"Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you."Hosea 10:12

Much of the world is dealing with the greatest disruption of their lives… probably in their lifetimes, particularly in the West, and what is known as the "First World". Here's a helpful perspective toward understanding what is taking place. Imagine for a moment that your life is a farm… a plot of land set aside to produce a crop. The Farmer knows what He needs to do to prepare an abundant harvest. Your soil is fallow, hardened, full of weeds. The seeds are dry and must absorb water to initiate respiration and begin to digest their stored food, and respiration requires sufficient oxygen in soil that is moist and broken up. Your field must be turned over and plowed. Plowing seems to do violence to soil in its fallow state. Yet nothing will grow or can even be planted in hard unplowed soil. The plow turns the soil upside down and inside out, looks like a disaster zone, as thousands of weeds and chunks of earth fly apart. Insects in the soil endure an apocalyptic experience, and some of them are killed by the metal blades and crashing mounds of earth. The farmer is simply doing his job, what he must do to prepare an abundant harvest. Brothers & Sisters, now that the Farmer is preparing His field, and the mounds of earth and weeds are flying everywhere, step back if you can and observe what is taking place. The world is His field, not ours. and His crop is righteousness and steadfast love in a fruitful crop of human souls. Fallow ground full of weeds will not do for a good harvest. Take the Farmer's perspective, endure the plow, and you will rejoice with him in the harvest to follow. DON'T WORRY .... THE GROUND IS JUST BEING BROKEN UP!

"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”Luke 10:19-20

When I’m dealing with what is beyond a normal, average trial, I need to muster a more militant attitude, and I remind myself of this promise; the Lord has given me authority to TREAD upon the enemy … to walk in His victory over every trial and tribulation that life brings. But what happens if we don’t tread? When he was about to enter the Promised Land God told Joshua, "Every place on which the sole of your foot treadeth, to you I have given it". Then the Lord said, “Be strong and courageous”, follow the Word, and the ground will be given to you". And finally God promised He would be with Him wherever He went. [Joshua 1:3-9] Notice that Joshua had to TREAD to claim His victory … his part was to believe and go through the Land. But what if He didn’t "tread"? The promised inheritance and victory could not be claimed. The promise of victory is available to us who TREAD upon the enemy, and upon His territory… to claim it requires faith and obedient action. With obedience comes God’s faithfulness and security! Brothers & Sisters, at a time like this, with giants in our land, we need this militant attitude which the Lord gave Joshua to walk in His victory and tread over the power of the enemy. The giants of fear, despair, and discouragement can stay under our feet when we stand in the courage of faith. Our authority is in the resurrection power of Jesus, and in His promise to be with us...even to the end of the age! TREAD THROUGH THIS CRAZINESS!

"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"Ephesians 2:6

When Joseph was thrown into prison, his life was thought to be over. How could anyone escape an Egyptian prison? But then, in one day, according to God's perfect timing, he was instantly promoted to reign over all Egypt with only the Pharoah, ("god on earth") as his Lord. Could there be a transformation more sudden, astounding and dramatic! So it was for Jesus as He fulfilled the identity of Messiah, suffering to death for our sins, but then, on one day, supernaturally resurrected and now seated at the right hand of the Father (God in Heaven). Such an amazing parallel! Now we need to come fully to this realization: that the moment we came to faith in Jesus, the Father instantly and supernaturally delivered us from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of the Son He loves. In one moment we were regenerated as sons and daughters of the Most High and spiritually seated with Him in heavenly places. Even as we remain in our flesh awaiting our incorruptible bodies, our Spirit has been born into a Holy Family and a Royal Priesthood. So, we are called to be overcomers; to war and to win, to exercise authority in Jesus' name... Brothers & Sisters, ...but are you still "in the pit"? Then please take this realization to heart: the resurrection life of Jesus remains within you, enabling you to endure. And that too, is a kind of victory. As you submit to His discipline in faith, your day will come to exercise greater authority in His Name, just as it did for Joseph. He patiently endured his trial of faith, and was raised up; so you also can, through Jesus's indwelling Presence, arrive at a new day of release and victory...maybe tomorrow, maybe even today! FROM THE PIT TO RULE!

