Shalom,

Today I want to share Joseph Prince's "Daily Grace Inspirations" devotional from New Years Day!

You Matter to God!

He calls his own sheep by name. John 10:3

Do you sometimes feel like you are just a face in a crowd or a number in a system? You are identified by your social security number. Even when you see the doctor, you are called by your queue number. If you feel depersonalized and dehumanized, that is exactly how the devil wants you to feel—that you do not matter much to anyone, especially to God.

But you do matter to God! He calls you by name. He knows exactly what you are going through and where you are hurting. He sees you and cares for you, just as He cared for the people when He first walked on earth.

My friend, He will do for you what He did for the woman in Samaria. The Bible says that “He needed to go through Samaria” to get from Judea to Galilee (John 4:4).

Now, any Jew of His day would have taken a different and longer route to avoid going through Samaria because they hated the Samaritans, though the way through Samaria would have taken much less time. But Jesus deliberately took the shorter, avoided route, just so He could stop by Samaria to speak to the woman who had been searching for something in her life to satisfy her.

This woman had had five husbands and the man she was living with was not her husband. Clearly, things had not been going right in her life. She was probably looking for answers and fulfillment, and must have felt ashamed about her failed marriages and current lifestyle.

Yet, in spite of all this, she mattered to Jesus! He needed to go to her to minister to her. And indeed, after she met Jesus, the perfect Man, she was transformed. She was no longer ashamed, and went into the city to tell the people about Him (John 4:28–29).

Beloved, Jesus wants to meet you wherever you are at in life and minister His grace to you. You certainly matter to Him. He came to give you life and life more abundantly (John 10:10).

You are not just a face in a crowd or a number. No, He knows you by name and has a personal love for you. And in spite of the mess that you might be in, He wants to meet your every need and make your life beautiful!

AMEN! THAT is the MOST exciting thing asbout belonging to JESUS! HE loved ME FIRST!!! Here is Brooke ligertwood with "What A Wonderful Name":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share Rick Renner's "Sparkling Gems From The Greek - Volume 2" devotional.

Taking Authority Over Your Flesh

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. — Romans 6:12

Since this is a week when you’re thinking about New Year’s resolutions, I want to go ahead and hit hard on the subject of losing those extra pounds you might think about all the time!

Have you stood in front of the mirror and lamented about the double chin that has appeared under your face in the past few years? Perhaps you spend time each morning despairing over the roll around your waist that bulges over your belt. Instead of enjoying your clothes as you once did, you may find yourself turning this way and that way as you look in the mirror to see if the bulge shows through your clothes. Or you may be one who has shifted to wearing dark colors because you’re trying to hide your real size. How many times have you asked your spouse or someone else whether you look too fat in the outfit you’re wearing?

It is amazing how long human beings will tolerate something before they finally decide to take action. I can personally vouch for what I am writing because I struggled with my weight for many years. Day after day, I’d look in the mirror, feel disgusted with myself, and then ask Denise how I looked — expecting her to confirm how terrible I felt about my appearance. When I got out of bed in the mornings, I’d run to the bathroom to step on the scales to see if I was bigger or smaller than the day before.

This fixation on weight completely controlled me. I felt trapped. Instead of exercising restraint, I felt hopeless to overcome. So when it was time to eat, I’d eat anything I wanted, which resulted in gaining more weight and feeling even more down in the dumps about my physical appearance. The truth is, I was in a prison in this area of my weight, like so many others are in today, and I didn’t know how to get out.

Instead of accepting responsibility for my condition, I’d blame my weight gain on pastors who wanted to take me out to eat and enjoy a time of fellowship after evening church services. Night after night, I would find myself eating in restaurants late in the evening. But instead of exercising self-control, I’d order hamburgers with extra mayonnaise, French fries with “tons” of ketchup, and a large-size Coke, topped off with a dessert — and then I’d head to my hotel to go to bed. Then before I fell asleep, I’d mentally beat myself up for eating so badly and would swear before God that I was going to start doing better and losing weight the next day.

But time after time and year after year, I kept struggling with my weight. It was up and down, up and down! And when people would see me for the first time in a few years, I’d think they were looking me over to see if I was bigger or smaller than the last time they had seen me. It was a tormenting thought that deeply bothered me.

I was totally disgusted with myself regarding this area of my life. I was exhausted with fretting about how my clothes fit or what others thought of my size. But at long last, I came to a place where I decided enough was enough!

The big change in me started one day as I was looking in the mirror and thinking about how terrible I looked and how food had been ruling my life. Suddenly the Holy Spirit quickened Romans 6:12 to my heart: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”

It was like a bolt of divine revelation shot through me — and in that split second, I knew that my allowing food to control me and to lord itself over my life was a sin. Until that day, I had called it a personal problem, a hang-up, and a struggle. But in that moment, I saw it as God saw it. It was much more than a personal hang-up — it was sin calling the shots in my life. The day I recognized this truth was a landmark day in my spiritual walk, for I realized God was calling me to repent and to change. He didn’t want me to feel badly about myself — but, most importantly, He didn’t want anything ruling my life other than the Lord Jesus Christ. That day I repented — and when I did, those wrong eating habits immediately began to lose lordship over my life.

I’m so thankful the Holy Spirit reminded me of Romans 6:12, where it says, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof,” the word “reign” is the Greek word basileuo, which is the very old Greek word for a king or one who rules supreme. It is the picture of a mighty ruler who makes all the decisions, calls all the shots, and controls and completely governs his subjects. This verse described my situation well, for I was definitely being ruled by food. Even though I loved Jesus with all my heart, it was simply a fact that He was not Lord over my eating habits!

