"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."John 10:10

Have you ever heard about how the Eskimos kill wolves? You're not gonna believe this one! First, the Eskimo coats the blade of his knife with animal blood and allows it to freeze. He then adds and freezes more layers of blood, several coats, in fact, until the blade is completely covered with frozen blood. Next, he plants his knife in the snow, the blade facing up and goes about his business. When a wolf finds his way to the luring aroma of fresh blood, he starts licking. Then more and more vigorously, lapping it until the sharp blade of the knife is exposed. However, by this point, so intense is his craving for the scrumptious blood, that the wolf does not notice the sharp sting of the blade on his own tongue, nor does he even realize that his ravenous craving is now being satisfied by his very own blood! By the light of dawn, the Eskimo will find him laying dead in the snow. Sin entices and seduces us in precisely the same way. Satan lures us to the place where he plans to ravage us with some sort of destructive fleshly pleasure -- gossip, rage, sexual sin, etc. Once we give in to it's lustful pleasures, our craving for it increases. When we continue to allow ourselves to indulge, it grips us all the more. And before we know it -- it completely consumes us. Our friendships are damaged. Our marriages are broken. Our testimony, spoiled. Satan has come only to rob, kill and destroy. Brothers & Sisters, let's begin recognizing our enemy's tactics upon us! There is no more time to give in to his destructive ways! We must strive to walk in holiness and righteousness for the glory of God's Kingdom! BEWARE OF THE BLADE!

"Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own power. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."Acts 1:6-8

I love this passage of scripture. If you can imagine the disciples on this day -- they had gone through a roller coaster ride of emotions over the past 50 days. They had seen their Lord crucified. And then had gone into hiding ... until they discovered in amazement, He was alive! Just over 7 weeks had transpired and they were now watching Jesus departing Earth and returning to His Father. The disciples were understandably unsure what was next, and so they asked a very reasonable question -- "Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?" Notice that Jesus did not answer the question directly or give them the details they were expecting. He merely said, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons...." But then He set His own precedent and called them to be Holy Spirit-empowered witnesses for Him and His Kingdom. We don't know the exact timing of His return and the coming of His Kingdom either, but just as those disciples were, we also are called to receive the power of the Holy Spirit and be His witnesses. We must seek the fullness of His Spirit, become empowered, and eagerly participate in this great end-time mission, a harvest that likely will dwarf all that has gone before, and be part of a rich welcome for our glorious and awesome God! Brothers & Sisters, enjoy your weekend ...be refreshed, and seek a fresh anointing this weekend and look forward to changing the world around you empowered by His Spirit! RECEIVE POWER!

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."Galatians 6:9

William Wilberforce led a campaign against the British Parliament to abolish slavery in the late 1700's and early 1800's. During the course of his intense efforts, Wilberforce came to a desperate place of discouragement, feeling he had absolutely no more strength to continue. In this condition, he was about to give up, when his elderly friend, John Wesley, lying on his deathbed, was informed of his friend William's distress. Wesley requested pen and paper, and with a quivering hand, wrote these words, "Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God? Oh be not weary of well-doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery shall vanish away before it." John Wesley died six days later, but William Wilberforce fought for forty-five more years, and in 1833, three days before his own death, witnessed the abolition of slavery in Britain. Brothers & Sisters, do not grow weary in well-doing, for we can still triumph! It's exactly when everything looks hopeless that our God has the opportunity to display His awesome power. Even the great men that changed history needed a word of encouragement now and then – so be encouraged, and be an encourager! You never know when you may enable another saint to continue pressing on, or how that may change the world! SPEAK A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT IN DUE SEASON!

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."Psalm 51:10

Sadly though, the most important things in life that need renewing, do not come with renewal notices. We will never open a piece of mail and see a notice to renew our love for our spouses, our children or our friends. But if we don't continually renew our love for them, it will eventually grow cold. We'll also never receive the most important renewal notice -- to remind us to renew our relationship with God. Our relationship with God is the most important relationship we can have. It must be renewed daily! In Hebrew, the word "le-cha-desh" means to renew. Here you go. Here is your renewal notice. Renew your love for the ones you love today. Renew your love for the Lord. Renew your love for the things of God and for his calling upon your lives. Brothers & Sisters, we all need a little renewing today. Let's ask the Lord to create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us. HERE'S YOUR RENEWAL NOTICE!

