In the storied history of humanity, two forces stand out as the most powerful and influential: love and fear. These two emotions shape our decisions, our relationships, and our very existence. They are the very foundations of two biblical “kingdoms”, the kingdom of heaven that is based on a foundation of love, and the kingdom of this world, based on a foundation of fear.

Love is the most potent force in the universe.  Love is God Himself.  Love is the power to heal, to inspire, and to bring people together.  When we are affected by love, we are at our best. We are confident and at peace. We sense that inner rightness of  living from our true authentic self.  We are in harmony with God, with all of His creation, and with ourselves.

Lately it has become clear to me that there is something that is largely missing in our world. It is something that comes from God. There are more Christians than any other type of religious belief, so you would think that this element of God would be abounding, but it is clearly not abounding in the world at this time. Maybe it is because it is something that we just don’t care a lot about. Or maybe we are just unaware of it. 

I’m talking about understanding. Understanding is a quality of God’s spirit that lives within us. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, (Isaiah 11:2, NKVJ). There seems to be a big void of understanding. We simply don’t understand each other. We have increased polarity in our politics. People are angry at their neighbors. And even families can’t be together at holidays because of disagreements. What we need is understanding. 

Why do we write blogs like this one, travel away from home every month just to speak about the unconditional love and goodness of God? Why do we minister and pray for those we come into contact with? Why do we gather with others, host a podcast, share videos and write books?

Good question!

The answer is that it's all because of “grace”.  We’ve discovered something beautiful, wonderful, and soul-prospering in the goodness of God’s heart. Love is what heals and nurtures the human soul, and the perfect Love comes straight from our very own heavenly Father.

When you get into a revelation of Grace, you are getting into an exploration about the bigness and goodness of God in ways that you’ve never seen before. You’re not so concerned with dogma as you are about the beauty of a wonderful, loving relationship with the Father. 

As we grow, we realize that nobody is an expert on God because He is much too big to be confined inside anyone’s intellect. This is an exciting truth! 

A lot of times, you will hear of "signs and wonders" being advertised in a ministry. It is usually referring to physical healings and prayers where people respond in unusual ways.  It may also be accompanied by a corporate feeling of the presence of God. I'm not going to trash any of these things, but I would like to talk about another sign and wonder, one that is on display every day for the world to see.

"Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! We are for signs and wonders." ~ Isaiah 8:18

There is saying I hear sometimes that means a lot to me. It is "Jesus didn't come to change the Father's mind about me. He came to change my mind about the Father."

Wow. How I needed a mind-change!

In my mind (before I had ever turned to God), He was punitive. He was vengeful. He demanded that I strive for a standard of perfection that was too high for me.  I turned to Him anyway, because I believed He could get me off of drugs and give me a reprieve from hell.

But He was better than I thought He was. 

The idea of a God who is a separate, aloof, solitary being is done away with in Christ. Jesus reveals a Father to us, a Father that He has always known, a Father that has always been loving and in love. Separation between God and man is a big lie. If we believe that lie, we suffer from the feelings of separation (of an existence not connected to God). 

Most religions of the world strive to make a connection with God, but Jesus reveals there is no reason for striving because our union with God is a simple fact. There is no place we can go to be apart from God, for He encompasses all things. 

Today I am thinking about the bigness and beauty of God and how my own mind cannot surround it, nor can anyone else’s. This means that in all of our respective journeys, we can have many different perspectives about this God in whom we mutually believe. It also means that my destiny is not to come to the place where I conform to what another believes. And another’s destiny is not to come to what I believe. We are all learning about this bigness and beauty and we are headed towards this same celebration. 

Do you remember when the Apostle Paul had an issue that needed to be fixed? He kept asking God for the fix; and the answer that he received was, “My Grace is sufficient for you.” Or another way of saying it is: “Paul, I will sit with you.”

And while that might not seem like much consolation to some, Paul got it. The light turned on inside him. We can see that his cry for help turned into excitement, peace and a comfort that seemed to be more than enough. He boldly declared with this reality that his insufficiencies no longer mattered because God was there. In whatever weakness he felt or distressful situation he was facing, he was empowered with the knowledge that God was with him. That he and God could sit in this trouble together. And all would be well. 

