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I received this email, and compared to all the other predictions that are made, these will really come true!

A land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year. (Deut. 11:12 )

As we begin the year 2009, with all the problems the World is facing, it can be unsettling to the mind. Today, I will share with you ten predications that are sure to come true this year!

Top 10 Predictions for 2009
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still be the most powerful thing on Earth.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still honor the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10.Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

Isn’t It Great To Remember Who Is Really In Control,
and that; “the Word of the Lord endures forever.”
( 1 Peter 1:25 )

Susan

I wanted to write a perfect New Years prayer for you all, and when I sat down at the computer found one that perfectly expressed what I wanted to say! This is from Proverbs 31 Ministries daily devotion:

“Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.” Lamentations 2:19a (NKJV)

It’s a new year. What is on your heart? What would you like to accomplish? What would you like to change? Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions?

A few years ago, I gave up making New Year’s Resolutions. I could never keep them. One year, instead of a resolution, I wrote a prayer. Throughout the year, I watched in amazement as God worked in my life and in the lives of others through my simple prayer.

Today, I would like to pray for you. Below is the prayer that the Lord put on my heart. As you read it, I invite you to use it as a model. Sit with the Lord and ask Him to help you personalize this prayer for you.

Father in heaven, thank You that You are Sovereign. Thank You that You know each precious woman reading this devotion. You planned for her to meet You here today. You created her heart. You know her every need, her deepest desires, and her open wounds. Lord, I ask that in this new year, You would fall afresh on her.

Father, You are Holy and call us to be Holy. Yet, we confess that so often our hearts wander from You, our speech does not glorify You, and our actions do not honor You. Soften our hearts to receive the words Your sweet Spirit has to speak to us. Clothe us with humility. Take away our desire to always be right and have our own way. Help us to seek Your Word in all that we say and do. Help us to submit to Your Word; allow it to penetrate those deep places in our hearts that resist change. If necessary, put us through the refiner’s fire to burn off those things that keep us from walking in step with Your character.

Give us hearts that love and seek after Truth above all else. Give us wisdom and discernment to reject the lies of this world and the evil one. Guide us into all Truth. Guard our hearts and keep our eyes fixed on You. Grow in us those things that will make us more like You. As we study Your Word, fill us and saturate us with You!

Today, Father, we surrender our thoughts, our speech, and our hearts. Thank You that You are Faithful and True. We trust You will do a mighty work in us and through us this year and carry it on to completion until the day we step into eternity with You. Help us to trust in You with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding. Help us to acknowledge You in all our ways so that we can hear Your voice as You say, “This is the way, walk in it.”

Lord, we love You and thank You that You love us. May our lives be a living testimony of You. We ask this in the powerful and mighty name of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord who will do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Hidden Joy in a Dark Corner: The Transforming Power of God’s Story (available February 2009) by Wendy Blight
Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer
31 Days of Praise and 31 Days of Prayer by Ruth Myers

Application Steps:
As you write your prayer, is there an area of your life in which you consistently struggle? Would you be willing to give it over to God this year?

If you answered yes to this question, I invite you to surrender that area today. Boldly ask God to speak Truth into this area, no matter the cost. Ask Him to teach You His way, give you a mind to understand, and a heart to obey. Hold fast to what you hear so that your walk in that area will be established and ordered according to His will, not your own.

Reflections:
Spend time praying the prayer above or your own prayer aloud. Believe God that He IS able to answer your prayer. Watch expectantly for His answers. Thank Him every time You see His Hand at work. He will be faithful!

Power Verses:
Philippians 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

Ephesians 6:17-18, “Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for the saints.” (NKJV)

Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (NKJV)© 2008 by Wendy Blight. All rights reserved.

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Happy New Year, my friends! May God be in all and through all and with you all! May you seek Him each day and 365 days from now be even closer to Him than you are today!
Susan

I received the following devotional, and thought it represents so well the reason that Jesus left His heavenly home and throne.

Jesus manifested His greatness by taking steps down. While the rest of the world is intent on climbing up…up the corporate ladder, up to a better neighborhood…up to higher education…higher office-Jesus stepped down, for us.

He was God, equal with God, and He deliberately emptied Himself and came to earth in the form of a humble servant. Jesus stepped down from glory and equality with almighty God, to the cruel Roman cross, where He hung for our sins before an angry, jeering mob, despised and rejected by mankind.

That’s a big step down, from the highest height, to the lowest, most humiliating death known to the world at that time, death upon the cross. It’s hard to step down. To give up something you’ve worked hard to attain. Or to volunteer for a job that seems beneath your level of education or competence.

