In Luke’s presentation of the birth of Christ, the Angel appears to the shepherds to tell them the good news of the birth of a King. In vs 13-14 of Luke 2, it reads, and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying: 14”Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” This is the message of the Gospel today – “on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” 

 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 give us this same proclamation of good news! It says, Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The good news is God has dealt with the sin issue in Christ Jesus! The judgment for our sin was placed on Jesus and in Christ we have right standing with God! God is not angry with mankind – His thoughts are not of evil or of judgment, but of love and reconciliation! God has come to earth because of His great love and compassion for us!

What a great gift! God has given us a gift – all we have to do is receive it, open it, and it is ours. With the Angels of heaven, we sing the same tune – “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” We are praying that you will experience this gift of His eternal presence in your lives this Christmas season – and all the year!

Our pastor has just begun a new series called “Imagine.”  Our imagination plays a huge part in what we experience in life. Years ago, Pastor Buddy Harrison would say, “If you can see it you can say it. If you say it, you can have it.” I loved that saying – and I understood the Spiritual Principle, but I seldom actually saw it! I believe it was because I never understood where my imagination comes to play.

I recently did a short study on the word “imagination.” Basically, that term is used in a negative form throughout the Bible. Genesis 11 tells of the Tower of Babel – and in the narrative, God says, …and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. The people imagined building a tower that would reach the throne of God. In Genesis 8:21, the Lord makes mention again of imagination – And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground from man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth”  Even in the New Testament, Luke 1:51 says, He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. These scriptures do not give a good light on imagination. In Hebrew, the word used for imagination is “yester,” which means “Frame, thing framed, imagination, mind, work.” In the Greek it is “dianoia.” It means “deep thought, properly, the faculty (mind or its disposition), by implication, it’s exercise.” The English word for imagination means “the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality…a creation of the mind.”

By the English meaning of Imagination, imagination is neither evil or good – it is simply the act or power of forming a mental image – and we do that all the time. If I was to ask you how many closets were in your home, you would, in your mind, visualize each of your closets to count them. If I asked you for directions to your home, you would imagine in your mind how you would drive from where I am to where you are.  So by our definition of imagination, it is neither good nor bad – so where in the Word of God is positive imagination?

I believe hope is our positive imagination. The Greek word for “hope” is “elpis”. It comes from a primary word, “elpo” (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence.” WE Vine defines “elpis” as “favorable and confident expectation.” Hope is our positive imagination.

So what do you see in your imagination? Is your imagination full of “favorable and confident expectation(s)”? Or is your imagination full of evil thoughts and images? Evil thoughts and images are any thought and images that are contrary to God’s view of you! How does God see you? Do you see yourself the same way?

Abraham had this hope. Romans 4:18 says who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” Do you remember the story of Abraham? God took him out in the night and told him to look into the skies and number the stars – and said, so shall your seed be. Again, he took him onto the sands of the desert and said “so shall your seed be.” God was putting in Abraham’s mind a picture of the vastness of his descendants. In the natural, there was no favorable and confident expectation for Abraham to be the father of many nations. Sarah his wife was old – and past child bearing years. He was old! Yet, even though he had no favorable confident expectation from the natural, he believed in what God had shown him.

So it is with us. We need to have a favorable confident expectation. What are you seeing? Is what you see producing in you a favorable confident expectancy? Or are you full of dread? If you are not seeing something that produces a favorable confident expectancy, get into the Word! Romans 15:4 tells us, For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. God’s Word brings you hope. As we immerse ourselves in God’s Word, hope begins to build in our minds and in our hearts. We begin to see things the way God says them!


Thank you for your prayers and support.
                                             together we really DO make the difference!

I recently spent a wonderful week in Colorado Springs, CO attending the Andrew Wommack Minister’s Conference. Andrew spent his time speaking to us about Biblical hope. It blessed me so much, and I wanted to share a bit with you today.

The Bible says in Hebrews 11:1, Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hope is vital for faith! But what is hope? So many of us would define hope correctly – “a favorable and confident expectation.” Yet, how many times do we really define hope as wishing. We will say, “I hope I will get healed,” having no confidence that healing will actually come – just a wish that we would not be sick anymore. We say, “I wish I had enough to meet all my needs,” while not having a confident expectation that all our needs will be met! When we think this way, we do not have hope! We are just wishing for things to be different.

