How to Trade Passive Belief for Active Faith that Changes Your Life

Whitney Hopler

If your Christian life is boring or unfulfilling, you’re not living the life Jesus is calling you to live. Your faith should challenge you to keep learning and growing in exciting ways that change your life for the better.

Jesus loves you just as you are, but He loves you too much to want you to stay that way. His will is for you to move beyond passively believing in Him but not really changing, to actively living for Him in ways that will change your life significantly. Here’s how you can do that:

Make a commitment to Jesus. You can’t follow Jesus halfheartedly; He asks you to either walk away from Him or commit to Him completely. Pray to begin an eternal relationship with Jesus by repenting of your sin and accepting His sacrifice for it on the cross. Make your relationship with Jesus your top priority in life. Devote more time and energy to growing closer to Jesus than you do to any other pursuit.

Decide to follow Jesus in every part of your life. Rather than limiting your faith only to the times you spend praying or worshiping in church, extend it to every aspect of your life – from your family life to your job. Seek Jesus’ guidance for everything that you say and do, and choose to follow His guidance.

Claim the joy that is yours as a Christian. Remind yourself often of the incredible truth that, as a Christian, you have eternal life in heaven awaiting you. Let the knowledge of that wonderful gift from Jesus give you joy every day.

Become a true disciple. If you’re really going to be a disciple of Jesus, you’ll love Him more than anyone or anything else. Be willing to make whatever sacrifices are necessary for you to follow where Jesus leads you. When what Jesus wants you to do conflicts with what other people want you to do, choose to follow Jesus. Don’t hesitate to step out to do something that God is clearly leading you to do, since God will always empower you to do what He asks you to do. Keep in mind that investing time and energy into serving Jesus is the best investment you can ever make, since it has eternal value. Expect to see results of discipleship in your life if you’re truly following Jesus, such as a growing love for His Word (the Bible) and for other people, a desire to share the Gospel message with others, a longing to spend time with Jesus in prayer, and the courage to endure persecution or other hardships in order stand by your convictions.

Grow closer to Jesus through the Bible. Make a habit of reading, studying, memorizing, meditating on, and applying the Bible’s words to your life regularly. Pray that God will speak to you in fresh ways through the Bible whenever you read it. Ask yourself thoughtful questions about what you read in the Bible, such as: “Is there a sin mentioned that I need to confess or forsake?”, “Is there a command given that I should obey?”, “Is there a promise made that I can look to in my current circumstances?” and “Is there a prayer given that I could pray?”

Grow closer to Jesus through prayer. Rather than worrying about whether or not you’re using the right technique when praying or how eloquent your prayers sound to Jesus, simply be honest with Him in prayer. Jesus is concerned only with how genuine your prayers are. So express your deepest thoughts and feelings to Him with the confidence that He hears you and cares. Whenever you have a concern weighing on your mind, turn to Jesus in prayer and ask Him to intervene to help. Beyond talking to Jesus in prayer, spend time listening to Jesus talking to you through His Spirit when you pray.

Grow closer to Jesus through the church. Find and participate in a Bible-believing church where you can grow spiritually through teachings and make use of your God-given gifts to serve others. As you grow closer to Jesus in church, keep reaching outward beyond the church to share your faith and resources with people who Jesus wants to draw to Himself through you.

Reach out to others who need relationships with Jesus. The Great Commission (Jesus’ command to communicate the Gospel message to all people) is for all Christians, not just some. Be faithful to do your part to evangelize and disciple others. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you, and you can count on help every step of the way. Keep in mind that you just need to faithfully follow what Jesus wants you to do, and He will do the work of actually converting people. So just do your best, and trust Jesus with the results. Model a Christian life for people by living with integrity and love. Make time to listen to people, pray for them, and help them with practical needs. Then, when you’ve built genuine friendships with them, share the Gospel’s simple message with them: Jesus died for people’s sins, was buried, and then resurrected so that everyone who trusts in Him can live forever with God. Share your personal testimony of faith with people, keeping the focus on how Jesus has changed your life, so people can think more about how He can change their lives. After people begin relationships with Jesus, help them mature in their faith. Get them connected to a healthy church, continue your friendship with them, and encourage them to continue the cycle of faith by evangelizing and discipling others.

Adapted from Let God Change Your Life: How to Know and Follow Jesus copyright 2011 by Greg Laurie. Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, Co., http://www.davidccook.com/.

Worship Leaders, We Are Not Rock Stars

Rock stars are sexy. They stand on massive stages backed by incredible light shows while performing for people screaming out in worshipful adoration. They make great money, wear hip clothes, have rad tattoos, and get the best-looking women---all this for being able to write and perform music people enjoy.

This is the picture in many people's minds when they set out to be worship leaders, as a result of the emotionally driven celebrity culture we have created and modeled for them in the Western church. When a leader is talented and charismatic, we tend to blur the line between admiration and worship, between imitating them as they imitate Christ and substituting them for Christ. With music, this is all the more dangerous because we are dealing with a naturally emotional medium.

But emotions are not bad in and of themselves. They are quite useful in engaging us holistically in worship. Consider how Jonathan Edwards, the great theologian and pastor, put it:

I don't think ministers are to be blamed for raising the affections of their hearers too high, if that which they are affected with be only that which is worthy of affection, and their affections are not raised beyond the proportion to their importance, or worthiness of affection. I should think myself in the way of my duty to raise the affections of my hearers as high as possibly I can, provided that they are affected with nothing but truth, and with affections that are not disagreeable to the nature of what they are affected with.

It is the job of worship leaders to raise the affections of the people we lead to the highest possible height with the truth of the worthiness of God in our songs. And yet, while emotions are helpful handmaids of worship, the emotional and even sensual nature of music can make it difficult to know whether we are raising the affection of our hearers with the truth or simply the thrill of the song. We may go for the emotional jugular and completely fail to exalt the character, holiness, and majesty of God. The music becomes self-serving.

