Faith, joy, dream and family. Good words to share today.

 

Good words to share.

Today.

Photos by Steve Martin in an art store in NC. June, 2014

Happy!

Happy happy!

Published on Mar 14, 2014

The obvious Purim Anthem of 2014! Pharrell style.
via: http://www.jewbellish.com

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Gifts - You Have One To Share - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Gifts - You Have One To Share

Now Think On This

by Steve Martin

“But we have gifts that differ and which are meant to be used according to the grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, use it to the extent of your trust; if it is serving, use it to serve; if you are a teacher, use your gift in teaching; if you are a counselor, use your gift to comfort and exhort; if you are someone who gives, do it simply and generously; if you are in a position of leadership, lead with diligence and zeal; if you are one who does acts of mercy, do them cheerfully.” Rom. 12:6-8 CJB

A package arrived via UPS the other day. I didn’t know what was in it. I wasn’t expecting anything, so when I saw it I thought, “Yes, a gift!” What a simple joyful moment it was.

We all like gifts – for our birthday, during the eight days of Hanukkah, at Christmas time (12 days is nice!), and especially the unexpected ones between St. Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day. Getting a gift shows someone has thought of us, cares for us, and wants to put a big smile on our face. Yes, I like that.

Our Lord Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach) delights in giving gifts. He has a purpose in doing it too. When He gives a gift, it usually comes at an ordained time in our life. He wants to impart in us His love for us, and to then further express through us His love for those we will be touching, because He Himself wants to touch them. With His hope, faith, encouragement and joy, He will through us.

What kind of gifts does the Lord give? The verses from Romans above lists a few – prophetic words spoken, serving, teaching, comforting and exhorting, giving, leading, having mercy for another. They are all action words. We are given gifts so we can share them with others. Always with the purpose to demonstrate His love for His people He has created.

The world talks about being happy. It would seem, according to all the images and words that hit us, that our goal in life is “to be happy”. Sure, being sad isn’t fun. But is “being happy” the real purpose of our existence? To live for our own fulfillment, pleasure, entertainment? Often it would appear that way.

But Jesus says that as we lay down our lives for others, using the gifts He has given us in serving them, that the true desires of our heart will come about, and JOY will result. Joy comes as we bless others, and seeing them experience the real life the Lord intends for each. Giving out gives back.

You have a spiritual gift. You probably have several. They may have been imparted to you at an early age, awaiting for the time when you would begin using them for the sake of others. As you get training in their functions and how they can best effectively operate through you, the joy you bring to others will have an eternal effect on them, and also in you.

If you don’t know what your gifts are, I can recommend several good books to you. And heh, maybe you will get one in the mail or UPS, as a surprise package. When it comes, open it up, give thanks, and let His Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) begin to use you to be a blessing to those He wants you to touch.

And speaking of touch, you’ll be surprised whom He will send you to, in order to share your gift. His heart will grow in yours as you do.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People. Inc.

P.S. By the way, that UPS gift was a book from a friend. I like books. This one was extra special, coming from them.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

If these letters minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless known families in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

Go here for safe ONLINE GIFT GIVING THROUGH  OUR WEBSITE using major credit cards: Love For His People If you don't have a PayPal account you can also use your credit card or bank account (where available). 

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People, Inc.  P.O. Box414   Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)

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Email: loveforhispeople@gmail.com  

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No Think On This

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Now Think On This #130  “Gifts” by Steve Martin 

Date: In the year of our Lord 2014 (03.16.14) Sunday at 6:30 am in Charlotte, NC).

All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on our newest website: Now Think On This

Discovering the Kotel (Western Wall) - college students from Australia

Published on Dec 1, 2013

The revealing of the kotel to 29 Moriah and Masada College students who have never been to Israel before from Sydney, Australia.

moriahjlife.com

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"Stop It and Look Again!" And This is the Year of Psalm 67 - Bob Hartley with Michael Sullivant

Bob Hartley with Michael Sullivant:

The Lord Said, "Stop It and Look Again!" 

And This is the Year of Psalm 67

-The Elijah List

Going From a Retreating, Misery Christianity to a Hope-Filled, Reforming Christianity

I experienced a series of visitations in the past few weeks that revealed God's jealous and hope-filled heart of love for His people and plan according to this passage:

"The LORD goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war. He stirs up His zeal; He cries out, He shouts aloud, He shows Himself mighty against His foes" (Isaiah 42:13).

