Great Exploits

"First, before we can do great things for Christ there must be a sense of [our own] weakness. Secondly, there must be trust in promised strength; and thirdly, there must be fear removed by that promise: 'Fear not, for I will help thee.'"
                                                                                                                 Charles H. Spurgeon




Whenever God wants to move in a mighty way He often asks one or more of His children to step out onto a ground that appears to be very shaky. On this now fourth day of Advent, the most likely example of this is found in what God asked Joseph and Mary to do. Their story was one of challenge and intrigue and would leave every generation after themselves spellbound at the trust they displayed in their God.

My favorite Christmas movie is called The Nativity Story, produced by Temple Hill. The thing I love the most about this movie is that it really seems to depict the lives of Mary and Joseph in a very realistic manner. It does not hold back in telling their story from the vantage of the religious, traditional, societal, and emotional obstacles that they experienced in order to behold the greatest gift of God ever given to mankind.

Though the ground beneath them quivered and quaked, the truth was that God was with them and they were destined for victory. They continued in their journey with the assurance that God would help them and that He, alone, would see His mission through to fruition. They literally laid down their own agendas to see the fulfillment of the plans of God.

While none of us will ever again birth the Son of God in the flesh, there are many other great things that God wants to accomplish in the earth. And, in order for these things to be birthed, our lives must be laid down to the King of all kings. It will never be our will or our strength that will accomplish God's plans or will usher in a mighty move of God.

We must be conscious of our weaknesses before we can walk in victory. God will not go forward with a person that is walking in their own strength. As a matter of fact, God will empty out all we have before He will fill us up with Himself. Our emptiness is preparation for a mighty filling of God's Holy Spirit.

This is how we are assisted by divine strength. We contemplate our nothingness in light of God's greatness. Like the psalmist, David, said, "What is man that You remember him, the son of man that you look after him?" (Psalm 8:4).

Independence and self-sufficiency preclude us from bearing the eternal fruit that God desires. Charles Spurgeon said that the only fruit that God accepts is "the seed of which was sown from heaven, sprinkled in the heart, and harvested by the sun of grace." This is the fruit that is the result of a person who truly understands their own weaknesses.

Spurgeon goes on to say that if we really want to see God do great things through our lives that we must also trust in the promised strength that God gives. No matter what God asks us to do, if He helps us we can do it. Again and again, God promises us that He is with us and that He will help us. One example is Isaiah 41:13 which says, "For I am the Lord your God, the One who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you, 'Don't be afraid, I am helping you.'"

To be helped by God is an honor. While we may never understand the timing or the methodology, there is no greater privilege as a child of God. He is with us and He helps us.

Therefore, we must work to put away all our fears. This is the number one tool that the enemy of our souls uses against us. We can literally "What if" ourselves into a frenzy. Fear is painful. It weakens us and it dishonors God.

Fear is focusing on the wrong things and anxiety (which is generalized fear) chokes out our faith in God. It keeps us from apprehending God's best in our lives. Charles Spurgeon said,

                                    "Ye trembling souls! dismiss your fears;
                                      Be mercy all your theme:
                                      Mercy, which, like a river flows
                                      In one continued stream

                                      Fear not the powers of earth and hell;

                                      God will these powers restrain;

                                      His mighty arm their rage repel,

                                      And make their efforts vain.

                                     Fear not the want of outward good;

                                     He will for His provide,

                                     Grant them supplies of daily food,

                                     And all they need beside.

                                     Fear not that He will e'er forsake,

                                     Or leave His work undone;

                                     He's faithful to His promises-

                                     And faithful to His Son.

                                     Fear not the terrors of the grave,

                                     Or death's tremendous sting;

                                     He will from endless wrath preserve-

                                     To endless glory bring.

If we live surrendered, humble lives and trust in His promises, we will walk in victory when we stand against fear. While I recognize that each of us may have a thousand things that we could focus on instead of God, I also see that God will reward a steadfast life. Interestingly, I believe there is a correlation that the more turbulent the times in which we live, the greater the reward. There is so much He wants to do in these times in which we live. Pray for a vision and revelation and then trust Him to do great exploits!

"You and I can do nothing of ourselves; we are poor puny things; but let us attempt great things, for God is with us; let us dare great things, for God will not leave us."

