November 20, 2025

Introduction Today and tomorrow, I’m going to share on the subject of our great Helper, Holy Spirit, and the incredible source of power that He brings us. Today’s teaching is actually from my brother, Tim. As always, his insights are outstanding. Tim’s title is: 

The Divine Mentor There was a time when I was trying to pray about something, but just couldn’t seem to find the right words. I wrestled with it for a while, until finally, I heard Holy Spirit whisper so clearly, “Let Me do it.” When I yielded and allowed Him to speak through me, there came an immediate release, and the burden I’d been carrying lifted as He began to plead to God on my behalf.

Romans 8:26 (TPT) says, “At times we don’t even know how to pray or know the best thing to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too deep for words.”

This is a powerful picture of supernatural intercession. When we pray in our “spirit language,” Holy Spirit rises within us to intercede far beyond what our natural words can express, aligning our hearts and our prayers with the perfect will of God.

Verse 27 continues, “God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings, yet He also understands the desires of the Spirit.” This is not referring to our human spirit, but to Holy Spirit Himself. Holy Spirit passionately pleads through us, His holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny. What divine assistance this is!

God’s Word shows us that being filled with Holy Spirit is what enables this supernatural partnership. Just as we see in the book of Acts, believers were filled and then refilled with Holy Spirit. It wasn’t a one-time event, but was a continual experience. Staying filled with Holy Spirit connects and synergizes us with God’s divine plan, both individually and corporately as the Ekklesia.

To walk with Holy Spirit is to live in continual partnership with Him. As Romans 8:1 reminds us, we are to walk according to the Spirit’s guidance, from our spirit, not according to the flesh. This means living daily in a relationship with Him, walking and listening, and praying as He inspires us. He breathes on our prayers, our words, and our decrees inspired by Him and God’s Word. What a gift, what a Helper, what a partnership.

Accomplishing Our Destiny Every person carries a God-given purpose. The Lord told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had plans for you” (Jeremiah 1:5, MSG). What a profound truth. Before you took your first breath, God already knew you. He had written your story and prepared divine plans for your life. Holy Spirit empowers us in the unfolding of this destiny. That reality should fill every heart with hope.

King David echoed this truth in Psalm 139:13-18 (TPT): “You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. I thank You, God, for making me so mysteriously complex. Everything You do is marvelously breathtaking… You saw who You created me to be before I became me.”

Before you were ever born, God gave you purpose. The Greek word for purpose is prothesis(1). Pro means “before,” and thesis means “a written plan.” In other words, God wrote your life’s thesis before you were formed. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 1:9 (CSB), “He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”

Yes, this speaks of redemption, but salvation is not just about what we are saved from. It’s also about what we are saved to. We are redeemed to live out our God-given purpose and potential. Salvation is the doorway into a life of divine destiny. A life filled with possibilities, assignments, and Holy Spirit-empowered impact.

Many believers understand what God has delivered them from, but they haven’t yet discovered what He has called them into. They stop at forgiveness, without stepping into fullness. But Holy Spirit has come to empower us to live as sons and daughters of God now, not merely in Heaven someday. He empowers us to live as heirs of His Kingdom, walking in the inheritance and purpose He wrote for us before time began.

Even when we miss it–once, twice, or ten times–Holy Spirit never stops working, guiding, aligning, and reconnecting us with the destiny God purposed. Before you were born, God wrote your name, your potential, your callings, your giftings, and even your divine connections, into a plan that would unfold across your lifetime. And then, in love, He gave you the freedom to pursue it.

Holy Spirit understands that plan fully. He knows the path that leads into your destiny, even when circumstances seem to block the way, and He never stops working. Through every season, whether it feels like progress or delay, the Spirit continues weaving your life into alignment with God’s purpose. He is always leading you forward, always connecting you to destiny. 

Jesus described Holy Spirit in John 14:26 as the One who comes alongside us to help, to aid, and to support. Part of His role is to draw forth this destiny and purpose. What an incredible benefit this is. There are dimensions of our destiny that we simply cannot reach in our own strength. Certain elements of who we are destined to be require the assistance and empowerment of Holy Spirit. That doesn’t mean we can’t experience success on our own; we can, but not the fullness of all God designed us to be. This comes only through partnership with the Spirit. He is the empowerer of greater purpose.

