There’s No Joy in Hiding

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You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

We recently explored the significance of joy in our ability to thrive in this life. Jesus found it so important, He launched His ministry with a wine-making miracle. If you missed that one, you might want to read about it here.

Beloved, you and I were created to live in joy, and joy is essential to our well-being. Although many of us may find it elusive, scripture is clear about its source. We just read about it in our opening verse.

…in your presence there is fullness of joy…

The joy your heart longs for—the joy you were created to experience—comes from one place: your Creator. And we cannot experience the full expression of joy we’re meant for without experiencing His presence. You may have felt this in a worship service. The body of Christ uniting in worship ushers His presence into the room, and your heart lifts. Something feels better, and you can’t really explain it. You just know you want more of it, so you keep coming back to find it again.

But God never intended for that experience to be limited to church gatherings. If you are in Christ, you carry that presence within you, and you have direct access to Him all the time. In fact, that’s what it means to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Jesus invites us to engage with God perpetually, connecting with Him spirit to Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:17 reveals this amazing truth:

But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

Do you see it, dear one? No separation exists between you and God. You are one with Him, in the same way that Jesus is one with the Father. Your spirit is now joined with His Spirit. You have direct access to Him—all that He is—and He wants you drawing from that. His love. His joy. His peace. That’s the miracle of water into wine. An internal nature transformation resulting in a heavenly expression of His life in you—joy, peace, love, and kindness flowing out unhindered with celebration. Then every other aspect of life becomes powered by this source.

Sounds beautiful, doesn’t it? I want it, and now the Lord has stirred my heart with a question. What needs to happen for His people to experience this? Why do so few live this reality? The answer is both simple yet profound: we don’t really know who God is.

We think we do. But really, we’ve settled for nuggets of information about God that we try to fit together to explain our experiences without really experiencing Him. We need to let Him show us who He is.

We must know God’s true nature to become one with it. Our hearts remain unsure about what God is really like, so we project on Him a dual personality. It looks something like this. Sometimes He’s generous; sometimes He withholds. Sometimes He’s loving; sometimes He’s full of wrath. Sometimes He heals; sometimes He destroys.

And when we see God with this dual personality, we live our lives in fear, unsure of who God will be to us on any given day. And let’s face it. It’s hard to live in joy and fear at the same time.

But God does not have a dual personality, dear one. In fact, that’s why Jesus came. To show us who God really is so humanity could finally live out God’s plan of union with Him. The apostle John said it this way:

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

Do you know what that means, dear one? God is not both light and dark. He can’t be sometimes good and sometimes mean. He is all light and always good. Period. So, let’s look at where this perceived darkness we project on Him comes from. Ephesians 4:18 reveals the source.

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

The darkness, dear one, comes from us. Our understanding remains shadowed, our hearts hardened to what is true in fear and self-protection. And that darkened understanding separates us from the life of God within us. God hasn’t separated Himself from us. Our false perspectives have hidden Him from our view.

It started in the Garden of Eden. The serpent convinced Adam and Eve to question God’s character. And when that came into question—is God really good?— they did what He’d warned them not to do. Immediately, they experienced feelings that had never existed before as fear and shame engulfed them. Genesis 3:8-9 shows us what happened in response.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

Do you see it, dear one? Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. Where did the idea of separation come from? It came from them. God didn’t separate Himself from them in hatred of their sin. He still showed up to walk with them. Nothing had changed on His part. He still wanted relationship with them and called them out of hiding. Adam and Eve weren’t cast off by God. They actually rejected intimacy with Him, believing they were no longer worthy.

David understood God’s heart in a way few others did. Perhaps that’s how He became what God described as a man after His own heart. Let’s close with a look at his perspective on separation.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:7-10

Beloved, you can make your bed in the pit of hell, and God would still be there with you. Allow your heart to receive that truth, to trust His good intentions for you. He is pure light, pure love, pure goodness. Maybe it’s time to come out of hiding and discover the fullness of joy

Don’t Let Your Guard Down

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He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.” Matthew 13:24-25

Every year as spring begins its march toward summer, I prepare for a season of gorgeous, knock-out roses by feeding and protecting our bushes with a systemic fertilizer and insect repellant. Well, almost every year.

Not this one.

This year just got busy, and I didn’t make the time.

And my lack of preparation left me with a nasty, tedious task: hand-picking Japanese beetles from the plants that were feasting on the leaves and new buds.

