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The Secret of Holiness

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I have to confess, the last several weeks have been hard. I’ve experienced all manner of emotions, walking alongside my mom and dad through her cancer diagnosis while simultaneously preparing my oldest son to leave for college. Joy mingles with tears. Hope battles fear. Thankfully, the Prince of Peace reigns.

And as I seek His face, I am reminded of the glorious purpose revealed through suffering.

Holiness.

Today’s blog is an excerpt from a book the Lord ministered to me through last year, Secrets of the Secret Place. Today, He drew me back to these pages, and I felt compelled to share them with you. May you also discover the glory of the secret place.

The Secret of Holiness

Bob Sorge

Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. Psalm 24:3-4

LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. Psalm 15:1-2

… Holiness is not an inherent quality we carry; it is a derived quality that we take on. Holiness has but one source, the Holy One. Holiness has to do with proximity to the throne. The seraphim are called “holy ones,” not because of who they are but because of where they are. They are “holy ones” because they live in the immediate presence of the Holy One! I am holy to the extent that I abide in His holy presence.

I used to define holiness more by what we don’t do, but now I define it more by what we do do. Holiness is found in drawing near to the holy flame of the Trinity. There, anything unholy is burned like stubble, and all that is holy is enflamed and made hotter.

“For the LORD God is a sun” (Psalm 84:11). As my Sun, the Lord is my light, my warmth, the one around whom my life revolves, and He is the one who brings forth fruit from the garden of my life. His Spirit waters my life, His word nourishes my life, and His face is the power that causes the fruit of my garden to grow. As a planet revolves around the sun, I want my life to revolve around Christ. I want to be a planet, not a comet that swings by every 300 years only to return to the darkness. And I don’t want to be a Pluto, hanging out on the furthest fringe. I want to be close—blazing with the same holy fire that radiates from His face. …

Holiness is much more than simply clean living. Holiness is a life lived before the throne of God. The Scripture says of John the Baptist that “Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man” (Mark 6:20). John was not simply just (clean). He was much more than that; he was also holy. He was set apart to God, carrying the presence of God, a man of heaven living on earth. John lived in the presence of God—which is why Jesus called him “the burning and shining lamp” (John 5:35). Just and holy men cause kings to fear. They’re not just pure; they also burn with the flame that emanates from their fiery abode around the throne.

Holiness is to prayer as fire is to gasoline. When a holy man or woman prays, explosive things happen. We don’t pursue holiness for the sake of power, we pursue holiness for the sake of love. But those who pursue holiness out of affection for Jesus become very influential in the courts of heaven. James 5:16 links holiness and prayer: “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Things change on earth when a holy man or woman, with a cultivated secret life in God, prays with passion and urgency to the Lord he or she has come to know and love.

God is so committed to bringing us into this holiness that He is willing to do “whatever it takes” to get us there. The Bible points out that the main purpose of God’s chastening in our lives is primarily “that we may be partakers of His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). If we will respond properly to His disciplines, they inevitably lead us via the pathway of repentance to true holiness. When the chastening first comes, it feels like God is trying to kill us. But if we will persevere in love, crucifixion and burial is followed by resurrection!

I want to close this chapter with this powerful truth: Holiness produces resurrection. As certainly as chastening produces infirmity and brokenness, holiness produces resurrection, deliverance, and healing.

It says that the Lord Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). In other words, it was Christ’s holiness that precipitated His resurrection. …

…You can’t keep holiness buried forever. Even if you feel dead and buried under the weight of God’s disciplining hand, devote yourself to His holy presence. Regardless of your shattered dreams and deferred hopes, live in the secret place of the Most High. It is the secret of your redemption. As you love Him from your grave, you are setting powerful spiritual forces into motion. Joseph was buried in prison, but because of his holiness they couldn’t keep him buried forever. The longer you try to keep a holy man buried, the more force must be exerted to keep him there; and the more force that’s exerted to keep him buried, the higher his resurrection will eventually be. Keep Joseph buried too long, and he’ll rise to the heights of the palace.

The grave could hold the Holy One only until the beginning of the third day. Death’s grip gave way, and Holiness rose to the highest place:

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).

Practice the holiness of His presence, O weary saint. It’s inevitable—holiness will rise again!

 

Excerpt from: Sorge, Bob. Secrets of the Secret Place. Grandview: Oasis House, 2001, p. 136-139.

