First Word for December 2024

I am so grateful for the tangible presence of God amongst us. So many have shared recent stories of God leading them to pray for someone and His presence overwhelming them. I’d like to take a moment and share one of those encounters with you.

Recently, on our community outreach night, God led Jase Dean to a particular house with a Jeep parked outside that had a peculiar cage on it. He felt the Holy Spirit saying, “He wanted to let the person in the house out of the cage.”

Jase took Stanley Worstell with him, and they bravely went up to the house and knocked on the door. It took some time for the father of four to come to the door. (Jase later found out he was, at the very moment, upstairs talking with his wife about significant issues.) When he finally opened the door, Jase shared briefly what he felt God saying, and the man quickly recognized that God had sent him! As they prayed together, it was evident that God was breaking the cage of despair and discouragement and placing fresh hope for his marriage and family. Wow!

2 Corinthians 5:18-20:
“18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
 
We live in an extraordinary time. We have the Spirit of God leading, guiding, and helping us. We have this high calling to be ambassadors for Christ. What better way to celebrate Christmas than by answering our calling to participate in this ministry of reconciliation. Even though He is already here, we pray come Holy Spirit!

- John Privett