Is there someone in your life who has become your greatest challenge?  Does it seem their character is in concrete and nothing will change them?

Here are the changes you can make in yourself that will give you hope that they can change:

During this holiday season, I like to spend time with the “5 F’s”:  “friends, family, food, fishing, and football!”

 I also like to take time to give thanks to God for one other “F”:  Fellowship.

This Christmas week, I listed a few things I would like to say to Him:

How would you like to sit down with Jesus Christ Himself for an “end of the year review?”  Don’t you wish He could coach you, challenge you, and change you for a greater year in 2018?

He did.  It is found in Revelation chapter two. 

Prayer needs a template.

As I am typing this blog, I am using a template, a pre-arranged plan. 

You can always “pray without ceasing,”  but in order to build a strong day-to-day prayer life, you need a template.

The Lord’s prayer is a “Model Prayer.” It is not simply to be repeated.   It contains 5 “fingers” in the hand of God and gives us a template for daily prayer.   

HERE ARE THE 5 "FINGERS" OF THE LORD'S PRAYER:

All of us face hurt.

Some of us choose to forgive. 

The rest of us live in bitterness.

How do you “forgive and forget?”  We have a pretty good Example.

Here are 4 perspectives that will help you to forgive:

Everybody prays.  Prayer wheels, prayer chains, and prayer lines are everywhere.  However, it can sometimes feel like a penny in a fountain.  How can we feel a sense of certainty when we pray? 

We all reach a point where we need to take a break.  Jesus told His disciples to come apart and rest for a while.

God’s break for you is the Sabbath principle. The Sabbath is not just a day of the week; it is a walk in the cool, refreshing breezes of the Holy Spirit.

Here are some ways I maintain the spirit of Sabbath in my life:

I was blown away last week when I had the privilege to view the smash hit movie, “War Room.” It rocketed to number ONE in the American box office! As I walked out of the theater, the thought came to my mind, "This movie is going to start a movement of prayer in every church in the nation."

I learned the power of spiritual warfare when I had only been married for two weeks and headed off to Africa as a missionary.

In my two years as a missionary in West Africa, I learned some basic principles of spiritual warfare:

Of all the characters in the Bible who rose to the top as a secular leader, Daniel is my favorite.  In a totally hostile, godless environment, he became the top official next to a king who basically ruled the world.  What were the qualities that put him in that position when enemies everywhere were trying to depose him?  He even spent a night with the lions and they still couldn’t get rid of him! 

Here are the five qualities I notice most about this powerful man and how to survive the lions: