James is telling us to have a supernatural response when he writes, “My brethren, COUNT IT ALL JOY when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4  NKJV emphasis mine).

There is no joy in bills that are not paid.

There is no joy in supply lines that look cut.

There is no joy in sickness or pain shouting for attention.

This is when we COUNT IT ALL JOY. We decide to give a different response than the natural mind wants to give. We decide to laugh when others cry, to sing when others moan, and to expect good things when others just see dark clouds ahead. What can produce this type of response?

You know something the world does not know. You know that God is greater than the fallen, broken world. You know that God is good and a friend to those in time of need. You know that you have a name above every name that heaven responds to. You know that you have a destiny on earth to fulfill and a place far greater you are going to. You know you have a promise recorded in a book for all to see that guarantees God’s presence in your life and a witness within you that He truly does live in you.

You have a supernatural experience called the new birth when your sin nature was removed and God’s very Spirit and nature was given you. This happened when you decided to believe what He had said concerning His son Jesus. This miracle was just the beginning of a miracle lifestyle based on His Word, His sacrifice, His plan, His presence, His power, and your decisions.

This is how you can COUNT IT ALL JOY when you face the fallen world full of defeat, destruction, and despair!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have an answer for every situation that you face? Could it be possible to have a good response to every worry or fear that you might encounter? The truth is that you DO have the answers! The challenge is that those answers are in seed form.

Imagine this: You enter the Superstore of God and walk down the aisles of goods and products, looking at everything you want in life. What would God say when you pulled up to the checkout counter with your cart full of everything you desire? He would say YES and fill your cart with all the seeds that would produce what you said.

The problem is that most people wouldn’t walk out with any seeds, because they would rather have the results immediately. But if you want things immediately, you will have to produce them yourself without the supernatural seeds of God’s supply.

Seeds have wonderful characteristics in that they have creative life within them. They have the ability to multiply and produce more than planted. They have durability so they last for ages.

But seeds require time!

What you put in the soil is not what you will be seeing in 24 hours, but you will see it. Only after the farmer tills his ground, fertilizes it, and waters it does he plant the precious seeds. He heads down to the local coffee shop and talks with the other farmers and relaxes. Why isn’t he walking the fields praying for a harvest? It is because he knows his job is done and the job of the seed is beginning. He knows that seeds always produce. He trust his seeds. Seeds always do their part if they remain planted.

The seeds that Leslie and I planted years ago for a world ministry that will effect positive change in millions of people still are producing. The desire of leaders worldwide to hear and experience the miracle events has not waned over time, but continues to grow.

What seeds are you planting? If you don’t know, check the words you’re speaking, the thoughts you continue to repeat over time, and the strong feelings you have in various areas. Therein lies the seedbed of your future!

You might feel that something disqualifies you from leadership because of age, education or experience, but there is hope. Jesus was the best example to even simple fishermen, giving them ability to lead nations of people. What made Him the leader of a third of the current world population and all of creation? The secret lies in a simple statement that is often overlooked.

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going’” (John 8:14).

The secret of your leadership lies in 3 simple facts. The same facts that made Jesus admired also inspired great feats of courage in his followers.

First, Jesus knew who He was. He had a sense of His oneness with the Father. He said, “I know where I come from.” He knew His identity and was comfortable with it. He knew His origin in God and rested in that relationship.

Second, Jesus knew His purpose. He said: “I know where I am going.” He was not a guy floating around with a question mark on his mind. He spoke with a purpose. He had a depth to His words that would stir the soul and stimulate courage of heart to follow Him to the ends of the earth. In every delay or diversion He was aware of His time and His purpose.

The third secret of His leadership is His willingness to pay the price for it. He said in his weakest moment: “nevertheless thy will be done, not mine.”

Don’t consider the cost to your purpose to be too much. It is nothing compared to the satisfaction of reaching the end of your quest or at least knowing you tried to reach it. Even the great apostle Paul wrote of his plans for Spain, yet there is no scriptural record of him ever reaching it.

Jesus was not sad when He said His last words, “It is finished.” He was completed. And His leadership continues to be an inspiration to us all.

Inspired living is not an option. Negative thinking is as natural to living on earth as the effects of gravity. So if a human is not aware of the pull downward, they could wake up one morning in a state of paralysis from all the negative thoughts that bombard the spiritual and natural airwaves.

In my car, the GPS was picking up street signs while my radio was picking up satellite programs, and my phone was receiving a signal from an overseas conversation. All this was happening at the same time in the same car! The air is impregnated with signals that we can now capture with our state-of-the-art electronic devices. Likewise, we also pick up feelings, ideas, and insights from the spiritual realm we live in that are both good and bad.

We must choose to live an inspired life just like a plane is required to start its engine before it can move to break free of and overcome the law of gravity. When we put on Christ and walk in the Spirit, we are living an inspired life.

Staying inspired is also our choice, because the people of the world are tired and hurting. Hurting people will naturally take something out of you. We are here to give to them, but we ourselves must be up to lift them up.

It is your choice whether you live an inspired life or are dragged and held down by negative thinking. Listen to your vocabulary…is it up or down?

