Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "kindness". We'll look first at 1 Peter 1:5-7 for one type of kindness:

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. KJV

This phrase comes from the Greek word "philadelphia". Strong's Concordance says: fraternal affection. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: the love of brothers and sisters, in the N.T. the love which Christians cherish for each other as 'brethren'. Another similar word is found in Acts 28:1-2:

1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. 2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. KJV

This is the Greek word "philianthropia". Strong's Concordance says: fondness of mankind, benevolence (philanthropy). Both of these forms of 'kindness' are great, positive ways to respond to people. The really important "kindness" is found in these verses: 

2 Corinthians 6:6 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, KJV

Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. KJV

Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; KJV

Titus 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. KJV

THESE are all the Greek word "chrestotes". Strong's Concordance says: usefulness, moral excellence (in character or demeanor). Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: moral goodness, integrity, benignity. The Theological Dictionary of the N.T. says: denotes God's gracious attitude toward sinners, the fullness of salvation in Christ, the experience of the love of God that is manifested in Christ and shed abroad by the Spirit works itself out as 'chestotes' toward others, a fruit of the Spirit. This is the kindness that we are to show people that will lead them to want to know JESUS! It goes beyond just being 'nice' or 'friendly' to people. It shows the selflessness of God to them. There is power in that! This is what attracts people to you and your family! THIS is BEING a witness and not simply 'witnessing'! Actions really do speak louder than words. Our responsibility is to be putting God's Word in so that this WORD becomes part of us, changing us more and more into His image. Then our actions reflect His nature and draw people to HIM! There is such freedom in just being ourselves and living our lives FROM His presence! You do it well! Here is Hillsong Young and Free with another new song called "As I Am":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

 Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "obey". We'll be looking at two of the Greek words translated "obey". The first is found in Matthew 8:27 and the second in Acts 5:29:

Matthew 8:27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! KJV

Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. KJV

In Matthew we have the Greek word "hupakouo". Strong's Concordance says: to hear under (as a subordinate), i.e. to listen attentively; by implication, to heed or conform to a command or authority. Thayer's Greek Lexicon adds: to submit to. In Acts we have the Greek word "peitharcheo". Strong's Concordance says: to be persuaded by a ruler, i.e. to submit to authority, to conform to advice.

The meanings of the two words seem almost the same, but the difference is in the choice! The disciples of Jesus were shocked that the wind and the sea, the elements, obeyed His commands! The great revelation that WE have is that those same elements MUST obey when WE speak HIS WORD, in His Name! Peter and the other apostles recognized the authority of Jesus and refused to be intimidated by those who had no REAL authority! It is our responsibility to find out who WE are - IN HIM - and what authority WE have in His WORD and His NAME. And then it is also our responsibility to know when to stand up to those who use their God-given authority to demand that we go against God's Word. HE is always our first priority! Here is Hillsong Young and Free again with another new song called "Uncomplicated":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

 Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "illuminated". It's found only one time in the Word of God. Hebrews 10:30-35:

30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; 33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. 34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. 35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. KJV

This is the Greek word "photizo". Strong's Concordance says" to shed rays; to shine; to brighten up. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to give light, to enlighten, to light up, to bring to light, to render evident, to be imbued with saving knowledge. The more time that we spend taking in the Word of God, meditating on it until we receive revelation of it, and then actually DOING what it says to do, the more illumination or enlightenment we receive from Holy Spirit Who is our personal Teacher! Notice that when the illumination, or understanding of the Word came, 'great fights of afflication' followed! The enemy does NOT like when we become more proficient in the Word because it means that he cannot devour us (1 Peter 5:8). Paul said that satan sent a messenger to attack him when he had gained special revelations from the Lord (2 Corinthians 12). He will always fight us to try to keep us out of the Word, but God ALWAYS gives us the victory over him when we boldly stick with it and refuse to give up! My prayer for you and your family is that the illumination of His Word will continue to grow so strong that DOING the Word will be second nature to you, keeping the enemy continually on the run FROM you! Here is another new song from Hillsong Young and Free called "Lord Send Revival":

