When an entire nation experiences being “born again” it is called a Renaissance. “Born again” so aptly applies because it refers to the re-institution of pure innocence. I have witnessed this phenomenon in my own adult life. The ability to approach certain things with an honest child-like innocence in my mind is probably the most precious spiritual possession that I have.

This innocence of thought can occur to an entire social network that goes beyond national borders. When the phenomenon of the Renaissance occurred in history, it brought about great innovations, discoveries, and launchings of previously untenable innovation. The printing press, the discovery of the New World, the telescope, and more opened mankind’s vision of the universe.

The importance of innocence as a foundational basis for the advancement of all human thought and creativity is amazing. You would think that having more knowledge would increase creativity, but it actually blocks it. The foundation of our innocence give us the ability to hear simple instructions from God. We then receive complex ideas that previously would’ve been considered absurd even in our current advanced state of knowledge.
Having the pure innocence of a child depends upon acquiring child-like thinking: “Since daddy says it, it’s true!” This in turn becomes the foundation for new discoveries. And, oh how wonderfully creative these new discoveries will be! Father, please make America innocent again…

You might be tempted to doubt whether this could even be done. But this is the miraculous power of prayer. God answers prayer. The purpose of prayer is for God to intervene on our behalf, and do things that you and I are incapable of doing. To change and rid the entire nation of evil seems to be so complex, that at first it appears impossible. Our own attempts to do it, or even consider it, seem absurd or astronomical.

And of all people, I certainly would not consider it ~ unless it was prophesied by God that it would happen. God, the One who created everything, said He will “present to Himself a church having neither spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing.” In other words, you and I can have nothing to do with it. We must rest from our labors and just give Him permission to “run the washing machines.”

That means cleaning up our hearts, our family’s hearts, the hearts of those at our workplaces, our city’s hearts, our state’s hearts, our nation’s hearts ~ the hearts of the whole world! Such an enormous task is exactly what God has been expecting you and I to ask Him to do since time began. So praise the Lord, grab a cup of tea, sit back and relax ~ and watch God scrub.

In this critical time of entering into the new coming Renaissance, we must be aware of understanding the ways of God. The book of Hebrews cautions us concerning this aspect of our journey, “Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.’”

The Lord Himself, through the prophet Isaiah, declared how different His ways are: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways.”  I have come to the personal conclusion that I cannot understand the ways of God. Yet, I come to know His ways through observation and recognition.

The Apostle Paul mentions one “way of God” that is extremely important to the next Renaissance generation in his letter to the Corinthian church: “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in His presence.”

This is an ego-wrenching personal insight, and I hope this helps you to be included in the list of God’s selected people just mentioned. In my personal relationship with God through prayer, I see those foolish, weak, base attributes of the group that Paul mentions in myself when I look in the mirror! Of course I am humbled by these observations (and find this extremely difficult to admit).

When it comes to God’s way of choosing of people, it makes me take a second look at those whom I have made relational links with. Normally we would reason that if we’re planning on heading somewhere great, we should make connections only with people who have admirable attributes ~ which is not necessarily the list of people mentioned in Corithians.

The friends that are closest to me are the most treasured people of God. I value their friendship, and our relationships together, as a true treasure box of open wonder.

This spiritual revelation concerning the relationships that will birth the New Renaissance is so exciting and refreshing, because it is not filled with pretense. “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it.”  This Proverb is especially true when it comes to God building your relationships. Allow Him to do it “His way”.

By Richard Gazowsky

Today we are in the midst of one of the most significant Scriptures in the Bible, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” In light of the recent catastrophic events that have occurred upon our nation, it is easy to forget that just a few weeks ago there was a solar eclipse, which put our nation in line with, “Before that great and notable day of the Lord come.” Now the day is come: four hurricanes, numerous wildfires, a threat of nuclear bombs ~ judgment is here. What does it mean to you?

I believe the answer is right in front of us: “That whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” If a politician calls on the Lord he shall be saved, if a company leader calls on the Lord he shall we saved, if a teacher calls on the Lord, etc. It is very simple! All of us need to do the very same thing: Call on the name of the Lord Jesus! All of us must pray every day and call on His name.

