God has given us all that pertains to life, and we have the answers (2 Peter 1:3). We have a source that cannot be controlled by other humans, economics, armies, or any powers.

People are excited when they hear the voice of God’s scriptures declaring that all things are theirs to enjoy. It is God telling them to enter the supermarket and fill up their basket as often as they like. They go into the store with joy, but they are dismayed when everything they want is packaged as bags of seeds. It’s not in the form they were looking for! God promises us apples, but He rarely, if ever, gives us orchards or even a single apple tree. He gives us apple seeds.

People want instant gratification. The seeds God gives will produce everything they want in life, but they must plant them. The seeds will produce the image they project. They will grow. They will multiply just like any other seeds. God’s words are self-fulfilling. Jesus’ words are pre-programmed to produce the images of you and your life that He bought and paid for. His words are self-fulfilling in your life.

A tomato seed is pre-programmed to produce tomatoes. It does not matter how much the tomato seed would like to produce potatoes or how long it tries to grow them. It can only produce what it was programmed for.

Whatever seeds from God’s storehouse we plant, we will have the same harvest as God Himself would receive if He planted them!

When I was in Moscow one winter, record setting freezing temperatures froze the pipes of the heater units and caused a real flood, as well as a dangerous freeze inside. Our director had the great idea of placing an old iron gas heater in the center of the main room to warm up the house until we could replace the whole system. The heater had to be turned off at night though, and the first thought in the morning was how to get that heater going again! A little spark was all it took, and everyone would gather round until the warmth began to spread.

Friends, don’t start your day without a spark. Yesterday’s spark will not do. The fire has to be rekindled every morning. What is that spark to you? You probably know how to find that java stimulant for your body, but it might take a little more time to spark the divine impulse within you that will lift you to a place of expectation and peace as you deal with the day’s issues. When you are warm then everybody around you gets to enjoy the warmth!

2 Tim 1:6 “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

2 Peter 3:11 “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior…”

It takes skill to lift people up. You don’t have to put people down, the devil already does a great job of that. The body of Christ is supposed to be lifting people up and giving them hope!

There are a thousand reasons to feel ashamed every day. Your thoughts can put you down, your spouse can put you down, your neighbors can put you down. Your past can put you down. Something you did can put you down, something you didn’t do can put you down!

A number of years ago I was preaching in Crimea. After a week of preaching my interpreter turned to me and said, “Kevin, when I listen to you, I begin to hope again!” I was a little worried by that…after a week of meetings my interpreter was just now beginning to believe what she was saying?

I told her that I didn’t understand what she meant, and she replied, “You don’t understand what communism did to us. It’s worse than stealing your house. It’s worse than stealing your car. It’s worse than stealing your opportunities for education or opportunities for advancement. They stole our hope. We were people without hope, but now we hear you and hope is beginning to arise. The God that you’re talking about, He will hear me, He will hear me!” “I’m going to pray,” she stated firmly, and I asked, “You mean you weren’t praying before?” “No,” she said, “I had no hope. I could not expect God to answer prayer. But now, I can expect Him to answer my prayer.”

She continued, “I’m going to pray for two things.” I thought, ok, I help. I’ll pray with her. She said, “No, I don’t want you to pray.” Curious, I asked what she was going to pray for. “I’m going to pray for a tape recorder because I want to hear this message again, and I’m going pray for a telephone because our family has been waiting 40 years to get one.” I said, “Larisa, I agree with you. You go pray.”

A week later she came to me, “Kevin! Kevin! Good news! Somebody gave me a tape recorder, and I know a telephone is coming!” Now, this might not seem important to you, but if you’d waited 40 years for something, it would be a very big deal to you.

A month later, I got a letter. “Dear Kevin, I want to share this wonderful news with you. You know what I was praying for. Last weekend a lady was born again and joined our church. I started to help her and gave her a bible study. One day this week she asked me, ‘Larisa, what can I do for you?’ I told her ‘Nothing.’ She replied, ‘I work for the telephone company, do you need a telephone?’  Kevin, the next day we got a telephone!”

The gospel has made us something. Once we were without hope, but now we have a covenant. We have God, and we have hope!

The most important opinion you will ever have is the opinion that you have of yourself.  You might say, “I wish I would have known that when I was younger.”  It’s not too late! If you’re 20 or 40 right now, it’s wonderful to know this and to practice it. It will take you to amazing places! Even if you’re old, you still can really benefit from this knowledge.

There was a man named Alfred whom the newspaper mistakenly published an obituary of.  Alfred read this obituary that told all about his life, and decided that he didn’t like what it said.

Alfred was the man who invented dynamite, and he didn’t like what the obituary said about him and his invention, citing all the people that had been killed because of it. So he made the decision that he would change his obituary. He decided that when he died, this would not be what people said about him.

Do you know what he is known for now? Alfred’s last name was Nobel, and he became the creator of the Nobel peace prize.

