Some of the gifts that Christians have and I emphasize that they are gifts, that no one else has are the peace of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit in us. 

The Holy Spirit is the source for our peace. It’s where we get our peace and that peace is always available through an abiding walk with Jesus that empowers the Holy Spirit to pour out that peace when we humble ourselves in full surrender to the Lordship and leadership of Jesus Christ. 

My prayer for you this Christmas is that you would be filled with the Joy, Hope, Love, and Peace that the real gift of Christmas brings from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

But for the Christian every day is should be a day of thanksgiving, as we are “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” Ephesians 5:20.

Jesus sees us and He knows of our condition and He is asking us the same question today. Do we want to get well? If we do, then we have to accept the discipleship pathway, which is the only pathway Jesus offers to be fully set free. 

There is something built into every person and that is the deep desire to be loved and accepted. When you really believe that your Father in heaven loves you, and you respond to that love and acceptance with a grateful heart that is willing to follow and obey God, then most of your negative emotional baggage gets healed and left behind. 

When we launched Encounter and God gave us the 12 Anchors of hope, I had an encounter with God where I could hear loud and clear every one of the 12 Anchors God was speaking into my spirit. 

What God was really revealing to me was the simple yet powerful statement of Who He was in all of the 12 Anchors. 

To be specific, God wanted me to know that the great I AM is in all the 12 Anchors of Hope.

Everyone has a point of view and an opinion on things, but the only person whose opinion really matters is our Father in Heaven! Maturity is seeing things from our Father’s point of view. Our values change the more we allow His Word to take root in our lives as we live them out by His grace every day. 

This hope that does not lead to disappointment means that you don’t skip class on God’s school of character development. It means you understand and believe by faith that God never wastes pain and suffering but has a pathway and a purpose for you to go through so you can experience a living hope that never disappoints. This “Hope” is truly an “Anchor” for our souls. 

It may be that hardship or tragedy has befallen us, and we don't feel like praising God. But the Bible does not say give thanks to the Lord because you feel good. Rather, it says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!"

Trust is the highest form of faith and produces Hope that changes everything!