Refinement in Forgiveness and Persecution – Persecution is a historical pattern. It takes on many forms, and it revisits society in various socially-acceptable ways. Persecution caused the Church of Acts to grow. It separated those who sought only blessing from those willing to deny self and minister life at their own personal expense. Part of…
Freely Receive, Freely Give — Disagreements can bring division or solutions. The end-result most often depends upon our commitment to each other and our love for Jesus over proving the winning and losing sides or the disagreement. Currently, the world is shouting various viewpoints very loudly. It is time for the Church to realize that…
God’s Building, Our Response — The Lord has the sovereignty in all things and can step into broken places to make a way whenever He desires. He knows how to make things work together for good. Christians were born for the day of adversity, not for luxary. We were designed to deploy into the hostility…
Resistance and Pressing Through — God deeply desires to impact communities through those willing to partner with Him. However, there will typically be resistance to those willing to seek such an impact. In fact, the church itself may at times resist a move of God. Understand that the pursuit God’s Kingdom is messy and offers…
Chris continiues the discusion on wholehearted prayer and fasting with a look into the lifestyle of fasting that Daniel exhibited throughout key moments of his life. Daniel recognized that God alone is the source of all power and wisdom. In a wonderful way, God, in his grace, will not only reveal things to us, but…
Wholehearted Prayer and Fasting — The Holy Spirit teaches us to pray and is in-sync with the Father’s will. The Holy Spirit shows us where the Bible should shape our prayers, just as the Bible has the power to shape our thoughts and perspectives. He leads us into fasting so that we can affect lasting…
The Spirit Leads Our Prayers — Prayer and faith are not a formula. Do we ever copy other people’s prayer styles or accept their perspective of God’s will simply because we have failed to experientially developed our own? Is the world affecting our prayer life instead of the other way around? Are we surrendered to…
Love Like a Fire – Part 2 — Through Jesus, we have been given access to enter God’s presence with boldness, frankness, and confidence. God’s purpose for the church is to display his manifold wisdom to the darkness that stands in opposition to the Kingdom of God. Christ is the Solution-provider, and we the Church…
Love Like a Fire — Christ cares for the world and wants to bring freedom, hope, and healing to it through His church. The church of our nation generally loves God, tries to live a good lifestyle, but often does not burn passionately with love for Him. Jesus loves the church immeasurably, and He will…
Humbling Ourselves and Living in His Kindness — God has a plan with a right time to lift up and honor His children. His plan is perfect and His timing is unquestionably right. We cannot underestimate the critical importance of living in the reality of His care for us. His love drives us to cast…