We are at the most critical time in our lives. It is the moment when we are all crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land. But God’s instructions at this point are incredibly important: “And they commanded the people, saying, ‘When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.'”
The key and final phrase in this statement means “you have not passed this way before.” God is blessing you in ways that you never thought possible. But in this process, He wants you to do nothing with the blessing but wait ~ to put “a space of time” between you and what you are supposed to do with your blessing. I have seen so many Christians get anxious when they receive a blessing, put it in pockets that have holes in them, and end up with nothing to show for their wonderful blessing!
God’s blessing shall last for the next 40 years. It will be an inheritance to your children and your children’s children, and will continue to bless you and your offspring for generations to come. Don’t forget the key phrase: “Come not near it.” Put a space of time and distance between you and the blessing. Wait for the word of God to tell you what to do with the wealth that God is giving you.
The time of daily manna is over. For 40 years, God’s people lived with the instruction that they could only gather enough food for each day. If they stored extra food, it turned into worms. But suddenly everything changed. When they entered the Promised Land, they not only had to make food for that day, but they learned to store their seed for the next year’s harvest, and to make investments properly so they could continue to prosper in the land.
In other words, God is now teaching you and I how to remain in possession of the land and the greatness of the inheritance He has promised us. That’s why it is important that we listen daily to the voice of God, and put a space between us and His words, so that we confirm and make sure of the accuracy of our hearing ear. We must only listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd ~ and never to the cries of the wolves that are constantly around us, ready to eat our inheritance.
Believe me, God is literally giving you Heaven on earth! Obey His simple instructions every day. Do not pay attention to other voices that confuse and distract you through their complicated explanations. The Word says, “Though a fool be a wayfaring man, he shall never err in obeying God’s word.” For His word is always “Yes” and “Amen” in what He counsels you to do.
Remember, tell no one about your wealth, and don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. Just enjoy as God brings you Heaven on earth! After all, that is how the Lord told us to pray, “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.”

This week as we were praying for protection upon the United States from “Hurricane Harvey,” the good Lord spoke to me and said, “Get all you can get!” At first I was not sure what He meant by this, because all I could see coming in this hurricane was: distraction, distraction, distraction! But I knew what the Lord said was very profound and real, and it caused joy in my heart when I repeated it during prayer on Periscope.

As I prayed and interceded about this word, I remembered that God does the natural first, and then afterwards comes the spiritual. 1 Corinthians 15:4 says, “Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.”  God gives natural signs to declare something that is spiritual and ready to occur. This hurricane is greatly affecting our whole nation; this physical example shall also become a national example that something of hurricane proportion is about to come to America.

Then God told me what “Get all you can get!” meant. God was saying, “I am pouring out the water of life, the water of blessings, and the water of fruitfulness upon America.” It is time for all of us to reach out and get all we can get. Reach up to heaven in the Spirit and pull down every blessing that was promised to you. He will fill your life with His love.

I would love to be kind and gentle when it comes to the world. But I find it’s best to say it just the way He said it: “Get all you can get!”  Do not let your right-hand know what your left hand is doing. Remember, God is blessing you. You alone can make sure that you are careful to protect, through your obedience, the gifts that He gives you.y

There are times in your life when the storms rage so greatly that you feel like the only way you have to relieve the pressure is to jump ship and quit the journey. This is the moment when you make the decision whether you’re going to enter into God’s greatness, or just be the ordinary person who ran the race, but everyone forgot about.

The apostle Paul said in Philippians, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” It is this pressing that purifies you, defines you, and makes you a useful person to God. Heaven recognizes you when you’re valuable to God. The cloud of witnesses testifies on your behalf. Jesus is your Advocate for blessing, and the Father speaks the word.

The greatest treasure that anyone can ever possess on earth is the favor of Almighty God.

God’s ways are not like man’s ways. We know about this truth when it comes to problems. But do you know this truth also applies when it comes to blessings? First, God makes you rich and He adds absolutely no sorrow to that wealth. This one blessing would make about 90% of the world’s rich people happy. But He also blesses your DNA, extends your life, increases your children, multiplies your holdings, and extends your fame. And the list goes on and on because, His ways are not like our ways.

Now this brings me back to the title of this blog. How do you keep on the train track God put you on when every horse is trying to pull you off? Believe me, I have pondered this question for the last three years almost daily. And I have found the  answer in this simple secret: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” Now wait a minute! You need to really read what this verse is saying to get its full truth ~ “Whose mind is stayed on Thee.”

Every day, especially during the last ten months, I’ve had to literally force my mind from thinking any other thoughts but God’s perfect will for my life and His promises. Anything else, any other thought, is ignored and forgotten. In other words, I’ve had to lock my mind onto that train track of God’s perfect will. This means ignoring every single sliver of doubt, no matter how pressing it appears to be. I won’t let doubt touch me.

As your pastor and your friend, I’m begging you to do the same. We should pray according to God’s perfect will and His promises. This is how we should stay. It is so important to remember the first word God gave you about the perfect mate, the perfect job which you never want to retire from, the perfect house that your grandchildren can inherit, and the perfect investment that blesses you for years and comforts you when trouble comes.

Whatever miracle it is that you are believing God for, remember the first word which He spoke to you. You know how to discern His word ~ not the words that were suggested by someone, or a sermon that gave you an idea. Remember that word that originated either from inside of you, from a dream, or a vision. Keep your mind stayed on that fresh, original word from God concerning your life. All of the blessings that God promised you will come to pass. Stay on that first train.