“ALL THINGS NEW”

1/14/14

When we go to the store or order a purchase on-line we pick out what we’re looking for and then check out.  We pay the price that has been set and we take the item home and begin to use it for our pleasure. 

Our lives are no different.  GOD has chosen us; the price has already been paid over 2,000 years ago by CHRIST.  The price paid wasn’t so we could live mundane lives, lives of unrest, lives of constant chaos, lives that have lack of meaning or purpose, hopeless lives or lives with no balance.

We were born to be thoroughly and exclusively used by GOD to be the salt and a light to make a difference, be a witness for HIS purpose according to HIS plan and HIS will.  This is the beginning of a new year, where all things can become NEW regardless of what we experienced last year.  There are some who may have come into this year with their life in limbo, stagnant, a life of uncertainty, without direction, lack of vision or mission.  This is not what GOD has purposed for your life.

At times we may go through life in a daze, in a fog, or with our head in a cloud never trying to see through the density to see and recognize just what we’re destined to do.  We may be afraid to see our destiny because once we understand where GOD is taking us it might require us to change our direction (our will), our choice of vocation, ministry or interest to follow HIS will.  And let’s face it, many times GOD’s will is much different than ours.

For some there has not been a yearning to see ourselves through the eyes of GOD in regards to our call that HE’s orchestrating.  For others there has been a tug felt on their hearts, a prompting by GOD, to go in a certain direction but have been reluctant to change their course and haven’t heeded to what they're feeling because this potential change isn’t what they planned for their lives. 

This is 2014 a time for reflection and making decisions.  This is a NEW YEAR that may usher in new experiences and divine interventions if we become open to it.  What if we stood still long enough to hear what GOD is saying to us about our assignment and HIS will for our lives in 2014?  What if we searched our hearts and found COMPASSION, GRACE and FORGIVENESS for that person who hurt us?  What if we got up off the church pews and began to be the church?   What if we answer the call to service in our churches and communities?  What if we became ambassadors for CHRIST in our homes, on our jobs and in our neighborhoods?  What if??

Time is passing faster than any of us want to believe.  It was just Christmas a few weeks ago and now it’s almost the end of January.  What have we done differently with our time during this first 14 days of this NEW year?  Is this year going to be a repeat of last year and the years that proceeded?  Or are we going to effort to seek and find HIS will for our lives? 

Any time you see something repeated in the Bible it’s repeated because of its significance.  The word FAITH is mentioned in every book from Exodus through Revelation.  There are a total of 248 verses that speak of FAITH.

Let’s take a walk down FAITH lane:

Hebrews 11:3   By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Hebrews 11:4   By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

Hebrews 11:7   By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

Hebrews 11:8   By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Hebrews 11:11  By faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.

Hebrews 11:21   By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Hebrews 11:22   By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

Hebrews 11:30   By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

And the list goes on through Revelations about FAITH and its role in the lives of believers. I have 40 pages of 240 verses to prove FAITH IS THE KEY!

This life requires a faith walk that must increase daily.  Our banner of victory flies proudly because of our faith.   There is a work to do, each of us have apart in GOD’s kingdom building.  When it comes right down to it everything we do is based on a matter of faith.  Remember: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) We all know that this is where it gets tricky for us.  The words “not seen” means unknowing.   As humans we want to know everything and leave nothing to chance.   

Faith is and always has been based on the unknown and unseen.  But we each know enough about GOD, HIS character, HIS faithfulness and HIS love to know that HE can be trusted.  We have seen HIM move in our lives.  So why not look at what we know about HIM and leave what we don’t know about what’s going to happen to HIM.  Faith, even as small as the mustard seed discussed in the last blog, is pleasing to GOD. We please HIM every time we trust HIM.  So why not trust HIM now?  We don’t know what HE has for us in 2014.  What we do know is we’re here to be used by HIM and without FAITH it is impossible to please GOD.

And I bet you thought this was going to be just another uneventful year.  Whether it is or isn’t is up to you.  Step out of your boat and walk by Faith because GOD knows the plans that HE has for you, HE has declared it.

GOD BLESS