Christmas is the celebration and beginning of new life, a spiritual life for mankind born of the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:22-23.  “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

The name Immanuel speaks to the fact that God has established His guiding and protecting presence with us as His people. Matthew, understanding the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, writes and delivers his inspired revelation: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’)” (Matthew 1:22–23).

In Jesus, as Immanuel, God walked with us and talked with us as He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Christ’s arrival showed all humanity that God is faithful to fulfill His promises.

Jesus is Immanuel. He is not a partial revelation of God with us; Jesus is God with us in all His fullness: ” (Colossians 2:9, NLT). “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body Jesus left the glories of heaven and took on the form of a servant so that He could identify with us in our day-to-day human struggles.”

Our fellowship with Immanuel, God with us grants us the ability to relate to Him and talk and share with Him. Knowing that as Immanuel, God with us, He walks with us throughout the day, looking after and caring for us where we can cast all our cares and our problems upon Him. Trusting Him as Immanuel, God with us to help us in meeting our needs. Asking him for strength to conquer the trials and temptations of life. Further knowing that as Immanuel, God with us, He constantly gives us life. A life that is full of love, joy, and peace (John 10:10).

In good times and bad, in tragedy and triumph, the Purpose of Christmas is for Immanuel, God to be with us!

The word synergy comes from the Greek sun, "together" and ergon,

As we consider the theme or topic of today's podcast, the key to prosperity in this New Year is God's sovereignty and the key is our faith. Although there were hardships, setbacks, difficulties, uncertainties, heartache, and heartbreak this year... things that

The synergy of God’s sovereignty in this New Year is the combination of our faith in God’s word and His power as Emmanuel, God with us. Although there were hardships, difficulties, uncertainties, heartache, and heartbreak... Things that you may not have understood why you had to endure what you did but God was making you into

Share this podcast with family and friends during this holiday season as we and in this New Year, and know that you will continue to stand, you will continue to fight the good fight of faith, you will continue to experience the prosperity and blessings of God because He is our sovereign Lord and King and He is on our side.

One dictionary defines the word happy as, showing, or marked by pleasure, contentment, satisfaction, or joy. One question to be answered is who was the happiest person who ever lived? I submit to you that Jesus was the happiest person to ever live! Even through the rejection, lies, hatred, and hardships, He endured at the hands of the religious leaders that led to His crucifixion.

To be happy in this toxic, sin-sick, secular society in which we live, you and I must live by the fact that we are "accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6).

Furthermore, our identity is in His Divinity. We are created in His image and likeness to have dominion and not be dominated (Genesis 1:26-28) by our emotions or the people, pain, and pressures of life.

The Good News Translation of Psalm 92:10 becomes reality in the life of the believing believer. The writer of this Psalm declares, “You (God) have made me as strong as a wild ox; you have blessed me with happiness.” God wants you happy!

The Good News Translation of Proverbs 8:30, speaking of Wisdom, who is Jesus, says, “I was his daily source of joy, always happy in his presence."

Psalm 16:11 declares in the Easy To Read Version says, “You will teach me the right way to live. Just being with you will bring complete happiness. Being at your right side will make me happy forever.”

Invite a friend or co-worker to join us for principles and precepts from God's word as we continue to learn to Think Like God Thinks and the fact that "God Wants You to Be Happy!"

A cycle is a period of time or a complete set of events that repeat. A process that returns to its beginning and then repeats itself in the same sequence or manner.

A portion of the cycle of hope is as Isaiah 40:31 declares, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Biblical hope, rooted in our confidence for the future has as its foundation faith, trust, reliance, and confidence in God.  In both the OT and NT, Biblical hope is a confident expectation or assurance based upon the sure foundation of God Himself for which we wait with full expectation and confidence that it shall be done.

Therefore, Biblical hope is a concrete reality and not a feeling. Biblical hope carries no doubt. Biblical hope is a sure foundation upon which we base our lives, believing that God always keeps His promises.

Faith and hope as partners in the cycle of hope for believers like you and I create the reality within us that if God said it, it shall be done!  In other words, it is "help to open people's eyes" as established in 2 Kings 6:16-17.

"Do not be afraid. For those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes, that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw. He saw that the mountain was full of horses and war-wagons of fire all around Elisha."

No matter what the circumstance or situation we encounter in life and ministry, as we place our faith and hope in God, He will "open our eyes that we may see that there are more with us." And as Paul declares in Romans 8:31, "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Jesus sets an example for us by Living An Uncomplicated Life. In fact, in Matthew 22, Jesus provides us with the most important aspects of life when he says that we are to “love God and love our neighbor as ourselves” (verses 37-39).

Over the course of Jesus’ ministry in the Gospels, Jesus travels. A lot! As he traveled to spread the gospel, to teach and heal, he lived a very uncomplicated lifestyle. He ate and stayed at other people’s homes and didn’t take much with him.

The life that Jesus lived focused on his ministry, relationships with others, sharing the good news, serving others, taking care of his health by resting when necessary, and spending time in prayer. All of these things have come together to form the bedrock of Living an Uncomplicated Life.

