A New, Glorious Beginning
Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:18-19)
Merry Christmas All! Merry, Merry Christmas!
Christmas is warm and fuzzy and wonderful and everything that’s good, a true gift from the Father of Lights (James 1:17)! It literally is THE most WONDERFUL time of the year!
Not just because of the vacation time and the presents as well as presence of and from those we love, but because when Jesus became Emmanuel, when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, it was the promise of many, much-anticipated prophecies taking *finally* place. In short, we were given the opportunity of a fresh start.
This is EXACTLY how I feel! And not only is that my personal conviction, but as the Word of the Lord for 2015 starts trickling out and continues to go forth in this season, all of the prophets are on the same page: 2015 will be a year of new beginnings!
My friend, Jennifer LeClaire, shared this with me the other day.
And in that same spirit, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez shared this with me as well:
In 2015 you will see God's glory like never before.
Now I don’t know if he stated that as a generic or individualistic word to me for 2015, but I’ll take it as both since I already see it coming to past in my own life! The words of the Apostle Luke perfectly describe my joy:
Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women! (Luke 1:28)
Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord. (Luke 1:45)
In the words of my best friend Jessica, “What you got I ain’t got??” If you’re God’s child and in His will--and it’s HIS timing--then why can’t you experience a new beginning and God’s glory in 2015 like never before?
Or maybe for you it’s like one time I was watching my spiritual father preach and I uttered those same words, “What he got I ain’t got??” when God corrected me REAL quick and said: CONSISTENCY.
*cringe*
Talk about rebuke!!
But alas, those whom the Lord loves, He chastens (Hebrews 12:6).
But even if that’s you, you still have a full week to start correcting it! And A LOT can be accomplished in a week. Just ask God.
Some people think Mary had her junk together. There are some crazed religions out there like Islam that actually think she was perfect. (Helloooo, if Mary was perfect, then she wouldn’t need to give birth to the Deliver and propitiation for our sins!) Mary was NOT perfect. Mary was not some great, deep, spiritually established woman. Mary was simply available when God called her. And unless you’re a teen or tween and reading this, Mary was also A LOT younger than you when the angel Gabriel visited her.
So what’s your excuse?
Your Season, Your Set Time
For some of you, 2015 will be your season. For others of you, it will be your set (appointed) time.
But what’s the difference between a season and a set time?
A season comes and goes; you enter it because you’ve successfully completed the season(s) before it. Harvest cannot come until Spring and Summer have past. But set times, oh set times! These are literally “set” by God and no man can choose them, neither can man change them. It’s simply the time divinely appointed for you to do something or walk in something.
When Jesus came and when He returns are set times. There were/are signs pointing to it, but no man could say “At thus and such time, Jesus will come.” (If someone’s saying that, they are a liar and the truth ain’t in ‘em!!)
We need both and similarly, we need to be able to recognize both.
The Tribe of Issachar was praised because they were able to discern the times (seasons). And yet Jesus chided His people because they could not discern the timing of their visitation (set time).
For me, I feel like I’m entering into both: a new season and my set time.
When I was going through my INSAAAAAANE situation this Summer/Fall, I remember telling my friends and prayer warriors, “when I come out of this, it’s gonna be graduation in EVERY area of my life!”
Well guess what??
I’m coming out--with my hands up as the songstress said.
And you can too.
Christmas is about redemption; it’s about a fresh start. Breaking away from the old and transitioning into the new. What we couldn’t do through the efforts of the First Adam, we could do through the supernatural glory of the Second.
Don’t wait until January 1st to start your new year. Start it now. I mean RIGHT now. Thank God for what He’s kept you from and praise Him for what He’s delivering you to.
Merry Christmas All!!!
xx