I know I’m supposed to love God’s creatures. And I do. Most of them. But my experience with these beetles has me almost convinced that these creatures weren’t part of God’s original creation. Like the thorn, they must have come after the fall.

You see, I can’t see what benefit they bring. They eat everything, leaving destruction in their wake. Buds that began with unhindered potential for flourishing beauty never get their opportunity to open. Instead, these creatures devour them, biting holes right through the layers of delicate petals until the bud withers and dies on the stem without ever opening.

Buds created with promise never satisfy their purpose.

And those clingy, crawling creatures had access to my garden because I got lazy. I let my guard down and didn’t bother doing what I know is best for my plants.

Proverbs 6:10-11 and Proverbs 24:33-34 offer this sobering warning.

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

When God repeats Himself, we should take notice. And we find this truth in 2 separate chapters of Proverbs. Slumber allows poverty to overtake us like an armed man. Just like folding my hands allowed an enemy to destroy my roses.

I can’t help thinking that’s precisely how our spiritual enemy works in our lives. He waits for us to let our guard down, then lands where we’ve given him access and eats away at us little by little, leaving holes and scars that rob our potential. And if permitted, he’ll continue to nibble away until the glorious beauty that God wove into our DNA withers without ever blooming.

You know that’s his goal, don’t you? He doesn’t want you to become who God created you to be. So he steals, kills, and destroys (John 10:10), hoping you’ll never discover you hold the power to defeat him.

1 Peter 5:8 clearly describes his intentions.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Like those beetles in my garden, our enemy devours. Thankfully this verse also offers the means to our defense. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Know he’s coming, dear one, and proceed with diligence. Don’t let complacency give him a foothold.

 Trust me. I learned from those beetles. It’s easier to block his access than to remove him once you’ve given him ground. And scripture is your systemic fertilizer. It provides what you need to grow strong and repels the enemy’s advance.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 

You and I can’t get lazy about feeding on scripture. It’s our lifeline.

Take the time to read the Word, beloved. Meet Jesus in it. His Word is your impenetrable defense against the enemy. And if you have stumbled and given him unwanted access, don’t despair. Keep planting seed.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10

It’s Christ’s power that defeats your enemy and establishes you.

His Word releases His power.

The Miracle You May Have Missed

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Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. Psalm 86:4

I recently listened to a message while driving that I haven’t been able to let go of. The pastor was teaching from the book of John, and he posed a question I’d never heard anyone ask before. Honestly, I think we may even avoid the topic because opinions on what Jesus did in John 2 can be so controversial in many church circles. But let’s not avoid it today.

Why did Jesus turn water into wine?

I mean, at first glance, it appears to be a useless miracle. Unnecessary, at the very least. We can understand Him healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons. We even get multiplying loaves and fish to feed a hungry crowd. After all, it was a “ministry event.” They had listened to Jesus teach all day. And they were hungry. Hunger is a definitive need.

But here, the people had already had plenty. The wine was gone because they had all drunk their fill. Still, Jesus made them more.

And this is how He chose to reveal Himself first as the Son of God. His very first miracle. His opening act. At a wedding in Cana, earth’s sons witnessed His premier event, and heaven’s power entered their lives by Jesus’ hand. Water became wine.

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. John 2:11

So, let’s get back to the question we started with. Why? Why this miracle?

Two significant things stand out to me. First,

Jesus changed the nature of what was served.

He didn’t make more wine from the little they had left like He did with the loaves and fish. He had them bring water—something composed of an entirely different substance than what He intended to provide—and He changed the nature of it. Something ordinary that’s available to everyone became something special that many don’t have access to. The very best wine.

Second,

The purpose of that substance shifted from survival to celebration.

Jesus took something necessary for every human to exist and made it something that’s primary purpose is joy and celebration. It makes one consider: what if joy is just as essential to our human existence as water? And what if our lack of it—and our misunderstanding of this very first miracle—has kept us from launching into the “more” Jesus came to bring us?

Consider these profound statements Jesus made.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

According to Jesus, He didn’t just come to help us survive a miserable life. Or even to take us to heaven once we get through it. He came that we could experience this life abundantly. And that’s not all.

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11

There it is in black and white, dear one. Jesus is after your joy.

