Hi Brian!

I hope you stay warm at the game tonight! I will be posting the word for this week tomorrow! Well, this is tomorrow and THAT was a GREAT game! Did you even notice the cold? :) The word for this week is "faithfulness". We find it in these verses:

Psalm 36:5 Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, extend to the skies, and Your faithfulness to the clouds. AMP

Psalm 89:1  I WILL sing of the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness from generation to generation.  AMP

Psalm 92:1 IT IS a good and delightful thing to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises [with musical accompaniment] to Your name, O Most High, 2 To show forth Your loving-kindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night,  AMP

Lam 3:22 It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness. AMP

This is the Hebrew word "`emuwnah". Strong's concordance says this: firmness, security, fidelity. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon adds: steadfastness, steadiness. Notice that in every one of these Scriptures that speaks of His faithfulness, we also see His mercy and/or loving-kindness mentioned. We covered both of those words before as the Hebrew word "checed" which we found from Vine's Expository Dictionary means: loving-kindness; steadfast love; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion. These are all attributes of His nature AND His attitude toward us. Nothing we can ever do or neglect to do will ever cause HIM to be unsteady or wavering in His opinion of us or His love for us. That gives me the great confidence to simply confess the mistakes and get IMMEDIATELY right back in fellowship with Him! HE never wavers in His support of me, or you! I am sincerely confident that whatever HE has in store for you and your family in 2016, it will be better than you can now imagine! That doesn't mean that their won't be tests or trials, but with the confidence that HE never wavers, we can remain steady, too! Good gifts await (James 1:17)! Here is Hillsong Worship with another song from their new album called "Faithfulness":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

What a great game! So fun listening to it. The word for this week is "eternity". It's only found once in the Bible in Isaiah 57:15:

15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
"I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. NKJV

This is the Hebrew word "`ad". Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon says this: perpetuity, forever, continuing future. I have always been tremendously blessed whenever I stop to appreciate that our God, Who had no beginning and no end and Who lives in the mode of FOREVER, can still be willing to also live in me! Our human minds can't even comprehend the vastness of Who He is! We have within us the Wisdom, the power and the authority of the One Who spoke the universe into existence with a Word! Genesis 1:3:

3 And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.

I don't really believe that He actually had to say "Let there be ...". My thought is that all that He had to say was "Light!" and light had no choice but to BE!  Because HE lives in us, we CAN get to the point where we only need to speak a Word and it will happen, just as it did for Him! We have everything we will ever need to be successful at whatever we lay our hands to because the One, True God, in the person of Holy Spirit, lives in us forever! HE will never leave and WE have access to Him and His infinite wisdom. The more that I meditate on the Word, the more I understand His presence and power! HE is holding nothing back and the only thing standing between us and that place of being able to speak just a Word is TIME! Every day that we grow up in the Word brings us closer! I am so happy to know that you love studying the Word! When your children are so bold to declare Jesus, we KNOW that they have been well trained! I can't wait to see you all again! Have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas! We love you! Here is Hillsong Worship with "Here With You".

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian! 

The word for this week is "greatness". It's found only once in the New Testament in Ephesians 1:19-20:

19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,  20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, KJV

This is the Greek word "megethos". Strong's Concordance says: magnitude. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament adds this:  physical or spiritual greatness. The Amplified Bible is really good for these verses:

19 And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,  20 Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places], AMP

As powerful as the creation of the universe must have been, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is what Holy Spirit refers to when He speaks of the "greatness" (the magnitude) of the power of God. This same power is also what it took to change our previously dead human spirits into the image of God at the New Birth (2 Corinthians 5:17). "Power", which we have covered before, is the Greek word "dunamis" which means miraculous power, according to Strong's Concordance, and inherent power, strength and ability, according to Thayer's Greek Lexicon.  Because His greatness lives IN us in the person of Holy Spirit, WE have His ability to accomplish anything and everything that He calls us to do! Philippians 4:13:

13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency]. AMP

As you and Kristine raise your daughters to know this Truth about who THEY are in Him, it will be so exciting to see them demonstrate that greatness in all of the areas that are important and unique to them. Nothing will be impossible that they set their minds to! Thank You JESUS! Here is another new song from Hillsong Worship called "Heart Like Heaven":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

We will definitely move on from THAT game! Thank you again for your email, it was very encouraging! :) 

The word for this week is "violent". The only verse in the New Testament that has this word is Matthew 11:12, and it also contains another form of the same word.

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. KJV

"Violent" here is the Greek word "biastees". Strong's Concordance says this: a forcer, i.e. energetic. Thayer's Greek Lexicon adds: strong, forceful. Vine's Expository Dictionary says: a forceful or violent man. "Suffers violence" is "biazoo", which is the verb form and means to be seized or forced. From the KJV it appears to be a negative picture of the kingdom of Heaven being attacked, but the more accurate meaning is found in the Amplified Bible.

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize — a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion]. AMP

So, even though the enemy would like to attack the Lord and His Kingdom, he no longer has any right to do so. We, however, have the Kingdom of our Lord as our inheritance and we MUST go after it fiercely, forcefully and sometimes violently because the enemy would love nothing better than to try to keep us from it! The violence, or forcefulness, is how we need to operate where our health and healing, our financial prosperity, our peace and joy, our family, our careers, our friends and every other area of our life is concerned, so that we refuse to allow anything good to be stolen! The great news is that this "violent" fight is called a "fight of faith" (1 Timothy 6:12) and it is one that we ALWAYS win, IF we refuse to quit! I know you and Kristine are not quitters! I am praying that this new year will be one of extreme blessing, peace, prosperity, joy and happiness for you all! Here is Hillsong Worship with another new song called "What A Saviour":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!