New Year, New Places!

God is going to take you to new places in 2015, and it's not going to be subtle! He will drastically move you to higher places. Around this time next year you will be able to look back at this moment and see you are in a completely different place. There are doors in your life God has scheduled to open in 2015. Sounds great right?

This year was preparation for the blessings that are to come. But let this be a warning: use this year as a reference for 2015. There will be two kind of people next year. There will be people who will be given more and more, and there will be people who will be given things but it will be taken away. Where you fall between these two possibilities is completely up to you. It's dependent upon how you apply the lessons God taught you in 2014.

So here's a bird's eye view on the lessons God wants us to take from this year.

He is enough:

God is preparing to really blow you away next year. There are seeds you sowed in 2014 that you may have forgotten about, but God hasn't. He remembers how you gave part of your last to the homeless person on the street, He remembers the sweet things you said to Him during praise. It's the things we did this year that seem little to us that God will grow into fruitful trees next year. Now this doesn't necessarily mean as soon as the clock hits 12am New Years Eve that opportunities will pour in (although I place no limitations on God!). For some of you things will begin to move fairly early in the year, and some of you will have to wait a little. God is doing this to test you and see what you learned through your struggles in 2014.
The way to pass this test is by remembering God is enough. Yes it's true that you will be given plenty in 2015. But that shouldn't be the only reason you are looking forward to a new year. Remember our parents used to tell us "don't place all of your eggs in one basket." I would say feel free to place your eggs in one basket, just make sure it's God's basket. Make sure the root of your happiness is because of God's love, and not strictly on what He can do for you. This was a lesson God taught me in 2014. I expected all these things to fall in place earlier this year, and when it didn't I fell into a depression. I even became upset with God. I felt like I waited long enough. But God checked me and asked me, "Are you sticking around for what I can do for you or do you really love me?" This moved me.

So keep this in mind in 2015. Lately Satan has been trying to tug people into depression. The way to stay firm is to think about God's love and His grace. God is taking you places next year and that's great. But remember the spiritual increase is what's most important and that only comes with some form of pressure. So hang tight. God plans to move you up levels spiritually, but He also wants to increase you financially, career-wise, and maybe even romantically. Each of us have our own pending blessings. But the difference between the people who will be given more and the people who will lose it is how central God is in their lives. It's about recognizing worldly blessings are great, and God is great for giving it to you--BUT worldly blessings are like an advance. It's like a mother who gives her child a taste of the food she's cooking. Heaven is the feast that awaits us. So don't get caught up in the little tastes.

Detoxify yourself:

Every January the world goes on a diet. We want to cleanse our bodies and start off on the right track. This is what we must do spiritually as well. All of us have something or perhaps someone in our lives that/who are hindering our relationship with God. Maybe it's our cell phones that distract us from the words He wants to speak to us. Or maybe it's a person who brings back the old you every time you are around them. Identify all the blocks in your life. Better yet, ask God to reveal it. Sure there are some that are obvious, but there could also be some that are not. I encourage you to read the post on idolatry published December 3, 2014. Use it as a guide to see what's standing in the way between you and God.

God is so gracious that He's also giving us fruit from seeds we didn't even sow! Seeds that we should have sown in 2014, but we were too busy drowning in the things of this world that tries to take God's place in our lives. So let's show God that we can do better. We can sow more than we did in 2014. Let's leave our hearts open to Him so we can have more encounters with His love. Those who make the same mistake in 2015 will find themselves back at square one when God snatches those blessings away. Unfortunately, some of us seem to focus more when we are in times of distress than during seasons of plenty. It's not too late to change. Keep God as your focus in 2015.

Seek Him:

Don't think once you are blessed you can simply lay around and bask in it. We were not sent here to just slothfully sit on our blessings, like a bird sits on eggs. We're not chickens. Blessings mean work. Period. Jesus Christ said much is expected from those who are given plenty. So the way you praised Him in 2014 won't cut it in 2015. The way you served Him and the way you served others won't cut it either. We have to step our game up. You won't be alone. God is stepping His game up as well. Just when you thought He was good, He's going to show you He's great. And when you declare Him to be great, He will show you He's nothing short of amazing. And it goes on. Seek Him. God will have so much to pour on you. Blessed will be those who take advantage of His presence. Those who just want to sit around will miss out. You will end up with little by the end of 2015 and you will lose that too. God wants to take you places, but if you are not making yourself available to hear His instructions, then you won't go far in 2015. 

