"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."2 Corinthians 2:14

This scripture makes an astounding promise -- God ALWAYS leads us to triumph or victory! But can we ALWAYS count on this amazing word to be true? We often receive emails from believers who are waiting or hoping for a victory of some kind in their lives. Many seem to be wondering, "Where is this 'always victory' in my life?" Now think about it ... wouldn't it be impossible to gain victory over a thing if we already experienced victory each and every moment? It may sound obvious, but the fact is that in order to gain any victory, you must find yourself in a situation that is questionable, stressful, and may even appear hopeless for a time. The promise is not that we will walk in a constant state of "victoriousness" (my term :) ... but rather that in every situation God will lead us in triumph. We can't even say we will always know what that will look like, but victory is the Lord's irrevocable promise. Brothers & Sisters, victory is a promise of God, but never forget that it requires a battle ... sometimes a very long one. True faith will stand on this promise in the face of every trial, challenge, or opposition ... remembering that the greatest purpose of every victory is for manifesting the fragrance of our knowledge of Him ... in every place! VICTORY AWAITS!

"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. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock."Psalm 27:4-5

The world these days is full of bad news, with tensions growing in the Middle East, issues with North Korea, and nature constantly adding to the chaos with one disaster after another. It's a time of trouble all right, and for us believers, it may sometimes be hard to believe – but it never is as bad as it seems. Let me illustrate with a joke I like to share with my messages. Way out west (in America, of course), a cowboy is driving down a road, his dog riding in the back of his pickup truck, his faithful horse in the trailer behind. As he takes a curve on the highway he suddenly loses control of the vehicle and has a terrible accident. Sometime later, a State Police officer comes on the scene. A great lover of animals, the officer's attention is first drawn to the horse. Realizing the serious nature of its injuries, he draws his service revolver and puts the animal out of its misery. Then walking around the accident he finds the dog, also critically wounded, and whining miserably in pain. This grips his heart and he quickly ends the dog's suffering as well. Finally, the police officer locates the cowboy, who has suffered multiple fractures and can barely breathe. “Hey, are you okay?”, he says. The cowboy takes one look at the smoking gun in the trooper's hand and quickly replies, with unexpected energy, “Never felt better!” Brothers & Sisters, we are pilgrims in this dangerous world, which will wound us at times so badly it will seem unbearable – yet we have this promise from God, “in the time of trouble He will hide me”. It's because my real life, my true life is in Him and with Him no matter what happens to me here. So when the world approaches me with a smoking gun, ready to put me out of my misery, I can find a supernatural strength, and simply say, "I never felt better!" IT'S NEVER AS BAD AS IT SEEMS!

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."Hebrews 11:6

Throughout the Bible, the faith of the saints was never something passive -- but rather a faith of action. If Abraham never acted on His faith, He would never have departed to the "land of milk and honey" or birthed a new nation. If Moses never acted on His faith, He would never have led the children of Israel out of Egypt. If David never acted on His faith, He would never have defeated Goliath. The Bible is filled with stories of saints whose faith was put into action -- action which God met with His own supernatural power to produce wonderful, miraculous and astounding results. God is a rewarder of faith! Brothers & Sisters, put your faith into action today and let your actions be fueled by your faith -- and perhaps, this will be a new day of miracles, breakthroughs, and victory ... for a life of faith -- is a life of victory! PUT YOUR FAITH INTO ACTION!

"If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success."Ecclesiastes 10:10

When I was younger I used to take an ax and cut up firewood from the woods behind our house. The one thing I always did was sharpen my axe! A dull axe meant harder work chopping through fallen trees. The sharper the ax the less effort and energy required for the task. So I learned early on to sharpen my ax before venturing into the woods, and I saved myself a lot of time and energy. (Besides I was a small kid, growing up, so I needed all the help I could get! ;) ) I see a lesson here. How many of us are exerting so much energy for the Kingdom, but are working with dull axes? We need to sharpen our spiritual lives, get focused in prayer and spend deep time in the Word. Then, when we are "out in the woods", working for the Kingdom our effectiveness will be greatly multiplied because our axes are sharp! Brothers & Sisters, don't get so busy that your ax becomes dull. Remember that your devotion to the Lord and His word will sharpen your spiritual life, especially before you start the day. Prioritize your devotional life and watch how your "edge" will cut through the problems, obstacles, and difficult situations, like a hot knife through butter! SHARPEN YOUR AXE!

