O come, all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant
O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him
Born the King of Angels!
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord.
Without a doubt this is one of my favorite songs at Christmas time. As I’ve been enjoying my favorites I couldn’t help but think of a phrase we often hear this time of year.
“Wise men still seek him.” Take a listen as you seek him. https://youtu.be/Ef52AmdVwYI
If we are not careful, familiar phrases like this can become lost in it’s simplicity, and we will write off the truth and purpose within it.
“Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him. ‘After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11 NLT
As we begin to close out this year, God is calling us to return to the Lord our God. Let us return with joyful singing, and praising with thanksgiving to the One who is worthy to receive it all.
Although this is a year that will forever be etched on our minds and psyches we can choose how we end it. We can close out the year with frustration and mistrust or we can return to the Lord with our whole hearts, thanking him for all he has brought us through.
As you return to him, I pray your heart is willing to hear what he has to say. We don’t always want to hear some of the things the Lord wants to reveal to us but it’s important that we are willing to listen to him. God is for us-not against us, but he is our Father and a father corrects us when we get off track.
He is preparing his bride right now. He’s giving us opportunities to shed the old wine skin for a new one. He is inviting us to put on new garments as we close out another year. We want to be ready for however our bridegroom may be coming to us.
“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; I will be overjoyed because of my God. For he clothes me in garments of deliverance; he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would; I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry.” Isaiah 61:10 NET
For some this will involve you taking off some old ways of being and mindsets and laying down what you believe your rights are. The cross shaped life is not about us and I see God coming in this month to help us see differently as it relates to him and others but especially where the world is and how he is going into the world in the coming years.
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24 NLT
We need willing and humble hearts to carry that cross. We need insight to perceive the areas that need changing in our lives and the wisdom to carry it out.
ASK GOD TO SHOW YOU HOW TO PREPARE
Wisdom prepares us for what lies ahead. December is usually the time I begin seeking the Lord for wisdom for the next year; but this year I started seeking earlier, because of the times we are living in. These times are certainly unprecedented, and they require a greater seeking from us.
NO MORE AVERAGE CHRISTIANITY
I think it’s safe to say that complacency has lost its grip on many believers this year. At least I pray so because I know that surface level Christianity and seeking won’t work any longer, in this new place and time in the earth- it’s time to go deeper with the Lord.
As I shared with our church members last Sunday, the Lord is requiring us to go higher and deeper in him-especially as it relates to our thinking and with The Sacred Text- His Word. We want to be faithful stewards of the mysteries of His Word and in the lifestyle of faith.
This will require a greater surrender on our part to his will and to his ways. We cannot go any higher in the Lord apart from humbling ourselves and allowing him to transform us from the inside out.
We must be able to see ahead, so we can help others navigate the new times that are here and ahead of us.
It’s time to settle into the New and his spirit is here to help lead and guide us.
I really see the Lord drawing us back into true communion and true community where we are really here for each other. We must return to loving the Lord our God, with all our heart, soul mind and strength; and loving our neighbors as ourselves. There are no greater commandments than these.
This is a place of preferring others over ourselves, and this beloved is the cross shaped life. But it’s also the Fathers heart and I believe this is the heart posture we must have as we shift out of the old and into the new.
OUR MINDS MUST CHANGE IN THIS NEW ERA
”For my thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways,“ declares Yahweh. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
This year took many of us off guard, but it doesn’t have to from here on out as we allow God to change the way we think about where we’ve been and where he is going.
LETTING GO OF DISAPPOINTMENT
2020 brought about a lot of loss, heartache, fears and disappointment for many people, but it must not follow us as we go into a brand new year with the Lord-or it will cloud our judgment. I know I sound like a broken record but nothing replaces self-reflection, silence and solitude with God, to give us clarity and insight.
PROTECTION AND SECURITY ARE WITH THOSE WHO OBEY AND REST IN GOD
I encourage you to read Isaiah 30 when you have some time and wrestle with it.
In this passage the people of Judah were in rebellion against God. They wanted to do things their way and did not consult God.
We must allow God to uproot all rebellion from our hearts as we close out this year.
This chapter helps us understand how much we need God’s guidance for our future.
We’ve had many opportunities this year to be still before the Lord, especially during the lockdowns, but I’m not sure if we took advantage of those times as we should have.
Verse 15 reminds us that in returning to God in quietness, repentance, rest and trust, we are saved; but the Israelites wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Will you?
Please don’t rush your process right now and please don’t rush into next year, making plans before seeking the Lord, dear friends. Please take time this month to reflect with God, and seek Him for the guidance you need now and in the years to come.
Let us not be caught off guard again in 2021.
HINDSIGHT, INSIGHT & FORESIGHT
I have taken time these last few weeks to look back over this year. Looking back gives us hindsight, so we can learn our lessons and make adjustments. It also gives us insight for now, and foresight for where we are going. As I have, this particular scripture continues to stand out to me very strongly.
“You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.” Proverbs 19:21 NLT
As a prophetic person I’ve learned that you will herald a message from the Lord until it’s completion. God’s not done with his purposes in the earth right now, so don’t waste your time making plans that He may not be involved in.
“Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6
As you seek him this advent season in spirit and in truth, I believe you will receive what you need to prepare you for the year ahead.
It is a blessing to know what lies ahead even if what’s revealed is not all rosy and bright. We can prosper even in the midst of a famine, when God gives us a heads up about what’s coming... now that’s wisdom.
Let’s finish this year out strong in the Lord, but also humble. Let us seek him while he may be found and let us call on him while he’s near-He’s bigger than we think he is.
Love and blessings,
Dana