The reaction to someone’s death, whether we deem them wicked or righteous, reflects how near or how far we are from God’s heart. May we ask the Holy Spirit to align our hearts to better represent God.

Allow these words of Scripture to sink deep into your heart. Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” May you allow the Holy Spirit to be the life-changing wind in your life!

Meet Emilio, a 77-year-old farmer from Sincelejito, Colombia.  As hard a working man as you will find and so passionate about protecting the land that he farms. A man who buried his 50-year-old son last year. A man who doesn’t know if he’ll be in Heaven… but wants to be. I have to believe that the reason I was on his porch sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ was because Emilio could not chase hope for himself. So God sent me to chase hope for him. Where might God want to send you?

It’s been said more times than it should be that there is an epidemic of hopelessness. Situations around the world where hope has been drained by poverty, devastated by drugs, and destroyed by violence. Situations that exist in a community of 40,000 called Tolu in northern coastal Colombia, South America. Situations that continue to fuel the passion of missionary Merritt Johnson as she and her husband Yeicol have committed to keep chasing hope for those who may have given up on hope.

Grace has been defined as getting what we do not deserve. Similarly, mercy has been defined as NOT getting what we do deserve. When Jesus told His disciples to “Be merciful, just as my Father is merciful,” He was speaking in the context of giving people what they do not deserve: kindness, respect, and even forgiveness. Chances are, we all need more mercy in our lives. So let us commit to asking the Holy Spirit for even more mercy, so we can do as Jesus exhorted and receive what the Father has for us.

One of the scariest Christian words to ever be uttered may be evangelism! Shudder and shake! Unfortunately, some of the ways of evangelism that we as the Church have developed and practiced probably weren’t exactly what Jesus had in mind when He told us to “go and make disciples.” The good news is that the Holy Spirit can and wants to give us the two greatest tools to help us in our evangelism efforts for the Kingdom. Grace and discernment will lead more people to the King and His Kingdom than anything else we can ever contrive or conjure. Let’s ask, let’s seek, and let’s knock for those two great tools, shall we?

In this broken and bruised world where hopelessness is easy to feel, it is critically important to draw from the right source of hope. So, of course, we turn to Scripture for the truth. There, we find that suffering is not supposed to be the cause of hopelessness, but rather can and should be the initiator of hope for all things.
And to no surprise at all, we also discover that our hope is the work of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Ghost all playing a part in giving us a hope that never disappoints.

In a long line of Bible verses that are taken out of context, Psalm 37:4 may rank in the top 10! So often we hear the word “desires” and think of things of the world: promotions, safety, security, good things like houses and new jobs, etc. But when paired with 1 Cor. 2, we get a better understanding of how the Holy Spirit works in our lives to align our desires with His so that when we serve in the Kingdom, we can truly take delight in whatever it is He has asked us to do. We can indeed delight in the Lord, as long as we allow the Holy Spirit to be in charge of shaping our desires.

You don’t have to travel to Alaska to be overwhelmed by God’s glory, but it sure doesn’t hurt! From snow-capped mountains to five-foot waves while fishing (think Deadliest Catch!), from sea otters playing hide and seek to strong, majestic eagles soaring right over you, this short trip to Alaska offered ample opportunities every day to join in with the trees as they “clap their hands” to the Creator of this rugged beauty. Again, you don’t have to travel to Alaska to be overwhelmed by God’s glory; just pay attention to where you’re at and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes!

Coming at you from Joplin, Missouri, on a youth mission trip! As the youth have been serving the community in their hard work all the hot week long, Wednesday night provided the opportunity and invitation to allow the Spirit of Christ to serve them. As they were having their feet washed in a powerful supernatural moment, the youth were challenged to examine their “confidence in Christ” rating from 1-10 – confident in His love, His grace, His mercy, and in our salvation. Let’s be crystal clear: God wants us to live at a 10 – no less!

