by Chad Waller
Lead Pastor of Vc2 Tennille, GA
Author of "Ash Sculpting" and "Synergize"
Owner of Waller-Hill Publishing
www.vc2online.com

    I think that if asked what is the opposite of hope, most people would respond with the word hopelessness.  I can see how one would think that hopelessness would be the exact opposite of hope if we simply look at it as being depressed or without hope.  However, in order to understand what the true opposite of hope is I believe we must look back to our definition of hope.  Hope is the assurance or confidence that the goodness of Father God still prevails.  So truly understanding this helps us to see that the opposite of hope is not hopelessness, but rather it is doubt. 

    When we doubt that God can do anything in a situation, we have misplaced our hope. We are not hopeless, we are just placing our hope or our confidence in the wrong place.  We are never hopeless, as we are always trusting that something will happen.  I believe the question is simply in whom are we placing our hope. 

    The Psalmist spoke to his soul, questioning its condition of depression or downward bent, and encouraged it (his soul) to change the object of hope.  He simply was letting himself know that something was askew.  He had misplaced his hope, not lost it.  He was simply hoping or trusting in the wrong things.  He had confidence.  It's just that he was confident that things were going to go wrong.  He had to change the direction of his hope!

    I believe many people live with confidence that all that can go wrong, will go wrong and then wonder where is God and why is so much going wrong for them.  But they are confidently expecting things to happen, just in a negative way.  Often I have heard someone express that they just knew bad things were going to happen or that things would go wrong.  They placed their hope in the negative outcome and looked longingly toward that end and it often seems to come just as they expected.  I believe we have been entrusted with far more creative power than we even begin to understand. 

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

    We see here in Hebrews that faith is about confidence and not about wishing.  Faith, like hope, is not a wish that God would do something in our situation but is a confident knowing that because God is good, whatever the situation is, He has already provided for it!  To doubt God's ability to accomplish what He promised He would do, is to misplace my hope.  The hope that lives inside of me is the complete confidence that my Father only plans good for me and never harm.  It is a complete trust that no matter the path He chooses for me, no matter the station in life or assignment on which He sends me, He will protect, comfort, strengthen, guide and go with me!  My heart is convicted by hope of this very thing and even if I don't see of understand it all, I can trust Him. 

    You are never hopeless.  You may have misplaced your hope, but you are confident in your heart of something.  I suggest you spend time with Father God and let Him show you throughout His Word just how faithful He is.  Or maybe spend time in worship, falling more deeply in love with Him and allowing Holy Spirit to wash over you and convict you of where hope has been misplaced.  Seek the face of the Lord and allow Him to radiated you with His glory and speak to your soul as is recorded in Psalm 42.  Tell your soul where you are putting your hope!  As for me, my hope is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth!

Psalm 42:11 "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." 

by Michelle Harding
Founder President of Life by Design Ministries, Hurlock, MD
Assistant Senior Leader at Church of The King, Easton, MD

In pressing forward into our prophetic destinies we have looked at the foundational importance of knowing our identity as sons of God, intimacy with our heavenly Father, and keeping the fires of our spirit stoked. Powerful truths that bring empowerment and awaken us to destiny and purpose. But, there are also those things that keep us from fully grasping these realities and walking fully in their understanding. We have glimpses of the future, we hear the Father’s voice, but somehow it always feels out of reach. Like a tethered ship, equipped to sail into the greatness of the horizon, many of us are equipped for all the Father has for us, but the past keeps us tethered and bound. Past hurts, regrets, disappointments, failures, broken relationships, abuse, and shameful histories can instill in us beliefs that limit us and make it difficult to accept the plans Father has for us and embrace who He is making us to be. Freedom form the past will release us into our destiny and cause us to reach further than we have ever gone before and no longer settle for what is.

In 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul is dealing with a challenging situation in the Church of Corinth. He is bringing correction to wrong thinking in how they were handling a really bad situation. He challenges them in 1 Cor. 5:7, “Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” This truth can also be applied to our own thinking about some really bad situations in our own lives. You see, because Jesus died and rose again, He brought forth the New Creation, of which you and I are of! As new creations we “unleavened” through Him, free of what has leavened our lives before.

"Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?" - Isaiah 43:18-19

When the Lord asks, "Shall you not know it?" He is saying, "Do you want to open yourself to My new thing? Are you willing to embrace it?"

This verb "know" in the Hebrew language is more than to understand. It has to do with the total giving of yourself, as in the husband-wife relationship within marriage. This "knowing" is a total receptivity, a total embrace. The Lord is saying, "I'm going to do a new thing. Will you embrace it? Will you receive it into your life?"

The Father has invited us into the new thing: the new you, your new identity, and your destiny. Once we free ourselves from the lies of our past, we can hear the voice of our loving Father guiding and directing us toward our destiny.  His words fill us with hope and life; and like that great ship we long for the horizon of the future. Our sails are filled with the wind of His Spirit, strength comes, purpose released, and we are empowered to embark into all that is awaiting us.

Release the tethers, unfurl the sails, and hoist the anchor. Let the journey into your destiny begin…

by Eric Reeder
Founder and leader of RISEmovement
www.generationsrise.com

Mark 1:29-45

Jesus shows up, people healed, demons sent out, entire cities respond, and people follow Him to remote places to receive from Him. 

Jesus is the key.  Seems obvious, yet many times we are sharing a lot of stuff except Jesus.  Jesus is who heals.  Jesus is who releases us.  Jesus is who captures cities.  Jesus is who people will follow anywhere.  More and more we are seeing the necessity to put Jesus back on center stage.  A strong emphasis of Jesus requires our hearts to adjust to the obscene measure of grace and hope He provides.  It challenges us as we want so desperately to be required some form of work that we can take credit for improving ourselves.  We want check sheets and lists to mark off our duties and be able to see a clear display of our abilities.  We want to polish our image so some measure of credit can be ours.  Because of that, there are so many teachings center on what we need to do to improve and be more disciplined or be better behaved in order to gain more stuff.  When Jesus is displayed “self” gets overshadowed and many don’t enjoy that. 

When Jesus is on the scene people experience freedom.  Hearts are so impacted they go after Him at any cost.  Jesus is the prize.  Jesus is healing.  Jesus is deliverance.  Jesus is the reason of gathering.  Jesus is the reason for going all out.  Jesus is the display of Father’s goodness and the comprehensive grace we all need.  Jesus is who relieves us of ourselves so it’s no longer I that lives, but Christ living in me.  Jesus came on the scene and fixed things even when nobody did anything.  Grace trumped inadequacy.  Love trumped insufficiency.  Hope trumped limitation.  Jesus shows up and things change because He is good, not because we are good.  Comprehensive grace exhausts our abilities and handles what we never could. 

May we present Jesus and the fullness of His grace so healing explodes, freedom flourishes, cities respond, and hearts follow Him without fear. 

by Elexio Baillou
Founder of PAGA
Author of "The ABC's of Prophecy"
Itinerant Conference Speaker
Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas

Typically whenever the term “prophet” is utilized it stirs up images of radical fanatics speaking in King James English and claiming divine revelations that are in generally judgmental, discouraging, and condemning. This image, though unfortunate, is still rather accurate whenever we consider the activity and administration of men and women within the Old Covenant who claimed and were in fact divinely inspired. Theirs was an administration requiring the articulation to the children of Israel of what was in fact due to them under the Mosaic Law.

However, as believers and members of the Body of Christ, we are in fact recipients of a different covenant and are meant to receive what was and is in fact made available to us as redeemed sons and daughters of the Father. With this understanding, we must now perceive the administration and anointing of the Prophet to be far different from what we were first advised.

Dr. Jonathan Welton once beautifully stated “Prophets are covenant enforcers”. This is because Prophets have and will always be agents designed and empowered by the Father to His people to declare and ensure that the terms of agreement set between He and His people are in fact fully realized. They (including myself) function as divine litigators and intercessors, standing to ensure that God and His people receive what are due to them.
On this side of the cross, Prophets serve to foretell and forth tell what is on the agenda of heaven for God’s people. Therefore, prophets are agents of the Gospel bearing the Good News just as much as the Apostles, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers. Theirs is a message designed to motivate and stimulate God’s people to walk in the fullness of His goodness and freedom.

