It certainly is a beautiful day to be alive! And the really amazing thing about it? Nothing "special" has to happen for today to be worth celebrating. Simply "today" in itself is worth the celebration! Right here, right now, in whatever moment you find yourself in, you have cause to rejoice! As the Psalmist put it, "Rejoice in today, and be glad in it!" 

Whether you know it or not, when you woke up this morning, you found yourself smack-dab in the center of God's red-hot pursuit of you! His Goodness and His mercy are literally chasing you down as we speak (Psalms 23:6). The Lovingkindness of God is a hunter, and you have a target painted over your heart. From the moment the Son of God was "lifted up" in His crucifixion (Jh. 12:32) the entire human race entered into an eternity of God "drawing all men to [Himself]" and there is nothing you can do to stop it! 

Your behaviour can't get in your way, your theology can't get in your way, your past can't get in your way, you present and your future can't get in your way.... Nothing can separate you from God's love (Rom. 8:38). 

Oh friends... Turn around, open your eyes, and see the Goodness of God in the land of the living. Not waiting for you in the sweet by and by. No, right here, right now! See your God pursuing you, from within your everyday life. And REJOICE! For today is the day the Lord has made... and it is a beautiful day, at that! 

CHEERS!

*Written by: Randi Strickland

CHEERS to you and your beautiful life!

Know today how loved and enjoyed you are by your God! And take time to enjoy yourself, and the world around you. God is bursting at the seams of your life - waiting around every corner and behind every tree to pounce on you within the beauty of your everyday experiences! "[His] lovingkindess, goodness, and mercies pursue me, everyday of my life." (Psalms 23)

Friends, your beautiful and good God is not far away. He is not living outside of your everyday, in a land far far away! Religion will tell you about the great distance that's between you and God, and the great lengths at which you will have to strive in the self-efforts of performance in order to bear the hope of reaching Him. But that doesn't sound like "good news!" The Good News, the glad tidings of great joy, the "glad message of the happy God" (1 Tim. 1:11) that has been preached in the life of God, the Son, Incarnate is:

"I am here! I have come to you! I am Emmanuel, God with you. I'm not far away, I'm not distant, I'm not hard to find. In fact, I never leave you! And all this business about distance and separation, I'm just going to put an end to it, once and for all. I'm going to offer up my life as the perfect sacrifice.

In my death, I'm going to provide the means by which you too will die, die to the system of trying to please God with your good behaviour, the system that has separated you from me [Gal. 2:19-21; Col. 2:14].
And in my resurrection, I'm going to pull you up into the fullness of life and
God that I have been filled with [Col. 2:9-10]!
I'm going to reconcile you, once and for all [Col. 1:19-20]!
I'm going to eternally perfect you [Heb. 10:14]! 
I'm going to become your righteousness for you [1 Cor. 1:30]!"

 Your God is so present in your life, so at home in the world around you!
Inside the fabric of every moment, the ordinary is mixing with the divine, and extending an invitation to you to taste and see a goodness that will blow your mind. Open up the door of your heart and, with every breath you inhale, allow your lungs to be filled with the fullness of life that you've been given in Christ.
It's such GOOD NEWS!

*Written by Randi Strickland
Originally posted here: randistrickland.wordpress.com

Cambodian Hero Holiday “Break the Cycle” Tour.
Wednesday November 2nd, 2011
Poi Pet, Cambodia – Border town on the Cambodian/Thai border.
By Wesley Campbell – President, Be A Hero
 
This trip to Cambodia has been absolutely amazing.
 
Arriving November 26th, we landed in Phnom Penh where the Be A Hero team went to minister with Sophal and Deborah Ong. Sophal is a living legend having gone through the “killing fields” and still be one of few persons to remain alive after months in prison and death camps. Prior to the fall of Phnom Penh God raised up Sophal and his brothers in powerful ministry of preaching and miracles. Many, many Cambodian’s came to Christ in the first ever move of signs and wonders movement of Christianity in the nation of Cambodia.
 
After the fall of Phnom Penh, Sophal was taken to the ‘killing fields’ where he miraculously escaped death time after time.  He endured months of torture in a time when most of the church he was part of was brutally tortured and put to death. After the liberation of Cambodia by the Vietnamese the Vietnamese again targeted him, because of his powerful preaching of the gospel. Sophal was put in prison for seven months but this time he was imprisoned under ground where he never saw the light of day for the entire duration. In the end he was delivered through another miraculous intervention.
 
Today Sophal and Deborah run one of the largest churches in Phnom Penh and they enjoy unprecedented favor with the highest-ranking Cambodian officials. The favor they have gained has come because of their tireless ministry to the widows, orphans, and refugees. The conference we held at their church was powerful and very impacting.  
 
From there we traveled to Siem Reap - the famous area of the Ankor Wat temples of the 11th century.  Some will remember this location as the site of the movie Tome Raider with Angelina Jolie. It was Siem Reap where the Break the Cycle 144-kilometer ride to Poi Pet was to commence. This event was the first of it’s kind in a developing nation, organized by David and Fiona Crawford of Be A Hero Australia. At 6:00 am we gathered the 50 plus cyclers at the entrance of the temple to start the marathon. At 7:40 am the marathon began.
 
In fear and interpretation I took to the pedals. By the first 20 k’s I felt so much more confident and sure that I could finish the whole ride. Rice paddy after rice paddy, village after the village – the setting was surreal. Pedaling at a steady 20 kilometers per hour rode on and on into the Cambodian countryside in the hot and humid weather – 35 degrees plus humidity.  Drenched in sweat, it was only the wind in our faces that made it beautifully tolerable.
 
Stopping ever 20 k we began to find our rhythm. Eat, drink, pedal, rest - eat, drink, pedal, rest. A few riders suffered heat stroke and in a delirious state had to submit to being carried in the ambulance following the pack.  For my part I loved the whole experience and somehow it felt so much easier than I anticipated. All along the road village after village lined the streets – cheering, splashing us with water, and encouraging us on.
 
Finally, as the sun was setting and dusk was falling we road came to the outer districts of Poi Pet.  In the dark we road into a throng of people who had been waiting for hours. And yes, I completed the entire ride! What a thrill to ride into the ‘Safe Haven’ compound and be greeted by 50 children at risk who have all been rescued from a future of being trafficked in slavery and possibility sexual abuse. These children had laid palm branches across the entrance of their compound as a symbol of how Jesus entered Jerusalem.
 
The next day hundreds of children and officials marched from the Thai border crossing through the streets of Poi Pet to the ceremony grounds. At this large field full of tents and stage, we were greeted by 2500 people and many government officials of the land. The Interior Minister in charge of all the police and border guards of the country. The Sectary of State – a lady of great authority with a tremendous heart for the poor and oppressed women and children of Cambodia. Governors, Chief of Police, Army Generals, city mayors, magistrates and leaders of every strata of society. I have never seen a nation mobilized like this before.  There in the heat and humidity the people sat for hours listening to speeches directed at stopping human trafficking and the exploitation of women and children at risk.  Chomno and David Crawford spoke brilliantly and the government pledged to work together in future partnership.
 
At the end of the ceremonies we were able to present the 50 plus bikes to AIDs sufferers and hand out hundreds of sacks of rice and other benefits. Truly Cambodia is a nation in transformation.
 
Two days later we were privileged to open and dedicate the Hope Transformation Center – a five story facility dedicated to business, CHO offices, convention facilities, and church, all dedicated to the eradication of human trafficking and ending of children for sexual exploitation.  The Hope Transformation Center was mostly purchased by HOPE for the Nations, Be A Hero, and X-Treme Prophetic (Patrica King) as well as few other organizations. Bought and renovated for $700,000 it has now increased in value to over $2 million dollars in just two years.
 
Again, a vast of array of civil and government dignitaries came to stand in solidarity again the evils of exploitation. At the dedication the Minister of the Interior, Chomno, Wesley Campbell and Ralph Bromley spoke. Government ministers, generals, army officials, local government and business leaders wept openly as Manna a young 10 year old told of her plight of being beaten, abused, and then being intercepted from being sold into slavery. In her case she had the beautiful privilege and then being adopted by Chomno and Kim the leader of CHO – Cambodian Hope Organization.
 
Of the six nations of the Mekong peoples – Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and China – only Cambodia shows the will to eradicate human trafficking and become the example of how a to transform their nation. I believe Cambodia is poised to become the beachhead for social justice in South East Asia.
 
In closing I would like to thank everyone who supported all the riders and Be A Hero/HOPE for the Nations, as we have endeavored to do our part for suffering humanity. A big thank-you for those who have prayed, and those who continue to raise their voice on behalf of the children.  Jesus is our leader, and his commandments are our battle cry. This is not an end . . . it is only a beginning. Consider coming on the next Hero Holiday in Cambodia as we ride to “Break the Cycle”. A special thanks to David and Fiona Crawford – Australian directors of Be A Hero for their superb job in organizing “Break the Cycle” and their leadership in this movement.
 
Blessings to you all,
 
Wesley Campbell – Poi Pet, Cambodia.

"His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family, by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave Him great pleasure!"
[Ephesians 1:5]

It gave Him "great pleasure." Do you know what that means? The Father, your Father – the Papa of the family that you have been adopted into – He is happy! Why is He happy? Because He has YOU! You were His plan from the very beginning. Redemption and adoption have been in the mind of God since Day One. You didn’t have to behave your way into His plan. You didn’t have to perform your way into His family. You didn’t have to prove your way into adoption. No, it was His plan. And it’s been His unchanging plan! The plan to unite Himself with you in Christ Jesus wasn’t secured because of your good behavior. And it can’t be reversed because of your bad behavior! That’s the whole point – you can’t behave your way in or out of adoption!

Your absolute deliverance from Sin, and your complete and total reconciliation to God¹ – it was all His idea! And He just went right ahead and did it! Through Jesus Christ, on the Cross. And the most outrageous thing about it all? He did it “while we were still sinners! ²” This redemption is unconditional! It can’t be earned, paid for, or worked into³. There is only one option when it comes to the Good News of Jesus. You must tip back your head, open wide your heart, and drink it down! Every last drop! Until you are so inebriated on your perfect and unbroken union with God⁴ that you open your eyes to see that you are a brand new creation – a new person altogether – living in a new world⁵! In fact, the old has not just been overshadowed; no, it’s been completely destroyed – crucified with Christ on His Cross. And now you are enjoying a brand new existence⁶!

Friends!! Drink deep of this glorious, mysterious Gospel!
One sip and you will never thirst again⁷!!

...............................................................................................

¹ Colossians 1:19-20 

“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” [NASB]

² Romans 5:8

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” [NIV]

³  Ephesians 2:8-9

“Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” [NLT]

“God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God. It's not the result of anything you've done, so no one can brag about it” [GW]

⁴ Romans 6:11

“Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.” [AMP]

⁵ 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” [ESV]

“Anyone who is in Christ has become a new person altogether.” [JB Phillips]

“So if any man is in Christ, he is in a new world.” [BBE]

⁶ Galatians 2:20

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” [NLT]

“I have been put to death on the cross with Christ … no longer I, but Christ is living in me.” [BBE]

⁷ John 4:14

“But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” [NASB]

Well, what is there left to say except: you are beautiful! Absolutely innocent in your expression, completely unhindered in your connection to God.  I've got Good News for you: Christ has come, the Messiah came, and He did all that was necessary to restore you to your God! There is not a shred of work left for you to do, there is not an ounce of effort left for you to contribute - it wasfinished! Everything that was required to fulfill the Law, Christ has done it! Everything that was required to be restore you to your God-likeness, Christ has provided it. And every last piece of condemning evidence that was written out against you, Christ nailed it to His cross. All of it!    

Considering the fullness of Christ sacrifice, and the completeness of His offering to God - the offering of His own life - what could there possibly be left for us to add? What could we possibly do to improve on what God, in Christ, has already accomplished? Your Father has gone to such great lengths to secure your freedom in His Son; He went so far as to come into union with humanity in our corrupted condition ("While we were still sinners, Christ died on our behalf" Rom. 5:8), and to offer us the death of Jesus as a means to our own death to Sin once and for all, and to raise us up, having been united with Christ, in the newness of His resurrection, into a brand new existence! There is nothing you can do to add to, or to take away from, what has been procured and provided by Christ! All that's left for you to do is: Believe. Trust.

It's outrageous. It's too good to be true. It's almost offensive to our mindset at times. But it really is the best news on the market! And this drink, the absolutely free drink of Grace that will quench your thirst forever, can only be drunk down from one source: Christ! You can't fill your cup from the fountain of Religion. You can't top up your glass from the tap of self-efforts and performance. You can't "bottom's up" at the bar of good deeds. No, friends, there is only one fountainhead that gives us the Living Water, the 100 proof, unfiltered, pure organic drink of Salvation - and His name is Jesus!

So tip back your head, open up your mouth, and drink down your effortless salvation in Him today! Jesus has encouraged us, "unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you can have no part of me." Friends, HE is the drink! HE is the meal! And He came, not to be served, but to serve! To serve up effortless and glorious salvation to humanity. Pull up a seat at the banqueting table of His love and FEAST on the best meal you've ever had!  

We Are Made New!

2 Corinthians 5:17
 
Do not look at yourself from a human perspective. Paul says in 2Cor 5:16. 'Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a purely human point of view' Why? Because if any person is in Christ he is a new creation, a new creature altogether! There is nothing purely human (in the old fallen sense) about us! The old has passed away....   
 
Everything of our old nature, our old self, the good bad and the ugly has passed away! How? Look at v.14 we are of the conviction that if One died for all, than ALL died. We were crucified with Christ! It is the greatest mystery, wonder, and display of love and goodness that God would unite himself with us in becoming one of us. But he didn't just become one of us, He died as us! When Jesus was crucified he wasn't only paying for our sins but He was destroying them. When He died, we died. Everything of our old selves, our old nature, with it's curses, diseases, good works, bad works, shame, guilt, condemnation EVERYTHING of the old has passed away, has gone, is no longer, does not exist! He has made us a new creation! Nothing of the old was used in the new making of us. We are a new creation altogether.  
 
God himself has moved in, joined himself to us! He has become our life, our righteousness, our holiness, our joy and endless love! God in Jesus has married himself to us! I think the eternal curiosity of the angels will not only be about  the forgiveness of God towards us, but that God would unite Himself with us! That we would be in Him, and He would be in us, as one, married, never to be separated again!
 
 
We are altogether new, altogether lovely and all of this is from the lover 
of our souls, our Father, our God!
 

Oh HAPPY DAY!! Take a moment today to look up into the Mirror that is Christ, and see yourself reflected in His image! Let the reality of who you have been made to be in Christ set you free from every contradicting thought! When you can see yourself identified in your beautiful Saviour, you will be transformed, from one glorious state of being to the next, into the same image that you see! [2 Cor. 3:18]

Anyone who is IN CHRIST - that's YOU! - is a new creation. Some translators and theologians have said it this way:
"is a brand new person altogether,"
"is in a new world,"
"is a new being,"
"has become a new person,"
"gets a fresh start, is created brand new,"
"becomes new in type and quality, superior to what it has replaced!"

The old has passed away, it has died! And all things have become new and fresh! [2 Cor. 5:17]

That's some GOOD NEWS right there! You are BRAND NEW! The old you that was a slave of sin, your old sinful and unrighteous nature, has been removed, Paul says! Your old self died with Christ! [Col. 2:20; Romans 6]. It doesn't even exist anymore! How can you struggle with a dead man? Paul uses specifically graphic imagery here to convey a point - you cannot wrestle with a corpse. A corpse cannot fight back! It has no influence, no strength left with which to fight. It is DEAD! You are ALIVE to Christ! You've been grafted into Him, and your old nature has passed away!

Somebody get happy about that today! You are brand new in Jesus! Living in unbroken union with Him, through His death and resurrection! Drink deep today of all that He has provided for you! He is so GOOD!  

.............................................. 

Friends, we are living in a time that history has never known before. We have found ourselves in opportunities not known by previous generations. There are resources available to us that were merely dreamed of by the great minds of times past. There is so much to rejoice about, so much to look forward to, so much to get excited about!

May hope flood your heart until every single impossibility around shouts back a resounding "Yes and Amen!" We've been given a hope in Christ that will not disappoint (Rom. 5), and we are fully sustained in Him. We don't lack a thing in Jesus (Ps. 23)! Somebody get happy about that good news!!

You have been given a hope and a future so wild and unbelievably good that it has yet to be conceived or even imagined in your own heart! You have received an eternal inheritance, one of which the mind of man has yet to fully discover or perceive! You have entered into a contract with the most powerful and true partner in all the earth – Jesus Himself! And as co-labors, you are working together with the Creator of the Universe to establish all that is in His heart, and in yours!

 You’ve not been left alone in these ventures, but you’ve been given the gift of eternal friendship, and the most intimate of companions, in the Holy Spirit! Your success is imminent in the awesome knowledge that He works out all things for your GOOD! You are the head and not the tail, you are the victor and not the victim, you are the blessed and not the cursed, you are the justified and glorified, not the condemned or the crucified!

 You’ve been given the keys to peace, to righteousness, and to JOY in the Holy Spirit! You are walking around this earth with an “all access pass” that grants you entry into every realm of Heaven, and the authority to bring those realms into your circumstances! You cannot be separated from the love of God! You can’t be crushed, you will not be destroyed!

 You are a son/daughter of GOD!

Digesting Jesus
Written by: Kris Vallotton
[Originally posted here.]

I believe God has a dream and a passion for His Family to be functioning and healthy. “Family” being the church or body of Christ.

Don’t get me wrong here, no no no, I am not pointing my finger or looking at the “specks” in anyone’s eyes. For I, myself, have experienced “logitis” (log-eye-tis) far too many times. And occasionally I become aware of “symptoms” that help me realize I have  “logitis”. You know what I mean: blurred vision, bumping into things, I hurt people, I hurt myself.

