Posts by Jeff
3 Holy Spirit Gifts We Must Pursue
For many years I did not believe in the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. In those days, when I read First Corinthians, chapters 12-14, I understood those references to things like prophecy, miracles, healings, and tongues as being gifts to the historical church that no longer had present day availability to Christians. Around 1999,…
Read MoreThe Trickle Before the Torrent
The longer you are an active participant in the Kingdom of God, the more your citizenship allows you to see. To be a Christian is far deeper than asking Jesus into your life, being water baptized, joining a church, behaving morally and learning theology. While all of these things are good, they also can serve…
Read MoreAbout God’s Timing
“When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” – Galatians 4:4-5 What a remarkable thought: there was a fullness of time that God had ordained into which He would…
Read MoreUn-Muting the Prophets
“…then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” – Ezekiel 33:3 Our generation is in dire need of the ministry of the prophets. These unique individuals are seen in Scripture to be those who, without fear of people, boldly spoke God’s truth in a way which addressed the times in which they…
Read MoreGetting Close To Midnight
Christians, can we admit that in our darkest moments of doubt and struggle we find ourselves still not convinced of the greatness of God? We would never be so brash as to deny that God is good – holy, wise, powerful and faithful – but we deeply struggle at times to believe if His inherent…
Read MorePregnant With Hope
On the first day of the week for nearly two millennia, the followers of Christ have found a time and place to gather with one another for the purpose of worship and oneness. Most of us would casually deem these groups of people as “religious gatherings”, inadvertently diminishing the significance of who we are, what…
Read MoreCONFLICT: The Mantle of Nehemiah
There was a very long season for me in ministry when I rarely went a week without some level of significant resistance from another human being. It was maddening and discouraging on some days, but on other days I found myself stirred for the fight. Looking back, none of it felt holy because the conflict was…
Read MoreYou Are Powerfully Blessed
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the one against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” – Romans 4:7-8 Heavenly Father, in a world that offers us no shelter from turmoil, we run to this refuge again and again and find it always waiting…
Read MoreFreed Up From Fear
There’s a funny little strand of my DNA which has been active since as far back as I can remember: I never grow tired of watching practical jokes that include some unsuspecting person getting scared to death by a friend. It probably isn’t an altogether holy component of who I am, but there is just…
Read MoreA Prayer For A Pop of Color
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and…
Read More10 Hammocks For The Anxious
For years I courageously refused to heed the lie of my own fallen conscience, that oft-unreliable inner voice, which tempts me to doubt the exceeding broadness of God’s grace. There have been moments where I have literally shouted down that nagging sense of anxiety or dread that bad things would just turn worse. In moments…
Read MoreGuard Your Anointing
Here are a couple of back-to-back verses that could potential cause you to squirm in your seat just a bit: “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward…Now the Spirit of the LORD departed…
Read MoreMore Than 2022 Has Come
What does it mean when the writer of Hebrews says, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come”? As we recall that the entire Book of Hebrews is written to call those who would follow Jesus Christ to live with a constant mindset of pressing on, moving…
Read MoreYour Present Victory
The messengers from Heaven had been dispatched for the purpose of announcing to the followers of Christ that something dramatic had occurred. Of all places to be sent, the angels waited at a tomb for the beleaguered, devastated disciples to arrive. When they finally appeared, it was not Peter the angels met. John and James…
Read MoreExpecting God To Move
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” – 1 Peter 5:10-11 Father, today we take great comfort in the reminder that…
Read MoreThere Is Always Something To Fear
Peter left the boat while the other eleven Jesus-followers stayed put. The impressive King David fled his own realm when his renegade son, Absalom, facilitated a coup. Peter, the aforementioned water-walker, was the same man who trembled in the presence of a teenage girl and denied his Savior. Frankly, all the disciples scattered like birds…
Read MoreDrunk on Deception in America
This crazy culture is full of dark deception and frenzied with audacious lies. From the media, the government, the elites in Hollywood and the power-gripping cabals scattered across the globe, it’s a constant sewage-stream of lies. And I am not hesitant to declare this publicly. Jesus Christ came to set us free from sin, and…
Read MoreJesus Thirsted So You Don’t Have To
“Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst” – John 19:48 Upon the cross, our dying King never lost His awareness of what was happening with Him. John testifies above that Jesus Christ was fully cognizant of the precision of the process of His own suffering…
Read MoreThe Right Thing The Wrong Way
There is a wrong way to do the right thing. How many times must we learn that God seeks to leads us from “the what” into “the how” of the what. The Almighty is not a celestial pragmatist that merely scans to see if an objective is being accomplished by His servant. He is a…
Read MoreIt’s Hard To Remain Simple
So, I have been teaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit for several weeks, with several more weeks to go. Perhaps the thing which stands out to me more than everything else is that God’s Word constantly affirms our oneness with each other each time the variety of spiritual gifts in operation among us…
Read MoreMaking the Most of What Remains
Thinking about life’s pathway over the last few days, I sought to boil down what it is that I want to do with the remainder of the second half of my years. Statistically, I’m a good bit beyond the chronological mid-point of the average lifespan for an American male, so there cannot be the option…
Read MoreHere Come The Prophets
The world is getting louder. Our culture is becoming bolder. Shut our eyes as we might, it is no longer possible to honestly say that things are going to improve apart from a Holy Spirit initiated awakening in America. Let’s hold to a semblance of integrity and call things as they are: America is in…
Read MoreSettled No More
When I was in the fourth grade I made up my mind that I was going to be a disk jockey when I grew up. I had a dream of working by myself in a radio station with fat headphones on my ears and a big silver microphone in front of my mouth. I wanted…
Read MoreSorrow & Joy Together
“But I am poor and sorrowful: let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.” – Psalm 69:29 The Psalmist shares a secret that all believers know. He presents a paradox that all who hunger and thirst after God are familiar with. He inside-out’s us, and we nod our heads in agreement with this…
Read MoreA New Season for Transforming Truth
God reserves the right to initiate changes throughout our lifetimes. Nobody’s life remains the same forever. For those who are following Jesus, there is the consistent component of change. Because Jesus does not stand still but, instead, moves forward as He leads His sheep, those who follow Him experience seasons wherein He takes us in…
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