Pour, Holy Spirit

For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
—Isaiah 44:3 (ESV)

Life may appear dry and without hope to some, but to someone who knows they are filled with your presence—who believes in your promises—it is a life flowing with milk and honey and bursting with great promise. My heart hungers to know the new person that you have made me, Lord. My thirsty soul drinks in all of you—consuming your Word and receiving your truth. 
 
“For I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise (Isaiah 43:20b-21, ESV). 
 
You created me to know you, Lord—not just know about you. You have chosen me to be yours. You have blessed me (Ephesians 1:3-4). When I hunger and thirst to know the righteousness you have given me, I am filled (Matthew 5:6). I see your spiritual blessings instead of my own natural limitations. When I continually receive your never-ending truth, I am renewed by it (Romans 12:2). I see with your eyes instead of my own. I see your promises instead of a life without hope. 
 
My life reaches beyond myself, Lord Jesus. It impacts those you love. My life speaks life or death. It offers either despair or hope. It imparts failure or success. It either kills a heart or encourages someone to reach beyond their natural limitations to receive spiritual understanding of what you have given them. If I don’t know whom you have made me, Lord, I can’t encourage others to receive what I don’t spiritually understand. Continually teach me, Holy Spirit. Teach me the depths of your joy. Teach me about your gift of righteousness within me. My soul renews like the eagle. I soar above everything that comes against the knowledge of who I am in your love and grace (Psalm 103:5, Isaiah 40:31).
 
I was created to praise you, Lord. I was created to know you—to remain in fellowship with you—to be filled with wisdom and revelation in my knowledge of you—to be enlightened to know the hope of your calling—to know your power in us who believe (Ephesians 1:17-19).
 
I shall continually drink of You, Lord, so I shall never thirst again (John 4:14). I am loved, cherished, and blameless in your grace. Your love made everything right. There is nothing I need to make right. I am yours. I have hope and promise. And upon those I love—my offspring and upon theirs—upon those I care for—upon those I pray for—upon those you have brought into my life—you pour your life and your blessing. 
 
Grace imparts more grace (James 4:6). Love breeds love through the generations to come. I am yours, and you always remember the prayers of your children. Your golden bowl is full and ready to pour (Revelation 5:8).
 
“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,” He says, “and great shall be the peace of your children” (Joel 2:25, Isaiah 54:13, NKJV).

This is your promise to me. I believe. Pour, Holy Spirit.

Our Good Good Father

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”
—Jeremiah 29:11-13, NLT


The true nature of God is love. He loves you. He has plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Some people attribute things like sickness as being from God—that God causes bad things to punish them because of something they have done or to make them learn a lesson. I've heard people even say, "He can hurt me if He wants because He's God." God does nothing that goes against His nature. Things happen in life because we live in a sinful world where the enemy tempts and tortures us. Yes, you can learn and gain strength from the things that happen to you, but God is not the author of evil. He is the author of good.
 
The Hebrew names of God in the Word reveal God’s true nature and His love for us. Some of the names are:

Jehovah-Shammah, is the God who is always with us. He never leaves us or forsakes us. Jehovah-Rohi, our shepherd, is the God who keeps us safe and guides us. Jehovah-M’Kaddesh is the God who sanctifies and blesses us. Jehovah-Tsidkenu is the righteous God who gives us His righteousness—the God who loved us enough to die for our sins. Jehovah Shalom is the God who gives us peace. Jehovah-Jireh is the God who provides for all our needs according to His riches in glory. Jehovah-Rapha is the God who heals us.
 
Do any of these names of God make you believe He wants to harm you? Yet, some who love God and serve Him think of Him as a God of punishment and retribution. Why would anyone want to serve God if they believe He is just waiting to beat them up when they fail? God’s nature is love. He proved that on the cross.
 
Some believe that sickness is a blessing sent by God. Illness is not of God. God has plans not to harm us. If we think illness is a blessing, why don't we ask God to make us sick? Do we tell our children when they are hurting that they are blessed to be that way? No, we hurt with them. We ache with them and do everything within our power to help them feel better. God hurts for us the same way. When His children are in pain, He feels it. Why would we ever question if God, our Father, wants to heal our hurts and sicknesses?  
 
