2023 has been a year full of ups and downs, but one of the more unexpected events from this year is that the word “rizz” was chosen as the word of the year by the Oxford University Press.

While rizz is used largely by Gen Z as a slang for having “style, charm, or, attractiveness, and the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner,” as the BBC reported, it is the root of this word that has true meaning.

Rizz ultimately comes from the word “charisma.”

Charisma, often something appealing, eye-catching or something that sounds delightful. But charisma is about more than just charming someone or something for romantic appeal. Instead, charisma can also describe our passion for Jesus. After all, the charismatic movement has been all about knowing God’s Holy Spirit on a deeper and more intimate level. It’s about expressing our love for Him and coming to know Him in a meaningful way through the gifts of the Spirit and a deeper understanding of the Scriptures. Charisma isn’t just about attracting people romantically, but rather it’s about being pulled in by something—or rather someone—at a deeper level.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

So, did Jesus have charisma? Did the Savior of the world have rizz?

In this context, yes. Because He was fully God and fully man, Jesus had a way of drawing in people that no one else could or would ever be able to. He could identify with our needs because He knew what it was like to be hungry, lonely and pressured by temptation. He knew what it was like to experience pain. And in the same manner, He also had the full power of God to cast out demons, cleanse the lepers and raise the dead. People were drawn to Him and His words because only He could offer the full hope of the world. Only through Him could people experience what it felt like to have living water (John 4:14, 7:38).

And just as He was able to draw people in with His charisma—with His rizz, so to say—He has given us this same charisma through His Holy Spirit. And it is by the Holy Spirit that we are able to follow the path that God has intended for us. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are able to draw people in to know God through our own gifts and talents. We can use this very charisma to share the gospel with the people who otherwise would never have heard. By us knowing God, by us following Him in the purposes and callings that He has given us, we have the opportunity to attract people to the message of truth.

When we at Charisma Media think about what this word means, we believe it is about bringing people to a new level in their understanding of the Holy Spirit and who He is. It is about shining a light in the darkness so the lost may encounter Christ. So if that’s rizz, then we are happy to have it.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.

What if the key you need for your breakthrough is as simple as getting before the Lord in fasting and prayer? In her latest Charisma Magazine Online article, Tammy Hotsenpiller dives into the purpose behind fasting. While many might see fasting as just part of a New Year’s resolution to lose weight or try to resolve issues on their own, it is by a Holy Spirit-led fast when we can experience true breakthrough that only God could provide.

“In Matthew 17:21, Jesus said to his disciples, some things only happen by prayer and fasting,” Hotsenpiller writes. “Jesus simply gave them the key. Prayer and fasting.”

Fasting is the discipline that, if we want to see God move across our world, our nation, our families and friends and our individual lives, we must take part in. Hotsenpiller points out that it is through fasting that even Queen Esther saw her people saved from destruction. It’s the discipline that Jesus did for 40 days in the wilderness. Fasting is the way that God moves mountains into the sea.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

“If you’re struggling with bad habits, negative thoughts, a lack of discipline or just feeling hopeless, fasting for personal change could be the answer,” Hotsenpiller writes.

As a life coach, speaker and leader, Hotsenpiller has spent much time learning the biblical discipline of fasting and what it can do for a life of abundance and joy. In her Beyond The Article interview with Charisma magazine, Hotsenpiller shared how the first thing that must be identified is what you are fasting for.

“Start by asking yourself what are you fasting for?” Hotsenpiller asks. “What is the thing in your life that you’re fasting for? What is that breakthrough? It could be a wayward child, it could be a marriage, it could be health, it could be financial. There’s something in your life that you’re coming saying, ‘God, I can’t do this on my own.’ You’re acknowledging you have a need.”

Hotsenpiller says that once you figure out what it is that you are fasting for, you have to determine the way in which you will fast. While many today want to fast from social media, shopping or other modern-day luxuries, Hotsenpiller notes that those things, while good to abstain from to get deeper into the presence of God, that is not what a true, biblical fast looks like. Instead, a true fast according to Scripture is about food.

“Whether it’s a Daniel fast, which is like a juice fast or abstaining from meat and alcohol and carbs, or it’s a sun up to sun down fast or it’s an absolute fast, whatever fast the Holy Spirit’s leading you, know what it is,” Hotsenpiller says.