Prideful Platform
Perhaps the more common and deadly practice, however, is to use even the deepest truths of God to serve our own prideful pursuit of platform and prominence. Because we are in a culture that makes "Idols" out of men and women who can sing, people naturally put talented worship leaders in the rock-star limelight. This is a very tempting place to be as a worship leader, as that sort of public appreciation can be intoxicating.

Some years ago, I was beyond frustrated while serving in a church where I felt I was running on a hamster wheel. Week after week, I would "lead worship," but it never seemed to elicit the response I hoped for. The people stood bored, uninspired, and generally apathetic, hands in pockets and arms folded. I was rarely thanked or encouraged, and it seemed I was wasting my time.

At the same time, I would travel to lead worship for conferences and concerts where my band would be paid well, fed well, put up in nice hotels, and constantly thanked and praised for our great work. When we led worship, people raised their hands and voices and sang loudly. Afterward, we would sign autographs, sell CDs and T-shirts, and take pictures with our "biggest fans." I wanted more.

One day, in the middle of an argument with my wife over the whole thing, I shouted, "All I'm ever going to be is a local church worship leader!" As soon as I heard the words leave my mouth, the Holy Spirit began his work of conviction in me. He brought Ephesians 5:26-27 to mind to remind me that the church is the bride Christ gave himself up for, rather than a stepping stone for my own fame and glory. John 10 reminded me that the church are his sheep and they need a shepherd, not a rock star.

I was undone.

And then, because of his kindness, God used the wrecking ball of Psalm 46:10 to tear down the walls of strife I was experiencing from working toward the exaltation of the wrong name. Finally Ephesians 1 comforted me as an adopted son of God, who was purchased by the blood of Christ and blessed beyond comprehension.

Until that moment, I hadn't realized that I had been searching for worth in things that could not give it, for satisfaction in broken wells. I was subconsciously using people to find validation, trying to create a better identity than the one I had been given in Christ. When people didn't cooperate with my plans, I became frustrated with them, rather than humbly serving them as their pastor.

Okay Without Affirmation
I know many worship pastors are in the same boat. Many of us serve sacrificially, week after week, and are rarely noticed or applauded. We seek acceptance from the people we lead and serve, but instead we find grumbling and complaining rather than the affirmation our souls so eagerly desire.

This is not to say the grumbling and complaining or lack of encouragement is okay. This is to say that we are okay without affirmation.

We will never be more noticed, loved, cherished, accepted, validated, encouraged, and satisfied than we are in Christ. We will never have a greater identity than the one he has purchased for us on the cross. We are created in the image of God, bought with his blood, redeemed for his glory, adopted into his family, given an eternal inheritance, a new family, and the Holy Spirit to dwell in us!

We don't need people to raise their hands and sing loudly in corporate worship. We don't need to have them come to us after and tell us how great worship was. We don't need to grow our platform, have a well-read blog, go on tour, lead worship at the biggest conferences, or have the top-selling Christian album on iTunes. We don't have to be rock stars. We have Jesus. And Jesus is more than enough.

Stephen Miller is the worship leader at The Journey St Louis, an advocate for poverty victims as a Compassion International artist, and can be followed on Twitter.

Are You a True Follower of Christ? Really?

By Jennifer LeClaire

As I was preparing a sermon for Palm Sunday, I was struck to the core by John 12. Jesus made a triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The Bible says a great multitude took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel!” (John 12:13).

Yet only a few verses later many no longer believed.

What happened? What shifted? What caused this multitude to go from celebrating Jesus and acknowledging Him as King of Israel to turning their back on Him and days later calling for His crucifixion? Simply put, He told them the truth—and they couldn’t handle the truth. You might say they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved (2 Thess. 2:10).

But let me ask you a serious question: Are you a lover of the truth? Are you a true follower of Christ? Really?

If we want a spiritual awakening, if we want revival in this land, we have to be lovers of the truth. That means no compromise with darkness. That means no shrinking back when things get hard. That means we must pursue and speak the truth in love no matter the personal cost. That’s what Jesus did. Are we going to follow Christ or are we going to befriend the world and become enemies of God? (James 4:4).

I’m not talking about being pushy or obnoxious with the gospel. Jesus was never pushy or obnoxious. But Jesus did offer some hard truths in love. In John 12:25-26 Jesus said, “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”

Jesus said we should follow Him. At the moment He said that, where was He going? The cross. Are you willing to crucify your flesh to follow Christ by yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart? This is what Father, Son and Holy Ghost expect. Jesus was very clear that following Him would not be easy on the flesh. Right after he fed 5,000 men and thousands more women and children with a few fishes and loaves of bread, Jesus said something similar to His remarks in Jerusalem:

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:23-26).

Let me ask you the same question again: Are you a true follower of Christ? Really? We love to see miracles, signs and wonders—and well we should. We praise the name of Jesus for the blessings in our lives—and well we should. But how many will take the humble road and pick up their cross daily to follow Jesus when they face persecution, a broken down car, a delayed promotion, or some other unpleasantry? Picking up your cross may mean speaking out. It may mean keeping your mouth shut. But it always means striving to walk in love and forgiveness. It always means relying on God’s grace to obey His Word. Jesus is the Word.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is a true follower of Christ. Imprisoned for nearly 1,000 days in poor conditions in Iran, abused physically and emotionally, and separated from his wife and two young children, Nadarkhani nevertheless refuses to recant his faith in Christ and accept Islam.

Most of us will never have to face this choice. But we make small choices every day that demonstrate whether or not we are true followers of Christ or just giving lip service to His gospel. Of course, no one is perfect. We’re all moving from faith to faith and glory to glory. But are we pressing on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us, laying aside everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us? Holiness is the mandate we strive toward. God just wants a willing heart that’s quick to repent when we move in the works of the flesh instead of the fruit of the Spirit. None of us are perfect. No condemnation. The goal is to mature, and that takes a decision to really, truly follow Christ.

