Hope Comes The Hard Way
Hope Comes The Hard Way
Often we believe that in order to have hope we need to see an absence of struggle or conflict on the horizon… smooth sailing ahead. The way we think of the birth of Jesus doesn’t help either, we hear phrases from our favourite Christmas carols in our heads and we risk losing the reality of the events of that night. Jesus came into the world through pain and struggle and his birth triggered a storm that the prophet Simeon told Mary “would pierce her soul.” Hope isn’t the absence of pain and struggle, it is an anchoring to Jesus, the one who calms the storm and walks on top of the waves and the one who can bring us through whatever we face today.
It's Small But It's A Start
It's Small But It's A Start
Have you ever felt you don’t have enough? Maybe you look at your resources, your job or your relationships and you assume that God can’t use you fully until you’re in a better spot. The bible actually says the opposite, that we are made strong in our weakness and that God isn’t asking us for what we don’t have, he’s asking wants to use the small things to demonstrate His great name. The bible is clear that we aren’t to despise small beginnings, but rejoice in them because they are the seeds for the glory of God to be revealed in and through us.
Prosperity Isn't A Dirty Word
Prosperity Isn't A Dirty Word
Unfortunately the word “prosperity” in church has taken on a distorted and twisted meaning that God never intended it to. What if God’s heart isn’t that you’re always just trusting Him for provision to make it through the week, or from pay check to pay check? What if God wants to fill you with the kind of generosity that blesses other people and blesses your life too. We don’t give to get, we give to give!
Get Your Priorities Straight
Get Your Priorities Straight
Have you ever felt like you’re spinning your wheels, stuck in the same ruts, never seeing lasting breakthrough? We want to see breakthrough and blessing but overlook the power of our priorities. God says that he won’t be second, that he can’t be second but most of us live our lives with God at the bottom of our priority list. It’s time to get our priorities straight so we can see the breakthrough we need.
It's Your Move
It's Your Move
Sometimes we can get stuck with the idea that it is God who will make the first move, but the Bible paints a different picture. If we want breakthrough in our lives we are the ones who need to make the first move in faith, trusting God with our heart and our life.
Bondage Breaker
Bondage Breaker
Real breakthrough is never easy and sometimes defies conventional wisdom. Sometimes we feel so stuck that the only thing we can do is to trust God enough to push past the crowds, the noise, the expectations and limitations others put on us in order to touch Jesus.
Burn The Plow
Burn The Plow
Sometimes we get so focused on our problems, what got us to where we are or the things that we “do” or “did” that define us that we walk right past the next thing God has for us. Sometimes we need to trust God to circle back so he can show us what is next, and when we get there, we need to trust Him to burn the plow and follow Him.
Before You Break Ground
Before You Break Ground
The Bible talks about two kinds of rain, the former rain and latter rain. Each one comes in its season. The former rain falls in Israel in late October/early November and it has a specific function to prepare the hard ground to plough and receive seed. In 1Kings 18 the nation of Israel was about to enter a new season but before the rain came God had to bring them through a process of preparation.
The Power Of Words
The Power Of Words
Did you know that getting the kind of life you want is strongly tied to how you use your tongue? The Bible says in the book of Proverbs that the tongue has the power of life and death. What we say and how we talk to others has a dramatic impact on the kind of life we have. Are you intentional about living at peace with others, how about speaking peace over your life and others lives instead of anger, frustration or lies?
Get A Life
Get A Life
Why does it seem so difficult to have the kind of life that you actually want? Why does it appear as thought the prevailing thought about following Jesus seems to be that He wants to ruin your life, rob you of joy and steal your enjoyment away.