Dr. Gregory L. Cruell

God Thinkers (Isaiah 55:8-9)

When we talk about a study, it is the act of making an effort to learn. Investing time discovering information about a particular thing or investigating a subject. The Living Bible translates 2 Timothy 2:15 as, “Work hard so God can say to you, "Well done." Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what His Word says and means.”

Even as positive, Christ-centered people, it is inevitable that negative experiences producing negative thoughts are going to occur. We cannot stop negative thoughts from coming into our minds, but we can overcome them. Overcome may be defined as the ability “to rise above a conflict; to defeat or prevail over, “to gain control of consistently.  When we say something is negative it is characterized by “having the quality of something harmful, damaging, and unfavorable.” The term negative also carries the meaning of “being pessimistic; that which hinders and neutralizes progress.” 

John 10:10, Jesus tells us in the Passion Translation of this passage…“The thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow! This is God's desire for us. To live life until life itself overflows! In this study, let's "work hard knowing what God's Word says" (2 Timothy 2:15) and means as we overcome negative thoughts and experiences!

The Apostle Paul says to the church at Corinth in 2 Cor. 13:5, RSV-- “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

No matter your age or occupation, it seems like we will always be confronted with unexpected challenges or tests in life. You receive an audit notice from the IRS—a test of trust or lack of trust in the government. You misplace your keys---a test of patience.

Your neighbor is blasting music so loud it is shaking your dishes in the kitchen---a test of community relations. You receive a mediocre performance review on your job—a test of believing in yourself and loyalty.  It never ends.

Although we cannot choose most of the tests we face in life, we can choose how we’re going to face them. Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

No matter the test that we face or encounter, Jesus as the Person in our Personality says to us today as He said to the Apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

This is Part 2 of a four-part series entitled The Person In our Personality. When we peel back the outer layer of an orange or banana, what we are really after is what's on the inside.  When we consider what is on the inside of us all, there is a unique person with a unique personality made in the image of God.

It is important to note that there is no right or wrong personality. No personality is better than any other. We are spiritual beings having a human encounter. Therefore, it is important that we understand our natural personality as well as the personality of Christ within us.

Where Jesus sits on the throne of our lives displaying His character, His personality having the preeminence…governing our lives in all things, and at all times. Which includes our thinking, our speech, conduct, and our behavior.

The Passion Translation of Colossians 1:27 declares, “Living within you is the Christ who floods you with the expectation of glory! This mystery of Christ, embedded within us, becomes a heavenly treasure chest of hope filled with the riches of glory for his people, and God wants everyone to know it!”

When we allow Jesus to be the Person in our personality, we receive a rich inheritance and legacy. He made us the way that we are with our unique personality, to carry a treasure chest of hope filled with the riches of glory for His people wherever we go.

Dr. Gregory L. Cruell, God Thinkers (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Today’s podcast is part 1 of The Person in Our Personality. Paul says to the church at Corinth in 2 Cor. 13:5, RSV-- “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

To get to the fruit of an orange, or tangerine, we have to first peel back what is on the outside to get to what is on the inside. When it comes to that orange or tangerine, most of us are not even concerned about the outside, because what we want is underneath that outer layer.

So Paul says to the church at Corinth, test yourselves, peel back the outside of self and find out if you really are true to the faith that we confess is on the inside.

In other words, the person in your personality, in my personality, after we peel back the outer layer of who we are, we ought to see Christ; ensuring that the personality of Christ is on a page all by Himself.

Where Jesus sits on the throne of our lives displaying His character, His personality having the preeminence…governing our lives in all things, at all times. Which includes our thinking, our speech, conduct and our behavior.

TPT of Colossians 1:27 declares, “Living within you is the Christ who floods you with the expectation of glory! This mystery of Christ, embedded within us, becomes a heavenly treasure chest of hope filled with the riches of glory for his people, and God wants everyone to know it!”

When we allowed Jesus to be the person in our personality, we receive a rich inheritance and legacy. He made us the way that we are with our unique personality traits.

But every day of our lives we must allow Jesus as the person of our personality to be the center and circumference, the base and the boundary, the beauty and the balance, the sum and the substance of all that we are... in other words, It’s All About Jesus, that's what it's all about!

In the New Living Translation of 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, the Bible gives us a snapshot of a very difficult time in Paul's life. Paul prays in the 8th verse, "Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away (his thorn). Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” Paul then says,  So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." 

For today’s podcast we define purpose as “the reason for which something exists or is done, the end result or desired intention.” If you describe someone or something as a thorn in your side or a thorn in your flesh, what this means is that there is a continuous, consistent, persistent problem, a constant source of irritation and most likely vexation of the mind that impacts us, spirit, soul and body.

Paul learned that no matter what he encountered and endured in his life for the cause of Christ….God’s grace was sufficient for him.

When you discover what the thorn in your flesh is and surrender to God’s plan and will for your life in humility and integrity, for your ministry  God will always reply, My grace is sufficient for you.