Our suffering does not bring joy to God. We need to look at sickness and other attacks of the enemy and declare that those things are not from our God! They don’t come from the heart of the Father who loves us so much that He would give His life for us. He is Jehovah-Rapha, our healer.
 
God is not the author of your sickness. He is good. The enemy is evil. Sickness harms you. Sickness attempts to destroy your future and the plans that God has for you. God is love, and He wants you to prosper and be in good health (3 John 2). God sent His Word to heal you (Psalm 107:20). God desires His Word to go deep into your heart because it brings life and healing to you (Proverbs 4:20-22).  
 
We sing that God is our good, good Father. Let’s believe it. Let’s allow the Word to build our faith. God loves us and wants the best for us. We must stand against the enemy’s evil. When we fight believing God wants all things good for us, we experience the power and determination of God rising within us. We know that nothing that comes against us has any authority to prosper. We trust in His love that was more than enough for our sins—our needs—our fear—our circumstances. God is our authority.
 
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV).  God wants to do immeasurably more than we ask or think. And this is according to His power at work within us. God has put His power within us. Christian! A good good God is living inside of you! He is a loving, forgiving, healing, providing, and empowering God. Remember, He is living in you! So you are loved, forgiven, healed, and empowered! That is who you are in Him.
 
And He says, “I want to do more than you can ask or imagine." Grasp this!  He has good plans for you—plans that don't harm you. You have the power and healing of God living inside of you. Believe what you have received in Christ and speak healing and life and joy and peace into your life. Experience the overwhelming and abundant love of God. Don't let the enemy steal and kill and destroy. God does more than you imagine according to the power that lives in you. Exercise your faith! Live what God has given you.
 

My Fullness Of Joy

 

You will show me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy. 
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
—Psalms 16:11

 
 
Lord Jesus, your path is before me. I don’t always see what is ahead, but you’re always with me—guiding me and reminding me not to lean on my own understanding. Your peace rises from within. It has become as my next breath. You have cleansed me of all my sin, my pain, my fears, my sickness, and my inadequacies. You have given me all of you. Where I once stood condemned and guilty before you, I am now innocent in your righteousness. My old sinful nature has been crucified, and I have new life in you! You have poured every spiritual blessing into me that I would ever need to carry me abundantly through this life into the next. 
 
Abundant life is in your presence! I have a fullness of joy no matter what happens. When I received you into my heart by faith, you opened up the resources of heaven to me. For many years, I didn’t understand what that meant. I had to allow you to renew my mind—to change the way I think. I don’t have to live in fear that I can never be good enough or that sickness will claim me or circumstances will defeat me. I don’t have to struggle seeking just one thing to make you love me. I am yours. You accept and love me as I am.. You discipline me with your love. Your grace has set me free from condemnation that is no longer mine.
 
Peace is your perfect gift. I have contentment without an agenda. The enemy lies, but you have given me the authority to silence him. I can speak to my mountains, believing they will move. Thank you, Jesus, for your love which saved me from myself and imparted everything I need to stand strong in this life! Filled with joy, I am alive and free in your grace!

You chose me and loved me before all creation! That is the most incredible truth! I have no debt! I am forgiven! I run into your arms without hesitation. You said “no more” to my sin­—to my pain—to my fear—to my sickness—to my lack! You said these things are finished! You lavish me with your love! I have overflowing abundance in you. Your presence rises within me! You are my fullness of joy!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Ephesians 1:3-4).


 

Make Every Effort

Without knowing who we are in Christ, we face the prospect of failure. Exercising faith to believe in God’s truth develops good character traits to help us make it successfully. Faith is powerful and helps us walk positively through any circumstance. Hope helps us believe in God’s promises for what we can’t see.
 
“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm,” the writer to the Hebrews penned, “for God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23, NLT).  We can trust God to keep His promise. 
 
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life,” Peter wrote. “We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires” (2 Peter 1:3-4, NLT).
 
