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United Prayer International, 250 W. Arrow Highway, San Dimas, CA (2026)

06/08/2026

Heaven Is Better Than You Can Imagine

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." — Revelation 21:4

We spend a lot of time talking about what we're waiting for Jesus to rescue us from. It's worth spending some time talking about what we're waiting to be rescued to.

Because Heaven, as the Bible describes it, is not a consolation prize. It is not a comfortable afterlife where things are simply better than they were. It is the full and final restoration of everything that was broken, the completion of a story that has been building since the first page of Genesis.

Revelation 21 gives us a glimpse that is both beautiful and staggering. God Himself comes to dwell with His people. Not just nearby, but with them. The distance that sin created is gone. The separation we've felt our entire lives, that longing for something more, something real, something that this world keeps promising but never quite delivers, that longing is finally, completely satisfied.

And God wipes every tear from their eyes.

Let that land for a moment. Every tear. Not most tears, not the important ones, not the ones that happened publicly. Every tear you have cried in your lifetime, in the car, in the dark, in the quiet moments when you thought no one saw, God knows about each one. And one day, with His own hand, He wipes them all away.

Death is gone. Mourning is gone. Crying is gone. Pain is gone. Not temporarily relieved, gone. The former things have passed away.

One message describes it this way: once you get to Heaven, the glory will be so great that you won't even remember the pain of what you've been through. Not because it didn't happen, but because the weight of glory so far exceeds the weight of sorrow that the comparison becomes incomprehensible.

C.S. Lewis captured this in The Last Battle, when one of his characters discovers that everything they thought was real about this world was only the shadow of the more real thing, that Heaven was not a copy of earth, but that earth had always been a dim and early sketch of Heaven.

That is the destination you are moving toward. Not a long sleep. Not a vague spiritual existence. A new heaven and a new earth, with God at the center of everything, and you, fully yourself, fully alive, fully known and fully loved.

Whatever you are facing right now, let this be the lens you see it through: this is not the end of your story. It is barely the beginning. And what's coming is better, so much better, than what's behind.

He is saving the best for last.

Whatever you're facing today, let this truth breathe life into it: you are not headed toward an ending. You are headed toward a beginning beyond your wildest imagination. He's saving the best for last!

06/07/2026

Step Into the River

“The Lord said to Joshua…as I was with Moses, so I will be with you” - Joshua 3:7 NKJV.

The skeptics said to Joshua, “If we cross over the Jordan River, we’re going to face enemies as never before. You know the reports. There are thirty-one different kings in the land where we’re going and every one of them wants to do us in. Do you know how many kings we’ve defeated in the last forty years? Exactly two. What on earth are you thinking? How could this be what God wants?”

Joshua knew it would be difficult, if in fact, impossible. But he also knew there was only one way for Israel to go: forward. They were going to cross over in faith, trusting that God had their best interests at heart.

We all know that in the end, Joshua and Israel possessed the land and were blessed. The priests carrying the Ark stepped into the rushing river, and as soon as they immersed their toes, God supernaturally parted the water. After that, every evil thing the skeptics predicted was turned into good for God’s people.

The people came to a great fortified city occupied by their enemy. When they marched around it, the impenetrable walls came tumbling down. A handful of kings that Israel thought would be hostile instead joined them and doubled the size of their army.

Did all this make Joshua and Israel super-saints? Not at all. At one point, Joshua failed to obey God, but because he repented quickly, the Lord used the experience to strengthen him.

Friend, are you willing to step into the river? God may be saying, “If you’ll just commit to putting your toe in, you will see me part waves for you. It doesn’t matter how many enemies and fortresses you face; I will carry you across to the other side. I have already laid out my plans for you, and I’ll see them through to fulfillment, all for my glory.”

Trust God to lead you across your Jordan. Let him silence the voice of every skeptic. His plan for you won’t be defeated. He is faithful, and he will give you victory!

06/06/2026

You Were Made To Walk With God

"Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him." - Genesis 5:24

In a genealogy full of the same rhythm, he lived, he had sons and daughters, he died, one man breaks the pattern. Enoch walked with God, and then he was not, because God took him.

No death recorded. No burial. No mourning. Just a life lived so close to God that when the moment came, the transition was almost seamless. He was here, and then he was with God.

Hebrews 11 tells us that Enoch was commended as one who pleased God. And it wasn't through dramatic exploits or a recorded ministry. The legacy of Enoch, across all of Scripture, is simply this: he walked with God.

