JAN-MARCH 2020
Year Of Advancement I believe there will be a great awakening this upcoming year
Hopeinthenewyear
What will be your point of hope in this new year?
TheEndis Sweeter
Your next season is so much better than anything you have ever imagined!
TH E PURE
A ND
SPOTLESS
B RID E
MELISSA' S Wel come and Happy New Year! As I?ve been seeking the Lord for the upcoming year, the words ?Dream Big? inundated my heart. I believe that God desires for us to be filled with anticipation and expectation for what lies ahead. This is a year for us to dream big and to watch God act on our behalf. Never doubt God?s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you (TPT- Ephesians 3:20)." For some, the ability to dream is very difficult. Along the way, you may have lost hope. However, this is the year that God desires to rekindle your hope again. He wants to ignite a flame of hope within you, because He has so much in-store for you.
O U R T EA M Founder/ President Rev. Melissa D. Pearce
ContributingWriters Edie Bayer
H EA RT As you dream with God, your hope will rise, along with your faith. God desires for you to achieve your greatest request, your unbelievable dream, and to exceed your wildest imagination. What is your greatest request? What is your unbelievable dream? I challenge you to write down your dreams. For some, this task will be difficult to do, because you have no clue where to begin. You?ll think your requests are menial or too lavish. Don?t lose focus of what God is trying to do within you. He wants you to move in childlike-faith and believe again! Go ahead, pen what is deep within your heart; unleash your dreams! This is the year for God to move within your life. This is the year for you to DREAM BIG!
In Him, Rev. Melissa Pearce
W A N T M O RE? Checkout more happenings at:
Endur ingHopeMinist r ies.com
Rev. Melissa D. Pearce
Copy Editor
Mary Beth Pecora
Ginny Gates
Angie Stolba
G ET CO N N EC T ED / ENDURINGHOPEMINISTRIES
@EHMHOPEENDURES
Point of Hope is published by Enduring Hope Ministries, a non-profit organization, Fort Myers, FL Š USA 2020 Enduring Hope Ministries, all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited by federal law. Point of Hope has no subscription price and is supported through the contributions of our supporters. All gifts to this ministry are tax-deductible (in countries where this applies) For more information: please call (239) 362-1050 or visit www.enduringhopeministries.com
POH MAGAZINE
JAN-MARCH 2020
Year Of Advancement
08 ThePureAnd Spotl essBride
16 HopeIn TheNewYear
22 TheEndIs Sweeter ThanTheBeginning Magazine Layout & Designs created by: L ogicWebDesigns.com | contact@logicwebdesigns.com Point of Hope is a publication dedicated to encouraging and equipping people of all ages with the Word of God. Our Goal is to provide readers with life applicable articles that will edify and strengthen their personal walks.
C O N T EN T S
04
Point Of Hope His Word, Your Hope EnduringHopeMinistries.com
5 03
Year of
ADVAN CEM EN T
I
n preparation for 2020, I heard this phrase from the Lord, ?Great Awakening.? I have heard this term before, but I was inquisitive as to what it meant then, and how it pertains to the now. As I inquired of the Lord, I heard that there will be a great awakening this upcoming year. However, this great awakening will not only pertain to revive unbelievers, but also to awaken believers?hearts a new depth of maturity in Him. As each heart is awakened from her sleep and slumber, the year of advancement will be before God?s people. In order to advance, the body of Christ will need to operate from a place of deep intimacy with the Lord.
Point Of Hope His Word, Your Hope EnduringHopeMinistries.com
05
ABIDIN G Jesus gives us the first key to advancement ? Abiding. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me (NKJVJohn 15:4). There is an abiding that Jesus desires from us. He longs for our attention to be fixed upon Him. There are too many things vying for our attention. There are some opportunities and/or assignments that are good, or appear to be good, but in the end, they are distractions to keep you from pursuing where God is leading you. When we focus on Him, He gives us direction, counsel and peace. As we abide in Him, He continues to settle His truths within our hearts and minds. The more we abide in Him, the more our hearts are awakened to His declarations of how He sees us, and who we are in Him. Our lives are no longer being guided by the broken ideologies. Instead, we establish and build a lifestyle based upon His principles and promises.