Matthew 13:12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

Think about your relationship with God. Did it progress in 2014 or did it remain the same? Jesus Christ holds us near and dear to His heart despite our mistakes, and despite the many times we wondered astray from Him. So who are we not to hold Him near and dear to our hearts when He's done absolutely nothing wrong and everything right? Think about your best friend. The more you two share, the closer you become. Talk to Him more in 2015. Tell Him your feelings. My brother in Christ prophesied over me earlier this year and told me that there were some unopened treasures God wants me to discover. I realized later in the year the treasure God was referring to was my communication with Him. I began talking to Him when I was stressed, happy, you name it. I noticed once I started doing so God started eliminating problems in my life before it even had the chance to become a problem. The key to your favor in 2015 is communication. The more you are in tune with Him, the further you will go.

Borderless Love:

Have you ever passed by a homeless person or someone in need and thought, "God I wish I could help them?" Well in 2015 you will! Just don't forget the urge you had to help them. Maybe God will bless you with a lot financially so you will be able to give to them. Or maybe God will awaken and strengthen your spiritual gifts, giving you a boldness to walk up to them and pray. Maybe He'll do both! Just remember God gives so we can give.

Once again, we are not chickens! In 2014 we were given many promises and we were told to sit on it patiently  and seek God. In 2015 those promises will hatch into blessings that will come to pass. But if you continue to sit on them they will suffocate and die. You can't ask God to take you to higher places and at the same time refuse to move. Seek God and ask Him to reveal your purpose. If you already know, then start! Show faith by starting before your blessings come. Plan things out with God. The point is we must sow into others. If you see someone who looks down, ask God to give you a word for that person. If you're out grabbing some lunch, treat someone to a bite to eat as well. Ask God to reveal how He wants to use you.

Let everything you do come from love. God has been teaching me to be a better representative of Him. We must! Ask God to give you borderless love. This means forgiving those who hurt you and loving those who hate you. Don't let something like bitterness block your heart from Him. God plans to take you to great places, and there will be people who won't like you. Love them because God loves them. Love them because God loves you despite your mistakes. Your blessings aren't about you. Ironic huh? God doesn't bless you just so you can simply go on Facebook and update your job info, change your relationship status, or take pictures in the clothes you bought with your financial increase.

When Paul boasted, he boasted about his sufferings. Even then he knew the only reason why he made it through was because of God. So if you want to talk about your new job on Facebook then tell your Facebook friends how you struggled before your increase. Then end with giving God the glory. This shows humility and it also shows God you are willing to help others through your blessings instead of bragging. The more you use your blessings in 2015 to love others, the better you will be. Those who close up their hearts or those who are not productive with their blessings will end up with nothing by the end of 2015.

Matthew 23:12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

You've basically been in an oven this year. God seasoned you with gifts and placed you in the heat. He knows 2014 wasn't easy for you. This year was our time to be under heat and pressure so we can be prepared. Once you are ready, God will put you in the forefront. He will place you in front of others so you can be a blessing to them. Have you ever baked a cake? If so, then you are familiar with having to stick a toothpick in the cake. Sometimes it may look ready, but when you place a toothpick in it there's still some uncooked batter on it. In 2015 God is going to take you out of the heat and see how ready you are. If you are prepared, great! You will be in the group with those who will receive more and more. But if God sees you are not ready, then He will place you back in the oven until you are. Let us be wise and take use of the heat (our trials in 2014) to prepare every raw part of us!

Happy New Year!

I look forward to seeing what God is going to do with A Proverbs 31 Prospective in 2015!

Thanks to all the readers! I love you all! :-)

 Come back to check out more posts! Remember to share it so others can be encouraged!  

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