PRAYER OF CONSECRATION FOR 2013

Our Father in Heaven, we once again come to Your  Throne through the powerful Name of Jesus, our Saviour. We thank You for the blessing of another year, but the reality is that we are sustained by You moment by moment. We don’t know what our future holds, but we know that You hold all things together and, being outside the boundaries of time, You know our future.

You have assured us in Your Word that Your Plans for us are good and You desire to prosper us and give us a good future. Help us to trust in You and not to be anxious; it is easier said than done most times.

Lord, we thank You for the many doors of opportunity You have already opened to Your children, and to those who are still seeking,  we know You have the perfect answer to their petitions.  Grant us the privilege and ability to be  channels of blessing to those around us. Give those who are seeking work a good employment, that they may not remain idle, for in idleness is greater temptation to sin.

Thank You for the blessing of Your continual Protection over us. May the wisdom of Your Word lead us like a lamp through the unknown challenges that await us this year.  Help us to remember that we will not be alone, for  You have promised to be with us always. Help us to keep close to You, that we may not be led astray by the many distractions of this world that clamour for our daily affections. Help us to set our hearts on You, the Root, the Branch, the reason for our very existence.

May Your Holy Spirit dwell within the hearts of all who profess Your Name this year. Make us more compassionate and less judgmental, more generous and less selfish, more like You. Consecrate us to Your service this year, and help us to truly be  ambassadors of Your Kingdom. Let this be our primary mission and may everything else pale in comparison.  Help us to discover the treasury of talents and gifts which You have bestowed upon every person, and help us to use them not for vainglory, but in Your service.  May Your Perfect Will unfold in every life this year, as we trust in Your unfailing Love. Your plans are always the best plans! In You, may  we experience Life, Liberty and Happiness.  Amen.

END OF THE YEAR OR END OF THE WORLD?

I have to laugh when I think that my last day at my current office, 21st December, has been hailed as the end of the world by some.

2012 has been a year of monumental change and transition. For many, it has been a year of anxiety as the Mayan long count calendar winds down. Will 21st December be just another day in the countdown to the end of another year, or will it mark the end of the world as we know it?

It is in times like these that we must turn to the Scriptures, the Living Word of God that never changes yet always remains relevant. The Bible is like a bulwark against the ravages of time and the uncertainty brought about by change. Like a star of gladness in a sea of uncertainty, it’s prophecies and history teach and instruct us in the ways and plans of God. Some are understandable, while others are shrouded in mystery. Like lanterns and torches in the hands of a lonely traveller, the Word of God lights the path-one step at a time-to the glorious Day.

What does the Bible say about the end of the world? In Matt 24, we find information about the signs leading up to the Coming of the Lord, which will mark the end of this present world. Many of these signs, we already see unfolding around us. Matt 24:36,42 contain the test of the faithful, making it clear that no one knows the exact time that Jesus will return so it is imperative that every Christian be in a state of perpetual readiness, awaiting the return of the King.

21st December will in all likelihood be just another day in the countdown to the end of just another year. The evening will mark the start of another Sabbath and we will close this Sabbath with the last church social of 2012, while the rest of the world finds itself all partied out, after the “end of the world” that never came…

I leave you with the words of Christ in Matt 28:20 -

“I AM with you always, even unto the end of the world…”

 This message was written on 15th December 2012.