                                                                                                                             Charles H. Spurgeon

Blessed And Broken

"Then He ordered the crowds to recline on the grass; and He took five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and BLESSED and BROKE the loaves and handed the pieces to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people."
                                                                                                                        Matthew 14:19




When Jesus saw that the multitudes who came to see Him were hungry, He was moved with compassion. The disciples in no way had the resources to feed such a crowd, but Jesus knew exactly how to meet their needs. They needed a miracle; that is His specialty. They were desperate to fill their emptiness and longing; He carried an abundance. Because their priority was being in His presence, He promised to add all the other things they would need.

The apostle, John, tells us that Jesus "knew what He was intending to do" (John 6:6). Using the bread as His example, He blessed it and broke it for all the people to see. This began His teaching on living a life of faith and a life of surrender before the Lord.

It all begins by giving Jesus all we have, including our brokenness. So often, we only want to share what we perceive as the "good" parts of ourselves with others and with God. Either consciously or subconsciously, we try to bury the less attractive aspects of our personalities or testimonies family history.

We hold onto our broken hearts, minds, dreams, and lives, hoping that someday they will miraculously get better. And yet, this is rarely the methodology God uses to bring about restoration. He asks us to trust Him with our brokenness and to give it to Him in full. Then, He asks us to trust the process that is required to bring about total redemption and restoration.

This is much easier said than done. If perfectionism is part of our DNA, the work required by the Lord is even more detailed and lengthy in the process. That is because perfectionism throws a veil over our brokenness and tries to pretend it just isn't there. To make matters worse, within the Christian community, we can immerse ourselves in good deeds to try to really convince ourselves of our own "goodness". And yet, this is not at all why Jesus died for us.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" (Galatians 5:1). No matter how much we try to cover up the brokenness, there is always still a nagging sense that our lives are not yet completely free in Christ. And, it is the faithfulness of God to continue to prod us until we succeed in the freedom for which He died.

Our lives are messy and God requires that we give our mess to Him. Human nature wants to wrap it up and put pretty little bows all over it pretending it doesn't exist. God's way is to expose it to the light and deal with it in a way that will ultimately yield the abundant life.

If we give the worst of ourselves to Him, He will bless it and give it back to us so that we can then share it with others. At times, He will even break it more so that it can be used in a greater way. Remember, brokenness is  openness. And, openness is a good thing!

If you've walked with God for any length of time at all, there will be a time when something or someone will break your heart. Somewhere inside of us there is a place that believes that this just shouldn't happen to children of God. C.S. Lewis said, "To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken."

And yet, loving others is the whole point. In Ann Voskamp's book, The Broken Way, she says, "I am what I love and I will love you like Jesus, through the strength of Jesus. I will love you when I'm not loved back. I will love you when I'm hurt and disappointed and betrayed and inconvenienced and rejected. I will simply love, no expectations, no conditions, no demands. Love is not always agreement with someone, but it is always sacrifice for someone."

She goes on to say that God calls us to the givenness of others. She states that our "Bad brokenness is broken by good brokenness", which is the giving out to others. C.S. Lewis said, "For in self-giving, if anywhere, we touch a rhythm not only of all creation, but of all being."

If we try to avoid suffering or mask it or attempt to comfort it, we miss out on the miracles and blessings that God intended for us. If we, instead, allow our suffering to propel us further into the heart of Jesus, we will be transformed. This is the transformation that brings freedom and healing to others.

As children of God, we are abundantly blessed. Simultaneously, for the greater good, God also allows us to be abundantly broken. Blessed and broken. For some of His children, this is the perpetual path He calls us to.

The promise He gives us if this is our path is that He will comfort us. The Greek word for comfort is parakaleo. Kaleo means to "call by name" and para means "near". It is ironically within our brokenness that we have the privilege to experience God and the comfort He brings in unprecedented ways. There are special blessings found along  broken path that are found in no other places. Our faith and surrender to Him are evidenced as we learn to trust Him in the process on our broken road.

This year, as we thank God for the abundance of our blessings, could we also thank Him for our brokenness too? His Light refracts through every broken place and yearns to touch other lives that are even more broken than our own. What if we intentionally seek out others who are hurting to show them the love of Christ? This is how we live the abundant  life in the midst of a broken path.

We are living in a season where God is calling us to be bolder and more intentional. No excuses. No hindrances- not even our own brokenness. We are a people who are abundantly blessed even if we are also abundantly broken. All brokenness will never fully be alleviated until we go home to be with Jesus. In the interim, may we be moved with compassion the way that Jesus is to find others along our path who are also blessed and broken. It is worth the risk!