ASKIN G
Freedom from the performance spirit is a part of the great awakening that will occur within the body of Christ. The performance spirit is ingrained in works. It focuses on what you can do and what you can make happen. When your actions are not perfect, the performance spirit is relentless in making you believe you had failed.
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you (NKJV-John 15:7).
The key to overcoming the performance spirit stems from abiding in God?s grace and love. From this position, He revolutionizes the way we see Him and the way we perceive ourselves. As our hearts become submerged with His, we function from His perspective. Doubt and fear are no longer strongholds that we entertain, but our self-worth and identity stems from Jesus.
06
2020 Jan-March Point Of Hope Magazine EnduringHopeMinistries.com
Jesus gives us the second key to advancement ? Asking. As our hearts align with God?s, our desires are not for our own selfish gain, but for the purposes of God.
Why was the early Church so successful in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ? They operated in their inheritance. In other words, they never lost sight of their self-worth and identity being in Christ Jesus. They understood that their authority came from Jesus and functioned in it. Their expectations were not in what they could do, but in Jesus and what He would do! I?m reminded of the account of when Peter
EN DLESS POSSIBILIT IES AW AIT YOU. and John were at the temple and they encountered a lame man. Peter asked and God moved. Then Peter said, ?Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk (NKJV-Acts 3:6).? As hearts are awakened to the realization of the authority that has been given, each will ask (speak and declare), and we will see God move our behalf.
FOLLOW IN G Jesus gives us the third key to advancement ? Following. We must follow God?s directives. 9 ?As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father?s
commandments and abide in His love (John 15:9-10). In this upcoming year, we will need to pay close attention to God?s directives. We must be careful not to fall into the trap of familiarity. Even though you experienced success in the past in doing something a certain way, God never wants us to rely on our own understanding. There will be assignments given to us this upcoming year that will almost seem impossible. As we follow His lead, we will see God move in extraordinary ways. It is truly going to be a year of advancement. I truly believe that 2020 is going to be an unprecedented year for many. Doors of opportunity filled with endless possibilities await you. It is going to be your year to advance! In Him, Rev. Melissa Pearce
Point Of Hope His Word, Your Hope EnduringHopeMinistries.com
07
By: Angie Stolba
10
2020 Jan-March Point Of Hope Magazine EnduringHopeMinistries.com
God, you?re such a safe and powerful place to find refuge! You?re a proven help in time of trouble? more than enough and always available whenever I need you. So we will never fear even if every structure of support were to crumble away. We will not fear even when the earth quakes and shakes, moving mountains and casting them into the sea. For the raging roar of stormy winds and crashing waves cannot erode our faith in you.
Psalm 46:1-3 (TPT) Point Of Hope His Word, Your Hope EnduringHopeMinistries.com
11
The Purif icat ion Process: GOD IS ON OUR SIDE! The Lord is doing a deep cleansing of His Bride in this hour. Many things are coming to the surface and being exposed. However, we can be rest assured, knowing that the end result will be glorious. It is important during this time, as everything that can be shaken is being shaken (Hebrews 12:27), that we don?t lose hope or give into fear. We must remember that God is on our side; if we yield to the process, everything will work together for our good. God prunes His fruitful branches out of love so that they can produce even more fruit. It is important that we continue to abide in Jesus Christ, the True Vine. As it is written: I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:1-5).
