Fathering is a skill that is much needed in families today. Because of poor or absent role models, many Dads just do not know what to do. Leaving fathering skills to what comes naturally can prove to be a disaster. Fathering is a learned activity and the Bible has much to say about the characteristics of a Godly father. There is an anointing that comes with the title of Father. If we rely on that anointing through knowledge of the Word, then that anointing will direct us and equip us for supernatural fathering. With God’s anointing our children will be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We need God’s anointing to break the cycle of destruction that has occurred in many families.

Lets start with a scripture from Genesis 18:17-19, “And the LORD said,”Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him” God’s blessings and His ways are taught to the children by their parents. In this case the role of Father is mentioned.

The first characteristic of a Godly father is that he demonstrates a vital, close relationship with the Lord. God said that Abraham’s knowledge of God and his willingness to command his children is the foundation for the blessing of God in Abraham’s family. This is true for present day fathers. There are some practical ways that we as fathers can demonstrate a close walk with the Lord. We can initiate spiritual activity within our families. For example, allow your family to hear you praying, establish a devotion time with your family. Fathers, you be the ones who instigate regular church attendance.

Fathers should demonstrate their love for God through serving. Service should be encouraged and modeled. Church is a great place to start learning to serve others and a wonderful opportunity to serve as a family. Service to our families also takes another road. A father should learn to serve his family by instructing and guiding his children. The goal is to prepare them for life and to equip them to hear from God concerning His plans.

In Hebrew instruction means to bring to completion. The best instruction a father can impart to his children is when he portrays a picture of our heavenly Father. As he models Father God, the children learn how to respond to God in their lives. God holds parents responsible for instructing their children. A father must see the importance of his role in the lives of his children. He is not to be a friend to them but rather a parent. Children require the involvement of their parents in their lives. Training means involvement. It is more than just telling children what to do; it is becoming involved with them while they are learning.

A father should demonstrate love for the mother of his children. 1 Peter 3:7 says a father needs to understand his wife. He becomes the role model of a loving, nurturing person living in a loving relationship with his wife. This relationship is essential to his spiritual life and answered prayer. A father’s understanding of how to live in a relationship is summed up by this statement: He needs to make sure that what occurs between he and his wife follows the law of love. Therefore, he is very concerned about what he says, his attitude toward his wife and children and that he gives himself for the family. This of course requires a stable character. The aim here is to become consistent (regular and predictable). This will instill security into his children. He should govern his mood, be present in the family, keep his promises, display good ethics, keep a regular schedule and know the interests of his family. This cannot be done in ones strength alone. It requires the hand of God. But 1 Peter 3:7-9 promises that if a father will seek and live rightly in his home, then he will become heirs with his family of the grace of life. Thank God for grace that empowers us to know God’s blessings.

One of the greatest joys of my life is having been a mother. I know I didn’t do everything right, but I also know I tried my best at all times. I just loved (and still do) being with my children and watching them grow. It was so exciting to watch their personalities develop and help them become who God wanted them to be. It wasn’t an easy task as any mother will tell you, but it was rewarding. There were sorrows and there were joys but, in the end, it is worth every minute spent working with your children. It’s worth being diligent with discipline and constant with rules and behavior, even when you think you cannot discipline them one more time!

The job of raising children normally falls to the mother and I believe God has equipped her for it. Women tend to be more nurturing than men and more relational. I believe that when God took Eve out of Adam these personality traits were given to her. Remember that Adam was made in God’s image and was complete, like God, before Eve was taken from him. (Gen. 5:1-2) It falls to the father to be the main provider for the family and the head of the family in making final decisions, after listening to input from his helpmate. I think we have all seen what can happen when roles get reversed for any reason—it makes it hard on the whole family.

A family without a mother is a poor reflection of what God intended. Children grow and develop best when in a nurturing, supportive atmosphere. In many ways a mother sets the tone for family life which is why it is so important for her to have a spiritual life with God along with her daily responsibilities. How many of us have had a mother who prayed for us daily and we lived better lives for it? A mother needs to know what God’s plan for her family is and the way He wants to bring it about. God’s plans are always the best and bring the best results so being aware of them is vital.

