We are followers of Jesus.

This is the shortened version of a document by the same name I put in the ‘pages’ section of this blog. Shortened, but not short. I want everyone who reads this post to know that Jesus loves them with a love beyond words. Our proper response is to love Him back wholeheartedly, not because we have to, but because there is no better place to live than in an intimate, loving relationship with our Savior.

A friend gave me this story a few days ago. It had no author, but I think it is a great story for Christmas day. My guess it has been around for a long time, copied, and distributed many times. You may have even read it. It touched my heart so I thought I would post it to my blog. I have no idea if it is a true story, but I hope it is, especially because my Mom was a 5^th grade teacher. And if it isn’t strictly true, I am sure that many, many elementary school teachers would recognize themselves in this story. Perhaps you recognize a ‘Mrs. Thompson’ in your own life. Here is the story of Mrs. Thompson and a boy named Teddy:

My favorite Christmas song is “O Holy Night”. I have a CD version sung by the choir at my former church in Houston, with a solo performed by John Drury. It is amazing! I woke up early the other morning with the words, “Behold your King” running over and over in my mind – part of a verse in O Holy Night:

Christmas 2019 is almost here. Another year is coming to an end. It is hard to believe. The older I get, the more I am becoming aware that each day is precious. Am I letting them slip by too fast; do I take my day-to-day life for granted? Am I allowing myself to be carried along each day by busyness? Do I make the main thing the main thing? And what is the main thing? Relationships are the main thing, at least for me. My wife, my children and their spouses, my grandchildren (of course), friends, people I pray with, men that I mentor, members of my church, and even people I randomly meet in the store or on the street. These are all important. But, for me, the most important relationship is with Jesus. He is alive in my life; the foundation on which all other relationships rest. He is my hope, joy, peace, and strength. It is not my joy or peace. It is the joy and peace of Jesus in me that makes my life full.

This is Thanksgiving week in America. On Thursday families all over this country gather together, share a big meal, and give thanks for the past year. It became a national holiday in 1863, during the American Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln designated the 4th Thursday in November as a day for the country to give thanks to God. America was two years into a brutal war that had seen many battles, the worst of which was the battle of Gettysburg that year, in which there were more than 50,000 casualties in three days! A lot of families, on both sides of the conflict, were mourning that Thanksgiving.

Christianity is growing rapidly in places in the world where the Church is being persecuted, and falling asleep in places where it is not. China and Iran are two places where, in spite of state-sponsored persecution, the Church of Jesus Christ is rapidly growing. Iran? Really? Yes. According to the YouTube video “Sheep Among Wolves, volume 2” Islam in Iran is dead and Christianity is exploding. The video is long – 1:53 hours long. But it moved and inspired me.

David Tripp, Pastor of One Living Church in Houston, and I traveled to three churches in Brazil to teach emotional and physical healing, and spiritual deliverance earlier this month. We saw about 36 people get amazing, transformational emotional healing; what Jesus called healing broken hearts. We saw spiritual deliverance for many as Jesus cast out demons, broke curses, and set people free from occultic oppression. And we saw about 40 to 50 people healed physically.

This morning as I sat in my chair to pray, I felt prompted to read Isaiah 50. I know I have read the chapter before, but I was surprised at what I found. It was if I was reading these verses for the first time. Here are the relevant passages:

This post is the substance of a talk I recently gave about drawing close to God’s heart; it was part of a lecture series on the Holy Spirit. Some of this post has been presented in previous posts on repentance, but this is also about entering more deeply into the heart of God.