No longer do Prophets operate in such a way to remind God’s people of their sin and shame, to bring into their remembrance their mistakes and struggles, but rather Prophets are meant to perceive and proclaim the intention of God in and for His people individually and corporately until it is they manifest what it is in fact the Lord has declared regarding them.

Therefore, in a movement of hope we can see how Prophets serve to provide God’s people with an earnest expectation of an amazing future as well as an affirming declaration of who they are now because of Him and the love He has for them. 

Additionally, as Prophets are in fact the second most potent and foundational administration within the Church, they are meant to co-labor with God’s apostles in the equipping of the saints to ensure that they live, eat, breathe, and work with a great sense of expectation and a proper view of the Lord Jesus Christ. They serve to clearly articulate His mind in such a degree that those who receive them are enlightened with extraordinary truths and empowered with revelations that supersede their present comprehension and understanding, thus enabling them (the saints) to boldly move forward like Abraham with nothing more than an unshakeable promise to sustain them and given vision for their future.

This is the joy and burden of Prophets under the New Covenant; we are messengers and divine emissaries of heaven, supernaturally empower and graced to mobilize God’s people to manifest the commission of the Apostle, which is designed to bring us into the reality of heaven on earth. Thus, Prophets are meant to do more than simply see and say. We are meant to ascertain what heaven has mandated be ours and contend for the manifestation of such here on earth.

Pastor Mic Cox of The Anchor Church Parkersburg shares Father's heartbeat for us to pioneer into fresh understanding and emerge into what is for now.  Check out this podcast.

Freedom to Pioneer Podcast

by Michelle Harding
Founder President of Life by Design Ministries, Hurlock, MD
Assistant Senior Leader at Church of The King, Easton, MD

One of my favorite things in the world is to sit near a camp fire on a chilly night in the mountains listening to owls call out in the darkness and gaze up into a star strewn sky . I get lost in the flames as I watch them dance to and fro and find comfort in its cheery warmth. In those moments everything melts away, peace comes, and I can breathe deeper than I have in months. The thought of those beautiful nights on the Blue Ridge Mountains led to a powerful encounter with Jesus and another revelation on unlocking our prophetic destiny.

A camp fire requires diligence, intentionality, and fuel to keep it going. If a fire is neglected or allowed to just run its natural course, it will go out. A fire requires fuel and oxygen to burn.  We have to continually add wood and keep stoking it by stirring the coals and making sure it is getting oxygen. When we add wood we stir the coals underneath to help kindle the new log and we ensure there is plenty of space for oxygen to meet the flame and many times we have to fan or blow on the coals to release the fire hidden below.
In 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul tells his beloved Timothy "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands." This spiritual father is reminding his spiritual son to keep the fire of his calling burning, to keep the flame alive, keep it stoked. Don't let it go out.

Like Timothy, many of us need to be reminded to stir up the gift of God that is in us. To be reminded to fan the flame of passion, calling, or gifting. Maybe, we need to be reminded to stir up the passion of our first love and to come back to deeper fellowship with Father. Perhaps what once burned with fervor and zeal now lies in the cold dormancy of complacency. And for some, prolonged delay of the promises of God has caused hope to be deferred and are now heart sick with what is not.

In my encounter with the Lord, He began to show me how tending to that camp fire is very much the same as tending to my spiritual life and calling. You see, too enjoy the beauty and warmth of the camp fire, I have to make intentional efforts to keep it burning. This also applies to our spiritual lives and especially in unlocking our prophetic destinies. It will require consistent and intentional effort in our lives to keep the flame burning and the passion to pursue destiny. This isn't about works, but it is about cultivating relationship and stoking that inner  flame.

Fuel: It is important we are fueling the flame. Regularly take in the Word of God, listen to great teaching, and surround yourself with people that pour into your life and calling. Read books, blogs, magazines, by those doing what you are called to an allow them to inspire your passion and calling.

Oxygen: In tending a fire you must be sure the fire is getting oxygen or it suffocates. It is the same in our spiritual lives and with our destinies. If we don't make room for God to breathe life into our dreams and passions they'll suffocate under the weight of life. Be sure to make room throughout the day for just a few moments of Father time. They can be seconds long to hours. Just do them. In that moment, check in with heaven, acknowledge you are loved and tell Father how much you love Him. Take a few moments and just see Jesus, breathe in His presence. Check in with Holy Spirit, asking for His leading and wisdom. Let these moments, whether organized and scheduled or spontaneous; be moments that breathe pure life into you.