I have to ask, beloved. Are you living in abundant joy? Because according to Jesus’ own words, you’re meant to be. I’ll be honest with you. That joy has seemed more elusive lately. People I love are hurting. I’m hurting. Difficulties keep pushing joy down and crushing it out. Let’s face it. Life is hard. And we need divine strength to get through it. Which reminds me of Nehemiah 8:10b,

“And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Behold the primary miracle Jesus wants to perform in you. Water to wine. Survival to joy. A change in the very substance of your nature that shifts your internal world from survival to celebration. And that inner capacity for celebration releases in us a strength that’s beyond us.

 What if the reason we struggle so much in this life is that we’ve missed out on the nature-changing, the primary purpose that Jesus came to accomplish? We remain firmly entrenched in survival mode, grasping at God for nuggets of provision to get us through. But what if He wants to take us back to where He started and change our inner world, creating in us a divine flow of joy that impacts not only us but the world around us? That provides something even better than what’s expected?

Let’s unravel this mystery together. Joy. Not an elusive hope that we tirelessly strive toward, but the launchpad for every other miracle Jesus wants to perform. The new wineskin that keeps us from bursting as He moves us from strength to strength. (Psalm 84) And allows us to carry the fullness of His authority and grace.

That transformation happens one place, beloved: as we encounter and behold Him. And there, in His presence, we discover the fullness of joy,

…in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11b

And that joy becomes our strength.

We Need Each Other

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We need each other.

As much as we may like to think we can handle things ourselves, scripture teaches that we need one another. God Himself declared His thoughts on the matter in Genesis 2:18 after forming Adam from the earth’s dust.

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

For five straight days, God opened His mouth and spoke creation into being. Light emerged. Then ground as water separated. Then plants and animals. And each time, God looked at what He’d made and declared it good.

Until He made man. He saw that he was alone, and declared it “not good.” Adam didn’t even realize it, but he needed a helper.

You, dear one, need helpers too. We all do. We were never created to work alone. We were made to live together in community and help one another.

Even Jesus needed people. He called together twelve that would help Him. And although Jesus went off by Himself to pray, He ministered with people. When He sent people out, He never sent them alone.

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” Mark 11:1-3

And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.” Mark 14:13

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. Luke 10:1

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. Acts 13:2-3

Apparently, God still thinks it isn’t good for us to serve alone. We need helpers. But I wonder if you noticed a common thread woven through each scripture. God chooses them.

The same way He spoke creation’s story, He’s spoken yours. He has knit together the perfect plan and chosen the perfect people to help you accomplish it. But you’ll only discover it when you seek Him to reveal it. Even Jesus had to seek His Father’s direction over who would serve with Him.

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles. Luke 6:12-13

Have you opened your heart to new, godly relationships? Are you connecting with the body of Christ, or do you allow the enemy to pull you away and separate you?

Tremendous blessings fall when believers unite in Jesus name for His purpose. Jesus shared one of them in Matthew 18:20.

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Jesus manifests when we unite in His name.

You may have noticed that elders laid hands on Saul and Barnabas before sending them out in ministry (Acts 13:3). God has captured my attention with another mention of laying hands.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6

Take a moment to meditate on that scripture. Paul writes that Timothy received a spiritual gift through the laying on of hands, and he charges him to fan it into flame. I can’t help thinking of Jesus’ words, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Jesus manifests when we gather in His name.

1 Timothy 4:14 offers this additional information about Timothy’s gift.

Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

Paul paints an interesting picture for us. Believers coming together in united purpose, seeing one another with God’s eyes. And as leaders declared over their brothers what they saw in them, something awakened in their hearts. Romans 10:17 seems appropriate here.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

What if the faith exercised in believing Christ’s word spoken over a believer releases the grace to accomplish the task—ignites the spiritual gift?

Scripture gives us lots to chew on. But on this point, God remains clear. He wants us uniting with Him and others to advance His kingdom.

Perhaps it’s time to open your heart to those He’s called you to serve with. He may just speak your calling into your heart through one of them. And this principle calls to us from Genesis to Revelation.

Faith accesses grace.

Believe, child of God.

And receive the power to live your calling.

The Danger of a Hard Heart

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Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble. Proverbs 28:14

Sometimes life just gets hard. Particularly when you have to watch people you love suffer. We hurt when they hurt, and we don’t like it. So when people or circumstances inflict pain, our hearts get a little stony toward those responsible. We want to shut them out at best, and at worst, give them a taste of their own medicine.

But something happens when we allow our hearts to harden toward people. They begin to harden toward God.