“However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities” Luke 5:15 NKJV.

Put yourself in the crowd when Jesus walked the earth. Empathize with the people who came in contact with the Son of God. It says that vast crowds came to hear Him preach and be healed of their diseases.

We have been in these types of crowds, where people sell their chickens to buy bus tickets and a few loaves of bread to come and sit on a field for a week to experience the supernatural.

They come to hear a word that will give meaning to their life. They come to experience a physical change for a disease that has no known cure. They come with a hope that God will do something.

They are not in a rush. They are not coming as just spectators or critics, but with a dream that they will be changed, lifted, healed, inspired, and visited by the Creator!

Folks in the West are not accustomed to waiting. At a stop light I leaned over for 2 seconds and the person behind me laid his horn on me so hard I thought someone must be about to run into me. But no, it was just him letting me know that I didn’t jump fast enough on the green light.

Wait has become a four-letter-word in a society where convenience is king. But the word wait is often found in scripture with meanings of pause, rest or “attaching oneself to.” When we wait on the Lord we attach ourselves to Him and His plans.

The prophet Isaiah tells us:
“He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired,
they walk and don’t lag behind”  Isaiah 40:29-31 (Message).

Let’s be like the eagles. We hang in there with our wings spread until a new wind blows and we rise up on that wind to soar above the current location to a new view and new place in life!

The resurrected Jesus saw His followers out fishing. They needed to make some money. They needed to eat. What did He say to them? “I know where the provision is.” The Kingdom of God is provision. Jesus says to us, “Throw your net on the right side. You’re looking in the wrong place. I know where you need to go. I know what you need to do. I want to give you my ideas.”

What does that mean?  God knows where all the provision is for your ministry. And when you pray, He is giving you those ideas.  He is saying, “Cast your net on the right side. I know where it is. I know where all the gold is buried in the earth. I know where to find all the opportunities around you. Believe in Me! Respond to My words!”

There is no lack in the Kingdom of God, and you are in that kingdom.  I am not like the unbeliever who is nervous, worried, and fearful saying, “I don’t have enough! I can’t do it! I don’t have the people! I don’t have the favor! I don’t have the knowledge!”

No! I have God! God knows where everything is, and He is bringing it across my path!

“We preach Christ crucified…” 1 Cor 1:23 NIV

The cross is renowned as a symbol of Christianity, but in the day Jesus was crucified the cross was a place of great shame. We wear crosses around our necks, hang them on our walls and use them in our liturgical ceremonies, but do we remember the pain and the shame that Christ endured on this cross? Have we considered that scripture tells us He was marred beyond recognition?

I believe Christians who face life threatening persecution identify with this crucified Christ. They understand the reality of suffering for what they believe. The cross is an ever present image for them as they recognize what it means to lay down your life for what you believe. The early Christians considered it a privilege to suffer for their faith. The image and stories of this wonderful person Jesus Christ who did no wrong, being beaten and crucified for them, burned as an emblem of their faith. It was a motivation so deep that to consider one’s life more precious than one’s faith would almost seem preposterous.

As I read the reports from the young evangelists from Eurasia, I am stirred to remember the price the young people are paying to carry the Gospel to places such as Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and the remote villages of Eurasia. I remember one young group of missionary evangelists being chased out of town by the village leaders who were hurling threats and rocks at their backs. To those leaders’ surprise, however, the evangelists returned the next day. The village leaders were shocked! How could they do this? What would motivate them to come back even after being threatened with death?

These same leaders came to their knees to hear the wonderful message of Christ because of the boldness of these faithful witnesses!

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” 1 Peter 4:12-14 NIV.

When we moved to Russia in the early 90’s it was a very gray place. I remember the heaviness that hung around the country like a cold, wet blanket. Coming from Florida I wasn’t used to this very cold, damp place, and developed the habit of soaking in the bathtub to try to get warm. As a result, this ugly little soviet-style bathroom became my “palace” of joy!

In this place I would celebrate the blessings of God no matter how small. At times, my celebration was thanking him for the loaf of fresh bread I found in the market, or a can of tuna I bought from a street vendor. I would sing, sing, sing, replacing this blanket of Soviet depression with a picture of new possibilities! In this attitude of gratitude I found new altitudes to which I could soar! I found new hope, new strength and new life!

Remember, God gave His all for us when he gave us His Son! Remembering His sacrifice causes us to soar on the wings of love!

“Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing… Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good!” Psalm 100 KJV

Always keep your song even when all looks lost.

The loss of expectation is a tragic path to walk down. It makes the days seem so long and your purpose so empty. If the devil can’t steal your soul He will try to steal your song.

For example, in World War II a Nazi submarine blew up a passenger ship.  The ship went down in the freezing water and many life boats were launched. Among the life boats was one with 12 women inside.  After floating many hours in dense fog and ice water with no one coming to save them, the people in the boats gave up hope.

However, one woman of the twelve in her boat lifted up her voice and began to sing. She kept singing all night long in the dark and silent fog. Her voice was finally heard which led a rescue team to the raft. All the other boats were lost. Don’t lose your song in the dark!