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"Luke 11:13

D.L. Moody has been influential in my personal life as I study and read about his life and ministry in the 1800's. I remember reading a story about how D.L. Moody was preparing to lead a revival throughout England to which an elderly pastor protested and said, "Why do we need this 'Mr. Moody'? He's uneducated, inexperienced, etc. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?" A younger, yet wiser pastor stood up and responded, "No, but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on Mr. Moody." Do you truly want to be monopolized by the Holy Spirit? Let's face it -- the degree of fullness of the Spirit of God is in direct proportion to the intensity of our true desire. The reality of the spirit-filled life is -- we have as much of God as we truly want. Brothers & Sisters, let's seek to have a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. Let's allow the Holy Spirit to monopolize our lives and in doing so -- we'll be empowered to do the great things God has called us to do in these days! BE MONOPOLIZED!

"Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down."Revelation 12:10

A few years ago, I was in a debate with an atheist who had a legal background, and the Lord gave me a revelation about the tactics of the enemy. At Jesus' first coming, his tactic was to destroy the infant before He could grow up; [Revelation 12:4-5]. After the Lord's death and resurrection, Satan continued his direct assault by attacking the church through persecution, which lasted through the first three centuries. The tactics of the enemy were to destroy any "eyewitnesses" of God's goodness. However, the faith continued to spread all the more in spite of the bloodshed of the saints, and when the devil realized he could not destroy the move of God physically, he switched his tactics to -- "If you can't beat them, join them!" His hatred achieved less success by direct murderous violence, so he adopted the tactics of a lawyer to win his objective. Now, when a lawyer is confronted with damning evidence against his case, he seeks to get that evidence cast out in a pretrial procedure called "discovery." The enemy applied this principle during the dark ages. Having placed his servants into the highest offices in the church, Satan substantially removed the best evidence for the truth by suppressing the Word of God, not allowing it to be read or translated into a common language which the people could understand for themselves. Finally, in the late 14th century the Bible was translated into a common language, by John Wycliffe, and through a handful of Christian pioneers and the invention of the printing press over the next 100 years, the Scriptures became available in the vernacular of the common people during the Reformation. Then the enemy reverted to his original tactics, destroying the saints in the "Inquisition," where anyone found with the Word of God was deemed a heretic and killed. But in legal proceedings there is yet another tactic: when a lawyer realizes the evidence against his case cannot be suppressed in "discovery," he seeks to introduce a mountain of new information in an attempt to overwhelm the juridical process and obscure the truth by hiding it in thousands of documents. Doesn't this seem like exactly what has happened in our "Information Age"? We need to understand how Satan is working in our own time, and especially in our own culture. Brothers & Sisters, there's a saying I heard repeatedly growing up, with the acronym "KISS" -- "Keep It Simple, Stupid!" As we enter into the climax of the ages, the world is being flooded with exponentially more information, let's stay focused on the simple truth of the Gospel. Let's not allow our lives to be overwhelmed with too much information, but rather, "KISS" the message of the gospel to the world in need of His love! KISS!

"For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."Romans 8:13-14

Once upon a time, there was a prince who received a very rare and beautiful bird. He named her Goldie and placed her in a lovely, gold cage. But the poor creature was not impressed by the gold at all. She pleaded for her freedom but the prince loved her much too much to part with her. Still, she continued to beg. In final desperation, she asked that he at least allow her go to her relatives and tell them that, though captive, she was still alive. The prince was not certain she would return if he allowed her to go, so he decided to go and inform them himself. He went into the forest, where Goldie directed him and he found her sister. When she heard the awful news of Goldie's capture, she immediately fell to the ground and died. Sorrowful, he returned to his castle and told Goldie the sad news that her sister had died. Immediately Goldie collapsed and died in the same manner. Perplexed, but a tear rolling down his cheek, the prince then took the poor bird out of the cage, gently wrapped her in a cloth and placed her on his window sill in order to bury her. Suddenly, to the prince's amazement, the cloth began to move and Goldie fluttered out. She quickly flew out the window and landed in the nearest tree. "You don't understand, fine prince" called the bird from the nearby, "by pretending to die, my sister taught me the way to escape." The moral of the story is simply this. If we want to truly be free -- we have to die! Brothers & Sisters, if we want to truly live a life of freedom, a life full of peace and joy, a life which provokes others to jealousy -- we must learn to die to our flesh and give our all to the One who has given His all for us! Let's take up our cross once again today. DYING TO BE FREE!

