​Did you know that there is an entire month on the Hebrew calendar that focuses on righteousness? It is the month we are in now. Its name, Shevat, is symbolized by the Hebrew alphabetic letter TZADIK that symbolizes "the Righteous One." This is the month to make righteousness your foundation. Why is this so important? The Bible is filled with verses about righteousness, however, just reading the book of Proverbs and learning what it says about the fruit of righteousness should be enough to make us want to pursue it. I have selected a few of these Scriptures to share with you.
 
Proverbs 10:6 -      "Blessings crown the head of the righteous..."
Proverbs 10:16 -    "The wages of the righteous are life..."
Proverbs 10:21 -    "The lips of the righteous nourish many..."
Proverbs 10:24 -     "...what the righteous desire will be granted..."
Proverbs 11:8 -       "The righteous person is rescued from trouble..."
Proverbs 12:3 -       "...the righteous cannot be uprooted."
Proverbs 12:7 -       "...the house of the righteous stands firm."
Proverbs 13:21 -     "...the righteous are rewarded with good things."
Proverbs 14:34 -     "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people."
 
Righteousness means to be in "right standing" with God. Matthew 5:6 tells us, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Because righteousness involves being in right relationship with God and allowing ourselves to be conformed to His image, it is the key to our happiness and well-being. Yet, this righteousness is impossible for us to achieve as it is a gift from God that comes only through faith in His Son. Perhaps this is why one of God's names is Yahweh Tsidkenu--"the Lord Our Righteousness." "'The days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which He will be called:  The Lord Our Righteous Savior.'" (Jeremiah 23:5-6) Jesus came to the earth as The Righteous One to live, die, and be resurrected. As Paul says in Romans 3:21-22, "But now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe."
 
What a gift! You may ask, "How does this happen?" God made us three-part beings with bodies, souls, and spirits. The righteousness of Jesus comes into our spirits after we accept and believe what Jesus did for us on the Cross. This is called being "born again," where God makes a divine exchange with us. "God made Him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21) Here is what is absolutely amazing! When we sin or start a carnal lifestyle, we are still called righteous because it is the soul that transgresses. Our spirits remain ever righteous because the triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) dwells forever in our spirits. As if to confirm this truth, God calls Lot, who was living an ungodly lifestyle in Sodom, a "righteous man" in 2 Peter 2:7-8.
 
So, in this month of righteousness let us pray that our spirits will prevail over our bodies and souls. We can encourage the righteousness that lives in our spirits to manifest as we focus on the goodness of God and meditate on "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable...anything excellent or praiseworthy." (Philippians 4:8) Let us rededicate our lives to Jesus and depend on Holy Spirit to live it out. Let us pray for our nation and the reestablishment of its righteous foundation. And let us sink our roots deep into the soil of righteousness so that we cannot be moved. Embrace this month of righteousness, dear ones, for it is the key to our future.

​Since we entered the 11th month of the Hebrew calendar (called Shevat) on Sunday evening, January 2, I have been thinking about the meaning of the 11th hour. Here are some definitions for this phrase from various dictionaries:  "The latest possible time before it's too late." "Things that happen just in the nick of time." "Getting in just under the wire." and "Last minute." What I learned that is of most interest to me is that the phrase 11th hour has Biblical origins. It comes from the parable found in Matthew 20:1-16.
 
Jesus frequently used parables to convey a message to those around Him when He wanted to open their minds to God's truth and teach them about the Kingdom of Heaven. In His parables, every person and event stood for something else. Thus, these stories of Jesus would be called allegories. Such is the case in The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard found in Matthew 20. In this parable Jesus is clarifying who can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Astute listeners should have understood that entrance into heaven is only through God's grace. God is represented by the landowner in the story, and Believers are represented by the workers.
 
Here are other facts to remember as we look at this parable more closely:  Hired servants would have been engaged by the day and paid at the end of it. The Jewish day went from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Grape harvest usually came in the early fall. It would have been the landowner's desire to get the ripe crop harvested quickly in order to beat any rains that typically came around mid-September. He would engage workers from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. A normal day's wage for the worker was a denarius. Workers customarily stood in the town square until someone hired them, which could have taken place any time during the day.
 
