“I Can!” is a statement every believer needs to declare. The “I Can!” in life will open a thousand doors you’ll never see until you say it. Take yourself out of pondering and wondering and take an action step in a direction. Choose a goal and declare, “I can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4:13).
Make a decision to believe that you have received the power Jesus gave in the book of Acts when He said, “you shall receive power” (Acts 1:8). Take it out of the future and put it into today’s words. He is saying, “I will work through you.”
When the revelation hits you that Jesus in you is the same as the Jesus in the Bible, then you will seek to discover how Jesus can work through you!
Every child knows about show and tell in school, but God wants us to demonstrate it in real life. We have thought in the past that the witness of God was a good sermon, but that’s only half the story. Paul said what needs to be done is to tell the whole story “through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Ilyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (Romans 15:19).
Think about this, have you preached the Gospel until you see mighty signs and wonders? We have settled for a word when God wants us to be a wonder! The Word of God says that we will receive power to be a witness (Acts 1:8). The witness of God is not a tongue or a good lifestyle. The witness of God is something only God’s power can produce…miracles!
Many have said that the day of the big show is over and now God does everything in the local church, but that’s not Jesus’ ministry. God likes to show off! He showed the soldiers of Jerusalem that He could not be held in a grave. He showed Peter’s jailer that He could not be held in a jail. He showed the religious world of Israel that He could not be held in a temple. He wants you and me to tell and show that Jesus is alive. If you are going to be effective, there should be a demonstration of what you speak!
Today as international travel plans unfold, our team is remembering the goodness of God in covering all of our personal, travel and outreach costs.
Several years ago Kevin and I were involved in a grueling yet very rewarding Tent Outreach schedule in Eurasia. At the end of these events most of our extra capital had been expended. We were tired, not realizing that we needed a rest and that God had a great surprise in store for us.
To fully develop this story I have to digress to a prayer meeting conducted in our US office in early spring of that same year. Often during staff prayer meetings the Lord will unfold strategies for reaching into new territories with the Gospel. On this particular morning as we prayed a name kept rolling up out of my heart, Cabos San Lucas. I remember thinking, that’s in Mexico somewhere. I’m not going to Mexico. We’re busy in Eurasia launching this 100 Tent Project! So we continued about our schedule and logged this thought in our memory for some day in the future.
After finishing our Eurasian summer tent schedule Kevin headed to the US to meet with partners, while I stayed in Moscow to review outreach results and prepare plans for the coming months. Late one evening a call came in from our office in the USA. It was one of the women who had been in the staff prayer meeting that day. She said, “Leslie, one of our partners called and would like to know if you could catch a plane to Cabos San Lucas. They aren’t able to use their vacation property and would like to give you the week for free.”
WOW! What could I say but yes? But how would I get there? Tickets must be expensive at the last minute, and I’m in Russia and would only touchdown before needing to change planes and head on to Cabos San Lucas. Well, as you guessed, God did another miracle and provided free airline tickets through the diligent efforts of an agent that had been born again through missionaries at an outreach in Belarus!
I share this story as a reminder to myself of the goodness of God, our partners, and friends just like you. Who could have guessed that after a very busy ministry schedule where we had been living in appalling conditions, working in radiation zones, etc. that God would open up such a magnificent door of blessing, and that He would partially reveal this months before it happened.
Folks, this is encouragement to all of us to stay strong in the face of adversity, and know that the goodness of God rests upon us! In the coming year, make it a priority to grow in intimacy with Him and experience His reassuring hand sweeping life’s obstacles from your pathway!
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. James 1:5,3:17 KJV
In challenging times wisdom is the voice that breaks through like the morning sun on the horizon. Wisdom is the picture of new hope and a new possibility for the situations that stand before us.
We are to ask for wisdom knowing that it can be easily entreated. That is, God will respond with the answer, idea, or nugget of truth necessary to scale our mountain. One nugget of wisdom can instantly bring clarity to any difficult decision.
Lord, grant to each one of us the wisdom sufficient to rise to the tasks ahead of us this day and this New Year. Grant to us all, wisdom from above!
Now, let’s expect it!
“Early in the morning will I seek thee…” (Psalm 63:1).
This familiar line is an encouragement as we embark on a new year. As you begin this year remember the awesome things that God has done for you. For each one of us who are born again we have ‘super’ living in our natural!