DEEP CLEANING I have come to realize that often the natural and spiritual realms can coincide and mimic each other. If we pay attention to what is
12
2020 Jan-March Point Of Hope Magazine EnduringHopeMinistries.com
happening in the natural realm, we will often see that God is speaking through those circumstances to demonstrate what is happening in the spiritual realm. For instance, I consider myself to be a pretty neat housekeeper, and I definitely like things clean and tidy. However, recently I had the urge to go through every room in our house and do a very deep and thorough cleaning. As I was cleaning one of my daughter?s bedroom, the ceiling fan caught my attention. As I climbed up onto a chair to have a better view, I was appalled by the amount of dust that had accumulated on the blades. As I continued to press on and wipe down the fixture of the fan, dust began to fly everywhere! Some even got into my hair and onto my clothes! Even so, in that moment I heard the Holy Spirit say to me, ?Let the dust fall. I am exposing the dust that you didn?t even realize has been clinging to you. Though the initial cleaning process is messy and inconvenient, in order to be cleaned, the dust must first be brought into the light. Even as there is much shaking and transitioning happening all around, this process is necessary. My Church must go through a purification process so that she can become the pure and spotless Bride that I have destined her to be.? ?Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His Bride has made herself ready? (Revelation 19:7). Though the cleaning process of my daughter?s room was messy and somewhat exhausting, the end result was one clean and spotless room. As I stood back and admired the end result, I continued to hear the Lord speak to me on the cleansing and purification of His Bride. The Lord?s desire is
?Arise, shine, for your l ight hascome, andthe gl ory of theLordrises uponyou..? ~Isaiah60:1
for the Bride to walk in the fullness of all that He has for her; He is desiring that we walk in a manner that is worthy of our calling. As we, the Bride, come through the refining and purification process, the end results will be glorious! We will be a shining example for the world to see: a royal diadem in the hands of our God! ?You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem in the hand of your God? (Isaiah 62:3).
UPGRADE The other day I went to the store nearby our home to pick up a few household supplies. I hadn?t been to this particular store in several weeks, so when I walked in to see that the entire shop had been remodeled, I was barely able to recognize it! Everything inside of the store was more neat and clean, and it even seemed brighter. Because of the new remodel, the store was also able to hold more product. Let?s just say that this place had just been given a much needed upgrade! Again, I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me. I felt Him say, ?The cleansing and purification My Bride has been undergoing will lead her to a massive upgrade! The pruning process that she has endured will allow her to come into the ?more?that I am longing to pour out on her.? I was amazed and encouraged by the physical transformation I had witnessed, and how the Lord was able to speak to me through it. The Lord is always working things together for good (Romans 8:28). Even when things momentarily feel messy and uncomfortable, the end result will be stunning, even as it was with that store. I wasn?t able to observe the remodel process, but we have done enough remodeling in our own home that I knew the initial process (tearing down the old to make room for the new) can feel exhausting and inconvenient. However, as we come forth made completely new, the Lord?s glory will be revealed in and through us: His Bride!
BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. | Luke 8:17 In this hour, the Lord is separating the wheat from the chaff (Matthew 3:12). He is restoring a clean and holy fear of the Lord back to the Church. Even as things in the church are currently being exposed, I believe that this will only continue. It is in His love and mercy that God is dealing with and exposing hidden sin. It?s so important during this time that we guard our hearts against the spirit of
Point Of Hope His Word, Your Hope EnduringHopeMinistries.com
15
offense and walk in a place of humility. As it says in the Word, ?Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it? (Proverbs 4:23). We need to not become judgmental of others as things are being exposed, rather, we should pray and intercede for them. We also need to examine our own heart and be careful; if we think we are standing strong, we need to be careful not to fall (1 Corinthians 10:12). Just as it is written in Matthew 5:8, ?Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.?
WALKING IN FREEDOM! When we are living with unconfessed sin in our life, it ultimately leads to bondage. We won?t experience the true freedom that Jesus conquered death to give us. Beloved, truly the Lord?s heart is for His Bride. I love the passage in Isaiah 1:8 that says, ??Come now, let us settle the matter,?says the Lord, ?Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'? As we continue to allow His spotlight to shine upon anything that He chooses to reveal to us, and we allow the Lord to cleanse us through repentance, the end result will be glorious freedom!
