Step into the New Year
With a Clean Heart!
In just a few days 2014 will begin a new year filled with opportunities and unknown gifts. Resolutions are made with great intention and often abandoned in less than a month. I read a statistic this morning that only 8% of New Year resolutions are kept. Must admit this is much lower than I expected. In the coming days there can be a holiday let down. Weeks of planning, running to and fro, meals with family and friends come to a screeching halt. Decorations are put away for another year and for a little while the house seems somewhat sterile.
God is Not Limited By the Confines of Our Time
In this quiet space, take a little time to look back over the year with gratitude for the good. Release those things that were less than optimal. Do not carry them forward into 2014. To ruminate on past transgressions whether real or imagined will keep you stuck in worldly negativity.
Release others with love. Release yourself with love. Allow the Holy Spirit to renew your mind and perspective to look forward with hope and faith that what lies ahead is far better than what went before.
I have seen God turn situations around that in no earthly way could have had a positive outcome. He promises that all things do work together for good for those who love Him and live according to His purpose. That working together may not come in a timing you desire but He is never late! As we approach New Year’s Eve and the hope that all things new bring, know that God has you covered in every area of your life.
He knows your comings and goings. He knows your heart, for it is always a heart issue.
You Can Have a Life Filled with Abundance and Peace!
Take the next days as you may be putting away Christmas decorations and clear any heart issues that you do not wish to carry into the New Year. Bitterness, resentment, jealousy and family strife have no place in the life of those who closely follow Jesus. He came that you might have an abundant life. Such an abundant life will include a spirit of gratitude that illuminates each and every day. Although abundance can mean material wealth, the abundance He offers goes much deeper. It is heartfelt. It is palpable. It is life giving. To walk without getting entangled in the drama of life events is abundant life.
He came that you might have a peace in your heart that surpasses all understanding. What exactly does that mean? No matter what is going on around you, no matter what anyone says or does to you, you are able to stay at peace. He offers you a profound peace. Is it possible? Is it real? Absolutely! Does it take some work on your part? Yes, it requires a humbled and contrite heart that seeks the Lord first.
A New Beginning!
When you seek Him first the Holy Spirit is ever present to cut away those things in your heart that no longer serve the Lord. Your mind is conformed to Christ and transformed from worldly thinking to Kingdom thinking. Although this can all happen ‘suddenly,’ most often it is progressive as you grow in Christ. Maturity brings wisdom and discernment to rise above situations and bring the compassion and love of Christ to each circumstance.
It is no longer about you but about being His representation to others.
Determine not to carry negative and unhealthy thought patterns and reactions into 2014.
Leave them behind. Ask God’s help in discerning all that is not His best for you. Release with love what He shows you and purpose to begin anew. Preserve what is holy and good in the New Year. There is much to be thankful for in your life no matter what you may be experiencing. God never wants you to remain the same. His call is to come up higher.
His heart is to covenant with you every moment of every day. Prepare to begin anew! Your King awaits!
Quotes to Ponder This Week
“Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved.” ~Jesus, Matthew 9:17
“For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” ~Jesus, Matthew 26:28
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” ~Jesus, John 13:34
“Behold I do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?” ~Isaiah 43:19
“For the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” ~Isaiah 52:12
“…the Lord’s mercies…are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” ~Lamentations 3:23
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” ~Psalm 51:10
“Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy…” ~Psalm 33:3
“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!” ~Psalm 96:1
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.” ~2Corinthians 5:17
“…put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him…” ~Colossians 3:10
“…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” ~Philippians 3:13
“Behold I make all things new.” ~Revelation 21:5
“…So now the New Man, the Christ-man, will make us awake to righteousness, peace, and abounding in God…Through the God-man, we come into a new divine order.” ~Smith Wigglesworth, Devotional, page 545
A Prayer Request
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all who serve our country, our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our front-line on the battlefield, let us be their front-line in the spirit. Also, let us cover all who have come home wounded that they and their families will receive the kindness, help and support they need to go forward in their lives.
God bless all our diplomatic and military personnel and their families. May the Lord keep them safe. Pray for all throughout the world for hedges of protection against radical Muslim extremists and all forms of terrorism. We have long prayed for spiritual victory over radical Islam in Esther’s Warriors Ministry. We now see the reality of this threat come to the forefront in this time in world history.
Please pray for all in authority over us, for the full truth to come forth concerning Benghazi and for safety in Israel. May God richly bless the United States of America, bring to light every single crooked place and keep her safe. May we may arise united once again as One Nation Under God in this auspicious season in our country’s history.
We continue to pray for truth to prevail as we saturate this country in prayer and stand for all that is right in America and for all of us who call ourselves American. These are treacherous times and now more than ever we must maintain our walk. Fail not in this hour.
Please Join Me In Prayer
Father we thank You that Your mercies are new every morning and that Your grace is ever present to us. As we stand on the threshold of 2014 help us to stand in every circumstance. Help us stand for righteousness and holiness and the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. Let us stand ever faithful to Your precepts and ever aware of Your faithfulness. Grace us each with hearts of overflowing gratitude that will touch others with Your presence. Thank You for the year that is coming to an end. Thank You for Your presence throughout that year. Thank You that You go before us now. Thank You that You are our rear guard. We pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and amen.