A mother’s words will be remembered for a lifetime—for good and for evil. To speak encouraging, faith-filled words over our children is so important, even when we may not be seeing the result of those words as yet. That’s what faith is all about. When we speak words that pull down and tear apart, we are imparting a force into our children’s lives that will do just that—pull them down and tear them apart. If we tell a child they are stupid or slow, they grow up with that belief and some never overcome those words—even if it is not true. How much better it is for them to hear that they have the mind of Christ. They believe what they hear and so become what they believe. What would you have your children believe about themselves?

Words spoken in the morning will be with you all day long. What is the last thing you say to your children as they leave the house? I tried never to let my children go from the house with strife sown in them for the day through my words. I also made a point to try and be there when they came home to sit and talk with them about their day. It builds for a close relationship where they are free to express their feelings and needs openly. I believe that a son treated in this manner will have a better chance at expressing himself later on in marriage. This is a complaint of so many women where their husbands are concerned—they don’t and can’t communicate. Well the answer starts long before they are ever old enough to get married—it begins with being drawn into conversations as children by their mothers who encourage them to communicate. The importance of words cannot be underestimated! Proverbs 25:11 says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver”. What a beautiful, poetic way to express the need to watch our words.

We give our children a picture of God by who we are and how we act. They will grow up and be like their parents. What an awesome responsibility! How hard it can be to look at your children and see your own shortcomings. Better to work at being who you need to be so they can become who they should be. I used to fall back on the scripture that says “With God all things are possible”. That gave me peace of mind! There were times when I felt it would have to be all God if they were to turn out right, but He always came through.

The greatest compliment a mother can have, I believe, is when as in Proverbs 31:28, “Her children rise up and call her blessed”. It’s wonderful to see the end result of your years of hard work as your children become parents themselves and endeavor to put into their children what was put into them. It truly is a blessing and one to work towards diligently when you feel you cannot do one more chore at the end of the day or speak one more word of encouragement because you really don’t feel like it! Children are truly a blessing from the Lord, but more than that they are a sacred trust given to a mother from the Lord. He gives them to us to mold and to build into a great woman or man of God. That is the greatest compliment of all—that our Heavenly Father trusts us to do the job! Happy Mother’s Day to all our moms!

Spring is a beautiful time of the year. I think of cherry blossoms, daffodils, tulips, and leaves on trees. A couple of weeks ago I was outside our home with Jonathan, my grandson, and we were having a very deep discussion concerning the seasons of the year. He wanted to know when the leaves would be coming back to the trees and I was trying to explain that in Spring the new vegetation comes. In Summer, school is out and everything is in bloom. Then in Autumn those leaves that came in Spring fall off of the trees and in Winter everything looks dead but it really isn’t because then Spring comes and it starts all over again. Jonathan was having a little trouble looking at the trees in their “dead” state and understanding that shortly from those oh-so-bare limbs would come forth the green leaves that make the trees so beautiful (and that provide him shade while playing outside).

Our conversation started me thinking. While some people look at January as the start of a new year, I would rather look at Spring as the beginning of a new year. Everything in nature that looked so dead comes back to life. Even in the deadness of Winter, there always remains life within the vegetation. We can’t see it but by faith we believe it’s there and that we will see this life appear once again as the seasons change.

I think it is very appropriate that Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension occurred during the Spring. This is what brought to us a new beginning, a new birth, life out of deadness and light out of darkness. Just as Spring brings beauty to nature just as God made it to do, our new spiritual birth brought a beauty to each of us that we could never have attained by ourselves or from any other avenue save the Lamb of God. Jesus said in John 10:10-11 “. . .I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance—to the full, till it overflows. I am the Good Shepherd. The good Shepherd risks and lays down his own life for the sheep.” I try to remember to thank God for His plan of salvation every single day and I thank Jesus that He was willing to lay down His life for me. I don’t ever want to take what Jesus did for granted because He truly gave me “beauty for ashes”.

In Hebrews 2:1-3 the Amplified Bible says, “Since all this is true, we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past [them] and slip away. For if the message given through angels [that is, the Law spoken by them to Moses] was authentic and proved sure, and every violation and disobedience received an appropriate (just and adequate) penalty, how shall we escape [appropriate retribution] if we neglect and refuse to pay attention to such a great salvation [as is now offered to us, letting it drift past us forever]? For it was declared at first by the Lord [Himself], and it was confirmed to us and proved to be real and genuine by those who personally heard [Him speak].” I love the phrase “such a great salvation”. It truly is so great that it is hard for us to comprehend and live out all that our salvation encompasses.

