened to…

I stumbled on a few truthful thoughts on the internet about this subject that I thought would be good to share here to close out this blog series: “Because you got a double dose of trouble and more than your share of contempt, your inheritance in the land will be doubled and your joy go on forever.” (Isaiah 61:7, The Message) “In the Old Testament when this scripture was written, God’s people were going through a very dark time. They were being held captive against their will and mistreated by other nations. God sent this word to encourage them and give them hope for their future. When the time came,…

Do you have twice as much than when you began? Joseph, Hannah, and Job ended up with twice as much. Twice the amount of what they started with. Twice as large of an influence. Twice the testimony. They were all “double dosed.” Growing up, I heard that term a good bit, being as I’m a twin. My Mom was given two babies at the same time. Well, five minutes apart. She tells the story of how she and my Dad did not know they’d have a boy and a girl. Back then, they didn’t know all details ahead of time. Our heartbeats were insync and the Dr. thought it was…

When it’s time to lift weights, how high do you go with em? Training for godliness (1 Tim. 4:8-10) is no small task. It’s quite the challenge – more so than physical accomplishments. The MSG version of this verse says: “Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. This is why we’ve thrown ourselves into this venture so totally.” Being weighted down with sadness, troubles or weariness is a heavy load! God knows what you can lift. Sometimes you have to raise something higher to remove,…

“Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.” Ezra 5:2 NIV. The standstill stopped. The work got completed. All it took was a couple of prophets who believed the work could continue beyond complacency. Beyond compromise, we work. Beyond opposition, we’ve labored. I feel this is just ahead of a spiritual revival. (This series was written months before the virus and just sat “saved.” I didn’t know Covid was coming. Quarantine helped me release this message. To see and hear the preached Word of God hit the…

People had begun to build things for themselves only. They put God’s work on hold for about sixteen years. In research for this blog series, I read one article that explained it this way: “In the second year of Darius, a light dawned upon the darkness of the colony from Babylon. In that year the spirit of prophecy suddenly blazed up with a most brilliant light among the returned captives. In a moment Zerubbabel roused from his apathy, threw his whole strength into the work. After much opposition and many hindrances find delays, the temple was at length finished, in the sixth year of Darius, and was dedicated with much…

If you ask me, one of the biggest tortures in life, is to look at something that isn’t finished. Where there was a plan and a reason, there is motionless “inactivity.” You know exactly what I mean. Either you’re there now or you have been there before. Our master bathroom was a dump. (We bought a fixer upper on the creek.) It was the worst room in the house and thank God, hidden. For that reason, we decided it would be the last renovation project. We had a plan and a dream all along. Here we are eight years later – and enduring the Coronavirus pandemic. Perfect time to do…

Have you ever laid the groundwork for an important work and began the job with the right focus but then strife tried to set in? You were making the necessary sacrifices and offered what you knew the work required, yet you found yourself and the work at a standstill? Other factors are always going to barge their way into our story. It’s got to continue though. The movie of your life must go on. The One who began the good work in you must complete it. God can tell the standstill to stop! He can orchestrate the words of His prophets to overthrow the words of the problem people. Leave…

Have you ever wanted the standstill to just stop? I want to talk straight to the people who have been faithful, remained unmoved when they wanted to move, did the hard thing when the easy thing was staring them in the face… Hey you! I believe there is an in-time, right on time, word coming to you. Your prayers got it going. It’s traveling in your direction. It’s on it’s way to your heart…now. There are things that’s tried stopping us along our path but not even a standstill can stop us forever. Where there is no movement, progress, or activity- make the standstill stop, Lord. If that’s your prayer…