Follow Your Prince of Peace

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I wonder what longings surfaced in you as the calendar advanced to 2014.

Perhaps like me, hope fills your heart when you contemplate the potential of the year ahead. But if you are like me, the uncertainty looming in its future may have reined in your expectation to cautious optimism. After all, we can’t allow ourselves to expect too much. Experience has left us a little gun shy.

Maybe we need to see what scripture says about that.

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans 5:5, NIV 1984

When Jesus remains the source of our hope, we can always expect greatness. If you and I will stick with Him through the fulfillment of His plan, we’ll never end up disappointed. Let’s look to the Lord of Glory with unguarded expectation and allow Him to surpass our wildest dreams!

We have reached the final week of our series exploring the four names given to Jesus in His prophetic birth announcement from Isaiah 9:6. Let’s revisit the entire verse and view it in context with verse 7.

“For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing it and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

Did you notice that the first thing scripture tells us about this child given to us is that government will be on His shoulders? Guess what that means. Our ability to experience Jesus by every one of these names will link directly to whether or not we allow Him to lead.

Does He govern you, dear one?

Jesus came to lead His people to glory. The moment we put our faith in Him—repenting of our sin, believing in the power of His sacrifice, and committing our lives to follow Him—He seals us as His own by giving us the Holy Spirit. We receive the Wonderful Counselor, the power of Mighty God comes to rest within us, and we become eternal sons and daughters of glory, belonging forever to the Everlasting Father.  As if that weren’t enough . . .

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Romans 5:1-2

Jesus becomes our Prince of Peace as our broken relationship with Holy God is restored, our sins are forgiven, and we enter into divine fellowship with our Creator. Unbelievably, He offers more! As we allow the Prince of Peace to rule and reign within our hearts, wonderful fruit will begin to emerge in our lives. Romans 15:13 names a few of them:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Trusting Jesus to lead allows God to fill us with joy, peace, and hope!

Whether you realize it or not, dear one, peace is what your heart seeks. Have you ever noticed how elusive contentment can be? We set our hearts on one thing after another, assuring ourselves that this “one thing” will finally set our hearts at rest, only we soon discover that restlessness remains. It simply sets its sights on something else, and we find ourselves plagued once again with longing.

Can you relate? I can.

The absence of peace can even rob us of our ability to find joy in what we have. The sin nature that has governed us for so long will always crave more and send us in pursuit of something else. And sometimes that search for more ends up costing us the blessings we already have.

But Jesus . . .

In Christ, our souls have the ability to finally find rest and end our destructive cycles. Jesus said in John 14:27,

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

You and I now have the ability to find that elusive rest. Jesus has given us His peace. So, how do we claim it? Isaiah 9:7 holds the key.

The increase of His peace accompanies the increase of His government.

The more we yield to the authority and leadership of the Holy Spirit, the more peace will abound. And as peace abounds, so will the life that springs from it.

“A heart at peace gives life to the body.” Proverbs 14:30

As we trust Jesus through our obedience, allowing Him to take His rightful place on the throne of our lives, joy, peace, and hope will flood our hearts and filter into our circumstances.

Let’s invite Jesus to take His seat on the throne today, beloved. After all, God placed government upon His shoulders, not ours. And Jesus desires to lead you to abundant life. Will you trust Him?

“Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.” Job 22:21

A Stranger to the Groom

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“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”   Mark 12:29-30

My life changed forever in response to these four words, spoken by God through the pages of a Bible study fourteen years ago. “Do you love Jesus?”

I still remember the moment clearly. I knew the right answer, and I lifted my pen to fill the blank awaiting my ink on the page. But God had other plans for me that day. His Spirit intervened, lifting a veil of deception that enshrouded my heart, and allowed me to see what He saw. I did not love Him. I can tell you with all sincerity, the news shocked me. I recall my hand trembling as I moved it to write the only answer I’d become capable of putting down. No.

For twenty-six years, I had attended church and tried to live what I understood to be a godly life. And to be honest, I was miserable. The consistent, nagging ache within my heart wouldn’t leave. I tried to fill it with my husband’s love, but although we were happily married, I had no peace. I found myself frustrated with God, questioning Christianity, and doubting whether Jesus was even real.

Where was this Prince of Peace? Was Christ’s invitation to abundant life and surpassing joy merely the stuff of fairy tales?

