Because Yeshua-Jesus Christ lives, we can face tomorrow. Because He loves us, we can and should love the seemingly unlovable. Yeshua died and rose again that we may live a victorious life. We can do all things through Christ; nothing shall be impossible if we truly believe (Phil 4:13 & Mark 9:23). That situation you are facing right now, it is there to strengthen, not harm you. Face that situation from a position of victory.
On the night of October 11, 2020, I had a dream that left an indelible impression upon me and impacted my faith in the power of the name of Jesus. I will quote from my journal, "I was in a tense situation, held hostage and surrounded by powerful, evil men. I kept pointing my finger at them and saying, 'In the name of Jesus, come out of him. In the name of Jesus!' They would freeze or get a strange look on their face, and some fell to the ground. I was amazed at what was happening.
The Lord exhorts us to not "cast away our confidence" (in God). What immediately follows is "it has a great reward" (NASB) or "it will be richly rewarded" (NIV). Possessing "confidence" in God "holds a great reward for you" (ISV). The outcome? "So that after you have done God's will, you can receive what He has promised" (10:36 ISV).
Today, insecurity is an epidemic. Too many people, including many Christians, walk around timid, afraid, lacking confidence and feeling bad about themselves. But when Jesus died on the cross for us, something happened that I like to call "the divine exchange." He took away our sins and everything we are not, and then He made us perfect in Him. God wants you to be confident, bold, fearless and free. He wants you to be healthy and whole, fully able to pursue your destiny. And He desires for you to feel good about yourself and your relationship with Him.
The Scriptures offer us a sobering reality: our perception of ourselves can be completely out of sync with how God sees us. Nowhere is this more evident than in Revelation 3:17, where Jesus rebukes the church of Laodicea and said, "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked." This chilling contrast reveals that it is possible to be fully convinced of your spiritual health while being utterly bankrupt in the eyes of God.
Does it seem that achieving the results you desire is often a long and difficult process? Have you ever been puzzled as to why your prayers are not answered or why God does not seem to be moving? How can one ensure that their prayers are answered more quickly? Is there a process one should follow? As long as the plan is in accordance with God's will and his word, I believe that God will expeditiously fulfill what he has said. His timing is always expeditious.
When you are finding life to be challenging, you are probably seeing life as a duty, not the MINISTRY that it is. You are a new creation now, not the old anymore! When burdens come, you have to ask the Lord what He wants you to do. This means you have to look to Him and be open and teachable. You don't know everything, so you cannot be The Judge.
There's a truth so simple, yet so profound, it could change the way we see the world: you will never…. ever look into the eyes of someone God doesn't love. Not once. Not ever. Every person you encounter: the stranger, the friend, the rival, the one you struggle to understand — all of them are seen and cherished by God. His love is not rationed, not conditional, not selective. It is relentless. Think about that.
Recently, I was presented with a very interesting question by a dear friend. This question has been boiling in the crevices of my heart for weeks, and I am not sure if I am qualified to answer this amazing, complicated question. The friend who posed it is a deep thinker, a true disciple and is on a passionate journey to follow Jesus in all seasons of life. Although she is younger than I am – I want to be more like her. This is the question that has simmered in my soul…
A few years ago a prominent evangelist gained a wide following when he said an angel was visiting him regularly during his televised revival meetings. This angel was supposedly dispatched to unleash the next great healing revival in the United States. One big problem: The revival wasn't real. It was all hype. Yet month after month, the tales of this evangelist's wild spiritual adventures grew more and more incredible. At one point he claimed to have met the apostle Paul in heaven—and then said that Paul told him he was the author of the book of Hebrews.
Follow Up
