December 2010

What a joy for Heather and I to send our warmest wishes and our faith-filled prayers to all of you this Christmas. We feel as though a new season is upon us and our greatest desire is to see God’s best blessings pour out upon you abundantly. This month I wanted to share a simple but profound word with you which I think apropos in coinciding with this new season.

With the birth of Christ, the whole world felt Heaven and Earth converge in a moment, a real event that is still affecting real people to this very day. The fact of this blessing is abundantly evident in the millions of lives changed, miracles witnessed, sacrifices of love and life throughout human history. When the blessing of God manifests, when Heaven kisses the Earth, it creates an obvious and notable change. I remember when Heather and I lived in Nicaragua. They only have two seasons there: summer and winter. Summer is HOT. Winter is HOT AND WET. Basically, it rains for six months and then it doesn’t rain for six months. After the long summer, the ground is dry, dusty and brown. Then, with the first rain, everything goes GREEN. When the heavens pour out its refreshing rain, the earth responds with life, praise... you can almost hear it sigh! That is just how it is in the spirit world. God has said that His Word is like the rain and the snow that come down from Heaven. They make the earth to bring forth and bud (Is 55:10). “So shall My Word be that goes forth out of My mouth. It shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and PROSPER in the thing whereunto I send it” (v. 11). As brother Jesse once said, “God’s power is not released when the Holy Spirit is moving, but when God is SPEAKING” (see Gen 1:2,3). The impact of God’s Word upon creation is powerful, redemptive. It causes the earth to produce its crop, its harvest. And It will not ‘return’ without accomplishing its mission, like Jesus Himself.

God’s blessing, then, comes to us like the rain (or snow depending on the season). God said, ‘I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessings Ezekiel 34:26. However, and this is an important point, showers don’t come down from cloudless skies! Vapour must first arise from the earth, collect in the air, then return as precipitation. Jesus said it this way, “What you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, what you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mat 18:18). So then we, the people of God, must send up the vapours of prayer which gather in the heavens as clouds. God then sends the shower. It goes up invisible, returns tangible, visible. Even though what we do on earth is confirmed in heaven, God must be the Prime Mover! What does that mean? It means that He is the One who initiates all correct spiritual activity. See, He speaks a Word to us. Faith comes to us as we hear it. We return that spoken Word back to God in a believing prayer until the cloud forms, fills from saturation and breaks open pouring out its contents upon the earth. Here’s what it looks like: The prophet Elijah says, “there is a sound of abundance of rain” (1 Kings 18:41). The word for sound in this verse is the Hebrew word qol meaning ‘voice’! God was speaking RAIN. Though God said it, there still were no clouds in the sky. So the man of God went up to the mountain and prayed into cloudless skies until a “cloud the size of a Man’s hand” appeared. Then was the Word of God manifest! God said it. The man heard it. Faith came to him to pray a believing, faith-filled prayer (James 5:15-18). He told the king to eat, but he went to pray (fasting). He continued to pray into contradictory evidence until the promise manifest. Hallelujah!

This Christmas season I want to encourage you to not be put off by contradicting information... we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). Faith comes by hearing (Rom 10:17), not by seeing. So what has God spoken to you? Take it to the mountain, fast if need-be. Pray a believing prayer and watch the living God shower you with blessings! Where is the God of Elijah? He will come to you as the rain (Hos 6:3)!!

Much love and season’s blessings,

Kevin, Heather and family

November 2010

Fall is definitely here... the days are darker and the forecast calls for rain for 13 out of the next 15 days! PTL!! Looking forward... we are preparing for Thanksgiving. It is not celebrated, of course, as an Irish holiday, but the Americans we know will get together to thank God for His providence and His bounty. He has been so good to us all.

