George Liele is the first of many African American missionaries who will go to a nation not their own to those who know nothing of the Son of God. They will go because, like George, they too “hold to live nigh the scriptures as much as (they) can.”

Truly, the life of George Liele embodies that of a pioneer. He paved a path for others to follow behind him and, like most pioneers, faced the challenges of going first. He was born around 1750 into slavery…

Jealousy stalls out our destiny because it causes us to despise what we have been graciously given by the Lord in light of what someone else has been given. When jealousy is operating in our lives, we don’t steward and express the unique gifts God has given us to serve the Body of Christ; instead, we compare and compete to be better than one another.

God intentionally promotes others around us in different seasons to train us to honor and celebrate others. When we see favor rest on others, it tests our hearts for jealousy, and when we respond with celebration, we are set free.

Think about weeding out your garden versus clearing years of brush from an overgrown yard. Both are possible, but one is a lot more work. We want to do the work of dealing with offense before it grows roots.

When we fail to pull out that weed of offense when it springs up, it begins to grow roots that wrap around our heart and mind. Those roots carry a deadly poison that will “defile” our soul. That poison is called bitterness. It’s a poison that leaks into every part of our lives. Soon those bitter roots will produce bitter fruits.

It’s time to uproot bitterness and take hold of your destiny.

This is an appeal to songwriters to explore the depths of writing songs that not only express the human heart but infuse the earth with the substance of Heaven. Perhaps you’ve never thought of songwriting as being intercessory. But, our songs can be a catalyst for “on earth as it is in Heaven.”

We are trekking the valleys, deserts, dark places, and mountains of life on our way home to all things new. Along the journey, our songs are opening wells (connection with heaven) in the valley of weeping (our present earthly reality).

At the foot of the cross, we meet the King who is the servant of all. On the cross, we see the Father, who was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. There Jesus, through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without blemish to God.

All three Persons of the Trinity present on the Hill outside of Jerusalem that Friday, accomplishing the work that would redeem, reconcile, and recreate the cosmos. More happened in that six hours on Golgotha then we will be able to comprehend for billions of years.

An explosion happened in the heart of Jesus as it became a groan of intercession. The same desire that brought creation into existence was about to bring a new creation out of His own body. These last words in prayer, before His betrayal in the garden, reveal the motivation of His heart in everything that will transpire over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Jesus has done the unthinkable. He asked the Father to give the redeemed of the human race the highest pleasure possible, to behold the unparalleled splendor of God in the face of Jesus and to feel the same love that the Father has for His Son…