Sozo Today

“Your unfailing love will last forever.Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.” Psalm 89:2  How many times have you thought to yourself, “That really needs to change.”?  Maybe you saw a change was needed in the life of someone close to you like a loved one, a child, a coworker or friend. Maybe you’ve felt that way about yourself, knowing that within yourself things needed to change. At the point of frustration, you may have asked yourself, “When will this area of my life ever change?” You know right from wrong, yet no matter how hard you’ve tried, with every attempt,[…]

“But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.”  2 Corinthians 2:14 If you’re like most believers, you’ve prayed a prayer at some point in your life, if not often, saying “God please use me.” And in answer to that prayer, we often know without any doubt just what God is doing through our lives and exactly how He’s using us. But sometimes, and sometimes often, we may not realize in the moment just what God[…]

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.2 Corinthians 1:20 In the book of Judges, we see that over and over the Children of Israel continually disobeyed the Lord. Every time, God would deliver them from one enemy and before you knew it, they were right back into their idol worship, forsaking the God who had brought them out of Egypt’s slavery and blessed them with the Promised Land. But each time, as they would cry out in repentance and[…]

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” 1 Corinthians 16:23 In the days before modern medicine, “cure-alls” were the rage. In particular, during the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s there were all kinds of brands of “cure-alls.” From “Drakes Universal Pill” to “Doctor Thackery’s Miraculous Cure-All,” these potions promised results for healing from every ailment imaginable. To this day, despite the horrible taste, Castor Oil is still used by many as a cure-all for various health issues. I still remember hearing old-timers talk about getting a dose of Castor Oil on a regular basis, and especially[…]

“Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.”1 Corinthians 15:1  If you’re like most folks, you need a lot of reminders. In fact, as I’ve been sitting here writing this post, I’ve received two reminders from my phone about an upcoming appointment. My “catchall reminder” is my wife. I’ll often end a text sharing some info with her and asking her “don’t let me forget…”. Just recently she responded to me with, “I don’t know that I can remind[…]

“I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done, I will trust in your good name in the presence of your faithful people.” Psalm 52:9 What’s in a name? A lot, depending upon who, and why the name is given. In Bible times for example, “last names,” which really weren’t last names in the way we think of them, were given to people based on where they were from. For example, when we say, “Jesus of Nazareth,” Nazareth was the name given to Jesus that let everyone know where He was from. In more modern times, like the[…]

“Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 From the official website of the movie No Greater Love; “No Greater Love, the award-winning documentary, invites the audience to experience war and its aftermath from a soldier’s perspective.”  “No Greater Love depicts the combat deployment of the legendary “No Slack” Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, through the eyes of Army Chaplain Justin David Roberts. While deployed in Afghanistan, Justin decided to carry a camera to document the hardships his unit endured. He captured not only the gritty reality of war but also the incredibly strong[…]

“Now you [collectively] are Christ’s body, and individually [you are] members of it [each with his own special purpose and function].” 1 Corinthians 12:27 There was an interesting concept I learned as a young Marine that has stuck with me through the years. It was the idea that just to earn the title of Marine was your greatest accomplishment as a Marine. Yes, just like in every branch of the military, there are various jobs and specifications of duty. One may serve as a cook while another serves as military police, aircraft mechanic, or admin clerk. Yet, regardless of the[…]

“They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them,for you loved them.” Psalm 44:3 So, what was the point, the bottom line and the reason for it all? Why would God pick a “non-people group” and make them into the most highly feared, and highly respected group of people in the known world? Just why would He go to all the trouble of bringing them out of Egypt, providing for and sustaining[…]

“Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.” Joshua 21:45 Finally, it all came together just has the Lord had said. Every single promise the Lord had made to Israel, going all the way back to Abraham, had finally come to pass. Israel could trace the hand of God throughout the generations. How He called Abraham and gave him a son. How He turned Joseph’s trouble around, taking him from a sold-out slave to the hero that saved the known world, including his[…]