God has extensively spoken in past revelations that have laid the foundations for this understanding of God's zeal to displace what has hurt His children. He has called it "misery Christianity" versus "a hope-filled Christianity." By this second reformation He will activate and empower 50 million "Hope Reformers" to usher whole cities and nations into great blessings and manifestations of the Kingdom of God in every arena of life.

This is our first report of what the Lord said regarding a 2014 "word in season" with some context and comments added to aid the understanding.

The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary... Isaiah 50:4

Not the Spirit of Terror Year But the Psalm 67 Year

On a number of occasions, I have been taken in the Spirit into a "reformation room." Situated within is a table of communion where the Lord reveals His manifold faces and nourishes us with the bread of His presence.

In this encounter I was seated at the corner of the table on the Lord's right side. 

He strongly corrected us concerning speaking from areas where we were weary, wounded, disappointed, or hopeless. 

The Lord said, "Stop it! Wait and listen again until you get the hope, the love, and see My solution." 

He was in pain over this and desired to help us.

He said that 2014 is the year for Psalm 67:

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear Him!"

The Lord said that He will progressively reveal facets of His nature to us that will help us progress in His purposes this year and beyond.

• He said, "There is an epic battle presently raging over Who I am."

As we continue to look up to Him (see Psalm 121), greater building wisdom and favor will allow us to discern His hopeful ways more clearly than ever before. The Lord linked this experience to the account of Moses praying to see His glory and to know His ways and presence in an ongoing fashion in Exodus 33.

"Now therefore, if I have found favor in Your sight, please show me now Your ways, that I may know You in order to find favor in Your sight..." Moses said, "Please show me Your glory." And He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you My name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy [compassion] on whom I will show mercy [compassion]." Exodus 33:13, 18-19

God spoke from Psalm 67 that He is going to open up His face and His ways so that He will be seen and known, not only among His people, but also among whole cities, and even nations, that will open their gates to Him. 

I saw specific nations invite Him, with His gifts and building plan, into their cities. These cities will become radiant with joy and pulsate with the presence of God. They will receive and enjoy many breakthroughs in every area of life. 

Jesus has also shown me how thrilled He truly is that these people and places are welcoming Him to bless and lead them.

• The Lord spoke, "Psalm 67 is the fifth scene."

With this, the Spirit took me back, as He has many times, to one of my initial heavenly encounters in January of 1982 in Fort Collins, Colorado, when I was just newly converted. It was so dramatic! After being "taken up," I saw four visions of earthly situations that were only filled with sorrow, tragedy, despair, and death. I was disrupted and deeply burdened by what God showed me. 

But, then I saw "The Fifth Scene"!

The first four scenes were real, but the fifth scene was the even greater reality. I saw the Lord high and lifted up like Isaiah did – even though I had never read the passage at that time. 

The Lord Almighty was higher than the sky and the brilliance of His indescribable presence filled my whole view. He was filled with joy, celebrating and, yes, belly laughing.

I was so perplexed by the contrast of the fifth scene to the first four I had witnessed. I asked Him, "Lord, what about all the terrible evils and human suffering you just showed me?" Then I saw a small dark dot enter the lower left corner of the vision. It floated up a ways and then suddenly disappeared. 

The Lord authoritatively announced, "That dot represents all the evil of all beings and of all history combined. It's temporary and fleeting compared to Who I Am. So what are you going to magnify?"

The Lord is going to been seen as "The God of the Fifth Scene" or the "Psalm 67 God."

• At the communion table He declared, "I Am God All Powerful":

 "Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness..." (Nehemiah 9:32).

• He said, "I am the celebrating, covenant-keeping, sovereign God, and I will bring forth radiant cities and nations of the earth." (See our most recent Elijah List article.)

He is first offering to us "the Gift of Himself."

This hope reformation is all about a healed and expanded view of God, and what then happens is we feed and feed others on this deeper knowledge of God. This revelation caused me to weep for joy. Though we do truly know the Lord, and yet surely there are many, many things about Him that we have yet to discover.

He told me that we presently know 1% of the 100% of the knowledge of God that He wants to reveal to us in this life, not to even mention what the future age will reveal about Him. It's not that the divine attributes revealed in Scripture will be contradicted by what we learn, but it's that we so easily misunderstand and misjudge His great heart and His manifold wisdom and thoughts regarding the people and situations in our world.

