Do you feel like God has let you down? Life is full of twists, turns and difficulties. Every day you are making choices that will either align you with the heartbeat of God or pull you further away. With God, there is no middle ground. Have you felt like you are playing tug-of-war with God? In those moments, no matter how stubborn we are, we are on the losing side. God does not laugh when we land in the pit; rather, He holds out His hand and offers to pull us out. However, in that moment, we must decide if we want help getting out of the pit or if we are going to stay there and blame God.
When it comes to Christmas, some parts of the Christian community have had a lot to say about the subject of Santa Claus. Many believers view Santa as a secular myth that causes huge distraction from the true reason we celebrate Christmas ââ'¬" the birth of the Son of God, born to save mankind. I understand why Christians have an issue with Santa. The distraction is real. During the 1800s and early 1900s, American folklore regarding Santa Claus evolved until we ended up with the Santa we know today.
We read many times throughout the bible that the Lord's people were oppressed, controlled or manipulated by the enemy. Their adversaries continually pursued them and tried to destroy their character and their anointing. In some instances, they even wanted to kill them. History is repeating itself as there are people who want to silence believers' voices and shut down their ministries. There are spirits of jealousy, envy and hatred that are rampant throughout our land.
Many teachers teach "down" to others. They mean well, they come across as being informed and studied, but they teach or preach down to people. They "know," they have the "experience," they have "a position", they have "expertise" - and they might! But if they don't impart something, did you really hear it? Did your soul embrace it? Were you allowed to ask questions? Was it quickly heard and then quickly forgotten, or not employed? Was dinner afterward more memorable?
Recently in a time of prayer, the Lord gave me a vision of many gates opening up, one after another. Then the vision shifted, and I saw many doors opening, one after another. Finally, I saw window after window opening. I was immediately reminded of all the different Scriptures where the Lord opened up doors and windows for and over His people in order to advance and bless them. This is exactly what the Lord is doing in this hour!
I've been blessed to know many wise and courageous ministry leaders over the years. Some have been examples from a distance and others have been mentors up close. But I have also known many leaders whose churches or organizations failed because they didn't adopt the solid principles of leadership found in the Bible. Today I constantly remind young leaders what I've observed. Based on the eight biggest blunders any leader could make, I offer this cautionary advice.
Do you spend time worrying about things in life that are beyond your control? Are you constantly trying to figure situations out? If that's you, I want to let you know that you can rest in God and trust Him to fight your battles for you. It took years for me to learn that worry is useless. All it did was aggravate me and it didn't change a thing. Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair and rocking all day - it keeps you busy, but you get absolutely nowhere. At the end of the day, you're still sitting right where you were when you started.
During a recent prayer time, the Lord took me into a vision that I believe is pertinent for the body of Christ as a whole, and more specially for YOU today. To start the vision, I saw a puzzle that was missing a piece. There was a group of people trying to find the missing piece and, pun intended, it was puzzling everyone as to where it could be.The scene changed before I saw a hand brushing some type of "find" in a desert setting. The hand was brushing an archaeological fragment that was still stuck in the ground.
I was recently asked to do an interview about my personal journey with breast cancer on one of Moody's radio stations. As I prepared for that interview, God reminded me of all I learned through my breast cancer experience. Since October was Breast Cancer Awareness month, I thought I'd share some of those lessons here with you, my friends! A routine mammogram found my cancer. Now let me just say there's nothing routine about a mammogram! Right, girls?! However, that mammogram saved my life. (If you haven't gone yet, friends, go for your mammogram!)
This is a season of divine emergence! God recently spoke to me that His people are coming out of a cocoon season. A cocoon season is a transitionary season, not a permanent one. Itââ'¬â"¢s not your landing place. But when you are in it you often don't know how long it will last for.
Follow Up