16
2020 Jan-March Point Of Hope Magazine EnduringHopeMinistries.com
WATCHMEN ON THE WALL The Lord is calling His people to be watchmen on the wall: to pray and intercede like never before! It says in the Word that, ?I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint? (Habakkuk 2:1). The Lord is also urging us to take a step back and look at ourselves. Truly our lives should reflect His holiness! In order to be the pure and spotless Bride of Christ, we must remain in a place of intimacy with our Bridegroom. We are to be as the wise virgins in Matthew 25, and keep the oil burning in our lamps as we wait on Him. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Do you remember the song, ?They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love?? Well, this much is true! The world will know and recognize us by our fruit! We are called to be a lighthouse, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). All of creation is longing for the true Sons and Daughters of the King to be revealed!
WIDE OPEN SPACES My husband and I were at a prophetic class that was hosted by our home church. In the class, we are encouraged to press into the Lord and share what He speaks to us or shows us through prophetic words, visions, or pictures. While pressing into the Lord, I suddenly saw a beautiful meadow filled with colorful flowers. The meadow was so huge, and I kept hearing the phrase, ?Wide open spaces.? In this meadow were several people, men and women alike. They were all leaping and jumping through the fields completely free and without any hinderance! I felt the Lord?s heart of encouragement towards His Bride in this vision. I believe that as she allows the Lord to cleanse her and remove any sins or impurities, she will be able to walk in a place of such freedom and joy! As we allow the Lord?s work to continue in us, we will truly become the pure and spotless Bride: completely free and unhindered by sin. Our light will then break forth speedily, and the Son of Righteousness will arise on our behalf with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2). Beloved, be encouraged! You will truly see and realize how the process has been working all along, and how the Lord has worked everything for your good. Get ready for the upgrade; get ready to burst into those wide open spaces (Psalm 18:19). We are the Bride of Christ, entering into our finest hour! ?Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you? (Isaiah 60:1). ~Angie Stolba
Written By: Mary Beth Pecora
H o pe I n T h e New Y ea r 20
2020 Jan-March Point Of Hope Magazine EnduringHopeMinistries.com
Can I suggest it be ?Hope in God?? What will be your point of hope in this new year? There is a Psalm that shows the soul first arguing with itself, then preaching to itself. ?Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disturbed within me? Put your hope in God? (NIV-Psalm 42: 5).
Hoping in God does not come nat ural l y f or some. When we are fighting discouragement, go to the place of God?s Word for your hope. There are promises that provide an emotional reservoir of strength to keep going and not give up. Biblical hope is a confident expectation and desire for something in the future. That type of hope expects it to happen.
Hope is of t en l inked wit h f ait h. ?What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead? (TLT-Hebrews 11: 1). Faith is a sure assurance of hope.
Let Us Wait In Hope Whatever you are waiting for, decide to, ?Wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word, I put my hope? (NIV-Psalm 119: 5) Why should we do that? ?He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak? but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings of eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint? (NIV-Isaiah 40: 29-31). Our strength gets renewed and we are able to keep, keeping on!
Our God is abl e If we will wait in faith for Him to act, our God is able to deliver and restore His distressed people, i We are to trust and draw strength from Him. Waiting is the hardest thing, I know.
Let your highest point t his year be your point of hope Jesus underst ands weariness. He was in the wilderness, fasting for forty days, hungry, when the Tempter came to Him. Imagine that! Doesn?t the enemy come to us when we are at our weakest? Jesus was weak; yet He understands our weakness and when we feel our lowest. That is when He obtained victory. ?The devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple? (NIV-Matthew 4: 5).
Weapon At Our Disposal Jesus' weapon, that gave Him victory, is at our disposal as well. What is that weapon? It?s the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit. Satan was tempting Jesus to test God?s faithfulness. His tactics with us, are still the same. They don?t change. Let your highest point this year be your point of hope? God?s faithfulness. ?So, then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God? (NKJ-Romans 10: 17). If you have to read it out loud to yourself, to hear it, go right ahead. Jesus did! Embracing My Highest Point This Year, ~Mary-Bet h Pecora
22
2020 Jan-March Point Of Hope Magazine EnduringHopeMinistries.com
NOWAVAILABLE!
