God is up to something very special! As 2026 kicks off I'm profoundly thankful for my loving family & my dear friends, especially since I was more cause for concern than cause for confidence in 2025. I'm greatly comforted by the fact that the disciple Peter was also more cause for concern than he was cause for confidence in his "senior year" of following Jesus literally just weeks before Jesus was to pass the torch to him of this worldwide ministry of reconciliation we now call Christianity. But Jesus not only knew Peter was going to fail greatly right before "graduation" He even let him know it was going to happen. Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”.... "I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” There is probably no worse behavior that would get someone labeled as "unfit for ministry" than denying & forsaking Jesus when He "needed" someone's loyalty the most. Probably 100% of current church boards, church staffs, and the advice of church lawyers would have been to fire Peter for his insubordination & moral failing in Jesus' most anguished moments. But what does Jesus do??? Jesus restores Peter (John 21) then promotes him to the position of Head Pastor and commissions him to be the Keynote Speaker on The Day of Pentecost leading over 3000 souls to eternal salvation (Acts 2). Talk about failing forward! As humans we see great failures differently than God sees it. We see it as "I've fallen and I can't get up", but God sees it as "falling is how you learn to walk". We see it as baseball: "3 strikes and you're out", but God sees it as bowling: "10 strikes is a perfect game". My friends our failure is not the enemy and it does not threaten God in any way. The only thing it threatens is the illusion of human perfectionism. When we factor in spiritual warfare, the gravitational pull of our own flesh, a 24/7 worldwide environment of temptation to disobey God, and example after example of great followers of God failing in the Bible then we realize that our perfect streak of "not failing" won't last more than a few hours or a few days at best before we have our micro "Peter moments". The enemy isn't failure; the enemy is the enemy. Our greatest spiritual warfare oftentimes comes just before God unleashes His next wave of fruitful ministry. satan tried to stop Jesus in the wilderness, Peter in the courtyard, & Paul with an ever present "thorn". The enemy will always try to stop us from obeying God's call in our lives, and he will attack us through any means necessary. As one pastor said, "Next levels brings new devils". It's a brutal street fight with almost no rules. It took me many months to realize what was happening to me as I failed greatly in 2025. I thought I was going crazy... I was becoming a total train wreck... I was on the verge of a total implosion. Then I started realizing that I was in the greatest spiritual warfare of my life... and I had been dismantled over a period of 5 years that I was not only losing the battle, but I had given up the fight. I was too exhausted and too spiritually weak and not walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. I'm seeing a little more clearly these days PTL! That's why I'm profoundly thankful... even in my mess God encourages me, strengthens me, revives me, renews His call in my life, and He sends me amazing Godly people to lock arms with... men and women of God who don't wait for me to get better, but rather get down into the mess with me. I can't tell you how many people have reached out to me in Christian love & compassion and said they're not afraid of my mess... they are walking with me shoulder to shoulder. Just experiencing that kind of unconditional love & support makes the mess worth going through. And no one has been more gracious, loving, caring, & kind than God himself. When Jesus restores Peter in John 21 He asks him 3 times (once for each denial), "Do you love me?" Peter exclaims yes each time. To which Jesus replies each time, "Then take care of my sheep"... in other words, "Stop sulking. Get back to work on what I've called you to do. Follow Me and tell the world about Me." In my own prayer time when I talk to God about all the ways I failed Him in 2025 all I hear Him say to me is, "Stop sulking. Follow me. It's time to get back to work on what I've called you to do." As I close the chapter on an awful 2025 I'm failing forward into a new year and the Holy Spirit is starting a new chapter. Forgetting what is behind I'm straining toward what is ahead. But first I have to share that I'm profoundly thankful for you, for my amazing family, and my dear friends. I'm getting much better PTL... inch by inch God is fixing me. I'm done sulking - publicly & privately. For me, 2025 was the year of Survival, but I believe God is in the midst of making 2026 my year of Revival! Happy New Year awesome people!! Thank you for your love, patience, & grace with me. 2026: GOING FROM SURVIVAL TO REVIVAL!!
*My awesome Sister sent me this picture... it is like God made it specifically for us ❤️❤️❤️
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