In this parable, a few last-minute or 11th hour workers were paid the same wage as those hired early in the morning. The Bible tells us, "The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner...But he answered one of them, 'I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? So the last will be first, and first will be last.'" (Verses 9-11, 13-16)
 
Consider the following conclusions I have come to from this parable:
 
Those converted early in life should not be jealous of those who come to salvation at the 11th hour. Eternal life is gift from God given generously to all who come to faith in Him. God's grace is extended to all who call upon His name, no matter when.
 
This grace that God gives is applied like His forgiveness. In God's eyes, sin is sin, and we are not judged according to the magnitude of our sin. The shed blood of Christ is applied to murderers and liars, prostitutes and thieves. His amazing grace washes us clean so that Father God sees all of us as completely pure and clean.
 
When there seems to be no hope for a situation in our lives, we should not be discouraged. God's timing and His ways are not ours. The Lord frequently comes to graciously offer us what we need at the 11th hour.
 
Now we are living in God's vineyard. He will give each of us equal opportunities to collaborate with Him in the harvest. No matter how long we labor, all of us will be rewarded with eternal life in heaven. This should be a great encouragement for us. So, "keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life." (Jude 1:20)

​"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6 - NKJ) I could not think of a better Scripture for the New Year! Since God is beyond understanding (Job 36:26) we may wonder why He acts the way He does. Have you ever said, "If I were in charge of running the world, things would be different."? As human beings, we want to see the immediate punishment of those with evil, selfish purposes. But the prophet Isaiah tells the children of Israel that the wicked "turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will freely pardon." (Isaiah 55:7)
 
In Isaiah 55:8-13, the word of the Lord is spoken through the prophet:  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thorn bush will grow the juniper, and instead of the briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord's renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever."
 
When God looks at us, He sees our potential and the way He intended our lives to be. He has good plans for every human being on the face of the earth. In Matthew 18:10-14, Jesus is telling the story of the wandering sheep. He explains that the shepherd will leave the 99 to go look for the one that has wandered off. Then He says, "In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish." (Matthew 18:14) The disciple Peter reminds us that "...With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:8-9) Do you see the lengths that God goes to in order to save everyone?
 
In my opinion, there is no place in the Bible that makes God's long-suffering clearer than in Genesis 15. The Lord is establishing a covenant with Abram, later to be called Abraham. God says, "After four generations your descendants will return here to this land (Canaan) for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction." (NKJ = "for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.") The Amorites, mountaineers in the land of Canaan, were descendants of Ham. They were known as fierce warriors who worshiped false gods. They despised God's goodness and refused to repent. Despite this, the Lord told Abram that He would give them more than 400 years before judgment would fall. One must wonder how God waited so long to enact punishment. Leviticus 18:25 describes the land of Canaan. "The land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants." The bottom line is that God keeps track of the measure of our sin. Everyone is given time for the grace of God to prevail, but there will be a day of reckoning.
 
Here are some encouragements for our new year, 2022, based on the thoughts above:  The God of Israel is the God of all the earth. "He does great things beyond our understanding." (Job 37:5) "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." (Psalm 103:8) "The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made." (Psalm 145:9) "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore, He will rise up and show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!" (Isaiah 30:18) As we launch into the New Year, we must remember that the God of Israel is our God who has a history of love and mercy and compassion for all people. If we trust in, acknowledge, and wait upon Him, we need not fear. He will direct our paths.

​"O come to my heart, Lord Jesus—there is room in my heart for Thee!" This refrain from the song "Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne" (written by Emily Elliott for her father's church, St. Mark's Anglican Church of Brighton, England) gives one the opportunity to personalize their commitment to Jesus. The verses tell the story of the birth, life, death, and victorious return of our Savior. The first four verses use the word "but" to contrast the differences between heaven's actions and earth's response. The final verse rejoices at Christ's return to bring us to His side. He makes room for us at His side as we make room for Him in our hearts.
 
Below are the words to the song. As you read them, pay attention to what comes after the "but."
 