I’m calling on you to make a decision. Will you be part of the masses or part of the remnant? Will you be one who loves the praises of God or the praises of man? (John 12:43) Jesus made a decision for us. He gave His life for us. Shouldn’t we be willing to give this life for Him? We did nothing to deserve eternal life. We deserve eternal hell fire. But Jesus came here as humble servant to show us the way. He is the Way, but He is also the Truth. Can you handle the truth? Will you love the truth? Will you be a true follower of Christ? God’s grace is sufficient. Amen.

The question is very simple yet hard to answer. I am so blessed to have read this article. It's an heart-opener for me to re-examine my walk in Christ. My prayer is simply, "Lord, help me to stand fast to Your truth no matter what the cost. In Jesus' name, Amen!." 

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including Did the Spirit of God Say That?. You can e-mail Jennifer at jennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here.

Worship the Way God Intends

This article below really spoke of me today during the worship service at church. Despite singing, lifting up hands, eyes closing, I felt something is so missing. I think this was one of those days where my spirit needs a lift-up, and God knows in time to give me that encouragement I needed. His promise is sure as the Psalmist declared He is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1 NIV). When my spirit seems dull, God is there to lift me up. His promise indeed sure! 

If any of you has had the same experience like me, please continue reading this article below. I am so strengthened and blessed. God bless you!

By Whitney Hopler

If the time you spend in worship each weekend at church seems like it’s missing something, you may not be worshiping the way God wants you to worship. No, that doesn’t mean that God prescribes just one form of prayer that you’re not using, or a certain style of music that you’re not singing. When your worship seems incomplete, your entire approach to worship may be off.

True worship – which is always fulfilling – revolves around God, not your own expectations. Feeling disappointed by your worship experiences is a signal that you need to learn how to approach worship from the perspective God wants you to have, so you can worship the way God intends:

Debunk the myth that worship is all about you. Worship is all about God, not you. So instead of asking what you can get out of worship personally, ask what you can give to God through worship. Rather than being concerned about whether or not worship meets your expectations (from exciting music to warm feelings), focus on how you can bring honor and glory to God as you worship. If you approach worship by asking God what He has for you in your worship experience, you may not be satisfied. But if you approach worship looking for opportunities to encounter God and praise Him, you’ll be fulfilled in the process.

Debunk the myth that happens just one day a week. Worship isn’t just an event that you attend, like a concert. God intends for worship to be a lifestyle, in which you consistently connect with Him. Beyond your church’s weekly worship service, you can keep worshiping God – at all times, and in all situations. Stop thinking of worship as just an event that you passively attend, and start thinking of worship as an ongoing process in which you actively pursue a closer relationship with God and express your love for Him. When you’re not at church, use spiritual disciplines (such as prayer and Bible reading, meditation, and study) to help you worship God. Also, use your relationships with other people to worship God by sharing your faith with them and serving them in the ways God leads you to reach out to help meet their needs. As you go through the mundane moments of each day, pray for the discernment you need to notice God’s presence with you and the many blessings He has given you. Then thank God and praise Him whenever you have an opportunity to do so. In that way, you can worship throughout each day. When you’re facing challenging or difficult circumstances, you can worship God by praying brief prayers asking for God’s help and expressing your trust in His care for you. Any time you put your faith in action to express your love for God, you’re worshiping Him.

Debunk the myth that worship is just a part of your life. Worship shouldn’t be just one part of your life; it’s meant to permeate all of your life. God hopes that, when you worship, you’ll offer your entire life to Him and seek to find and do His will for every decision you make. The only way to find real, lasting peace and fulfill your potential as a person is to infuse worship into every part of your life (not just the part of your life that involves going to church). Since God has designed all human beings to worship, you’re bound to worship something, whether or not it’s God. You naturally worship whatever you place at the center of your life (which you can tell by how much energy, time, and money you spend pursuing it). People can worship their careers, marriage, children, the pursuit of money or pleasure, or anything or anyone else that they devote themselves to more than they devote themselves to God. You also become more like whatever you choose to worship, as a natural result of the worship process. So if you revolve your life around pursuing money, you’ll become a materialistic person. But if you revolve your life around God, you’ll become more spiritually mature. So aim for the goal of true worship: to put God in His rightful position as the focal point of your life. Fall in love with God and devote yourself completely to Him, revolving everything else in your life around your relationship with God.

Debunk the myth that worship is a religious activity. Worship is really about a relationship, not a religion. If you worship God out of a sense of religious duty, trying to earn favor with Him by performing religious rituals, you’ll eventually fail to meet the standards you’re trying to reach and be crushed by shame, guilt, and the pressure of feeling obligated to do what you lack the power to do on your own. But if you approach worship as a way to strengthen your relationship with God, you’ll connect with Him in ways that will empower you to become the person He wants you to become, and you’ll feel loved and free rather than guilty and pressured. When you have a right relationship with God, you’ll be motivated to do what’s right out of love, not out of obligation. Enjoying a close relationship with God will inspire you to do what He calls you to do because you want to, not because you have to do so – and your loving, faithful response to God means that you’re truly worshipping Him.

Bring something of value to your worship. It pleases God when you offer Him something of value as part of worshipping Him. Bring God the gift of yourself by spending time with Him simply to get to know Him better and develop a closer bond with Him. Offer God your talents and skills by using them to serve others through the ways in which God leads you. Entrust your family and friends to God by sharing your faith with them, praying for them, and inviting them to church with you. When you bring something valuable to God, you’re worshipping Him by honoring Him.

Adapted from Revolve: A New Way to See Worship, copyright 2011 by Nelson Searcy and Jason Hatley, with Jennifer Dykes Henson. Published by Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, mich., www.bakerpublishinggroup.com.

Resist Lust's Temptation

Linda S. Mintle, Ph.D.

Month after month, one particular article on my website receives an unusually high number of hits: "Overcoming Sexual Temptation." Many Christians, such as the reader quoted below, find sexual temptation a difficult struggle and walk in constant condemnation.

