Category Archives: Blog

The Cry of the Father’s Heart: Come Home

Set everything down and run to Him.

God is always wooing you to Him.

In the story of the prodigal son, the father had two sons. The father loved them both. One was missed when he left the house and went away. The other was missed when he refused to join the welcome home party. The father’s message to both sons was, Come home.

It’s the cry of God to His children–the wooing of His heart. We are loved. We are loved beyond comprehension, beyond reason of knowing. No matter where we are in life, the Father’s call is, Come home. I want you next to me.

If you’ve been away, come back. If you’ve always been there, go in deeper. We will never exhaust the levels of love and forgiveness in God. His love is a deep pool you can dive into and never find the bottom of. He is constantly calling us to a richer place where He can be all we need and all our desires are in Him.

Stop looking at what you want to see happen and put your eyes on Him. Seek first the kingdom of God, He’ll take care of the rest. His arms are out to receive you in a great big heavenly hug that heals and restores all you need. Set everything else down and come home.

Another post on the Father’s love: Choose To Be His Child

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Miracles Come With Expectation

God moves for people who are looking for Him to move.

If you need a miracle, then expect a miracle.

If you need a miracle in your life, then study miracles. Read about miracles in the Bible and see what God has done. How much faith did the people have? How much did God do? If God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then He’s ready to do something miraculous today.

Reading about miracles and hearing testimonies of what God has done in the past, builds your faith. Set your expectations that God will do something that defies the laws of physics or circumstance. God moves for people who are looking for Him to move.

Seeing a miracle should be common place for us. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them, they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. (Mk, 16:17-18)

If you are a believer, then miracles are to be expected. God said so. Just believe that He’s still the God who parted the Red Sea and raised Jesus from the dead. Then give Him all the praise when He does what you asked Him to do.

Another post on miracles: Time For More Miracles

 

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When Heaven Seems Deaf

Sometimes, God is calling you closer.

No matter what you feel, God is always with you. Photo credit: p0psicle

We all go through seasons when it seems like God has left us and heaven is deaf. We feel abandoned and lost. It’s disconcerting not having a sense of His presence. We feel adrift, without guidance or direction. That’s never actually true, of course. God is always with us.

But why does it seem like He leaves us sometimes? It’s usually because we are going through a new season of growth. He’s calling us up to a new level of relationship. That new place has a new level of commitment, wisdom, or revelation. God hasn’t abandoned us, He’s asking us to have more of Him in our lives.

That’s the time to press in. Spend more time in the word, in praise, in worship, whether you feel it or not. That new place of relationship is someplace you’ve never been before, so it takes a little time to find your way. God is turning Himself to show you a new facet of His glory. It’s a facet you can’t see from the old place.

Don’t worry about what your direction should be. Carry on with what you feel to be right. God will correct you if you need it. Press in and ask for more. It’s a place of new discovery and deeper  communion. Above all, know that He has never left you.

Another post on hearing God: Has God Stopped Talking?

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

  • Study – Have you ever felt abandoned?
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Be Aware Of God Today

Allow the Holy Spirit to be released through you.

Be aware of God in your life everyday.

When we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives, we are living with the greatest power in the universe. He is our Friend, our Counselor, and our Comforter. To ignore that, or not value this amazing presence of God, is a huge mistake.

We need to live with an awareness of God in our lives. It takes intention to do that. You have to decide to focus your thoughts on Him. When we remember to connect with Him during our day, we’re open to hearing His voice. He has direction. He has influence. He can help when we need it.

Having an awareness of God releases His presence into your home, your office, or your school. You carry Him with you where ever you go, but He is not effective in touching others unless you allow Him to. He’s in you and He wants out. He wants to be the main influence in this world and He wants to use you to do it.

Spend your quiet time getting to know Him so you recognize His voice. Ask Him to be released through you to effect others. Ask for His gifts to be used in you so others are touched by His grace. He chose to live in you because of love. Let Him be the God of love in you.

Another post on the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit Is Your Anointing

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Being Generous Attracts Blessing

Generosity releases blessing

God is as generous as you are.

Generosity is such a powerful fruit of the Spirit. When we are generous, there’s a thoughtfulness that blesses far beyond the immediate giving. Generosity requires that we think of others, thereby taking our eyes off of ourselves. So much of the kingdom of God is learning to stop thinking of ourselves all the time.

Give and it will be given to you:good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. (Luk 6:38A) Put into your bosom because you’ll need both hands to handle the blessing you get back.

But the key to that verse is really the one after it: For with the same measurement that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luk 6:38B) We should not give because we expect God to do something for us. We should give to help a need, without any worry that we will lack. God replaces in the measure you give. It’s a law of the kingdom.

And God’s measure is good. He doesn’t scrimp. He is honest, pressing the blessing into the measuring cup until it’s full, then He keeps adding more until it completely overflows. You really need to watch Him do this for you. He makes being generous fun.

Another post on generosity: Getting What We Pay For

 

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  • Growing Fat with Blessing

Break Off Occultic Ties

Ask God to cleanse you of all occultic activity.

Break off occultic chains that are harming you.

