God’s Word of Wisdom for 2019
Psalm 1 The Message Bible
How well God must like you–
You don’t hang out at Sin Saloon,
You don’t slink along Dead-End Road,
You don’t go to Smart-Mouth College.
Instead you thrill to God’s Word
You chew on Scripture day and night.
You’re a tree replanted in Eden,
Bearing fresh fruit every month,
Never dropping a leaf,
Always in blossom.
You’re not at all like the wicked
Who are mere windblown dust–
Without defense in court,
Unfit company for innocent people.
God charts the road you take,
The road they take is Skid row.
A new year is coming in and it begins in a matter of days. The crown of this year can only be goodness and nothing else. This is a promise of God which can never fail. God is out to visit His people in this season in a big way. God is good all the time. All the time God is good.
Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness, and Thy paths drip with fatness. Psalms 65:11
2019-Experiencing God’s goodness in a BIG way.
Those that predict the economy may have predicted a dark picture of the upcoming year. That is their report. But we have the report from the Word that tells us, “God has crowned the year with His goodness”. God’s supply and provision are never affected by the world’s economy system.
As the old church song goes – Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.”
From the gospel of Luke, chapter 1
32 “He will be great and eminent and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 “And He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.
37 The angel said, “For with God nothing (is or ever) shall be impossible.”
And Mary said,
38 “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; May it be done to me according to your word.”
46-47 “My soul magnifies and exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
49 “For He Who is mighty has done great things for me; And holy is His name (to be worshiped in His purity, majesty and glory).
The angels said, 2:10
“Do no be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.”
A brief History of Christmas
“And she will bring forth a son and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matt. 1:21(NKJV)
As widespread as Christmas celebration has become, very little of its history is known by most people. It must be understood that its celebration is not a clear cut, never changing activity since the year Jesus was born. The exact day and year of His birth has never been determined. At the time of His birth the calendars were different and more than one existed at a time
Keep in mind that there is no mention of a recognized holy day to celebrate Jesus’ birth in the Bible. The only event Scripture tell us to remember is observed is Communion in regard to His death for us. Christmas is a celebration instituted by man, not God. It has been recognized by the church since its first recorded celebration by the church in Rome in 336. The term Christmas became common from church masses called Christ-mass noted from 1038 A.D. and 1131 A. D. About this time in the 10th century Nativity scenes began to be displayed. It is commonly believed to be from the influence of Saint Frances of Assisi. The Council of Tours in 567 included it in church celebration as a feast named “The Twelve Days of Christmas” running from Christmas to Epiphany.
One of the most interesting things about Christmas is that the first opposition to its public celebration was from the church after the reformation in the sixteenth century. During the Puritan rule of England Christmas was outlawed from 1647 to 1660 due to the drunkenness and misbehavior associated with it. Christmas as we see it today arose in the 1800s from the influence of Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” and Clemet Moore’s “The Night before Christmas.” It became a National holiday on June 28, 1880 in the U.S. Although it has been celebrated by many nation’s for hundreds of years, it wasn’t always a national holiday. It was not a holiday in Scotland until 1958 due to its nature of celebration. From man’s view of the holiday, can it really be said, “Jesus is the reason for the season?”
Today the world doesn’t want to get rid of the holiday; it just wants CHRISTMAS removed. As a believer it isn’t important whether or not you celebrate Christmas, the holiday, but it is important that you celebrate Christ, your Savior, not just on one day but every day of the year. Jesus, the CHRIST, is more important than Christmas, the holiday.
SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY—The War is Over! The devil has already been defeated! By Andrew Wommack
Many Christians today picture demons as towering beasts with terrifying claws waiting for any opportunity to come after us. Thus, they spend hours binding and rebuking them during their prayer time, instead of talking to the Lord. But did you know that giving the devil that much attention gives him in-roads into your life?
“Spiritual warfare” is one of the hottest topics in the church today. People are expending great amounts of energy constantly battling the devil in ways contrary to Scripture, but in reality, Satan has already been defeated…we don’t need to defeat him again. We need to believe that Satan has already been completely destroyed (Heb. 2:14) and simply enforce his defeat. The only power he has is the power to deceive.
Our battle should be against the trickery of the devil (Eph. 6:11), not the devil himself. Any other approach is giving the devil authority and power which he doesn’t have, and he uses that to intimidate us. Don’t allow the devil to deceive you a second longer. The only weapon Satan has is the power we give him when we believe his lies!
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have perfect peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer (take courage, be confident, certain, undaunted!) For I have overcome the world (I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you)”
For this is how much God loved the world—he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. John 3:16
The real message of Christmas is not the gifts that we give to each other. Rather, it is a reminder of the gift that God has given to each of us.