"I have failed God many times in the area of sexual lust. I find myself thinking about impure thoughts. I confess my sin, ask forgiveness and repent. I do OK for a few days but find myself back where I started. I feel out of control. How can I break this cycle?"

Here are the steps:

1. Stop sexual thoughts. Think on things that are pure, as the Scriptures command (see Phil. 4:8). You can control where your thoughts go by making a mental choice to focus on something nonsexual.

2. Remove sources of sexual temptation. Identify the things in your life that are contributing to the problem. Then remove them as sources of temptation. Areas to check include:
Movies: Avoid ones that encourage lust and erotica. They make it impossible for you to "flee from temptation."
Television: It may be time to rethink channel and program choices.
Magazines: The visual images can be arousing. The stories and suggestions often encourage lust.
Books: Reading steamy romance novels won't help you focus your thoughts on what is pure and virtuous.
Peer group: What values are reinforced? How explicit and graphic is the talk? Is being a virgin considered weird? Are your friends committing adultery?
Family: Some families don't model appropriate sexual behavior, limit sexual exposure or have good sexual boundaries. Know what's right and what isn't.
Computer: The Internet gives easy access to pornography. Put on parental controls or a filter system or unsubscribe if you can't seem to resist.
Alcohol: More illicit sex happens under the influence of alcohol because inhibitions are removed. Don't indulge.
Job environment: Resist pressure to be part of the group, go to bars and engage in sexual talk. And watch those opposite-sex friendships. Many affairs begin with an understanding, sympathetic, listening co-worker.

3. Purpose in your heart to follow God's Word. Don't be ruled by passion. No matter what you feel, act with your brain and not your emotions.

4. Don't put yourself in tempting places. In the same way that a recovered alcoholic would shun going into a bar, you must avoid going to places that make resistance tough (for example, X-rated movies, strip joints, bars). When Satan tempted Eve, she engaged him in conversation instead of telling him to go crawl somewhere else. We all know the outcome of her choice!

5. Resist with the Word. When Satan came to Jesus, His defense was to speak the Word. Satan did not argue with Scripture; he left.

6. Don't lie to yourself. Many Christians think they can handle a lot more sexually explicit material than they can. We aren't aware of the subtle influence it has and the desensitization that takes place as a result of regular exposure.

7. Keep your walk with the Lord strong. Develop an intimate relationship with your heavenly Father. Difficult times come when we get out of fellowship with God. He doesn't leave us; we stop relating to Him. It is imperative that we stay connected.

8. If you fall, don't live in condemnation. Recognize your mistake, ask God to forgive you and turn from sin. True repentance involves a turning from the behavior. I have worked with a number of people who repent but go right back to the behavior because they haven't made necessary changes, aren't ready to give up the immediate gratification that accompanies lust or don't exercise their spiritual authority over sin.

Finally, if you still have difficulty, speak to a therapist or minister. There could be a spiritual, emotional or psychological root that requires more intense work. Getting free from lust is not impossible, but it will require significant changes in your thought life and behavior.

(Source: www.charismamag.com)

This is very sobering article. It is definitely needed now in this day and age. And I, for one, need this.
2 Timothy 2:22 NKJV
Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Lord, help me to live my life daily acceptable at Your signt. In Jesus's name, Amen.

Tough Conversations

I found this short article very true and helpful, at least for me personally. Such a blessing to read this.

By Kevin East

The quickest way to a parent's heart is through their kids. There is no way around that. Just like when a momma bear gets aggressive because her cubs are around, most parents jump into a different frame of thinking when it comes to their children.

True Measure of a Man

Whitney Hopler

Our society constantly pressures men to achieve and seek recognition in order to feel successful. But when they fail to meet all of their goals or gain the attention they’ve been seeking, men can easily feel depressed and even worthless.

If you’re a man who’s frustrated with the never-ending pressure of how to succeed in this world, God has good news for you. You’ll never fail to achieve success if you pursue it the way God intends.
Here’s how you can discover true success:

Look at success the way God does. Success, from God’s perspective, isn’t about what you may be able to achieve or how much praise others give you for doing so. True success is becoming the person God wants you to become. God’s intention is for you and every other human being to become more like Jesus Christ during your lifetime on Earth. When you make that your ultimate goal and base all of your decisions on that, you’ll become successful no matter what circumstances you encounter along the way.

Stop trying to be the master of your own universe. In this fallen world, every man makes mistakes and struggles with weaknesses. It’s freeing to admit that you can’t handle every problem or control every situation in your life; doing so removes the pressure of trying and the discouragement of inevitably failing. Instead, focus on trusting God, who actually is the master of the universe. Rather than trying to deal with your concerns by yourself and despairing when you fail, rely on God to give you the strength you need to deal with any situation successfully.

Change the way you try to answer the question “What will people think about me?” That’s a natural question for you to ask yourself as a man. But don’t answer it by trying to project a successful image of yourself to others through what you do, who you know, or what you earn or own. That type of image shows the appearance of success, but doesn’t necessarily reflect excellence. The only way to show others that you’re truly successful is to develop excellent character so others will be inspired by the type of person you are.

Consider what your legacy to be. Every day, keep in mind how you’d like people to remember your life after it’s over. Make choices from an eternal perspective. Do your best to contribute as much as you can to the world in the ways God leads you to do so. Keep in mind that people will ultimately remember you for what type of person you became – not for your achievements alone.

Base your identity on your relationship with Jesus. Don’t allow your achievements, income level, or anything else in this world to determine your worth as a person. Instead, embrace the deep, unconditional love that God offers you through your relationship with Jesus. Remember that no amount of worldly success can cause you to earn God’s love, and no amount of worldly failure can cause you to lose God’s love.

Become courageous. Realize that the object of life isn’t to have comfort, pleasure, and prosperity. Instead, it’s to mature your soul so you become more like Jesus, which involves cooperating with God’s work to bring good purposes out of your pain. So pray about the fear you feel when you face challenges, and invite God to give you the courage you need to deal with them successfully – by emerging from them as a better person.