Looking backward... we see Kids’ Fun Fest, our annual Halloween event, in full view. And what a view it is!!! It was by all accounts the best we’ve EVER done. The theme this year was: The Pirates of Hawaii! Loads of swashbuckling was to be had in the EASIEST and most fun KFF in the 10 years we’ve been doing it. Wow! The place was packed, again. Constant prayer is making a difference! The show was flawless and every detail of the night was smooth sailing. We had the happiest parents and the happiest children ever. We had more workers on the night, 68, than we’ve ever had. The costumes were amazing, the music was amazing. My wife was amazing!!!! Heather was the most beautiful Admiral in the history of Admirals! Actually, I’ve never seen an Admiral in heels till now! But, wow, she was something else. And the team was dressed to the nines, too. The pirates heave-hoed their way through the evening, kidnapping the princess for the King’s treasure and winging an adventure through Skeleton’s Cove, jungles, etc. The good guys were hot on their trail being led by God through prayer. They rescued the Princess and brought the baddies to justice: they were condemned to the DUNK TANK... which we used to raise money for the local Hospice! The highlight of the night, as always, was the “Salvation Drama”. This year’s drama was particularly powerful. Such a vivid and living parable of the message of the Gospel was acted out on the big stage before all the parents and children. Then Heather came out and delivered a terrific message before leading the crowd in a simple prayer of repentance, just like in the drama. I even took a turn in the Dunk Tank to keep the fun alive and raise a few “bob” for a local charity. All money raise at the dunk tank went to support the Galway Hospice. You wouldn’t believe how cold that water was... yikes! Afterward, we packed up, stopped for a cast party at a local burger place that stayed late for us and then dropped off all the stuff at our new facility, which we just acquired. Everyone was truly satisfied... and truly tired!

Heather and I send our love and pray that your Thanksgiving will abound with God’s great grace!

God Bless,

Kevin, Heather, Hannah, Abbey, Matthew and Elisabeth(who I call her Kit or Kitten which is short for Ciotóg, which is Irish for “left-handed”)

October 2010

Hello Everyone!

I trust all is well with you and that the Fall is proving to be better than you expected! I believe that our best days are ahead of us and that God always, “saves the best for last.”

I wanted to share with you this month on something I feel is key to our success in this hour... every hour. You have probably heard many wonderful teachings on Jabez. Bruce Wilkinson has a terrific best-selling book on ‘The Prayer of Jabez’. It was tremendous and had a wonderful impact, I believe, on the Body of Christ in the area of prayer. The subject is only mentioned the one time in Scripture and the prayer seems very basic and is contained in only one verse: “Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast (NJB reads, “extend my lands”), that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from evil that it might not hurt me. And God gave him his request.” (1 Chr 4:10) Wow. Why? Why did God answer this guy’s prayer? And that’s all we know about him... that he prayed this prayer and that God answered this prayer. But why did God give him this blessing? Actually, why did God give him this double blessing? The reason I say double blessing is because if you study this verse out in the Hebrew, Jabez actually says, “Oh that You would bless me indeed, that You would bless me indeed...”. The word in Hebrew for “bless” is the word barak. That is where our President gets his name. And Jabez says, “Lord, would You barak, barak?” Would You double bless me?

Well, the reason God answered his prayer is so simple and is contained in the previous verse. It says that Jabez “....was more honourable than his brethren.” (v. 9) Jabez was an honourable man. When you study the subject of honour in Scripture you learn that God puts a high premium on this. It is the ‘language’ of the Kingdom of God. We are instructed to: Honour our parents (Eph 6:2), Honour the Lord (Pro 3:9,10), Honour our wives (1 Pet 3:7), Honour all men (1 Pet 2:17), Honour the King (1 Pet 2:17), Honour widows (1 Tim 5:3), Honour the elders (1 Tim 5:17), etc.

What’s more amazing, still, is the thought that God Himself actually desires to honour us. Imagine! Over and over in the Bible you will find that this is one of God’s greatest expressions toward man, if only man understood it and cooperated with heaven’s plans. In Psalms 91 we read that God promises in verse 14 to deliver and honour the one who puts his love on Him (fulfils the first and greatest commandment). We see that man was crowned in the very beginning with “glory and honour” (Heb 2:7, Ps 8:5) and the Lord seems to be trying very hard to redeem man back to that very place of honour. Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of the day for “receiving honour off one another and not seeking the honour that comes from God only.” (John 5:44) There is an honour that comes from men, however there is also an honour that comes from God only. But that must be sought with the whole heart. Funny that we seek honour from so many with questions such as: Am I okay? How do I look? Do you like me? We seem to have drifted so far away from our secure identity “in-Christ” that it has seeped into our national psyche as we head to Europe asking the same questions... Do you like me? We need to come to a place where our heart is to seek God and His approval above the approval of others. As Jesus said, “they loved the praise of praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43). If we, personally and nationally, put God and His opinion first, all the other things will be added to us besides! I can only imagine that the praise of God would truly be unforgettable... and undeniable!

