This year has great things in store as we walk through God’s open door. There is an RSVP that is going out to His people in this new year. The Jewish calendar year 5784 is a year of the “OPEN DOOR”.
There are doors that God opens for us as we walk in alignment with Him. As we abide in His Presence, yield to His Spirit, and give Him our whole heart in worship we can walk through new doors of opportunity. These opportunities include being a part of His Kingdom plans in 2024 as well as overflowing blessings from cooperating with His Spirit.
Heart Alignment
The Lord wants our hearts to be in complete alignment with His. As we are aligned with His heart and purposes, we will experience His blessing in unprecedented ways in our lives. If you have ever experienced what it is like for your back to get out of whack, it is not a pleasant experience. Just one little slipped disk in your back sets you back – making it harder to function in normality. I can remember at age 25 bending over, and my back popped – never happened before! Ouch and down I went “for the count”! I had to knock over my electric guitar and snag the phone line with the tuners on the head of the instrument to pull the phone close where I could call 911. Being that young I didn’t know how much the 911 ambulance would cost. Ouch again! By the grace of God, I had my back in alignment within the day, dealt with the cause and was back to normal. A big thumbs up to God’s boomerang anointing! Albeit at a young age made it much easier. Amazing how small, tiny things like a pop in the back can throw you off. God wants to fix what can be little quirks in our lives so that we can run in His purposes in fullness. He wants to align us in the Spirit as well as in the natural. As we yield to His perfect will, His blessings will overtake us in this new year.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:1-2
Strongholds of the Spirit
Sometimes people get caught up in old patterns. So much so that it becomes their identity. Maybe that’s you. It’s easy to say, “This is just who I am” when you’ve been doing it for so long. These can be unhealthy patterns or strongholds of sin, iniquity – basically all the things that God says you are not or you are not to do. The good news is that God can break that pattern and set you into a new groove, a new way of life and cause you to ride on the high hills of His Presence! Look at what God’s Word says about you – make that your identity. In Christ, you have a new family bloodline.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
There are bad strongholds and God established strongholds. It is told that in a month’s period new habits are established as you stay the course. God wants to get your cooperation to pull down the old and establish the new. It is not by might, nor by power but by His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6) that these things happen.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:4
We are called to live from glory to glory. God breaks us from one level of glory to the next by the power of His Spirit.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:18
This we cannot accomplish in our own flesh. God is an amazing encourager and will encourage you along the way as He establishes His strongholds in your life. The next things I share here is a tremendous key to see things shift and change.
Abiding in His Presence
To discover the place of abiding in the Presence of God is to find the life that God created you for. This is not a side item. This is a core life experience that leaks out into every area. Without this you will only yield superficial results in your life. God’s Presence is the substance, the oil, the fuel, the power of what we need to accomplish His will for our lives – and almost effortlessly. How can that be? Jesus says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. It is not the heavy yoke of religion.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-29
Religion is oppressive. If you feel oppressed, you are drinking from the wrong source. When you drink from the rivers of life (John 7:38, Isaiah 12:3) you will yield that life and freedom that Jesus promises. Everlasting life is not in the “sweet by and by” but in the “sweet here and now!” God calls us into a pursuit of His Presence where you are lay aside all the weight and sins that easily entangle so you can run for His glory.
Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Hebrews 12:1
This does require adjustments to our lives. For one person it may be “this” for another it may be “that”. But each of us have things that need dealt with so that we can come closer and come up higher in the reality of our experience with God. What do you desire more? Do you desire the things of the flesh and the world? Do you desire the praise of man? Do you desire His Presence more than anything? What do you want? You shall have no other gods (Exodus 20:3) before Him. Do you have to have everything figured out? Do you worship the god of your intellect? Or do you worship the God of the heart. Get real with God and lay down the things that hinder you personally. Then invite the Holy Spirit to come fill you with His Presence and reality. God wants us to have and experience with Him that is far greater than getting excited about the things of this world. All these things are passing ways only He who does the will of God abides forever.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:15-17
Jesus said that when the Father find us in the secret place, He will reward us openly. Jesus uses the terminology from Psalm 91 and expands on it. There is open reward that is given when we are found in the secret place of His Presence.