During the Summer of our lives we should be applying ourselves to learning what this salvation is all about to its deepest meanings and then obeying and doing what we have learned as James writes in 1:22, “But—obey the message; be doers of the Word, and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].” Studying the Bible should be a part of our daily routine. We should be able to say with the Psalmist, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” and “The entrance and unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding—discernment and comprehension—to the simple.” We should enjoy
fellowship with the Father and with one another and allow it to change and sharpen us.

Autumn in our spiritual life is when we have reached some level of maturity and the world can see what God has done in us, just as the leaves display such beauty in that season and catch our attention. Natural age shouldn’t have much to do with this phase of our spiritual life. Children who have been raised by parents who take God seriously are many times more mature than adults who have played around with being a Christian for years. It depends on the knowledge of the Word and the degree that a person yields to walking in that knowledge. It depends on the passion that we have for the things of God. Paul told Timothy in his youth “Fight the good fight of the faith; lay hold of the eternal life to which you were summoned, and confessed the good confession [of faith] before many witnesses.” It is a fight to stay untainted by the world and to keep our passion for the Lord.

Winter in my mind is when we make the transition from earth to heaven—whenever and however that my come. Though our earthly bodies may look dead and useless, that inner life which has sustained us during our life here (the spirit man) moves on to something far better. In fact Paul says far, far better. Philippians 1:21-23 “For me, to live is Christ—His life in me; and to die is gain—[the gain of the glory of eternity]. If, however, it is to be life in the flesh and I am to live on here, that means fruitful service for me; so I can say nothing as to my personal preference—I cannot choose, but I am hard pressed between the two. My yearning desire is to depart—to be free of this world, to set forth—and be with Christ, for that is far, far better”.

At this point in our lives if we have truly followed the Lord, there will be someone left behind who starts the cycle again of the new birth, or Spring, because of our lives lived on this earth. This is the greatest tribute we can give to God—that someone came to accept Jesus and walk in that great salvation because of the life we lived before them. I truly love Spring!

When I was a young child I always believed I was my father’s favorite child. I am the third child in a family of six children. I just knew I had a special relationship that no one else in the family had with my dad. He loved me and I knew it. I knew that no matter what I did, whether he agreed with me or not, I still had his total, unconditional love. It was a great way to grow up, being able to have such security and trust in your parent. Now you can imagine my surprise to find out after I was grown that another one of my siblings felt the same way! Yet at the same time another felt that he was demanding and could never be satisfied with what you did. What I found was that each of us had a slightly, or vastly, different opinion of my dad. It came as a shock to me.

Now that I know my Heavenly Father in a deeper way, I know His love is also unconditional and no matter what I do it will not change His love for me. The sad thing is that so many of my brothers and sisters in the Lord see our Father differently. Some see Him as sitting on His throne totally removed from what goes on down on earth. Others see Him as the big cop in the sky, ready to swat you if you do something wrong. Many see Him as having conditional love; you must do everything right in order to please Him. One thing wrong and you’re no good. My question is, how do you see Him? Is He the one who loved you so much that He gave His most precious child to gain you entrance into His family? Or is He a God of anger and judgment?

The apostle John in his first letter gives us a good look at who God is and what He is like. In chapter 4, verse 8 and again in verse 16 he says that God is Love. It doesn’t say that God has love but that He is Love. Now the world talks about love all the time but don’t be confused. The world’s brand of love and our God of Love are two very different kinds of love. If you want to know our God, you should meditate and study in depth I Corinthians, chapter 13, verses 4-8. This is an excellent description of our God. It gives you a good idea of what you can expect from God under any circumstance. After you have studied this awhile, you will never again think that He is out to get you, or waiting for you to goof up so He can beat on you. This love that is described is the very essence of our God. Get to know Him.

What about us? Who are we as children of God? In Romans 5:5 we read that the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit and in I John 4:16 it says “. . . God is love and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” This can only mean one thing: we, who have God living on the inside after being born again, are also love. If the Father is Love, then so are the children. What we as the church need to be doing is learning how to allow this love to rule and reign in us so all we show the world is God’s Love. What a difference it would make.