So what is hope? Hope IS a favorable and confident expectation. Hope is your positive imagination. What do you see? I heard of a story of a woman who had an eye problem. She was the wife to the pastor of the church, and a healing evangelist came to preach at their church. She did not want him to pray for her – she had been prayed for by the “best” and never received her healing. The last night of the meetings, the evangelist cornered her in the sanctuary as he was praying for the sick. He told her to close her eyes, he was going to pray and God would heal her. He laid hands on her, and prayed. Then he said, “Can you see?” She began to open her eyes, and he said, “Don’t open your eyes! Can you see?” Once again she started to open her eyes, and he declared, “Don’t open your eyes!” Again he asked her, “Can you see?” She started to open her eyes again, and he said, “I did not tell you to open your eyes – I asked you can you see?” She realized that he was asking her what she was seeing in her spirit…and as she meditated on that and worshiped God, she saw herself seeing! When she opened her eyes, she could see perfectly. She had to have a positive imagination inside and see herself seeing before the power of God could effectively work in her life.

What are you seeing today? What is in your imagination? Do you see yourself walking and enjoying the benefits of the finished work of Jesus Christ? Or do you see only your circumstances!  We need to take the time to begin to dream again what God wants us to dream! Hope builds a picture in your imagination of you doing and living what God has in store for you.

The last few newsletters, we have talked about the life of prayer and the benefits of speaking in tongues. We used Romans 8:26 as an example of the Holy Spirit praying for us when we don’t know how to pray. When you read that in the context of the rest of the chapter, you see Paul is talking about hope. From verse 24, Paul is saying, For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. 26Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but eh Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. As I read this over this week, I began to see that sometimes what I “see” in my spirit often looks impossible to my mind! I don’t even know where to start to pray for this! That is my weakness! And in that weakness, the Holy Spirit takes over and intercedes for me. As I pray in the Spirit over what I hope for, faith arises to take hold of hope and bring it into reality.

Our prayer for you today is that hope will arise in your hearts! Not just wishful thinking, but Biblical hope…a confident expectation for the promises of God in your life! Together we really DO make the difference!

I am coming to the close of a great visit in my country of residence, Kenya. It is so nice to have both a work permit and residence visa here! God is so very good!

The past few days, I have been meditating on a scripture that I have enjoyed for so many years, but never preached on or commented on. So, today I want to make a few comments about it. It is from 1 Corinthians 2:1-2. “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

I am staying in a Roman Catholic guest house in Lodwar. On my wall is a crucifix…now I have to admit, I don’t have a problem with a crucifix. In fact, we have a couple of them in our home in the United States that have been given to us. However, I always believed it was wrong to focus on Jesus on the Cross – that we needed to focus on the empty tomb! I still believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is that which proves the power of God over death and the grave – but as I was meditating on 1Corinthians 2, I began to see something.  John Crowder in his book Mystical Union says, “Many people are rightly excited about the resurrection. They want to hurry through all this talk about the Cross and get to the after dinner dessert. But if you don’t want to think much on the cross, you obviously have a wrong perspective of it. It is a very appealing place when you understand it…In fact, it is where all of Heaven opened up and God poured out all your birthdays, Christmases and Disneylands in one fell swoop!” That really struck me – the Cross is the central focus of the Gospel that Paul preached.

When you look at the places where the word ‘crucified’ is used, it seems Paul had such a strong desire to get us to identify with Christ at that point. Romans 6:6 says, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him…”  Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ;” Gal 3:1, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?”  It was at the cross where Jesus finished the work of Redemption. It was there that my sin was nailed to the cross. It was at the cross where my sickness and disease died! It was there where my poverty died! It was there where all that was wrong with me was dealt with – and now in Him, I am righteous! 

I will continue to focus on the resurrection – and I probably won’t have many crucifix in my home – but I am determined to identify more clearly with what God has done for me at the Cross! As the old Hymns says, ,”In the cross, in the cross be my glory ever; till my raptured soul shall find, rest beyond the river.” I thank God that IN THE CROSS I have found rest!

The last couple of months, we have talked a bit about prayer – so this month I wanted to share just a bit more along those lines. We started by talking about Philippians 4:6, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; I have meditated this scripture for three months now…and I am continually finding greater revelation on prayer!

First, we are to be anxious for nothing. I know that in June I wrote some about this, but as I have been meditating this scripture, it comes to mind again the importance to stay worry free. As much as we would sometimes like to think that worry is just a part of life, Jesus shows us that we do have control over worry. Worry is a condition of the heart. When our hearts are troubled, we are worried. Jesus says in John 14:1, Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. Here, the subject of the sentence is YOU. He is speaking to you! You let not your heart be troubled! Paul supports this in Philippians 4:6 – YOU “be anxious for nothing…” How do we take worry? Jesus says in Matthew 6;31, “Do not worry saying…” We take on worry by saying that which troubles our heart!   As I continued to meditate on this, I wondered, is it possible to worry in prayer? 

The end of 2010, I made a big leap of faith and closed my business in San Diego to be full-time on the mission field. This meant a huge loss of income for my family…and we did not have any monthly commitments that would help us with the loss of that income. I would go to God in prayer saying, “Lord, I need finances to pay my bills. I have the electric payment due next week, and I have no money. I know you said you will provide, but I have nothing…” God showed me this is nothing more than worrying about my need in prayer. I was concentrating and meditating on the lack and the need, not on God's Word concerning my provision. God tells us to be worry free! So how do we become worry free? Jesus says we take worry by saying – yet Paul tells us by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. If I am going to be worry free, I need to make my prayer and supplication with thanksgiving in the finished work of Jesus at the cross.

When I know what God has done for me in Christ Jesus, I can come with my need, rejoicing that God has ALREADY provided what I need! Now, instead of saying, “God I have this electric bill due and I have no money to pay it – how will I manage?” I say, “God, I have this electric bill due, and Your Word says that you take care of my every need in Christ Jesus! Your Son went to the cross to provide everything I need in life to fulfill your call on my life! So, I rejoice in that provision! I thank you that my bills are paid, and every need I face you have provided for in Christ Jesus!” Now the focus of my prayer is no longer on my need, but on God’s provision! I begin to see in my spirit the need met! And that is more real to me than what I see with my natural eyes.

I encourage you today to keep your eyes on God’s Word in prayer. Yes…God wants us to come to him with our needs and desires. But we are not to come in worry, but in faith. We are to come with thanksgiving that the answer already has been given by the Cross of Jesus Christ! Thank you for your prayers of faith for us and the ministry in East Africa! God is faithful – he has provided all things for us to be successful in the life and in His call! 

                                 Together we really DO make the difference!

Romans 8:26-27 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”  

The past few weeks have been very busy weeks for us. I have traveled from Africa to the US, then to the Midwest twice and to Arizona! It has also been very challenging for us. Lack of food in East Africa has resulted in a poor situation for our Children’s Home and Academy to the point discussion of ceasing operations had begun.

I received an e-mail from our Bishop in Kenya who was very discouraged with the lack of food in Kenya. He had not been able to secure food for the children in our Children’s Home, and even with funds being transferred to him that week, it would only secure food for a few additional weeks. I was very tiredwhen I received the e-mail…and honestly, I thought shut it down. (It was 2AM when I received the e-mail.) But, I began to pray in the Spirit over this situation and went back to sleep. In the morning, I had a scripture in my head, so looked it up. It was Luke 13:5-9. It was the parable of the Barren Fig Tree. The owner had a tree that did not bear fruit. So, he told the keeper of the vineyard to cut it down…but the keeper said, “Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.”   I believe this was our answer for the Grace and Face Children’s Home and Academy. Within hours, I received a text message from Africa that three containers of food had arrived at the Children’s Home – and the children were no longer hungry or facing need. Praise the Lord!

I thank God for His gift of tongues in my life. I was so tired when I got that e-mail, but instead of reacting in my natural way, I just began to pray in the Holy Spirit, and God gave an answer! Paul says, “Now he who searches the hearts know what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (emphasis added) 1 John 5:14-15 assures us, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”  When we pray in the Spirit, we have confidence that we are praying God’s will for our lives, and God will answer us!

When we pray in tongues, it is not us, but the Holy Spirit praying through us.  Paul says in I Corinthians 14:2 says, “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.” Later in the same chapter, he says, “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.” (vs 14) My spirit is praying by the Holy Spirit when I pray in tongues. Why is this important? I believe the Holy Spirit knows more about what we are facing and will face than we do – and He knows how to pray IN FAITH.

I encourage you today to use God’s gift of your prayer language daily in praying for yourself, your family, your job, your church, and for us. Thank you for your prayers, your love and your support! Together we really DO make the difference!

In 2003, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart that we are entering a new season. I saw this season as the season of the revelation of God’s Grace. Since that time, God has continually revealed to us the finished work of Jesus Christ at Calvary.  As we have continued meditating on this truth, my thoughts went to the area of prayer. I have always been taught prayer was vital to the Christian walk. I have heard a great deal of teaching on the subject of prayer – and it has been so rich. This past week, my wife and I were in Tucson, AZ and attended a Wednesday night service at Faith Community Church East. Pastor Louise Brock was teaching on prayer – and it stirred up within me once again how important it is to understand prayer.

In Philippians 4:6, Paul says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…” As I meditated on this passage, I saw something I hadn’t seen before.

Paul says “Be anxious for nothing…” In today’s English that means “DON’T WORRY!" I don’t care what things look like in your life, don’t worry about it! I come from a family of champion worriers. Had there been a category in the Olympics for worry, I’m sure there would have been some gold medals awarded in my family! Jesus defined worry in Matthew 6:31, “Therefore do not worry, SAYING, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink’ or ‘What shall we wear?’” We worry by SAYING what we are facing.

Paul says, “Be anxious for nothing (don’t worry), but in everything by prayer and supplication…” Instead of speaking the circumstances or situations you are facing, and giving your opinion about them, you need to learn to pray about it! I remember many years ago someone taught me that prayer is conversation with God. God doesn’t want you talking about your situations or circumstances with anyone else but Him! Paul says, “In everything”…and everything includes everything! Nothing is to be excluded. Talk to God about every situation and circumstance – but DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT!

Then, Paul says that we are to pray “with thanksgiving.”  When I was meditating on this passage, this part really stuck out to me. “…with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God…” When most people pray, there is no thanksgiving involved! They voice their concerns in prayer, but not with thanksgiving that the answer belongs to them, but still in worry because they are not sure what God’s will is regarding their circumstance or if God will answer their request. God says that in everything with thanksgiving we are to make our petition to Him. Why thanksgiving? We can pray with thanksgiving because of the finished work of the Cross.  

I John 5:14-15 says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” God’s Word and His will are the same! So whatever circumstance or situation we face, we can pray with confidence that God will hear and answer our petition. Why? Because of the finished work of Jesus at Calvary. 1 Peter 1:3 says, “…as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him…” If God’s divine power HAS GIVEN ALL THINGS, there is NOTHING that HAS NOT ALREADY BEEN GIVEN!  Jesus provided through His sacrifice all things!

This morning, Donna and I read two passages of scripture regarding two miracles of Jesus. The first one we read is in John 11, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. When Jesus approached the tomb, He prayed: “…Father, I thank you that you have heard me.” Another miracle of Jesus was the feeding of the five thousand. When the disciples brought to Him the five loaves and two fish, the Bible says in verse 11, “…and when He had given thanks…” In both situations, the need was evident. Lazarus was dead four days! But Jesus did not bring His request to the Father in worry or fear, but with thanksgiving! There were five thousand men hungry – and Jesus only had enough meal for one person! But He began the distribution of food with thanksgiving!

Why do we give thanks in prayer? Because we have confidence before God that when we come to Him in prayer, He hears us and gives us the desires we have of Him. Whatever you are facing today, whatever circumstance or situation, you can come before God in prayer with your petition with thanksgiving because you know that Jesus has provided it all for you already! It is already done!