One of the keys that Hotsenpiller wants people to know about fasting is that it is a time when the enemy will try to tempt them and get them to fold under the pressure of hunger and frustration. However, this is an opportunity for the Spirit to rise up above the flesh.

“We’re learning to not gratify the desires of our flesh and I tell people all the time if you can learn to say no to food, you can learn to say no to other things in your life, so you literally are learning to say no to the enemy when a temptation comes along that you should not participate in,” Hotsenpiller says. “When you learn to say no to your flesh and food, you will learn to say no in other areas. So fasting has so many different facets to really strengthen your spiritual life.”

While fasting may be difficult in the natural, it is through this discipline that God often chooses to provide true breakthrough for our greatest needs.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.

In a prophetic word for 2023, Alexander Pagani shared that this past year would be the year that the digital Jehu would rise up with a boldness for the gospel. But who fit that description this year?

Just as Jehu wasn’t afraid of Jezebel, the Jehus were not to be afraid of standing up for the sake of the gospel, for the purpose of righteousness.

“It will be a time and the rise of the Jehus, the rise of the wild ones who will be sanctioned by God to be able to confront systems that have been oppressing God’s people and they’re not going to have that religious piety and policy-minded,” Pagani had said in an exclusive interview with Charisma News.

But who are some of these digital Jehus that rose to the occasion in 2023, and what events took place that would act as a catalyst for future Jehus?

Pastor Greg Locke and the Demon Slayers

Pastor Greg Locke undoubtedly would be one of these digital Jehus that rose up in 2023. Unafraid to share the gospel of truth, Locke used his platform on social media and even in the theaters to bring the film, “Come Out in Jesus Name” to a wider audience. Not only did the film document the rise and hunger for deliverance ministers, but it featured a livestream deliverance session afterward. Not backing down from his stance on deliverance, Locke even hosted a deliverance training conference, which featured many of the other “demon slayers” including Vlad Savchuk, Isaiah Saldivar, Alexander Pagani and Mike Signorelli, whose film, “The Domino Revival” also hit theaters to bring the message of revival and hope to an outside audience.

The timing of Locke’s conference was truly impeccable because following this the film “Cessationist” came out preaching against the gifts of the Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s power in our world today. However, many by then had already seen that the Holy Spirit is alive and active even now.

Whether on YouTube, Facebook or another outlet, these ministers of the gospel have not been afraid to share the truth with the world that there is a real enemy after each and every soul, and that deliverance is not something to be afraid of, but rather is something every single Christian should go through to experience the fullness of what Christ did for them on the cross.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

Mario Murillo

This year evangelist Mario Murillo was unafraid to publicly push back against false prophets. In an interview on the Strang Report podcast, Murillo shared the reasons he decided to publicly call out Kat Kerr, Robin Bullock and Julie Green.

“There are two reasons that I’m speaking out,” Murillo said. “Number one is that the Bible says it’s the duty of every Christian leader to beware of wolves who do not spare the secondly, in 2 Timothy 2:17 it not only says that their teaching will spread like gangrene. We’ve got to stop the gangrene. It’s possible for a teaching to absolutely infect the body of Christ with gangrene. So the second reason I’m speaking out is not just to protect the sheep, but I’m a soul winner. I’m doing this as a heartbroken evangelist.”

Murillo used media multiple times to unashamedly call out false prophets without fear or concern just as a digital Jehu would.

Rabbi Kirt Schneider and Michael Brown

Rabbi Kirt Schneider and Michael Brown have both been using their digital platforms for years to spread the truth of the gospel to the world. This year, though, each of them were able to use their platforms to boldly confront the LGBTQ agenda that has spread throughout the world, including within the church. Schneider stepped out in faith with his “Taking the Rainbow Back” movement, addressing the need for a biblical return for the model of marriage. Michael Brown, a longtime columnist for Charisma Media, also went further with a call back to biblical truth in his book, “Why So Many Christians Have Left the Faith.” In a time when most people are submitting to these agendas, these two men stepped up to the plate to call the church, and the world, back to God’s standard for marriage and identity.

Asbury and Free Chapel Revivals

Pastor Jentezen Franklin’s Free Chapel experienced revival just a couple of months ago with guest speaker Evangelist Perry Stone. What was not planned to be a lengthy event ended up becoming a time of revival for over a week which was preparing God’s people for what He has next for his people. This, just as with the Asbury revival, has been viewed online by thousands as God is raising up the next generation to boldly step out in faith and cling to the truth of the gospel no matter what circumstances our world may face.

