You Are Well Able

Able despite the storm

Luke 8:22–25- One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

This story is beloved by many Christians as it illustrates Jesus’s power over nature and His ability to bring peace to any situation. We all need the presence, power, and peace of Jesus in our lives. With a singular bold act of faith, Jesus transforms the situation, confronting fear and silencing the storm. He can do the same in your life. The Word of Faith is the lever that moves mountains and calms the seas.

But there is another powerful lesson here. Jesus’s ability to fall asleep and remain at peace during the storm reveals His confidence in His disciples. He believed they were capable of handling the situation. This is further emphasized when He rebukes them for their lack of faith, challenging them to act on what they had already seen and learned. They had been empowered, having witnessed countless miracles, and they were equipped to face the storm. The disciples had what it took to overcome fear and rise to the challenge, just as we do when we trust in Him.

Spirit-led leadership is about empowering others to take action and make a difference. It’s about equipping and inspiring others to transform the world around them. True leadership points the way and provides the guidance necessary for others to step into positions of influence with confidence.

This process begins with delegation but ultimately leads to your pupil or disciple being fully capable of stepping into your role. Effective leaders ensure that those they mentor feel confident and prepared to handle the responsibilities before them, enabling them to thrive and succeed.

Uplifting Others: From Butterfly Leadership

Jesus loved the poor. He freely gave out an abundance of food in more than one scripture in the Bible. He loved the sick and lame by healing them. He associated with those who were outcasts. He loved the working class by making many of his disciples. He elevated the status of women and children in the Bible. He honored the sinful woman who anointed his feet with oil. Her story is forever in the Word of God in all four Gospels. He said that for anyone who harms these little ones, it would be better for you to have a millstone hung about your neck and thrown into the sea.

He valued the rich by coming to banquets and answering their questions. He valued and honored authority, “give unto Caesars what is Caesars and unto God what is God’s.” Jesus took the time to value all who came to Him by faith. Jesus’s focus was to build the Kingdom of God and not His own ambition. When the devil offered Him the kingdoms of the world ( ambition ), Jesus refused and rebuked him. Everything Jesus did was focused on raising the Kingdom of God.

I have a question for you. What is the result of your ambition? To be a team leader? To be CEO? To be president? To be on the board? But to get there, how do you treat the entry-level people? Are they stepping stones for your journey up? Do you ignore the janitor? Do you see them as a person or tool for getting a job done? How do you treat the intern? Are they your servant as you dominate them, an obstacle to overcome to the top?

OR

Are you creating positivity and adding value to your co-workers? How do you treat that person who tries your patience? How do you treat your enemy or the person you perceive as your enemy? Are you creating value in your family? Are you creating value in your friends?

Excerpt from Butterfly Leadership. Now available on https://www.imprintinternational.com/books-for-sale

All proceeds go back into Imprint International ministry.

Staying Healthy in 2025: Health Over Healing

Woman drinking tea

We’re amid some brutal cold and recent snowfall. With the winter comes an increase in sickness. I just watched a report recently of the first person to die in the US from the Bird Flu. We’re still dealing with a downgraded COVID-19, and many people have called off work due to sickness, which started near Christmas time and is progressing through the new year. Pestilence and disease have always been around and will continue into the final days of the Earth, as was predicted by Jesus. What can the believer do about it? Live in fear? No. Trust God.

Many of my readers know of God’s power and will to heal. If you don’t know of that, here is a refresher.

1. Is it God’s Will to heal? Yes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and if it was His will to heal in the Scripture, then it is still His will to heal today. You can write whole sermons on just this topic alone, but I want to move on. Here are some healing scriptures to stand on:

2. “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”-‭‭I Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

3. “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,”-Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

4. “He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.”

   ‭Psalms‬ ‭107‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

5. “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”-‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I asked the Lord recently what were some Scriptures to stand on for health. How to remain healthy in these turbulent times? The answer He gave me was to meditate on and confess scripture that reinforces your spiritual position in Christ Jesus. Here are some examples:

1. “and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”-Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

I don’t know how it works, but we are seated or resting in Heavenly places just as Christ is. Jesus is raised to new life, and He is seated in a place of victory at the place of honor and power at God’s right hand. Now our resurrection is tied to His. Our Spiritual reality is tied to His. It then would be expected that the benefits are tied to Him as well. There is no sickness in Heaven or Christ, so we also have the right to believe we receive Jesus’s state of health. Which is perfect!

2. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”-Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

Our spirit man has been reborn, renewed, and made clean. Christ lives in and through us. We are a new creation with a new spirit through Christ's resurrection. We live by His faith. Again we have privileges as newborn children of God and expectations to live and operate out of the power of His life in us and through His faith. It is not Sean that lives but Christ who lives in me. I can expect to live from His victory and walk in health.

3. Much of Psalm 91 shares on deliverance and protection from pestilence: “Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.”-Psalms‬ ‭91‬:‭3‬, ‭5‬, ‭7‬, ‭10‬, ‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

As we progress into January and face the cold and whatever challenges the new year can bring, you don’t have to face them in your own strength but through the resurrected Christ living in and through you.

What Kind of News Do You Share? Peace, Joy or Bad News.

Don't you think it's remarkable how bad news can sometimes overwhelm us? We fear bad news. Even minor bad news can ruin our entire day. We obsess over news that we deem negative and mull it over in our minds. We inadvertently give bad news the power to rob us of our peace and joy.

The Gospel, on the other hand, is the ultimate good news! It's the most incredible news ever! We need to treat it as such and let the power of good news transform our thoughts, words, and lives! The good news of Jesus ought to overrule any and all bad news in your life.

Are you operating in the good news of the peace of Christmas? How do we find peace at Christmas and not just sing about it? Peace is not attained by good feelings or faith alone. It’s acquired through obeying Christ. Love and pray for your enemies. Don’t divide yourselves this holiday season. Come together. Do you have a family member who didn’t vote in the election like you? Talk with them instead of gloating or being a sore loser. Listen to each other. Forgive. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”-Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭43‬-‭44‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This season relish in the good news of the joy and peace offered in Christmas.

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (the Messiah). [Mic 5:2]”‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭AMP‬‬

When you share news, are you a herald of bad or good news?