That phrase, “walked with God”, deserves more attention than we usually give it. Walking implies consistency. It implies pace. It implies proximity. You don't walk with someone you've never met. You don't walk with someone you only see occasionally. Walking is a sustained, rhythmic, intentional movement together.

That is what Enoch did. Day after day, in an age of increasing violence and moral decay, Enoch walked with God. The world was falling apart around him, and he kept walking with God. His neighbors had long since stopped. His culture didn't support it. But Enoch walked.

And God took him.

There's a foreshadowing here that's hard to miss. The Rapture is described in 1 Thessalonians as a 'catching away', the same idea. Those who belong to God, who are close to Him, who have been walking with Him, suddenly taken up to be with Him forever.

Enoch is a picture of the Rapture. And his life is a model for how to prepare for it.

Not by memorizing prophecy charts. Not by calculating dates and timelines. But by walking with God, today, and tomorrow, and the day after that.

Here's what that looks like practically: it means making room for God in the ordinary. Not just the Sunday service, not just the crisis prayer, not just the moments when you need something. It means making Him part of the daily rhythm, the morning, the commute, the conversation, the decision, the quiet moment before you fall asleep.

You were made for this kind of closeness. The human heart was designed for communion with God, and every attempt to fill that space with something else leaves the same ache. Nothing satisfies like His presence.

Walk with God today. Not perfectly. Not with all the answers. Just consistently, faithfully, one step at a time, in the direction of the One who is coming to take you home.

06/05/2026

The Signs Are Not New, But The Urgency Is

“You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed." - Romans 13:11–12

There's a particular kind of spiritual danger that comes not from doubt or rebellion, but from familiarity. We hear something so many times that it stops registering. It goes from revelation to information, and then, quietly, to noise.

The return of Christ is one of those truths. Most Christians believe it. Most would say yes if asked. But believing it academically and living like it's actually true are two very different things.

Paul writes to the church in Rome with a kind of spiritual alarm in his voice: you know what time it is. Wake up. The moment is now. Salvation is nearer than when you first believed.

He wasn't speaking to people who had rejected the faith. He was speaking to believers, people who were already following Jesus. And he was telling them: the very familiarity of your faith can lull you to sleep. Don't let it.

The signs Jesus described in Matthew 24 are not abstract prophecy. They are current events. Wars and rumors of wars. Nations shaking. Economic instability. Moral confusion. A world desperately searching for a leader who will bring order to the chaos. Every one of these things that Jesus said would mark the end of the age is present and visible right now.

And we've seen versions of this before. Every generation thinks it might be the last. But the difference, and this matters, is that the signs are converging in ways they never have before. The pieces that would have required a supernatural explanation a century ago are now happening with natural explanation available, which means people accept them without alarm.

That's exactly what Jesus warned about. Not that the signs would be hidden, but that people would be too comfortable and too distracted to notice.

So what does it look like to be awake? Paul gives us the answer right there in Romans 13. Put on the armor of light. Live honorably. Stop making provision for the desires of the flesh. In other words, live like someone who knows they're being watched, who knows what's coming, who understands that the time is short.

This isn't fear-based living. It's purpose-based living. When you know time is valuable, you stop wasting it. When you know someone you love is arriving soon, you prepare for them. When you know the story is heading toward its climax, you pay attention.

Don't hit snooze on your faith today. The alarm is going off for a reason!

06/04/2026

No-Excuse Evangelism

Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.’ - Jonah 3:1–2

Most believers have reasons not to evangelize. Some of these reasons might even seem compelling or legitimate. “I don’t want to make the friendship weird or awkward.” “I’m afraid I won’t be able to answer people’s questions.” “I don’t want to become a person that other people avoid.”

The Old Testament prophet Jonah had some pretty compelling reasons not to evangelize. At least, he thought they were compelling. He’d been given an assignment that no prophet in his day would have been excited about. God had called him to preach His Word in Nineveh, which was one of the most wicked cities on earth. The Ninevites were the enemies of Israel. Other prophets had warned Israel that one day the Assyrians would overtake them, and Nineveh just happened to be the capital of Assyria.

Jonah likely reasoned, “Wait a second! If I go and preach to them, they might repent. And if they repent, then God will spare them, and they will conquer us. But if I don’t preach to them, they won’t repent, and God will judge them. That will be one less enemy we have to deal with.”

So, Jonah tried to go in the opposite direction. He went down to Joppa, boarded a ship, and set sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. He would have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had remembered the words of David, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!” - Psalm 139:7 NLT.

