Welcome to the Year 2012

We are this very day starting a new year with completely clean sheets. None of us knows exactly in detail what kind of stories that will be written this year, neither individually, nationwide or globally. Prophesies will come concerning individuals and nations. Others will prophesy about world events and some will come with prophesies about Israel. They might be based on the Bible. I, myself, have gotten the word: exciting or thrilling. I heard about another known pastor who also said that 2012 would be an exciting year and he could hardly wait for 2011 to end. Now 2011 is over and the exciting year can start.

 

How much of 2011 would you take with you to 2012? You might ask: “What do you mean?” Did you have some unsolved conflicts in 2011? The conflicts might even be older. If you take them with you into the new year, they will be like heavy stones and blockades. The sheets are not empty then.

Have you confessed your sins or are you hiding some? If you do, you have put up a barrier between you and God and maybe between some people also. The same is true if you can’t forgive someone. Un-confessed sins and lack of forgiveness are openings for the devil. You have unfortunately already dug some holes and you might stumble in the holes when you walk.

Do you have things in your life that binds you? It can be food, alcohol, nicotine or certain television programs. Even too much exercise can be wrong. We call it training-addiction. Others are dependent on sweets. Everything that is more important to you than God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, is an idol and an addiction. What does the Bible say that with should do with idols? We should crush them and get rid of them. Ask the Holy Spirit if you have some idols in your life and if the answer is yes, get rid of them as fast as possible. Do not allow bad habits to control your life during the year of 2012.

Are you bound by people who steal your energy? The answer might be yes for many of you, but you seriously do not know how to solve it. You might say that they have so many problems. That might be true, but you should ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom. How should you deal with them? What should you say to reduce the pain? If people constantly steal your energy, there are ties that must be broken. No one has the right to control your life.

I do not give my telephone number to everybody. I am even more careful with my address. I once had a female friend and she called me four to five times a week and she wanted to talk at least for an hour. Most of the things were negative. I finally had to brake the ties since she didn’t want to change. Those things are not easy, but necessary.

When new people come to me for help, I always ask the Holy Spirit: “Who sent them?” The devil can send people in your way in order to steal your time and energy. Our lives belong to the Lord and He is the One to control our lives by the Holy Spirit. If you do not brake unhealthy ties to people, some of your time and energy are already used and you really do not have full capacity for the coming year.

Are your calendar already filled up with appointments? Are all the appointments necessary? Are they in line with the will of God? I remember the story of a travelling pastor. He had made appointments for a year ahead when the Holy Spirit asked him to cancel them all. The pastor really thought it was a suggestion from the devil, but he finally realized that it was God. He should spend time with God, praying. He was later known as one of the activists in the transformation movement. You might have watched movies from areas where long lasting prayers have changed areas, people and even entire countries. I mention this in order for you to prioritize right. Too many Christians are ruled by their intellect and their emotions instead of their spirit. Are you going to be governed by your soul or your spirit during the year of 2012?  I want to have a spiritual year where God can get His way in me and through me. In psalm 138 it says in verse 8 that the Lord will complete His work in me. This is at least the Norwegian translation. I believe that this concerns many different areas of my life. The word that comes to my mind first is sanctification. That includes deliverance and healing from things that have happened in the past. The subconscious and the past will often govern the presence. It would be wonderful if could start 2012 with clean sheets. I have written a lot on the subject: Spirit, soul and body in the beginning of the site. It could be good for you to contact somebody with experience from spiritual guidance and deliverance.

Maybe this new year can become a year of cleansing from old sins and bad habits. I really want to finish 2012 as another person than I started. Do you want to change during the new year? We have a picture of a cat on the door of our fridge. These words are written on the picture: “God is not finished with you yet!” I guess He will not be finished before we come home to Him and will be changed into perfection.

What kind of expectations do you have for the coming year? Some people do not have any expectations at all and live like fate should govern their life. What is fate? I really do not believe in any fate. I believe in an almighty God who has created you and me to be His mouth, hands and feet here on earth. He needs us to perform His deeds and to tell others about Jesus in order for many more to become the children of God. Our father in heaven had a plan when he created us and He has a purpose for each and every one of us. Seek Him and ask Him to show you His plans for you this year. You can take the calendar and pray out God’s will for every day of the year.

The content of 2012 is not only dependent of God, but you as well. You have to set some goals for yourself and you have to take those steps that are necessary in order to reach them. We read about faith and deeds in the letter of James. Both are important. Before we act, we might have to spend a good deal of time praying. Let 2012 become a year of praying! We can pray alone, in groups or in a big gathering. The more we are, the greater results.

I do not want to use this year merely in praying, but in thanking and praising the Lord. I want to come before Him with thanksgiving. I have sought the Lord lately more for His own sake and the more I am together with Him, the more thankful I get. I can to-day thank Him for things that I earlier took for granted. Let 2012 become a year of thanksgiving!

Do you want to live in victory in the year we have just started on? Then you have to take James 4:7 seriously. It says: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” There are two things that we have to do. We have to humble ourselves before God and then we have to resist the devil. That means that we have to take the Word seriously and resist everything that is contradicting the Word. We have a promise that the devil will flee from us then. Let 2012 become a year of victory!

Let the Word live in you richly during this year!

I WISH YOU

     A

BLESSED NEW YEAR!

Mother Else