We are primarily spirits experiencing a physical existence. We live in a physical world, but our real concerns are spiritual. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Eph 6:12)

Any agreement with the work of the enemy has significant long term spiritual effects. Health issues, poverty, divorce, “bad luck”–there are so many ways that we can be effected by our own actions and not realize it.

If you ever played with a Ouija Board, Taro cards, a seance, or consulted a physic, you need to cut off the spiritual ties that may be harming you, your family, and future generations. Confess the involvement to Jesus. Renounce any agreement that you made with the spiritual action. Ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse you and your family.

Those “harmless” activities all have hooks that tie you to a life that God did not intend for you. Ask God to remind you of anything that you need to confess and cut off. There’s no reason not to be completely free, receiving the full benefit of God’s grace. Break off occultic ties and be blessed.

Another post on being free: You Never Have To Feel Guilty

 

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In Spirit And In Truth

True worship goes deep.

There is no worship that is not in spirit.

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (Jhn 4:24) Straight from Jesus. It’s not a suggestion. If we are to worship God at all, we must worship Him in spirit. What does that mean anyway?

It means that worship is not about form. It’s not about following an agenda, or being right or wrong. It’s not standing up or sitting down or singing or closing our eyes or lifting our hands or repeating words. Nothing that we do matters in worship.

It’s not our bodies, but our spirits that have to be engaged. Deep inside, we have to feel the need to reach out to the God who made us to love Him. Deep calls unto deep. If we are not communicating love to God from our spirit, then we have failed to worship.

It’s a very easy thing to cut off true worship. If we choose to be cerebral, judgmental, rushed, or locked into a schedule, we will stay on a surface, performance level that never touches God. Even if we sing, close our eyes, raise our hands, and obey every command from the pulpit, but never engage our spirit, we have not worshiped.

Pay attention to how deep you are allowing yourself to go. Reach out with your heart.That’s where the real action is.

Another post on worship: How To Worship

 

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  • The Absolute Necessity of REAL Worship

God Is Better Than A Grandparent

God thinks of you all day long.

God thinks of you constantly.

Have you ever sat politely and looked at pictures of someone’s grandchildren? Parents can be doting, but grandparents live to show off their grandkids. You can look at the same pictures and not feel a thing, but the grandparent feels nothing but love. That’s how God looks at us. He dotes on us constantly.

It’s easy to assume that God is like us. If He’s thinking of Jack, then He can’t be thinking of me until He shifts His attention. Not so. God is God. He is not like us. He can focus His full attention on every single person at the same time. And He constantly thinks of us.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God. How great is the number of them. (Ps 139:17)

Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. (Ps 40:5)

It’s amazing to realize that God thinks of us constantly. Now, just imagine what happens when we turn our thoughts to Him at the same time. It’s almost like electricity connecting from opposite ends to create a massive explosion of love and power.

God is a doting Father and He loves you more than anyone ever. Enjoy that today.

Another post on the love of God: How Much Does God Love You?

 

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Looking For Joy In The Wrong Places

Seek first the kingdom of God.

If Jesus is your priority, everything else will work out.

You know what they call someone who’s waiting for someone or something to make them happy? Unhappy. The promises and prayers that you hold onto for your future are not what will fulfill your life. If you won’t be happy until “X” happens, then you’ve got your priorities in the wrong place. Jesus must be your great love and joy, Everything else will be icing on the cake.

Jesus died on the cross for your joy to be filled. It was the great sacrifice of heaven. To embrace who He is and all He has given will change you from the inside. He takes away all the sad and depressing issues and replaces them with His Spirit of love, joy, and peace.

If you expect to be happy later when your life is changed, then you haven’t fully embraced Jesus. He is all you need. He is the answer to every question. [Why am I sad? You don’t have Jesus. When will I be happy? When you embrace Jesus.]

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Set everything aside and go to God. Decide to love Him above all things and joy will come so full you won’t be able to get your arms around it.

Another post on finding Jesus: Finding Jesus Will Change Your Life

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

Give God The Praise For Your Good Works

Always thank God for the good things you accomplish.

True humility offers gemstones of praise.

The strength in humility comes from understanding that the good that we do comes from the grace of God. No one is good but One, that is, God. (Mat 19:17) When we accomplish something significant, it’s easy to feel good about ourselves, but that accomplishment is done through God’s grace. Receive the praise that you get. That’s not a  bad thing, but then turn and give what you have received to Jesus.

It’s not bad to acknowledge that you did something good. It was your work and effort. It’s false humility to say it wasn’t you, it was God. You did do it, so be happy about it. But when you are alone with God, give Him the praise He deserves.

When you do that, He smiles and says, You liked that? Want to see something even better? Then you can trust Him for the next great thing. The more you thank Him for, the more He can do for you. If you hold onto all the praise, you’re left to your own human efforts. That may take you to a certain level, but not nearly as far as true humility will.

Never hold onto the praise that you receive. Use it to offer a beautiful gem at the feet of Jesus and let Him bless your next efforts with even greater success.

Another post on praise: Praise Opens The Difficult Doors

 

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  • Why Praise?