God has given us everything we need for His righteousness to be alive in us. And we received "all of this" we need the day we believed in Christ. We received Jesus by faith, and we also receive everything we need to live a righteous life by faith.
 
God has given us great and precious promises that enable us to share in His divine nature. But if we don’t know the promises that are ours, we live defeated and powerless lives. When we exercise faith and allow the Holy Spirit to renew the way we think, we learn to see from God’s perspective instead of what we see. The full righteousness of God lives in us, but we can’t know what that means until we allow our faith to transform our understanding.
 
“For this very reason,” Peter continued, “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love (2 Peter 1:5-7, NLT). 
 
Make every effort to add to your faith, Paul said—not just attempt and then when it gets too hard to give up. You decide to add these virtues in your life, but God’s power fosters personal growth and results in spiritual understanding. 
 
You decide to grow. You decide to change. You decide to forgive. You decide to persevere. You decide to be patient. You decide to surrender and allow Him to mold your mind. God empowers your choices and carries you in His strength, and your perception changes to His. You are transformed in the spirit of your mind. You have the mind of Christ. Peace is not just a dream. You discover it more quickly. Fear is defeated more easily. Walking the road of life is easier because your eyes are not on the road but on God. 
 
Life will always present trials. Whatever you face will either spur you on or hold you back. Christ promises success, but you decide to believe what you have received. Without allowing the truth of His Word to impact your mind and heart, you will not understand the wonderful gift of righteousness He has given you. His promises are true, but if you don’t know them, you remain in bondage. Faith comes by hearing the Word. Knowledge of the Word sets you free. And faith gives wings to His promises.
 
“The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Peter wrote in conclusion. “But those who fail to develop in this way are short-sighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins” (2 Peter 1:8-9, NLT).
 

If you live with shame and guilt, you’re in bondage to the old person you were before you knew Jesus. You haven’t allowed the Holy Spirit to help you grow in spiritual understanding of what Jesus has actually given you. 
 
Never remain short-sighted in your knowledge and understanding of the grace of Jesus. Make every effort, and He will transform your understanding. The glass no longer has to appear half-empty or even half-full. It is always overflowing. Christ, the hope of glory, lives in you.
 

Expectation, Hope, and Faith

 

For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 
—Philippians 1:19-20
 
 
What was Paul’s focus?  The message of new life in Christ was his absolute focus. Paul had the expectation and hope that God was with him in every moment directing and empowering him to share the Gospel. God’s grace was sufficient in everything. Nothing had the power to deter Paul from God’s will. He had the earnest expectation and hope that no distraction or feeling or circumstance had any power to discredit his faith. He was bold in his faith because he allowed the fruit of his relationship with Christ to be bold in him. Paul knew who Christ was manifested in his life. Paul had assurance—he trusted—he expected God to magnify Himself in his life. He was willing to give all for the grace of Jesus to be known and alive in others.
 
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the only one who makes all the difference in you. He is the only one who gives you a new life. You are Paul’s focus. Jesus Christ is the life Paul offered to you. Paul’s message is for you to know Christ and experience the fullness of His grace. Paul endured persecution for the sake of Christ so YOU could experience the fruit of your relationship with Jesus. Your expectation and hope make all the difference in how you live this new life.
 
Look at the phrase “according to my earnest expectation and hope” in Philippians 1:20. 
 
You are expecting something in life whether you are aware of it or not. Look at your expectation as “soil” from which your life grows. A pessimist only expects a negative life. An optimist discovers something positive in every circumstance and thing that happens. If you fill your life with negative influences—negative thoughts—negative things, you will find yourself wrestling with negative expectations.  If you dwell on the mistakes and sins of the past, you may be expecting more of the same in your future. Your attitude—your approach to life—is extremely powerful. 
 
Your expectations are either based on God’s promises or on your fears and failures.  Hope comes alive as a result of positive expectations. Hope in God’s promises can only grow from the “soil” of your positive expectations. Since faith is the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1), a negative approach to life can never inspire your faith to grow. Faith can only be inspired and exercised when positive expectations and hope are alive. Negative expectations are why so many Christians wrestle to experience a victorious life. 
 