That day as Jesus confronted me in my living room, I discovered the source of my struggle. I didn’t love the Savior of my soul. In fact, until that day, I’d never even met Him. I had called Him Lord with my mouth, but I had never trusted Him with my heart. Jesus warns about that kind of hypocrisy in Mark 7:6,

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”

Growing up in a Christian home, I had heard lots of wonderful stories about Jesus. Many times I sat in a church pew enthralled by marvelous tales of faith and God’s intervention. Unfortunately, I allowed those stories to remain the extent of my knowledge of God. I never pursued Jesus for myself and allowed Him to make Himself real to me. I applauded others for their relationship with Jesus, but never set out on my own. I was willing to give Him my Sunday mornings—well, at least most of them—but I wasn’t willing to trust Him with anything else.

I spent 26 years attending church and almost missed knowing Jesus. And when you miss Jesus, dear one, you miss everything.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”  Matthew 7:21-23

Jesus offers a chilling prophecy in Matthew 7. When He returns to claim His throne and summon His bride to Himself, there will be many people shocked to find the door to the wedding feast closed to them.

Jesus doesn’t refer to those who blatantly rejected Him here. These are not those who refused to believe that Jesus was who He said He was. On the contrary, these people serve in His name! They fully expect that when He returns He will welcome them with open arms. Yet when they try to enter eternity with Him, He will tell them plainly, “I never knew you.”

Beloved, you and I cannot enter eternal rest without knowing and being known by Jesus. Nothing less than intimacy will do. We can know all about Him, attend church and even quote Scripture (John 5:39-40), but if we don’t personally know and love the One we profess to believe, we worship in vain.

My heart is so tender toward you as I type these words. A stark reality rises to my thoughts as I consider these truths. You see, had Jesus not intervened in my life that day, presenting Himself to me in Bible study and unveiling my deceptions, I would have been counted among those rejected by Jesus at His return. I knew about Him but I did not know Him, and I did not seek out His will for my life (Matthew 7:21, 23).

I had tried to earn His favor and blessing by doing what I thought was expected of me. I even labeled it salvation by grace because that’s what the Bible and my church preached. Sadly, I worshiped in vain. I had offered up works and called it faith. That’s why I didn’t experience the fruit of my salvation promised to me in Scripture. What He asked of me—what He asks of you—is devotion. He invites us to trust Him with our hearts, with our very lives. What He really wants is you and me.

How grateful I am that our loving God pursues! He could have left me wallowing in my works. After all, I had chosen them. But like He did for a broken woman at a Samaritan well, Jesus intersected my path, showed me who He is and offered me an opportunity to make a different choice. And that afternoon in my living room, face to face with the Lord of Glory, I did choose. I chose to believe Jesus is worth loving, that I could take this risk and offer Him my heart. I confessed my sin through cleansing tears, and asked Him to teach me to love Him. I didn’t know how. It didn’t matter. All that mattered that day was that I wanted to. Jesus promises to do the rest.

“The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts . . . so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.”  Deuteronomy 30:6

Shelter in the Storm

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The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him . . .

1 Kings 19:11-13

Two all-too-familiar yet unwelcome guests had gripped my heart and sent me reeling. Fear and doubt scattered my thoughts, leaving me unsteady. My resolve to trust faded. I needed to find Jesus.

I rose early, breaking light just awakening creation to usher in the day. Only this particular morning, I did not rise to the peaceful stillness of a slumbering earth. A storm raged.

I took my place in my favorite chair under the shelter of my covered porch and watched the rain fall, wondering briefly if God had opened the skies to match my tears. Thunder shook the earth, literally rattling the chair beneath me. I felt each crack shudder through me, every pounding blow echoing the ache in my own fragile heart.

I clutched my Bible to my chest and lifted my face toward heaven, eyes closed. Could I have been wrong about your will for me, Lord? What am I supposed to do?

My thoughts settled on the news I received the night before, the email that had shattered the dream. Rejection. The amazing movement of God’s favor upon me had apparently been halted by a few brief words.

I thought of the journey that brought me here . . . the astounding clarity of God’s voice revealing His instruction . . . His power working through me to accomplish tasks beyond my ability . . . supernatural peace penetrating my being as the Spirit infused me with a gift of faith that enabled me to take a leap without fear.