You see, God loves people. He’s for them. All of them. And He offered up His Son on a cross to rekindle selfless love in the hearts of humanity. So the still, small voice of Jesus will incline our hearts toward mercy. Forgiveness. Love that covers a multitude of sin. Truth.

And when we insist on something else—anger, bitterness, retribution, deception—we harden our hearts to the leadership of our Lord. If we persist in denying Him, we will find ourselves in serious trouble.

Look at how God responds to perpetually hardening our hearts to His voice.

And now, because you have done all these things, declares the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim. Jeremiah 7:13-15

When we allow our hearts to harden toward what God is speaking, we harden our hearts toward God. And when we belong to Him—claiming a position in His house—He will not tolerate our refusal of Him indefinitely. When we persist in disregarding Him, eventually He stays His hand and we relinquish the safety He brings.

That’s not all. God added this astonishing command to Jeremiah in verse 16.

“As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you.”

Can you imagine how Jeremiah must have felt hearing those words? God commanded him not to pray for His people.

God’s people had chosen their path. And God—in loving consistency with the free will He bestowed on humanity—would honor the path they chose. They didn’t want to walk with Him, so God would let them have their way. He would withdraw His presence, and Jeremiah couldn’t stop it. God told him not to even try.

I wonder if that thought unsettles you like it does me. God instructed Jeremiah not to intercede. He would not hear prayer on the matter. Surely this seems out of God’s character.

But this wasn’t the only time it happened. Here’s another.

For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart…”

 Again the Lord said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. Jeremiah 11:7-11

Did you notice in both passages that God warned them persistently? Over and over, God extended mercy, imploring them to respond. Yet they repeatedly rejected His cries, refusing to acknowledge Him. Instead, they insisted on their own way, hardening their hearts against Him. So He let them have what their hearts cried out for. Life without His presence and protection. For a season. Until they would recognize their need of Him again.

And again God commanded Jeremiah.

“Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds?…” Verses 14-15

Oh, brothers and sisters. Verse 15 brings me to my knees. What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds?

Indeed. Should God honor our cries when we abuse our position in His house? How long will He suffer us to disregard Him when He speaks?

Are you listening, beloved?

It’s easy to feel discouraged by the condition of the church today. In many places, an enemy has misconstrued grace for license. Holiness seems foreign. Love is absent. The people of God resemble the world far more than Jesus. We build our own kingdoms with little regard for Christ’s.

Yet with all of this, something stirs deep within me.

Hope.

You see. God hasn’t commanded me not to pray. Quite the contrary. His Spirit calls me to my knees. And that, beloved, means we are in a season where He stirs up desire for His return.

Do you hear Him calling too?

As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” Hebrews 3:15

God speaks, beloved. Our future depends on how we respond.

When Praying Costs You

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“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

I. Love. Cheese.

Passionately. Cheddar. Asiago. Parmesan. I’ve always lived by the mantra that cheese makes everything better. Especially when melted.

Until a few years ago, that is, when a surprise autoimmune diagnosis stole dairy from my life in one shocking moment of disbelief. I wish I could say that was all. Hopelessness descended like a shroud as the doctor ran down the list of things I couldn’t eat while we tried to reset my gut so my immune system would stop attacking me.

Essentially, I was allowed to eat meat, fruits and vegetables. Oh, and nuts. The doc was kind enough to throw nuts back in the mix after an apparently disturbing glance at me. He must have a soft spot for women on the verge of tears.

I think perhaps we all go through times when life seems to throw one curveball after another. This was one of those seasons. And dealing with loss, two cancer diagnoses in close family members, ministry challenges, and hurting children, life feels a little easier with comfort food. Don’t you think?

I’ll admit I gave in momentarily to that inner dialog that occurs when something doesn’t seem fair. I already eat far better than most of my friends and family. I exercise regularly. Logic says this shouldn’t be happening to me. I’m actually making an effort to take good care of my temple.

But suddenly I found myself in a place where God seemed to require more. And when I first heard the news, I wasn’t sure I wanted to give it.

Who wants to give up cookies, brownies and ice cream? Or even mashed potatoes, for crying out loud? And let’s not forget the cheese.