 

VERSE 1: Peace like a river wash over me Immerse me in water as deep as the sea Hide me in love Your healing embrace Peace like a river wash over me CHORUS As I worship Your majesty I worship Your holy Name Jesus my everything All that I am is Yours VERSE 2: Come Holy Spirit rain down on me Break open the heavens and drench the unseen (oh) Pour out Your presence as I pour out Your praise Come Holy Spirit Lord have Your way BRIDGE 1: Open the heavens Fling wide the gates Flood every heart with mercy Pour out Your presence Inhabit our praise As we cry holy holy TAG: (Whoa whoa) As we cry holy holy (Whoa whoa) BRIDGE 2: Lord send revival Lord send it now A move of Your Spirit Heaven break out Come now in power Cover this land Like You’ve done it before Would You do it (oh come on) again

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

 Hi Brian!

This week I want to share this from Rick Renner's "Sparkling Gems From The Greek Volume 2". I believe that his experience here may be useful for you and Kristine as you continue to grow your businesses and ministries! 

A Revelation!

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. — 1 Corinthians 2:10

For years I searched for a way to reach the very large elderly population in Moscow, Russia, where we live. They are a very specific generation, and I had never understood the key to touching them in large numbers. I knew there was a way to do it, but I didn’t know that way. To be honest, I had nearly bent my brain trying to think of how “I” could reach them! I didn’t realize it at that time, but I had worked so hard thinking on my own that I hadn’t involved the Holy Spirit very much in obtaining the answer!

I’ll never forget the day I looked out the living room window of our apartment in downtown Moscow — and there on the street that ran parallel to the Kremlin was a massive demonstration of pensioners, widows, and elderly, looking like they were having the greatest party of their lives! Some of them were carrying signs with Communist slogans like they did in the old Soviet Union. Some even carried huge photos of Lenin and Stalin, waving them over the heads of the crowd.

As I leaned out our window to get a better glimpse, I heard music from the Soviet era being played, and I saw that many of these pensioners were actually dancing in the streets to the music. Although most people in the West remember Communism as an evil entity, these elderly people grew up in the USSR and remembered it as the time of their youth. They were reveling in the memories of earlier times when they were younger and life seemed easier than it had become in their old age.

I told Denise, “I want to go downstairs, get out on the street, and experience those elderly people!” Within minutes, I had my winter coat on; I pressed the button on our elevator to take me down to the street; and I nearly flew out of the door of our building to quickly join that big demonstration. My eagerness to join the pensioners on the streets wasn’t because I agreed with Communist dogma; I just wanted to share the experience with these thousands of lively elderly people!

When I stepped into the huge throng of senior citizens, I suddenly found myself engulfed by elderly people who were behaving like teenagers. All around me was a mass of white-haired senior citizens who had seized the moment to step into earlier memories of life in the USSR. For several hours, they really “whooped it up” on the central street of downtown Moscow! It was so invigorating to see them enraptured in their memories that I lingered among them until several hours had passed and the crowd finally began to dwindle down. As I walked home toward our apartment, the streets were covered with confetti and large banners with Soviet slogans that lay scattered on the ground.

As I stood there pondering the whole experience, I cried out, “Holy Spirit, please show me how to reach this generation!” Before I got back to our apartment, God had marvelously opened my heart and mind to a new idea of how to reach this older generation, and before I stepped back into our elevator, God had given me a plan to reach them. He imparted to me a revelation that when later acted on, enabled us to build what is now one of the largest senior adult ministries in the world.

It all began with an idea from the Holy Spirit that was birthed in my heart when I was not expecting it. It had started out as just an ordinary day that then developed into an unusual set of circumstances that I shared with thousands of elderly people. And in the midst of that unexpected situation, suddenly the Spirit of God showed me something to do that I had never thought of before. It was like a supernatural beam penetrated my mind, and I could see what to do. Since that moment, years of fruit born from the implementation of that idea have proven that it truly was a revelation from the Lord.

