GOODBYE 2008 - WELCOME 2009
Bury the Past
"Walk in newness of life..." Romans 6:4 NJKV
Some people stay up until midnight to welcome the New Year. Others stay up to make sure the old year leaves! Seriously, as you enter this New Year you cannot afford to let your past infect your present, or sabotage your future. That is why certain things that refuse to be healed, must be forsaken and forgotten! There are people praising God in church every Sunday who lie awake in the privacy of their homes digging up bones, picking at scars and reliving old memories. You need to accept that some issues will never be resolved, and if you let them they will take up residence in your head.
Thank God Paul was honest enough to admit that he still struggled in certain areas. Unlike those with a pharisaical spirit who condemn others for doing the very things they do themselves, Paul says, "I know the law but...cannot keep it...sin...keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I...need help...I decide to do good, but...My decisions...do not result in actions. Something...gets the better of me every time" (Romans 7:17-20 TM). "Thank you Paul" from the rest of us who mistakenly thought that once we became Christians there would be no more struggles! Then he goes on to say,"Consider yourselves to be dead to sin" (Romans 6:11 NAS); "Just as Christ was raised from the dead...we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4 NKJV).
In other words, stop pursuing dead issues; admit them, quit them and forget them! Instead of struggling to change what cannot be changed, let God's transforming power sweep through your life and sever the ties between you and all those tormenting thoughts from your past. Let them go today in Jesus' Name!
A New Year's Resolution
As the New Year approaches and we begin to consider resolutions to improve our lives this coming year let us consider our walk with Christ. For without our spirit life in order, we will be declaring the same old resolutions in 2008 and beyond.
Why are so many Spirit-filled Christians not attaining and living the overcoming, victorious life? It is simply because they have not made the change from the realm of the senses to the realm of the Spirit.
The only way to make that change is with a renewed mind. A mind (spirit) that is renewed with the Word of God is always at war with the unrenewed mind, always engaged in a battle with unbelief. Your senses will always demand tangible, visible evidence concerning the reality of the things of God. In contrast, the man who walks by the Spirit is governed by the Word of God, independent of the senses.
It is easy to see why Christians are falling prey to the same kinds of things that have brought non-Christians to the road of defeat. Rampant fornication, adultery, lying, maliciousness, drug abuse, and other forms of ungodly behaviour result when people allow themselves to be led by their senses.
Those who are walking by the spirit are not walking under the law (Galatians 5:18). The law only has to do with your body, not with your spirit. But Jesus has given us a new law that deals with the spirit.
John 13:34-35:
34"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Under this new law, you will not be known by how many demons you cast out, or by how many days a week you go to church, or by the amount of your tithes. You will be known as a disciple of Christ if you have love for one another. This love is agape love -- the God-kind of love.
Galatians 5:19-21:
19...works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries....
This is just a partial list of things that involve the flesh. These are the kinds of things to counsel most Christians about. They are suffering because they are not allowing their spirit man to dominate. The answer to their problems is to renew their minds with the Word of God -- acting on the Word to conquer their senses.
It is not enough to know the Word. You must act on it. The Bible says that it is the doer of the Word who will be blessed in all of his deeds. Not the knower of the Word -- but the doer.
Romans 12:1-2:
1...you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2And 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.
Even though our bodies are the universities where we learn, those of us who walk with Christ are under a new kind of knowledge. It is called revelation knowledge -- not sense knowledge. Revelation knowledge comes from the Word of God through the Spirit of God. You can get information by studying the Word, but it will never become real to you until you start living by it. Until you start WINNING with it!
The man whose mind is ruled and governed by his senses is carnal; he is a "baby Christian" who will never be able to live in the fullness of God's Word. That man will be the victim of circumstances rather than the victor. That kind of man will live only on a very low level of victory in his walk with Jesus, if he experiences any victory at all.
The carnal Christian is headed down the dark road to defeat. This is an unnecessary road to travel. If you are headed down that road of destruction, why not change your direction, change your course in life, and change your defeat into victory? It is as easy as walking by the Word, not by the senses!
And most importantly, remember as we enter into 2009, Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost, just a lot of reward. Make sure you continue to pray each day, and pray believing God will answer. May today be all you need it to be. May the peace of God and the freshness of the Holy Spirit rest in your thoughts, rule in your dreams tonight, and conquer all your concerns and fears. May God manifest himself today in ways you have never experienced - continue to seek His face and His presence. May your joys be fulfilled, your dreams be closer, and your prayers be answered. I pray that faith enters a new height for you; I pray that your territory is enlarged. I pray for peace, healing, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, true and undying love for God. Let there be solutions for all your problems and concerns. Let the voice from above be manifested in your life today in Jesus' name -Amen.
May your heart's desires come into manifestation during the coming year 2009 as we continue to exalt Him, giving him praise and thanksgiving for our lives. AMEN.....
Be Blessed!!!!!!!!