Develop a stronger character. Become more like Jesus by pursuing character traits such as self-restraint, honesty, integrity, diligence, fairness, and selflessness.

Grow in wisdom. Become more like Jesus by asking God to teach you how to distinguish between ideas that are true and ideas that are false so you can develop sound judgment and make good moral choices.

Build strong relationships. Become more like Jesus by focusing on what matters most: relationships. Do all you can to build stronger relationships with God and other people. Learn how to express love and compassion as God wants you to in all of your relationships.

Become humble. Overcome the sin of pride (which leads you farther away from God) by realizing that all that you have is a gift from God and the result of other people contributing to your life. Make a habit of noticing the many blessings you regularly receive from God and the help that constantly comes into your life from others. Express your gratitude to God and other people often. Perform for an audience of just one – God alone – since God’s opinion of your life is the only one that ultimately matters. In the process, you’ll become humble, which is a position of strength, since God gives grace only to humble people.

Become content. Stop comparing your life with other men’s lives and instead focus on discovering and fulfilling God’s unique purposes for you. Accept the invitation that Jesus offers you to find rest, peace, and joy through your relationship with Him, which can’t be shaken by any circumstances.

Adapted from The True Measure of a Man: How Perceptions of Success, Achievement, and Recognition Fail Men in Difficult Times copyright 2011 by Richard E. Simmons III. Published by Evergreen Press, Mobile, Al., http://www.evergreenpress.com/.

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

Tullian Tchividjian

 

Last year I took our church through the Gospels and looked at various events in the life and ministry of Jesus where the shocking, counter-intuitive nature of amazing grace is on display. Each week we looked intently at how Jesus wrecked people afresh with his grace, turning everything that makes sense in our conditional world upside-down and setting sinners free.

Well, I went back to the first of those sermons the other day as I was doing some research and was struck again at how crazy God's grace really is.

I began that series by preaching from Luke 7:36-50. This is the famous account of the sinful woman (most likely a prostitute) barging into a party of religious leaders and washing the feet of Jesus with her tears of repentance. I pointed out that two rescues are happening in this passage: the obvious rescue of the immoral person but also the rescue of the moral person.

Normally when we think of people in need of God's rescuing grace, we think of the unrighteous and the immoral. But what's fascinating to me is that throughout the Bible, it's the immoral person that gets the Gospel before the moral person; it's the prostitute who gets grace; it's the Pharisee who doesn't. What we see in this story is that God's grace wrecks and then rescues, not only the promiscuous but the pious. The Pharisee in this story can't understand what Jesus is doing by allowing this woman to touch him because he assumes that God is for the clean and competent. But Jesus here shows him that God is for the unclean and incompetent and that when measured against God's perfect holiness we're all unclean and incompetent. Jesus shows him that the gospel isn't for winners, but losers: it's for the weak and messed up person, not the strong and mighty person. It's not for the well-behaved, but the dead.

I was reminded once again that Jesus came not to effect a moral reformation but a mortal resurrection (moral reformations can, and have, taken place throughout history without Jesus. But only Jesus can raise the dead, over and over and over again). As the late Lutheran theologian Gerhard Forde put it, "Christianity is not the move from vice to virtue, but rather the move from virtue to grace."

Wrecking every religious category he had, Jesus tells the Pharisee that he has a lot to learn from the prostitute, not the other way around.

The prostitute on the other hand walks into a party of religious people and falls at the feet of Jesus without any care as to what others are thinking and saying. She's at the end of herself. More than wanting to avoid an uncomfortable situation, she wanted to be clean-she needed to be forgiven. She was acutely aware of her guilt and shame. She knew she needed help. She understood at a profound level that God's grace doesn't demand that you get clean before you come to Jesus. Rather, our only hope for getting clean is to come to Jesus. Only in the Gospel does love precede loveliness. Everywhere else loveliness precedes love.

I closed the sermon by recalling a story that Rod Rosenbladt told me when we were together at a conference in Chicago. It's a story about a middle-aged woman who needed help from her pastor.

She went to her pastor and said, "Pastor, you know that I had an abortion a number of years ago?"  "Yes," the Pastor replied.  "Well, I need to talk to you about the man I've since met."  "Alright," replied the Pastor.

"Well, we met a while back, and started dating and I thought, I need to tell him about the abortion. But I just couldn't. Then things got more serious between us and I thought, I need to tell him about the abortion. But I just couldn't. A while later we got engaged and I thought, I need to tell him about the abortion. But I just couldn't. Then we got married and I thought, I really need to tell him about the abortion. But I just couldn't. So I needed to talk to someone, Pastor, and you're it."

The Pastor replied, "You know, we have a service for this. Let's go through that together." So they did—a service of confession and absolution.

When they were finished, she said to him, "Now I think I have the courage to tell my new husband about my abortion.  Thanks, Pastor."

And the Pastor replied to her, "What abortion?"

What the Pharisee, the prostitute, and everyone in between, need to remember every day is that Christ offers forgiveness full and free from both our self-righteous goodness and our unrighteous badness. This is the hardest thing for us to believe as Christians. We think it's a mark of spiritual maturity to hang onto our guilt and shame. We've sickly concluded that the worse we feel, the better we actually are. The declaration of Psalm 103:12 is the most difficult for us to grasp and embrace: "As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." To be convinced in our hearts, said Martin Luther, "that we have forgiveness of sins and peace with God by grace alone is the hardest thing." Or, as Corrie ten Boom once said, "God takes our sins—the past, present, and future—and dumps them in the sea and puts up a sign that says ‘No Fishing allowed.'" This seems too good to be true…it can't be that simple, that easy, that real!

It is true! No strings attached. No but's. No conditions. No need for balance. If you are a Christian, you are right now under the completely sufficient imputed righteousness of Christ. Your pardon is full and final. In Christ, you're forgiven. You're clean. It is finished.

What abortion?