I had always prayed for a way to reach the senior population in Moscow because they represented such a large part of the city. But I would have never been smart enough to dream up the idea that the Holy Spirit dropped into my heart that afternoon on the streets of Moscow. And not only did the Holy Spirit give me an inspired idea, but He also injected me with the courage I needed to obey it. In one split second, I had both the idea and the courage to do what the Holy Spirit had shown me. Insight for the plan and the faith to move forward on it came simultaneously, and the outcome in the years since that moment has been truly profound. Through this outreach that was birthed in my heart in that moment years ago, many thousands of senior citizens have gotten saved and experienced the love of God. The path to reaching them was so simple and so powerful, yet I had never seen it before that moment.

Very often we think so long and hard about how to do certain things that need to be done — when all along, the Holy Spirit knows exactly how to do it. The Holy Spirit sees and knows everything. He knows the key to every heart. He knows the secret to every success, whether in ministry, education, family, or anything else. If we will listen to Him, the Holy Spirit will reveal exactly what we need to know for every situation we face in life. The question is — are we listening?

In First Corinthians 2:9, Paul wrote of the restrictions normally placed on our minds, but in First Corinthians 2:10, He told us that part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to remove those restrictions so we can see what we normally could not see on our own. He says, “But God hath revealed them [hidden things] unto us by His Spirit.…”

The word “revealed” is the Greek word apokalupsis. The root word is kalupsis, which describes something that is veiled or hidden to the human eye and mind. It is there, but it isn’t seeable or knowable. It’s like an entire lawn that is beautiful, green, and landscaped, but because the curtains inside the house are closed, you are unaware of the beauty that is right outside for you to see.

But in First Corinthians 2:10, the word apo is added to the front of the word kalupsis, and that little addition of apo means the curtain that once hid our view has been removed. Suddenly what was unseen becomes visible, and what was hidden becomes revealed. This is the reason apokalupsis is translated as something revealed or as a revelation. And Paul stated that this was a strategic part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry — to take hidden things that we cannot know on our own and reveal them to us.

On that day when the Holy Spirit spoke to me on the streets of Moscow, it was as if He held the strings on an invisible curtain that had blocked my ability to see how to reach that older population. When I cried out to Him for answers, He lifted that curtain, and I instantly saw what I had never seen. In a split second, I had an answer to a question I had been asking for years. It wasn’t something I sat around and concocted on my own; it was something revealed to me as the Spirit removed the invisible veil that had separated me from the answer I had been seeking.

God has blessed our ministry enormously over the years, and I am the first to tell you it isn’t because we are so smart. If Denise and I have done anything right, we have listened. We discovered that if we’ll remember to ask the Holy Spirit for help, He will always be there to show us that which we’re not smart enough to figure out on our own.

I don’t know what answer you’ve been seeking, but I know who has the answer! The Holy Spirit sees everything and knows everything — including those things that your mind would never see or know on its own. Perhaps you’ve been seeking answers about your marriage, your business, your children, an important relationship — the list could go on and on. You may have been seeking answers for years, but you just couldn’t see what to do.

In my own case, all those years the Holy Spirit had the answer I had been seeking, but I was so busy trying to brainstorm ideas by myself that I hadn’t allowed the Holy Spirit to operate in His revealing ministry on my behalf.

Today I want to encourage you to open your heart to the Holy Spirit in a new way. He is present with you right now, holding the strings to the curtain that has blocked your view. This may be the very moment that He pulls those strings and you see what you’ve been searching for so long. Instead of brainstorming and trying to think it through on your own, look to Him — and get a revelation of what the Holy Spirit wants to happen next!

There is no limit to the Wisdom and understanding that is available through the Holy Spirit Who lives IN us! My prayer is that He will continue to lead, guide and direct you both in every area of your lives and that you will both be in a position to receive His revelation! Here is Hillsong Young and Free with another new song called "Glimpse".

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!