"And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, "Arise quickly!" And his chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and tie on your sandals"; and so he did. And he said to him, "Put on your garment and follow me." 9 So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him."Acts 12:6-10

I love this story! Peter was sitting between two guards and suddenly an angel of the Lord comes to him and frees him -- and he thinks it's a vision! He's not sure if he truly believes it. Then, after his escape, Peter goes to where believers are interceding for him and knocks on the door -- they didn't open the door immediately! The young lady, Rhoda who reported that Peter was at the door was accused of being "mad!" Can you imagine? Even those praying for his freedom, are surprised that he's actually FREE! There's two points I want to stress in this story. First, Peter is freed supernaturally with angelic assistance -- and he believes it was a vision! He had to step into the reality that he was actually FREE! Secondly, there were believers who talked about FREEDOM, but when true freedom came -- they were shocked as though they truly didn't believe in their prayers! There are many believers who know they SHOULD be free in Jesus. They have a head knowledge of freedom –- but somehow they haven't grasped the reality of the freedom that is promised! They walk with the vision without living the reality! Brothers & Sisters, my challenge to you today is to walk in the reality of the freedom you have in Him! Take the promises of God and say, "If the Son has made me free, then I'm free indeed!" And claim that for your life today! Don't be stuck in a vision of freedom – live in the reality of freedom! Claim it and live it today! BE FREED FROM A VISION OF FREEDOM!

"The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand." Psalms 37:23-24

Stumbling is not one of my most favorite things in the world. It's embarrassing and often hurts. The fact is, however, that stumbling is something we all must experience. The question is -- what do we do when it happens? Imagine this. You're walking home and you trip and fall over a random object on the sidewalk. You scraped your knee and it hurt a little. And the kids walking home from school behind you saw you trip and giggled amongst themselves -- that was kind of embarrassing. But will you go all the way back from where you came and start again from the beginning? Or will you just sit and sulk on the curb, refusing to take another step at the thought of it happening again? No! Of course not! That would just be silly, wouldn't it? So is it on our walk through life with the Lord. Satan would love nothing more than for us to go sulk in a corner somewhere and dwell on our humiliation and fear that it might happen again. But the Lord wants us to rise up, dust the dirt off our clothes, maybe give a little chuckle ourselves and move forward for His Kingdom! Yes, we may stumble on this long and sometimes treacherous journey but we will not be cast down! The Lord has upheld us and He will always! So get back up, continue to press through ... and remind yourself once again the victory was already won for you 2000 years ago! Brothers & Sisters, enjoy your week ... have a great week GET BACK UP!

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."Romans 1:17

Some time ago, two university students painted a mural on the wall outside their dorm room. It was of a school of fish all swimming in the same direction except for a single fish heading the opposite way. That one fish going the other direction was meant to be Jesus. Included in the mural were the words, "Go against the flow." Sadly, university officials argued that the mural might offend non-Christians, and told the students to paint over it. God has called us, as believers, to do things that sometimes go against the flow of the flow of the world around us. It’s not always easy, either. Noah built an enormous ark at God’s command. Abraham took his only son to be sacrificed. Gideon went to war against thousands of enemies with only three hundred soldiers on his side. The disciples left all their possessions and followed the Lord. And there are countless other examples we have to follow! Brothers & Sisters, let's choose to start swimming in the other direction today! Do that thing that God has been putting on your heart! Hug that person who’s been on your last nerve! Give away something you have to someone who needs it more! There are many mighty and miraculous victories that God desires to demonstrate in our lives, if we would only be willing to go against the flow! GO WITH GOD'S FLOW!

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."John 3:8

Often in the Bible you will see the word wind or breath. The root meaning of these words, both in Hebrew and Greek, is almost always Spirit. It is important to keep in mind that we can never dictate which direction the wind will blow. It would be absurd to think we could! The wind blows as it will. And in the same way, the Spirit of God blows where it wishes. Well if this is so, how can we be filled with the Spirit? Must we jump up and catch it and just hope for the best? No. We need to be like a windmill. Windmills were designed to be propelled by the wind, no matter which direction it's blowing, in order to generate power. To be empowered by the Holy Spirit, we must do the same. We must be sensitive to which direction He is blowing in order make sure we are getting filled! Brothers & Sisters, let's submit ourselves once again to the Spirit of God today! Take heed to which direction the Spirit is blowing and be empowered to do the work He has called us to!! We can do nothing without Him! BLOW WIND BLOW!

"Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"—and he was called a friend of God."James 2:20-23

Looking at the relationship between “love and affection” ("chiba" in Hebrew) and “obligation” ("chova" in Hebrew), we find another closely related word, “chaver”, one of the Hebrew words for “friend”. Friends are people with whom we share love and affection and also a sense of obligation. Our God and Father wants us to be His friends, to share love and affection with Him and to carry the sense of responsibility and obligation which friendship requires. Abraham was a friend to God. He believed and trusted His Friend, but he also came to share the awesome responsibility of that friendship. Abraham's Friend, the Lord Himself, asked Abraham to become a living picture of His relationship with His own Son, Jesus, by offering his own beloved son Isaac on an altar at Mount Moriah. Abraham's response to his Friend's request expressed a level of commitment to the friendship which was probably unprecedented in all human history since the time of Adam. Brothers & Sisters, As we consider these Hebrew words and their common roots, we begin to see that Biblical language expresses profound realities, and carries meanings which resound through history. And we find that the God of all creation desires an intimate friendship with human beings He created and loves. But that friendship involves degrees of commitment which test the very frontiers of relationship. If you are on one of those frontiers, you may count yourself blessed. Not everyone is called "a friend of God." BE HIS FRIEND!

"One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple."Psalm 27:4

The Hebrew word for "face" is "panim", (the Hebrew letters, peh-nun-yud-mem), literally "faces", a plural word. Normally, when we think about God, we focus only upon one of His "faces” at a time. God is "love" – or He is "holy"-- or He is "just"--- or He's a God of "wrath". Yet, of course, ALL these "faces" are His at once; and so the word "panim" accurately reflects the truth of God's multifaceted being. As we get to know Him better we begin to appreciate the complexity of His nature and the fact that our focus on one "face" is a very limited view, since there's so much more going on in His amazing "Personality". Now the same four Hebrew letters which form the word "face", (peh-nun-yud-mem), also form the Hebrew word for "inside" or "interior". * This would seem to contradict the first meaning, "face", since "face" is the external part of a person or thing, not the inside. Yet here, as with many Hebrew words and concepts lies a deep truth, a paradox which expresses two sides of reality. The "face" is intimately connected with the "interior", and may accurately reveal the true "interior" of someone. There's even a science (or perhaps you might call it an art) of reading peoples' true attitudes and character by looking carefully at their facial expressions. So while we don't "judge a book by it's cover", we may begin to know a person better by carefully looking at his/her face...because it is true that the face often says something real about the inside of a person. Jesus said, "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light." Inside and out, we're connected. And this is something God wants us to do with Him; to meditate, or gaze upon His "panim", His "faces", and so to receive from His interior depths. Someday, we will see Him "face to face", and begin to know Him in ways which are unimaginable. Yet it is possible, by His Spirit within us, to begin now. Brothers & Sisters, God desires us to look deeper into who He is, even as we only look or meditate on one of His "faces". King David expressed his own unique desire in these words: "One thing I have asked from God, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of God all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the God and to meditate in His temple." God's faces and His "interior" are one continuous eternal wonder. Let us spend time simply beholding Him! FACES REFLECT; REFLECT ON FACES, AND BEHOLD HIS BEAUTY!

"And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."2 Kings 6:15-17

So often in our walks with the Lord, we become focused on what we can see, what we can hear and what we can sense in the physical realm. Like the young man in Elisha's day, we focus on the enemy’s attacks around and about us. At times we can get so focused on our physical circumstances that we forget that the Lord has already provided for us the victory! That servant was frightened by the size of the enemy's army heading their way -- but Elisha was focused on the Lord. He knew that God had a much bigger army prepared…and that is what won him the victory. Brothers & Sisters, do not fear, nor be discouraged! Let's allow our spiritual eyes to be opened today so that we may see that God has prepared a plan of victory from the beginning of time! Our victory is near -- so walk in that victory. WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT!

"Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell."James 3:5-6

An old copy of Today in the Word contains this story. "In the washroom of his London club, British newspaper publisher and politician William Beverbrook happened to meet Edward Heath, then a young member of Parliament, about whom Beverbrook had printed an insulting editorial a few days earlier. "My dear chap," said the publisher, embarrassed by the encounter. "I've been thinking it over, and I was wrong. Here and now, I wish to apologize." "Very well," grunted Heath. "But the next time, I wish you'd insult me in the washroom and apologize in your newspaper." Too often, we allow ourselves the liberty to say things for which we end up being sorry later. Ugggh. I hate it when that happens. And I don't believe the Lord is all that happy about it either. We really need to think before we speak! I heard one person once put it beautifully. Before we say something let's "THINK"! T- is it True? H- is it Helpful? I- is it Inspiring? N- is it Necessary? K- is it Kind? THINK! If what we're about to say does not pass those tests, let's be careful and THINK if we should say it! Brothers & Sisters, God has great things for us to be doing. We must allow Him to refine us and prepare us for His work! Let's strive to think before we speak. HERE'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT