This is a wonderful time to be alive – a time like none other when the signs of Jesus’ Second Coming are all around us and are screaming from the news headlines every day. These are great days we are living in… but an even Greater Day is coming.
We are definitely privileged to be living in these last days and we know that because we are, there’s a mission and a purpose that is only unto this generation. While the generations before us were charged with going unto all the world to spread the Gospel, our charge is not only spreading the Gospel but standing strong without wavering in the face of vicious attacks by an angry devil (because he knows his time is short). Continue reading →
Most of us want our lives to count for something good. When you are a Child of God, your life on this earth takes on a greater cause than just accomplishing something in the natural. A Child of God is not satisfied with worldly accomplishments – a Child of God wants to store up treasures in Heaven where moths and rust cannot corrupt them.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 Continue reading →
It is never pleasant to relive the past when I share my testimony. But I do it because God uses it to comfort others. A hurting woman knows I understand her pain and suffering when she hears that I have been down the same road. And when she receives healing from God, she will extend that same comfort to yet others so that the circle of wounded healers widens.
I’ll never forget the first time I shared a short testimony before a group of women at Phoenix First in the fall of 1990. I had panicked at the thought of standing before the pastors’ wives and the matriarchs of the church and telling them even the briefest highlights of my sordid past. I had been a Christian for only about eighteen months, and I still carried a dump truck size load of shame about my past sins, even though I knew God had forgiven me and completely changed my life—in fact, he had called me into full-time ministry. Continue reading →
It’s been a rough road, this journey I’ve been on with treatment for Hepatitis C. There were days that I lay at home in bed, unable to get up and do the simplest things of life. There was just no strength at all for anything.
During this time of treatment, I often took solace in worshipping God with music. While I enjoy many different genres of Christian music, I found the old hymns to be particularly comforting. There is something about a spiritual song that bypasses our humanity and goes directly through to the spirit. This kind of music pulls from the deepest parts of us to connect to the God we love and worship. Continue reading →
This week I am continuing to share the ministry of Kathy Troccoli because it is so needed in today’s culture – inside the church and outside. Life and it’s circumstances can be harsh at times, and we all need to know that there is hope… that God loves us through all the pain. On one show recently, we talked about how you are defined by the people who love you. For some out there, this is definitely a blessing, but for others, it can seem like a curse… until you are born again and realize that the God of the Universe loves you unconditionally!
Let’s hear from Kathy. Continue reading →
Kathy Troccoli ministers out of her pain and brokenness – which the Lord has healed and set her in a place where she can feel the pain of others and speak to their pain. Compassion is not something you can generate, or work up, and true compassion comes from familiarity. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 53 that Christ was familiar with all of our suffering – everything that we could know as suffering – He knew. That’s why His compassion is so strong for His people. He knows their frailties and their weaknesses. But He said He would be strong in our weakness (2 Corinthians 13:4) and He does not lie!
Kathy’s book, “Am I Not Still God?” is written out of her pain. She says, “there are times in our lives that we feel like we’re on the mountaintop, I call them glimpses of Eden, because we were meant to be in the garden and we’re not in the garden. But when you’re on the mountaintop, and I have been, you have to expect to not be there for long. And I love the Lord so much for not lying to us. He’s so faithful and true. He said, you’re going to go through it in this life, you’re going to go through it but I will be with you. I want to say… if you’re on the mountaintop, enjoy it, but most of life goes through those deep, deep places. Continue reading →
Pastor Rick Warren released a video addressing his son’s suicide in one of the most direct manners since his death last year.
Warren told those viewing the video that the answer to everyone who has asked him how he and his wife made it through that difficult time in their lives was a simple promise: the promise of Easter.
Warren said that looking at the story of Easter through the lens of the three days is key for Christians working through the most difficult times of their lives. When we face tragedy, we’re facing the Friday when Jesus died and those following Him felt the loss of the one they truly loved. Once the shock passes, it’s like Saturday, where we look around wondering what to do and how to go on. Then Sunday arrives with a new hope because of the eternal life that arrives through the resurrection of Jesus.
He said that as Christians we will face those three days repeatedly over our lifetimes and that we need to focus on reaching the joy and victory that comes through our risen Lord Jesus.
Warren said the message he is delivering this Easter regarding his recovery from his son’s suicide and the importance of Christ’s resurrection is the most important of his entire ministry.
I am writing a series of blogs on the shows we just taped with Kathy Troccoli because I can’t help but do all I can do to get this word out – it is so powerful! Kathy is not just a singer, she’s a Voice that God has given to the Body of Christ with a Message for the Times.
Let me first just say that if you didn’t catch the live shows with Kathy Troccoli, PLEASE be sure to catch the broadcasts when they air in your area. These shows are some of the most powerful healing shows we have ever taped, and I can’t help but believe that God wants to heal so many of His precious ones because it’s time! We are so close to His Second Coming and yet there are so many hurting, broken people. When we operate out of our pain, we continue to hurt others and that needs to stop! It needs to stop in our own lives so that it can stop in the lives of others. A wounded spirit touches everything around it – and wounds again whatever it touches. Continue reading →
Imprisoned pastor Saeed Abedini is finally receiving hospital treatment for internal injuries suffered at the hands of his captors in Iranian prisons.
Naghmeh Abedini told Faith Radio her husband is finally being given decent meals and pain medication to deal with this wounds. He had been transferred to a hospital from Rajai Shahr prison, called Iran’s deadliest prison.
However, Saeed reportedly still needs to undergo surgery.
Iran backed off and called a “mistake” their recent actions where they shackled Abedini and denied him any medical treatment. The reversal came after a worldwide outcry of abuse.
His lawyers with the American Center for Law and Justice say the Iranian guards are still blocking visitors.
One thing I know for sure is that sin has consequences. I’m urging you to not make the same mistakes I did. I have had to deal with sin’s consequences in my body.
For me those consequences showed up as Hepatitis C and all the side effects of this horrible disease. Plus, my five abortions ended in my not being able to later have children. My last aborted baby had not been totally removed and resulted in a life-threatening infection. I had to have an emergency hysterectomy.
I have never cried more tears than I have these last few months. I have never allowed God to deal with me in a sweet loving way like I have recently. I always felt I didn’t deserve it. I felt so unworthy. What my body has suffered over the years is because of my own wrong doing – bad choices. Continue reading →