Harden Not

This is another writing that is very much hitting it home for me. It is very encouraging and sobering. I keep learning to yield to His leading. Lord, help me.



Harden Not

Some of the Scariest Verses in the Bible

By Perry Noble

In my opinion some of the scariest verses in the Bible are…

Hebrews 3:7-8
Hebrews 3:15
Hebrews 4:7

We are commanded by God in the Scriptures that, when we hear His voice to not harden our hearts.

How do we harden our hearts? Simple…by KNOWING what God’s Word clearly says about something but refusing to obey because doing so might seriously interfere with the lifestyle that we are wanting to pursue.

•It happens when people know they should respond to the Gospel but keep finding reasons to say no.
•It happens when a person knows they are in an ungodly dating relationship but fears being alone more than they fear God.
•It happens when a person knows their life is out of control…but fears if they confess their sin and ask for help it may seriously damage their reputation.
•It happens when someone knows they should stop spending money the way they do…but have become dependent upon numbing their pain with the temporary satisfaction that trinkets bring.
•It happens when a church leaders knows the direction God is wanting him/her to take the ministry…but they refuse to do so because they fear being unpopular with the people.
•It happens when a person knows they should not continue to pursue the “innocent flirting” with someone at work…but…it feeds their ego or fulfills their emotions so they continue the practice.
•It happens when a person knows they should stop the intimate connections they are making online…but refuses to stop because of the pleasure it brings.
•It happens when we know we should invite someone to church and/or share Christ with them…but we convince ourselves that they would not be interested OR that we will simply do it later.

I could go on and on…but we all get the point.

When people harden their hearts in Scripture it just doesn’t go well for them.

My question is this…is there anything in your life that God seems to be relentless in coming after?

If so…are you repenting or defending? Because, when you defend what you are doing in the face of a Holy and awesome God who wants nothing but the best for you…then you are actively hardening your heart. AND…one day…you might not even be able to hear His voice anymore if you don’t deal with what He’s dealing with!

It’s not that most of us don’t hear the voice of God…it’s that we don’t like what we hear and so we either fight with Him or ask Him to tell us something else. BUT…until we deal with what He’s dealing with we will NEVER get past where we are right now. (See Ezekiel 14:1-6)

Today…if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart!

God Cares How Much?

Does God Care How Much We Give?
Francis Chan

The ultimate example of sacrifice and surrender is, of course, Jesus Christ. He had everything and still chose to surrender it out of love for His Father. Your attitude should be the same as His.

…who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ~ Philippians 2:5–11

John clearly tells us that “whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6). Are you ready and willing to make yourself nothing? To take the very nature of a servant? To be obedient unto death? If your honest answer to those questions is yes, how are those intentions manifested in your life?

In Matthew 25 we get a frightening picture of the coming judgment. In this passage, Christ condemns people to eternal punishment because they did not care for Him during their lives on earth. “For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me” (vv. 42–43).

The condemned protest, saying they never saw Christ in any of these positions of need, and Jesus responds, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (v. 45).

Ouch. To me that is like a stinging, unexpected slap in the face. Like many of you, I’ve heard that passage taught on numerous occasions. I’ve left convicted, but haven’t taken it literally. We see it as a fresh perspective on poverty rather than a literal picture of impending judgment.

How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ—the person driving painfully slow in front of me, the checker at the grocery store who seems more interested in chatting than ringing up my items, the member of my own family with whom I can’t seem to have a conversation and not get annoyed?

If we believe that, as Jesus said, the two greatest commands are to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind” and to “love your neighbor as yourself,” then this passage has a lot to teach us. Basically, Christ is connecting the command to “love God” with the command to “love your neighbor.” By loving “the least of these,” we are loving God Himself.

In this same chapter of Matthew, Jesus blesses some people for what they have done. Confused, they ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” (vv. 37–39).

His answer is staggering: “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’” (v. 40). Jesus is saying that we show tangible love for God in how we care for the poor and those who are suffering. He expects us to treat the poor and the desperate as if they were Christ Himself.

Ask yourself this: If you actually saw Jesus starving, what would you do for Him?

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. ~ 1 John 3:16–20

In this passage, we see that John questions whether it is possible to truly have God’s love in you if you have no compassion for the poor. He uses as his example Christ’s love manifesting itself through the sacrifice of His very life.

God didn’t just give a little for us; He gave His best. He gave Himself. John is saying that it is no different for us: True love requires sacrifice. And our love is shown by how we live our lives: “Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

One of the clearest ways we love “with actions and in truth” is through giving to others. By giving, I don’t mean just money, although that is certainly an element of it.

Another important element of giving is with our time. Most of us are so busy that the thought of adding one more thing to our weekly schedule is stressful. Instead of adding in another thing to our lives, perhaps God wants us to give Him all of our time and let Him direct it as He sees fit. One of the most memorized verses in the whole Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave” (John 3:16). Right there we see the connection between loving and giving evidently established.

Giving that is not motivated by love is worth nothing. Paul says from this kind of giving we “gain nothing”; however, when we give out of love, we gain much. Giving results not only in heavenly compensation, but also gives us great joy in our lives here and now. As we love more genuinely and deeply, giving becomes the obvious and natural response. Taking and keeping for ourselves becomes unattractive and imprudent.

Remember the story where Jesus fed thousands of people with one boy’s small lunch? In that story, according to Matthew, Jesus gave the loaves to His disciples and then the disciples passed them out to the crowd. Imagine if the disciples had simply held onto the food Jesus gave them, continually thanking Him for providing lunch for them. That would’ve been stupid, when there was enough food to feed the thousands who were gathered and hungry.

But that is exactly what we do when we fail to give freely and joyfully. We are loaded down with too many good things, more than we could ever need, while others are desperate for a small loaf. The good things we cling to are more than money; we hoard our resources, our gifts, our time, our families, our friends. As we begin to practice regular giving, we see how ludicrous it is to hold onto the abundance God has given us and merely repeat the words thank you.

