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I call your spirit forward to receive this blessing from God’s word.
Dear chosen daughter of God Most High, as you begin 2019 may you experience the presence of the Lord with the same awe as the shepherds and angels at Jesus’ birth. Be blessed as you learn through fresh revelation to know and love the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit more and more. May you grow more beautiful as you grow in faith and trust that God truly knows you, is always good, is always near and cares for you. May the God who saved you, continue to rescue you and draw you ever closer to his heart. May the challenges ahead be gentle, and the sweet surprises many, as Father God teaches you his ways and guides you on the pathway of holiness and righteousness. May the Lord surround you and your family with his favor and love as a shield in the year ahead, and may you be united in your love for God and for each other, and filled with great joy as you share in the hope of Heaven. Be blessed in the name of the Messiah, Jesus the true Christ, born so you might know the Father and return home to become one with him again forever. Amen. Mary Sumner 12/30/18
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Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!” Luke 9:20 NLT There is something sweet and magical in the scenes of the baby Jesus in the manger. Angels hover above singing. Shepherds come to adore him and magi follow his star. But do we sense the awe they felt at the realization that God himself had taken on flesh and come to earth?
A.W. Tozer, in his wonderful b00k The Knowledge of the Holy, wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think of God is the most important thing about us.” We are all created uniquely different. We come from different cultural and economic backgrounds. Some of us were raised in strong Christian families, and some of us came from nominal or non-Christian homes. But we all must face Jesus and answer his question, “But who do you say I am?” The answer, “My Savior and Lord,” opens the door to endless truths yet to be revealed. If things are going well in your life right now, who is Jesus to you? The one through whom the Father has chosen to guard and bless you? If you are in a dark and desperate place? Is he the one you rely on to rescue you and restore all that was broken or lost? Maybe you are just swamped in the humdrum busyness of everyday life. Who is Jesus to you there? The one you spend quiet moments with, who takes you out of your everyday concerns and transfers you above your life to reassure you that he loves you and that Heaven is waiting for you? Wherever you are today, whatever is going on, please, stop and allow Jesus to ask the question, “Who do you say I am?” Then ask him to teach you what he wants you to understand about himself and how that impacts who you are in that moment. What fresh, exciting revelation is waiting at the end of your query!? You will never know until you choose to pause and trust that Jesus will give you the answers. Pray with me: “Father God, forgive me for rushing by the very moments in which you have given me the opportunity to know Jesus better. Holy Spirit, prompt me to stop and allow Jesus to ask who he is to me personally. I want to grow closer and more in love with the Savior who sacrificed his glory and his life so that I might know him. Amen.” Dear friend, be blessed as you trust that Jesus has fresh revelation of himself that will strengthen your faith and grow you in wisdom and understanding. May you choose to stop and ask yourself, “Who is Jesus to me in this moment?” Be surprised with peace and joy as you believe the truth in the answers. Amen. Mary Sumner December 15, 2018 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. ~ James 1:14 NLT We all are making decisions as to how we will live in the coming year. I was wrestling with a decision that needed to be made recently. I really wanted to please God and align with his plans for the coming year. As I spent time listening, I sensed the question, “What’s your motivation?”
You see both options seemed good, and if they aligned with God’s plans, would even put me in a position to do good. The Spirit led me to Galatians 1:10, a familiar verse for me. “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” People pleasing is a habit I have battled for years. The habit is based on the belief that loving people, as God wants, is the same as pleasing people, which can often lead us away from God’s will. So, I had to stop and ask myself, “What is my motivation in this decision?” To be honest, it was hard to discern. Do I want to please my friends, who I love, and perhaps get their recognition? What does God want me to do? I tried to remember the last things God had talked to me about. One was unity. That is, we need to be in a small, supportive group of Christian friends who will help us endure the battles ahead, and be able to press through to victory. Also, he had been speaking to me about “new, greater things”. Which of these decisions aligned best with all of that? One decision would lead me to turning back to an “old” place where I might gain recognition. The other was to a “new” place where there might be sacrifice and no recognition. So, what is my motivation? Which aligned best with God’s latest words? I gradually began to see the light! As you consider the decisions you are making for the year ahead, what is your motivation? Will you choose to sacrifice the approval of family and friends to follow Jesus? Trust that his way, even though it may seem uncertain and scary, will ultimately lead you to your destiny. Will you choose to step into God’s new, greater thing? It will look different for each of us. Pray with me: “Father God, I need your radical faith! I need the courage of David to accept your plan for me, and to fight Goliath, if that is your will. Holy Spirit, strengthen me, fill me with all the good gifts I will need and lead me in the way of Jesus. Wrap me in the Father’s love and remind me that I am never alone. Amen.” Dear friend, be blessed as you trust that God wants the best for you, and he is able, through his Spirit, to lead you in the way you should go. May you have ears to hear and eyes to see him. May you be filled with supernatural peace as you choose to live by radical faith. Amen. Mary Sumner December 7, 2018 |
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