                                        HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!


"By believing against all odds and loving against all odds, that is how we are to let Jesus show in the world and transform the world."
                                                    Frederick Buechner

True Trembling

"His voice shook the earth [at Mount Sinai] then, but now He has given a promise, saying,
'YET ONCE MORE I will shake not only the earth, but also the starry heaven.'

Now, this expression, 'YET ONCE MORE', indicates the removal and final transformation of all those things which can be shaken-- that is, of that which has been created-- So that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, and offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for our God is indeed a consuming fire."
                                                     Hebrews 12:26-29




Before the tribulation comes there will first be a season of Good News where the Gospel is shared throughout the earth (Matthew 24:14). The prophet, Daniel, speaks of this season when he says, "And in the days of these [final ten] kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break and crush and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever" (Daniel 2:44). Daniel explains that the kingdom God establishes in the earth will forever endure.

This knowledge should cause believers to have the true reverence that God calls us to possess. However, because our society as a whole has become so irreverent, there are many who do not. It is much easier to focus on God's love and kindness, and, in doing so, we can easily forget just how great and powerful God really is. This is why God tells us, "this is the man to whom I will look and have regard: he who is humble and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My Word and reveres My commands" (Isaiah 66:2).

God literally looks for those who are humble, contrite (showing sincere remorse) in their heart, and who tremble at His Word. He is not seeking what we can do; He seeks who we are. He promises that as we draw closer to Him that He will draw closer to us. Interestingly, the closer we get to God, the more our hearts will tremble before Him.

Error in the church occurs for two basic reasons. Jesus said, "You are wrong because you know neither the Scriptures nor God's power" (Matthew 22:29). While He was speaking to the Sadducees and Pharisees, the inference was that they really didn't know God. They could talk the talk and fake the walk, but they really didn't have the kind of relationship with God that is intimate and abundant.

Knowing God was definitely something that Moses accomplished in his life. He spoke face to face with God in the sacred tent. And, when he did, his face was so radiant that the sons of Israel had to turn away. The trajectory in his life was to hear from God and to seek hard after Him.

When God gave Moses His Word in the form of the ten commandments, Moses did not eat or drink for forty days. He carefully handled God's Word and then shared it with the Israelites. When "the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and saw the mountain smoking, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself and we will listen, but let not God speak to us or we will die.' Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid; for God has come in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin'" (Exodus 20:18-20).

God shook Mount Sinai when He gave the law and He will once again shake the nations before Jesus returns. His voice thundered and shook the people at Mount Sinai and His voice will once again thunder throughout the earth. We will either be a people who trembles at His Word or we will be among those who ignore it which would be to our peril.

The book of Revelation tells us that during the tribulation seven thunders will be given a voice and will utter their message in distinct words (Revelation 10:3). The apostle, John, heard their message and started to write it down but was prohibited from doing so. He "heard a voice from heaven saying, 'Seal up what the seven thunders have said! Do not write it down!'" (Revelation 10:4).

We do not know why John was not permitted to write what the seven thunders uttered. Those utterances were to be sealed in an otherwise unsealed book. We will have to wait until the end of time to know what they spoke (Daniel 12:9).

The angel that told John about the seven thunders apparently had the authority of God's throne. His posture was that of a conqueror possessing his territory. Only the victorious Christ could make such a claim.

Between now and the end of time, it is imperative to know what God is saying. In times as critical as these, it is the only true thing that matters. We cannot be intimidated to draw close to Him, even if trembling is the end result of it. We may even hear the rumble of thunder:

"The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders" (Psalm 29:3).

"Thunder crashes and rumbles in the skies. It's God raising His voice!" (Job 26:11).

"God thunders with His voice wondrously" (Job 37:5).

"Then there came a voice out of heaven... the crowd of bystanders heard the sound and said that it had thundered"  (John 12:28-29).


More of God is coming to the earth. A season of fulfillment of the Word of God will occur. The light of God will be turned up. May we be a people in this season who are humble, contrite in spirit, and who hear and truly tremble at His Word!


               "Indeed, [at His thunderings] my heart also trembles and leaps out of its place."
                                                                  Job 37:1

And The Lord Remembered...