Charisma magazine went digital

After decades as a print magazine, Charisma made the decision this year to go completely digital with the launch of our Charisma Magazine Online. Unknowingly walking straight into this prophecy as a digital Jehu, we are now able to reach more people with the message of the gospel so that the world can see how the Holy Spirit is moving across our world. The new, interactive content that we have been able to produce is above and beyond all that we could have hoped for or imagined during the process and consideration of going digital. As Charisma continues to refine our new platform and lean into the Holy Spirit for guidance, we are not and will never be afraid to share the reality of who Christ is with the world and how He alone is Lord and Savior.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.

In a brand-new Charisma Magazine Online article, Renee DeLoriea shared how there is a hunger for revival and a greater outpouring of God’s Spirit that will ignite hearts for God’s great purposes.

“Communion with God is the life force of every believer,” DeLoriea writes. “God is always present and those who are paying attention will recognize many of the ways He reveals Himself.”

DeLoriea knows this to be true about God from her very own experiences of seeing revival break out. In fact, DeLoriea shared in her Beyond the Article interview with Charisma magazine that it was during the Brownsville Revival that she experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in a greater measure.

After moving with her family because of a word that revival would break out in Pensacola, DeLoriea expected that the revival would happen immediately. They scouted out churches all over the area expecting to see a revival, but found none. Seven years later, she saw on the news Steve Hill and Pastor John Kilpatrick saying that revival had broken out. Knowing and trusting Kilpatrick, she believed that this was true.

“I just went to the altar and I said, ‘Jesus, I’m going to get behind you,’ and it wasn’t dependent on if this was the revival,” DeLoriea said.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

This bit of faith of completely trusting and depending on God instead of a move or an action is exactly what DeLoriea was in need of, something she believes others can benefit from too in our current day and age.

“We don’t really have to be able to see way in the future, just get behind Jesus and align ourselves with His Word and His ways and His Spirit, making Him our first priority and everything else will move in the direction of God’s calling on our lives on a day-by-day basis,” DeLoriea said. “Anything else that’s out of that is a distraction and it’s a swaying and discouragement.”

DeLoriea said that when she was first introduced to the revival, there were only about 200 people. A few months later when she brought some family members to the revival, the line to get in was about three blocks long.

“I’m not saying that I knew that it was going to be people lined up out the door in a couple of the Lord revealed it to me it was not about numbers, it was about influence in the church and in the world,” DeLoriea said.

One thing DeLoriea can vouch for is that revival really is something special and divinely given to us from the Lord.

“There’s nothing more fun than revival and the presence of God just showing up,” DeLoriea said.

DeLoriea also shared that as the world is hungering and thirsting for more of God, he is in the business right now of reactivating His people and bringing together a marriage of Word and Spirit in this day and age.

“At the end of the Brownsville Revival so many people . I was one of those people who was sad, and the Lord I believe spoke to me and said, ‘you will see a revival much greater than this when there is a marriage between the Word and the Spirit.”

Let us, as God’s people, not miss out on what He is doing across the world today.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.

Recently Bishop T.D. Jakes denied allegations that he had been a participant of sex parties hosted by music mogul Sean Combs, also known as Diddy. Jakes’ representative said the claims were “unequivocally false and baseless.”

According to the Christian Post, Jakes shared with his congregation during The Potter’s House Christmas Eve Service that no reason exists for anyone to worry about these allegations. The video has since been set private.

“Would y’all please do me a favor and stop worrying about me and give God some praise and honor and glory?” Jakes said during the service.

Jakes discussed the purpose of repentance and how the blood of Jesus is meant to wash us clean of all our sins.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

“The worst that could happen, if everything was true, all I got to do is repent sincerely, from my heart,” Jakes said. “There’s enough power in the blood to cover all kinds of sin. I don’t care what it is, the blood would fix it. But I ain’t got to repent about this.”

Jakes elaborated on how the blood of Jesus is always available to everyone who seeks Him.

“All I got to do is step over top of it and keep on going on. I’m not in trouble. I’m talking about the power of the blood. Amen,” Jakes said. “And it’s available to you. And you can have it when you need it. But you don’t have to plead the blood if you didn’t do the crime.”