Until next time,
Kevin and Heather Sanford

September 2010

I’m finishing our last day at Youth Camp 2010. We have had a truly amazing week and God has been moving upon the hearts of all of us. Along with the spiritual things, the kids have had so much fun here at the adventure centre (hiking, biking, ab-sailing, kayaking, river-walking, etc.). And we’ve had a terrific crew, too! They even made a spoof movie of ‘Lord of the Rings’ (sweded). We laughed so, so hard making it, watching it, re-watching it. I loaded the video, along with a slideshow from the camp, on my facebook page....please check it out. It was a great week!

Now I’m headed back into Galway for a baby dedication (second one this week). Then prayer and service tomorrow. I hope to see some of you there. Stay in touch. Pray for us. We love you all. Kevin and Family

August 2010

This year’s kids’ camp was the biggest and the best ever. With 50% more kids than last year and over 60 workers, the camp was a week of wonder and a tremendous success. The theme this year was: “How the West was won!” Living in the West of Ireland, it was the perfect name for the perfect week. The crew, complete with the Sheriff, the Mayor, the Banker, Cowboys and Indians, etc., brought home the Bible truth that the good guys always win in the end! Our team has gotten better every year and held the campers attention for the entire week while conveying God’s Word in living color. It was FANTASTIC! The girls had a special Line Dancing class to some cool Christian cowboy songs and an art class which featured portrait drawing. Dance was taught by the EuroStar Champ from ’08 (a member of our church) and Art was taught by Miss Christen, an art major and staff member. The boys had wood-working where they made an actual bow and arrow… very popular! They also had a survival class where they learned many amazing things. One, which was a particularly powerful teaching moment that I used on the parent day, Friday, to present the Gospel. They made a compass! Mark O’Mahony, a nature buff, filled a bowl with water. He then placed a leaf on top of the water. Then he produced a little box from his pocket with a magnet which had a straight pin on it, thereby magnetizing the pin. When he dropped the magnetized pin onto the leaf, it turned in the bowl on the water to point North. His purpose was to teach the kids to find their direction even if they were lost. Wow! So I used it to teach the truth that God, the Creator, has put an invisible draw on the heart of every man to provide direction for their lives. Even if you are lost, you can find True North! Scripture testifies to this inferring that Heaven lies to the side of the North (Isaiah 14:13)… the Amplified Bible says, the uttermost North! What a Great God we know and serve that has given every man a conscience (compass) and His own Spirit (His invisible Guide) so that one, though a wayfarer, could find his way Home!! This is such an important principle in the day we live in. So many people are trying teach that truth is relative, depending upon you perspective. But I know that there is One God, One Way to Heaven, just as there is ONLY ONE NORTH. Heaven is a place. Heaven has a location. And Heaven is calling every man homeward. We appreciate the opportunity to have had a week to minister this Word to the children and parents of Galway this week.

July 2010

Heather and I send our love and prayers to you all this month and trust all is well. We are fired up and in full “swing” for summer! Our amazing kid’s camp has a western theme this year so we are feeling right at home with a bit of Texas around every corner and on every team member. Miss Christen’s Dad took up a collection last year from his Cowboy Church of TONS of authentic hats, boots and cowboy shirts. Most of the things were slightly used but everything was in pretty good to great condition. Some things were still in their wrappings. Wow! Stetson hats, all the accessories like jail keys and money bags and sheriff badges. Man, these Irish guys are livin’ in tall cotton!! The team looks great… thanks, Chris!!

We have really seen the Hand of God in prepping for camp this year. We have nearly doubled our target for registrations to 300 children and therefore needed a much bigger staff. We normally run with 45 or so workers but needed 65 this time around. We had been working really hard to recruit help from around the country and around the world. And God has provided! We were looking at different venues this year for camp to house the increase in numbers. We contacted a special needs school in town and Heather spoke with and fell in love with the heart and spirit of the new lady principal there. Though we didn’t end up using it for the camp, we decided to give them a special work day. So, even though we were very tight on time with the approaching camp, we took about 40 people out to paint, clean, etc. It was sooo much fun. We had a terrific time and the principal herself was touched and blessed by the church. The principal even asked us to pray over the school as we worked so that God would bless it with a “fresh, clean start” from anything in the past. Well, the amazing thing about this story is that, as we were helping someone else, God was organizing our help! One of the guys that came over to help from our new church plant in another city mentioned our need to a Christian mission group that he worked with in Athlone: OM Ireland. Up to that point we were still short ten men and two women for our camp staff. OMI’s leader phoned a few days later and said that he’d heard about what we were doing and what we needed and then promptly committed the dozen workers we needed for the entire week of camp! Praise God! They had teams coming for the exact days and were looking for locations to send them.