Then I hit bottom. Rejection had derailed the vision and left me doubting all of it. I thought of the verse that had brought me to my knees, the moment God had revealed Himself personally to me by His covenant Name.

“I AM WHO I AM.” Exodus 3:14

The Lord had whispered into my soul. “Your journey has nothing to do with who you are. It has everything to do with who I AM.” And I believed Him.

Yet there I sat, broken and afraid, unsure of myself and needing reassurance. At that moment, the world seemed more powerful than my God.

Just a few days before, I had read about Elijah, hidden in the cleft of the mountain and longing to hear from the Lord. I remembered the howling wind and shattered rocks, the earthquake, and the fire. I remembered that God’s voice reached his ear through a gentle whisper while all the earth reeled in chaos around him.

I felt the earth shake and the wind blow. The storm raged, swirling rain cascading in angry torrents, yet I found myself safely under the protection of my covering, dry except for the slight sheen of moisture that hovered in the air and settled on my skin. I knew in my heart of hearts that Jesus was my Shelter in the storm. The words barely escaped my lips, my voice cracking through straining tears, “I need to hear your whisper on the wind.”

Immediately, I heard within my heart the gentle assurance of His voice. He didn’t explain, nor did He tell me what to do next. He simply whispered, “I love you.”

My heart responded, hopeful, questioning, lingering doubt causing me to falter . . . are you really here?  And my precious Jesus repeated Himself, “I love you.”

His presence embraced me, crowding out the doubt, Living Water infusing my spirit like morning dew on a leaf. Refreshing peace washed over me, leaving no room for the remnants of fear and doubt that sought to overtake me. The Prince of Peace had regained His claim upon my heart. I didn’t need to understand. I just needed to trust His love.

Blessed assurance. I hadn’t misheard His direction. He was still the same God who had been working His miracles, and He would continue to do so. His plans for me had not changed. He had simply altered my view of them. We were right on track.

Have uncertain circumstances caused you to doubt God’s plans for you? Are you reeling from a disappointment that’s making you question God’s power?

Don’t give the enemy a foothold, dear one. Run to Jesus. Allow His presence to strengthen you and renew your perspective. He hasn’t gone anywhere; the enemy’s just trying to convince you He has. Don’t let him win. Silence the roar by listening for the whisper. Embrace Jesus, and allow Him to carry you through to glory.

Prince of Peace

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Happy 2012! Christmas morning has come and gone, and now we rise to the dawn of a new beginning. Hope fills our hearts as we look to the potential of the year ahead, yet the uncertainty of its future reigns in our expectation to cautious optimism. We can’t allow ourselves to expect too much. Experience has left us a little gun-shy.

Dear one, when Jesus is the source of our hope, we can always expect greatness. “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Romans 5:5, NIV 1984) Let us look to the Lord of Glory with unguarded expectation and allow Him to surpass our wildest dreams! (1 Corinthians 2:9)

We have reached the final week of our Christmas series exploring the four Names of God associated with Jesus’ coming from His prophetic birth announcement in Isaiah 9:6. Let’s review the entire verse and view it in context with verse 7.

“For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing it and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

Notice that the first thing we are told about this child to be born is that government will be on his shoulders. Our ability to experience Jesus by every one of these names will be directly linked to our choice to allow Him to rule.

Jesus came to lead His people to glory. We become His as we acknowledge His deity and His sacrifice, repent of our sin, and make a decision to follow Jesus to a new life. The moment that we put our faith in Jesus, surrendering our lives to His leadership, we are sealed as His own by the Holy Spirit—our Wonderful Counselor, the power of Mighty God comes to rest within us, and we become eternal sons (and daughters) of glory, belonging forever to the Everlasting Father.  And . . .

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Romans 5:1-2

Jesus becomes our Prince of Peace as our broken relationship with Holy God is restored, our sins are forgiven, and we enter the realm of divine fellowship with our Creator. And still, He offers more! As we allow the Prince of Peace to rule and reign within our hearts, trusting Him through our obedience, some wonderful fruit begin to emerge in our lives.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Trusting Jesus to lead allows God to FILL us with joy, peace, and hope! Beloved, your heart is not meant to remain empty. Allow God, through the gift of His Son, to flood it with joy . . . to set it at rest with His peace . . . to heal the ache of disappointment with renewed hope and glorious life(Proverbs 13:12)!