As a result, we often unwittingly misrepresent the Lord to the people and the watching world around us. However, Jesus wants to be more accurately "re-presented" in our day by His sons and daughters to a needy and spiritually hungry world. 

Psalm 67 speaks of causing His face to shine upon us. And He is promising to help us if we humbly acknowledge our need to learn and grow.

Wrapped up in this Gift is a revelation of "The God of the Fifth Scene," and also a "pattern" for our worship, and a "building kit" for our service. He will unfold to us a practical, stage-by-stage plan for the extension of His Kingdom like He did for Moses, Solomon, and Nehemiah. 

Psalm 67 speaks of the revelation of His ways. God will reveal a blueprint about specifically how He is seeking to dwell among us here and now, and how this union with Him will lead to a truly apostolic reformation that will eventually lead to the restoration of all things referred to by Peter in Acts 3:19-21.

Psalm 67 speaks to the nations singing for joy and salvation coming to the earth. 

As we unpack this Gift, we will also experience how divine hope will "heal and expand" our view of God, and our own hearts, too. (We will say more about these things in our coming reports, because Jesus has spoken important and hopeful details about them to us.)

• The Lord said, "I will progressively reveal 12 of My faces that will cause you to advance in My Hope Reformation. This is a year for the Issacharian Reformers to arise."

 "...Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do..." 1 Chronicles 12:32

• He also declared, "They will reflect Zechariah 10:3":

"My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the LORD of hosts cares for His flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like His majestic steed in battle.

We will be transformed from "sheep" into "war horses." 

The Lord instructed all of us to continue to sit at the table, and to keep watching and listening, so that we could see through the dark clouds. He said, "Wait, wait, wait for My Father's hopeful view," because He had more things yet to reveal to us...

A New Lens For a Hopeful Prophetic

At the very beginning of this visitation, the Lord held my face in His hands for two hours and repeatedly affirmed that He was delighted in me. I saw Him also holding the faces of others at the table. 

He kept saying, "I am delighted in all of you." He kept imparting the essence of Zephaniah 3:17 to my heart...and to theirs...again and again:

"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing."

It was so good that He did that because I didn't know at the time how much I would need that deep and warm fatherly affirmation and delight to handle the rebuke over hopeless prophecy and speaking throughout my life.

As this divine encounter took on a more serious tone, He took a fiery coal and put it to my lips to purify my speech. He said this was needed so that I could blow the trumpet He has put to my mouth to faithfully declare His nature.

He then took me, and many others, on a journey through a number of scenarios in our histories where we spoke out of a wrong frame of spirit, heart, or mind. He showed me the damage and discouragement I had caused...even in relation to people I love the most. It was so painful and humbling to rehearse.

• The Lord said, "The words I have given you to speak are a 'holy sacrament.'

Speaking 'hopeless words of negation' only serve to 'resurrect' the enemy that I have already 'obliterated' for you."

He took me back to a very dramatic experience I had years ago when He powerfully defeated a terribly intimidating demonic spirit of negation and hopelessness that had tormented me. I witnessed the heat of this battle with my eyes wide open! When had He vanquished this demon by His mighty power, He asked me in an audible voice, "Whom do you fear now?"

Now, in this recent visit, He proclaimed again with strength, "I am your Victorious Warrior." He said, "You have a choice to 'resurrect' this old enemy, but it is not My plan." Then He showed me times when I had chosen to do this. Ugh!

• The Lord declared, "I intend to bring you into the goodness and blessing of Romans 5:17 so that you may reign in this life:

"'For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.'"

God spoke He wants to raise us up as true Hope Reformers who partner with Him to "reign in life"...to prevail over the darkness and misery of this world and bring the hope of the true Gospel to the cities and nations of the earth that He so deeply loves. 

The Holy Spirit said, "God has 'lifted you up' out of the 'miry clay' of Psalm 40 so that you can 'mount up on wings of eagles' to declare Isaiah 40:31 – 'the glory of the Lord' that 'shall be revealed' and how 'all flesh will see it together.'"

• The Lord was shouting, "Soar with Me. I want to take you to a place in Me where the enemy's voice ceases."I was aware that this era could become like the time of Solomon in which all of his adversaries were subdued on every side.

