What two things work together and make us a great friend to God? Here’s a hint: “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Okay, yes, it is faith and action! They are big buddies. In Abraham’s case, they equaled something. James 2:21-25 “Was not Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did…Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (not craziness), and he was called God’s friend.” Action packed faith can look wild…

How do you stay alert when you’re tired and when there’s a lot of things going on…like Christmas parties, meetings, deadlines, new ideas and schedules for the new year? This past week, a new message went through me and part of it had to do with being alert and awake as the church. It’s not the time to turn to a lifestyle of blur. It is not a good idea to give into a state of fuzziness, not knowing what is going on around us. Our world is fusing and meshing lines and boundaries that were once clear; our world is looking more and more out of sorts and zoned…

In her book Gangster Prayer, Autumn Miles explains that when you don’t ask God for specific things, you are keeping yourselves from a level of knowing God that will transform your life. I get the feeling she really knows her stuff. She has a great way of connecting with readers on a personal level, with real life stories of her own struggles and successes. The book was an easy read from one chapter to the next! Autumn says: “I began to understand that I was missing out on a world of possibility because I was too lazy in prayer and too comfortable with my faith. That challenged me to begin…

You already know the answer. It’s a given…and when something’s a given, it is for our use. The greatest things we can give to others have already been given to us by God. If you are a giver, you’re a changer and you can bring life to someone else’s situation. You can also give to yourself encouragement when you need it. The wisdom to humbly accept ourselves as a gift that God has given to this world, comes generously if asked for. (James 1) Life Change, through Christ, has been our ministry vision for over two decades. Not all things need to be changed; but some do. Stop seeing age,…

Did you know that you are being kept? In your daily life, Someone is keeping up with you. You can “lift your eyes to the mountains– where your help comes from…” Psalm 121 He’s “the Maker of heaven and earth.” Our Keeper. We look to Him Who is up all night! He doesn’t doze off or even sleep lightly. “He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.” This should give us all the permission we need, to ease into peaceful rest. The enemy is hoping you’ll give up on your Keeper- The Keeper of your ideas, your deepest desires and biggest dreams. Satan…

Part 3 of 3. Here we are and here we go! Faith in God will bring remarkable, extraordinary, impressive things into existence. The priests went and stood in the river. At the Jordan River, the waters parted, as they had for Moses at the Red Sea. Joshua 4:24 “He (the Lord God) did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” We have something in common with Moses and Joshua…faith in God! Be certain that when you listen and follow His lead, He will do amazing things in…

Part 2 or 3. Have you been at a familiar setting but the time period made it seem so different between this moment and the last? Crossing the Red Sea proved to be a surge of power from God that the Israelites would never forget. Now they stand at another edge of water waiting to see another water wall emerge. In Joshua 3:5, Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” Wow. This is a statement built on faith in God! Surely the people had to remember this pattern (consecrate, commemorate, celebrate) with Moses after the Lord brought them out of Egypt,…

Part 1 of 3. Have you been standing at a place of “new beginnings” that looks like the story’s end? Could it be that the reason it appears to end is because it is in fact, the final part of something? “…You are to move out from your position and follow” the Lord’s leading “since you have never been this way before.” (After the death of Moses, Joshua and the people had to get ready to cross the Jordan. Moses was done leading and Joshua was finished being an aide; he now had to take the lead in following the Lord’s specific instructions. As Joshua got orders from the Lord,…

Windmill wind generates power. Being a machine that runs on the energy rotated by the wind, it’s structured to use power of flowing air to produce electricity or pump water. I think of God as the Ace of the Air…using every resource for His purposes. Do you need God to create a surge of power in your life right now? He doesn’t just generate power; He is power. God won’t leave us in the dark. I love when He allowed a power surge for the enemies of the Israelites… “The Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind. The Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground with…

I don’t feel qualified to teach this subject at this moment. What a great way to start a blog post, right? Eek! Working and living with people is messy sometimes and we often blame them for even the unseen struggles that are trying to stop us in every possible way. If you feel unliked or unwanted, remember this… There is a “vast array of evil and malicious spirits who make war against the people of God.” However, Col. 2:15 teaches us that Christ has triumphed over all other powers! Just as soon as you “get rid of” that person, there will be another and another. Spirits jump. They hide. They…