If we step back and look critically at Joseph's entire life, the time he spent in the pit seems a rather small inconvenience compared to fantastic experience of living in the palace of Egypt. The pit was simply not the end of Joseph's story. Oftentimes we can get bogged down in the moment and forget that our story is not finished.

Our “prayer closet” of Matthew 6:6 will be a place where we experience change; it's where we go to remove the soiled rags of this life and be clothed in His righteous image and His spiritual armor. We exchange clothes of fear for the shield of faith, the clothes of confusion for the helmet of salvation, and the clothes of hurt and shame for the breastplate of righteousness.

What many people don't realize is that God also has a set learning path that we believers must take on the journey toward our own “promised land.” I’m not talking about a liberal arts education, but a season of preparation in the School of the Spirit which every believer eventually experiences.

As Jesus was preparing to leave this earth, He promised to send them (and us!) the Holy Spirit, that Someone who could be ever-present help to each and every believer, no matter where they were, or what they needed in life.

Paul was not boasting, rather he was trying to protect new Christians who were being led astray from the faith by some false apostles. In doing so he gives us some tremendous insight into the Christian grind. While we might not have the same kind of world-changing ministry of Paul, we all have a ministry of reconciliation, and can learn three specific lessons from Paul's experience, to strengthen and encourage us to get through!

“And He is the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18).

The past two years have truly been a time of testing and stretching for the church of God. Congregations which had not previously developed an online presence and a skilled production team found themselves at the beginning of lockdown scrambling to keep connected to their church members over the internet.

Clearly, some were more successful adapting to the “pandemic normal” than others. As people hunkered at home and fear gripped the nations, unchurched people turned to God in record numbers. Online churches in general saw tremendous growth in viewership and commitments to Christ. It has been a heady experience for ministers seeing such ministerial growth. And yet, as the regulations have relaxed and people are free to move about the country again, all those numbers of online viewers have yet to become “bottoms in seats.” Even members who were quite faithful attenders before 2020 have been hesitant to return in 2022.

But Church, it is now past time for the Body of Christ to shake off their “lockdown” mentality, leave behind the bad habit of not gathering in person, shake off the bondage of fear, and get reconnected to their local congregation.

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The so-called “Ice Bowl” of 1967 was a Super Bowl game played in Wisconsin in a temperature of -15F, with a wind chill of -48F. This was truly a game which tested the mettle of the men on a frozen gridiron, and it showed us what true champions look like.

This Hebrew word, Rapha, is used sixty times in the Old Testament, and it means to “restore, to heal, to cure and to repair.” For example, in 1 Kings 18:30 says Elijah, “repaired (raphe) the altar of Jehovah.” Meaning, he brought the altar back to its original state. God calls Himself Jehovah Rapha, and He wants to restore, heal, cure and repair us too!

What makes her story one of victory instead of defeat is the fact that her desperation fueled her tenacity, which ignited her faith. And even though we are never told her name, she stands for all time as an example of how we too, can “stop the bleeding” in our lives caused by our chronic, destructive issues.

Have you ever traveled down a “broken road”? That is, has your journey in life ever been detoured by the disappointment of unmet expectations, poor choices, abuse or addictions? I'm sure we all have, because the truth is, life is filled with broken roads. It's rarely a linear journey from point A to point B, and the reality we experience rarely matches what we have envisioned. Life is simply filled with pot holes, detours, stop signs and dark alleys.

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There are so many traditions at Christmas time, from picking out a fresh tree, hanging lights and decorations, baking cookies and drinking hot chocolate, to Christmas movie marathons and going to grandma's house for dinner. All of these make our homes special at Christmas time.

But nothing compares to the Christmas Story, the Gospel account of when God became one of us, wrapped Himself in human skin and appeared to us as a baby.

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’ But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.’ Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.’ Then Mary said, ‘Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her” (Luke 1:26-38).

He came not as warrior or a conqueror, but as a baby, to show us that He didn’t come to scare us but to save us.

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We all face bad situations in which nothing we do seems to make any difference and hopelessness fills our hearts. It’s at times like this that we understand only a miracle will do – only the supernatural, divine intervention of Almighty God will get us out of such an awful mess.

But not just any god.

God offers a different kind of hope than the hope people often latch onto. It is bold, daring, original, and supernatural! Whenever we judge a situation or a person to be “hopeless,” we are slamming the door in the face of God, ignoring His unmatched ability to bring hope and a future into a situation, regardless of what the circumstances look like in the natural.

When we say “Thank You,” we are really saying to Him, “I realize that I’m nothing without You, that all I have and all I hope to be comes from Your gracious hand. I recognize that You are my source of strength, my source of hope, my source of provision, my source of power, my source of joy, my source of peace, my source of life!” Thank you, Lord! The more you say it, the closer to God you feel.