Of course I am referring to Matt 7:1-5 in which Jesus addresses the issue of judging. He uses the analogy of one judging someone else by seeing a “speck” in their eye while not even noticing the “log” in your own eye. Sometimes I have to wonder if people have looked at me as if I look like a rhino; with a “log” sticking straight out! Or maybe I look at times like a hammer head shark, with the log perpendicular, inadvertently smashing things on my peripherals. Regardless, I know it’s not a pretty sight at times, and, frankly, I myself been in the path of a few of these rouge logs.

Back to what I believe to be God’s dream and passion ["back to me - I am on a white horse" ;)]. Simply, my perspective (my vision is okay today, no protruding logs) is that God’s family can be dysfunctional at times, and needs a lot of inner healing. Just the same as our earthly families… My personal family needs it, I need it, my wife needs it, etc. Inner healing referring to Father wounds, trauma, offense, unforgiveness, etc. There are some great ministries that can facilitate this – we use SOZO which is the Greek word for salvation, healing & deliverance. It must become a lifestyle to walk through inner healing and keep our selves “clean” for the rest of our lives. In other words, we continue to move forward with the Gospel – yet we cut way back on our “logitis”.

Just recently some of our staff graciously, lovingly and assertively encouraged me to go for a SOZO. I guess, like all of us, there were some “effects” that I wasn’t even aware of, stemming from my own “logitis.” Behaviors that weren’t in line with my heart, results of that log sticking out of my eye. The SOZO was amazing, and next time I won’t wait so long for this type of ministry.

[Written by: Brian Olynick]

Rewards.  Who doesn’t like them, look forward to them, want or need them?  It is often what motivates children and adults alike.  Whether we reward ourselves after a long hard work-week with a dinner & movie or take the family on vacation in summertime, rewards are part of our make up, built in so to speak .

Rewards are a big deal to our Heavenly Daddy who shares in Ruth 2:12, “ A full reward be given you by the Lord.”  And in Psalm 103:2, we are encouraged or maybe even implored to “Forget not all His benefits/rewards.”

God is really big on rewards!!  I believe He is reminding us today of all His rewards for us!  We can’t pay a price in God that we don’t get greater back!  Greater faith, greater hope, greater joy, greater love, greater strength, wisdom, friendship, healing, & wholeness………greater!!!

Bill Johnson says, “If we forget the rewards, we’ll exalt the cost.”  Let’s deemphasize the price or cost and emphasize the prize, the reward, the hope!  And hope is the confident expectation of good coming!  Let’s wake up hope that is within us !!  And we do so by believing in the promises of our reward giving God!

[Written by: Kristen Olynick]
Also appears here.

Living a Life of Passion
By: Bill Johnson

One of the warriors of old made this statement: “The purpose of war is victory, and the purpose of victory is occupation.” In the Kingdom, we add one more step to the process: The purpose of occupation is expansion.

The Lord would not give the Promised Land to Israel all at once because they did not have the ability to occupy all of the territory. By only giving them the amount of land they could occupy, He positioned them for expansion. Expansion is vital to advancing the Kingdom of Heaven. The man who was given the one talent and buried it simply occupied and protected that accomplishment but suffered tremendously because he did not take what he had and position it for increase (Matthew 25:15-28).

I love children!  I’ve worked with kids for over 2 decades and find their characteristics, such as curiosity, adventure, simplicity, passion, playfulness, love & affection, to name only a few, to be so refreshing!

One characteristic that stands out to me is that children under the age of 6 laugh an average of 400 times a day! In contrast, we adults statistically laugh a mere 15 times a day!  A shocking comparison! And it’s no surprise that I enjoy being in the presence of children, with these kinds of stats! :)

I am seeing something wonderful while working/hanging with the kids and it’s that they are so hungry for God and His world.  Often time, we will lay out together on our mats and listen to “soaking” music.  After 10 or 15 minutes we sit up and one by one each child begins to share what they have experienced.  For some

What does that mean?  I’m not really too sure as this is the only place that I’ve ever known.  I can only imagine that somewhere “out there” is perhaps another realm that Father has created for His own good pleasure.  A debatable conundrum to be sure.

We have recently received a report from our friends, Dave & Charity Maddox, who are currently serving in Mazatlan, Mexico! Be encouraged as you hear about the awesome things that God is doing, all over the earth! His Kingdom really is being established, faster than any of us fully know!

“We have seen over 500 people come to the Lord in 5 days over the course of carnaval. It has been amazing to see so many people so open and hungry for God.

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