Expectation, hope, and faith spring from a promise God has made to you. These grow in your life from a seed that has been sown in your heart.  Every promise of God activates your faith, and faith comes to life when you “hear” His Word in your heart (Romans 10:17). God doesn’t lie. It isn’t His nature to lie. And God has designed seeds to multiply according to their nature. A farmer who plants seeds expects a harvest. A believer who sows God’s grace and His love into the lives of others can also expect a harvest. When you give, it will be given to you.
 
What do you expect in your life? What is the source of your attitude? If you are basing your life on God’s promises—if you believe you will reap a harvest from sowing His truth in your heart, you will without doubt live a life of faith. If you see everything through the eyes of a pessimist, you will be left to your own strength. You will experience a meager life when you could have had an abundant one.

As Paul stepped out in faith to share the message of new life in Jesus Christ, he had the expectation, hope, and faith that the Holy Spirit would supply all his needs so you, also, could, plant the seed of God’s truth in your heart. So you, also, could choose to live by faith and not by sight. So you, also, could believe. 
 
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).
 
 

The Power of Our Words

 

Do you feel weak and powerless when facing the challenges of this world? Has God abandoned you without any strength? Or have the voices of doubt and distrust led you to believe that you have no other options? What would you do if you discovered that you actually possess the power to transform your life and influence others as well as the circumstances around you?

If you are born again, the power of God resides within your heart.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes . . ." (Romans 1:16)

The gospel that transformed your life holds God’s power to change those who hear you and believe.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).

What is "the power that works in us?”  We can speak of the power of faith, the Holy Spirit, the Name of Jesus, the righteousness of God, and many other aspects of this power. But what about our words?

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21).

If you have a tongue, you possess the power to speak both life and death. When filled with the Spirit of God, your words hold great power. Many of us have experienced the "death" that arises from hurtful or fearful words, yet we can also encounter victory, healing, life, and peace by speaking words of faith and encouragement. God's power is within us to speak life, but we must draw upon it and use it.

Hearing and believing the words of the Gospel saved you. You confessed Jesus with your mouth (Romans 10:9-10). That marked the beginning of the power for life. What are you doing with your words now? 

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

Are you confessing the truths of His Word without doubting? God is faithful to His Word. His Word within you is powerful and life-changing when it is spoken.

As my pastor often preaches, if you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Once we accept that God's power to heal and free us from fear, depression, and lack is within us, we will become much more active in declaring God's words and releasing His power into a hurting world. 

"Is not My word like a fire?" says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" (Jeremiah 23:29).

God’s power is yours. What are you doing with it?

A New Thing In Me

Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
—Isaiah 43:19

 

You promise something new, Lord. I want to perceive your Word producing life in me. Conceive in me, Holy Spirit. I’m meditating on Your Word, renewing my thoughts daily, and believing Your Word in my heart. Your Word is Truth. Guide me into all of it. Teach me beyond my natural ability to perceive. Take me to the place where I walk in peace, healing, and joy more abundant than I have ever known.
 
Amid the chaos, evil, unrest, and struggles, you tell me to keep my mind on You. I don’t have any answers. I know this is a matter of trust. You give me Your revelation to inspire hope. I want to receive it and share it with integrity.
 
You continually tell me that You are doing something new. But my perception is not yet Yours, Lord. I’m making the mistake of trying to understand with my limited mind instead of the spiritual mind You have given me. If I seek Your understanding with all my mind and heart and deny my own, I will receive the revelation You have for me. 
 
This journey of Your revelation is unlike any other. You take me out of my comfort zone, beyond the familiar, and open the life of Your Word within me. You expand my understanding from the ordinary aspects of this world to the extraordinary nature of Yours. I desire Your revelation more than human understanding. Nothing else is worth the divine unveiling of Your Word. Nothing comes close.
 
