JOURNEY 201¦1 You Are Here

Today we begin ...

JOURNEY 201¦1

I am so excited!
It is similar to when you get ready for a trip –

So full of anticipation and eager to get going.

 

Yet, while we often will plan for a natural journey, there is the tendency to do little or nothing to prepare for a spiritual journey. Therefore, our focus for January will be in getting prepared for the remainder of this year.

 

When I worked as a manager, I would start to prepare for the next year at the end of September. It was good to start planning a few months before the start of a new year so that we could collectively ‘hit the ground running’. That was the ideal. That, however, is not our situation. No worries though.

When you do not have ideal circumstances, you deal with the real situation.

 

You have to start where you are. And here we are at the beginning of the year. But, before we can chart the course for where we are going [and it will be different for each of us since He created us uniquely] – we will have to take time to figure out and be honest about exactly where we are.

A sort of spiritual ‘You Are Here’ exercise.

 

ASSIGNMENT
Over the next week, I want us to take a look at the following verse:
‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.’ Galatians 5:22-25

Read it, re-read it, read it out loud, meditate on it, take notes, and PRAY. Pray that God would show you where you are and where you need to grow. It will help to look at Galatians 5:19-21. But, really meditate upon Galatians 5:22-25.

Take time to be honest with yourself ...
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But do not get locked into a cycle of condemnation. Remember Romans 8:1 which states, ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.’

You will find throughout the year that I will not meditate upon and talk about sin a great deal. It is not because it is not important. It is vitally important.

Yet I believe ... if we will live in God’s Word and His Word in us; if we will focus on becoming what He desires – which is to be like Christ; if we will focus on and consistently do the things that please Him, we will have neither the desire nor the time to pursue the ungodly things that break His heart.

 

When Jesus spoke healing to people who had been trapped in a cycle of sickness, oppression or social condemnation, He quickly addressed the matter and moved forward.

• ‘… Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”' John 8:11
• ‘Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”' John 5:14
• “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven …” Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Luke 7:47, 50

 If there is sin, admit it. (see Gal. 5:16-21 and Eph. 5:1-7)
Then repent of those things and move forward with God in Christ.

We can spend so much time thinking and talking about how we got ‘here’ that we become immobilized. And this is exactly what the enemy desires – for us to be stuck.

We rehearse the failures and recite the disappointments.

Could have, should have, would have, what if, might have, if only –

Whatever has happened or did not happen to bring you to your ‘here’ has happened. It is in the past. You cannot change it no matter how many times you play that tape over in your head. You cannot alter what happened five years ago any more than you can impact what happened five minutes ago or five seconds ago. LET IT GO!

I do not say that to minimize your situation but to make sure that you keep moving forward. There have been times when I have asked someone for directions and they will respond, ‘You can’t get there from here.’

Well, that simply is not true. With God all things are possible. You can always get ‘there’ – wherever it is that God desires for you to be – from ‘here’.

You just can’t stay 'here' and get ‘there’!

Do not think so long on ‘the what’ that got you ‘here’ that, at the end of the year, all you have done is thought about how you got ‘here’ without ever having moved from ‘here’.

My pastor said something very important this past Sunday.

He shared a quote that he had heard which said:
'The kingdom of God does not rest on destiny – but DECISIONS’.

Understand that while you are traveling a road of destiny, your success in the journey is completely dependent upon the choices you make.

Make a decision to find out where you are, where God wants you to be, and then take action to do things differently from this point forward. Take some time this week to figure out where you are - spiritually, financially, emotionally and physically.

• Commit to prayer
• Read God’s Word daily
• Apply the Word to your life
• Ask the Holy Spirit for instruction
• Reject negative thinking and sinful living
• Take steps every day to move forward with God

What are the areas where you need to grow? Character development is crucial. It is vitally important in taking hold of what God has for you.

Are you honoring God in every area of your life? What you treasure indicates what you value and where your heart truly is.

Are there past hurts that you need to forgive or address? Being unwilling to forgive and holding onto a spirit of offense will keep you from moving forward with God.

What is the condition of your body, the temple of God? Understand that no matter how great the promise of God and no matter how great the anointing upon your life, when the earthly vessel fails and dies, the spirit must depart and any unrealized promises will be just that – unrealized.

Determine to stay in God’s Word this year. Ps. 119:30
Use it as a mirror to check and change your life. James 1:23-25
Receive instructions for the next leg of the journey. II Tim. 3:16-17
His Word is a lamp to our feet and light for our path. Ps. 119:105

Be honest!
You hurt yourself and many others if you lie to yourself at this stage.

You are here –
You cannot change what got you here.
You can change what you do from here.
You do not have to stay here, and you will not –
You can do all things through Christ. (Phil. 4:13)
Commit to doing what you must to move forward with God.

Praying that God will bless you abundantly,

Have a Victorious Week!