June 2010

Heather and I send our love along with some Irish blessings. We’ve had a wonderful month with stellar events and great results! Thanks for all you do to help us do what we do!!

First, the church enjoyed First Communion and Confirmation services. This year was even more special for us than usual as Hannah was in the Confirmation class and graduation… she had the highest grades, too. I spent 5 months with the kids teaching them a “Foundations of Faith” course. It was fantastic! For an hour every Friday we spent our time together working through basic doctrines such as: The Divinity of Jesus, Resurrection of the Dead and Rewards, Baptisms, the Second Coming of Christ, etc. It’s a time of teaching and Q and A that the kids and I all enjoy. Graduation, then, is on a Sunday service with many special invitees. The new teens sit up front, sing special songs and have hands laid on them… very cool! Afterwards, we had a big party at our house for Hannah and our special guests, with BBQ and a huge 50 ft. slide. WOW! Unforgettable!

Also, Heather’s (always) incredible Ladies’ Conference with this year’s guest minister, Judy Jacobs, was amazing! It was such a pleasure to meet Minister Judy and her husband, Jamie Tuttle. They were so humble and down to earth. They were also so very anointed. They sang, prophesied and prayed until the glory came down on every service. On the Friday night service many ladies received the infilling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). As Judy ministered at the altar, she called out many particular ailments. One such call was for someone who had just received a “bad report” from the doctor. A precious young woman responded to the call, sobbing. She had just been called by her doctor to come in immediately to the hospital as her blood results were sooo bad following kidney failure. After just a minute or so of prayer, you should have seen her face! It was as if she walked out of darkness into the light! Her countenance was lit up like one of the chandeliers in the room… WOW. She was smiling and testifying that God’s healing power had just gone through her and she knew she was healed. She came back the next morning saying that she had just gone running! Later she sent our office an email explaining how she had nearly died in November and that she and her husband had explained to their three daughters of 13, 10 and 8 years that she could go to heaven at any time. They were going to have to move out of their two bedroom flat in order to accommodate the massive dialysis machine they were going to have to put in the room. Now she was shouting from the roof top that she would “…live and not die, and declare the works of the Lord!” (Psalm 118: 17). It was truly an amazing weekend, and an amazing month!

May 2010

Our church is currently on a 21-day fast. We are desperate to see God move in this land, that the church would grow, and that we would see real and lasting breakthroughs financially. This has been our hardest year ever. Though the work is strong, as any visitor can attest, we have been stretched ‘beyond measure’ on the financial front. I know that many of you have also been struggling. But we truly believe that if you provide for the ministry out of your scarcity, God will make sure that your barrel doesn’t run dry and your oil will not fail (1 Kings 17: 9-16). We believe we can make a difference! We believe you can, too!

April 2010

Heather and I hope you had a great March! It’s always a wonderful season for us in Ireland. After a long, cold and usually wet winter, hope of spring is in the air. All the daffodils are bright yellow trumpets telling of the arrival of the new season. This year we’ve a little extra expectation around the Sanford home. The kids and I planted six hundred bulbs of tulips and daffodils in the garden for Heather’s Christmas present while she was away. She doesn’t know where they are, so every sprout is a surprise… and they’re sprouting everywhere! We wanted to give her a big bouquet of flowers every spring for the rest of her life! We can’t wait till they start to come up so we can pick a bunch to have in the house. These blooms always remind us, too, of the trumpet of the Lord for which we patiently wait. We know that Jesus will return some day “with a shout, the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God” (1 Thess. 4:16).

As for March and ministry, we always have St. Pat’s, and St. Pat’s is always great! This year was no exception. Plus for the second year in a row, we had a team from Texas to help us out for the big event. And this team was AWESOME. They worked so hard, did everything we asked, and went the second mile for every single assignment. Along with all of the preparations for the parade and float, this team was tremendously helpful on several other very important projects.

First, our church set up a door-to-door survey to find out what people in the surrounding areas thought about religion, God, and what they want in a church. A church member went with each team member to the surrounding neighborhoods. The survey results were fascinating and will help us formulate the future plans we have for targeting the area with certain classes. We then sent them back out to put 5,000 postcards (invitations to the church) through the mailboxes of every house in all the neighborhoods. In addition, they helped us distribute thousands of tracts to the crowds before and during the parade while the rest of the team, and the rest of the church, were in the parade.