Jakes’ statement comes after singer Cassie, also known as Casandra Ventura, claims to have experienced abuse by Combs and was forced by him to engage in sexual misconduct after the two first met in 2005. YouTube channel Tuff News TV claimed that Cassie turned in a burner phone from the late model Kim Porter, which supposedly had the “sex parties” on it that Jakes was accused of attending. This is what led to a spread of the allegations against Jakes on social media.

In a YouTube clip from Jakes’ Christmas Eve service, he said he would address truth and not lies.

“All of you who expect me to address a lie, you can log off,” Jakes said. “I will not use this sacred day and this sacred pulpit to address a lie when I have a chance to preach truth. I will stand straight up, head up, back straight and preach the unadulterated, infallible Word of God because that is what the pulpit is for.”

As these allegations unfold, it is necessary for Christians to pray and think critically about everything we see and hear. It should be our goal to use wisdom and discernment so we can properly evaluate situations as they occur in front of our eyes.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.

In a new feature article in the December issue of Charisma Magazine Online, I had the opportunity to write about the question of what is the Christmas spirit all about? The truth is, underneath all the festivities, all of the glamor of the lights and music, if Christmas doesn’t point us back to the Holy Spirit and to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then our efforts are wasted because Christmas is ultimately all about Jesus as the Savior of the world.

It was by the Holy Spirit that Mary was able to conceive Jesus and it was by the power of the Holy Spirit that John the Baptist leapt in Elizabeth’s womb in Mary’s presence because Jesus was already with her. If we ignore this original point that without Jesus, without the Holy Spirit’s divine intervention into our human affairs, there would be no such thing as Christmas.

Even more than this, the Holy Spirit, unlike other holiday celebrations, is in the middle of Christmas because it is about Him, not just some manmade day to commemorate our own plans and history. The difference with Christmas is that it was divinely appointed by God, and so we should seek Him in the middle of it.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

Because Christmas has His Spirit written all over it, we should use it as an opportunity to share who God is with the world. Whether that’s spending time volunteering, giving gifts and contributions to Christian organizations, spreading the gospel through evangelistic measures, sending cards of hope or by another means, this is the perfect time to share the message of God’s goodness and truth.

Unfortunately, we live in a time when Christmas has become less about the cross and more about ourselves. This however, is contrary to Scripture. Even John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” (John 3:30). Until Christmas is more about Jesus and less about us, it will never live up to the fullness that we need it to on a spiritual level. Until Christmas is pointing us to the person of the Holy Spirit, we will be utterly and completely misaligned with the potential that the season has for us.

When we think about all the hundreds of years of waiting, of attempts to follow the Law, of the trials and years of captivity that the Jewish people experienced before Jesus came, it puts the miracle of Christmas in perspective. God had finally answered their cry for a Savior. This should be a time that we can stand in awe and look at what God had done and His faithfulness to answer us in our time of need with so much more and above all that we could ever ask for or imagine. It’s a time to be in the presence of His Holy Spirit to say, “thank you, Abba, for all that You’ve done, are doing, and will do.”

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.

In an exclusive interview with Charisma News, Rabbi Kirt Schneider shared the shocking details about a heavenly encounter he had with an angel after pouring his heart and soul into his Taking the Rainbow Back movement.

“I wasn’t depressed, but it was just like, ‘well what do I do now?'” Schneider shares. As he was spending his time wondering what the next project would be, he found himself in the presence of an angel.

“As I was laying in my couch, I went into like a dreamlike trance state, and in this dreamlike trance state, and angel, and I’ve never seen an angel before in my angel walks into my prayer room,” Schneider said.

Schneider says that this angel looked normal in height, dressed in green and was in what he could best describe as a hoodie. But what the angel did next is what shocked him as the angel gave him the answer for what he should be looking to do next.

“And the angel took this Bible and the Bible that he was carrying was also clothed in green, had like a green Bible covering over. So the angel took the Bible, he laid it on my coffee table right next to where I was sleeping, dreaming, in this trance-like vision state. And then he covered it up really daintily in that bright green Bible cover,” Schneider said. “He just straightened that out like he’d straighten out sheets on a bed, make sure it was covered real daintily. And then the experience is over.”