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Matthew 6:6
Maybe there are things you are believing God for. Maybe God wants to give you those things. Or when He finds you in the secret place, He might readjust your desires to give you what He knows is best – maybe He will give you both! God is good, wanting to bless us to the overflow. Be encouraged to press in for encounters with God. Where is the secret place? It is wherever you are. Although you do want to find time alone where it is quiet away from all noise, sometimes you just need to slow down while waiting at the stop light. Use those extra moments to discover His Presence. You know what I’m talking about. Instead of complaining about things not moving fast enough, stop and welcome the Holy Spirit instead to fill you fresh. Create some new habits that can be life transforming. There are lots of opportunities that people lose where there is “extra time”. It’s what we do with that extra time that makes the difference. Are you a night person or are you a morning person? Maybe you are both. Pick one and run with it. God needs people seeking His face at all times of the day – in every watch of the night.
My soul waits for the Lord
Psalms 130:6
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
Make it happen by choosing to do it.
God’s Phone Call
It’s amazing how dependent we are on phones today. God must have known that from the beginning because it is a parallel to our need for God’s voice. When you look up “voice” in the Greek the word for it is “phone”.
5456. φωνή phōnḗ; to shine. A sound or tone made or given forth. Phōnḗ is the cry of a living being which can be heard by others. It is ascribed to God (Matt. 3:17); to men (Matt. 3:3); to inanimate objects (1 Cor. 14:7) as a trumpet (Matt. 24:31).
Just as people are so dependent on their phones today – what we really need is to be dependent on the voice of God. If people were as dependent on God’s voice as they were on their phones, then the world would be very close to heaven on earth. Dependency on the voice of God is at the core of true humility. Anything done apart from God only amounts to humanism. God may tell you to do one thing, but if you go and do twenty other good things you are still in disobedience.
Again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:
Hebrews 4:7
“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”
One of the words that disobedience represents is “obstinate”. This is the condition of hard-heartedness. People try to divert from God’s voice by doing something other than what God said. When people try to approach “humanitarian” things in this world that look like good things and God is not involved in the process it just becomes another “look how good we are” event. At the end of the day, it only feeds the pride of man that says, “I can do this without God.”
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
Psalms 14:1
God is the only One who is worthy of glory. We are to be filled with good works, but it is not to the neglect of a personal walk with God. All that we do should point people to the Lord – that He would be exalted in every way. In 2024 draw near to God, hear what He wants to say to you. What does He want you to do? What doors does He have for you?
Then the LORD answered me and said:
Habakkuk 2:2
“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
Write it down and follow His leading.
God’s RSVP Invitation
Rest in Faith
But the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Hebrews 4:2,10
We are called to enter His rest as we trust in Him in all things. It is essential that we find that rest in the Presence of God. As we lay before the Lord we receive in His Presence, drink of His Spirit, and abide in His peace. The peace of God is the leading element that in manifests from God’s nature giving us clarity of thought where we sense His directions daily. The ironic thing about rest is that it has nothing to do with our works but yields the peace of God in our lives. Many equate busyness as productivity, but God sees this completely different. Where we could spend hours working to get something accomplished – spending a few minutes in the Presence of God will accomplish so much more. We eliminate the wasted time of our efforts get His specific directions that bypass all the efforts of our flesh – things that we do without God.
As we position ourselves to receive in His Presence, He speaks to us. It is here that we are inspired in faith as we hear His voice. The spirit of faith is released in our hearts. Thoughts that are faith-filled come to our hearts and minds. The next step is putting action to that inspiration – to the words that God has spoken to us. We believe therefore we speak.
And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak.
