The three wise men were the wisest men of their time. Discovering that the Messiah was to be born, they organized an expedition to find Him. They followed His star that led them to Bethlehem, and they pursued until they found Him, worshiped Him, and honored Him with gifts. How could we do any less? We, too, need to: Acknowledge Him as the Messiah / Pursue Him until we find Him / Worship Him / Honor Him with gifts. Time, talent, energy and finances are due His wonderful, beautiful name.

In Luke Chapter 2, Luke describes the angelic annunciation of the birth of the Savior of the world. It did not come to important dignitaries or kings, but to shepherds tending their flocks in the middle of the night.There is a reason why the angel came to these particular shepherds. God is still announcing His gift and plan for all mankind. He is still calling all to come and behold Him!

His Mission Statement Jesus quotes Isaiah 61, and declares His mission statement. He begins to reveal that God was restoring His original intent to His children. He always had a plan to restore the order that was in the Garden of Eden. Freedom. Authority. Wholeness. Sonship. Can you hear the trumpet of Jubilee?

God chose to partner with you to change people's lives. As you recognize the power of this partnership, you are able to stop living little. What He has asked of you may seem small or it may seem overwhelming, but you will never talk Him out of what is on His heart. It is time to GO BIG!

God has called each one of us, but He doesn't just call us so that we can go for Him. He wants us to go as a person changed by such an encounter of seeing Him in His holiness that holiness becomes a part of who we are. Isaiah walked through this process and became a voice to the nation as a result. Isaiah had to SEE what he needed to see so that God could BE who he needed to be.

The times we are living in look much like it did in the prophet Ezekiel’s time, when God took him to the valley of dry bones, where the army of God was dead and dry. Our God is Sovereign. And though He can do whatever He wants, He chooses to partner with man, even when man does not deserve it. He is causing us to realize who we are and whose we are. We are His people and He is our God. And when you begin to respond to what He is doing in you, things are going to align themselves for your benefit and for the benefit of the Church, and cities and nations!

As you learn to trust God on another level, you will realize your steps are ordered and you will find yourself obeying without even realizing the higher thing God has going on in the background. Noah is a perfect example, and thanks to his obedience, we all benefit from the covenant that God made with him!

Those who make a difference have three common ingredients: truth, passion and reflex obedience. Jesus was TRUTH. Passion was the ingredient that caused Him to come to earth. Reflex obedience enabled Him to lay down His life. Passion will still be the ingredient that always causes His presence to come. And when He is here, and you are embraced by His love, you will want to be just like Him. Just like many who turned the world upside-down, and just like those who are making a difference today! Do you have what it takes to make a difference?

We have experienced a powerful hurricane. It was a storm in the natural that produced a storm inside the hearts and minds of many. We know that Jesus is with us, but what do you do when fear comes? What is your faith level in your storm? Learn, as the disciples did, on the Sea of Galilee, to walk in a new level of peace today and bring His peace and love to others.

Like Nehemiah, have you been made aware of the hurting people in our midst? The assault against the people of God? Against the innocents? Here in this place, and all over the world? Are you ready to get past what the news says, and what others have come into agreement with the enemy about? Are you ready to repent and go back to realizing that our sons and our daughters, and our grandkids and our spouses, and our city and our nation are worth fighting for again? Are you ready to fight? Nehemiah is a beautiful example of how one individual can make a difference. It must be God’s way – first in the spirit. That is where it is won. It will take commitment to pray, correctly, in faith, and in unity with one another.