The apostle Paul addresses this issue of giving in light of the inequalities among the early believers:

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little." ~ 2 Corinthians 8:13–15

Paul was asking the Corinthian believers to give to the impoverished saints in Jerusalem, the goal being that no one would have too much or too little. This idea is pretty far-fetched in modern-day culture, where we are taught to look out for ourselves and are thus rewarded.

The gap is so extreme in our world that we have to take lightly passages such as Luke 12:33: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” How else can I walk out of a mud shack and back into my 2,000-square-foot house without doing anything? The concept of downsizing so that others might upgrade is biblical, beautiful…and nearly unheard of. We either close the gap or don’t take the words of the Bible literally.

Dare to imagine what it would mean for you to take the words of Jesus seriously. Dare to think about your own children living in poverty, without enough to eat. Dare to believe that those really are your brothers and sisters in need.

Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50). Do you believe that? Do you live like you believe it?

After hearing this truth preached, a guy at my church donated his house to the church and moved in with his parents. He told me that he will have a better house in heaven, and that it doesn’t really matter where he lives during this lifetime. He is living like he believes.

Dream a little about what that might look like for you. Perhaps you start a movement called Aspiring to the Median, where people commit to living at or below the median U.S. income ($46,000 in 2006) and giving the rest away. Is it intimidating to think about giving radically and liberally?

I want to share a story with you. Anyone who has ever taken God at His word when He says, “Test me in this…and see if I will not…pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10) probably has a similar tale.

A friend was faithfully giving 20 percent of his income to God, and suddenly his income dropped drastically. He knew he had to decide whether he should continue to give in a way that proved he trusted God. It wouldn’t have been wrong to lower his giving to 10 percent. But my friend chose instead to increase his giving to 30 percent, despite the income reduction.

You can probably guess how the story ends. God blessed his faith and gave him more than enough, more than he needed. My friend got to experience God’s provision firsthand.

When it’s hard and you are doubtful, give more. Or, as Deuteronomy says, “Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake” (15:10).

Maybe you have already made sacrifices. If so, you have seen that in some ways it gets easier, doesn’t it? You have witnessed the benefits of giving and are blessed because of it. But it gets harder, too. The temptation to level off increases with each passing year. Pride tells you that you’ve sacrificed more than others. Fear tells you it’s time to worry about the future. Friends say you’ve given enough, that it’s someone else’s turn now.

But Jesus says to keep on and you will see more of God. Do we really believe that “it ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day”?

When Jesus sent out His twelve disciples (Luke 9:3), He told them to “take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.” Why do you suppose He said this? Why not let them run home and grab a few supplies? Why not allow them to bring some money along just in case?

Jesus was forcing His disciples to trust Him. God would have to come through for them because they had nothing else to fall back on.

This place of trust isn’t a comfortable place to be; in fact, it flies in the face of everything we’ve been taught about proper planning. We like finding refuge in what we already have rather than in what we hope God will provide. But when Christ says to count the cost of following Him, it means we must surrender everything. It means being willing to go without an extra tunic or a place to sleep at night, and sometimes without knowing where we are going.

God wants us to trust Him with abandon. He wants to show us how He works and cares for us. He wants to be our refuge.

Abounding Grace

"...choose grace..."

Choosing Grace

C.S. Lewis once quipped that everyone thinks forgiveness is a wonderful idea until they have someone to forgive.

Let’s apply that to grace.
Everyone thinks grace is a wonderful idea until they are faced with a situation that calls for it to be applied.


Grace is that which is freely given and totally undeserved; receiving what you do not deserve, and not receiving what you do.

Make no mistake, when it comes to human interaction, grace is a choice; a decision, made in reaction to a situation, which creates one of two scenarios: graciousness, or harsh judgment.

Let’s explore this a bit.

You arrive for your regular morning workout at the gym. You see a morbidly obese person on the treadmill. A dark thought slips across your mind along the lines of “What are they doing here?”

But what would a choice for grace be like?

It’s simple, really. When the dark thought crosses your mind, correct it and choose another. Rather than sneering and thinking that an overweight person has no business in a gym with fit people such as yourself, let grace exclaim, “Good for them! They are trying to lose weight and are here putting in the hard work to do it. Many overweight people aren’t even trying, and they are. Way to go!”

A politician is caught in sexual scandal and forced to resign. The first thought would be to lump all the slimy buggers together, make a sweeping assessment about politicians in general, and say the hypocrite got what he deserved.

A choice for grace might whisper, “If all of my private sins were suddenly made known, would I be forced to resign as well?”

Do we need to keep walking through the other seven deadly sins? If grace can speak to gluttony and lust, couldn’t it change our response to greed, anger, sloth, envy and pride?

Not as a means to excuse sin, or even to respond passively to sin as if it’s inconsequential to our world, much less our spiritual lives. The choice for grace is more relational. It’s the understanding that you’ve never locked eyes with anyone’s sin without seeing the drama of the fall playing itself out on planet earth.


The choice for grace is about seeing past the second chapter of the great theological story; first came creation, then the fall, but then came the wonderful, glorious third chapter of redemption.

This wasn’t just proclaimed by Jesus, but lived.

When everyone else saw a serial adulterer by a well, Jesus saw an evangelist to a city.

When everyone else saw a scheming, greedy tax collector, Jesus saw someone who could right a corrupt system.

When everyone else saw a murderous, hate-filled bigot, Jesus saw the author of much of the New Testament.

When everyone else saw you, full of your sin and dead to shame, Jesus saw a cherished daughter and a prized son.

Grace chose you.

Try choosing grace for others.

James Emery White


A great short article that is so simple and sobering. God chose to give grace to me. Lord, help me to live in Your grace daily. 