Also, allow prayer to breathe upon your heart and to awaken dreams that have fallen silent. Repeatedly scripture encourages us to pray without ceasing, to pray fervently, and to be anxious for nothing, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving to make our requests to God. In Jeremiah, God tells us if we come to Him, He will listen to us. Romans 8:26 tells us, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans."  Prayer is life to our spirit.

Stir the coals: Ask yourself, are there areas "that once burned bright and clear" that are now cloudy and dim?  Are there things you once did to keep the fire burning, that you no longer do? If there are any, stir those things back up in your life by simply returning to them.

One of the most powerful ways I have learned to stir the coals in my life, the thing that releases the inner flame in the greatest measure, is to pray in the Spirit. Yes, I mean to pray in tongues. I have found this to be the most powerful thing I can do to stir my spirit and bring clarity and focus.

Fueling the fire nourishes, inspires, and enriches our inner man. Making room for the Lord to breathe into our lives, quickens what was dormant and releases power to be effective for His Kingdom. Stirring the coals awakens the fire that is hidden inside even the smallest embers. So let us set in our hearts as were stepping into unlocking the fullness of destiny, to continue to stoke the fires of passion and purpose. Let us endeavor to keep our spirit fed, tended to, and stirred up. When we let a fire run its course naturally, it will burn out and grow cold. If we are not careful, and are not intentional with the life in the Spirit, our spirit along with our callings and destiny, will also burn out and grow cold. Let us tend to the fire of our life so we don't find ourselves ministering and living out of the ash that once burned with holy passion.

by Chad Waller
Lead Pastor of Vc2 Tennille, GA
Author of "Ash Sculpting" and "Synergize"
Owner of Waller-Hill Publishing
www.vc2online.com

    There is a connection between hope and creativity.  In fact, I believe hope stirs up creativity.  We don't create because we don't like what we see, but rather because we simply see something different in our hearts.  We see how things can be better. We don't have to worry or waste time focusing on what is wrong, we just find what is right and focus on that.  What do you feel to create that will make a difference?  Focus on that! Too many people seem gifted in cretic but the world doesn't really need anymore cretics but rather needs people who can rise up to make a difference!

    The strong connection between hope and creativity can be clearly seen in the fact that when people misplace their hope they loose their creativity.  One influences the other.  It seems to me they go hand in hand.  When hope is suppressed or deferred, the heart seems to give up believing that things can change or get better.  Proverbs 13:12 even tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick.  When we stop believing that God's goodness prevails, we begin to give up trying to make a difference.  Thusly, we stop living in the incredible power of creativity!

    Think of McGiver, one of my childhood heroes, who always found a way out of any situation. (I have been notified by people much hipper than I that not everyone knows who McGiver is.  This alone caused me to morn for this generation.  Really, you should go find an episode of this old show and watch it.)  He could always see that there was something to be done to change the situation.  He never gave up.  He knew there was something to be created that could change the present circumstance.  And he always gave it a try to see if he could find a way to change things.  He had hope that things could be different and it produced or released creativity in him. When one gives up and refuses to try, creativity is not present.  Why would any creative idea come to the one who thinks things cannot change?

2 Corinthians 3:12 "Since we have such a hope, we are very bold..."

    This scripture is big for those of us focused on the hope-filled gospel. This rich salvation that has filled us with hope causes us to be very bold in believing that Father's goodness will prevail no matter what happens in this world.  We believe that the Great Creator can still use us, His creation, to accomplish His will on the earth. We have a hope that is based on what He has done, what He can do, and what He desires to do and not based on us or our abilities.  This hope produces in us a boldness that some may confuse as arrogance. It is not.

    As we dare to trust in the goodness of God, we are filled with hope that He has good plans and that He wants to do things through His people to bring change on earth that will bless and draw others to His glory and goodness.  In this hope, we find inspiration to create.  Things are birthed into our spirits as we commune with God and as we release this creativity on earth, God is glorified.