But even before I met with God in prayer to begin to sort all this out, I knew. He was already working. This had filtered into my life through His own hands. You see, I’d been asking Him for something for several years. Something I prayed with bold faith and expectation. This broken vessel had been crying out to God to manifest the cross’s power in my life. I had repeatedly asked Him to empower me to live the promise of Galatians 2:20.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The crucifixion of our flesh is something we like in theory but rarely care for practically. It’s one of those themes in scripture we often skirt around. We may have the guts to crucify things we view as big, obvious sin. But what about those things that don’t appear to us as sin at all? What about things that may even appear good to us but somehow hinder the race He’s called us to run (Hebrews 12:1)?

I had repeatedly asked Jesus to put to death every bit of my flesh that resists Him. I want His Spirit to reign over every part of me. And I believed my words as I proclaimed these desires to the Savior who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Until He began to show me how much I really resisted Him. Apparently, I didn’t mean the part that loves cheese and baked goods.

Let me be clear here. I don’t believe Jesus viewed my eating habits as sinful. But I do believe He offered an opportunity. He invited me to trust Him on a deeper level by surrendering something good for something greater. And my yes unlocked a grace I could only experience by willingly walking with Him into the unexpected.

You see, we humans tend to compartmentalize. We’ll readily give Jesus access to some places, but others we reserve for ourselves. We’ll give Him our service, but we guard our cravings. Deep down, we believe we have a right to them. And we wrap it all up with the notion that our God of blessing wants us to be happy.

And He does. He just wants to be the source of that happiness. He wants us living the glory of Psalm 16:11.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

God doesn’t want us seeking to find joy in His blessings. He wants us knowing He is the blessing.

God doesn’t want us seeking to find joy in His blessings. He wants us knowing He is the blessing. Share on X

Sometimes surrender is easy. Sometimes we go kicking and screaming. But the question remains. Will we go?

Will we ask Him to take us to His very best for us and be willing to follow where He leads? Will we go even if no one else goes with us?

Even though my flesh at times resists Him, I’m thankful for a God who answers prayer. And even though the road is often hard and bumpy, He’s worth the trip.

Victory over my flesh wasn’t the only thing I’d been asking God for. I also prayed for wisdom and understanding of His Word that will break open the darkness binding much of the church and release His bride to shine brightly as He intended.

Look at what link He showed me between those two things.

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.… And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. Daniel 1:8, 20

God honored Daniel’s fast with wisdom and understanding that astounded the world. Only He knows how He’ll honor mine.

I’m not arguing with God anymore. Hopeful expectation has overshadowed that feeling of hopelessness. The King of Kings stands ready to move in my life as I willingly submit and trust Him with my future.

He won’t disappoint.

Oh, beloved. What are you willing to seek God for?

The Dangers of Blind Faith

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See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. 

1 John 3:1a

My pastor once preached a sermon around our opening Scripture. His message challenged us to reacquaint ourselves with the Father’s love.

Since then, my heart has stirred with a deeper problem. I wonder if some of us are still awaiting an introduction.

I think for many, God’s love remains a theory. We’ve heard about it. We quote Scriptures about it. We may even try to will ourselves to believe in it.

But John invites us to move beyond blind faith in God’s love. He challenges us to see it.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us…

Do you see it, dear one? Have you looked God full in the face and found yourself enraptured by His heart? Have you been caught by the fierceness of His love for you? If you aren’t sure, I’d guess your answer is no.

Many of us have been looking at God through a broken lens. Theoretically, we know that God loves. But something inside of us resists the reality that God sees and deeply loves me. History’s wounds have distorted His truth and impaired our vision, leaving our belief system compromised. If we don’t have a clear view of God, we’ll operate in limited faith.

Take a look at what Jesus said in Luke 11:34-35.

“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.”

Matthew 6:23 adds these words:

“… If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

You may not realize it, dear one, but your eye—your vision—greatly affects what you experience in this life. If your eye is good—if you see clearly and your perceptions are true—light fills your being. But when your vision is compromised and your perceptions are clouded, your whole body fills with darkness. And not just a few harmless shadows. Jesus described it as great darkness!

“Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.”

Beloved, if the enemy can alter your perceptions, he’ll overshadow your light with darkness. And you will miss experiencing the graces of your salvation.

Isaiah 59:7b-10 offers a vivid picture of what false perceptions—thoughts that defy God’s truth—will do.

… desolation and destruction are in their highways. 8The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace. 9 Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.10 We grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men.

Precious child of God, are you groping in darkness? Do you look for light, only to find yourself experiencing gloom?

False perceptions—deceptive thoughts that oppose God—come from the enemy and have one agenda: to destroy. They rob us of peace. They hide our path. They release darkness where light should be, preventing Christ’s righteousness from overtaking us. They cause us to grope in the dark like the blind. 

That darkness has an astonishing result.

…among those in full vigor we are like dead men.

Behold today’s church, beloved. Many have become like dead men walking. Oppressed by the darkness. Hoping for light yet walking in gloom—and doubting God’s promises. 

1 John 3:14 sums up our problem.

Whoever does not love abides in death.

Death lingers where love is absent, dear one. We can serve God. We can worship every Sunday. We can read the Word and even memorize Scripture. But none of that matters if our hearts don’t run headlong into His. We need to receive and return the love poured out to us. 

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.

We will only operate in the power of our inheritance as God’s children when we see. We must invite Jesus to reveal who He truly is and allow Him to show us who we really are. Darkness has flooded Christ’s church, diminishing His light. We have traded our joy for despair, our faith for hopelessness, truth for deceptions.

Let’s proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, liberty for captive hearts, and recovery of sight for the blind.

Lord Jesus, help us to see!

 

A New Kind of Thirst

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“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19

Today marks the final day of 2025.

I wonder, dear one. Was your year what you had hoped it would be? As you look ahead to 2026, are you filled with confident expectation? Or do you dread another year approaching with the same disappointments and struggles that plagued you last year?

I’m feeling decidedly hopeful about what may come in 2026. Not because of any resolutions or plans that I’ve made, but because I know a God who keeps His Word.

“Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams.” Isaiah 44:2-4

Here’s why I feel so hopeful, dear one. I’m thirsty.

A longing stirs deep within my soul for more of Jesus. I’m not satisfied with where I’ve been; He hasn’t allowed me to be. I long to see Him reveal Himself more fully. My soul thirsts for His living water and cries for Him to pour it forth.

And that’s why I feel so hopeful. Because Isaiah 44:3 promises that God will pour water on the thirsty land. And I’m thirsty.

Are you thirsty, dear one?

I pray that you are. You see, God will not pour water on a land that doesn’t recognize its thirst. He pours it out on the thirsty land, one that perceives its lack.

The words of James 4:6 come to mind.

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

God stands ready to pour out grace to those who understand how desperately they need it.

I wonder. What if our unwillingness to recognize our thirst holds back the outpouring God wants to unleash? Have we pretended to be satisfied, covering our thirst by appearing to be full when in fact we are parched and dry?

What is your heart saying, dear one? Is your smile on Sunday morning covering burdens you’ve been afraid to name? Do you offer “right” answers while wondering at the absence of peace you feel within your heart? Do you speak of the beauty of God’s presence but silently wonder where He actually is?

Maybe your present routine is suddenly not enough for you. Perhaps, like me, something stirs within you, telling you that what you’ve been experiencing of God is somehow less than.

Beloved, what if that stirring comes from God Himself? What if He seeks to awaken us to the “more” He always intended for us? What if He simply waits for us to acknowledge our thirst and cry out to Him?

“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.”

Oh, how we need the revelation of His Spirit! That’s the only thing that will distinguish us from the lost, dear one. People need to see our lives marked by the presence and power of the Spirit of God. And He will pour out on us as we acknowledge our thirst.

So here’s how I plan to begin 2026. Like Elijah, who after 3 ½ years of drought perceived that God was ready to send the rain, I will drop to my knees and pray for the promised outpouring. And I will not stop until I see the cloud forming over the sea and my flesh feels the first drops of rain.

Will you join me, dear one? We’ve got nothing to lose. God always keeps His Word.

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. Isaiah 41:17

You see? When we humble our hearts and pray believing, it’s as good as done.

How A Miracle Is Birthed

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And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38

We all want to witness miracles.

We want God to wow us with wonder like He did so many times in scripture. And let’s be honest. We really just wish God would show up and prove Himself.

So we cry out for miracles.

Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2 NIV

Yes, we want the miracles. We just don’t want what God requires of us to release them.

Faith.

I’m not talking about a theory of faith. We’ll grab hold of that easily enough.

No, I’m talking about hitting the pavement with it. Living faith that defies difficulty. That stretches and grows us. Faith that believes an unbelievable promise, then holds onto it no matter what.

