For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man. Ephesians 3:14-16

The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. Daniel 11:32b NKJV
The Bible says that when we spend time with God and get to know His voice and His heart, we will reap two amazing benefits: Strength will come to us and we will be empowered to do exploits.

Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. Isaiah 40:31a
We all need new strength all the time. My heroes are people who are strong in God and thrive decade after decade. Those planted in the house of the Lord will flourish and bear fruit in old age (Psalm 92:13-14).

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:1-3
When sorrows weigh on us, doubts rise up in our soul, and our burdens are too much to bear—God is our refuge. He is an invisible yet real fortification around our lives to protect and deliver us.

We live in a crazy, fallen world, but we serve a God who is trustworthy. He never fails or lies or breaks a single promise. So don’t look back and wish you had done things differently. Instead, look forward and trust in God’s ability to restore. His strength is available for you at every turn.

God is trustworthy!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:12b-13)

CONTENTMENT. The Apostle Paul chose to rejoice instead of taking a viewpoint of want. If Paul learned the secret of being content while he was in prison, then so can we in our daily lives. We have to cast down imaginations, take every thought captive, and overwhelm doubt with the language of God’s faithfulness (2 Cor. 10:5).

DELIVERANCE. Paul endured despite heavy oppression: “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life” (2 Corinthians 1:8). Things were so tough for Paul, he knew he could not make it on his own strength. Instead, he chose to rely on God’s faithfulness, declaring that “God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us.” (1 Corinthians 1:9b-10). Remember the times God delivered you in the past; He will do the same with your present and future.

VISION. Become like Paul and learn the language of the overcomer. My heroes are people who walk with a limp, who have seen disappointments mount up around them but who forge ahead. If our church had quit after the flood of ’93, we wouldn’t have seen 3243 kids pour in for JUMP! We would never have put out 250 million video impressions of the Gospel per year in our city. We would never have reached out in Kosovo, or impacted Sri Lanka, or rebuilt homes after Hurricane Katrina. Lives are attached to your obedience, and there is victory on the other side of your battle.

Keep moving forward,
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Then they came to Jericho and as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” Mark 10:46-49

Get Desperate and Determined. Blind Bartimaeus was desperate and in need, and he called out to Jesus. So often, when we get under pressure, the temptation is to shift into neutral and zone out in front of the TV. Instead of letting lethargy set in, we need to get desperate and cry out to God for help. “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6).

Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. And answering him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.
Mark 10:50-52

Get Specific. “What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus wanted Bartimaeus to give a specific request. Don’t go through life in generalities. Getting out of the vague and general and making a specific request is an expression of faith. Pray specifically—not manipulatively—and according to God’s Word.

Get in the Word. We learn that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Faith is not based on a feeling but on the Word. As you meditate on the Scriptures, faith will come. A world can be changed by a breed of people who will desperately believe God’s promises and expect answers.

This is our moment to take our stand and take hold of what God has for us. I encourage you to trust God with your situation. As we do life together, forgive, walk by faith, overcome, learn, and grow, we’ll continue to see broken people come to Jesus and watch God heal their lives.

God bless you!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

And He [Jesus] opened the book and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:17b- 19, 21

All of heaven rejoiced at this merger of the Scriptures with Jesus, the Word made flesh. Jesus looked to the Scriptures to state His cause and purpose, and then He fulfilled it. And just as definitely as God called Jesus, so He is calling you fulfill the mission “to preach the gospel to the poor . . . proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

Ful•fill: v. To convert into reality. Implies a complete realization of ends or possibilities. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary*

Now faith is the turning of dreams into deeds; it is betting your life on the unseen realities. Hebrews 11:1 Cotton Patch Version

You can’t have fulfillment unless you have a vision and a dream. You get that vision when you understand what is written about you in the Scriptures, that you are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), for good works (Ephesians 2:10), to show forth His praises (1 Peter 2:9).

I challenge you to use the Scriptures as a mirror to see your reflection, to see who you really are in God. It’s possible that we can win the Muslim nations to Christ; that Communist China can have the greatest move of the Holy Spirit in history; that Africa will become the great sending nation of Christians. God knew you would be born at this time. If you seek first His kingdom (Matthew 6:33), the destiny for your life will come to pass, and you will bear fruit that will last for generations to come (John 15:16).

God bless you,
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright ©2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. *”Fulfill” — Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary 2010. “The Cotton Patch Gospel” by Clarence Jordan © 1963.

We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Romans 5:3b-5 The Message*

God wants all of us to be ready for what is up ahead in terms of our call and fruitfulness. The presence of lethargy signals the absence of faith, and that’s why many people in a crisis situation become numb with fear. A percentage of people, though, respond to adversity with clarity and boldness.

Alert expectancy is not baseless optimism, but bold and courageous faith in God. If we know God hears us, we know we have the requests we ask of Him (1 John 5:15). Faith is getting the truth of God’s faithfulness inside you and then speaking to your mountains.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

When you face obstacles properly, spiritual muscles grow. God is working to establish you with enough proven character to weather the next steps of what He has called you to do and be. God is calling you to step out of mind-numbing stagnation and provide leadership in your home, your work, and your world.

God bless you!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright ©2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright ©1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. *Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:3-5

We’ve all heard of posttraumatic stress, but a recent study by psychologist Dr. Lawrence Calhoun states that more people react to trauma with posttraumatic growth. He believes that people can get stronger from their battles with life’s toughest stuff: “We’re talking about a positive change that comes about as a result of the struggle with something very difficult. It’s not just some automatic outcome of a bad thing.”* I don’t believe that hardship, sickness, or evil comes from God, but God can and will use every bad situation and turn it around for good (Romans 8:28).

I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:12-13

My heroes in the Bible and in history are those who have endured. My mentors in Christianity are those who taught me that life is not fair, but God is good and God’s promises are true. You will be contested by the devil, but ultimately God will lead you in triumph (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Read all of Psalm 34 to encourage yourself concerning God’s faithfulness. This chapter really drives home the truth that “the righteous cry and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:17). If you’ve become discouraged, remember that God’s ear is open to your cry and the God who was faithful in the Bible is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

God always leads us in triumph!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. *”From Wounds, Inner Strength,” Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/25/AR2005112501502.html, June 15, 2010