Twelve months completes the cycle of one year. Twelve hours encapsulate the day and the night. Twelve tribes of Israel. Twelve Judges, Twelve Apostles. Twelve foundations in the new Jerusalem. Twelve gates to the Holy City. Such an overwhelming pronouncement of twelve that symbolizes completion, fulfillment, and establishment. 

As we approach 2012, I pray that we are postured to enter what I believe the Spirit of God has decreed as a season of Kingdom Establishment. A mandate for the people of God to walk in that which is Completely New, where old things are passed away, and all things become new! Viewing life through the lens of a new paradigm. Living according to the Kingdom Agenda. Blessed with the benefits that a new beginning in Christ brings. It is imprinted in the Word that God gave to us.

It is time to stop imitating holiness, and just "be" holy. As we enter this season saints, don't "resolve" to be holy, transformed, renewed, refreshed. God calls us to "be" holy as God is holy. When we do so, not by might or power, but by His Spirit, blessings will overtake us. If you have not yet done so, surrender to the Kingdom mandate: Be not conformed to this world any longer, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect will of God.

We have made beautiful music to the glory of God and for the good of others. But the best is yet to come! Just wait and see! But don't wait as the world waits. Wait as we are called to wait in the Kingdom! As those who find strength and renewal as we wait on the Lord! As those who find themselves mounting up with wings as eagles! As those who run, but never get weary; as those who walk (no matter how far the path, no matter how steep the slope) and never faint.

Blessings for the Completely New in 2012,

In the 5th chapter of Matthew we find Jesus teaching a multitude that has engaged his new ministry. These are those who have responded to his call to "repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand." These are they who are eager to find their place in the Kingdom - in the presence of what ultimately is to be the new world order. Jesus starts this teaching  with a series of pronouncements of blessings. Please read the scriptures to see them at length. Today we glance at the first one. "Blessed are they who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."

While Jesus may have been speaking to many who were disenfranchised in many ways, he is deliberate in speech to say, not poor, but poor in spirit. Poor in spirit speaks of one who is not just humble, but humbled. It means they have been through a process that has brought them to a place of emptiness before God. It is the realization that on one's best day they could never do for themselves what God can do for them, with them, and through them. Jesus the Christ pronounces blessing on this characteristic as part of a larger composite. For though one may find themselves in this place and posture now, it becomes part of the vehicle that guarantees one's inheritance in the presence of the Lord where there is fulness of joy and at His right hand pleasures evermore. Ps. 16:11

He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1 What a blessed place to be - in the secret place of the Most High, abiding in His shadow. The question today is how do we get to this blessed place where we can declare that we are truly blessed. Allen-Aaron Hicks depicts imagery of this blessed experience in his painting about the story of The Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. This young man has gone through the process that has ultimately brought him to the place we are reflecting on today - poor in spirit. He has taken his inheritance and wasted it. He finds himself alone, broke, and broken in far country that is caught up in the midst of famine. He comes to himself as he is eating with the pigs, and realizes that the servants of his father's house eat better than what he is currently experiencing. He realizes he has missed the mark in his own strength, trying to follow his own way, and he relents. And he repents - that is, he decides to turn from his sin which has taken him to such a low place that he can hardly stand himself, and "return to the high place" in his father's house.  Not as a son, but as a servant - poor in spirit! When we're poor in spirit, we are not so concerned about our place and position in the house of God. We are grateful just to serve there - poor in spirit! The father who has been waiting for him, receives him with open arms - not as a servant, but as a resurrected son! He clothes him and holds a feast for him among his people.

You may find yourself in a low place right now, wondering how you got there, or why you never realized your position before now. Stop wondering and repent. Return to the High Place through Christ Jesus. Do it now. There is a high place promised to those who will humble themselves before the presence of an awesome master.  May we follow the example given by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and say, "Master, I have sinned against you and you alone. Forgive me, and make me a servant in your Kingdom." May the Joy of the Lord and the Peace of his Presence be yours.

In His Service,
Pastor B.
FaithWorks Christian Fellowship
Proving God at God's Word...