Do you have that kind of faith, beloved? Do you take God at His Word, no matter how crazy it sounds? Because that’s the only way you and I will ever witness miracles.

We need to trust God’s Word more than we value our comfort.

We need to trust God’s Word more than we value our comfort. #Heplanstoprosperyou Share on X

I wonder if you’ve thought much about Mary’s response to the angel who had just informed her she would give birth to God’s own son. “Let it be to me according to your word.”

Really? Is that how you would’ve responded?

Let’s forget for a moment that we know how it all works out and slip our feet into Mary’s sandals. She was just an ordinary girl, planning a wedding with the man of her dreams.

I wonder how many times she had imagined her wedding day. Would she wear flowers in her hair? Did she help her mother design her dress? I imagine she dreamed of a beautiful gathering with family and friends offering warm smiles and supportive hugs.

Then a messenger appeared with news of a very different dream.

A baby. Before her wedding day.

In this new dream, her husband wouldn’t father her firstborn child. She would face ridicule and judgment. She might even lose the husband her dreams encircled.

Yet when an angel of the Lord appeared to her declaring that God had chosen her to mother the Son of God Himself, she said,

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Amazing. Mary simply believed God, and that was enough for her. She was an ordinary woman who set her heart toward godly purpose. God’s Word became more important than her comfort and ease. More powerful than doubt, ridicule, shame, or loneliness.

She believed God, and trusted that His plan was the very best for her.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Mary’s belief invited God’s seed to create life in her womb. And God would use this ordinary girl as a vessel through whom He would bring about His plan of redemption for the world.

Do you think she found it worth it, beloved? When she finally looked into the face of the miracle she had carried within her for nine long months, do you think she felt regret?

I don’t, dear one. My guess is one emotion consumed her. Love. She gazed into Love’s face and held Him in her arms. I imagine she wept with wonder.

But then her miracle asked more of her. More surrender. More sacrifice.

One day hatred would tear her Son from her. The man He would become would hang before her, bloodied and beaten on a wooden cross.

Her child that kings had worshipped with gifts of gold would become the sacrificial Lamb. And Mary would receive her greatest miracle. Eternal life.

Will you trust God to work miracles through your life, beloved? Will you trust even when you don’t understand? Would you believe the blessing overshadows the cost?

Mary believed.

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. Luke 1:45

I Just Stood In The Rain Praying

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For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. Isaiah 44:3

One night I stood in the rain with some beautiful sisters in Christ. Some of them I had never met before. I don’t even know their names. But they’re family.

Have you ever been a part of something so simply profound you knew God was in it?

We held hands in a sweet circle of fellowship, petitioning the throne of grace. We cried out for our nation. For our husbands and children. We cried out for repentance. For His church.

Rain splashed down unrelenting, soaking us to the skin. No one cared that our hair stuck to our faces, or if mascara ran down our cheeks. We were free. Free to worship. Free to love. Free to receive.

Position didn’t matter in that place. Only Jesus mattered. And as we cried out to God uninhibited, He responded to us with rain.

The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. Deuteronomy 28:12

One of the women voiced what stirred in my own heart. It felt like a fresh baptism. God was washing us in His Spirit. He heard us. And He moved.

I can’t help thinking of David’s words from Psalm 133:1-3.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

Beloved, God pours out a special anointing when His people come together in unity. The oil of the Lord pours forth and runs down, covering His precious sons and daughters. There the Lord commands the blessing of life.

Do you know that life, dear one? Have you known the fellowship of uniting with other believers—regardless of church or denomination—to seek God’s heart and accomplish His purpose?

Jesus promises to show up in those moments.

“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:19-20

Jesus manifests when His people agree in His Name. Why do you think the enemy works so hard to keep us fighting? If he can keep us pushing our own agendas, wounding one another with the sword, he can keep us floundering in our flesh while Jesus remains distant.

But when we agree—when we bear the image of our Lord who is One and join our hearts in His purpose—Jesus can’t stay away. His very presence comes with anointing power to strengthen His people to fulfill His plans.

And the enemy trembles.

Let the promise of Psalm 23:5 fall afresh on you, beloved.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Satan quakes when he sees the family of God approaching the Father’s table in unity. He is forced to watch helplessly while God anoints us with the power to defeat him.

Jesus calls us to the table, dear one. It’s time we humble ourselves and set aside our differences. It’s time to forgive. It’s time for fellowship in the Holy Spirit.

We need Jesus to manifest.