God is doing a wonderful thing in the earth today and despite all the enemy’s tactics to keep this from happening, many are entering the doors of local churches or congregations – some for the very first time. If you are one of those, you probably have lots of questions and a mix of emotions.

Friends, only Jesus’s words lead us to and enable us to experience the life of God or eternal life. Peter and the other apostles had heard the best of the best of the Pharisees and Scribes and I’m sure some false prophets and false teachers along the way. Only Jesus spoke words that opened eyes, and changed hearts.

In these last days before He returns one of the things that will be thrilling for we Jesus followers to see and be a part of is an ever greater chorus of corporate prayer wherever His church/people can be found.

The apostle Paul said of Satan, “we are not ignorant of his schemes.” II Corinthians 2:11 Nor should we be. The following is merely an attempt to help us all be more aware of the unseen battles going on for the soul of our cities.

Paul never once sought the “..One true God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent..” (see John 17:3) on his own. He couldn’t and he wouldn’t. Rather Jesus intervened and invaded his life and stopped him in his tracks.

Please note especially for God’s children, He chastens, not condemns. He knows what in our lives is causing us to continue in sin, and thus prevents or hinders the intimacy He so desires with us. So He exposes those things through challenging circumstances He brings into our lives so that we can be freed from them and not waste any more of our lives.

Unless we grew up with Spirit filled/led parents who routinely sought to train and disciple us in how to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in this fallen, sin enslaved world, we most likely grew up living this more passive, knee jerk, defensive, reactive kind of life. It is not easy to shake because most of the people around us live this way and know nothing else.

It has been a very long time since I have posted a personal update. Some of you know me; many of you do not. So I thought with the New Year I would answer a handful of questions that you might have regarding our website and/or myself.

Because cities are going to be judged as single entities in the final judgment (see Matthew 10:11-15) and because the living God has sovereignly placed each of us in a particular city   (Acts 17:26), and because He has commissioned us to “seek the welfare of the city we live in” (Jeremiah 29:7), it behooves we disciples of Jesus to fight for the eternal destiny of our cities.

People who love violence or tend to resort to violence as a way of life need to know God hates and is opposed to such people. Do you realize that the primary reason God flooded the earth is because of the corruption and violence that everyone to one degree or another were walking in?

Listen friends, it is entirely possible to diligently and regularly search the Scriptures and not see what God wants you to see; and not experience what God wants you to experience. 

Children can overcome most anything if they know their father is in their corner. If he consistently is not, their motivation and self confidence receives a heavy blow.

Some of you need to learn to “wait” for your change. You have been impatient and have wrongly deducted that since you have not been able to overcome whatever your particular battle has been, God has not heard your prayer, and you are just going to have to learn to live with this limp or defect.

We believers have a great tendency to involve ourselves in too many things, which over time whittles away at our pursuit of Christ and Him alone. This is especially a snare for those of us in ministry, as many of these things we are involved in are “for the Lord” or “for His kingdom” and thus surely are good and necessary things

When a husband and father gladly opens his home (hopefully in oneness with his wife) to others - it teaches children that people are important, and our “things” are not just for our enjoyment.

"From the moment Jesus first laid eyes on Jairus He knew what He was going to do. He knew there would be delays. He knew there would be unbelief and walking by sight all around Jairus. And He knew Jairus must overcome his own unbelief and the unbelief of others around him to be pleasing to God..."

Even though we have multiple Christian churches in every town (compared to other nations), in some places seemingly on every block, there is an alarming lack of theological and experiential knowledge of the risen Lord of lords and King of kings Jesus Christ among most Americans.

In no way am I trying to scare my readers. But I do want to say without reservation that this is not a time to be unclear or fuzzy about where you stand with God. This is not a time to ignore the fact that you could die at any moment and find yourself face to face with your Creator who created you with purpose and with expectations.

. The wicked are always looking for an excuse to justify their rebellion, and one of their favorite excuses is hypocrites in the church or people in the church who practice lawlessness. Peter says our godly behavior and uprightness in observing the laws of the land actually silences such people.

Unprincipled men or women under the church umbrella are a great danger to the health and vitality of Christ’s church. And one of the best ways to avoid this danger is to strive by His power and grace to be a principled man or woman like our Savior.