"Though didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown when Thou camest to earth for me; but in Bethlehem's home was there found no room for Thy holy nativity.*
 
Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang, proclaiming Thy royal degree; but of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth, and in great humility.*
 
The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest in the shade of the forest tree; but Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God, in the deserts of Galilee.*
 
Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word that should set Thy people free; but with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn they bore Thee to Calvary.*
 
When the heav'ns shall ring and the angels sing at Thy coming to victory, let Thy voice call me home, saying, 'Yet there is room—there is room at My side for thee,' My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus, when thou comest and callest for me!"*
 
*    "O come to my heart, Lord Jesus—there is room in my heart for Thee!"
 
The world found no room for the Christ child who came in great humility even though He is a king and a priest. He was crucified wearing a crown of thorns, but death could not keep Him down. All of heaven proclaims that one day our Lord will return in victory.
 
Here is what we must consider:  Do we have room for our Savior in our hearts? Last year prophet Shawn Bolz put a beautiful new year prayer on Instagram. The first few sentences are the best, in my opinion. "God, I give you my most precious commodity you have given me this side of eternity. I give you space to create more of Yourself in me. I commit to daily time with you to develop our deep connection. I open my heart to you and listen with hungry ears. I will look for you in my days."
 
As we welcome in the New Year, let's make it our goal to invite the Holy Spirit of Jesus to take more space in our hearts so that we become more like Him. Paul explains how Jesus emptied Himself of His glory in obedience to Father God. "He existed in the form of God, yet He gave no thought to seizing equality with God as His supreme prize. Instead, He emptied Himself of His outward glory by reducing Himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human." (Philippians 2:6-7 - TPT) Consider what Jesus told the Jews who were questioning Him about His testimony. "Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for My Word." (John 8:35-37)
 
The Word is filled with truth, wisdom, and power. The Word is our Lord. What better way to make room in our hearts for Jesus than through spending time in the Word. Jesus is ready to create more of Himself in us when we give Him room to do so. May 2022 be the year when we make more room in our hearts for the Lord!

Shepherd and author Phillip Killer gives us insight into the basic tools of the shepherd in the Middle East. In his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, he shares how he used to watch the African herdsmen tending their sheep with only a "long slender stick and a rough knob-kerrie." (A short stick with a knob at the top) Shepherds in the making take immense pride in selecting their first rod and staff. A young sapling is selected to be carved and whittled down. The enlarged base of the sapling is shaped to fit perfectly in its owner's hand. 
 
Phillip Keller says about the rod: "It is an extension of the owner's own right arm. It stood as a symbol of his strength, his power, his authority in any serious situation. The rod was what he relied on to safeguard both himself and his flock in danger. And it is, furthermore, the instrument he used to discipline and correct any wayward sheep that insisted on wandering away." Remember how Moses was called out of shepherding sheep by God to confront Pharaoh? He used his shepherd's rod to demonstrate the power of God. Miracles were manifest not only to convince Pharaoh of God's purpose for His people but also as a tool of reassurance for them. Ultimately, Moses shepherded God's flock out of Egypt.
 
Psalm 23:4 explains that our Good Shepherd uses His rod and staff to comfort us. Comfort comes as we realize that the rod of God is an extension of the Shepherd. Jesus, our Messiah, the Word of God, is God's rod. Messiah came as the Word of God. This is explained in John 1:1-2 and 14. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us..." As the Rod of God, Jesus is an extension of who God is. This was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. "A shoot (rod) will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him..." (Isaiah 11:1-2)
 
Based on John 1, Scriptures are God's rod, "an extension of His mind and will and intentions to mortal man," according to Phillip Keller. We are kept in the comfort of the flock of the Lord through the Shepherd's rod. We are disciplined with this same tool. The Word of God should come swiftly to correct us and keep us walking in the right direction. Another interesting use of the Word is referred to in Ezekiel 20:37. "I will take note of you as you pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant." As Keller explains, "A sheep that passed under the rod was one which had been counted and looked over with great care to make sure all was well with it." Every evening and morning a shepherd counts his sheep, calls them by name, and checks to see that his body is healthy and free from pests. Since the rod is an extension of the Lord, it is always ready to be used as an instrument of protection.
 
