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If you are in a totally dark room it can cause you to trip or run into things and it can be hard to know which way to go. Being in the dark can lead to feelings of confusion, hopelessness, powerlessness, and darkness can also feel very heavy. However, when we are in the light it is easy to see things that were causing us to stumble and which way to go. 

In Isaiah 61, Jesus said that part of what he came to do was proclaim freedom for captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.

Colossians 1:12-14 says... giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus has released us from the darkness and transferred us into the light because of the forgiveness of sins. But, part of living in the light is learning to rece...

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In 2 John it says...It gives me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

I believe it gives God great joy when we walk in the truth. Notice that walking in the truth and walking in love are one and the same. To walk means that we are actively putting into practice the things we know to do. 

In John 17:17 Jesus prays for his disciples to be sanctified by the truth, and he says God's word is truth.

And in John 8:31-32 Jesus says "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

As we take communion today let it be a reminder to walk in the truth and love. When we do it sets us...

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The other day one of our partners in the Abundant Life Blueprint sent me a YouTube video of the Brooklyn Tabernacle singing Psalms 34. As I was watching the video the words..."Magnify the Lord and exalt his name," seemed to stand out. After this I researched the word magnify. To magnify is to make something bigger, but in the Hebrew the word for magnify is...Gadal. 

Gadal means to make great. It can also mean to praise. We can magnify God and make him bigger than all of the troubles of life. But, I think there is more. In the Abundant Life Blueprint we talk about making other people great, and this is supposed to include God. God is already great but our lives can magnify him and make his name great. As he works through us and we give him the praise it magnifies his name. 

Thinking of the word magnify reminded me of when I was a kid. Every time I got a new baseball glove by dad would engrave my name or initials onto the glove with a magnifying glass. We would go ...

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What's your pattern when challenges come your way? Do you get discouraged, quit, and/or shy away from them? Or do you embrace them and persist through them?

July is a reminder of God's favor on our lives. His favor produces opportunities, but these new opportunities often come with some work and challenges on the other side. When God's favor opens a door it means you are ready for these new challenges. Whatever is on the other side he has more than likely already trained and prepared you for. We can meet these challenges with confidence because God is more than enough. 

God made us to be overcomers and more than conquerors but this means there are going to be some challenges to overcome. God often puts us in situations that are disordered or challenging with the expectation that we can overcome by his power working within us. 

In July some challenges may come your way. This may be new opportunities that require learning or doing something new or it may be some o...

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God has a plan for each of our lives but he gives us the choice to do our own thing or to walk out his plan. His plan is designed to be walked out in partnership with him, which means it may look impossible. As we walk out his plan it won't always take the path we expected and this is where it's important to trust in the plan.

God is leading us to a spacious beautiful place but the path is often curved. It may seem like it is going the wrong direction for a while, but it is the better path. The curved path is gentler and gives us time to prepare for where God is leading us. The curved path also accelerates up very quickly when we get close to the goal. But, when you are in the middle of the curve it's important to keep trusting. 

Confidence is one of the highest expression of trust. Confidence and boldness is the state where all doubt is removed. Often as we execute the things we know to do there are some doubts that are holding us back. The goal is to execute th...

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In Psalm 139:16 David says that all of the days ordained for him were written in God's book before they ever came to be.

1 Timothy 1:9 says God saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before time began.

Psalm 40:7 and Hebrews 10:7 say that it was written about Jesus in the scroll of the book and he delights or desires to do God's will. 

Based on these scriptures I believe God has written a book about each one of us and we have the opportunity to walk out what he wrote about our lives. But, he does give us the choice to go our own way or to delight in following what he wrote about us.

In life we are all faced with decisions and something I have started doing when making decisions is to ask God... Did you write this about me? If it is something he wrote about my life then I want to walk in it because his plan is the best one for our lives. If it is not something ...

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The other day I read an article about Netflix firing some key executives because of venting about co-workers and leaders in an online chat. Venting and gossiping about others is a really bad habit that I believe God hates. It's choosing to focus on the darkness and what is wrong rather than giving other people the same grace God has given us. In my own experience anytime I have vented to God about other people he always stops me and turns it back around on me. His answer is always the same... Give them the same grace I have given you.

If someone really needs to change venting doesn't help. Only grace makes people want to change. Venting about frustrations is choosing to live in the past and focus on darkness.  Love assumes the best about people and keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13). The Bible clearly says it is better to be wronged than to be offended. 

Our goal in the Abundant Life Blueprint is to make other people great and it requires breaking any p...

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Here is today's communion meditation.

For a while my youngest daughter was getting car sick every time we went on a trip. Recently we were driving and I found myself looking back at her every couple of minutes to check on her. It was stealing my peace because I was more focused on the problem rather than on God being with us. After praying about it one day I felt God was saying to rub olive oil behind her earlobes before going on a car trip. After hearing this we also received some confirmation from a pediatrician friend of ours who mentioned that there is an oil she has used for kids that is rubbed behind the ears. 

The other day we were preparing to take a short but curvy car trip so I rubbed the olive oil on her earlobes and it reminded me of the power of a point of contact. Often it's important to have something physical that we can release our faith into. It bridges the gap and brings God's grace and power into the physical world. The olive oil became that f...

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While writing 7 Dates With Jesus there was a day when God began to teach me about his favor. His favor surrounds us like a shield and is on us for a lifetime. While writing I felt God was prompting me to record the date and it was July 19th. Every year since then he has reminded me of his favor on July 19th, which is today. 

God has given us his favor as a free gift but just like any other gift we could choose not to receive it or just let it sit in the closet unused. God's favor is something we can grow in. Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man. To have favor with someone means opportunities. God can open doors and create opportunities that nobody else can. 

Here are some ways to grow in this favor God has given us. 

First it must be received by faith and one of the greatest expressions of faith is gratitude. Start thanking God for his favor regularly. Two other keys to receiving his favor are righteousness and humility. Favor comes as a gif...

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Sometimes when a verse stands out in the Bible I will look it up in several versions. One of my favorites to look at is the MSG version because it's easy to read and sometimes it gives a different way of thinking of the verse. 

Proverbs 10:10 MSG that has helped me many times. It says... An open face to face meeting results in peace. If there is ever a relationship that is lacking in peace an open face to face meeting when approached with humility always seems to clear the air. 

This morning Proverbs 10:27 also seemed to jump out as well... Fear of God expands your life; a wicked life is a puny life.

July is a reminder that God wants to expand our lives. The AMP version of this verse says... The [reverent] fear of the Lord [worshiping, obeying, serving, and trusting Him with awe-filled respect] prolongs one’s life,

Here is all of Proverbs 10 from the MSG version. For today's communion let's take a few minutes to meditate on this chapter. 

The Wise Sayings of S...