Then He said,"Destruction is not My answer. I have a redemptive plan."

The Honorable Prophetic

To help me understand an even fuller context for and properly steward the prophetic, the Spirit took me in a vision to the tent of Noah to observe the correct behavior of Shem.

Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness.Genesis 9:20-23

Shem covered his father's nakedness, and the Lord promised us, "I will cover your shame and nakedness with My mercy," and He instructed me to make sure that I do the same for my prophetic comrades and the Body at large. He made me aware of the "seeds of superiority" that the enemy would try to sow within us. We were being called to be vigilant to speak from His heart and not allow this to happen. I would have to first embrace the Lord's correction to me in order to be able to declare to others what He wants me to offer others as a spiritual father.

He instructed me to honor those who are speaking for the Lord for being fathers and mothers in the faith. They have accomplished many good and great things in and for His Kingdom through the years. However, the Lord is saying, "Stop it with the negative words that have not been filtered through a lens of a heart that has been healed by the power of hope."

The Rebuke

Jesus is issuing a word of correction to many of His beloved leaders in the land. This also extends out to segments of the people of God in general, for as the prophets and leaders go, so go the people. It is a word for all, from the greatest to the least. 

I saw some dark and heavy clouds of trouble, despair and depression roll across the hearts and minds of God's people and leaders in all the arenas of life...even more intensely over the last quarter of 2013.

I had personally encountered this satanic opposition during these past few weeks, but Jesus kept insisting to keep watching for the breakthrough in the clouds.

Then He warned us all with a very firm, but still loving, tone:

• "Do not speak until I lift you up out of the miry clay, and put a new song in your mouths." He also declared with intensity, "I do not use the enemy to spank My children!" He said, "I intend to turn the enemy's assaults and attacks into opportunities for you to partner with Me to transform them into portals of hope."

He spoke this passage:

"...I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt"(Hosea 2:15).

The Lord decreed,

• "You must continue to watch until you can see and speak from the silver lining, the hopeful place with My hopeful solutions, versus speaking from the dark clouds that release the dark humidity of doubt and despair. Indeed, I have already positioned and am empowering both My angel armies and My Hope Reformers to discern and apply these divine answers."

• "I will raise you up above the clouds to see My heavenly perspective of these negative situations and challenges and turn them into opportunities to advance in amazing ways and bring reformation to cities and nations. Mercy triumphs over judgment."

• "Can you hear Me? I am giving you My blessing without reproach. Can you hear Me? Nehemiah did! I have a blueprint...a building kit...to birth the Kingdom Church...an apostolic reformation and the restoration of all things. Can you hear Me?"

The Lord said to stop being like Sanballat...a professional accuser...who twisted the truth by magnifying the challenge instead of the Lord.



Like in the time of Nehemiah, the Lord is commanding us to be happy and rejoice with His plans to build and rebuild.

Questions And Answers: Then the Lord spoke to me about 2014 in response to my questions:

• "Civil war?" "No! Not to worry, hope peacemakers are rising up. Be praying for peace on all sides. Go forth and have fun. It is time to build."

• "U.S. currency failure?" "No! Not to worry. I have some good plans. Therefore go and build."

• "Protect ourselves to survive tribulations?" "No! I have you protected and covered like the cities in Goshen. Freedom is granted to live more generously than ever and bring reformation. Go, build and have fun!"

• "Need to hoard food?" "No! However, there will be a few various places where there will be need for food assistance, so be wise. Go and build, have fun, so that you can feed people. See your food multiply, and there will be supernatural and providential miracles in these days. I have My Hope Reformers ready to step in to help alleviate the hunger."

The Lord continued on:

• The Lord said to all of us in a very kind but very firm tone, "Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it! Stop spreading this misery, this evil humidity that you have been spewing out that settles upon the mountains. If you cannot speak out of life, do not speak out of death. Look again from a better view, from My perspective. You are to get above the clouds. To fear Me is to see what I see."

• "It is harming, confusing and wounding My people...it puts My cities and nations under a dark cloud. It is speaking out of your own wounds...or your warfare, or your weariness, or your sense of rejection, or your isolation, or your disappointments, or your despair. I am bringing a healing model and restoring My joy to all those who have suffered pain in this life, and it is beautiful.