Just as Jesus used the rod of the Word against Satan in the wilderness, we who believe in Jesus Christ have the Word as an extension of our being, ready to use when attacks come from the realm of darkness. The Word is powerful to shape us so that we fit into the hand of the Lord to be used as an instrument of direction and authority. Here is another aspect of  the Lord, God's Son, we need to consider. Father God shaped His son to be a rod in His hand. It was necessary for Jesus to become a sacrifice in God's hand so that He could make a way for us. God's Son became the sacrificial Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd.
 
Is it any wonder that God included shepherds in the story of the birth of Messiah? Like their sheep, they passed under the rod of God. They were recognized and called to participate in the story of the birth of Jesus, the Good Shepherd who loves and cares for us all. With His rod, He watches over us, cares for and directs us, and will ultimately bring us safely into our heavenly home. We must remember that we play a part in the story of the Lord as an extension of His hand. Here is a question for us: "What do we have in our hands?" Like the shepherds when they told the story of the birth of Jesus, let us hold onto the Word and make it a priority in our lives so that we can amaze those around us with the truth of the Rod of God.

It is said of Abraham that he left his home "with only a promise and without even knowing ahead of time where he was going. Abraham stepped out in faith." (Hebrews 11:8 - TPT) He is called "The Father of Our Faith" since he was the first one in his family line to believe God and take action because of it.  However, it is some of the women of faith I want to focus on, starting with Sarah. Hebrews 11:11 tells us, "And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered Him faithful who made the promise." Here is how the Passion Translation says this:  "Sarah's faith embraced God's miracle power to conceive even though she was barren and was past the age of childbearing, for the authority of her faith rested in the One who made the promise, and she tapped into His faithfulness." This is a word picture for us!
 
In her devotional 31 Degrees of Blessing for Your Life, Pat King says, "Faith is our God-given downloader and connector to His promises." The power of the Word of God is released through faith. Mary's encounter with the angel Gabriel is one that demonstrates her faith in God. He told Mary that the Holy Spirit would fall upon her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her so that she would carry the Son of God in her womb. Gabriel affirmed Mary's faith by telling her that her relative Elizabeth was pregnant after being called "the barren one." Then he declared, "Not one promise from God is empty of power, for nothing is impossible with God!" (Luke 1:37 - TPT) Mary's response is telling:  "As His servant, I accept whatever He has for me. May everything you have told me come to pass." (Luke 1:38 - TPT)
 
God uses Elizabeth to affirm Mary's faith in Him. Prophetically she reveals to her, "Mary! You are a woman given the highest favor and privilege above all others. For your child is destined to bring God great delight...Great favor is upon you, for you have believed every word spoken to you from the Lord." (Luke 1:42, 45 - TPT) Then Mary released a prophetic song where she glorified the Lord for what He was doing. The song ended with a remembrance of God's promise to Abraham. "He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as He promised our ancestors." (Luke 1:54-55) Mary understood that through the Christ child she carried, God was demonstrating His faithfulness to the promise He made to Abraham who willingly bound his son Isaac for sacrifice. "'I swear by myself,' declares the Lord, 'that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me.'" (Genesis 22:16-18)
 
I believe Mary had heard the story of Abraham and Isaac and believed that God, who was faithful to Abraham, would be faithful to her. Perhaps she would have recalled the Psalms that were handed down through the generations. "For God's Word is something to sing about! He is true to His promises; His Word can be trusted, and everything He does is reliable and right." (Psalm 33:4 - TPT) "...And He is famous for His faithfulness toward all. Everyone knows our God can be trusted, for He keeps His promises to every generation!" (Psalm 100:5 - TPT)
 
The Christmas season should remind us of God's miracle power and His faithfulness to His promises. Are you waiting on the Lord to fulfill a promise in your life? We must focus our faith on Him, the One who made the promise. We must trust in who He is, not on what He will do. Let faith connect us to the Faithful One and to His promises. Tap into His faithfulness!

