For I hold you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, “Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.” Isaiah 41:13 (NLT) Yesterday we talked about how sometimes it’s necessary to go through an uncomfortable season to grow. Today I want to talk about something similar: feeling incompetent. Most of us don’t like straying outside our comfort zones. Yet without discomfort, God can’t move us somewhere new, because each level of growth takes us from competence to incompetence. The great news is, incompetence becomes competence when you grow and push past it! I have four daughters and a wife who all love shopping, and whenever they would ask for my opinion on what they were trying on, I …

Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it. Ezra 10:4 (ESV) I want to talk to you today about being uncomfortable. Most of us put on the brakes when we get to the edge of what feels comfortable, but if we never leave our comfort zones, we can become stagnant in everything we could be doing for God. Change and growth takes place in the uncomfortable zone! As believers, it’s important that we don’t automatically think of discomfort as a stop sign or assume that any level of unease must be God saying, “No.” Now, Holy Spirit will give us a check in our spirit if it is a “no”. But we need to learn to discern …

And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 (NKJV) Have you ever worried that you’re missing God’s call on your life? Sometimes we think our calling only refers to our vocation or career, and that is one definition of calling. Let’s refer to this as our individual calling. However, another definition is described in today’s verse, and it refers to the call that’s on every believer: to follow Christ, to reach people who don’t know Him, and to build His church. Now, this doesn’t mean we’re all called to become pastors or missionaries. God wants to use your individual calling (the specific dreams and giftings He’s placed within you) to help you walk out that greater …

Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes. Acts 3:16 (NLT) We as believers have been given the awesome privilege to use the name of Jesus, but we struggle to comprehend it’s amazing power. We often think of it as just a closing to our prayers: “In Jesus’ name, Amen.” It is so much more, and we need to continually work at grasping the full authority the name of Jesus carries. When the apostles faced trouble, they didn’t pray in a defeated, begging kind of way. Instead, they spoke directly to the trouble and commanded it to go in Jesus’ name. They were fully …

Yes, ask me for anything in my name and I will do it! John 14:14 (NLT) Of all the choices out there, why is our Saviour’s name so often used as a curse word, and not some other? The devil isn’t stupid; he wants that name misused to try to trick us into thinking it’s trivial and meaningless. But that’s just another one of his lies. Why is the name of Jesus so precious? The truth is, no name has more power behind it than the name of Jesus. In the book of Acts, the apostles never begged for miracles. They spoke to mountains in the name of Jesus and crowds were astounded at the miracles that took place. In Acts 3, Peter and John …