Hi Brian! 

Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family! We love you all so much! The word for this week is "government". Not a very popular word these days, but God has a better perspective! We'll be looking at the most familiar verse about government from Isaiah 9:6:

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. KJV

This is the Hebrew word "misrah". Strong's Concordance says: empire; from another Hebrew word "sarah" which means: prevail. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon adds: rule, dominion. This prophetic word given by Isaiah tells us that when this child that is born (Jesus - 100% man) Who is the Son that was given (100% God) fulfills His purpose for coming (taking the penalty for sin upon Himself in our place) then all authority of rule would be placed upon Him! Though the devil is still going about deceiving those whom he is able to deceive (1 Peter 5:8), all of those who call upon the name of the Lord to be saved will not only have JESUS as our Ruler, Leader, God and King, but will also have the right to use HIS authority in and over our lives right here! When Jesus anointed the 70 disciples in Luke 10, they went forth with a 'power-of-attorney', so to speak, to operate in His authority, healing the sick and casting out devils, they did it with His authorization. Those who are born again, having received JESUS as LORD and personal Saviour, now have the same authority within and upon us as JESUS Himself had when HE ministered on the earth! Ephesians 3:19-23:

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], 

21 Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come. 

22 And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church],  [Ps 8:6]  

23 Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself]. 

AMP

When we speak HIS Word over our lives, understanding our place "IN HIM", then satan and his forces MUST obey as swiftly as they had to obey JESUS! As we meditate on this TRUTH and then begin to EXPECT these results, we will see more and more manifestations of HIS glory in our lives! This may be hard to grasp in our humanness, but remember that the Spirit and the WORD ALWAYS AGREE! I am expecting an even more blessed, prosperous, anointed, powerful and influential 2017 for you and your entire family! Here is Hillsong Worship with "What A Beautiful Name" because WE are called by that NAME! :

Love, Shalom and MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

We hope you had a great time in New York! The word for this week is "boast". We'll be looking at two portions of Scripture, one from the New Testament and on from the Old! First of all, Ephesians 2:8-10:

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. KJV

This is the Greek word "kauchaomai". Strong's Concordance says: to vaunt. Thayer's Greek Lexicon adds: to glory. The Dictionary definition for vaunt is: boast about or praise (something), especially excessively. Synonyms are: to make much of, to crow about, to parade, flaunt, extol. Since everything good about us comes from God, we should be giving HIM continual praise for Who He is and for what He's done! The next Scripture is Psalm 34:2 and Psalm 44:8:

2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. KJV

Psalm 44:8 In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah. KJV

These are both the Hebrew word "halal". Strong's Concordance says: to be clear, to shine, to make a show, to be clamorously foolish, to rave, to celebrate, to stultify. (Stultifly means: to cause to appear foolish or absurd.) It's where we get the word "hallelujah" from! We SHOULD be 'giddy' with joy over who He is and what He's done! THAT is the type of praise, thanksgiving and worship and that we should be pouring back to HIM from our! AMEN! Here is another new song from Hillsong Worship called "I Will Boast In Christ":

Now and forever

All I have because of Jesus

All this promise

Won for me

When He paid the highest ransom

Once for always

For my freedom

I will boast in Christ alone

His righteousness

Not my own

I will cling to Christ my hope

His mercy reigns

Love will never lose its power

All my failures could not erase

Now I walk within Your favour

Grace unending

My salvation

What can wash away my sin

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

What can make me whole again

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

O precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow

No other fount I know

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

We are to Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "waiting". We'll be looking at three portions of Scripture in the New Testament:

Luke 2:25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. KJV

Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. KJV

2 Thessalonians 3:4 And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. 5 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. KJV

In Luke we have the Greek word "prosdechomai". Strong's Concordance says: to await with confidence and patience. Thayer's Greek Lexicon adds: To receive to oneself, to admit, to give access to oneself.The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament adds this: to receive or to await. Vine's Expository Dictionary also adds this: to look for with a view to favorable reception. 

In Romans we have the Greek word "apedechomai". Strong's Concordance says: to expect fully. Thayer's Greek Lexicon adds this: assiduously and patiently to wait for. Vine's Expository Dictionary adds: to await and expect eagerly. 

In 2 Thessalonians we have the Greek word "hupomone". Strong's Concordance says: cheerful or hopeful endurance, constancy. Thayer's Greek Lexicon adds: steadfastness, 

In all three examples we see that there is an expectancy with slightly different attitudes toward the wait! In Luke Simeon had great confidence and patience that what he expected would definitely come to pass and he was right there when it did! In Romans we see that all of creation is desperately waiting for the same thing that we are waiting for! The attitude is one of expectant hope and eager anticipation! In 2 Thessalonians we see that the attitude is one of cheerfulness which is a reflection of the joy that is within us! I all of these examples, no one was simply sitting on a hill waiting to be rescued! Instead, the encouragement was to keep looking ahead in faith, all the while being actively involved in what we are called to do! This new song from Hillsong Worship called "As It Is (In Heaven) has this line: "and while I'm waiting, I'm not waiting. I know Heaven lives in me". That really sums it up well! While we wait for these promises to be fulfilled, let's keep after our Father's business, having all confidence that He IS DOING what He said He will do! 

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "God". We'll be looking at only one of the Hebrew words translated God in the Bible. This one is found over 2,200 times in the Old Testament. This Hebrew word is "`elohiym". Strong's Concordance says: Plural of "`elowahh", (which is: a deity or the Deity). It also says of "`elohiym": specifically used in the plural, of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon adds: (plural intensive - singular meaning) God, a god, the one true God. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament adds this which is pertinent to our study: More probable is the view that  °§lœhîm comes from °§lœah as a unique development of the Hebrew Scriptures and represents chiefly the plurality of persons in the Trinity of the godhead (see °§lœhîm).  Elohiym is plural because our God is a triune being! The dictionary definition for triune is: three in one. In this case, one God in three Persons! So many people question the teaching of the Trinity because that term is not found in the Bible. These verses reveal the three Persons that make up the One, True God:

Matthew 28:19 Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  AMP

2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. KJV

1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. KJV

Col 2:9 For in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. KJV

I covered all of this today so that we could use this song from Hillsong Worship's new album called "Let There Be Light". The song is "Elohim".

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!