The Power of Repentance
When you hear the word repentance, what comes to mind? For most of us, it means feeling sorry for something we did wrong, but it’s actually much more powerful than that. Repentance comes from the Greek word metamorphoo, which is where we get the word metamorphosis. Just like the process that turns a caterpillar into a butterfly, our struggles are what God uses to bring us to a place of repentance or transformation.
To repent literally means “to go back up”; to go back to the high place. We are in a season of the Hebraic calendar known as teshuva—repentance—and it is a period of 40 days when we look into our hearts and return to God so we can be restored to the high place.
This is a time to celebrate our struggles because they have produced power in us to transform. Jesus said, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near” (Matthew 3:2). There is a higher way of living, and that is what God is leading us to in this season. Be encouraged during this powerful time of transformation!
- Published in Spiritual Growth
Expanding God’s Kingdom
It’s the month of August, and we are excited about what God is doing! We really believe he is speaking to us about being an epicenter of freedom and transformation. Right now in our world, the Kingdom of God is finding its full expression through a remnant of believers who feel called to expand the Kingdom.
We’ve been through a period of preparation, but in the month of August, we’ll be moving into a time of great expansion. We are praying that you find the full expression of God’s Kingdom in and through your life—that you experience your own freedom and transformation, but also become an agent of change in your spheres of influence. Now is the time to expand the message of God’s Kingdom like never before.
Through some prophetic voices, Beverly and I felt called to start a podcast. We’ll be talking a lot about freedom and transformation, and we hope you’ll check it out on our Facebook page!
- Published in Spiritual Growth
Month of Transformation
The word in the atmosphere right now is transformation. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind …”
Daniel Hughes, founder of 7 Springs Ministries, recently preached here at Word Alive, and he talked about the transformation that happens when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. One interesting fact you may not know is that the caterpillar doesn’t actually change, it liquifies, and it is this liquifying process that produces a beautiful butterfly. It’s a death and a resurrection, just like baptism. When we go under the waters of baptism, there is a death, but then there is a resurrection.
We are believing in this season that there will not only be change but there will be some radical deaths—death to old lifestyles, old habits, old hangups—and there will be a resurrection of new life. We will be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are decreeing and declaring that this is a month of transformation for us. We will not be conformed to this world, but we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
View Pastor Kent’s full message below.
- Published in Spiritual Growth
A Kidney From Heaven
Emily Owens was expecting her first child, and during one of her prenatal checkups, she received some concerning news. The ultrasound revealed a shadow where there should have been a kidney, so Emily was referred to a specialist at the children’s hospital in Birmingham. A more extensive examination confirmed that the baby inside her had just one kidney.
Emily’s doctors assured her that most people can survive with one kidney and that her baby would be fine. In spite of their optimism, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the diagnosis.
During a Sunday morning service at Word Alive, those who needed prayer were invited to find prayer warriors. Emily met with David and Key McKeever, members of the pastoral team. Her grandmother, Dianne, joined them in prayer.
“My spirit-man went up to a spare room,” Dianne said. “It was like a warehouse that held all sorts of spare body parts. A kidney was presented to me, and I just grabbed it. I remember physically raising my hand up and grasping it from the air. I pulled it down and gently laid my hand on Emily’s stomach.”
About two weeks later, Emily went into labor and delivered a beautiful baby girl whom she named Endi. A pediatrician examined the baby and reported that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her. Where the shadow had been, God placed a functioning organ. She had two healthy kidneys.
“Endi’s our miracle baby.”
We’re so excited to see God working in miraculous ways through the prayers of our Word Alive family! We hope you’ll join us as we continue to seek him together.
- Published in Testimonies
Pentecost: Gaining Instructions from Heaven
Right now we’re in the very prophetic season of Pentecost. This is an exciting month when we literally gain instructions from heaven. Historically speaking, this was the time when, 50 days after Passover, Moses went up on the mountain to meet with God and gain instruction for the nation of Israel. Pentecost also commemorates the time when, 50 days after the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, the Holy Spirit fell in the upper room. Again, instruction and empowerment came to the people of God.
This is a divine season where the Holy Spirit empowers us and enables us to break any entanglements that are holding us back from our purpose or our destiny.
The scriptures declare that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
Galatians 5:1 says, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore, stand firm in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of freedom and liberty. Now is the time to allow God to give us the divine instructions that will loose us from all entanglements and empower us to walk into new levels of freedom and liberty as we pursue God for his purpose and destiny.
We bless you this Pentecost season, in Jesus’ name.
- Published in Spiritual Growth
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