​This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving and a time to look back at God’s consistent faithfulness to America. Those who traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to begin a new nation were guided by the Lord to establish a place where He would be worshiped, and freedom of religion would be practiced. One of the meanings of the noun pilgrim is "a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons." Our national holiday had its origins from the 1621 autumn feast held by the Pilgrims and the local Indians. The feast was meant to celebrate the harvest and the blessings of the past year. Included in the first Thanksgiving were 53 Pilgrims made up of four women, 14 young boys and girls, 13 infants and young children, and 22 men according to David Barton, the founder of Wall Builders. They joined 90 Indian warriors from the Wampanoag tribe. For three days they dined on game, vegetables, corn bread, and berries. In between eating, they engaged in competitions including running, wresting, and shooting. As students of the Bible, the Pilgrims sought to apply its principles. They spent time thanking God for delivering them from a land of persecution and bringing them to America where the native people taught them how to survive and prosper in their new land.
 
Looking back to the time when the Pilgrims were instituting a way of life in the "New World," we can see that their civil government started with the Mayflower Compact. Their belief in equality for everyone was demonstrated when all the passengers on the ship signed the Compact. Jon Hamill, a descendant of a Pilgrim and co-founder of Lamplighter Ministries, described the atmosphere when the original signers of the Compact gathered together:  "The move of the Holy Spirit was with them. In fact, when they wrote the Mayflower Compact...they said, 'In the presence of God, and one another.' They honored the presence of God, knowing that God had sent them apostolically across the waters to found a nation in freedom, to found a nation in covenant with Christ."
 
There is no doubt that a Christian heritage formed the basis for our country. As America prospered, those from other nations began to take note of her successes. Dr. Ben Carson, in his book, America the Beautiful, shares that in 1831 a Frenchman named Alexis de Tocqueville came to decipher the secrets of America's success. He wrote, "I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors...in her fertile fields and boundless forests, in her rich mines and vast world commerce, in her public school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if American ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."
 
Alexis also wrote, "The religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention...In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America I found they were intimately united and that they reign in common over the same country." I think we can see evidence that 400 years after the first Thanksgiving and the enactment of the Mayflower Compact, our foundations are under attack. Religion and freedom are marching in opposite directions. The model for the laws incorporated into our Bill of Rights and the basis for all education—the Bible—has been cast aside. We must ask ourselves why many of today's pulpits are not flaming with righteousness and the goodness of America is compromised. The foundations of America must be rebuilt! It is time for us to embrace the legacy that the Pilgrims left for us. This Thanksgiving we should be on our knees in repentance for our cavalier attitude toward God and His Word. It is time for us to shore up our foundations with prayer and declarations from the Bible. Jesus told His disciples, "Men always ought to pray and not lose heart." (Luke 18:1 - NKJ)  We must thank God for our Christian heritage and be faithful in our prayers for our nation and the church.

​From the time he was a young man, John Wright Follette's life was dedicated to the Lord. He was an obedient servant of Jesus who used his talents and abilities (singer, musician, teacher, preacher, artist, and poet) to bless many. Broken Bread is a book that records his messages centered on the Lord Jesus where he shares revelation on the meaning of God's Word. One of the chapters titled, "What do you do with your second choice?" grabbed my attention. Follette writes, "Nearly everyone has had to take a second or third choice as far as life's course was concerned. They have had to take the fragments and pieces of their first choice in life, which has been shattered, mend them together and make a success." The concept presented by Follette is that if we allow the Lord to break our self-will, the broken pieces can be used to create something beautiful that serves Jesus and draws us closer to Him.
 
How many of us can relate to Follette's supposition on the course of our lives? To confirm it, he tells the story of the famous artist, Whistler. Whistler's first choice was to be a soldier, but his studies at West Point were shut down when he flunked chemistry. He moved on to his second choice, engineering, and failed to make the grade for this career. Finally, he pieced his hopes together and started painting. The rest is history. He was meant for his third choice. The apostle Paul had an experience with God where he was shifted from his first choice to another. Seeing the darkness in the town called Bithynia, Paul was convinced that he should preach there. However, this is what Acts 16:7 records:  "They tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to." Follette explains that Paul was "checked abruptly by God. He thinks he has to go to a certain end of the earth, but the Lord says, 'I want you at another end.'" "Paul's first choice is ruined, His ambition, though godly and spiritual, is thwarted." Paul went down to the seaport of Troas where he waited. Here God revealed his plans for him through a vision where a man was begging Paul to "Come over to Macedonia and help us." (Acts 16:9) God's plan was to change the entire direction of Christian missions and move it from the East to the West.
 