The supernatural is Christ indwelling our natural flesh. The greatest miracle of all is the miracle of salvation! What is this? The reality that we may call on Jesus and He will forgive our sin, wash away those things which have bound us and fill us with His new life. This NEW LIFE is available to each one of us!
What do we say to these things? “YES LORD! This year I receive your NEW LIFE!”
Freedom is never a reality until it is tested. In the Constitutions of most countries you will see flowery words of individual rights and freedoms but they mean nothing until they are attempted by individuals in that society. Freedom of speech, freedom to travel, and freedom to work are assumed rights, but they are often challenged by controlling people.
At the turn of the century America’s freedom of religion was tested by a foreigner named Alexander Dowie. He came from Australia with a healing message for this country which prides itself in its freedoms, and he was arrested over 100 times for all sorts of reasons, like practicing medicine without a license or disturbing the peace. All those arrests were illegal, but someone had to pay the price to test the system to see if the freedom written in the books was in reality a freedom you could experience.
Egypt kept Israel in bondage for 400 years. It was long enough to make them forget how a free person thinks. When they had an opportunity to be free men they wanted to return to the security of the chains in Egypt.
If a Christian is in bondage it is not because the devil is so strong, but rather their will to walk free is too weak. They will need to continually hear that Jesus has set them free and that they can stand in that freedom, until it gets down in their spirit and reprograms their thinking.
After the Emancipation Proclamation first ordered the freedom of over 3 million slaves, they were given the opportunity to become legally free if they escaped the control of their slave masters. However, many died on those same farms under the whip of the owners because they were afraid to risk failure as free people. Remember, who the Son sets free is free indeed!
If we could get God’s perspective of people then we would win the world, but we see people through our own eyes. We like to keep records on people and hold the books. We know who is a sinner and who is a saint. God looks on the heart while we look on the outside, but we still think we know people better. We look at a prostitute, an addict, or a hardened prison inmate and label them with a big sign that says, “Sinner.”
Have you ever asked how much that ‘sinner’ is worth? How much God paid for him or her? It was the price of His Son. How much are you worth? The same.
There is no difference in value between the criminal and the evangelist. The mafia boss is called of God as much as a pastor, and probably is a pastor but just doesn’t know it!
All are already paid for. The only difference between them and you is that they don’t know it and you do. When we truly understand this, we will be motivated to tell them.
Religion teaches people to stop thinking for themselves.
One thing people do not want to do is THINK. They will do almost anything to avoid the trouble of thinking. Indoctrination is when someone starts to do the thinking for you, and that’s why so many churches that were once alive are now dead. The leader taught them doctrine rather than how to think.
Indoctrination is the process of being copied in the image of humankind rather than in the image of God. Your goal is subtly changed from following Christ to following Christ’s church.
Satan has reserved this last trip for the most sincere of Christians. If he could not get you to live in sin and promote the flesh life, then he takes your zeal for God and turns it into a weapon of religion to enforce a religious bondage on the people rather than a fleshly vice. Those most hungry to please God are the ones who fall for this trick.
I remember a dream God gave me back in 1984 when I was wearing a long black robe and trying to run with my pastor, but I kept falling over my robe. I woke up and God spoke to me and said I was getting religious. I thank God for the warning, and you should be warned as well!
One of the great truths of our era that has caused an explosion of growth in literature and given understanding to the spiritual workings of the word of God, is the revelation of seeds.
The power in life is found in the seeds of life, in every aspect of our natural life. A farmer doesn’t need great faith to see a crop or harvest, he just needs enough good sense to plant seeds. He doesn’t need any power or anointing to farm, all he needs is to put the seed in the ground. A farmer doesn’t check the soil to see if the soil is doing its job, he just plants the seeds.
It would be strange indeed to applaud the farmer for all his creativity in a crop, and marvel at his ability to produce. He would humbly say, I just put the seed in the ground.
Every seed in the earth will grow. God’s Word is a spiritual seed full of potential, and when put in the ground of man’s spirit, it will always grow! This truth has revolutionized the church. A preacher who belittles the power of words is like a surgeon who belittles what knife he uses. Would you agree to be operated on if your surgeon was happy to use a kitchen knife?
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. May He be the focus of all and may you realize how meaningful your gift to the nations has been.
…And so from our hearts to yours, we say, Merry Christmas!
Leslie, Kevin and the Christian Adventures staff