You probably know the rest of the story. God sent a great storm that threatened the lives of everyone aboard the vessel. Jonah admitted that he was the cause of the storm and was tossed overboard: “The LORD had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights” - Jonah 1:17 NLT. Jonah repented, and the great fish vomited him up on shore.

“Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you’” - Jonah 3:1–2 NLT. This time, Jonah did what God had called him to do. God helped him recognize what all believers need to understand: The work of evangelism is far more important and pressing than any discomfort we may experience or any objections we may have.

We’ve been called to share the gospel, even with people we may not like. Nonbelievers aren’t the enemy; they’ve been taken captive by the god of this world to do what he wants them to do (See 2 Timothy 2:26). Until the end of our lives or until the Lord returns, our job is to reach them with the Good News of Christ.

Let’s embrace the work God’s given us so that others may experience His forgiveness, salvation, and love.

06/03/2026

Your Choice

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory - Romans 5:1–2

The arithmetic of the gospel is fascinating. If you’re born once, you’ll die twice. If you’re born twice, you’ll die once. If that seems confusing to you, you’re in good company. Nicodemus, a notable Jewish scholar and leader in Jesus’ day, asked, “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” - John 3:4 NLT.

By “born once,” I mean the physical birth. By “born twice,” I mean a physical birth as well as a spiritual birth in which you’re born again, after having put your faith in Christ.

Just as there are two births, the Bible teaches that there are two deaths: One is physical, and the other is spiritual. Jesus warned that we are to fear the second death more than the first one.

Revelation 20:14 tells us, “Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death”. The second death is mentioned again in Revelation 21:8, which says, “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars - their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death”. The second death is Hell.

It has been said, “The second death is the continuance of spiritual death in another and timeless existence.”

Thomas Watson wrote, “Eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset; eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise.”

Jesus spoke of Hell in a very specific way. He warned of the fire of Hell (See Matthew 5:22). He warned about our bodies being thrown into Hell (See Matthew 5:29). And He warned of the soul and the body being destroyed in Hell (See Matthew 10:28).

The Bible teaches that all Christians - that is, sinners who have been forgiven and saved because they put their faith in Jesus Christ - will be in Heaven. And that offer of forgiveness and salvation is extended to everyone.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory” - Romans 5:1–2 NLT.

Your eternal destination is really your choice. Not everyone will be saved in the end - only those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. That’s the message God has entrusted to every believer. It’s a message we must spread.

06/02/2026

Self-Examination

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. - Lamentations 3:4

Imagine living for God, reading your Bible, serving at your local church, only for your works to be tried by fire and burned to ashes. Works cannot save us, but God has saved us to do good works. The works we do here are exchanged for crowns in heaven… crowns we will cast at the feet of Jesus.

I believe we are living in the last days, and the return of our Lord and Savior is drawing near. This is why it is so important to examine ourselves daily. We ought not just test and examine ourselves and then do nothing about what we find. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God tells us to return to the Lord.

The disciple James talks about looking into a mirror to see our faces. When we see that our face is dirty, yet walk away and forget to clean it, we deceive ourselves. This isn’t what God wants. He wants us to be doers of His Word. When trials arise in our lives, we ought to depend on God to carry us through, test and examine the condition of our hearts, and return to the Lord.

Is there an area in your life that needs searching? Are you easily angered? Is your tongue controlled by the flesh? Do you find it extremely difficult to forgive? Are you out of fellowship with God?

Jerusalem was in shambles. The people of God were in that state because of God’s judgment upon their murmuring and complaining. They had neglected to reflect on God's goodness. And often, we are in the same condition. We fail to notice, or we take for granted, the grace, mercy, and goodness of God. This becomes evident in how we gripe and complain.

Jerusalem realized they needed an individual internal audit. They needed to seek God and test and examine their ways because straying from God’s Word was not worth it. Looking at their surroundings while leaving God out of the picture was not worth it.

Every day in the life of a believer, we should set aside time to examine ourselves before God. But our key Scripture calls for more than self-reflection; it calls for a full return from hindering sin, besetting sin, and wrong thinking.

Jerusalem was in ruins because of its own sins. The Babylonians had taken over, and God allowed it as punishment. Many times, we stand in the way of restoration because we choose to sit in our comfortable filth longer than we should.

Let us not just be hearers of the Word but do what it says. Let us look into the mirror and cleanse ourselves immediately. Let us return to the Lord so He can restore us, clean us up, and restore fellowship with Him.

And instead of complaining, let us remain thankful for the good He gives even in the midst of trials, because we can always be certain that His blessings far outnumber the bad.

