Jesus demonstrated that He will be in the midst of any pit you find yourself in when He went ahead of you to the lowest pit of all.  He went to hell with your worst problem, the sin which separated you from God.  If you’re born again He lives in you now, so there’s no valley too deep, no pit too dark, or storm too strong, where you won’t find Jesus there with you ready to deliver you!

Even after you have chosen to forgive, memories of wrongs suffered and the associated negative feelings will still try to rise up. But hold on to forgiveness! Remind yourself that you made a decision to forgive!

Jesus prayed: “Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come; on earth as it is in heaven.” No sickness in heaven!  No poverty in heaven! No weakness in heaven! No tears in heaven!  If it doesn’t look like heaven, we are commissioned and empowered to change it!

There is a very real God whose presence you can know, whose hand you can hold, who will speak with you and His voice will not be somewhere in the distance, but rather IN you. He loves you and wants to live with you and through you!

It’s an exciting time of year – a time of decorations, baking, lights, and of course, Christmas gifts! There is another very special aspect of this season – it’s what the angels said, Behold, unto you a Savior is born. Good will towards all of mankind. Christmas is indeed a miracle.

When Kevin was a young boy, his father passed away leaving eight children. For the grieving family it looked as if there would be no gifts for Christmas that year.

On Christmas morning however, as the family awoke not expecting any gifts at all, they found on the front porch a giant box of presents for all eight children! It was truly a miracle Christmas for all!

Today, the greatest miracle gift of all is Jesus. May He be at the very center of your Christmas, and the focus of all that you do. Merry Christmas!

Scripture says we are to “love others as we love ourselves” (Mark 12:33, author’s paraphrase).  Maybe the reason there is so much harsh treatment of others is that people hate themselves. They don’t see themselves as good enough or worthy enough, and they project the same attitude toward those around them!

I believe one of the ways God shows us His desire to love us is through His creation. The stars twinkle and say “I love you!”…the birds singing every morning when we wake up are a song from our Father in heaven telling us, “I love you!” The rays of the moon shining out from behind the clouds on a cloudy night I believe are saying to us, God your Father in heaven loves you!

The most dangerous time is to deal with a beehive is when the bees have stopped producing honey and the hive is full. Bees with no work to do become agitated and begin to look at the beekeeper and each other as enemies, so they begin to sting. The same thing happens in the church when it loses the larger purpose of reaching out to others. They begin an inward-spiraling cycle of backbiting, scorn, and criticism that can cause destruction to the church and the very people they are called to work with!

There is no reason for us to lay down and be afraid in these times in which we’re living!  There is no reason for us to allow the devil to torment us with fear, because the Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 1:7 that God has NOT given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind—and THAT is the truth!

What does the world need? They need a revelation of the Father—John 3:16—“For God so loved the world.”  Do you understand how powerful that is, or have you just skimmed over the surface? Do you take it lightly, or do you realize that this love broke the power of every demonic power that exists?