Welcome to the year of 2008!!!!

1st of January

I really say: “Welcome to a new year!” I want to start with a sentence from a Norwegian singer and writer, Alf Prøysen. It goes roughly like this: “You will get a new day tomorrow, a clean day that has never been before, with clean sheets and coloured pencils.” This is how we should start the new year, but many cannot do that. We bring so much of the past with us into the fresh year that the pages are already partly stained.

Think of the people that are close to you, your spouse, child, parent, sister or brother. What kind of experiences did you have in common last year? Were they pleasant or did you fight a lot? Thank God for the good memories. My question is: “What did you do with the bad memories? Did you forgive your sister or brother, spouse, child or mother? Do you constantly repeat what they wrongly said or did to you? Do you talk to all your friends about it? Do the experiences become like leaven and grow bigger and bigger?” That bread will not taste good. I will quote Mark 11:25+26 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” I also refer to Matt. 18. It is about a servant and this servant was forgiven for lots of sins, but was not willing to forgive somebody else who had done a very small thing. His master became very angry then and turned him over to those who could torture him and they did so until he had paid all his debts. That was the symbol used for sins. Jesus has paid for all our sins and all our debts and given us the power and the love to treat others with the same compassion that He has shown to us. The Word of God actually says that God keeps His forgiveness away from us if we do not forgive others. If it is difficult for you to forgive, I recommend you to read Matt. 18 thoroughly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. When you forgive, you do not have to agree with the person. Jesus forgave us our sins. He did not pay for what we did right. Jesus loved us even when we were sinners.

God doesn’t only aks us to forgive, but to love our enemies. Matt. 5:44 says: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” This goes for the ones close to us, our neighbours, collegues and our superiors, for those inside and outside the church.

To forgive does not mean that we should allow people to act in a mean way towards us. Titus 21:15 says: “Let no one despise you.”

Jesus was against sin and unjustice. He talked against the religious people and revealed their false motives, but He forgave the criminal, hanging beside Him at Golgatha and said that he could come with Him to Paradise.

God forgives everybody who comes to Him and asks for forgiveness. If you want to start this year with clean sheets, you also have to ask for forgiveness for the sins that you have committed last year or the years before. BOTH UNFORGIVENESS AND SINS COMMITTED BECOME LIKE DARK SPOTS ON WHITE SHEETS, ALSO BITTERNESS. Black will always draw the attention of the devil and we have used the wrong colour of the colour crayons.

If you have curses over your life, they can become like black spots on the clean sheets. Jesus broke the all curses on the Cross, but we have to use the power of the Cross in order to brake their power in our own lives. Jesus carried all our sicknesses and all our pain, bur we have to receive that if it shall become a reality in our own lives.

COME TO THE FEET OF JESUS WITH ALL YOUR PAIN AND ALL YOUR PROBLEMS AND SICKNESSES. ALLOW HIM TO HEAL YOU. HE IS ABLE AND HE WANTS TO. DO NOT TAKE THEM BACK!

What do you desire for the next year? Maybe you answer is like this: “What will happen, happens.” Then I can tell you that next year will not become a good year. You are the one who sets the goal and the guidelines for the next year. You have to be sure that the clean pages do not have any dark spots already. Then you can set the goals for the next year.

One of my goal is to dwell in the secret place of the Most High and to abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I do not believe that the world will become better, but that the Glory of God will shine brighter over His children when they keep close to Him. I want His feathers and wings to cover me. When I am covered, the devil sees the wings and not me. Read frequently psalm 91.

I also want to bear much fruit in the year to come. We can read John 15:5 where Jesus says: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in hm, bears much fruit.” The sap from the stem must flow freely to the branches and then I can bear much fruit. I WANT TO BE IN CHRIST AND HE IN ME IN THE YEAR TO COME.

I want to live by faith next year. Without faith I cannot please God(Heb.11:6) I do not have to struggle for faith. It is a gift given by God. It can grow if I listen to preaching and teaching that are built on the Word of God and by reading the Bible. I want to trust my Father i Heaven more in 2008. Trust shall take the place of fears and worries.

I have heard prophets prophesying about an increasing passion and praise for us believers in 2008. I want to be part of the choir praising God and allowing my heart to be filled with thanksgiving.

Others have prophesied that there will be a release for women next year, for women who have struggled maybe for many years. I want to be one of those women who comes into God’s perfect plan for my life.

I believe that the world will become darker, but that God’s Glory will come over the children of God, those who seek Him with all their heart. The Spirit of God will be poured over individuals and places where there is praise,worship and prayers. God will open new doors and people who have lived on a minimum of spiritual water, will jump into rivers of Living water. Those that live with one foot in the world and one with God, will get a clear choice and some will choose their own ego and fall away from God. Others will come into the Glory.

People will get connected in spite of the names of the congregation and old walls and divisions will fall down. This is a little of what the Spirit says about the next year.

I have a common desire that all of uswill start with clean sheets and be sure to use the red crayon, the Blood of Jesus. Otherwise, God loves creativity and variations.

God has a special plan for each individual in the coming year.

Let us pray this prayer together:

LET THY WILL BE DONE IN ME AND TROUGH ME, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR OF 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A BLESSED NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

Mother Else