What do you do when you have been kind and gracious to someone, and they are not kind to you  What about that loved one who needs to change their ways, yet they seem to remain unchanged even though you have tried showering them with love?

Everyone knows the verse that says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son..." 

My question is: Does God STILL love the world?

My answer is: Yes. God still loves the whole world.  If He loved us then, "while we were yet sinners", then He loves people now, even those we would say are yet sinners.

Here’s the scene.  The respectable people walk into the dining room and seat themselves around a table of their choice.  This is the table where the wealthy Pharisees and studious scholars will cleverly discuss some of the deep concepts of the Jewish rules.  They smile, enjoying their company of other well-dressed and well-spoken men. They saved a spot for Jesus, as they anticipated a good discussion, and they were prepared with the most complex of questions for this popular man who may or may not be the Messiah.

A rumpled young man came in.  He was seen getting arrested yesterday and had probably slept in those clothes.  He looked at another table, empty.  Not wanting to sit alone, he approached the men.  One of them motioned toward the empty table, telling the young man that he could sit at the other table since they were expecting someone else.

I love Jesus!  I love what happened to us when He came.  I love that He interrupted the old way of existing and the old way of relating to God.

I love the fact that Jesus reconciled us to God, uniting God and man in His own body and being.  And I love that we live in Him, we move in Him, and we have our very being in Him.

We are all wrapped up, hidden In Him, like slipping a dollar bill into a book.  Whatever happens to the book also happens to the dollar.  Set the book next to God, and the dollar is next to God. We are always together.  We are secure, full of life, righteous and holy.

Before I turned to Jesus, I did a lot of selfish things, even wicked things, some harmful to others. Yet the whole time I was precious, valuable and loved by God. I didn’t know who I was. I did not know God or anything at all about abundant life. I was lost. I was blind. So rather than condemn me, torment me, or punish me, God simply opened my eyes. He gave me an eyesight that would begin to heal my heart. God is not about retribution, He is about redemption and restoration. 

Jesus came to seek and save what was lost. 

Mankind had lost its way, lost its vision, its identity, and its purpose of love. Jesus brings us home.

Are we underestimating God?  To me, the obvious answer is yes.  I strongly suspect that God is bigger and better than we can imagine.  Have you thought of that?  Have you ever asked God how good He is, or how much He truly loves you?

Whenever I do that, I come away more amazed.  I feel my heart opening to receive more of His goodness.  I get a deeper sense that all is well with my soul.

I remember being in the sixth grade, walking toward the door of my classroom.  Once inside, I made my way across the room to my seat, which was in the row farthest from the door.  The room was full of kids, some standing, some seated as class would be starting soon.  All was normal and well.  Then I looked down and noticed that I was wearing nothing but my underwear.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son...” ~John 3:16

God loved before He gave.  God did not start loving us after He gave His Son, and He certainly didn't start loving us after we believed it.  God was always loving the people of this world.  That's why the Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of the world.

The cross of Jesus did not change the Father's mind about us.  He loved us.  The Father didn't need a new nature.  He did not need to become nicer, more patient, more merciful, or gracious.  In other words, He didn't need to get saved.

Before God formed you in the womb, He knew you.  You came from the Father, and you were wonderfully made.  You were loved, lovely, and precious, a shining life in this world.

Later, maybe you forgot who you were.  Maybe, there were words or experiences that made you feel flawed, like something was inherently wrong with you.  You might have felt inferior to others at times.  You felt shame, and it was painful.

This is a common tale, and people will often begin to behave from that sense of insufficiency, failure, or weakness. 

Most of us know the biblical story of the demon-possessed man of Gadara.  This man was in horrible shape!  It was so bad that I don't think I know anyone who relates to him.  They might relate to to the adulterer, or the thief, or the presumption and weakness of Peter, but I've not heard anyone say that they relate to this Gadarene.

Here we are, and 2025 is in full swing.  This is our first newsletter of the year, and we are grateful for so much.

First, we are grateful that we get to live in another calendar year.  We’re thankful that God continues and will always be the source of Life for us.  I often say to the Lord, “Thank you for giving and supplying life to me.”  Anything good that comes from our ministry is according to the grace that He supplies.