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Many people are entering a new year with anxiety because of general societal uncertainty, financial instability, relational instability, and challenges with their physical and emotional health. According to The American Institute of Stress: "About 33 percent of people report feeling extreme stress. 77 percent of people experience stress that affects their physical health. 73 percent of people have stress that impacts their mental health" (Sep 5, 2022). "Major depressive disorder affects approximately 17.3 million American adults, or about 7.1% of the U.S. population age 18 and older, in a given year (National Institute of Mental Health, "Major Depression," 2017).
Are you believing the lies of the enemy? Do you struggle to believe that God loves you? Do you feel like He has some master plan to harm you? The truth of the matter is that God is not against you, but unless you know the promises in His Word, you will believe the enemy's lies. To help you overcome the lies concerning God's will and ability to heal you, I have written up the following confession of faith to combat the enemy's lies that block your healing.
We've all heard and been told to capture every thought. In fact, the Bible tells us to in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." I've studied this verse and used it many times as one of my life's freedom verses. When we examine this verse in the original Jewish translation, it means "does the thought obey the Messiah? Does it align with the Word of God, and how the Messiah thinks?"
Morning prayer times are essential to our walk with God. Discover an increase in God's abiding Presence as you seek Him early in the day. Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. Mark 1:35 I can remember a time when having got up before the break of day that I had an unusual time of prayer. Technically you would say it was still "nighttime," probably around 5:00 am in the morning or earlier. This was when I was new in the Lord.
All of us reflect the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, we are becoming more like Him with ever-increasing glory by the Lord's Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18 ISV) I believe that if we are living in the radiance of Divine Life, there will be something of it betrayed by our faces. At any rate, the world will know something if we are really living in touch with the Lord, and there will be a language which only the spiritual can enjoy and understand.
The love of God. I deeply think about it, ponder it, wade through it, contemplate its depth and enjoy its fullness. The love of God is likely one of those mysteries this side of heaven that we will wrestle with until we are in the presence of Him who is Love Himself.There is absolutely no human way to comprehend the enormous, eternal, all-encompassing, never-wavering, unconditional love of God. And yet, it is vital to spend our earthly existence trying to do just that.
At the beginning of every year, I always spend time in fasting and prayer to seek God for direction. In most cases, He gives me a word that helps me navigate the coming season. Sometimes the word has been as simple as, "Keep running your race," a reference to Hebrews 12:1. In other years the Lord has given me detailed instructions. I believe He wants to give you a word of direction for 2023. But many Christians struggle when it comes to guidance. When they pray, they strain to hear anything. They know God speaks, but either they don't believe He wants to talk to them, or they don't want to obey what He says. Many believers have never known the thrill of hearing God's gentle voice.
I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. Isaiah 45:3 NIV The Lord is going to open secret treasures to you and bring financial blessings. He is going to make your calling more clear this year, bring confirmations and new, deeper understanding. This year, watch for the Lord to renew your strength, bring greater peace and the ability to hear His voice more clearly and accurately.
The Lord says: I am going to give my prophets, seers, and those with prophetic gifts a "sneak preview" of what is to come. A sneak preview is a special showing of something such as a movie, play, or product, before it becomes available to the general public. The Lord has been showing His prophets that we are on the brink of a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The river that we are about to step into is deeper than we've ever known before. We will receive extreme words for an extreme time.
What should we do when our loving husband brings us our favorite candy and we have committed to not eating sugar? As a Christian weight loss coach, I've heard from many wives who are afraid of hurting his feelings if she tells him she doesn't want that anymore. She's afraid of rocking this love boat they have created. Many times, these are hard-working husbands who come home at the end of the day with a treat for their wives. It's something the husband has been doing for a long time and something the wife has always enjoyed and thanked him for. It filled her love tank to know that her husband was thinking about her and made a special stop just for her.
