Author: Rebecca Darga

Help to grow your faith

I like books that stretch my faith and help deepen my relationship with Jesus. This Friday I would like to encourage in your faith by recommending a few books that have done just that for me.

As I said in my post Rejoice in others, Value the One it is good to rejoice in the success of others and to uplift our brothers and sisters in the faith.

Children and the Supernatural by Jennifer Toldeo is about real life accounts for healing, visions and miracles. I read this book as a devotional and it greatly encouraged and stretched my faith.

Heavenly Man is a account of the life and testimony of Brother Yun a leader of the Chinese underground church. His story really made me think about what I would be willing to go through for the gospel. It bolstered my faith and deepened my conviction.

Reckless Devotion by Roland and Heidi Baker is a great devotion that bolsters and expands your love for God. The stories of how God has provided for the Bakers and their ministry over and over again will make you laugh, cry and fall deeper in love with Jesus.

I hope you find these books encouraging in deepening your relationship with Jesus.

Share others

In my post Rejoice in Others, Value the One I talked about rejoicing in the ministry of others.

We are all the body of Jesus and we all have something to share. I want to share with you some of the people that challenge me to deepen my faith and intimacy with God.


A new way of gift giving

 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Mark 8:36-37

 

In this season of gift giving I want to encourage your to try a new kind of gift giving. The gift of a word from God for your friends and family.

This may sound scary or intimidating but it isn’t as scary as you may think.

God speaks to us in many different ways and one of those ways is through the prophetic. Giving a word for someone is simple. Spend some time in prayer and ask God to tell you a word, message or show you a picture or vision. Then write or draw what God tells you. If you are new to this I would suggest just asking for one word per person or an image.

Remember this is from God and should be free of your opinion or bias. To avoid writing a word that is your thoughts for this person I would suggest some randomization. I’ve done this many times in groups and as gifts to others. I find it’s best to ask God to give you the word without someone specific in mind. Try writing the words on unmarked cards then place them in sealed envelopes and label the envelopes with names later.

Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

Others ideas for prophetic gift giving:

  • Have your kids pray and ask God to give them a picture to draw and include it with your prophetic word
  • Buy journals or notebooks and write prophetic words on the first page and randomly place them in stockings
  • If your hosting a small group or gathering of believers, a prophetic white elephant gift exchange is fun (ask everyone to bring a gift and ask them to write a prophetic word to go with their gift) then play the white elephant gift exchange as usual, with the exception of not opening gifts til the swapping is over.

Giving the gift of a prophetic work last for eternity, it will never be thrown away, sold or returned. God’s word makes an impact on people, whether they receive it at that time or not.

Bless your family and friends this Christmas with a word from God.

the restoration of God

This months guest post is from a friend who is is very open, raw and honest in his walk with God. ~Rebecca Darga

crumbled. defeated. weathered. hopeless. shattered.

none of these conditions are bigger than the power of God’s Restoration.

no matter how bleak or impossible it might seem, He can rebuild it.


it will not look the same as before. it will cost you more than you expect. but when you give up the fight for something to BE the way YOU want it to be, and let God RESTORE it to the way HE wants it to be, there is always hope, beauty, life, and when finished – an amazing story to be told.


we must continually remind ourselves that:


He is the author, and we are His pen.
He is the painter, and we are His canvas.
He is the architect, and we are His tools.

Geoff Rimshas is the author of The Recovering Hypocrite

“I considers myself first and foremost a sinner saved by Grace, and I write to share my walk of tension between the Hope of Jesus and the shame of past mistakes.

I am desperate to know Jesus more in both the exciting and mundane details of the incredible life He has given me. I am thankful for my beautiful wife, Sara, our two amazing daughters, and our safe haven of a home in Livonia, Michigan.”

Merry Christmas

Some songs to bring you JOY. Merry Christmas!!!

From our family to yours, may your Christmas be filled with God’s Love, Joy and Peace!

Atmosphere matters

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:2

This is Paul’s common greeting when addressing other believers. It’s easy to gloss over but it’s important. 

