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Welcome to a New Year! Are you excited? I am. I have some thoughts about what I think God is up to as we enter into 2024 that I want to encourage you with. I believe we are in a small frame of time going into the next months that are a sort of “half-time” preparation. We are being given an opportunity to look back over the last few years to assess, align and prepare to get back into the game as Victors.

Being tough requires pushing through pain and doing the reps- it requires building muscle and learning from past hurts, mistakes and mishaps. I think the church has traded compassion with commiseration and we need to get back to the former. You can't get back into the game without a maturity that presses through pain....you need to get TOUGH.

It's time to be intentional. It's time to have a routine and a rhythm. It's time to take what we learned in the last years and move forward in maturity and understanding. It's time to be strong and courageous...

It’s time to get TOUGH. Are you ready?!

We have the choice to endure or enjoy this season.

Choosing joy rather than putting up with certain aspects of Christmas can become one of the greatest opportunities in our lives to experience and know God at a deeper level.

It's not always a profound, grand moment...sometimes, it's the realization of being INjoy that we actually receive a greater revelation of Jesus and who He is in our individual lives.

Maybe this Christmas, those people or traditions or gatherings that you've put a smile on and gone through the motions will become some of your greatest treasures from this year on....

Maybe.

Do you have any idea how cool you really are???

Let's talk about the uniqueness of your life.

An eternal perspective on the birth of Jesus.

As we prepare for Christmas this year, I want to introduce looking at the preparation for the birth of Jesus from the perspective of His glory and being never changing- didn't begin at the manger, it was revealed at the manger in part and revealed later to John in Revelation in fullness.

What does this mean for us, now? We are new creations in Christ in our timeline, so what does Christmas mean for us now?

Scripture Discussed:

Luke 2

Matthew 2:11 (Strong's 4098 piptó)

Revelation 1:17

Revelation 4:8-11

What a wild topic to land on today!

Paul makes an appeal to the church in Galatia regarding circumcision that I wonder if applies to us today?

Is it possible that the enemy would get people to accept and agree with things that God has told us not to by repacking these exact things as common? I think so! Look at our world these last few years at how blindly society accepts things to be common or true without any question.

Maybe circumcision is one of these exact places God has made available to take back that which has been stolen. Who knows?! I find it fascinating!

Here is the article discussed:

https://matthewtontonoz.com/2015/01/05/why-is-circumcision-so-popular-in-america/

Scripture Cited:

Testimony Time

What a thankful heart does in obedience is always met by the Lord.

As kids we obey because we are learning right from wrong, as adults we are obedient because it's natural. This concept is mirrored in our relationship with the Lord.

Today, I want to share with you a personal testimony of the goodness and faithfulness of God. Maybe some of you are stepping out into things you have no idea where the support, finance, infrastructure, etc. is coming from- maybe that's exactly where God wants to show up for you too.

Continuing the Convo.

When there is a "fall from grace" scenario in leadership, what is our response as the CHURCH BODY.

Where is our seat at the table? Scripture teaches us to not consider ourselves more important than we are- it's healthy to know where we are at as far as influence and authority in our church families. This gives us context for what to expect and how to respond in certain situations, at least that's what I think....what are your thoughts?

What do we do when we become aware of people's errors in life? Are we all entitled to an opinion? Does your level of influence demand a statement? Is there a kingdom way of processing through these circumstances?

There is an uptick in the atmosphere of allegations and uncovering of things that are stirring conversation and public weigh-in. It is important to choose what you are entertained by and what you have influence over.

Noah's choice that led him to his precarious situation was not what God highlighted....it was the fact one of his sons was entertained by what he found. The other brothers came in and covered their dad while preserving honor- even though Noah was the one who had made the "bad" choice. What do we learn from that?