Follette asks some questions that would be good for us to ponder:  "Can you take a second or a third choice and make it an opportunity in your life? Is your touch with God and the power of the Holy Spirit in your life strong enough to take that broken first choice and out of it make a splendid chance where God can come in and be glorified afresh?" Paul was not discouraged by the abrupt change of plans because he was dedicated to the will of God in his life. The life of Jesus demonstrates the same sequence of events. Follette says, "His first great desire was a ministry among His own people...But 'His own received Him not.' He wanted Israel, but that Bithynia never opened to Him. He found Calvary instead—His Troas. What did He do? He made Calvary, made Troas, to become the doorway to Macedonia and to all the ends of the earth."
 
If we are willing to collect the broken pieces of our first choice, with God's direction, we can use them to make something divine. It seems that brokenness is part of God's process for transformation. Remember the lad who brought his lunch (five loaves and two fish) to a gathering with Jesus. He had to give up all he had to see how Jesus would use the broken pieces of his lunch to feed 5,000. Missionary to Peru, Ruth Stull, says, "If my life is broken when given to Jesus, it is because pieces feed a multitude, while a loaf will satisfy only a little lad."
 
I am reminded of a Japanese art form called Kintsugi. The process includes collecting the broken pieces of pottery and reconstructing them so that they turn into something beautiful. The mending is done by cementing the pieces of the pot together with visible gold seams. This art form is built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, one can create an even stronger, more magnificent piece of art. Brokenness is part of our lives. However, as we submit the broken parts to Jesus, He will make us better and draw us closer to Himself. 1 Peter 5:10 says it well:  "And then, after your brief suffering, the God of all loving grace, who has called you to share in His eternal glory in Christ, will personally and beautifully restore you and make you stronger than ever. Yes, He will set you firmly in place and build you up." (TPT) We must ask ourselves a question:  Are we willing to sacrifice our first choices so that God can use the broken pieces of our will and transform us into a vessel of beauty fit for the Master's use? Follette's chapter on second choices concludes this way:  "Out of the broken fragments of my first choice I shall mend together a most glorious opportunity in which God may rest and delight Himself."

​From the time that fruit-producing crops are planted, farmers look forward to the harvest.  Their desire is to prepare an environment that is ideal for optimum fruit production.  This refers to the size, quality, and quantity of the harvest.  Honestly, the best farmers do everything they can on earth to prepare the growing area and then look to God in heaven for His blessing on their crops.  Our Divine Farmer planted each of us in the environment that is most beneficial to produce fruit.  Jesus explains this in John 15.  "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (Verses 1 and 2)
 
Remember when the 12 men, one from each tribe of the children of Israel, were sent into the Promised Land?  They were to explore Canaan to determine the kind of land that the people lived in.  They were to investigate the type of soil that was there--whether fertile or poor.  Their final instruction from Moses was this:  "Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (Numbers 13:20)  Chapter 13 of Numbers describes what the explorers discovered.  "When they reached the Valley of Eshkol (meaning cluster), they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes.  Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs." (Verse 23) Can you imagine the size and quality of the fruit?
 
What is the Lord looking for from us?  He wants a fruitful harvest.  Let's look at our position in relationship to Father God and Jesus.  Go back to John 15 and see that Jesus is the vine and Father is the vinedresser or tender of the grape vines.  We are branches.  Grapevine branches are tied to trellises or propped up with sticks in the natural world.  The vine branches need a maximum amount of sunshine and good air circulation to produce the maximum amount of fruit.  Like the branches on the vine, Jesus props us up when we are having difficulties and sets us in a place where we can take in the maximum amount of Holy Spirit.
 
