Hi Brian!

This week I want to share again from Charles Spurgeon's morning devotional. 

"Lo, I am with you alway."— Matthew 28:20

The Lord Jesus is in the midst of His church; He walketh among the golden candlesticks; His promise is, "Lo, I am with you alway." He is as surely with us now as He was with the disciples at the lake, when they saw coals of fire, and fish laid thereon and bread. Not carnally, but still in real truth, Jesus is with us. And a blessed truth it is, for where Jesus is, love becomes inflamed. Of all the things in the world that can set the heart burning, there is nothing like the presence of Jesus! A glimpse of Him so overcomes us, that we are ready to say, "Turn away Thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me." Even the smell of the aloes, and the myrrh, and the cassia, which drop from His perfumed garments, causes the sick and the faint to grow strong. Let there be but a moment's leaning of the head upon that gracious bosom, and a reception of His divine love into our poor cold hearts, and we are cold no longer, but glow like seraphs, equal to every labour. If we know that Jesus is with us, every power will be developed, and every grace will be strengthened, and we shall cast ourselves into the Lord's service with heart, and soul, and strength; therefore is the presence of Christ to be desired above all things. His presence will be most realized by those who are most like Him. If you desire to see Christ, you must grow in conformity to Him. Bring yourself, by the power of the Spirit, into union with Christ's desires, and motives, and plans of action, and you are likely to be favoured with His company. Remember His presence may be had. His promise is as true as ever. He delights to be with us. If He doth not come, it is because we hinder Him by our indifference. He will reveal Himself to our earnest prayers, and graciously suffer Himself to be detained by our entreaties, and by our tears, for these are the golden chains which bind Jesus to His people.

I am sharing this with you this week because it is so evident that you and Kristine and your family have already been doing what he is speaking about here! It is evident that "you have been with Jesus". So as an encouragement for 2023, whatever you have been doing - continue! If tempted to spend less time in His presence, spend more! Because this is the avenue that the enemy will TRY to pursue with you to get you all "off your game". This new year has been spoken of as OUR year! A year of more and more of the restoration of things lost or stolen, of a continual harvest of the good and godly flowing into our lives and of the seeds we've sown in faith to come forth in an abundance of dreams fulfilled, of favor, anointing, power revealed and of opportunites not yet seen! I will continue to pray and observe all that God does in and through you all! You are my role models! We love you all so much! Here is TAYA with another new song called "Lover Of My Soul":

LYRICS: I hear You knocking at the door of my heart Oh what a sound it is I’m scared to see You but I know who You are So I will walk You in I shrink back, You come close My resistance up in smoke And I tremble when I feel Your touch I give in, You give all Feel Your mercy washing all of me And I know there’s no one like You You’re the lover of my soul You’re the lover of my soul You’re the lover of my soul You’re the lover of my soul I can’t believe that You would meet me again Seventy-one times seven But You’re the one who died to breathe life again So I will breathe You in This is love, this is real Words that pierce, words that heal And I know there’s no one like You You’re majestic and You’re humble Magnificent and noble And I know there’s no one like You Always holy, full of glory None can rival what You are to me And I know there’s no one like You The lover of my soul Yeah Lover of my soul Lover of my soul

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "shield". We'll be looking at two portions of Scripture, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. 

Psalm 144:1 Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: 2 My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me. KJV

Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. KJV

I LOVE the differences here! In Psalm 144 we have the Hebrew word "magen". Strong's Concrdance says: a shield (the small one or buckler), a protector. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament says: refers to an object which provides covering and protection to the body during warfare. Refers to the smaller and more common type of round shield carried by light infantry and officers. In Ephesians 6 we have the Greek word "thureos". Strong's Concordance says a large shield (as door-shaped). Vine's Expository Dictionary says: a stone for closing the entrance of a cave, a shield large and oblong, protecting every part of the soldier, used metaphorically of faith, which the believer is to take up in all as affecting the whole of his activities. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament says: the ancient four-cornered long shield. The long shield comes in various shapes, but the reference is to the rectangular Greek shield which is almost a portable wall, which covers the whole person. The only New Testament use in Ephesians 6 has in view the divinely given reality. Believers have a fellowship with God that hurls back all the attacks of the enemy! 