How we greet each other matters. It’s sets the tone for our whole time together. Nothing is worse then coming into a social situation and feeling awkward, ignored or unwanted. 

When we greet each other we should make everyone feel at peace and that means giving grace. Grace to that person that might get on our nerves and that gives everyone peace because there is no strife or conflict.

We can choose what atmosphere we create.

Be a miracle to someone

The Christmas Candle is a great movie about miracles in many different ways. (I know it’s not December yet.) But God does provide miraculous miracles of helping and provision and sometimes we are the miracle to someone else.

As Thanksgiving is fastly approaching I want to encourage you to look outwards instead of inward, with your thanksgiving. Who are you thankful for? Is there something you can do for them that we be a miracle for them?

Talk with the Holy Spirit and let him lead you to someone you can be Jesus too and bless them with your help, time or service.

You never know the impact you can make till you let Jesus be a miracle through you.

Love is Contagious

This months guest post is from a friend whom I greatly respect . He has a unique and deep intimate view of God and expresses that in his life daily. ~Rebecca Darga

I recently attended a wedding of a close family friend. The whole day went without a hitch- beautiful music, a great sermon, beautiful decorations and great food- but there was one thing that stood out to me more than all of this. This new bride and groom were head over heals in love. They have no experience whatsoever when it comes to being married, yet they’ve chosen each other for a lifetime. I found myself reminiscing about my wedding and glancing over at my wife with pure joy and thankfulness to the Lord. Witnessing people in love is contagious.

Our spiritual life is not so different.

When someone is in love with God, you can see it; the joy is written all over their face.

Over the years if we’re not careful, it can feel that our walk with the Lord becomes stagnant. Prayer becomes pointless. Reading the Bible is a chore. Going to church becomes the place to see friends and to hear a helpful sermon. “Isn’t there more than this? Where is the excitement and passion I once had?” you might ask yourself. The good news is you’re not alone, and there is a solution.

In Revelation, Jesus has some instruction to one of the churches: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.

I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Revelation 2:2-5  

Let us take this passage as a warning and take heed from these sobering words:

It’s not enough to do good and work hard.

It’s not enough to have sound doctrine. It’s not enough to persevere and endure hardships.

It’s not enough to hate wickedness.

It’s not enough to know truth.

We must come back to our first love: Jesus.

How do we do that? People say, “love is the matter of the heart.” Ironically Jesus is just as much, if not more, than concerned about our heart’s condition:

The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Proverbs 4:23  

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Luke 6:45

So, how is your heart doing today? How has your heart been doing recently?

Do you feel like life has become stagnant, pointless, or a list of performing chores for God? Could it be that your heart has become exhausted, bitter, distracted, or infatuated with a temporary world instead of God’s purposes? Can you still remember the hope, love, and joy He once brought into to your life? Can you still see Him that way today?

Maybe you’re doing it right! That’s great! Keep your mind sober and your eyes fixed on Jesus.

Maybe you’re feeling far off from the Lord. Give Him your heart: the good, the bad, and the ugly. He loves you and is eagerly waiting for you. Today, there is an opportunity to repent and come back to Jesus, whatever the case may be. And know that when He comes, it changes everything. In a moment, He can provide all that you could ever need or hope for.

This is between you and the Holy Spirit. What is He speaking to you today? What is He telling you to do? How does He want you to respond? If you’re not sure, think back to the first time you had an encounter with the love of God. What were you thinking? What were you feeling? How did you respond in that moment? We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Our love should be an overflow of God’s love for us. There is no need to strive in His presence. Let everything you do be a response to God’s love, not a way in which to receive His love and salvation.

Fight for His presence. Forsake everything else at the cost of knowing Him. Don’t get tired and don’t give up. We must determine in our hearts and with our actions that God is the one who matters most.

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ (Colossians 2:2)

For the One who is worthy,

James Loruss  

James Loruss is an author, filmmaker and composer at Supernatural Truth Productions. Together with his wife, Connie, James ministers globally and locally to train believers, raise up leaders, and reach the lost with the Gospel. James serves as the Worship Pastor at Northville Christian Assembly of God in Northville, Michigan. He and Connie live in Novi, Michigan.