When you come to crossroads and destiny decisions, invite Holy Spirit to guide you, to speak to you, to instruct you. The Greek word Jesus used in John 14:26 describes Him as our parakletos, our Divine Mentor, Counselor, and Advocate.(2) What a truth: you have a Divine Mentor living within you! No one can lead you like He can. The Spirit’s guidance and intercession are always in alignment with the Father’s will and in perfect harmony with His plan for our lives. Each day is an invitation to yield, listen, and follow His leading, so that our lives collectively become a living testimony of His glory and power.

Pray with me:  

Holy Spirit, lead us into the fullness of our destinies, deeper into God’s will and the plans You have written for us. Empower us to walk fully in our God-given potential. Fill us afresh and help us become all God saw for us before we were even formed. You are our Helper, our Teacher, and our Divine Mentor. We trust You to lead, guide, and direct us today, helping us advance the Kingdom of God. 

As Your Ekklesia, we pray and decree heaven’s purposes on earth. We ask for the fullness of America’s God-ordained destiny. Cause our nation to align with Heaven’s plan and fulfill every purpose You have planned. Deliver us from the socialism, Marxism, humanism, and globalism attempting to invade our land. Give our leaders the wisdom needed to cope with issues associated with the invasion of millions of illegal aliens, an out-of-control welfare system, the corruption of the Deep State, food and health crises, and so much more. We ask for the healing of our land, knowing this will occur only as revival transforms the heart of our nation. Righteousness exalts a nation. In Yeshua’s name, we ask these things. Amen.

Our decree:  

We decree that Holy Spirit is flowing through the Ekklesia, equipping us to fulfill our assignments and impact the earth with God’s Kingdom power.

Today’s post was contributed by my brother, Tim Sheets. You can learn more about Tim here.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 4286.

2. Ibid. ref. no. 3875.

November 19, 2025

Introduction As our friend Gina Gholston participated in the recent days of praise, the Lord gave her a word for us. You will find it encouraging! The title of Gina’s post is: 

The Fruit of Our Praise For the past several days, in obedience to the prophetic word of the Lord from Chuck Pierce, we released our praise to God in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. Praise is a powerful thing. It’s a weapon that shifts the atmosphere. It also shifts our focus from ourselves to our Heavenly Father. True praise provokes a fresh awareness of God, and when we think on Him and recall His goodness, it ignites hope and awakening within our own lives.

One morning this past week, as I was praising the Lord, Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance an actual event that I witnessed many years ago. I wrote about this event in my latest book, so I picked it up and read the story. As I read those words and remembered that event, my praise went to another level and another decibel! And in that moment of high and sincere praise, I heard the Lord say, “Divine intervention has been activated. Through your praise, the shield of faith has been raised, and you will now see an undeniable deflection of the fiery darts of the enemy. What has been intended for evil will now be turned for good. This will result in testimony after testimony of My power and goodness, evoking an awakening to an awareness of Me that will bring the nation back to life!”

What an encouraging word! It reveals that our praise doesn’t just give us access to God, it gives God access to us because He comes where He is acknowledged . . . and where He is, there is life!

Now, here is the testimony of the event the Lord reminded me of that morning.

Several years ago, I was privileged to be part of a missionary work team assigned to build a home for a pastor and his family. It was an incredible project that actually became supernatural! God enabled our small team to build that house from the concrete slab to a near-completed home in just ten days. While it was a hard, laborious task, it was also a joy to work with this amazing team and watch the project come to completion, one task at a time. My friend and assistant, Darlene, was also on this trip. And while we are by no means professional carpenters, we were so honored to work alongside and assist those who were.

One part of the building we were helping with was framing the home’s interior walls. With power tools and pneumatic nail guns, the framing was going pretty quickly. Darlene was assisting one of the carpenters, who was using the nail gun. She was holding the wall studs in place as he was nailing them.

As they worked on one wall, they were in a squatting position, and the carpenter using the nail gun was facing Darlene as she held the board being nailed. Somehow, the nail gun jerked just as he was pulling the trigger, and the nail missed the board and hit Darlene directly on her knee. Nail guns have a high-pressure force that can shoot a nail several feet and still penetrate the tip of the nail into a board. Darlene was right in front of the gun, just inches away, when the trigger was pulled. When the nail launched and hit her knee, it was one of those moments when everything seemed to stand still as we helplessly watched the event unfold. It all happened so quickly, and there was absolutely no denying what should have happened. 

