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“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a
future.” – Jeremiah 29:11
What is stopping you from becoming who it is that God sees
when He looks at your snapshot? You look
in the mirror on New Years eve and see all of the things in the past year
that you did not accomplish, all of those things that stopped you from becoming
the person you knew you could become
when you sat in that chair last December 31st. It is so easy to look at our life and see the
shortcomings, the failures and the mistakes.
It is much more difficult to evaluate your life for the Wow factor –
those days when you were functioning way beyond your capabilities. Think back over the last year, where are the
moments when you know without a doubt that God was carrying the ball, because
you know you could have never accomplished what was done. I personally have several different events in 2013,
that as I look back at all that was accomplished in such a short period of
time, there is no way that God’s finger wasn’t controlling the steering wheel.
Many of you sit in your chair staring at the clock as seconds and minutes slip by into the New Year. Perhaps you are caught up in self denial of your worthiness in God’s eyes. Have you been there? Have you ever sat down and contemplated why God wants someone like you? I have. There are days I am so outside of what the Holy Spirit desires of me, that I actually find myself trying to justify why God even wants to use me. How can I be so out of touch one day and then so deep in His wonder and glory another day? God’s plans for my life are not moving, but Satan is. You see the evil within this world is set firmly against your progress as a child of God. Sinful things happen in our life and Satan tells us, “See, that’s who you really are. There is no way God wants anything to do with you.”
Look at the life of Chuck Colson. He was one of Richard Nixon’s aides during the Watergate scandal. He was sent to prison as a result of his involvement in the events leading up to the impeachment of President Nixon. That’s pretty bad, and certainly outside of the righteous behavior God is looking for from His children. Easily Chuck Colson could have given up, turned his back on God and become another convicted felon in the prison system. God chose to use him though, because he was willing to be used. Chuck Colson founded Prison Fellowship, which has become the world’s largest prison outreach program for prisoners and their families. A ministry that has blessed millions of convicted felons in 88 countries around the globe with over 50,000 volunteers in hundreds of different prisons. God’s ability to use every one of us regardless of the sins we have committed is not limited to our ability to understand the purpose, but simply the willingness to take a step upon His path.
God has a plan for you in 2014. It is not dependent on what you accomplished in 2013, 2012, 2011 or any other year leading up to this one. Your past, as sordid as it might be, is just that – the past. Give it to God for His forgiveness and accept that it is gone. Be it adultery, crime, anger, violence, sexual depravity, materialism, selfishness, jealousy or any other sin that fills your thoughts and keeps you from God; it is all forgiven when you authentically lift it to Him and repent or turn away from it. When the temptations come in the future, lift your eyes to heaven and ask for His help. Let God now use those experiences in your past to fulfill His plans for you. If God is sovereign (and He is), omnipotent (and He is) and omniscient (and He is) than your sins are not a surprise to Him. They may not have been His choice for your life, but they are not going to keep you from fulfilling His plans for your purpose. He knows it all, everything about you and knows your propensities to sin. Only He knows how to help you overcome these areas of your life and turn them into strengths for His kingdom. Make 2013 the year you allow Him to use you.
Many of you sit in your chair staring at the clock as seconds and minutes slip by into the New Year. Perhaps you are caught up in self denial of your worthiness in God’s eyes. Have you been there? Have you ever sat down and contemplated why God wants someone like you? I have. There are days I am so outside of what the Holy Spirit desires of me, that I actually find myself trying to justify why God even wants to use me. How can I be so out of touch one day and then so deep in His wonder and glory another day? God’s plans for my life are not moving, but Satan is. You see the evil within this world is set firmly against your progress as a child of God. Sinful things happen in our life and Satan tells us, “See, that’s who you really are. There is no way God wants anything to do with you.”
Look at the life of Chuck Colson. He was one of Richard Nixon’s aides during the Watergate scandal. He was sent to prison as a result of his involvement in the events leading up to the impeachment of President Nixon. That’s pretty bad, and certainly outside of the righteous behavior God is looking for from His children. Easily Chuck Colson could have given up, turned his back on God and become another convicted felon in the prison system. God chose to use him though, because he was willing to be used. Chuck Colson founded Prison Fellowship, which has become the world’s largest prison outreach program for prisoners and their families. A ministry that has blessed millions of convicted felons in 88 countries around the globe with over 50,000 volunteers in hundreds of different prisons. God’s ability to use every one of us regardless of the sins we have committed is not limited to our ability to understand the purpose, but simply the willingness to take a step upon His path.
God has a plan for you in 2014. It is not dependent on what you accomplished in 2013, 2012, 2011 or any other year leading up to this one. Your past, as sordid as it might be, is just that – the past. Give it to God for His forgiveness and accept that it is gone. Be it adultery, crime, anger, violence, sexual depravity, materialism, selfishness, jealousy or any other sin that fills your thoughts and keeps you from God; it is all forgiven when you authentically lift it to Him and repent or turn away from it. When the temptations come in the future, lift your eyes to heaven and ask for His help. Let God now use those experiences in your past to fulfill His plans for you. If God is sovereign (and He is), omnipotent (and He is) and omniscient (and He is) than your sins are not a surprise to Him. They may not have been His choice for your life, but they are not going to keep you from fulfilling His plans for your purpose. He knows it all, everything about you and knows your propensities to sin. Only He knows how to help you overcome these areas of your life and turn them into strengths for His kingdom. Make 2013 the year you allow Him to use you.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Renew my spirit Lord. Enter into me through the Holy Spirit and convict my soul of the sinful nature that is within me. I lay my sin at Your table and ask that You forgive my transgressions. I seek Your strength in dealing with these areas of my life and ask for Your guidance in how I can use this passion and strength to lift up Your kingdom on this earth. Use my weakness as Your strength for You are sovereign and know all of this in advance of my actions. I repent and turn completely from this sin in my life and seek Your righteousness as I am tempted in this area. Provide me a path of sanctification as I grow stronger in Christ this year. In Your name we pray - Amen
(c) Sondove Enterprises, 2013
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