Everyone—whether they are from the world or from you—believes they have the answer. Their answers may be based on human logic or what they believe in your Word. Perhaps those who look for answers in Your Word have never considered that You possess a depth of understanding beyond their natural perception. 
 
Dare we open ourselves and allow You, Holy Spirit, to guide us into all Truth? The answer to everything is found in Your Word. We just haven’t perceived it yet so that it can be believed in our minds and conceived in our hearts. We haven’t been willing to risk venturing into uncharted territory with You.

When the Word has renewed us, we will trust You with our minds and hearts. You will keep us in perfect peace, no matter what rages around us. Our spirits are born-again in You. We perceive Your Spirit and conceive Your Truth with our souls (our minds and hearts). When what we believe comes into agreement with the Word, we align with Your Truth. We experience the physical manifestation of Your Word. When we place our faith in You rather than in the lies of the enemy, the world, religious tradition, or the opinions of men, You grant perfect peace amid chaos, unrest, and destruction.
 
“Behold, I will do a new thing. Will you not know it?  I make a road in this wilderness and give waters in this desert land to my people—to the ones that know me—the ones I have formed for myself. They shall praise me” (Isaiah 43:19-21).
 
You are the answer, Lord Jesus. The revelation of Your Word is the means you have given me to know you and to share you. But sometimes instead of allowing You to work through me, I fail. You paid the price, Lord; it is Your purpose, not mine. I am but Your servant. You give revelation. You bear fruit in me. You change hearts, not me. 

Lord, Jesus, may the meditation of my heart and the words of my mouth be pleasing in your sight. I take my hands off Your work. Open my heart to risk everything for you. Change me, Holy Spirit, into a vessel You can use so that Your Word will be manifested in those hungry enough to receive it. Help me write for hearts that are famished and willing to risk everything for You.
 

I have Your mind to exercise, Lord Jesus. I fix my mind and heart on You. I trust only you, Lord. I will keep sowing Your imperishable Truth in my heart, and You will bring forth something new in me. 

Guard Your Heart

My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
—Proverbs 4:20-23 NKJV

We must always guard our hearts and the things we put into them. We need to pay attention to God’s Words and keep them deep in our hearts, instead of fostering doubt and unbelief. Our thoughts, the things we value, the words we speak about ourselves, and above all else, our hope should reflect a heart that is surrendered and open to God’s healing grace. 

Psalm 103:2-4 emphasizes the importance of honoring the Lord for His forgiveness of all our sins and healing of all our diseases. We are told not to forget His benefits. How often do we forget these truths in the face of what we see and experience? 

If you consistently sow disappointment into your heart instead of embracing God’s truth, it can lead to the painful consequences of doubt, disillusionment, and bitterness, ultimately resulting in unbelief. Disappointment should never hinder your belief in Him. Even if you aren’t witnessing His promises in your life, God remains steadfast to His Word. It’s imperative to safeguard your heart from disappointment.

Regardless of any sickness or disappointing circumstance you encounter, don’t ever forsake the revelation of God’s goodness in Scripture and His covenant with you. Hasn’t His goodness and mercy surpassed anything you could ever earn or desire? During times of abundance and lack, God has always remained faithful and unwavering.

When faced with disappointment, we may be tempted to flee from God instead of fleeing from the enemy. When we do this, we play into the devil’s lies and confusion. A heart not surrendered to the Lord will struggle with issues it was never meant to confront. Our lives are already challenged enough without allowing mental and emotional confusion to guide us instead of faith in God’s goodness.

Never play into the enemy’s purpose to redefine God by what you experience in this life. It doesn’t matter if what you have gone through is good or bad. God is revealed in Scripture as perfectly good. He is better than you can think or imagine. It’s up to you to change the way you think so that you can delve into His goodness with all your heart and mind. Your faith must take possession of God’s Word. His truth must become your truth. If you are facing the pain of disappointment, there is no better time to explore the reality of God’s goodness.

If you don’t see God’s Word working in your life, God is still good. God didn’t send sickness for your benefit. That is an affront to the Gospel. You can’t believe for healing at the same time you believe the Father made you sick. That would be like having a divided house that cannot stand. Don’t compromise His truth by saying you believe it’s God will to heal, but He heals some and He doesn’t others. Spiritually seeing God’s truth as your own is essential to believing and ultimately receiving what God declares is true. Compromising His Word undermines His goodness and hinders His work in your life. God never surrenders to your definition of His truth if it is different from His Word.

The goodness of God is the foundation of our faith. A revelation of His goodness will feed your spirit, soul, and body. Your healing is not based on your goodness. Don’t ever speak defeat. Don’t be passive and give in to “what will be will be.” God’s Word is intentional. Are you? Keep believing. Keep putting His Word in your heart. God’s promises are true. He will use all things for His glory and your strength. 

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13, NKJV).

Have you lost heart? Keep putting His Word in your heart, and guarding it from doubt and unbelief. You can be confident of His good will toward you.

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15, NKJV).

Redeeming God's Gift

Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
—2 Tim. 1:9

God lives in eternity, but time was created specifically for man. While God has no beginning, time does. Time is a gift from God that allows Him to manifest His will in our lives. Time can be exchanged for all God has promised us. Before time began, God bestowed upon us purpose and grace. We can either redeem the time God has created for us or we can throw it away. 

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16).

Some individuals use time to learn and grow, while others indulge in their desires. Some achieve success in life, while others become increasingly defeated. Some gain knowledge about God, His healing power, and His favor, while others grumble and complain.

We all have the same amount of time before us. Some are making the most of it, while others are wasting it. If you are asked where next year’s fruit will come from, you would say that it will come from this year’s seeds. The ingredients that produce fruit are seeds which contain the potential for future fruit, the soil that provides the life and growth necessary for fruit to thrive, and time.

A seed that is sown demands something from time, while a seed neglected wastes time.

Are you making the most of the time God has given you? The seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control within you hold the potential for your future. However, these seeds must be planted if you want to redeem your time.

There is time right now to build relationships, create opportunities, and prosper in health to fulfill your purpose. There is time to allow the Holy Spirit to work through you. Time can be wasted or used to shape your future. 

Look where we are in the time God has given us. Prophecy is being fulfilled right before our eyes. Are we redeeming the time God has given us or are we throwing what we have left away? Choose wisely.

A New Beginning

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 3:12-14

Paul had made a choice for his life. His purpose was to reach his full potential in Christ. He not only acknowledged that Jesus had “laid hold” of him but also recognized his own need to “lay hold” of his calling in Christ (Philippians 3:12). Jesus may have “laid hold” of Paul, but without Paul “laying hold” of his new life in Jesus, he would never reach his potential. To accomplish this, Paul chose to persevere, forget the past, and concentrate on his future. He resolved to “press on” toward the goal, driven by the promise of God’s upward call. 

Paul had four choices to make: (1) He had to press on toward his calling, persevering and never giving up. (2) He had to lay hold of it at all costs. (3) He had to forget the past that lay behind him, believing the past was no longer who he was. (4) He had to reach toward those things of God that, though unseen, were true and eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Rather than succumbing to complacency, Paul was propelled by the extraordinary grace of Jesus, which had transformed his life. He understood that forgiveness granted him a new beginning. Now, he had the opportunity to fulfill God’s calling and live an overcoming life. However, Paul faced a pivotal decision: to envision his future and take hold of his calling in Christ. He had to seize the new life Christ had bestowed upon him. Paul couldn’t settle for a passive existence. He yearned to work with the One who had forgiven him and given him new life.

Just like Paul, God has called you with a holy calling, that has nothing to do with your performance or your worthiness. He has called you to His own purpose because He wants to show you His grace. If you feel like giving up, you need to understand that it’s not your ability God wants. He wants your availability. If you’ve reached the end of your own strength, you’re a candidate for God’s grace. So come to the throne of grace.

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Begin to offer the sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15). Determine to praise God, regardless of your circumstances. Pray in the Spirit so God can build your faith (Jude 1:20). Give Him the opportunity to work and turn things around. Forget the past and press on! Forgiveness gives you a new beginning!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:21).