How important is empathy? So important that it's lack leaves lifelong scars. And we see the growing lack of empathy all around. We wrestle with its fruit and cry out to God. For many, this cry is the Holy Spirit's own passion for worldwide revival.

We found it impossible to talk about the massacre in Sutherland Springs, TX without empathy. Sympathy is not empathy, which a recent blog post by John served to highlight, begging the question: How do we respond to tragedy? With sympathy or empathy?

A testimony is more than a personal story; it is a testament of Christ Himself. And that is what gives Martha's testimony of forgiveness power. Altogether Forgiven is Spirit-filled revelation rooted in Scripture and illumined by a personal testimony of Christ.

God has given all of us at Shulamite Ministries a heart for revival. But for every wave of revival, the ground was first prepared by the Spirit, in prayer, in repentance, and in forgiveness. Though we cannot see it, the Spirit is preparing the way for revival even now.

Forgiveness is much more than just a Christian principle; in a world full of bitterness and rage, it's a legitimate power that believers are given to wield. To understand forgiveness is to begin to appreciate and understand the very heart of God Himself.

There is a whole world of forgiveness that few believers have seen, much less understood. It is this vast world that Martha's book, Altogether Forgiven, explores and reveals with near-shocking clarity. Forgiveness is a life-changing, WORLD-changing power!

Martha, John, Carole, and Jennifer talk about the challenges and rewards of being a servant to the message of Christ in Martha's new book, Altogether Forgiven. When we learn to serve God in the small things, we soon reap the fruit as His servant in the eternal.

What does faith have to do with our choice to let go of something or not? How exactly does waiting on God lead to greater faith? The Christian life is far easier than most believers ever experience, and whether we let go and wait on God factors into that directly.

How amazing life is when we let go and let the Father take care of everything, just as Jesus did! It's incredibly vulnerable to live in the reality of our nothingness and total inability, but that's when we see and experience our Father's lavish provision.

There's more to waiting on God than just being still. Sometimes waiting is the active surrender of letting go. Other times waiting is part of being 'meeked' that we might BE meek. Waiting on God is a big challenge and an even bigger adventure than we realize!