Luke 19:37-40 – Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your...

I get asked all the time if Elevation is all about the numbers. Let me just clarify something: Our church is all about the numbers. The number of lives that Jesus can permeate and penetrate with the gospel. The number of marriages that can be restored. The number of teenagers following the Lord. The number of depressed people that can find hope in Jesus. The number of dads who don’t give their kids any attention who will learn to order...

Then the LORD ordered him, “Go with all your great strength and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I myself am sending you.” Judges 6:14 (TEV) Think about this the next time you insist on perfect conditions before you’ll get started on God’s plan – Gideon, a mighty warrior and judge in the Old Testament, was the least member of the weakest clan in the tribe of Manasseh. His job was the tedious threshing of wheat, a process where...

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (NIV) The enemy’s great lie is that we must remain separate from the Father. Satan may use a false form of guilt to trick us into thinking we’re unworthy to be God’s child, or he may convince us that we have to act independent of God. His use of smoke and mirrors splits us off from the reality of our connectedness...

“I will climb up into my watchtower…” Habakkuk 2:1 (NLT) If we want to fulfill God’s vision for our lives, we must continually hear from God. We must believe that hearing from God daily is a requirement for us as we move forward toward our destiny. It is not just a nice add-on to our lives; it is a necessity for fulfilling our destiny. The Prophet Habakkuk says, “I will climb into my watchtower ….” This is his way of saying;...

“…I will station myself…” Habakkuk 2:1 (NIV)   If you want to get God’s vision for you life, you must want to hear it, you must withdraw to hear it, and then you must wait to hear it. To get God’s dream for my life, for my career, for my family, for my relationships, I’ve got to withdraw and then wait to hear from God. The New International Version says, “…I will station myself…” (NIV) What does it mean to station...

“I will look to see what he will say to me ….” Habakkuk 2:1c (NIV)   God’s voice is often visual. If we want to hear from God, we must learn to listen with our eyes. God will often answer your prayers by giving you a mental picture. This is what it means to have a vision. In fact, the Bible has hundreds and hundreds of examples of God putting a picture or an image in the mind of a person. Sometimes it’s called a vision;...

“The Lord gave me this answer, ‘Write down clearly…what I reveal to you…’” Habakkuk 2:2 (TEV) Let’s review.  If I want to hear God speak to me, the first thing I do is I want it. I say, ‘God, I want you to speak to me. Hearing from you is not just nice, it is a necessity!’ And then I withdraw and get alone and get quiet: “Be still and know that I am God.” And then I wait quietly, patiently, and expectantly on...

“O Lord, now I have heard your report, and I worship you in awe…” Habakkuk 3:2 (LB) For the past few days, we’ve been looking at how to hear from God when we pray. One final point that is critically important is this: If you want to hear God speak, then worship God. In other words, thank him for being a part of your life and for being interested in the details of your life. Thank him for answering your prayers: “O Lord, now I have...

My heart is not proud . . . I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother. . . . O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore. Psalm 131:1–3 (NIV) Psalm 131 teaches us to – Keep our hearts humble. A humble heart means we know our position in Christ, and so we stop being responsible for the things of...

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. – Proverbs 9:10 What if wisdom were not a body of facts but a relationship? As children of the Enlightenment, we tend to want enough data in order to make a logical decision, but according to Scripture, wisdom has a foundation in the fear of the Lord. This kind of fear is different than what we often think of. This fear is a reverence and...

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day....

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)   Hi! I got your note saying you don’t think you can do what God is telling you to do during this next decade. You may be surprised to hear me say this, but I agree! If God called you to do it, then you...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “The earth was formless and empty…and God said, Let there be light” (Genesis 1:2–3, NIV) TODAY’S WORD Do you need a miracle in your life for something that seems impossible? With man it may be, but we serve the all-powerful God, and He can create something out of nothing! He can make a way when there seems to be no way and open doors that seemed closed forever! Genesis tells us that in the beginning, God...

Many times I have said to friends and viewers of LIFE Today, “If you want your prayers answered, seek to be an answer to someone else’s prayer!” As Betty and I have supported other missions and ministry endeavors all over the world, we have seen the things we were able to do or provide come as a direct answer to someone’s prayer, not just a need met. When we give attention to the concerns of our Father and hear the heart’s ...

Go with me for a moment to witness what was perhaps the foggiest night in history. The scene is very simple; you’ll recognize it quickly. A grove of twisted olive trees. Ground cluttered with large rocks. A low stone fence. A dark, dark night. Now, look into the picture. Look closely through the shadowy foliage. See that person? See that solitary figure? What’s he doing? Flat on the ground. Face stained with dirt and tears. Fists...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “I will be glad and rejoice in Your unfailing love, for You have seen my troubles, and You care about the anguish of my soul” (Psalm 31:7, NLT) TODAY’S WORD God sees and cares about everything that happens in your life. He’s seen every wrong that’s been done to you. He’s seen every unfair situation. He told the people of Israel, “I have seen your affliction. I have seen how badly you were treated those 430...

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6 (NIV) You learn to trust God by obeying him in small ways. At this point in relationship with Jesus, you no doubt agree God is the supreme ruler of the universe, powerful enough to overcome any problem or defeat any enemy, that “everything comes from him; everything happens through him; everything ends up in him.” (Romans 11:36...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “…We went through fire and flood, but You brought us to a place of abundance” (Psalm 66:12, NLT) TODAY’S WORD In scripture, three Hebrew teenagers, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were told to bow down to the king’s idol or they would be thrown into a fiery furnace. They said, “No, King. We’re not going to bow down. We know our God will deliver us.” Their attitude was, “We’re not worried about...

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 2 Corinthians 3:5 (NIV) The only way you will fulfill God’s destiny for you this decade is to rely on God’s strength. And that means you have to confess ‘I can’t’ before you can agree ‘God can.’ Otherwise, we’ll just keep thinking there’s still some ability (competency, sufficiency) in us that will allow us –...