2020 has been a year to show the Lord just how bold your faith really is in the midst of uncertain times that have included a worldwide pandemic, job uncertainty, riots, political confusion, relationships challenges and social media strife.  Unfortunately many people in the church ran and hid – bowing down to the enemy – getting into fear and worry, hiding in their homes, believing masks would keep them safe, being afraid to post their thoughts on social media for fear of people coming against them or getting reprimanded from their employer or church pastor.  It’s been a great year to show what your mettle (a person's ability to cope well with difficulties or to face a demanding situation in a spirited and resilient way) really is to the Lord. I think back to what the Lord asked me to do when COVID started shutting down the U.S. in early April.  I was in the middle of my 2020 BREAKTHROUGH tour as I was in Phoenix, AZ and everyone was shutting down and stopping their meetings in churches, etc.  I was supposed to go to Las Vegas, then Anaheim, LA, Ojai, Ventura, Burney, CA, Portland, OR, Seattle, Billings, MT and…

Hebrews 11:1 states that “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  I actually wrote a book called “Keep Your Faith On” in which I talk about what faith really looks like.  How not to look on your current circumstances that did not line up with what you were expecting or what was prophesied over you. In reality things in my personal life looked totally the opposite of what was prophesized over me yet I continued to believe that I would see those things prophesied to come to pass.  The key for me was to not allow the enemy to speak to me in my thoughts.  He would try to say things that would come against me but I began to shut down the lying voices and only declare what I believed would come to pass and then eventually over time things would change and begin to line up. When God speaks to us or through other people or a dream it is with the purpose of showing us what could come to pass.  It is our responsibility to do what we need to do in order to see it come to pass without allowing the…

Everyone in the world is now being tested – especially those who call themselves Christians. The age where we used to simply be able to show up at church on Sunday mornings and act like we were Christians – engage with a few people and be nice to them, drink some coffee and eat a donut or bagel, sing some songs and hear a nice 40-minute message making us feel good and then go home and live like the world the rest of the week is now over. Our mettle is being tested – as God is watching to see if we have any faith to trust Him and choose to serve Him completely in the face of an uproar or if we are all scared like the world and willing to bow down to our local and state governments like everyone else is doing. It is not easy standing up for Jesus when the rest of the world is afraid, angry, yelling, rioting, in your face and behaving crazy and threatening you. It is not easy when those who are not of the Lord raise their voice, fighting with you on social media (time to block!), threatening to come…

So many people have had the innocence of their childhood stolen by the enemy through a myriad of circumstances (lack of a father’s presence in the home, verbal / physical or sexual abuse, controlling mothers or fathers, sexually molested by a friend, family member or parent, loss of a parent). When a person grows up void of a healthy environment, the enemy is able to hurt them from the beginning and many go their entire lifetimes struggling to recover the innocence that was lost. Many struggle with healthy marital relationships, causing them to choose people who have demons who then torment them even more, causing divorces and having their own children to get hurt in the similar ways that they were harmed. There are few people in the world who know what it was like to grow up in an environment of unconditional love, joy and peace with healthy fun to enjoy a normal life. They never were able to laugh with their moms, dads and siblings as all they knew was arguing, strife and tainted love. They never were able to simply enjoy a walk in the park, bike riding on an adventure, swinging and playing with the true…

There was a famous song in the 1980's by the group Journey titled "Don't Stop Believin' " which has a lot of spiritual validity when it comes to not looking on what you can see but to continue to believe for what you cannot see to eventually manifest in the here and now.  James 1:12 NIV states "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." James continues the thought that he began in verse 2 where he called on believes to call hard times as joyful things.  Why?  Because our faith only strengthens when we endure trials and overcome them.  When we trust the Lord through breaking through tough experiences, then we grow in our maturity in Christ to trust Him due to each trial that we have overcome.  We essentially become more like Christ with each and every tribulation that we get through.  It is a choice to continue to trust God in the midst of the trial and then the Lord brings more blessing.  Our circumstances may be very challenging  but God is on our…