Day 181  A New Way Of Responding

Romans 8:15  Amplified Bible

For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!

Notice that the word “Spirit” is capitalized.  The verse is referring to the Holy Spirit.  He’s the part of the Godhead that was sent to us when Jesus went to be with the Father after the resurrection.

The Holy Spirit is the one Who—

            Comforts us   (John 14:26 )

            Guides us       (John 16:13)

            Teaches us    (John 14:26)

            Convicts us   (John 16:8)

            Reminds us    (John 14:26)

NOTE:  Read these verses out of the Amplified Bible for clarity.  If you don’t have an Amplified Bible, you can go to http://www.biblegateway.com/

He is the One Who is left here on the earth to cause us to live victorious until Jesus comes to bring us home.  It is all part of God’s marvelous plan for us.

So why do we feel alone—like we have no hope—like no one cares—like we are the only one going through this stuff?

It’s because we have an enemy that wants to come and steal our joy.  If he can discourage us, he’s got us right where he wants us.

Our verse says if we have received Christ as our personal Savior then the Holy Spirit resides in us.  The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth and the truth is—we do not have to be in bondage to fear again!!

Fear says—

            I am alone

            I won’t make it

            There is no way out

            God doesn’t care about me

            There is no hope for my situation

                                    Etc. Etc. Etc.

You know how it goes.  We all know how it goes because we have all felt this way at times.  It’s the Holy Spirit who wants to get the truth to us in the midst of these thoughts.  He’s the One that says, “You don’t have to be in slavery again to these thoughts.  You’ve been set free!   The chains have broken!  You have been adopted by the Father!!”

Now that is the Good News!!

GPS  (Directions)

·         John 10:10

·         Romans 8:6

·         John 8: 32, 36

Prayer Focus:

Invite the Holy Spirit of God to come to you in a greater measure and to fill you with God’s ways, God’s truth and God’s divine destiny for you.

Day 180   A New Way Of Thinking

Mark 2:22 (NIV1984)

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.

2012 is a new year (a new wineskin) and it’s a year that none of us have experienced before.  This year is a blank canvas and it can be filled with all that God has for us (new wine).

I say “it can” because it also can be filled the remembrance of the difficult things we may experienced in the last year.

When we are driving our car our eyes are positioned on the road ahead.  We are anticipating our destination.  It can be a pleasant trip as we drive along, but what if we are constantly looking in the rear view mirror—constantly turning around and thinking about unpleasant events that have happened.

I know it is difficult when the thoughts and emotions from last year want to come into this new year and hold us in a place of sorrow, disappointment, guilt, etc.  We can, however, pray that day-by-day God will help us to focus on the future.

Each day is a blank canvas and we can ask God to “cause our thoughts to be agreeable to His will,” for that day.  (Proverbs 16:3 Amplified Bible)  His will is for us to have peace and even joy, and we can only have that as we walk closely with Him—and that is a daily walk.

GPS (Directions)

Read His promises—Get His directions!

·         Proverbs 16:9  Amplified Bible

·         II Corinthians 5:17 Amplified Bible

·         Ephesians 4:23 Amplified Bible

Prayer Focus

Father, cause my thoughts to be agreeable to Your will so that I can think Your thoughts for this new year.

Day 179    A New Year—A New Thing

Isaiah 43:18-19  (NIV1984)

¹⁸ “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.

What a great promise this is!  I am ready for a new year and a new thing.  How about you?  From what I have experienced with God, He is always progressing, always advancing and always taking us on to bigger and better things.

I think God is waiting for us to come to Him and take His hand.  If this verse is true—that He is “making a way” for me, then I want to go with Him in that way. 

As we enter 2012, let’s take His hand.  Let’s go with Him because He has made a way (through Jesus’ death on the cross) and He is still making a way for us.  We don’t know how and we do not have what it takes to make our own way, but thank God that He is able!

GPS (Directions)

Read His promises—Get His directions!

·         Isaiah 43:18

·         Isaiah 65: 17

·         Isaiah 48:6

Prayer Focus

Thank God that He is doing new things in your life in this new year.