Purchase Your Copy Today:
EnduringHopeMinistries.com/Store
The Lord is speaking! You have survived the storms of life to get to where you are now, and your next season is so much better than anything you have ever imagined! The Lord sent me to Job 42 this morning. The very first paragraph states that God can do all things, and that NO PLAN of His can be thwarted. Do you hear that? NO PLAN! God has not changed His mind about you! ?I know that You can do all things, and that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained or thwarted.? (Job 42:2 AMPC)
Your End is Sweet er t han Your Beginning! Written by: Edie Bayer
Point Of Hope His Word, Your Hope EnduringHopeMinistries.com
25
There are multiple examples of this throughout the Bible, but God has a purpose by speaking to us through Job in this hour: - He is loosing you from the fetters and snares that have held you back and held you bound, and He is giving you double for your trouble. ?The Lord turned the captivity and restored his fortunes when he prayed for his friends; also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before (v. 10).? - The prodigals in your family are returning! Not just to you, but to Jesus! These former runaways, backsliders and rebels will fellowship with you and do great exploits for the Kingdom of God. Then all his family who had left him came back and broke bread with him (v. 11); - God is restoring all your financial losses! You will receive income into your bosom, multiplied, shaken together and pressed down. Showers of blessings will fall upon you. ?Every man gave him a piece of money and an earring of gold (v. 11).? - The Lord is blessing YOUR latter days more than anything that you have seen to date! Pay attention to all these zeros! Get used to seeing
26
2020 Jan-March Point Of Hope Magazine EnduringHopeMinistries.com
them at the end of numbers connected to you! You will be 1000 times more than you are today (see Deuteronomy 1:11)! ?And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning, for he had 14000 sheep, 6000 camels, 1000 yoke of oxen and 1000 female donkeys (v. 12).? - The storms are over and you have passed the tests! God gave Job 10 more children seven sons and three daughters (see v. 13). The number 10 by itself confirms completion. The number seven symbolizes perfection: IT IS FINISHED! Totally over! The subtraction and division is over? God is multiplying you now. Now here is the awesome part: the boys were not named, but the girls were. Not only that, Job gave the girls an inheritance with their brothers. Understand that women were treated as second class citizens then. Considering the way that women were treated, this is amazing! God is obviously speaking ? and what He is saying is contained in their names. Job?s daughters?names were Jemimah, Keziah and Keren-happuch, ?? and in all the land there were no women so
fair as the daughters of Job and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers.?(Job 42:15). Remember that God hides meanings in names. I researched the names of these three girls and what I found was that Job told his life story ? and subsequently yours through them. Don?t forget that Hebrew is read from right to left, so this story would be read from end to beginning, or from the youngest girl?s name to the oldest?s. His eldest daughter?s name is understood to mean dove; this word is YONA. It has the same root as JONAH. Interestingly, Jemimah, when written in Hebrew, looks like the word for SEA. We all know what happened to Jonah and the sea. He survived the storms by the grace of God and went on to finish the purpose that God had assigned to his life ? and so will you. But wait, there?s more! Keziah, his second daughter?s name, means cassia ? a sweet smelling powder scraped off the bark of a tree. It also means to cut off, or THE END.
antimony. Antimony was a black powder used for eye makeup. It also means beautifier, which is why women used it: to be made beautiful. Putting it all together, God is speaking, and I prophesy: Your end will be more beautiful and sweeter than your beginning! Job told the story of his life in the names of his three daughters. He survived the turmoil and storms and that his end would be more beautiful and a sweeter smelling fragrance than his beginning. God has spoken this over you, too. This IS the story of your life! Not only that, God gave Job many, many years to enjoy his ?new life? (see Job 42:16)! I prophesy the same over you: that you will have many, many years of joy and prosperity in your new, sweeter end. Happy New You! Here?s to a new vision made more beautiful and fragrant, more sweeter smelling than ever before. Edie Bayer
Ki n gd o m Pro m o t e rs.o rg
Keren-happuch, his baby girl?s name, means horn of Point Of Hope His Word, Your Hope EnduringHopeMinistries.com
27
EnduringHopeMinistries.com
Copyright approvals: Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.? Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The ?NIV? and ?New International Version? are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.? Scriptures being referenced are from NKJV, NIV and ESV translations.