How do we reconcile our desire – to prosper, succeed, and live abundantly with Jesus' sobering words: "You cannot serve both God and money"? One seems to call us upward into purpose; the other warns of a snare that can quietly enslave the heart. The church has often responded in extremes – either demonizing wealth entirely or spiritualizing the pursuit of it. But is either response truly rooted in the heart of God?
The voice of God matters. Deeply. Profoundly. It's the pinnacle of our faith journey—the foundation upon which everything else rests. If we can't clearly hear His voice, how can we follow Him fully? (John 10:27) Over the past eight years of launching our evangelistic ministry, we've witnessed over two million people come to Christ. And through it all, one thing has remained essential: learning to discern His voice. It hasn't always been easy. In fact, it can be incredibly confusing. That's why this is so vital.
My dad was known for his practical teaching and the down-to-earth stories that he told about fishing and talking to houses and land. In the greater scheme of things, these stories don't seem particularly significant. But this is exactly how he broke free of the religious traditions, teachings, and doctrines of men. God's Word is practical. The Word of God, the Bible, is not meant to be worshipped or confined to a church or religious institution.
In nature, chrysalis is the quiet, in-between space where a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. It is a place of waiting, of hidden growth, of mystery. To the naked eye, it may appear that nothing is happening. But inside the chrysalis, an extraordinary transformation is underway—a complete metamorphosis. Spiritually, the chrysalis offers us a profound metaphor for our own journeys of change, healing, and rebirth.
Most people my age, and many younger, have watched a cartoon in which Elmer Fudd goes hunting for Bugs Bunny. There are hundreds of these hilarious cartoons in which Fudd walks around the fields and woods with his hunting cap on his head and a double-barrel shotgun in his hands, searching for the elusive rabbit. It seems he spends his days doing nothing else except hunting high and low for Bugs.
We have the freedom to choose how intimate our relationship with the Lord will be because He has given us a free will. He actually loves when we pursue Him. It may seem strange to those who don't know Him, but He longs for our company. He delights in us and loves our presence as much as we love His. When we don't spend time with Him, He misses His time with us. We have an enemy who'll stop at nothing to keep us from this intimacy, which is why we have to sometimes fight for it. But imagine the impact it would make if every believer stepped into their divine purpose by developing a deep personal relationship with Jesus.
I have a friend who is a gifted worship leader, a loving husband and an affectionate father. He's funny, smart, passionate about his faith and wholeheartedly committed to his church. People who know him say he's a model Christian. But underneath this joyful exterior he hides a lot of pain. He struggles with depression, and then he condemns himself because, as he says, "Christians are supposed be happy." When emotional heaviness drags him to a low point, he knows how to put on his convincing church face. Nobody knows the dark thoughts that torment him.
Just by way of continuing, may I bring to you these words from Judges 6:11,12,14: "And the angel of the Lord came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite; and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour... And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent thee?"
This is the day of great awakening among My people, for I have fore-warned them long enough of the pending judgment that is coming upon the land, but My people sit idly like if there is no tomorrow. They do not prepare themselves for the future, but they waste their time going on with the foolish empty gestures of wasting their time. I love My people, but I need to shake them to wake them to what is ahead.
The ultimate reason Jesus came was to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). He did this not through political revolt or military conquest but by shedding His blood on the cross—a decisive act that disarmed principalities and powers (Col. 2:15). The first coming of Christ cannot be rightly understood apart from His crucifixion, which became the climactic moment of redemptive history. Yet today, the cross has been trivialized. What was once a symbol of state execution—akin to a modern electric chair—is now often reduced to a decorative trinket.
