Happy Thursday Soldiers! And Happy December!
Even though this is a time of the year when we usually have smaller crowds than usual at our locations, this is one of my favorite times of the year to minister. The fact that most people are already (albeit indirectly) thinking about Jesus this month, makes our message resonate even more than usual. It’s also a time when people are often feeling the pain of family issues and feel their need for the love of Jesus more than usual. Because of this, I’m stoked to get out, brave the cold, and as Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:10- “endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they may also obtain salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.”
Hallelujah!
On top of this, I’m also SO encouraged with what I’m seeing in America. Jesus’ Name is being lifted up boldly, revival is breaking out on college campuses across the land, and get this- even mainstream media is reporting on the boom in Bible sales!
More on that here- Bible Sales Are Skyrocketing: What’s Going On? | CBN News
And on top of this, have you seen some of the numbers on how God is changing the worldview of the youth? As one example, here’s a breakdown of how young men have voted over the past 6 years. What a shift we are seeing!
There are also reports stating that young men are more devoted to Christianity than young women for the first time in decades. We are truly living through a once in a generation realignment, and the momentum is saying that it’s going to keep getting better and better! If we as the body of Christ continue to do our part of course.
On that note, last week as I was preparing for my prayer meeting at the Sarasota House of Prayer, the Lord gave me the familiar passage of Isaiah 61:1-4 as a NOW Word. However, this time He REALLY emphasized verse 4 and made it clear that this was a mandate for His people in the next season. Here’s my journal entry from that day-
What is so crazy is that just a few days later, Sean Feucht- a national voice for revival, released his word for 2025 and guess what verse the Lord gave him????
What else is so crazy is that he also used the phrase “Revive in 25”, which is the same phrase I had put on our tentative schedule for our 2025 mission trips just a few days earlier:
I love it when God makes things so clear!
If that wasn’t enough confirmation, the Lord did something a few days later that not only shows His sovereignty but also His sense of humor. I was in the living room reading the Bible and Natalie walked in holding the magnet that I got when I visited Asbury University. She then grabbed my Bible and opened it to 2 Samuel 19-20, where David is being restored as King after a wicked King (Absolom) had been in power for a season. It’s where her thumb is. And, while she was doing this, the song “Revival’s in the Air” was playing on random shuffle:
Interestingly, the story of what happens to David in that passage has parallels to what we are seeing happen with Trump being restored to power. And, at the same time, we are also seeing that Revival is clearly in the air. Exciting!
Speaking of Natalie, she had a great birthday on Tuesday, celebrating with my parents and her big brother.
That day (and really all week) we commemorated all that the Lord has done in her short life to display His power and His love. I also posted a 90 second video of some of her memorable moments from her first year, which I’ve now watched…probably over 50 times. It’s such a cool reminder of how far God has brought her. And how cute she is! LOL
You can see it here- https://www.facebook.com/share/r/15NhuqNg7S/
Another bit of cool news is that on her birthday, God gave the ministry an amazing present- A 1.9-million-dollar home in Ft Lauderdale to stay in while we minister there next year! Is that wild or what!? And look how close it is to where we minister-
God is so AWESOME! And, this house could become the steppingstone to being able to bring teams down there for the entire month in the years ahead, which has been a prayer and a vision on my heart for the past year. Let’s see what happens!!! (Ephesians 3:20!)
In other ministry news, the weekend was great. Cold, but great.
On Friday, there weren’t many people at the park, but it was powerful to meet a man who grew up in the Soviet Union tell me about the intense persecution he faced while living there. He was so happy that we were doing what we were doing, and he told me not to stop because of how important it is to get the Gospel out to the masses…especially when we have the freedom to do it. I will definitely not forget that conversation.
On Saturday, there were also not many people at the park, but several people came and asked for Bibles and prayed to receive Jesus. There were also people in the park who stopped to listen to the Word, including these 3 teenage boys:
On Sunday, there was a decent crowd, and many people heard. There were also a handful of people throughout the night who stayed and listened, and I’m pretty sure some prayed with me during the altar call. One of the drummers also walked by me and told me that he loved me which was nice.
Our crew was LEAN last weekend, so I’m SO grateful for those that came despite the cold and the holiday busyness- Amber, Gene, Mike M, Mike F, Jason, Diana and Thom. Great work everyone!
I’m excited for this weekend and were believing for the fire of God to come! We hope to see you soon!!
Love and blessings!
Chris, Sofiya and Natalie