"The breaker is goes up before them: they will break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it. So their king shall pass before them, with the LORD at their head."Micah 2:13

An ancient Hebrew commentator wrote of this verse, "In the words of our teachers of blessed memory and in the Midrash [ancient Hebrew commentaries of the O.T.], it is taught that the 'breaker' is Elijah and 'their King' is the branch of the son of David." As I read this commentary, I was blown away by the interpretation of this scripture by ancient Hebrew scholars! The Jewish people were clearly expecting a prophet like Elijah who would call the people back to repentance, and, afterward, the branch, the son of David, who would bring peace and freedom to his people. The fulfillment of these expectations began 2000 years ago with John the Baptist, whose prophetic ministry prepared the entire nation through repentance for the coming Messiah, Jesus, whose death and resurrection brought peace with God and freedom from sin, which laid the spiritual foundation for His coming Kingdom. While the physical reign of the Messiah/King on Earth is yet future, and will begin when He returns, for the past 2000 years the Kingdom of heaven has been breaking forth in the hearts of men, and every true believer is breaking out with it. This wonderful message, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand", hasn't changed since the Lord first proclaimed it in Galilee [Mark 1:14]! The word "repent", is "metanoia" in Greek, which means to "change one's mind for the better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins." Brothers & Sisters, the message of repentance remains central to the breaking forth of God's Kingdom! Through it Jesus brought peace and freedom – and without it there can be no true faith or spiritual life; so let's stay focused, always remembering that this gospel of the Kingdom always begins with repentance from sin, continues in faith toward God, and results in freedom and peace. With so many who have still not heard it, let's proclaim it because there's so much work to be done! BREAK FORTH!

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me; because LORD has anointed Me to preach the Gospel [Basher] to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness; so that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified."Isaiah 61:1-3

When Jesus went into the synagogue in Nazareth and was handed the scroll of Isaiah to read [Luke 4:18], He opened it to the passage we know of as Isaiah 61, a powerful Messianic proclamation filled with hope and promise and fresh with the joyful good news of His arrival. After reading the passage He immediately declared that it was fulfilled in the hearing of those present. The first response was amazement and wonder that the carpenter's son was so gracious a communicator. But this did not last, as Jesus immediately challenged his audience with a prophetic expectation...that they would reject Him, which they immediately did...nevertheless... The Hebrew word for gospel – basher – not only mean "to preach the good news" – but its root also suggests cheerfulness and freshness or refreshing. The gospel is full of joy! The joy of knowing our sin debt has been paid in full, and that through the resurrection we acquire an unfathomably wonderful eternal life; and the joy of experiencing every moment of our lives, the reality of "Immanuel", God with us. Life has its struggles, with disappointment, irritation, persecution, temptations to anger, bitterness, and even despair. Yet, this message and its impact upon us carries the renewing power and deep cheer of Jesus' presence. The announcement of the "basher" is fully intended to be refreshed and renewed daily, never to become a dull or half remembered inspiration. By its very nature it brings deliverance, healing, vision, righteousness, and praise, a profoundly fresh, revivifying and transformative message carrying the indefatigable joy of the Holy Spirit. Brothers & Sisters, the gospel of Messiah is not a message that "gets old"; at least it ought never to be. If we simply reconsider it, we discover an eternally fresh message to be received and reignited in our hearts each day. As we contemplate the entirety of what Jesus did for us, it will never "get old", but remain ever fresh and invigorating. For He truly did come to bind up the broken hearted, release those who are captive, free those who are bound, and comfort those who mourn...AND to make us Trees of righteousness in this world, living, breathing, refreshing messages of His joy, that He may be glorified! HOLD ON TO THE RE-FRESHNESS OF THE GOSPEL!

"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth."Gen 1:1 ; "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god."Isaiah 44:6 ; "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more."Rev 21:1 ; "And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."Rev 21:6

The Bible begins with the creation of the heaven and earth, and ends with the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. Thus the Word of God delineates a complete story of everything from the beginning of the created world to the unending eternity toward which we are headed. The scripture also identifies Jesus as the firstborn over all creation, [Colossians 1:15] and thus the Lord of all time. In the book of Genesis, the very first verse of the Bible contains the Hebrew word formed from the first and last letters of the alphabet, i.e. aleph-tav. Interestingly, this word is not translated, even though it serves a grammatical purpose as a preposition pointing to the direct object of the sentence. Aleph-tav, nevertheless, may carry an important, if somewhat hidden, meaning, as some commentators see in these Hebrew letters an agent of creation, Jesus, the image of the invisible God by whom all things were created; [Colossians 1:15-16], the "Aleph and the Tav"... This identity of our Lord is explicitly expressed in the book of Revelation, for the Bible concludes with the statement that Jesus is the "Alpha and the Omega". Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet. From the beginning to the end of the biblical narrative, then, we receive the revelation that, as the agent of Creation, Jesus truly encompasses all that is, and as such, it is only in Him that we find our completeness; as the author of Hebrews declares, He truly is "the author and finisher of our faith; [Hebrews 12:2]. While we're here on earth we are still not completed but remain in the midst of a journey, begun in Him, and pressing, even groaning, toward the blessed hope, the resurrection of our earthly bodies when we will be truly complete. Yes, it is quite obvious -- He's not finished with us yet! But,Brothers & Sisters, the Alpha and Omega, in Whom resides all power and wisdom has not yet finished His good work in us. So be encouraged this day – for we can certainly trust the words of Paul when he said, "He that began a good work in you will bring it to completion" [Philippians 1:6], His very identity as Lord of all time and eternity, Aleph-Tav, and Alpha-Omega -- guarantees it! TRUST HIM TO COMPLETE WHAT HE STARTED!