Sozo Today

“Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the Lord—rejoice in his presence!” Psalm 68:4  Praise wasn’t new to David. He had learned how to praise the Lord way back in the day as a shepherd boy tending his father’s sheep. And now, as the Ark of the Lord came through the gates of Jerusalem, David praised the Lord with full abandon. Someone not used to praise like that could have thought David was being foolish, and his wife actually did, but that didn’t stop David from praising the[…]

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40 Can you imagine the dismay and disappointment that must have overwhelmed Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus? They had sent word to Jesus that their brother had taken sick, and they just knew He would get there in time to heal their brother and prevent his death. The Father had other plans though and delayed Jesus, and Lazarus did die, but all for His Glory. Years ago, someone shared with me the truth about the[…]

“I love the Lord, for he heard my cry. He heard my call for mercy. I love the Lord, for He’s been so good to me, I will honor Him as long as I live.” Psalm 116:1 It was an experience like I had never known. There I was, surrounded by twenty-thousand men all with lifted hands, praising God and singing songs of worship to Him. The 1990’s Promise Keepers movement was real, and it swept across the country, bringing men together from across denominational lines for a life-changing weekend of worship, teaching and fellowship. Many of us, having never[…]

“He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  2 Thessalonians 2:14  In 1 Kings 3 and 2 Chronicles 1, Solomon begins his reign as Israel’s third king by worshiping the Lord, and it wasn’t just any kind of worship!  By offering over 1,000 animal sacrifices to the Lord, it was an extraordinary, extravagant worship. The kind of worship that invoked a response from the Lord that came in the form of a visit through a vision and included a question. The question to Solomon[…]

“But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” John 9:25b Blind from birth. He had never seen his parents, his friends, the beautiful surroundings in which he lived, or anything else. The young man described in John chapter nine had never seen a single thing, until he saw Jesus. The very first thing his eyes ever focused on was the Lord Jesus Himself, and even then, he didn’t know who Jesus was. When brought before the temple rulers and aggressively questioned, he replied, speaking of Jesus, “I think he must be a prophet.” In John 9:35-38,[…]

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life’.” John 8:12  In the midst of all the chaos, evil, and hate we see in our current society, we still see God doing something new and refreshing, and it can only be defined as His Grace. The heart of Jesus and the Father is the same now as it was in John 8. Just as Jesus was teaching in front of a large crowd,[…]

‘Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few’!” 1 Samuel 14:6b Dictionary.com defines “standout” as someone remarkably superior to others. We often hear this term, “standout,” in reference to a baseball player or other athlete who seems to have the athletic edge and pulls away from the crowd of competitors. In 1 Samuel 14, Jonathan was certainly a “standout.” Israel needed a breakthrough as they had found themselves at a stalemate against the Philistines, and Jonathan stepped up, allowing the Lord to use him to route the enemy. I’m[…]

“For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” Psalm 108:4 It’s amazing how childhood memories can come back to you from time to time. Just in reading our scripture for today, I was reminded of a marketing campaign that our local NBC affiliate launched way back in the early 80’s. They were building a new TV tower and they wanted to use this event to draw new viewers to the station. This was not a standard TV tower either. From what I can remember it was the tallest, or one of the tallest,[…]

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.” John 6:51 In 1 Samuel 10, Samuel called all the people of Israel to meet before the Lord at Mizpah, and there Saul was chosen to be Israel’s first king. But when they went to fetch Saul to give him the news, he could not be found. The leaders then consulted with the Lord and He told them, in verse 22, that, “He is hiding among the baggage.” Then[…]

“Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.” John 6:11  Can you imagine the scene? There they were, gathered along a Galilean hillside as far as the eye could see. So many, in fact, that just the men alone numbered about 5,000. When you add in the women and children, some believe it could have been upwards of twenty thousand people. All those folks coming out to hear the words of Jesus. Why? Because they were hungry. Yes, we know how the story[…]