Manup Moment - Jay Cookingham

We need the Word before the world. We must filter the news, the events, the conspiracies… everything the world presents as “truth” through the TRUTH of God’s Word.

Waiting on God is an active faith seeking to be with Him, what a blessing it is when a waiting son or daughter and a waiting God meet… power is released.

The act of forgetting is a sacred sacrifice where we shake off every hindrance, everything that keeps us running the race with freedom.

The truth is that we are not called to safe, ordinary lives. We called to follow, pursue, and chase after a Holy and powerful God.

Your hunger… your appetite is satisfied by what you feed it… Sounds obvious right? If we are not hungry for the presence and purposes of God, then you can be sure we are hungry for something else.

Worship is a life that is centered on God’s heart, and what He thinks is good.

Warriors bow our knee to only one King, the one who can make us free. God’s redemptive power frees us to stand when others retreat, and to lead with others shrink back.

Father God did not battle for our hearts to turn us into slaves or worker drones. He didn’t leave us as orphans.

One of the greatest battles a man faces is his past. We often allow those past events that haunt us… our mistakes; our failures and sins… affect our choices and decisions.

I love being completely surprised by grace.

This Scripture tells us that joy comes in the morning but doesn’t say that my troubles would disappear overnight. It’s not a formula that promises that you’ll feel happy at sunrise.

Henry David Thoreau had this to say about our past “Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.” The Apostle Paul said this way in Philippians 3:13 “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.”

One of my best days as a parent came when all my kids could dress themselves. The day they could purposely put articles of clothing on was… freedom. I didn't care if those articles of clothing matched or inside out… I was just glad they were on! Thankfully... throughout Scripture, God has laid out our wardrobe.

Since I lost my wife Christine to cancer in 2019, this verse in Matthew 5:4 has been huge in my moving forward. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” You can mourn and celebrate at the same time; one does not negate the other. In fact, I believe mourning IS a form of celebration, solemn for sure, but an active honoring of the lost loved one.

When life or the enemy punches us in the mouth… we must learn how to counterpunch.

The blessed life is all about knowing God, about having a relationship with Him that is so deep that it doesn’t matter if He blesses us or not.

Do you ever wonder… What will it take for revival to come?

Could it be… that the moment we’re “stuck in” is the exact moment God is teaching His greatest lesson.

What does victory look like when life is full of pain and hardship? When death stings? (and it does). When the words of the worship songs we sing don’t feel true… When stories of miracle and healings conflict with stories of horrible loss?

I feel there is something far greater at stake than electing a President soon. It comes to me in the form of a question… Who will hold your heart after the election?