Schneider said that this remarkable experience brought him the peace and the clarity he needed about what to do next: stay deeply rooted and connected to God’s Word.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

“I was so thankful that the Lord had just spoke to me because remember, I was feeling kind of lost, like ‘what do I do next?’ And the Lord was telling me, the way I intuited what just happened was the Lord’s telling me, ‘just stay in My Word. You don’t need to know about what project is next. You don’t need to know what to do next. You don’t need to be concerned about anything right now, I just want you to focus on one thing; I just want you to stay in My Word.”

Schneider says that this word, while exactly for him and what he needed to know, can also be applied to what we need to be doing and focusing on in 2024 as we continue to get further into darkness and closer to the return of Christ.

“We need to stay and become even more grounded in God’s Word,” Schneider said. “Paul said that bodily discipline is profitable. But he said spiritual discipline is even more profitable. And that’s something today that I don’t think is stressed enough, that we need to be spiritually disciplined, to be able to be doing certain things in our life that will help us grow in the Lord. And having a discipline regiment of reading the is our lifeline; the Word of God is what we live by.”

As Schneider also prophesied earlier in the interview, he believes we are headed for a growing darkness permeating across our land this day, especially in light of the growing antisemitism in the wake of war’s outbreak in Israel.

“As I felt the darkness beginning to move over the face of the land,” Schneider said. “So when we get to 2024, now what am I seeing in 2024 I’m seeing the same have to connect with him in the present reality, which requires more grace. You know, the Bible says ‘where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.’ And so, I just feel like a greater grace is needed, and will be needed in the inner man of God’s people to be able to transcend and ascend the winds of darkness that we’re presently facing.”

Schneider’s miraculous encounter with one of God’s angels, while it gave him insight on what to do with his own personal life, can and should be applied to each and every one of us as we embrace for a new year. The storms we face will only continue to mount, and without a firm foundation on the Word of God, we will be completely and utterly lost.

Watch part one of Rabbi Schneider’s interview here.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.

In his latest feature article in Charisma Magazine Online, Jentezen Franklin is breaking down the barriers and misconceptions about fasting and who is called to fast.

While some may believe that fasting is only for those who already have reached great spiritual heights, Franklin says that this isn’t the case. Instead, he shares that fasting is for all who genuinely desire an encounter with the Lord and are seeking refreshment in His presence.

“Victories are not won in public, but in private,” Franklin writes. “If you want a stronger relationship with God, you have to seek it. There is a secret source to our power, and it always accompanies the discipline of fasting and prayer. Fasting is not for the strong. Fasting is for the weak. Fasting is for the common. Fasting is for the frail and for the ordinary.”

In an exclusive Beyond the Article interview with Charisma magazine based on this article, Franklin further emphasized that fasting is more than just something to do to lose weight and abstain from food. He says that as a young man it was after fasting when God gave him clear direction about what he was supposed to do with his life.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

“You know, what am I going to do; it’s time to really focus on my major. I had to decide you know, am I going to go this way in education as a musician or performer, and it was time to make major decisions and so something in me, thanks be to God, said, ‘just go on a fast; seek Me. Why don’t you ask Me?'” Franklin says.

It was during the end of this fast that the Lord gave Franklin a clear answer on the direction for his life.

“The third day of that just had the Lord show me in so many ways that He had called me to preach,” Franklin explains. “It was time to accept that call. I was terrified. I felt totally unqualified. I felt so intimidated.”

This experience completely redirected Franklin’s life as he went on the path to ministry. He says that there is something completely special about fasting and the way it makes you attuned to what the Holy Spirit wants to speak to you and show you.

“There’s something about fasting that just makes you sensitive,” Franklin said. “It makes you open; it makes you broken, it makes you [have] anointed ears to hear, your spiritual ears get bigger.”

Fasting is more than a mere discipline to be followed, but it is a discipline that reaps spiritual rewards. Just as the apostle Paul wrote “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10), fasting makes us rely on God to see, do, and become what He desires for us.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.

In a recent vote the Church of England has decided to include formal blessings for same-sex couples.

As The Christian Post reported, the vote on this decision was 24 to 11. Bishops will now be able to formally use the “Prayers of Love and Faith” document.

In this document from the Church of England’s The Archbishop’s Council, the introduction states, “The Prayers of Love and Faith are offered as resources in praying with and for a same-sex couple who love one another and who wish to give thanks for and mark that love in faith before God.”

The document further goes on to say, “Recognizing and celebrating the goods in faithful, committed same-sex relationships and seeking God’s help and blessing in growing in faith, love and holiness, these prayers seek to help couples grow in holiness.”