• "Let Me tell you how to fight with hope and love." (At this point He laughed and lightened the mood.) "Ask Me this, 'What would it be like if My servants simply focused on hope and love until the very end? What kinds of amazing solutions would I bring into this world?'"

• The Lord said, "Let's fight against this enemy together! I do not want both sweet and bitter waters to proceed from the same source. I do want to go with you! 

But follow Me with joy, love, hope, and adventure in your hearts. Band together and reveal to all 'The God of the Fifth Scene' and call them into the Hope Reformation...the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." (See James 3:11; Daniel 11:32.)

The Hope Reformation Plan

• God said, "This is a Psalm 67 year."

God is giving us a divine blueprint and a building plan. He is engineering a "new exodus" for God's people to come out of "misery Christianity" into a hope-filled reformation. The Lord said,

• "I will release My people to leave the bondage and drudgery of religious agendas and traditions and the merely human expectations that require them all to just make brick after brick. I will commission them to go forth into all of life to worship Me in the beauty and wonder of the diversity I have created.

They are to give back all their amazing gifts, talents, and daily works in the neighborhoods, streets, schools, and marketplaces as an acceptable offering to Me and I will then use them to glorify Me in all the earth."

 • The Lord said that we will see ourselves, our journey, and comprehend our story within the ancient story of Moses and the children of Israel.

I saw the Lord open up a hope-filled reformation blueprint where He magnifies Himself in supernatural and providential miracles this coming year. He will continue to trump evil with good and cause hope to be the anchor of our souls as we major on adoring Him well.

We will publish more important details of this recent face-to-face divine visitation, as the Lord took Bob through the Book of Exodus, in several upcoming articles.

Bob Hartley, scribed by Michael Sullivant
Deeper Waters Ministry

Email: deeperwatersofhope@gmail.com
Website: bobhartley.org

Bob Hartley is the founder of Hartley Institute/Deeper Waters Ministry in Kansas City, Missouri. Bob served as a pastor at Metro Christian Fellowship with Mike Bickle before entering the marketplace in 1983, with a vision to see the marketplace redeemed and cities established that value and love the person of Jesus. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Hartley Group, a "Hope Center" for the marketplace, consisting of Hartley's Executive Cleaning, Swift Chemicals & Supply, Prize Properties and H&H Management in Kansas City, Missouri. 

Bob is a frequent speaker to youth, churches, businesses, and national leaders throughout America and the world. His quest has been to bring the Kingdom of God into every arena of life and give spiritual tools and equipping to those seeking to know and love God in the midst of their everyday lives. Currently, Bob resides in Kansas City with his wife and four children.

with Michael Sullivant
Radius Group

Email: info@radius-group.org
Website: radius-group.org

Michael Sullivant resides in the Kansas City area, has been married to Terri since 1977, and is a father of five adult children. Their lives have been marked and shaped by a naturally-supernatural relationship with God as unashamed followers of Jesus Christ. 

Terri and Michael have been involved in active ministry since their days at Miami University in Ohio. They have given themselves to planting communities of faith in several U.S. states, pastoring, teaching, writing, coaching, building leaders, and traveling to offer ministry in many nations. 

Michael is the author of Prophetic Etiquette, Your Kingdom Come, and a devotional commentary called, The Romance of Romans: God's Big God-Story (2011). Michael and Terri are co-founders of Radius – an equipping ministry that reaches out to many people.

Elijah List - If You Follow Your Calling, This Will Be Your Best Year Yet - Rick Joyner

Rick Joyner:

Happy New Year! If You Follow Your Calling, 

This Will Be Your Best Year Yet

From the desk of Steve Shultz:

Like many of you, I find that the beginning of the year is a great time to pray and seek the Lord for what's ahead. I'd say that Rick Joyner's latest word is a must read for the beginning of this New Year...it will really help and encourage you!

In fact, make sure and forward on to your friends too and tell them to subscribe to the Elijah List as we will be posting upcoming prophetic words for the year.

I pray as Rick Joyner shares in his word that THIS WILL BE YOUR BEST YEAR YET!

Blessings,

Steve Shultz

Note: To receive daily, encouraging prophetic emails from The Elijah List to your in box CLICK HERE.