What is the fruit that God is looking for and where does it grow?  The Lord's fruit grows in our character, and it consists of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)  Notice the first fruit on the list.  This is key!  Without love we are nothing! (1 Corinthians 13:2)  As Jesus was talking to His disciples He said, "A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34-35)  Notice that the grapes come in a cluster.  Isaiah 65:8 has something to say about this:  "As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes and people say, 'Don't destroy it; there is still a blessing in it'..."  Wine is made from multiple clusters of grapes.  We need to be connected to one another for successful ministry to the world.  It is the new wine that is produced for the harvest of nations.
 
Here is a key to remember about the fruit harvest.  Harvest happens every year.  After one harvest there will be another.  God looks for many seasons of fruitfulness in our lives.  The fruit in our lives is ripened through our relationship with Jesus.  As we become more like Him, our fruit gets larger and sweeter and juicier.  God uses every season in our lives to increase our fruitfulness.  I pray that we "may live a life worthy of the Lord and bless Him in every way:  bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10)

New World Order--term that makes me shutter!  This plan for repressive measures to eliminate any dissent from a socialist/liberal point of view moves forward to disarm and conquer anyone who disagrees with a globalist agenda.  Some say that there is an elite group of people working behind the scenes to orchestrate a series of crises to devastate the population so that they can achieve world domination.  Wealth and power seem to be their goal.  The alleged conspirators plot to create a New World Order through a one-world government.  There are a multitude of theories about secret societies plotting to take over governments to control the future.  I take solace in the truth that God (The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) is in control.  He is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent.  He knows all, sees all, and already has a plan for our future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
 
The wise writer of Ecclesiastes writes, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." (1:9)  All we need to do is to look back in history to see a similar plan by the people on the earth in the days of the Old Testament.  They all spoke the same language.  "Then they said, 'Come, let's build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky.  This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world." (Genesis 11:4 - NLT)  God was not happy with their agenda and said, "Come, let us go down and confuse their language so that they will not understand each other. (Genesis 11:7)  "That is why it was called Babel--because the Lord confused the language of the whole world.  From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11:9)
 
How do you think the Lord is responding to the behind-the-scenes agenda of those pushing a New World Order?  Proverbs 28:22 has something to say about this:  "The previous generation has set boundaries in place.  Don't you dare move them just to benefit yourself." (TPT)  Boundaries were part of God's plans.  When the children of Israel were entering the promised land, He gave them specific directions on where their  boundaries would  be established. (Numbers 34, Deuteronomy 32:8-9)
 
Christians are told to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." (Mark 16:15)  We cannot do this without a firm understanding of our identity--who we are in Christ.  The demonically inspired Tower of Babel was meant to keep us from knowing our identity.  God made each of us uniquely, and He marked out our appointed times in history and the boundaries of our lands. (Acts 17:26)  Author and pastor Rick Joyner wrote, "You can't have true unity without distinctions.  God wants us to understand and honor the uniqueness we have.  We have to be free to be who we are and how God made us and honor other's heritages and how He made them."  Rabbi Jonathan Cahn gives more clarity to the meaning of boundaries through the Hebrew interpretation.  "In Hebrews, the word for landmark or boundary is the word "Gebul."  It means border or limit, line and parameter.  The word for ancient is "Olam."  But it doesn't only mean ancient, it also means continuous, everlasting, and eternal.  So, the verse could be translated as, 'Do not move the eternal boundaries, the everlasting parameters.'  Man is trying to move God's eternal boundaries...We see attempts to redefine the parameters of gender, motherhood, fatherhood, manhood, womanhood, childhood, morality, ethics, right and wrong, the nature of humanity, and the sanctity of life.  The Scripture warns that people and civilizations who seek to alter the Lord's everlasting parameters will suffer repercussions."
 
As Believers in Jesus Christ, we must protect the Lord's boundary lines.  It is our responsibility to uphold the standards set forth for us in Scripture.  We cannot allow the government or society or our education system to dictate the boundaries for what is right and wrong.  We are answerable to the Lord and to keep His standards and truth.  We must live as people of God, each with our own assignment to spread the love and truth of the Kingdom of Heaven.  This is our call!  This is our mandate!  We have a sphere of influence where we can take a stand for truth and justice and fight for the preservation of the boundary lines put in place by our Lord.  We must see ourselves as soldiers on the battlefield.  Let us be encouraged by 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.  "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."