Alfred was the inventor of dynamite, yet most are unaware of this and instead know him as a man of peace. He decided to change his obituary when he was old, so you can change too! Begin to see yourself differently. This may require some time, but it’s very significant.  We’re not talking about becoming prideful. Self-pride is not wrong, self-arrogance is.

The most important picture that you can ever see is the picture is that you have of yourself. It’s not one that you see in the mirror, but it’s the one that you see inside yourself that’s important. The most important prophet is not a prophet you see on TV, not a prophet that will visit your city, but a prophet in your own house. You are the best prophet in your life. You are the most important prophet in your life because what you say about yourself is what people will believe. This is the truth: What you say about yourself is what people will believe! 

If you say nobody believes in you, you’re just telling me you don’t believe in yourself!

You have a purpose to live for! A purpose gives us passion. So many people wake up in the morning and don’t want to get up. They feel that life is better staying in bed than getting out of it. They dread seeing the sunlight. That’s not the way to live!

You should wake up saying, “Praise God, another day!” There are ideas to think, there are people to meet, there are things to do, there are books to read, there are talents to develop, there are places to go, there is love to give, there are things to create. You should be waking up saying, “Alright! Watch out devil, I’m alive and I’m making a difference!”

My ancestors came from Northern Ireland and owned a castle near the Mourne Mountains. They traveled through England, eventually arriving in Philadelphia. But they found things difficult there and weren’t having any success. They got upset and decided, “Right, we’re going back to Ireland!” So they all got on a boat to head back to London—except for one 14 year old boy. He said, “NO. I’m staying here.” Apparently he was being a real stinker about it and they didn’t know that to do with him. Finally they said to him, “Ok, stay here then!” When the rest of them arrived back in London, the plague had hit the city and within 30 days they were all dead. I’m a product of that feisty 14 year-old boy!

You might say it’s a miracle, but you’re the same product. If you were to go back into your family history, you would find a time where everybody else was dying, yet you got through.  You made it…you’re important!  You have a purpose to live for!

I want to encourage you in your awareness of your ability. Scripture reveals that we are known and called from the foundations of time. We are not an accident and our uniqueness should always be considered a gift. Each of us has a special role that has nothing to do with the role of others. God alone gave us life and calling so He alone is equipping us.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world.” Ephesians 1:4

I want you to know that the Lord has always had His hand on you to help you in your calling. We live in a new era where each of us is a priest. The priesthood of believers. We who call on Jesus’ name are equally welcome into the throne room of our father.

 “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.”  Galatians 1:15

Our calling is to reveal the life giver. Jesus did for us what no man could do. He became the source of all things for this life and the next, and the world is waiting to hear it and see truth demonstrated.

When the ship was going down and all hope was lost, an angel appeared to Paul and said to be of good cheer, he must appear before Caesar. We all have a Caesar to appear before. We all stand in place of Jesus on this earth to speak of the unseen God to a searching world. You are called to your Caesars. Go to them!

“We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose” (Romans 8:28 AMP.)

WOW! I get excited when I read this passage. God is a partner in our labor working things together for us! What a pleasure it is to trust in Him, knowing that He is working behind the scenes on our behalf.

Recently in prayer I heard myself saying, “God, YOU are my partner and I have total confidence that You are bringing in the resources, people and establishing the plans in Your time frame!”

There’s a lot of change surrounding each one of us due to difficulties in this natural world; however, in this time of transition we use our faith and our passion to latch on to God’s will, and to the wealth that is available for transfer into the hands of those in the kingdom of God!

We are not down and defeated without hope or alternatives, BUT WE ARE UP, EXPECTANT AND DREAMING OF NEW POSSIBILITES IN CHANGING TIMES!

God’s Word is the true source of an image of a righteous man or woman. Slave owners in America in the early 1800s knew that people would not be slaves if they could read for themselves what God said about them, so they passed laws forbidding slaves to be taught to read and write.

Learning to read was the first step toward grasping President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. It was also the first step toward knowing God’s proclamation of a new position in Christ! James 1:23–24 (NLT 1996) says, “If you just listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.”

There is no time like the present for worldwide reflection on what the future will hold for us as we peek over the edge into the New Year. Some are holding on in fear and trembling, many are afraid to predict anything good as the media pundits continue their barrage of bad news.

I can with confidence, however, predict that we are more than conquerors in every situation as the scripture declares. That is not written for fair weather economies, but for all time.

Why do people fear if they believe that the Creator of the universe lives inside of them?

Why do people expect the worst when all things are possible to those who believe, as Jesus has spoken?

Why do people think it will be a time of isolation, when Jesus said I will never leave you nor forsake you?

Our greatest days are right ahead of us as we navigate the waters in these rapids of the river of life. Every river has a little rough water but no concern. The boat was designed for the rapids. This is when it performs its best!

Relax in God’s boat. Jesus is in the boat with you, so enjoy the ride as it takes you through some twists and turns this coming year. You will be the better for it!