This decision comes from the Church of England as here in America we see an increase in LGBTQ ideology being taught in schools, spread online by influencers, those in political power and even in our churches. Yet, just because a document or because a majority says something that tickles the ear does not mean that these types of unions are godly.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

First Corinthians 6:9-10 gives a list of the types of people who will not inherit the kingdom of God.

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”

This laundry list of people includes much more than just those who are in same-sex relationships, but they are part of the list. However, there is good news, which comes later in verse 11.

“Such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of our God.”

The blood of Jesus is powerful enough to wash away all sin when we come to Him. This doesn’t mean sitting in the old, but accepting the new life that can only ever be found through Him. For a church, and even more, for an entire denomination to accept a sin that clearly says you cannot enter the kingdom of God under is blatantly wrong. How can we except God to bless and call something holy that He has already said is not holy?

One of the prayers in the ‘Prayers of Love and Faith’ is a prayer for God’s blessing, which says, “By your blessing, and with you as their companion and guide, may they rejoice in hope and be sustained in love all the days of their life and in the age to come, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

For Jesus to bless a union as Lord, it has to be under His Lordship. At the end of the day only what the Lord has commanded of us to do and how to live will be blessed; all attempts by our own human efforts without Him cannot and will not experience His blessing.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.

Christmastime brings up all kinds of emotions for different people. For many, it is the happiest time of the year as they celebrate with family and friends, partaking in all kinds of festivities all around them. However, for others, Christmas isn’t the most wonderful time of the year. It can mean an especially dark season, whether it brings up the reminders of a loved one who has since passed, or is a time when the enemy has decided to attack with financial, relational, health or other troubling issues. So how do we navigate such a time of year when we’re feeling completely attacked and down?

The first thing to remember is that no matter what you’re facing, no matter what things look like, God is working in the middle of the storm.

Just as the first Christmas made absolutely no sense in the natural, God was working the greatest miracle ever in the most peculiar way possible. The Jewish people were expecting a Messiah who was going to be a mighty warrior that would take down the Roman Empire, and instead, a baby born in a stable is what they got. The deliverance they thought they needed isn’t what they got, but God gave them something even better. The chance to be fully set free from all bondages came in the form of this most humble gift of a child in a manger. While God can be hard to see in the middle of the storm, and the way He chooses to fix, heal or bring deliverance may not make any sense, He will bring about a plan that is even greater than anything we could have expected. The storm may be rocky, but when your eyes are locked on Jesus, He will guide you down the exact path you need to be on, even if it doesn’t make sense or align with your own vision. He can be trusted.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

The second thing to remember is that God is in the middle of hard things.

One of the most common misconceptions about Christianity is that once you commit your life to Jesus suddenly everything will become easier and life will be a complete breeze. This could not be further from the truth. Once you decide to give your life to Him, He will ask hard things of you. He will ask that you give up some things to chase after His righteousness. There’s a reason that Jesus said, “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me,” (Matt. 16:24). Life will not become easier with Jesus, but rather more difficult. However, it will all be worth it. Whether He’s asking hard things of you this Christmas, nudging you to share your faith, remember that He’s in these situations. Jesus did the hardest thing that anyone could ever imagine—He was beaten and stricken for our transgressions. He was pierced with nails in His hands and His feet to a cross to die a death that He did not deserve, completely innocent—all for the sake of you and I.

The third thing to remember is that no one understands our pain better than Jesus does.

There is no one that we can turn to who understands our pain better than Jesus does. He fully experienced the things that we experience. If you’re experiencing grief this Christmas, remember that the shortest verse in Scripture is “Jesus wept,” which came from when He saw that His dear friend Lazarus had died. If you’re feeling heartbroken and rejected, remember that Jesus was not even accepted in His hometown. Even more, He was abandoned by His disciples, including being denied by Peter three times. If you’re feeling tested and tried by the enemy, remember that Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness after fasting for 40 days and nights. There is nothing that we experience that He cannot relate to. What’s more is that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God praying for us right now. Jesus is praying for you (Rom. 8:34). There is no better intercessor who could be praying for you than the perfect Lamb of God Himself.

So remember, if you’re feeling spiritually attacked, down, depressed or are experiencing grief and turmoil, Jesus is able to help you not only resist temptation, but He is capable of healing the deepest wounds and turning everything around for the good of those who love Him.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.