Let God Direct You This Month
To All Things New!
As you stand on the threshold of this New Year which is bright with promise and all things new, take this first month and offer it to the Lord. This month represents the first fruits of this year. The time and the purpose you commit these 31 days will set the tone for your year. The seeds you plant will manifest throughout the year in fruitful harvest if you plant unto the Lord this month. Commit to establish or re-establish your quiet time with Him. After the flurry of Christmas activity, this month can be an emotional letdown if you are not careful. Seek His refreshing. Spend time in prayer, fasting and seeking Him for direction for 2015.
Clear the Cue and Embark Unencumbered
At the end of 2014 I deleted all email in my accounts. You may be able to relate to having saved email you intended to reread later or email containing interesting links touting good health and great exercise tips. In discussing this with one of my friends she shared that she had done the very same thing. We agreed that it is most freeing not to see an ominous number of missives waiting to be addressed. Clearing mail daily is now a task done with ease.
Starting the year fresh without carrying issues from the previous year (or a lifetime) is freeing indeed. The email deletion is symbolic of deleting all from 2014 and the past that is no longer part of God’s plan for you to move forward. Leaving that baggage at the station to board the train of 2015, you can embark with freedom of spirit. This freedom leaves you lightened to hear more clearly and move more swiftly in sync with God’s direction.
Start Clean
As I read Genesis 1:1-2, I was moved by two simple yet profound phrases: “In the beginning…the Spirit of God was hovering…” In the beginning of this year, the Spirit of God is hovering. The Spirit of God is refreshing weary followers, creating new direction, fashioning new vision, transforming renewed hope for the plans He has for you. This first week of January you stand on the threshold of 2015. Choose to step up to new levels of Spirit led living.
Renewal-renewal-renewal waits! He will make all things new if you commit to His timing and His sacred will. Wash your spirit afresh with the Word. Let His Word wash away all that is not of Him in your life. Let His Word wash away all that is not of Him in your heart (remember, it is always a heart issue). Come clean! Determine to release all that is not of Him.
It is one thing to call yourself a Christian. It is quite another to live out what that means in your life. If your life looks a bit too worldly, take it to Him. If you struggle with heart issues (as we all do) take them to Him and lay them at His feet. Forgive and release others. Do not hold on to anger, bitterness or resentment. We all make mistakes. We are to forgive as Christ forgives us. Un-forgiveness is one of the major stumbling blocks for Christians. Do not let it become a stronghold in your life. Only He can help you. In your own humanity you can do nothing.
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Step back and breathe deep this month. There is a fresh breeze blowing. It is the rarified cleanliness of Kingdom air. Righteousness is being restored. Kingdom people stand sanctified, set apart ‘for such a time as this!’ There is a clarion call going out. Do you hear it? Listen closely. 2015 will bring new horizons, new vistas…all things new…nothing broken…nothing missing. Look for the new. Tune your spirit to the Kingdom channel and follow His lead!
Quotes To Ponder This Week
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” ~Jesus, Matthew 7:13-14
“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ~Jesus, Matthew 19:26
“No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” ~Jesus, Luke 9:62
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” ~Jesus, John 10:10
“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise…from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” ~Esther 4:14
“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” ~Proverbs 3:6
“Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” ~Proverbs 16:3
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ~John 3:8
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” ~Romans 12:2
“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
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” ~Galatians 6:7
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” ~1Peter 2:9-10
“Behold, I make all things new.” ~ Revelation 21:5
“Lose all your identity in the Son of God. Let Him become all in all. Seek only the Lord, and let Him be glorified.” ~Smith Wigglesworth, Devotional, page 534
A Prayer Request
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all who serve our country, our diplomatic corps, 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. May the Lord bless them and 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. We as Americans and the families of those murdered in Benghazi deserve to be told the truth. Pray that God will open doors to let the truth on all that has been hidden flow for all of us in this United States of America! The truth shall keep us free.
Pray for peace in Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray for Christians throughout the world who face violence and death for their faith.
May God richly bless the United States of America, bring to light every single crooked place and keep her safe. May we 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. #Pray for America.
Please Join Me in Prayer
Father God, We thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to set us free. Grace us to walk in that freedom every day. Convict us when we step off Your path of righteousness. Empower us to stay focused on You and Your direction in each of our lives. Implant Your mercy in each heart that we may grant mercy to others. Let our lives clearly reflect You to the world. Great is Your faithfulness, oh God! We thank You that You keep Your hand on America. Forgive our sin and heal our land that we will remain One Nation Under God. We pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and Amen.