But God! 

The end result should have been a nail blasting into and causing severe damage to Darlene’s knee, but instead, the end result was an amazing testimony of God’s protection! Despite the tremendous pressure driving the nail forward, the Lord supernaturally deflected it. It simply tapped and bounced off her knee and fell to the ground—not even leaving a mark on her!

Our God is awesome! He is almighty! When we remember His greatness, we cannot help but release our praises to Him! In the light of our awakened awareness of Him, confident faith arises, impacting our prayers and decrees. Our ability to walk and work with Him also increases as He works through us to change things once thought impossible. I am reminded of a line from an old song that says, “God specializes in things thought impossible. He can do what no other power can do!”(1)

The atmosphere of this nation is now filled with a swirl of sincere praises that have flowed from hearts and lips declaring the goodness of our great God! Our focus is on Him, and our faith in Him is ignited within us. He has been good. He is good! He is great, and He is greatly to be praised!

Our shouts of praise have captured the attention of Heaven. Heaven is responding to our sound. God is pleased, and He has come to inhabit our praises. Divine intervention has been activated to extinguish the fiery darts of the enemy. God is turning things in our favor. His favor surrounds us like a shield that deflects the enemy’s evil intentions. God is putting His finger on some things, as the word from Chuck declared, and hell’s agenda is losing its grip on this nation. Testimony after testimony of Yahweh’s power, intervention, and goodness is being proclaimed, and the words of our testimonies are awakening the nation to an undeniable awareness of our mighty God. He inhabits our praises, and under the weight and reality of His abiding presence, life is being restored!

Our combined prayer and decree:

Father, You are great, and You are greatly to be praised. We recall Your goodness, and our hearts can’t help but release shouts of praise and thanksgiving to You. O, how great is Your faithfulness! We turn our eyes upon You, and we find hope! Your love and favor surround us like a shield that deflects the fiery darts of our adversaries. Snares that have been crafted and meant for our downfall are being broken and destroyed. You, O, Lord, have enabled us to rise with overcoming power by the blood of Jesus and the words of our testimonies. Our shouts of praise will not be silenced! We lift our voices loud and strong to worship You, and You rush in like a mighty wind, the Ruach of Yahweh, to bring our nation back to life! Amen!

You have come to inhabit our praises. Your divine intervention has been activated, and we will now see an undeniable deflection of the fiery darts of the enemy. What has been intended for evil will now be turned for good. Testimony after testimony of Your power and goodness will continue to rise and evoke an awakening, an awareness of You that will bring the nation back to life!

Today’s post was contributed by our friend Gina Gholston. Portions were taken from Gina’s book, Along the Journey. You can find out more about Gina at GinaGholston.com 

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1.) Oscar C. Eliason, Got Any Rivers, 1931; copyrighted 1945 by Singspiration Music (ASCAP); Brentwood, TN.

November 18, 2025

Introduction Last week, I shared with you a prophetic word given to Chuck Pierce, which instructed us to offer praise to God three times a day for a week. The word said this would release God’s judgments against lies that have held America captive. You can read Chuck’s prophetic word here. The seven days ended Sunday, but many of us who heard about and started the weeklong process after it began are continuing for a few more days, simply to honor the Lord and “contribute” our week of praise.

Following up on Chuck’s word, I wrote two posts last week on the power of praise, and more importantly, why it is so powerful. I did so again yesterday and will continue this theme through tomorrow. The title of today’s post is:

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The Priority  “Firsts” can be good or bad. First place is usually good, as are first-class and first-rate. First-degree is usually bad, as is the need for first aid, and the first half, and the first baseman can be either. While thinking about this, I recalled several of my firsts, along with a one- or two-word thought concerning each of them. Here are ten:

• First major-league baseball game attended (awe)

• First day of school (intimidated)

• First car (junk)

• First date with Ceci (priceless)

• First time seeing both daughters (love)

• First dirty diaper change (nausea)

• First sermon (nice try)

Compiling a few of my “firsts” was fun. Some were extremely important, others only memorable. The same would be true with yours. There is one first, however, that is essential and that all of us must keep number one. Jesus referred to it as our “first love.” When writing to the Ephesian church, He said, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4).

