Page 1 of 365… Starting a new year is a lot like starting a new novel. Anything could happen on the next page. It could be exciting, tragic, joyful, victorious, sad, amazing, or ridiculous, you name it. You just never know what life is going to throw at you in the days ahead. In fact, there is only one thing you can be a hundred percent sure of and that is the love of Jesus. (Rom. 8:38-39) The Bible tells us that He remains the same, yesterday, today and forever. (Heb. 13:8) He is a Rock. (Ps. 62:6, 1 Cor. 10:4, Is. 26:4, Is. 28:16, Mat. 7:24-25) Now picture this… Your soul is like a boat floating on the sea of life. The ups and downs of life are the waves crashing around this boat. A boat that is not securely anchored will be swept away by the waves and thrown around without mercy. But, a boat firmly anchored to the Rock of ages will remain steadfast. You do not know what lies ahead in the year to come, but you can have a steadfast heart because the storms of

Why will you never see our family celebrate Halloween? Because we love God. We have taken radical steps in an attempt to create a Christ-centered home and to live righteously . We are so thankful for God’s love and provision that no effort we make, to live to His glory, is too radical for us. Celebrating Halloween will be contradicting those efforts. You see, God hates everything about Halloween. How can I be so sure of this? Because, that’s what the Bible tells me… Halloween is all about witches. This was God’s command regarding witches in Ex. 22:18 “Do not allow a sorceress to live.” Halloween is all about vampires. This is how God feels about consuming blood in Lev. 7:27 “Anyone who eats blood must be cut off from their people.” Halloween is all about ghosts. This is what God says about ghosts in Lev. 19:31 “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.” Deut. 18:10-13 puts it all in a

“God will open the floodgates of heaven for you. He will bless you abundantly. Blessings and prosperity are already yours. Just claim it, declare it, speak it and prepare to be amazed!” We all love to hear this message from preachers. Sure, it is Biblical. Jesus did say that whatever we ask for in prayer will be ours if we believe that we already have it. We are indeed told that God will open the floodgates of heaven for us. Jesus told us not be concerned about our daily needs because we have a Father in heaven who knows what we need. (Mark 11:24, Mal. 3:10, Matt. 6:31-32) But, this is not all that the Bible says. The problem with prosperity preaching, is that it shows people a distorted picture of who God is and where we stand in relationship with Him. The distorted picture looks like this: I have the right to be blessed and to live a prosperous, trouble free life because I believe in God. Therefore He must do and give whatever I ask for in prayer. God is the