We all are at different levels in learning to abide in love. Jesus told us more than once that there was a new commandment to follow, to love one another as He had loved us. He made it possible for us to do this by His death on the cross and His resurrection victory. It is a fact that the more mature we are in the things of God, the more we act and behave like love. It takes mature love to cast out fear and to lay down our lives for the brethren. What brings about mature love? A mature Christian (little Christ). Studying the Apostle John and what he wrote can deepen your understanding of God, Love and what is expected of us.

Since the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, we know that His essence is also Love. In Jude 20 and 21 we read, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” What a wonderful gift we were given when we received the ability to pray in tongues, our prayer language. Not only does it build us up in faith but it keeps us in the love of God. In I Corinthians 14 it speaks of tongues as giving thanks well and speaking mysteries to God. Now do you understand why satan does his best to stop the church from praying in the Spirit? For him, it is a dangerous weapon unleashed on him every time we pray using our prayer language. For us it is a beautiful gift that builds up our faith, enhances our love walk, gives thanks to our Heavenly Father and we can pray out the mysteries of God.

Let’s make a vow to spend some time every day praying in the Spirit if only to make the devil mad!!!

It’s time for New Year’s resolutions to be touted on the talk shows and in the media. I don’t know about you but they don’t do much for me. Not that we shouldn’t look over the old year and see where we might do better this year. It’s just that most of the resolutions that you hear about are all worldly and that’s not where it’s at for me. I’ve found over the years that if I keep my spiritual life in order the rest will follow. So at this time of the year I stop and sit with the Lord to find out what needs to be done in the New Year. You notice I didn’t say where I failed in the past year, but instead where I need to stretch and go further this year. The Lord doesn’t spend a lot of time on telling you where you failed. Instead He tells you what will help you in the future. Everyone needs to continue growing spiritually all the time.

I can give you some concrete examples from years past. When I knew I needed to lose weight, I went to the Lord and He told me to spend more time with Him. When I went to Him about walking in love, He told me to spend more time with Him. When I went to Him about ministry needs, He told me to spend more time with Him. When I went to Him about health issues, He told me to spend more time with Him. Are you seeing a pattern developing or is it just me? I finally got the point that no matter what the need may be, (family issues, marriage issues, anger issues, oppression issues, financial issues, etc.) the answer will always be the same: spend more time with Him.

Now that seems to be too easy! Especially when you know how you’ve struggled in the past with these issues. I can remember when I was trying to lose that weight that just kind of crept up on me. I thought, how is spending time with the Lord going to help me say no to that candy or those chips? Yet that is exactly what the enemy would have you think so you’ll pass it off as nonsense. How many times have we heard from the Lord and said, because of our own reasoning, that can’t be God? Yet what I found was the only way I could withstand those temptations was by being stronger in the spirit! God knows what’s best for us. During that time He took me to scriptures that I still remember. Here are two. Proverbs 23:2, “And put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite.” Proverbs 23:21, “For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.” Spend some time meditating on those two scriptures and see what happens!

In II Peter 1:3 the scripture says, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.” Now I believe that all things that pertain to life and godliness pretty much covers it all! However, if you were to stop right there and not finish the verse you could stand on this part of the verse all day for many years and not obtain all things that pertain to life and godliness. The “all things” are obtained only one way—through the knowledge of Jesus. And the knowledge of Jesus only comes one way. That is by spending time with Him. That is the only way you get to know Him.

Now we get to the only way to success for a Christian which we hear about all the time. We need to spend time in the Word and in prayer, or as it says in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth!” When you get your answers by being still before the Lord and you walk them out with success, then God is exalted among the nations and in the earth! And this strategy works! I have found it works better than the ways of the world or than me doing things in my own strength—which never works.

How come more Christians don’t have success in this area? Mainly because the enemy will use everything in his bag of tricks to stop you from spending time with the Lord and he’s usually successful to one degree or another. He is a liar and a deceiver and he will try to convince you through your reasoning that this is just too easy and therefore could not possibly work. However those who have success in their walk with the Lord know that it really is just that simple if you will buckle down and do it.