As for the parade, we had a FANTASTIC FLOAT!!! Every year for St. Patrick’s Day we choose between creating a church float or a float for our children’s camp. Last year’s float was for the church. This year, since our children’s camp theme was so great, we chose to do a float for our camp. The theme: WILD WEST. The float had a “jail” pulled by a REAL horse. The entire team, dressed as cowboys, line-danced all the way down the route. The music was loud and fun. The dance was so neat, and all the kids were singing along, “…zig zag, ‘cross the floor, shuffle in diagonal…Pop it! Lock it! Polka-Dot-it! Countrify it! Hip-Hop it! Put your hawk in the sky, move side to side, step to the left, stick it and glide!” Each time the wagon stopped, the “baddies” would break out of jail and run through the crowd until the sheriff caught ‘em and stuck ‘em back in the jail. It was terrific! Usually the “powers that be” don’t like anyone to stop in front of the grandstand due to time constraints. However as we were passing, the mayor sent a runner to ask us to stop for them and do our ‘skit.’ Wow, what a privilege! It made me feel so proud knowing our group’s reputation precedes us.

The float was a lot of fun. It was also a blessing to see my beautiful wife in her boots and hat, carrying my baby in her hat, holding my son’s hand (who looked like a real Texan boy, just before his sixth birthday)! Hannah and Abbey, my two bigger girls, looked so cute in their jeans, hat and boots, too! I was a proud dad… and a proud pastor.

Thanks for everything! Love from Ireland,
Kevin and Heather Sanford and Family

March 2010

Hope all is well with you. We’re readying for St. Pat’s big day here.

I thought I’d fill you in on a couple of very wonderful events we’re doing right now. In our church, we’ve started a terrific course that is streaming live on our web site: www.abundantlife.ie. It’s Experiencing God by a gentleman named Henry Blackaby. We’re so excited about it. We started on Feb 18th. I preach the course every Thursday at 8pm, Irish time. If you’d like to watch, just go to our site and you should find the link there, (if your computer experiences any buffering or sound problems, simply watch it the following day). If you need the notes to catch up, just contact the office and they’ll get the first few weeks to you straight away. We obviously can’t do more than that because of copyright infringement laws. By then you can pick up a copy of the book for yourself if you’re interested. The study is truly amazing. It’s about “finding and doing the will of God for your life.” The class is a little less preaching and a little more interactive with the congregation. WOW! It’s really terrific, and we’d love it if you’d tune in. Even though you will have missed some of it, the services will all be archived on our page so you can start at the beginning… it wouldn’t make as much sense, otherwise. Check it out and give us some feedback, too. Thanks!

Also, I’m now on FACEBOOK!! Yea! I resisted for as long as I could, then one of our staff convinced me of the benefits. Well, I’ve been running down the stairs every morning since Friday to see how many new ‘friends’ I have! I’m beginning to realize how interesting it is catching up with old friends and acquaintances. People I haven’t seen in years are all over the place. So, I’m proud to say, I have 129 “friends” as of this morning on my personal page, and 80 “fans” on my ministry page! I’ve never had a fan before and feel very popular all of the sudden! Hopefully I will be able to keep in touch with all our friends and family as well as reaching some old ones for the Lord!

Now, here is just a thought from our special Valentine’s services: what you believe will influence your behavior. To illustrate this point, Heather and I showed a video clip from a marriage ministry DVD to our singles. The ministry couple on this DVD tell a story, which is set in a beautiful old church, with a beautiful bride, on a perfect day, complete with a little boy carrying a pillow with the rings on it. This little boy was normally perfectly behaved but, while he carried the pillow down the aisle, going and coming, he would stop at alternate steps and growl at the congregation. Everyone thought this was such strange behavior from an otherwise perfect little kid. It wasn’t until later when they asked him what he was doing that it became clearer to all present. He was doing his utmost to be the very best ‘Ring Bear’ possible. Funny! But when we have a false understanding on something, like marriage, our behavior will follow our understanding, not protocol or reality. The point is that we must have a Biblical understanding of what marriage is so that correct behavior will naturally follow. Marriage was never designed to be the “source” of happiness. As one preacher said, “God would never give you something to replace Himself in your life.” Happiness is, however a beautiful “consequence” of the God-given gift of marriage. Marriage was given to complete you! That’s why man was not the crown of creation -marriage was! That’s why God said it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31).