"And God [earnestly] remembered Noah and every living thing and all the animals that were within the ark; and God made a wind blow over the land, and the waters sank down and abated."
                                                                                                                                         Genesis 8:1




When times are turbulent or when we face major storms in our lives, it can become easy to believe that God has forgotten or forsaken us. Feeling forgotten and forsaken is a normal human emotion that most people have experienced at some point in their lives. David asked, "Why do you stand afar off, O Lord?" and "Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" (Psalm 10:1). Even Jesus cried out from the cross and said, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?"

Most likely, this is how Noah felt, as well. After living through the incredible trauma of watching the earth be destroyed, he and his family had drifted in the ark for over a year. Loneliness and isolation must have seeped in because, to the visible eye, it appeared that nothing had changed. Same surroundings; same circumstances. It is at this point, though, that the Bible tells us that "God remembered" (Genesis 8:1).

This became the game changer! It wasn't really that God had forgotten Noah and his family. Quite the opposite was true. The word remember in this context means "to pay attention to, to fulfill a promise, or to act on behalf of somebody". The word implies a previous commitment that God has made and the declaration that God is now going to fulfill that commitment.

It is impossible for God to forget or to forsake His people, not only because of His promises, but also because of His character. He is love and He is faithful and He is unchanging. We can depend on Him no matter how bad our circumstances are or how we feel.

There will always be a greater purpose and plan than what our natural eyes can see. Too often, we try to assess our situations with such limited data that it would be impossible for us to understand things the way that God does. He tells us, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9).

When God remembered Noah, He remembered him in three ways. First, He removed His judgment when He began to remove the water. We are told that, "He [that is, God] sent a wind over the earth and the waters receded... The water receded steadily from the earth" (Genesis 8:2).

Suddenly, there was new life and new power in the place of barrenness and death. God's Spirit ushered in the start of a new season and the fulfillment of God's covenant. Supernatural miracles once again displayed the glory of God.

The second way God remembered Noah was by giving him a sign. When Noah sent the dove out again for the second time, it returned with the olive branch in its beak. This sign symbolized the renewal and peace that God was restoring to the land.

It required patience and perseverance on Noah's part before he received the sign. He sent the raven out and nothing happened. He sent the dove out the first time and nothing happened. When he refused to give up, God gave him the confirmation he sought.

God is faithful to comfort and reassure us in our distress. He lets us know that He has not forgotten us or forsaken us and that He still is sovereign. He assures us that He is working all things together for our good.

The third way God remembered Noah was by His words. He said to him, "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives" (Genesis 8:16). It seems that God broke the silence in Noah's life by speaking to him once again. It was when God spoke that Noah knew with certainty that God had remembered him.

When God began to speak, He gave Noah purpose and direction for what He was calling him to do. He said, "Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you- the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground so they can be fruitful and increase in number upon it" (Genesis 8:17).

Fruitfulness and multiplication were the order of the day then just as they are now. With the renewal and rest came the mandate to do God's work in the earth. The directive is always to increase the kingdom of God.

Grateful beyond words, Noah then remembered God and all that He had done. He received his mandate and obeyed God's will. He recognized the times he was living in and knew what he was to do.

This is where I believe we are today as believers. In this country, no matter how you feel about the politics at hand, we have been given a reprieve. We now have a reprieve of the assault against religious liberties. Full-term unborn babies have a reprieve from the slaughter that besieged them. Our supreme court has been given a reprieve. There is more I could add to this list, but you get the idea.

God has heard and answered the pleas of His people and He has acted on our behalf. Already, lives are being saved. Just today, in Brent's practice, he was told that all the Christians in Egypt were praying that Trump would win the election. The reason they prayed so fervently is because the Muslim Brotherhood issued an edict that if Clinton won, they would begin slaughtering Egyptian Christians and would begin demonstrations intended to oust President Sissi and replace him with a Muslim Brotherhood president.  They knew a Clinton victory would enable this because they knew there would be no consequences to their heinous actions.  Because Trump won, that isn't going to happen.

We live in wicked times. In order to see our culture changed from the inside out, we must have revival. That starts with you and I. We can no longer afford the luxury of time to not be diligent in our efforts to evangelize the lost. We must remember what God has done on our behalf and follow the same directive He gave to Noah. The Lord remembered... Will you?


"Arise [to a new life] and shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!"
                                                                  Isaiah 60:1