Prayers of Faith for the Impossible

I am so blessed reading this article, and I would like to share:

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don't you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” 
Mark 4:37-41

Rarely are there calm waters in the North Sea! And there we were, off the coast of France passing right through the North Sea. The waters were stormy on the first day, and the high waves sent many of us to bed, seasick. When your cabin is bouncing to and fro and you feel as if you have the worst case of the flu, it is hard to imagine stillness, peace, and a sense of well-being. But we fervently prayed, and God calmed the seas. It seemed impossible at the time, but to God all things are possible. God wants to answer prayers of faith for the impossible. Are we willing to step out into this dimension in our prayer lives?

What impossible assignments has God given you in prayer? Is it the salvation of a loved one, revival in your city or nation, healing from an illness? To you it may seem impossible (and the devil would want you to believe that), but God loves to answer impossible prayers because He, the creator of all that is, lives in the realm of what seems impossible. He wants us to be obedient in prayer so that He can stretch our faith to the place where He dwells. In this place of faith-filled obedience, He makes the impossible possible, by His might and power alone. And He wraps His strength around our weakness, bringing our faith to a new level.

The first day at sea on this voyage for most of us was miserable, and we had three more days to endure. But God was at work realigning our lives with His, conquering in a small way the self-life so that His life could shine more brightly through, and strengthening us in faith by answering our prayers for calm seas. We all have a tendency to get discouraged at the enormity of the task before us, in the weariness of the battle when the storms of life seem overwhelming, and when we perceive our own inability to have strength or faith for what is ahead. 

We must realize that we are not alone. God is powerful, and He is with us through every storm and danger in life. I once heard the story about a house that caught on fire one night and was being consumed with flames. A young boy was forced to climb out on the roof to escape. His father stood below with his arms outstretched, calling out loudly to his son, "Jump! I will catch you." The only way to save his life was to get the boy to jump. But he only saw the huge flames and black smoke and was terribly afraid. His father kept yelling frantically, "Jump! I will catch you." The boy fearfully protested, "Daddy, I can’t see you. I can’t see you," to which the father replied, "But, I can see you and that’s all that matters." 

God Desires Prayers of Faith

"Nothing can be clearer, or more distinct, more unlimited both in application and extent, than the plea and urgency of Christ, 'Have faith in God' (Mark 11:22). Faith covers worldly as well as spiritual needs. Faith scatters excessive anxiety and needless care about what will be eaten, what will be drunk, what will be worn." E. M. Bounds

God breaks through if we don't give up in prayer. Sometimes we feel the darkness of life just like that young boy on the roof. We can't see our way through a situation, but we pray fervently to God for the answer. We may say, "God, I can’t feel your presence. Are you with me?" And He says to us, "I can see you and that’s all that matters. I will never leave you or forsake you. You can trust me." We must realize that God is there and that He will catch us even though we cannot see our way through. He will grant us victory step-by-step as we continue in prayer. Don't give up in prayer, because He will win the battle for you. Remember that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Let us pray for one another that our faith may not fail. Faith honors God. He answers prayer according to our faith (Matthew 9:29). We link our humanity to His omnipotence when we pray in faith. 

I want to believe God for the supernatural in intercession, for the impossible to become possible, for His extraordinary hand of power in situations in nations as well as in my life. I want to believe God for a mighty prayer movement that covers the earth. To do so, I need to be ready to take action according to God's direction.

Last year God opened the door to start a one-month 24/7 House of Prayer in southern Spain. It was a step of faith. We invited intercessors from several nations to join us. We invited the churches of southern Spain to join us. God provided a hotel for this month of day-and-night prayer. He blessed us in a marvelous way. Everyone grew in his or her prayer life, and we were able to keep the prayer room going day and night. This vision expanded to pray not only for Spain but for North Africa as well. This led to another one-month 24/7 House of Prayer on the east coast of the United States. We have had invitations to do this in other nations as well. It all began with prayers of faith and an obedient step of faith in Spain. 

Nothing is Impossible for God

Elijah, prophet of God, stood before King Ahab and announced that there would be no rain unless he said so. And a drought set in (1 Kings 17). For three years, crops withered in the fields, and livestock died of thirst. And when it was time, God sent word through Elijah that it would rain once again. Leonard Ravenhill, a prominent British evangelist, wrote, 

“Such praying men are always our national benefactors. Elijah was such. He had heard a voice, seen a vision, tasted a power, measured an enemy, and with God as partner, wrought a victory. He knew the mind of God. Therefore he, one man, strangled a nation and altered the course of nature. By the key of faith, which fits every lock, Elijah locked heaven, pocketed the key, and made Ahab tremble. Though it is wonderful indeed when God lays hold of a man, earth can know one greater wonder—when a man lays hold of God.”

May we be men and women of faith who lay hold of God in prayer as Elijah did. It will take fervent prayers of faith for the seemingly impossible task ahead. Prayers are needed to turn nations towards God, to penetrate countries and people groups with the Gospel, and to see strongholds in our cities pulled down by the power of the name of Jesus, thereby opening doors to bring in the lost. God majors in performing what men often see as the impossible. He loves to break through when all hope seems dim.

God can break through the stormy seas in your personal life, family, city and nation. He longs to do the impossible in answering the cries of intercession. Prayer is the avenue to see all needs met. Prayer and faith go together. Ask God for increased faith in prayer for all believers. We see in Luke 17:5 that the disciples wanted more faith and prayed, "Increase our faith!" We need great faith and aggressive prayer for all the nations of the world. First Corinthians 16:13 says "Stand firm in your faith." May we look back on these days and say as Paul did in 2 Thessalonians 1:3, "Your faith is growing more and more."

"Don't discount what is possible with God (Philippians 4:13). When God gives an assignment, it is no longer an impossibility, but rather it is an absolute certainty. When God gives you a seemingly impossible task, the only thing preventing it from coming to pass is your disobedience… How do you respond to assignments that seem impossible? Do you write them off as unattainable? Or do you immediately adjust your life to God's revelation, watching with anticipation to see how He will accomplish His purposes through your obedience. God wants to do the impossible through your life." 
--Henry and Richard Blackaby

Together in the Harvest,

Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise