Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV)

Did you know the word “thanksgiving” in the Greek is eucharistia which means grateful language?

We’re in the middle of the time of year when there are lots of holidays and celebrations. It’s good to celebrate things. Did you know that celebration was God’s idea and not man’s? In fact, God had to teach the Israelites (who had a “work mentality” after more than 400 years of enslavement) how to celebrate! They learned how to take time to remember God’s goodness.

When Jesus said that the Comforter would come, He described Him as Someone who would supply us with truth, leadership, counsel, revelation, guidance and comfort. By coming to live in us He would not leave us helpless orphans, but He would give us all of the supply that we would need for life and godliness.

In the beginning was the logos, or the divine expression of God. He expressed His heart in bringing light to the darkness, and life to a world that was void. Everything created by that expression was good, because it came from the heart of Him whose identity is Love.

One of the lessons we can get from the story of the prodigal son, is a lesson about separation mentality. The son left the father's house (separation). We see the same thing with the story of Adam pulling away from God with a separation mindset. This is also called dualism, and it often causes a sense of lack and frustration. We see this when the prodigal experienced something that never happened in the father's house.

The greek word “sozo” used in the Bible means: save, heal, make whole, protect.

Jesus has given us eternal life. We are living it now. Even when our body lays down, our soul continues on. It’s not only our physical body that Jesus came to heal, make whole and to protect, but also our inner person, consisting of our soul and spirit.

We get to hear what God is speaking to others and how He is saying similar things in different ways. It’s truly such a beautiful picture of diversity. Sometimes it is challenging, sometimes surprising, sometimes confirming, but always iron sharpening iron.

There is a divine mystery—a secret surprise that has been concealed from the world for generations, but now it’s being revealed, unfolded and manifested for every holy believer to experience. 

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5, NIV)

Light shines and darkness recedes. Light doesn’t need to fight or punish the darkness. It simply shines as it is designed to do.

In April of 1979, at the age of 21, I (Rick) met God as I humbled myself and opened my heart to Him. The experience was very real.

Do you remember when, as children, we would talk about how it would be "when I'm big" or "when I grow up"?

To be established in Love means that it is the most important reason for your existence. It is your core value above all else. You’ve become captivated by its beauty. Your mind often swims in its depths. You’ve tasted its power. In Love, you have found the point of it all.

And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6, NKJV)

These descriptive names of the coming Savior are rich with meaning, especially when considering the anticipation felt by the Jewish nation at the time of this prophecy. We, however, are on the other side, seeing the promise fulfilled, celebrating and basking in gratitude for what has been given to us by God.

And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father…(Isaiah 9:6, NKJV)

This prophecy from Isaiah was during a time when God was typically NOT referred to as “Father”. In fact, the Jewish people felt the name of God was so holy it shouldn’t even be fully written out. So this was an unusual idea that the Savior who would rescue them from oppression would be a Father forever to them.

As Christmas approaches, we think about the gift of Jesus to this beautiful but broken world. He came offering something better for man. Something better than following a list of rules. Something better than being coerced, condemned and pressured to act a certain way. That something better was the God-kind of LOVE. It is a love that is bigger than our human capacity. It is a love that can handle those set against it. It’s a love that eats up the darkness in its path. It is a love that knows the natural realm must always bow to the Spiritual. It is not tempted to gaze only on the natural, but is anchored in a spiritual kingdom.

WONDERFUL would be the ultimate leader, the kind we could trust and rely upon, the kind that would understand and help us, the kind that would bring great peace and joy to the earth. WONDERFUL would never grow weary of us or leave us. He would be our personal counselor. Instead of following a list of rules, we would have a friend to rely upon daily.

When I (Judi) was a young theatre student at the University of the Arts, I studied classical theatre. But when I graduated and worked my first few professional jobs, I found that improvisation was the venue that I was most cast into. I quickly learned how to build a scene with someone completely unknown to me and create situations and “realities” that were beyond my imagination.

Expressing gratitude is a lot like this. It’s focusing on what we DO have. The enormity of blessings we carry about each day often goes unnoticed because of seemingly more pressing issues: the many trials and tragedies also encountered in this life.

Not long ago, a man became the first heart-transplant patient to receive a heart from a pig.  He lived for a few months, but sadly, he died.  I’m not going to make any cheap jokes about this man’s situation, but I will confess that I noticed my mind slightly thinking about how a pig’s heart might affect the behavior of a man.  I caught myself wondering, not seriously, but a fleeting thought that maybe the pig heart would give the man some pig-like ways.

Someone once said that the “woman with the issue of blood” was like the church. We have many “bloody issues” that need to be healed.

I want to talk a little about issues, topics, and controversies that can sometimes distract us from our real purpose. They can cause us to hide the gift that we really have for this world.