In 2010 let’s determine in our heart to do only one thing but do it well. Spend time in the presence of the Lord through prayer, praise, the Word and just being still. I believe it will bring more blessings to our lives then anything we could think up on our own. Be blessed in 2010!

There have been two defining occasions in my life as a believer. The first came in 1977 when, as a new Christian, I had difficulty understanding the Bible. I prayed and asked the Lord to help me by sending someone who could teach me how to think about scripture the right way. He answered my prayer and I obtained the bookTwenty-six Lessons in Faith by Kenneth E. Hagin. I consider Dad Hagin to be my father in the faith. The second defining occasion, some 25 years later, was my trip to the Holy Land from which I have just returned. The reality of the presence and peace of God in Israel was overwhelming. This trip brought clarity and perspective to the knowledge that I have gleaned from studying scripture. I believe the impact of this trip will be seen in every aspect of my ministry as Pastor of Montgomery Faith Fellowship.

When we left in the middle of November, Thanksgiving preparations were underway. When we returned to our gateway city, Newark, poinsettias and decorated trees greeted us. This signaled that Christmas is just around the corner. I realized the Christmas decorations and my trip to Israel had something in common, Jesus. Here we are preparing to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, and we just experienced time in the land where Jesus was born, where He lived and ministered and where He died and rose again. I have to tell you the experience of walking in the Promised Land far exceeds decorations, fables and traditions of Christmas.

Jesus was born a Jew in a land promised by God to His chosen people. After hearing the guides talk of the passion in the hearts of the Israeli people for their land, I just knew Jesus had that same passion. He had it from the moment of His birth. The story of Jesus birth is recorded most completely in Luke chapters one and two. However, the Jewish prophets, under God’s anointing, spoke of His coming thousands of years before His actual birth. He was the fulfillment of God’s plan of Redemption. Today, the nation of Israel is the key to final fulfillment of God’s plan in the earth. As important as Jesus was to our world, so Israel is to the end times.

Our trip began in the region known as Galilee. This area of Israel is simply beautiful with the Sea of Galilee as its focal point. No wonder Jesus spent almost three years of ministry in this region. Even in the winter the weather is sunny and inviting. Our first nights were spent in Tiberius, a town founded by the Romans and located on the western shores of the Sea of Galilee. Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus, is located west of Tiberius in the mountains of Galilee. The scriptures reveal that Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, some 65-70 miles to the south. I can tell you the mountains are high and rugged and we saw the same path used by Jesus to travel to Jerusalem. It did not look easy. Just imagine the faith and trust Mary and Joseph had in God. I heard that same faith and trust in God from my friends in Israel as they described their encounters with terrorism. Like Mary and Joseph they know that God’s plan will be manifested in their lives. It must have been a hard trip with Mary ready to deliver Jesus and then to ride such a long way on the back of a donkey. They had no choice since Israel was occupied by Rome. Jesus did not preach in Tiberius because He was sent to the children of Israel. It was probable that the centurion, a Roman soldier, whose servant was healed by Jesus, resided in Tiberius.

The distance between Nazareth and Bethlehem is 65-70 miles of mountains and valleys. All this land was promised to the children of Israel. Today, this stretch of land is mostly known as the West Bank, a land claimed by the Palestinians and in dispute. Jesus cried for Jerusalem just before His crucifixion. No wonder–I cry for Jerusalem too. I wonder if Jesus saw the pain that would take place in this city. While we were there, suicide bombers took the lives of 24 men, women and children. We could not go into Bethlehem where Jesus was born. At that time it was under Palestinian control. Now it is under Israeli control. I know that Mary and Joseph were determined to walk in the light of God’s will for them. This determination allowed the Lord to work supernaturally in their lives. We know that Joseph experienced several dreams that gave him direction and allowed them to escape the plans of Herod who wanted to annihilate any chance of Jesus becoming king. Divine intervention came in the form of visions, dreams and guidance from angels. Today, I see that same determination in the lives of Israeli citizens everywhere as they fulfill the prophecies spoken by the Prophets. I also know that God is with Israel today. Supernatural intervention has already occurred on their behalf. I learned of the miracles that occurred in the rebirth of Israel in 1948, the Six Days War in 1967 and in the Valley of Tears at the beginning of the Yom Kippur war. God’s hand is in that land and will continue to be. Jerusalem will once again be filled with the glory of God.