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My answer: The Elijah List articles are emailed for FREE to you and your friends – or published on our website – 365-Days-a-Year – to readers all over the world. Your support helps to pay for this effort by simply purchasing your prophetic resources directly from elijahshopper.com.

We appreciate our dear readers and we thank you for supporting your Elijah List staff!

Blessings,

Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News 
http://www.elijahlist.com

Unshakable Faith: A 50-Day Journey by Rick Joyner $10.99 E-Book

Driving Fear, Lack & Loss OUT of Your Life NOW!  by Myles Munroe and Rick Joyner 2-Set Teaching $12.00 $9.00

To receive daily, encouraging prophetic emails from 

The Elijah List to your in box CLICK HERE.

Rick Joyner:

Happy New Year! If You Follow Your Calling, 

This Will Be Your Best Year Yet

We will continue our study of how the kingdoms of this world are in conflict with the coming Kingdom of God, but I would like to take this opportunity to be thankful for all the Lord did in 2013 and for all of the potential of 2014.

Because we are commanded to "enter His gates with thanksgiving" (see Psalm 100:4), I ask you to take a few minutes to think of all the things that took place in 2013 for which you are thankful, and thank Him.

Our thanksgiving to God should include everything that happened, because we are told to give thanks in all things. Everything works together for our good, so we should actually be thankful for everything in our lives. This may be hard for many things and will require even more faith. Since we know that "without faith it is impossible to please Him," the more faith we have in Him the more it pleases Him (see Hebrews 11:6).

Your Best Year Yet

Now let us resolve that we are going to enter 2014 with a thankful heart that is continually thanking Him. In this way, we will be able to continually dwell in His presence, and 2014 will be our best year yet.

Many reduce faith to belief in an outcome instead of faith in God. Having the best year yet does not depend on what happens in 2014 as much as it does on how close we get to the Lord. 

Psalm 16:11 declares,

"You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever."

You can know that this is your calling, because it is the calling on each of God's people. 

It is God's will for 2014 to be your best year yet—full of more peace and more joy than you have ever experienced before, because He is calling you to draw closer to Him. 

Every year thereafter is supposed to be even more full of the peace of God and the joy of the Lord because it is your calling to get ever closer to Him.

All we have to do is follow Him and resolve that we are going to fulfill our highest purpose as human beings—to love Him above all things and to love one another.

Peace of God

It is that simple. Those things that divert us from simplicity of devotion to Christ bring pain, confusion, frustration, and fear into our lives. If we place seeking the Lord above all things, as is basic to those who resolve to keep Him their first love, then every major decision we make in our lives will be based on first seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness.

As we are told in Romans 14:17, His Kingdom is "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." If we are seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness in all of our major decisions, then we will be doing what is right in the sight of the Lord, which leads to true peace that leads to true joy.

As we proceed into these times, the distinction between those who have built their lives on the Kingdom of God and those who have built on the kingdoms of this world will become increasingly pronounced.

Those who have the peace of God will become more quickly distinguished from those who do not. 

Those without the peace of God will be growing in fear and discord. Those who have the peace of God will be growing in the joy of the Lord, and this will cause them stand out more. You are called to be one of those standout people who represent the Kingdom of God. 

If you follow your calling, this will be your best year yet.

Please also consider that as your peace and joy in the Lord becomes more pronounced, you will be asked more often what is the source of this. I Peter 3:15 tells us to, "sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you." 

Your peace and joy will result in many salvations as these times unfold. Rehearse now how you will answer those who ask about the Source of your hope, your peace, and your joy.

Rick Joyner
MorningStar Ministries

Email: info@morningstarministries.org
Website: morningstarministries.org

Rick Joyner is the founder and executive director of MorningStar Ministries and Heritage International Ministries and is the Senior Pastor of MorningStar Fellowship Church. He is the author of more than forty books, including The Final Quest, A Prophetic History, and Church History. 

He is also the president of The OAK Initiative, an interdenominational movement that is mobilizing thousands of Christians to be engaged in the great issues of our times, being the salt and light that they are called to be. Rick and his wife, Julie, have five children: Anna, Aaryn, Amber, Ben, and Sam.

Unshakable Faith: A 50-Day Journey by Rick Joyner $10.99 E-Book

Driving Fear, Lack & Loss OUT of Your Life NOW!  by Myles Munroe and Rick Joyner 2-Set Teaching $12.00 $9.00