We know from the Word of God (Hebrews 8:6) that we have a NEW and BETTER Covenant! In our recreated spirits we have been made in the image of Almighty God and have the same right to use His Word as Jesus did during His ministry! I LOVE how our intimate fellowship with God, by Holy Spirit Who lives IN us, builds faith in us that we can and do "hurl back all the attacks of the enemy"! The more time that we spend in the Word, prayer, and praise and worship, the more our confidence in this Truth will build and grow until doubts flee and faith rises up big in us so that we overcome every attack of the enemy! I LOVE the WORD of GOD! Here is Hillsong's TAYA with another song from her new album called "Canticle":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is actually a phrase, "get out". We see this in these three verses:

Luke 13:31 The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. KJV

Acts 7:2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, 3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. KJV

Acts 22:17 And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; 18 And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. KJV

This is the Greek word "exerchomai". Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to go or come out of, to go out from some assembly, to come forth from physically, arise from. In Luke 13 this was a warning to Jesus to flee for His protection, but He was not afraid of what Herod was theatening because Jesus knew Who He was and what He was there to do. In Acts 7 Stephen is reminding those asking him questions of what God had spoken to Abraham to do in order to fulfill God's will for him. In Acts 22 Paul is telling of his instructions from the Lord to get out of Jerusaslem for his own safety. Whether for our protection, for our blessing or for fulfilling our calling and anointing, we should always be ready to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in every situation. There are times when people will receive what we have to say and times when they will not. There are times when being in a certain place or participating in a certain activity is God's plan for our blessing or for someone else to be blessed by our presence. There is a Scirpture that we use to know when to go and when to stay! Isaiah 55:11-12a:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace:  KJV

If what we plan to do or where we plan to go is of God then there will be peace and there will be joy! If either of those is missing, then take a moment to step back and hear what Holy Spirit is saying. It may just be a slight variation in timing or it may be that there is something more or less that needs to happen. Then when the peace and joy come, go ahead with boldness! This "formula" for being led of the Lord keeps us from sitting around waiting for God to say something. If we have plans to go somewhere or do something and the peace and joy are there, then God is involved! I have a strong sense that you and your family have affected so many people already just by being in their presence and I believe that this is only going to happen more often in this new year! As you and Kristine spend time in HIS presence and then go about your daily lives, people will KNOW that there is something different about you! Here is a new song by Taya Gaukrodger called "Getaway" that speaks of this time with Him that HE loves to have and uses for our benefit! 

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

Instead of a word this week I wanted to share this with you from Charles Spurgeon. 

"Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."— Romans 8:23

This groaning is universal among the saints: to a greater or less extent we all feel it. It is not the groan of murmuring or complaint: it is rather the note of desire than of distress. Having received an earnest, we desire the whole of our portion; we are sighing that our entire manhood, in its trinity of spirit, soul, and body, may be set free from the last vestige of the fall; we long to put off corruption, weakness, and dishonour, and to wrap ourselves in incorruption, in immortality, in glory, in the spiritual body which the Lord Jesus will bestow upon His people. We long for the manifestation of our adoption as the children of God. "We groan," but it is "within ourselves." It is not the hypocrite's groan, by which he would make men believe that he is a saint because he is wretched. Our sighs are sacred things, too hallowed for us to tell abroad. We keep our longings to our Lord alone. Then the apostle says we are "waiting," by which we learn that we are not to be petulant, like Jonah or Elijah, when they said, "Let me die"; nor are we to whimper and sigh for the end of life because we are tired of work, nor wish to escape from our present sufferings till the will of the Lord is done. We are to groan for glorification, but we are to wait patiently for it, knowing that what the Lord appoints is best. Waiting implies being ready. We are to stand at the door expecting the Beloved to open it and take us away to Himself. This "groaning" is a test. You may judge of a man by what he groans after. Some men groan after wealth—they worship Mammon; some groan continually under the troubles of life—they are merely impatient; but the man who sighs after God, who is uneasy till he is made like Christ, that is the blessed man. May God help us to groan for the coming of the Lord, and the resurrection which He will bring to us.

The balance that is necessary for living a life pleasing to God is to LOVE being in His presence through prayer, praise and worship, study and meditaion in the Word, and intimate fellowship with Him! When we live a lifestyle of that, we become so intune with His heart that we are able to love His presence and to long for those times, while living a full and intentional life  so that others can see HIM in us! Your family is a great example of loving the Lord and His Word while pouring youselves into the things that He has called, equipped and directed you to do. Without saying anything directly, your lives show forth the love, joy, integrity, patience, goodness, commitment and generosity of Jesus Himself. That causes the people around you to wonder! When they wonder and then ask, they are ready to hear about that joy that you shine with! You are all such a blessing to me and I pray that 2023 will see even more favor, anointing, blessing, opportunities and pure joy for you all as you enjoy more of His presence! Here is Hillsong Worship with one of my favorite songs called "Song For His Presence":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!