We are preparing to celebrate Jesus’ birth and like the Wisemen who came bearing gifts to honor Jesus, there is something we can do to honor Him. Jerusalem is in the heart of God and He told us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Israel needs our prayers right now. We encourage you to pray continually for Jerusalem and Israel. I also encourage you to e-mail your Senators and Congressmen to encourage them to support Israel. Our support of Israel is a fitting birthday gift to the King of Kings, Jesus, who will one day rule from Jerusalem.

Check out the following scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Romans 5:17, “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” According to these scriptures our identification with Jesus enable us to reign in this life. Therefore, we can approach life in a positive and victorious manner.

Let’s come to an understanding of what identification means so we can live in the triumph of Jesus. As a verb, identify means to cause to be or become identical. As a noun, identification means the sameness of essential traits in different instances. This means that salvation has enabled us to become in essential traits exactly like Jesus. That is almost hard to fathom but it is true. 2 Peter 1:4 declares that we have become partakers of the divine nature. That is why in the new birth the old nature becomes non-existent and the new nature takes over. The old is gone all things have become new. We need to look to the Bible to tell us how we are like Jesus so that we know who we are in Him. Notice we look to the Bible to find out how we are like Jesus. We need to know what things we have in common with Jesus. Our natural tendency is to claim our shortcomings as we look to Jesus. However, when we do that we are not identifying with Him. If we take the Bible as the truth then we should accept what it says concerning our likeness to Jesus.

Galatians 4:7 reveals, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts crying out, Abba Father! Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son, then an heir through Christ.” Like Jesus, we are sons and therefore heirs of God through faith in Him. Jesus himself spoke about our identification with Him. John records these words in the 14th Chapter, the 12th verse, “Most assuredly, I say to you he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also and greater works than these will he do, because I go to my Father.” In these two verse we catch a glimpse of two more likeness with Jesus: 1. We are sons. 2. We can do His works. There are many verses that describe our likeness to Jesus.

Being a son awards us privileges. Read these fascinating scriptures that reveal our identity in Jesus:

Acts 17:28 “for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’” Our entire being can be in tune with Jesus – our thoughts, our words and our actions.

Eph 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” We are no longer under Satan’s bondage, but we are created with divine attributes.

1 Cor 1:30 “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” – Do you lack wisdom? In Jesus wisdom becomes yours.

Col 1:13-14 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” We have been released from all the power of darkness- fear, envy, sickness, failure, defeat and bondage!

Rom 8:37 “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Our identity in Jesus causes us to triumph.

God wants us to focus on our identity with Jesus, not our differences. When we live in our likenesses, we are living in righteousness. When we focus on our differences, we live in sin consciousness. When sin consciousness abounds, we separate ourselves from our identity in Jesus and then our foundation for living can be easily shaken. You may be thinking, “I’m not perfect” What about the sin in my life? The scripture in 1 John 1:9 tells us that when we confess our trespasses, He will forgive us and restore our righteousness. This is how we maintain our identity in Him. Your mistakes cannot change what God has made you in the new birth.

We can avoid identity crises and devastating times by focusing on how much we are like Jesus. See yourself as the Father sees you, in unity with Him not separated from Him. You will experience triumph as you begin to live in this new identity.

Back in the 1950’s I remember being in a hurricane that passed over my house. At that time, we had wooden shutters on each of our windows and I can remember my father closing them before the storm hit. It made it as dark as midnight inside the house. After a time of wind and rain, it became very still outside. I can remember opening the doors and looking out at the sky and going outside to see if there was any damage. After a short time my father told us to go back inside because the storm would be starting up again. My sisters and I thought it was over but my father knew that it was the eye of the hurricane that was passing over and that shortly the worst of the storm would hit. It was a real adventure that I’ll never forget. Hurricane Isabel brought back those memories.

There is a place in God which is very much like the eye of a hurricane. It is a place of peace and comfort that we can access even while being in the midst of a problem in our life. I like to call it “the secret place of the Most High God” and I love being in it and having access to it whenever I need to be there. Psalm 91 is all about what you can expect if you abide there. God meets your every need in that place and no fear can enter there—it just isn’t allowed because you’re in the presence of the Most High God. It is a place of safety where you can ride out any storm that may be passing over your life. As long as you stay in the secret place you are safe. Too many times however, we leave that place to see what’s happening outside and it’s easy to be engulfed in the storm once again.