The Greek word translated “first” in this passage is protos, meaning “foremost in time, place, order, or importance.”(1)  Since it would be illogical to assume Christ had been the first person each of them loved, it seems reasonable to conclude He was using the word in the sense of importance. “You have abandoned the love that should be your number one priority,” was His obvious meaning.

The root word for protos is pro, meaning “superior to” or “in front of”; and yes, protos is where we get our word professional, or its shortened form, pro. A professional is one who excels in a particular field. I used to play golf; Scotty Scheffler does, as well. But there’s a big difference between us: He’s a pro, I’m an amateur. Watching each of us swing a golf club once would leave no doubt as to the difference.

Shopping is another activity performed by both pros and amateurs. I shop occasionally - when God is punishing me for speeding or some other serious offense. I’m an amateur shopper and have no desire to ever be anything but an amateur. Ceci, on the other hand, is a pro. And as is fitting, she enjoys it. We both do what we enjoy: I watch a football game, she shops. Life is good.

Placing the literal definitions of pro and protos into the context of Revelation 2:4 makes clear what Jesus was saying: Relationship with Him should be “in front of” or “superior to” all others. He wants to be our “priority” love. Christ told us elsewhere that loving God is the first of all the other commandments (Matthew 22:37-38). 

This begs the question of why - why does God demand to be first? Is He narcissistic or egocentric, demanding that we make Him the center of attention? Or, is God insecure, in need of our affirmation? The obvious answer to both of these questions is a resounding “NO!” The Lord is self-confident and self-assured, and yet this confidence is filtered through the utmost humility. He has neither pride nor insecurity issues. Why then does He demand to be number one? Because He wants us to be fulfilled. Complete. Satisfied.

The reason God must be first in our lives is profound in both its simplicity and importance: The very purpose for the creation of humans was relationship with God. We were made to be one in spirit with Him, joined together spiritually like a husband and wife. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” Our union with Him completes us. There is a place in the heart of every human God made only for Himself. Period. If we don’t get this right, the pieces won’t fit. Nothing else can fill this void, including other people, money, pleasure, or accomplishments. And certainly not religion; we weren’t created to connect with a system or organization, but a person. God understands this, of course, and for our benefit, reminds us of His love for us and our need for Him.

Before correcting the church at Ephesus Jesus told them: “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false: and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary” (Revelation 2:2-3).

What believer wouldn't be pleased to hear such praise? Yet Christ makes it clear that these accomplishments are not the heart of the matter. A good performance can't replace intimacy with Him. If this misconception is allowed to control us, our good works will devolve into meaningless religion - every time - satisfying neither God nor us. Our “performance” must flow out from a relationship with Him; never replace or be equated to it.

It is also important to understand that our first (priority) love is not based on emotions or feelings. It would be unrealistic to think we can maintain the same level of emotional excitement that typically occurs when we first meet Christ. Such a sustained emotional high is not a reasonable expectation in any relationship, whether it be with your spouse, a friend, or the Lord. 

If Christ is currently number one in your life and you are enjoying the pleasure of His company, treasure it. Let nothing come between the two of you. But if you, like the church of Ephesus, have allowed other things to take priority over your relationship with Him, reprioritize. Make Him protos again - superior to all else. And if you have never yet discovered Christ as your first-love soul mate, well, get ready to find out why you exist.

Amazing joys await you.

Pray with me:

Holy Spirit, search our hearts and show us where we’ve failed to ascribe to our Father, to Jesus, and to You the highest place. Reveal to us the ways in which we have compromised our commitment to You, forsaking our first love. Thank You for tenderly drawing our wayward hearts back to the priority of loving You and receiving Your love. Without Your loving leadership, we are incomplete. May nothing else replace the pleasure of Your company. 

Father, our nation once honored You first. But like the Ephesians, works, wealth, and pleasure crowded You out. For most Americans, You’re not even a distant second. However, from Your Word and from history, we know this can change. Smoldering embers can blaze again, cold hearts can burn with passion, and prodigals can run into the arms of love-sick fathers. With Your power and love, even dry, dead bones can live again. Breathe once again on this apostate nation. In Christ’s name, we pray, Amen.

Our decree:

We declare that America is returning to her first love; a harvest of lovers is coming, and Jesus will be prioritized above all!

Today’s post was taken from my book The Pleasure of His Company and published by Baker Books.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. James Strong, The New Strong’s exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 4413.