But if you feel that tug of the Holy Spirit, calling you to let it go, to humble yourself, let go of the ego or the need to be in charge, and step down to serve others, remember what Jesus did for us. And through obedience, you will also know great joy.

“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Phil. 2:8

Susan

Oh, no. Can it be? Did he really say that? I am so NOT ready for THIS!

Today, in my office, our first patient of the day (a very nice, very white haired senior citizen) made a joke that sucked the breath right out of me. Did I hear him right? Yes, because both my husband (the chiropractor) and Stephanie (my adorable 20 year old assistant) heard it even before I did. Here’s what happened:

I was at the front desk when he first came into the office. Then after his treatment when he returned to the front desk, young Steph was sitting where I had been. His joke was that when he came in there was an elderly person at the front desk, and now there was a young girl. What was that? Did he actually call me “elderly”? My darling mom was working in the back office. Was he referring to her? No. It was me! Elderly!! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!

They say 50 is the new 30, and I totally agree. I feel the same as I did in my 30’s, and most people do think I’m younger that I actually am. On a side note … The one benefit to the despicable weight gain that started in my 40’s = my wrinkles smoothed out a bit as the added pounds creeped up!!! Steph said that when she first started working with us, she thought I was in my thirties and wondered how I could have a daughter her age! (Uh, Tony – we must give that girl a big bonus this year!!) So then how could I be referred to as “elderly”?

I clearly remember the first time someone called me “ma’am”. I was in my 20’s. I informed the young salesclerk that I was not a “ma’am”, I was still a “miss”. Now I don’t mind “ma’am” anymore, but “elderly”??? How old should you be for “elderly” to be an appropriate term?

And then came the really big question – why is it so bad to be getting older? My beautiful daughter, Lauren, bemoaned the fact that she felt so old when she turned 20!! Oh, you know I set her straight! For her to say she was old is like a skinny person saying “I’m fat”!! Don’t you just hate that!! lol

Anyway, back to my question – why is it so bad to be getting older? Is it because we live in a culture that idolizes youth and beauty? Is it because we regret things that we didn’t do, and now maybe never will? I don’t know.

I do know that the Bible instructs us to have great respect for those who are older. And the older women are to teach the younger. Hopefully, wisdom comes with age. Certainly, experience does. To have lived well, to have loved and been loved are great accomplishments at any age. And you’re never too old to try something new. My great-grandmother went up in a plane for the first time in her nineties. It’s never too late to begin a new hobby or task or project. Is there something you have put off, but always wanted to do? Don’t let a little thing like age stop you! Getting older is just a fact of life. After all, what’s the alternative?

My day ended better. I was having a conversation with our last patient of the day, a mom with 4 kids age 4 – 10. She asked me how old my kids were. When I said 18 & 20, she was shocked and jokingly asked me if I had them when I was 12! Oh, happy day!!

Susan

Susan

While food shopping today, I stopped in the Ladies’ Room and overhead the cutest conversation between a mom and her little daughter. The young lady observed her surroundings and seriously instructed her mom with all the wisdom of a 5 year old, “We cannot take a bath in this kind of bathroom. There’s no bathtub here. And we cannot take a shower at school. There’s no shower there. We can only take a bath or shower at home.” The mom simply agreed, “Yes, honey, you can only take a bath at home.”

I couldn’t help but smile …

and I couldn’t help but wonder…

Does God view my “wisdom” like I viewed this little girl’s?
When I share my observations, does God just smile and humor me?
As His child, I cannot fully comprehend matters in God’s realm, and yet I still try to explain them with my limited understanding. I’m so glad He’s so patient with me!!

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom… 1 Cor. 1:25

Susan

This message came from Harvest Christian Fellowship:

Today’s Featured Pastor/Teacher: Greg Laurie

2 Chronicles 7:14
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

I believe that as a Christian, I should vote. I believe that as a Christian, I should find out where candidates stand and vote for those whose views are closest to the biblical positions. I believe that as a Christian, I should do what I can to have a positive impact on my society. But I also see the great limitations of politics. I see that the only real hope for our nation is a change of heart.

Some years ago, I had the opportunity to give the invocation at a meeting where a number of local politicians were gathered to hear a well-known congressman speak. I don’t remember the exact content of my prayer that day, but it went something like along these lines: “Lord, we know that America cannot be great unless it is good. We cannot be good as a nation unless we are good as individual men and women. We cannot be good if we do not know You. You have told us in Your Word that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to the people. Lord, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us and to shed His blood for us. Only through Him can we be forgiven of our sins. That is what will change the direction of our country. Amen.”

I don’t know whether they liked that prayer. But I came representing another kingdom. These other pursuits have their place, but they are secondary. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. And what is the main thing? The main thing is knowing God and making Him known.

Susan