But in Romans 6:12, God tells us, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body.…” Notice it says, “Let not.…” The Greek tense used for “Let not” is an authoritative prohibition ordering us to put an end to something immediately. A correct interpretive translation could read, “I want you to stop this and stop it right now!”

When I understood that God was saying, “Stop it and stop it right now,” I knew I had the power to change my behavior. God wouldn’t tell me to stop something if I didn’t have the power to stop it. Therefore, He was making me responsible to do something about food ruling as a king in my life. It was time for me to quit complaining, moaning, fretting, and condemning myself about how I looked and to finally take action.

Instead of listening to the commands of my flesh to overeat and to eat the wrong types of food, it was time for my flesh to listen to me! It was up to me to make a firm, heartfelt decision to repent from this wrong lordship in my life and allow Jesus to step back on the throne of my life to rule my flesh in the area of food. As I did my part, the Holy Spirit would rise up inside me, and His grace would enable me to make sure this sin never ruled me or called the shots in my life again!

How about you? Does this discussion sound personally familiar to you? If it does, I’m wondering if you are weary of feeling badly about yourself or being constantly fixated on your weight. If so, it’s time to ask yourself, Am I ready to put an end to the way food has ruled me physically and emotionally?

“Yes, that’s me! I’m ready for a real change!” If that’s your answer, today Jesus wants to assume His position over your appetite and physique. He wants to be Lord in this area of your life. If you’ll confess that you’ve allowed this sin to rule your flesh — and then genuinely repent of it — I assure you that the Holy Spirit will help you carry out that decision. And as Jesus takes control, it won’t be long until your body will begin to return to its God-ordained size and you’ll begin to feel good about yourself again. It makes such a huge difference in our lives when we allow Jesus to rule our mortal flesh!

I shared my personal experience with you today because I know many people are making New Year’s resolutions at this time of year about losing weight. Jesus can give you the same victory He has given to so many others. All it takes is a decision to turn from what you have been doing and let Jesus be Lord in this area of your life. You may have to follow a diet or learn to eat the right kinds of foods, but it all starts with a decision.

Just determine today that you are going to willingly obey, step by step, whatever Jesus asks you to do to get your appetite and your physical condition back under His control. If you’ll make that heartfelt, sincere, and firm decision today, the Holy Spirit will empower you to eat right and to take the right steps on the road to a healthier lifestyle in your walk with God!

AMEN! Here is Brooke Ligertwood with "Bless God":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share this from Jerry Savelle Ministries!

Rejoice!

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV

When we are in the midst of a trial, we are oftentimes so focused on what is happening to us that we aren’t looking for the way out. We spend our time talking about the problem rather than doing what God’s Word instructs us to do: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4 NKJV).

You may ask, “Why does God want us to rejoice?” Because, according to Nehemiah 8:10, the joy of the Lord is our strength. If we don’t have joy, we won’t have strength.

Joy comes from the Word of God, and we must read the Word constantly to maintain that joy. As human beings, we have the physical need for sleep, but the devil doesn’t. The moment we open our eyes each day he’s sure to be there waiting to say, “You’re not going to make it. This trial is too much for you. You might as well just give up.”

But guess what? The devil doesn’t have any defense against joy.

Let me tell you what it means to rejoice. One meaning of the Hebrew word rejoice is “to brighten up.” In other words, put a big smile on your face whether you feel like it or not. Another meaning of the word rejoice is “to spin around,” and a third meaning is “to leap.” So, the next time you are facing a trial, here’s how to respond: smile, spin, and leap. Or simply put—rejoice!

Confession: My God is a faithful God who has already made a way of escape for me in every trial and temptation. Therefore, I choose to always rejoice in the Lord, knowing the devil has no defense against the joy of the Lord, which is my strength.

AMEN!!! mStir up YOUR JOY and put the decvil on the run! Here, to help you do that, is Brandon Lake with "That's Who I Praise":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share this New Years Day message fromour partner Kenneth Copeland!

A Happy New Year

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13

Today people everywhere are gathering together to celebrate the first bright moments of the new year.

Yet, for thousands of others, this day will be the toughest 24 hours of their lives. For those people, New Year's Day will serve only as a dim reminder of loneliness and loss. It will simply mark the beginning of another year of failure.

What about you? What's this year really going to be like for you?

You may appear to be happy enough. You may be passing out seasonal smiles and holiday greetings just like everyone else. But inside, you may hurt. You may be disappointed. You may even feel like you can't go on.

If so, I want you to know something. All of that can change in an instant. You can start your life over today and make this New Year's Day the most joyful day of your life!

How many times have you said to yourself, "If I could just start over, I'd do it all differently"? That doesn't have to be simply an idle wish. Jesus Christ has actually made it possible. That's His Christmas present to you. He paid the price for all your sins. He paid the penalty for all your mistakes.

That's the reason He came to earth. That's the reason He was born—so you could start over!

You may look at your life and say, "But I've made some terrible mistakes. I've done some despicable things." That doesn't matter. Jesus paid the price for them all!

How can you make a new start? Romans 10:9 says that "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." It's as easy as saying, "Jesus, I'm turning my life over to You. From this day forward I'm Yours."

What better time to turn your life around than on this first day of the new year. Right now, wherever you are, just give your life to Jesus. Then jump up and down and holler, "Praise God, I'm starting all over!" And find out what it really means to have a happy new year!

AMEN! Here is Brandon Lake with "Gratitude":

Shalom in Him!