Proverbs 14:30 teaches that, “A heart at peace gives life to the body.” The absence of peace robs us of our ability to find joy in what we have. We will not be content, even when love abounds, prosperity comes, and life is kind. The sin nature within us will always crave more and will send us in pursuit of it, even if it costs us the blessings we already have.

In Christ, our souls have the ability to finally find rest and end our destructive cycles. Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Jesus has given us His peace. So, how do we claim it? Isaiah 9:7 holds the key. The increase of His peace accompanies the increase of His government. The more we yield to the authority and leadership of the Holy Spirit, the more peace will abound. And as peace abounds, so will the life that springs from it (Proverbs 14:30). As we trust Jesus through our obedience, allowing Him to take His rightful place on the throne of our lives, joy, peace, and hope will follow in our wake.

“Peace on earth” must begin within the hearts of individuals. The kingdom of heaven is coming; in fact, it’s already here. It’s within all who have confessed Jesus as Lord. Remember,

“Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing it and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:7

Until He returns to claim His kingdom, we are His ambassadors of peace. May we humbly surrender our wills to His authority, that His glory may be revealed!

“Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.” Job 22:21

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To Us a Son is Given

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“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

December ushers in one of my very favorite seasons. The holidays have elicited wonder in me for as long as I can remember. As lights were hung and holly and evergreens made their way inside our home, the joy flickering in my heart told me that this time of year was special. Christmas simply felt different than the rest of the year.

As a child, I looked forward to its advent with great anticipation. The arrival of Jesus’ birthday marked a season of celebration! I loved the family gatherings that accompanied Christmas, complete with caroling, special foods, and holiday smells.

Nothing held quite as much awe, however, as the sight of the gifts spilling out from under the tree. Extended family gathered in our home for Christmas, and large numbers of people meant a large number of gifts! Packages and ribbons beckoned our exploration, and I joined my brothers to examine the name tags, searching for the owner of each new possession. Joy would ripple through me when I found my name. This one’s for me.

And hope would rise to the surface. Perhaps this is the one I have been waiting for!

Do you remember how it felt to experience Christmas with the heart of a child? Can you recall the sensation of sugarplums dancing in your belly, a delightful mingling of anticipation and hope?

For many of us, much of the wonder of the holidays has been replaced by routine, busyness, and—let’s face it—work! Some no longer even experience the thrill of surprise on Christmas morning, as the gifts bearing their names were purchased and wrapped by their own hands. And Jesus, the One whom we gather to celebrate, is almost forgotten, worked into our festivities with brief mentions and a visit to church on Christmas Eve.

Perhaps we’ve been missing something. Could it be that Christmas still holds something worth anticipating, offering joy, hope, and wonder to more than just children? Have we, as adults, been missing the awe that accompanies the unveiling of the gifts the Christ-child came to bring?

Consider this lesson Jesus taught His disciples during His earthly ministry:

He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:2-3

Jesus said that unless we approach Him with the heart of a child, we will miss His kingdom—the eternal kingdom He will establish when He returns, and the blessings of membership in that kingdom lived out on earth until He does. Jesus came to the earth to draw us to Him in divine relationship and reveal the glory of what’s to come. He came so people like you and me could know Him and experience a foretaste of heaven.

Have you tasted it? You are meant to!

What if we approached Jesus this Christmas as the all-surpassing gift Scripture claims He is? What if we opened our hearts to believe like a little child? Let’s invite the wonder and anticipation of Christmas to return! There are gifts bearing your name awaiting your attention under the tree.

We will spend the next four weeks unwrapping the gift God gave us in His Son. Our focus will be the four names given to Jesus in His prophetic birth announcement proclaimed to us in Isaiah 9:6—Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

Throughout Scripture, the names of God appear as the people experienced that aspect of His character. These names, appearing in association with Jesus’ birth, tell us that we are now able to experience God in these ways through Jesus. His birth opened the way to a whole new experience of God!

Dear one, the entire season of Christmas we celebrate is a gift given for you. Jesus is the all-surpassing gift that will exceed your expectations when approached with a humble, expectant heart. What’s more, He’s the gift that keeps on giving!

This season, let’s renew our hearts with a fresh revelation of the true gift of Christmas: Jesus. Allow your heart to open with the wonder of an expectant child, approaching each gift He offers with hope and anticipation. Beloved, these gifts are what you’ve been waiting for all your life!

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