"All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast."Proverbs 15:15

Solomon wrote, "a merry heart has a continual feast!" But why does it seem like so many of us are not feasting? How do we maintain a merry heart? Too often, we brood and complain over all the things we lack. Somehow we've come to believe that if good things would only come our way, we'd be truly happy. But it's not good things that bring a merry heart - it's living a life of wholehearted faith! Paul said that he was content both in want and in plenty! Mathew Henry said, "Discontent is a sin that is its own punishment and makes men torment themselves; it makes the spirit sad, the body sick, and all the enjoyments sour; it is the heaviness of the heart and the rottenness of the bones." A third-century man penned these last words to a friend: "It's a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians--and I am one of them." Lord, help us not to focus on the worldly things we lack. Help us to master our souls and overcome the world. We want to be men and women of GREAT FAITH! Lord, you have come that Your joy would remain in us, and that our joy would remain FULL! Help us to experience the full joy you have for us today! In Jesus Name we pray! Brothers & Sisters, let's begin feasting and filling our spiritual bellies with the His Word! Let's make our mouths to be filled with His praise! The joy of the Lord is our strength! FEAST YOUR EYES ON THIS!

"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."Matthew 25:1-13

This parable in Matthew 25 is a warning to the entire body -- be ready with your oil! Each of these virgins was anticipating the Lord's return; none were atheists, or non-believers. They were all virgins who claimed to be awaiting the Bridegroom's arrival. But notice carefully that only half of them were truly ready. In the ancient Temple era the Aaronic priests were in charge of lighting the lamp of God and keeping it burning. Their main responsibilities included trimming the wicks, refilling the lamp constantly with fresh oil, and making sure it never burned out. A clear parallel can be drawn between the Aaronic priesthood and the New Covenant priesthood of Melchizedek and Jesus. Both are responsible to keep the lamps burning! Brothers & Sisters, trim your wick by getting rid of the useless things in your life and diving deeper into His Word. Are you feeling spiritually drained? Then wait on the Lord and ask Him for a fresh anointing. Bearing the light of God is the responsibility of all true believers; you are the bearer of that light; so be reignited today and keep your lamps burning bright for Him. Let's be wise virgins, anxiously awaiting His return! TRIM YOUR LAMPS!

"fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind."Philippians 2:2

If you look at the ant you will find that they dwell in colonies. Each colony consists of approximately 60,000 - 90,000 ants -- they really can't prosper on their own. They need each other. How does a colony of that many ants to work together? The only reason it works is that they operate in unity. Each ant shares the same purpose, the same goal, and the same aim. Just as ants can't prosper on their own, neither can we as believers. As ants need each other, so do God's children. We need to dwell together as they do. The way we dwell together is by sharing the same purpose. We don't have to agree on when the tribulation or rapture is going to happen. Those are all secondary things. But we do have to be intent on the same purpose, to glorify God and spread His Word, to love God and each other. Let's aim to accomplish the task that God has set before us and God will be faithful bless our colony! Brothers & Sisters, we can't let the ants put God's people to shame! Stay encouraged and focused on the ultimate goal! LET'S LEARN FROM THE ANTS!

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."Romans 8:28

When I was in school, it seemed they ran a “fire drill” at least once a year. A long, loud, kind of scary bell would sound and we knew it was either a real fire, or, more likely, just another drill. We were formed into lines, ushered down the halls, and out the doors we went. Of course, the point was practice....so we would be prepared for a real fire. Drills are preparations for real threats. They are "trials". They test and prepare our readiness, give us opportunity to try on the emotions and actions we would experience in a genuine crisis. We need them and should even "count it pure joy" because they're necessary for our growth and maturity [James 1]. And trials are graduated; that is they get harder, kind of like math tests, they seem even to build on one another. Abraham's life was like that; just consider the different trials he endured leading to the sacrifice of Isaac. Life in the world has always been full of real dangers, threats, crises, and disasters, though some of us have been spared from much of them. Yet now, it seems, we've got a tough drill to face; one which can really test our metal. Uncertainty, limitation, perplexity, discomfort, maybe illness and genuine lack, altogether pack the power to raise our emotional temperature and really threaten our trust. Some people are unfazed but plenty of others are moved toward the edges of their capacity to cope. It's time to discover our resources; first of all, to remember our Father's providence in every past drill that He sent us. Even when there was a real fire, He somehow got you out the door. You learned something on the other side of the threat; you were changed. He was there. This word, "All things work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose”, is deeply apprehended by people whom the Lord has taken through serious troubles. "Suffering produces perseverance, (and) perseverance, character..." Brothers & Sisters, we were born for this, and we were born again for this. Our life here is simply a preparation for eternity. Trials are preparation for eternity because they perfect our faith and form the character of Christ in us. Don't be surprised when they escalate; the goal is for us to graduate. Anxiety and panic are not for us, but for the faithless. We just need to tell each other that God will pull us through, and will shortly take us Home. We know the drill. We can pass through... PASS THROUGH THE DRILL!