Till next time, we send our love from Ireland.
Kevin, Heather and family

February 2010

Blessings to you all!

By the time you receive this, you will be well into the New Year and I trust that 2010 will prove to be a remarkable year for us all. One of the ‘Words’ that God gave us for 2010 was “a fresh start”! Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Imagine! When the snow falls, you have a fresh, clean and beautiful covering over the ground. You can’t tell what yesterday looked like because it covers all the tracks, the footsteps - even a bloody battlefield would look new and clean. What a blessing that only Heaven can bestow: a New Start!!

Well, as for our church in Ireland, we are taking that literally!! We’re starting the New Year off in a brand new place. Due to circumstances out of our control we’ve had to leave our facility (one of the finest in the country) and move to a hotel for our services. We were believing to find a new location and were so concerned about the effect of the transition on the church. WOW! The whole church became so excited about the change and simply rose to the challenge. Last Sunday was one of the largest services we’ve ever had… and with no advertisement. Everyone was just happy to ‘move’ out and trust the Lord to be with us, guide us and provide for us. We’ve found the new start already working for us in a beautiful way. God has said that even despite our own failures and sins, He would wipe them away and help us start again with a clean slate. What a great God! I’m truly excited to see what 2010 brings. We have solidly placed ourselves into the mighty Hand of God. We have found Him to be carrying us forward! Praise the Lord, for He is good. He is faithful! He alone is God, our God! Amen!

January 2010

Well, what a year! We closed it out it in a wonderful way with so many wonderful parties and events. Christmas choirs, the ladies’ party, youth party, staff party, young professionals’ party, etc. December is always packed with joy and purpose, and this December was no different…except it was the best we’ve ever had! Somehow, though we actually gave fewer gifts than ever, we enjoyed much more of Christmas than we ever have. It was terrific! As the pictures attest, smiles abounded at every special event. Heather was in the middle of a real, live hair-pulling at the ladies’ Christmas party with Noreen Kenny (the card-carrying instigator at all such functions). Heather always has a great crowd for the yearly teaching and gift exchange, but this year, they enjoyed more fun and guests than normal. Even the waitresses hung around to enjoy the spectacle and to hear the Word of God!

The yearly street choir was great as well. We raised about $5,000 for the Galway Hospice, a favorite local charity that is privately and locally funded. The rockin’ choir sent cool vibes down the main street with terrific, lively tunes. We also use the opportunity to pass out thousands of tracts that remind everyone of the Reason for the Season. The incarnation is, of course, central to the gospel message. So many, especially here, know about the story of Christmas, but few know why it is so very important. As Jesus said, God is a spirit. But a spirit does not have blood, and since blood was required for man’s redemption, the Spirit of God need to be housed in a flesh body. As the book of Hebrews teaches:
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. (Heb. 10:4-7, KJV)

You see, all the bulls, goats, and sheep sacrificed from the dawn of time were never God’s pleasure…only the birth of Christ would do. Verse five says that when He came into the world He said something. What did He say when He came into the world? He said that sacrifices and offerings for sin were not the desire of God, but a BODY was prepared for Him. Why a body? Because He needed the precious blood that would be poured out for our sins, and THAT was the will of God: the offering of the life of the sinless Son of God. And that is what makes Christmas soooo special—Heaven-sent blood that would soon be exchanged for our souls. Hallelujah!

On that same vein, God really spoke to us about 2010! We believe that it will be a year of fresh starts: “Though your sins were as scarlet, they shall be white as snow” (Is. 1:18). No matter the past, God’s mercy offers newness through Christ, even for the most horrible mistakes of yesterday. When there is a new snow fall, all the old tracks are covered. Everything becomes clean, white, fresh. In Isaiah 55:10-11, it tells us that the rain and the snow come from heaven and water the earth, making it spring forth and bud…and so shall His Word be that comes from Heaven and prospers in the earth! The difference, of course, between rain and snow is the season in which they fall. And God is changing the season! Those Words, promises, prophecies that have been spoken over you that haven’t come to pass yet, seemingly frozen in time, are beginning to melt and provide fresh spring water for the seeds you’ve sown! It’s going to be a great 2010!!

Much love and God bless,
Kevin, Heather and family