The gift, comes from the greatest giver there has ever been- God Himself. For God so loved that while we were yet sinners (Romans 4:8) God demonstrated His love for us by sending His only begotten Son to suffer, bleed, die, and then rise from the dead for our sin. Love caused the greatest giver to give the greatest gift – Jesus. We did not deserve Jesus: His birth, His life, or His death. God gave His gift for the entire world. To everyone (anyone) who believes upon Him. Romans 10:8 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved”.
As we celebrate this glorious time of the year let us never forget the gift that was given to humanity from God. We are the reason for the gift. The gift was Jesus a Savior to those who would believe. “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord”. Luke 2:11
A DOOR OF HOPE by Joseph Prince
“I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.” Hosea 2:15 NLT
Are you among the people who think that when you fail, God leaves you and only returns when you get your act together.? Some people think they must clean up their lives and overcome all their struggles on their own before they can come before the presence of God.
Well I have a simple question for you. ”Do you clean yourself before you take a bath?” O course not!
In the same way, god wants you to come to Him just as you are, with all your weaknesses, idiosyncrasies, wrong beliefs, hand-ups, and all your bondages, fears, and addictions. He is the bath! You don’t have to try to clean yourself up before you come to Him.
What if the mess I’m in is entirely of my own doing? Can’t I still just come to God as I am and expect Him to help me?
Yes, even if you find yourself in the Valley of Trouble, know that you will not remain there for long. You will walk through it and not remain or camp there (Ps. 23:4) God is opening a door of hope in your life today for you to step out of your darkness and into His marvelous light. (I Pet. 2:9) Things are going to get better.The breakthroughs that you have been waiting for are coming your way. Step through the door of hope and out of your Valley of Trouble today. Jesus is your door of hope! Believe in His love for you and allow Him to lead you to freedom. In His loving presence, you will find forgiveness, healing, and restoration. He will mend your life and transform you from the inside out.
The God of the universe calls Himself I AM. We read in Exodus 3:14, “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM”.
Jesus completed the statement that was given to Moses. Seven times in the Gospel of John He uses the expression, “I am”. Each ‘I am’ is a description Jesus gave of Himself. The Seven ‘I AM’ saying’s help us better understand the nature of Jesus.
- Bread “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger.” John 6:35
- Light “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12
- Gate “I am the gate; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9
- Good Shepherd “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.” John 10:11
- Resurrection and Life “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies.” John 11:25
- Way, Truth, Life “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” John 14:6
- True vine “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” John 15:1
The nature of Jesus is further illustrated in John 8:58 Jesus said, “Truly, Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am”, which means that Jesus existed before His human life on earth.
Jesus the “I am of our lives”. In Him we find what we need.
BELIEVE IN THE GOD OF GRACE BY Joseph Prince
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find gr4ace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:16
Are you like many today who believe in a “religious” God? Do you believe that God is against you when you fall short, that He is angry with you when you fail, and that fellowship with Him is cut off when you make mistakes?
It’s no wonder then that instead of running to the one true solution, many sincere folks run in the opposite direction when they are hurting. So there is a great deception, a powerful, wrong belief about God that has trapped many in the vicious cycle of condemnation, guilt, fear, defeat, and addiction.
God is the God of infinite grace. He is repugnant to the “religious,” but gracious and irresistible to those who are hurting.
No matter what you are going through today, whatever addictions may be binding you, right believing can and will set you free. Start with believing this powerful truth:
“God is a God of grace and forgiveness. He loves you very much, and He doesn’t hold your mistakes against you.”
Don’t let the mistakes you have made in the past hold you back from reaching out to God and receiving His forgiveness for all your failures. Begin to believe right about the Lord, believe right about His heart and love for you, and your entire life will be transformed. Right believing always leads to right living!
Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, (lost heart) unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord and be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalms 27:13-14
The word faint was added by translators but I think it expresses the feelings David had. He refers to the state of his mind produced by the efforts of his enemies to destroy him. So numerous and mighty were they that he says his support was his faith in God. David believed that he would see the goodness of God upon the earth.
We to can say with confidence, “There is something SO GOOD about God that I know I’m going to see and experience personally while I’m living this earthly life that I’m captivated by it, I want it, I will eagerly wait for it as long as necessary because it is so good that it makes even this life worth living.”
As I have been studying on the goodness of God it appears to be the sum total of all of God’s attributes. Exodus 33:17-19 “Then Moses said, “I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!” And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you”. The glory of the Lord proclaims the “goodness” of God. This goodness is all wrapped up in His Name-all of who He is. God is the embodiment of good he wants us to take part in His goodness.
The year 2019 – The year we are going to see the GOODNESS of GOD in a big way!! Expressing His Glory on the earth with wonders, marvels, miracles of the goodness of your God!!
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