Many Christians don’t know about the secret place and try to face the storm on their own. They end up being buffeted by the wind and the waves and the rain. They end up hurting and wondering where God was in everything that happened. Then they decide that maybe it was God who put them there because He is teaching them something. Those who know that our God is Love and wants only to bless us and be there for us know that this is not so. We know that “though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death”, we have nothing to fear because He is there to deliver us. We know that the method He uses to teach us anything is the Bible and not circumstances. It’s not what we find ourselves in but how we handle the problem once we are there that determines its outcome.

In Proverbs 24:10 it reads, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small”. This means that when you find yourself in a storm, if you give up and just get buffeted and drown, you never had what it takes to conquer the situation. However, there is no reason for us to be in that position. We have all we need “that pertains to life and godliness”. It’s been given to us freely so that we don’t have to go into a storm without knowing what the outcome will be. We have a God who is more than enough and who is willing to give us that “more than enough” power which will always see us through. We’re told that we can “do all things through Christ who strengthens us” and we have not been given the spirit of fear, but “of power, of love and a sound mind”. It seems to me we can’t help but win!

The storms of life come and we don’t have total control over when they hit and how they will manifest themselves. We do, however, have control over whether we will be strong in the day of adversity or not. We do have control over whether we walk through them in strength, power and faith. That has always been under our control and will continue to be so until we go home to be with Jesus. We have the two greatest threats to the enemy at our disposal at all times: prayer and the Bible. If we’re praying in accordance with the Word, we know that we win every time. We truly serve a great God who is the ONLY God and the one that everyone will have to reckon with in the end. As long as we truly abide in “the secret place of the most high”, we will always be more than conquerors!

Every September brings the sound of school buses on the roads and children back at bus stops or walking along the streets in groups as they make their way to school. For some they are happy to be back in school while for others the summer vacation was too short and went too fast. It used to be a time moms looked forward to because now the house was theirs again!

I’m not sure that is true anymore. I think in a lot of households it’s a time for stress. The pressure on our children for new clothes, new supplies, new friends can be frightening. New experiences for those who are going to school for the first time, or for those having to change schools can weigh heavy on children and parents. Add to this the fact that schools are not the same as they used to be and you can come up with a high stress time for everyone concerned.

Recently I read an article on the changes that have taken place in our country over the last 50 years. It talked about the fact that there is no prayer in school and who would have believed that was a possibility 50 years ago. It also mentioned the openness of homosexual lifestyles that is taught in our schools and made to seem a normal part of life that would never have been allowed 50 years ago. Some people, I know, see it as progress, but I do not. God does not see it as progress either, although that doesn’t seem to bother many people.

Our children are bombarded each and every day with ungodliness in many forms at their schools. You might say, what’s the use, there’s nothing we can do, and give in to the ways of the world. But this is not a Christian attitude to have. The Word still says we are on this earth but we are not of this earth. That goes for every child and every parent who claim to be a Christian. We can’t all put our children in private schools to keep them from rubbing shoulders with the world. Besides, take it from me, many private schools are no better than the public schools. Eventually our children will have to face the world they live in and learn how to exist in it without losing their identities as a Christian.

Our children started off in private schools even though Pastor Bob was a teacher in a public school. However, when they were still in elementary school we were told by the Lord they were to be in public schools. You may say, “Told by the Lord? Isn’t that a little over the top?” But that’s how it was. They were in a new private school in Tulsa when everything seemed to go wrong and we both heard very distinctly that they were in a school He didn’t want them in, hence, all the trouble. We pulled them out and put them where they belonged, in public school, and everything turned around.

The Lord showed me that prayer would be needed for them as they were going into a battlefield, and this was in Tulsa where they would never have dreamed of celebrating Halloween in the schools and they had born again teachers. How times have changed! Every day before and after school they were prayed with and for. When they got older and we had moved back to Maryland, I would bind the demons when they got home everyday. Once again, you may think I’m extreme but what better place for satan to get to our children then at schools where God is not allowed through the door. There were many specific battles fought in the spirit realm through prayer for our children during those years.