Hope produces in us a bold confidence, that as we create, things can get better!

by Eric Reeder
Founder and leader of RISEmovement
www.generationsrise.com

Mark 1:21-28

Jesus walked right into the very thing that opposed Him.  He didn’t walk into to condemn it or contend with it.  He walked right into it in His authority as Son and the atmosphere changed.  He began revealing Father not as a scribe that talked about God from a second-hand experience.  Jesus spoke of Father from a first-hand relationship.  He wasn’t quoting someone else’s idea of God.  He shared who He KNEW Father to be.
This authority was a refreshing shock to those around.  To have someone carry such life and settledness was totally impacting.  It set a new tone and awakened hearts to see there was more than what they had experienced.  Jesus was in the midst of the “old” releasing the “new”. It captured hearts and attention.

Right in the midst of the religious, dead order was the presence of the demonic.  It was never threatened or nervous to be among the lifeless place of the law.  When Jesus brought the light of life and the goodness of Father onto the scene, the demonic responded and was exposed.  These demons recognized the Son.  There was a different authority from a son then there was with the institutional leaders in their titles and speeches.  The demons recognized their work was going to be destroyed.  It was going to be able to remain because the Son addressed them. 

This freed that individual and liberated the hearts of all there because they saw the “new” operate and it caused an awakening throughout the region.  The Son brought a revelation and revealed an authority that required hearts to consider what to do with the difference they just experienced. 

I am calling for an era where SONS enter lifeless situations not to prove something of themselves but reveal Father and see that authority liberate and awaken souls and systems!

May we recognize our relationship as sons authorizes us to change atmospheres and expose the hold of brokenness so the dark hold on hearts and homes is released and removed!!

Jesus didn’t run away from the demonic.  He showed up and the demonic ran.  When sons show up, that which titles and positions couldn’t remedy is resolved.  We must have sons walking into religiously bound territories, dark territories, demonically captive territories and release the new, fresh revelation of a good Father.  Churches need sons.  Businesses need sons.  Government needs sons.  Families need sons.  Cities need sons.  Nations need sons.  History needs sons!

Walk in who you are into any situation. 

by John Paul Sprecher
Leader and Founder of iloveyouson.org , Malachi Miracle Movement, and YoungLions

The United States of America is locked in an epic battle for who will lead it. Everywhere there are voices competing for our ears and our votes. Promises promises…and more promises. These promises are spoken out to mostly pessimistic, but at the same time, hopeful hearts. Many people hope and pray that maybe this will be the year that our nation finds its way into our “promised land”. Our potential presidential candidates are trying their best to say what the masses of their parties want to hear. They are locked in an unending dialogue of personal self-promotion, personal self-exaltation and comparisons. It is a vicious game we play for the prize of sitting in a place of power over the nation.


If we dare to look a bit deeper, this whole process is rooted in a very orphan-driven system. This fallen process is what has been burning in my heart as God’s son living in this hour. Is this orphan, self-promoting, put down and beat each other up “flesh -fest” the kind of HOPE we are really looking too? Is this system the only way to get power to bring HOPE to the nation? Is there no other real alternative? These questions are stirring like fire in me! Is this the best we have to offer our children, the needy and those broken by the very injustice this system brings?     


“Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this PRESENT EVIL AGE, according to the will of our God and FATHER.”
Gal 3:3-4


I believe with a resounding cry the answer is NO! This is not the best we have to offer. This is not the only way available to bless and lead a nation. There is a higher WAY! There is a FATHER-BASED system of doing things! There is a WAY of God-promotion, God-exaltation and God glorification that will bring the wealth of Abba’s Kingdom to America in full. That WAY is Jesus Christ, the great “anti-orphan” who opened the door to a whole new WAY for the world! Father has released HOPE in and through His own daughters and sons living in America today. The WAY is working through us to help America find its way back HOME. Friends, we absolutely must pray for our national government and candidates, but we must remember that there is a far better FATHER-BASED system for America to live in! As we seek Him to open our eyes to its power and potential – lived out through powerful authentic spiritual family united from city to city – our nation will see that there is a GOOD Father who is actually delivering us from this present evil age. There is a greater and better alternative to HOPE in. There is ABBA FATHER and His own blood bought family on the earth… poised and positioned to turn a nation back to HIM. Oh, there is such HOPE in the FATHER LOVE for us!