As Jesus and His mother stood watching the wedding take place in Cana, the wine ran out. For a wedding celebration at that time, no wine was a train wreck of a disaster. After a short discourse, Mary tells the servants, “Do whatever He tells you to do.” They did. And the wedding was not only saved but went down as one of the best ones in history. We’re still talking about it! That should be the exact same attitude and approach we should take with the Holy Spirit living within us: “Do whatever He tells you to do.”

“Spiritual empowerment is promised through the messianic Spirit of might, realized fully in Christ and mediated to the church.” Amen! Where do you need God’s mighty strength today? Regardless of the situation or circumstance, His Holy Spirit is fully available to you in all of His might and strength. May you trust in the Spirit to stand up for what’s loving and what’s right in every circumstance. And may the Holy Spirit galvanize you with the grit and gift of fortitude and valor.

Right before His arrest and subsequent death on the cross, Jesus spent much of His last night with His disciples teaching on the Holy Spirit. One of the most powerful, and perhaps most under-appreciated, names for the Holy Spirit is “Advocate.” All too often, we have turned the Spirit into a “comforter,” like a warm blanket on a cold day. That image falls SO short of who He really is in the life of a believer. Let’s embrace the full majesty and weight of the Advocate!

As we celebrate all that God has done and is doing with and through The Joshua Center, it is a good thing to take a moment to fully embrace the 5-strand DNA of this ministry:

Awakening Courageous Leaders
Committed to Changing the Culture
Advancing the Kingdom of God
Accurately Handling the Word of Truth
All Fueled by The Person and The Power of the Holy Spirit

May you be blessed and encouraged by the Holy Spirit of a Living and Loving God!

As we are just a couple of days away from celebrating Pentecost at the time of this podcast’s recording, we are invited to embrace the Spirit of Truth all the more. Jesus promised that it would be “better” for Him to leave so that He could send His Spirit. If indeed the truth shall set us free, then the more of the Holy Spirit we are filled with, the more free we are to worship and serve God. May Pentecost bring a whole new revelation of the Spirit of Truth to each one of us!

Come on, how in the world are we to be expected to pray “at all times”? Seriously, no one can hope to pray “without ceasing,” can they? As impossible as these commands appear to be, there is indeed a very clear answer to set our prayer lives at the highest of bars. When we begin to understand the true nature of “praying in the Presence of God,” our prayers and petitions take on a supernatural energy that can only be fueled by the Holy Spirit.

On Wednesday afternoon of this week, I did what probably makes the top 10 list of hardest things I’ve ever done, maybe even the top 5. I helped make the decision to have Meshach put down, our Great Dane of almost 10 years. While it was absolutely the right decision, even that knowledge doesn’t take away the incredible pain of losing a “family member.” As I have reflected on that moment over the last 24 hours, the Holy Spirit has continued to encourage me with two Biblical truths:  death is an enemy that will die one day, and on that day, all of creation, including animals, will be fully restored.

This beautiful prophetic passage from Isaiah points powerfully to the fullness of the Trinity in both the coming Messiah and the coming Kingdom. Yahweh speaks to the prophet and exhorts him to declare the coming Messiah who will have the sevenfold Spirit resting upon Him — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not only that, but Isaiah paints a vivid portrait of that eternal Kingdom coming to earth, where “nothing will harm nor hurt on all My holy mountain.” Amen!

Riddle me this: I turn 61 on Sunday but 28 on Saturday. How is this possible? If you know me at all, you already know the answer. Almost three decades later, I cannot help but tear up with emotion as I think about the reality of me being born again, all by God’s great grace, love, and power.

Praise the Father for His desire that I be saved. Praise the Son for His finished work on the cross that provides the way of my salvation. And praise the Spirit for His applying the blood to my sin nature and living within me to seal my salvation.

On this Good Friday edition of The Person and the Power podcast, we take a look at the incredible nuances found in the Jewish understanding of Passover and the sacrifices of the lambs. The more we understand deeper revelation, the more we see the jaw-dropping connections between Jesus and the Jewish people, and the more we shake our heads and ask, “How did they miss Him?”