As a church we should be lifting up all of our children before the Lord everyday. As brothers and sisters in Christ we should not leave this effort to the parents or grandparents of our children. As parents you must speak the Word over your children so they can hear and know where your heart is for their lives. As the body of Christ throughout this country, we’ve already lost a significant battle when we allowed prayer to be taken out of our schools. And, yes, I do mean we allowed it to happen through our lack of understanding of the plans of the enemy and our lack of seeking the Lord about it. Now it will take much more to get prayer back into schools then it would have taken to keep prayer in from the beginning. We’ve seen violence escalate and hatred increase in our schools on a continual basis since prayer was banned. It’s no coincidence.

We are called the triumphant and glorious church in the Bible and we should have the victory in every battle with the enemy. Jesus made a way and we as a body must walk in that way by faith. This includes taking our schools back for the Lord so our children can have a safe and peaceful atmosphere in which to learn. We have rights as citizens of this country where our schools are concerned and we have more say in what goes on than we realize. I’ve seen policy change because a few parents stood up and would not allow their children to participate in a certain curriculum. When it was over, the school did away with the curriculum rather than have to provide additional curriculum for these children.

In publications throughout the body of Christ right now people are calling for more prayer from the church and more seeking and obeying the Lord. I too believe this is needed for our country (and our schools) in order to be triumphant in everyday life. As the school year progresses, let’s not faint in our prayer life for our children and the schools they attend. Let the change start right here in Gaithersburg and Germantown and then spread throughout the country.

The scriptures from James 1:22 and 25 helps to answer this question. (V22), “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (V25), “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” Yes, James says that we must hear the Word and put it into practice in our daily lives in order to be blessed in what we do. This is critical to faith-filled living! Jesus also taught us the importance of the Word in the parable of the soils where He described 3 hindrances to acting on the Word. We find this parable in Matthew 13:3-23. We do not have the space to reprint it here but you should look these scriptures and meditate upon them during your time with the Lord.

The first hindrance to acting on the Word is a lack of understanding of God’s Word. This is found in Matthew 13:19. Simply put, one does not know what the Word means. This implies that there is a failure on the part of the hearer to obtain adequate teaching. A sermon once a week is not enough to answer your needs. The study of the Word is absolutely necessary to receive understanding. You must value the Word and treasure it by assigning it top priority. Many times during conversations I hear that it is difficult with our busy life styles to find time to study the Word. Yet, at the same time, I hear discussions of the latest movies for rent, of television shows or the latest sale at the store. This is really saying that things have grabbed your attention, and the Word is a lower in priority in your life. These distractions will not give you understanding of the Word. Time is required so that the Holy Spirit can teach you as you are meditating on the scriptures you are seeking to understand. It is impossible to live by the Word of God when you do not understand it. The ministry gifts (pastors, teachers, and evangelists) have been given by the Lord to help you understand the scriptures. Make it a practice to receive good teaching at church and through books and tapes so that you understand how to live by the Word.

The second hindrance to acting on the Word is allowing what others say to influence your behavior and thinking. Who are these others? They can be your family, friends or even yourself as opinion is expressed that does not agree with the Bible. They usually will tell you all the reasons why you will fail or will not obtain God’s promise. Many times this reasoning is based on experience that does not reflect the will of God. How can you stop negative influences from directing your words and actions? The answer to overcoming this hindrance is to discipline your thought life to reflect what the promise God has made to you. Accept your new identity as an over-comer! This means adopting a life-style that allows the truth of the Word to dominate your endeavors not other people’s experiences. Doubt, contradiction and fear will keep you from acting of God’s Word.

The third hindrance to acting on the Word is carnality and worldly treasures. The Bible tells that the carnal mind is enmity against God and cannot receive the things of God. In reality, the hearer is self-centered rather than Christ centered. He lacks the purpose of God; his treasure is here on earth. The self-centered, worldly person will act presumptuously by demanding his own way. Presumption is never fruitful.

There is a reward for hearing and doing the Word. The one who acts on the Word will receive as much as a 100-fold return in his life. In other words the blessing of God will be with him. Who is the sower described in this parable? You are! You are responsible for sowing the Word in your heart. The word that is sown will be used by the Holy Spirit to guide your actions and bring them into unity with the Lord. Get in the Word today!