06/01/2026

Step by Faith

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” - Matthew 19:26 ESV

Israel’s crossing of the Jordan River happened at harvest time - See Joshua 3. During that season, the river’s banks weren’t just full, they were overflowing. It was the worst possible time to cross over it.

The skeptics around Joshua surely would have scoffed, “You picked the wrong time, Joshua. We’ve got pregnant women, sick people, and the elderly. This isn’t of God.”

Yet God does call us to things that seem impossible. He looks at our situation and says, “The conditions are perfect for me to move on behalf of my people. Now the world will see how I rejoice to supply all my servants’ needs.”

Right now, you may be thinking, “God, I feel you leading me to make a tough decision. I know I don’t have what it takes to pull this off.” Yet that’s right where he wants you. In our weakness, God is made strong. In our lack, God is great. We say it is impossible, but with God at the center, nothing is impossible. “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” - Matthew 19:26 ESV.

Up to that point in Israel’s history, God had parted the Red Sea, but this time he was asking them to step into the water first. Specifically, he commanded the priests to carry the Ark of the Covenant into the rushing river by faith.

Imagine the skeptics’ voices! “God has never led us to do this before. He has always parted the water for us. This isn’t obeying him; it’s tempting him!”

Even Joshua may have had his doubts. “Lord, I’ve been down this road before with you and I know how it works. You always part the waters first. Why would you have us step into this rushing, muddy water? It doesn’t make sense.”

It doesn’t matter how risky or challenging the path God has set before us is, because if we step in with faith, He will part the water. Then we can move across on dry land.

05/31/2026

Living In Expectation

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” - Hebrews 12:1 KJV

Throughout scripture, one truth keeps rising to the surface: God is not only calling His people to believe, but to live ready. Ready for His coming, ready for His presence, ready for His voice, and ready for the life He has placed before us. The Christian life is not passive waiting; it is active surrender. There is a life that carries the awareness of eternity into every decision. Jesus is coming again, not as a symbolic idea, but as a real event that will interrupt human history without warning. In a moment, everything familiar will shift. That truth is not given to create fear, but to produce readiness. The early church lived with that expectation, and it shaped how they loved, how they endured, and how they obeyed.

But readiness is not only about the future, it is about the present condition of the heart. Scripture calls believers to purity, not as legalism, but as response. When a person truly carries the hope of seeing Jesus, it changes what they allow into their lives. It produces a sensitivity to sin and a hunger for holiness. Not perfection without struggle, but direction toward God without compromise. This is why Jesus spoke so often about watchfulness. Life can become filled with distractions, pleasures, and pressures that slowly dull spiritual awareness. A person can be so occupied with the temporary that they lose sight of the eternal. But the call of God is to lay aside every weight, not only the obvious sins, but anything that slows the race of faith.

There is also a deeper reality: the presence of God is not something to visit; it is something to carry. When His people walk closely with Him, their lives begin to reflect Him. What touches Him begins to touch others through them. Faith becomes transferable, not just spoken, but lived. And everywhere they go, they leave evidence of a life that has been with Jesus. Yet none of this is achieved by striving alone. It is produced by surrender. Surrender of rights, surrender of control, surrender of running from God’s voice, and surrender of self-rule. The invitation of Christ is still the same: come, follow Me. Not partially, not selectively, but fully.

So the question becomes simple and searching: are we living ready? Ready in purity, ready in obedience, ready in awareness, and ready in devotion. Because the race is set before us, and the goal is not only to start well, but to finish faithfully. And one day, faith will become sight.

05/30/2026

A Spiritual Badge of Honor

Sometimes as believers we tend to be spiritual lightweights. At the first indication of a hardship or difficulty, we fall like a house of cards. We say, “I didn’t sign up for this. I don’t want difficulty; I just want to get along with everyone.”

But if you’re a true follower of Christ, there will be suffering in your life. The apostle Paul was certainly a true follower. And here’s how he described his experience: “I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm” - 2 Corinthians 11:23–27 NLT.

You’ll find no trace of self-pity or resentment in his words. Paul understood the role that suffering plays in the lives of believers.

The harsh reality is this: If you’re going to be used of God, then you’re going to be attacked. If you live as a real Christian, you will find yourself at odds with the world around you. You’ll face opposition, some of it intense. Think of suffering as a spiritual badge of honor. In fact, if you don’t experience at least occasional suffering or hardship in your life, you might want to examine your Christian walk.

And keep this in mind: The life that Christ offers is well worth any hardship.

United Prayer International

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