Leveling up means we are advancing in position, power, purpose, and experience. We are being promoted. God is powerful and purposeful. All authority has been given to Jesus who is exalted over all things. He has bequeathed this status to us. However, He does not empower us just to make us powerful. He empowers us so we can be effective in taking care of each other and accomplishing His goals in this world.

Joshua 1:9 Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. So don’t be afraid. The Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go. When faced with questions and uncertainty, you sometimes doubt your own ability to fend off the forces of fear. However, the Spirit of God resides with you and around you. His protective bubble creates a force field which keeps you safe and unharmed while angel armies fight for you.

Joshua 1:6 So be strong and courageous, for you will lead these people. While it is true that there is strength in numbers, there is another type of strength which is required when you must stand alone. Your path is not always the one of least resistance. You are often led across barren deserts and through dense forests. These are times that try your soul and require strength beyond any human support system.

As far back as we could remember, we felt different, damaged, and just plain wrong. We did not know exactly what was wrong with us. We only knew that we felt more intensely than others and we processed our problems with great difficulty. We obsessively examined ourselves, looking for clues to solve the mystery and to find a key which would unlock some invisible door into normalcy.

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As far back as we could remember, we felt different, damaged, and just plain wrong. We did not know exactly what was wrong with us. We only knew that we felt things more intensely than others and we processed our problems with great difficulty. We obsessively examined ourselves, looking for clues to solve the mystery and find a key to unlock some invisible door which kept us perched precariously on the outside edge of normalcy.

Have you ever felt stuck? I don’t mean stuck in prison, stuck in a ditch, or stuck in the mud or snow. I also don’t mean stuck in an unfulfilling relationship, stuck in a job, or stuck with your kids. The kind of stuck I’m talking about has to do with feelings of despair, dysfunctional behaviors, addiction, or anything else that impacts your life negatively, leaving you feeling hopeless about getting unstuck.

Happy Birthday 12/28 Mark 12:28 One of the teachers of the law came to Jesus. He saw that Jesus gave good answers to their questions, so he asked Jesus, “Which of the commands is most important?” You recognize the clues to your destiny which come to you from Jesus. Your imagination is the canvass on which He paints the portrait of your future. 

Addiction is stealing the lives and destinies of so many of God’s children who can’t find their way out.  Many good people suffer in silence from the effects of this deadly disease. We were addicted to drugs and alcohol for many years. The disease tried to kill us, and we thought there was no hope. We finally hit rock bottom (incarceration) and found a word that would change our lives forever: Tetelestai.

Tetelestai is recorded in the original Greek text describing what Jesus said from the cross in His final moments of mortality. The English translation, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), is the basis for this program. We believe that Jesus’ words hold miraculous power. We speak these words into our own lives and into the lives of others. We are confident that a spiritual principle is set in play when our statements come into alignment with the words of God.

Hebrews 12:12So take a new grip with your tired hands. Stand firm on your shaky legs. While it is true that there is strength in numbers, there is another type of strength which is required when you must stand alone. Your path is not always the one of least resistance. You are often led across barren deserts and through dense forests.

When we pull away from relationships because the emotional cost is too great, we feel like a bad person. We want to follow the leadership of Jesus. We want to be the kind of person who turns the other cheek and goes the extra mile. But being that person takes its toll on our sense of well-being. Our trust turns into suspicion.

Happy Birthday 12/10 Ecclesiastes 12:10 The teacher looked for just the right words. He wrote teachings that are dependable and true. You are a gifted teacher. You are able to transform thoughts and ideas into clear, concise phrases which are easy to understand. This makes you an amazing communicator. Whether you are aware of it or not, there are many people who learn from you.

Happy Birthday 12/6 Romans 12:6 We all have different gifts. Each gift came because of the grace that God gave us. God has given you a very unique and important gift. You have a remarkable level of patience when it comes to the artistic expressions found in puzzles, mosaics, and other unique configurations. You enjoy finding fractured images in piles of scattered pieces of varying hues.

Tetelestai is recorded in the original Greek text describing what Jesus said from the cross in His final moments of mortality. The English translation, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), is the basis for this program. We believe that Jesus’ words hold miraculous power. We speak these words into our own lives and into the lives of others. We are confident that a spiritual principle is set in play when our statements come into alignment with the words of God.

Tetelestai is recorded in the original Greek text describing what Jesus said from the cross in His final moments of mortality. The English translation, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), is the basis for this program. We believe that Jesus’ words hold miraculous power. We speak these words into our own lives and into the lives of others. We are confident that a spiritual principle is set in play when our statements come into alignment with the words of God.

Happy Birthday 12/5 Proverbs 12:5 The plans that good people make are fair. But the advice of the wicked is deceitful. Your gift of discernment serves you well as a protective force field in your service to God. You can practice compassion and fairness when dealing with those who have learned unhealthy defense strategies. You are able to successfully participate in ministry outreach programs where a less discerning person might fall victim to scammers and schemers.

Proverbs 12:3Doing evil brings a person no safety at all.But a good person has safety and security. The Spirit of God’s goodness resides within you and around you. This creates a protective force-field of safety and security. As you encounter the icy chill of societal norms, that applaud greed, aggression, and ego, you are warmed from within by the Spirit’s flame.

Genesis 12:2I will bless you. I will make you famous and you will be a blessing to others. Having been blessed by God, you are empowered to succeed. The fear of failure may occasionally drift through your thoughts when you take on a project that you feel inadequate to manage, but knowing that you have been empowered to succeed by the Creator of the Universe, you set aside fearful feelings, and face each challenge head-on.

Genesis 12:1Then the Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you. Following God is not always easy, but you are convinced that is the only way to real life and true joy. As a follower, you are attentive to the One who is leading. You wait eagerly for His signals which indicate the need to slow down, speed up, or make a turn.

If you have a coupon you wish to redeem at the grocery store, you are trading a worthless slip of paper for its cash value from the manufacturer. In other words, the real value of the coupon didn’t exist until it was redeemed. We are not defined by our history, we are remade and redeemed by it. Our true value is revealed through redemption.

In the book of Revelation, chapter 8, there is a direct link between the victory of God during the final days, and the prayers we pray. Billions of prayers are heard and stored up in heaven. It is proclaimed that the victory of God is coming, and it is coming through the prayers of God’s people. So, the question is not whether our prayers are heard and/or answered, but rather, DO WE UNDERSTAND the answers?

In Thessalonians 5:18, we are instructed to give thanks in all circumstances because this is the will of God for us. The writer is not saying that we should thank God FOR everything, but IN everything. Evil does not come from God, so we don’t thank Him for that, but we can thank Him for His presence during that evil, AND for the GOOD He will accomplish through the distress.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this the will of God concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 As we prepare for the holiday of Thanksgiving, with all of the planning to gather with family, friends, and loved ones, we get anxious, don’t we? We often worry about shopping, cooking, relationship challenges, or maybe how past holidays turned out. These are legitimate reservations that we need to listen to, but also realize that we can be thankful for these feelings.

As part of an ongoing prison ministry at Lansing Correctional Facility behind the razor wire, we discussed Tetelestai (It is finished) with the inmates. Together, we explored the truth and finality of the power of Jesus’ words which delivered complete healing, grace, and forgiveness to all of mankind. Not only did it call an end to addiction, dysfunction, and criminal behaviors, but it created a starting point for the beginning of something new, powerful, and unexpected.