2 Corinthians 4:13
That is how faith works. The inspired word comes to us, even in our thoughts, we speak that word, and then also act on it. While your faith is there for something that is the time to release it with actions. Actions complete our faith. If God gives us a vision of something He’s calling us to do, it will not be enough to “feel” the inspiration. We need to act on that inspired word to see it come to pass. Sometimes people get the “paralysis of analysis” and never take the first step. You can get so consumed analyzing the word God has spoken in your heart that you are frozen – never putting actions to the word God spoke to you. When God speaks the next step is to ask Him what step to take, how do you move forward with the word? Then sometimes He will be silent knowing that He has already put the intuition, idea, or deposit in you to know what to do. It may be something He has worked into your life over the years – now He speaks this word knowing you have the preparation to walk it out.
- The Word Comes
- The Spirit of faith
- The action of faith
- Action completes promise fulfillment
Spirit Saturated
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
Psalm 36:8
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Psalms 23:5
One of our highest values should be to overflow with a saturation of His Spirit and Presence. The Holy Spirit is so needed as He is the Person we commune with as we grow in our relationship with God. He is the Source of power, strength, the fruit of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit and refreshes us – as He is the River of God’s refreshing to us. To ignore the Holy Spirit is to ignore your relationship with God, to ignore the words of Jesus and try to work things out in your own flesh. It is the Spirit by which we put to death the works of the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Romans 8:13
As we sow to the Spirit, we reap everlasting life in this present time serving the Lord. I love Your Presence should be the cry of our heart. We always need more of the Presence of God in our lives. If His Presence does not go with us, then we don’t need to go!
Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.
Exodus 33:15
In lieu of this, spend lots of time soaking in His glory. Just learning how to receive from the Holy Spirit can be a challenge for some people. It’s all about losing control and giving God the reigns over your soul. We come to the Lord and lay it all down, empty ourselves of all the noise and allow Him to flood our hearts with His Spirit.
In the beginning of your times soaking in God’s Presence you may not feel a thing. But if you stay faithful, keep coming back and learn to quiet your soul in His Presence – you will soon begin to experience the Lord in your times with Him.
Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Psalms 131:2
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Your attitude should be that you are there for Him. You are there to hear Him speak. It may be one word He speaks to you. Write it down. Meditate on it. What visions or picture is He dropping in your heart? Put in black and white. Be faithful with what He gives because when you are faithful with little, He will give you more and more. There is an anointing for devotion where the Spirit teaches you all things.
But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
1 John 2:27
This is the anointing within that gives you revelation and understanding of the things of God. I love ottomans and carpet. Many, many times I’ve laid on the carpet and kicked my feet up on the ottoman. Turn on the worship instrumental music and rest in His Presence. Just wait. Pray in the Spirit – in tongues. If you have not received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, seek this blessing from the Lord.
What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.
1 Corinthians 14:15
Ask the Lord to give you the word HE wants you to have. Lay aside your own agenda and get His. Many times, your agenda can be fulfilled as He gives you His. God comes in through backdoor to accomplish something. We think we know how the Lord is going to do something and He pulls out a scenario that we would have never thought of! He sees all. He knows all. He can do it all!
- Slow down by the still waters
- Empty your heart of noise
- Welcome the Holy Spirit
- Drink in His presence
- Hear His Voice
- Scroll what He speaks to you
- His words are like refreshment
- Practical opportunities
- Sow to the Spirit
Victory in Sonship
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
1 John 5:4
He who is born of God overcomes the world. This refers to the realm of sons in hip, knowing the Father and embracing the Spirit through whom we cry out Abba to our heavenly Father. Receiving revelation on who we are as sons of God is key to walking in victory in Christ. All the fulness of the Godhead dwelt in Jesus “the Son”. As well, we receive of the fullness of inheritance and of the Spirit through the eyes of understanding – knowing that we have full access to all inheritance as sons of God. We then become partakers of His divine nature knowing His great and precious promises in Christ.
By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2 Peter 1:4
All the promises of God are YES and AMEN in Christ Jesus. Knowing as well that there are general promises of God that apply to everyone of us, then specific “Spirit-revealed” promises that apply to us individually.
- Called to Overcome
- Knowing the Father
- Partaking of His divine nature
- Spirit Revealed promises
Prosperity in His Presence
The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
Revelation 20:21
Part of the core of inheritance is understanding the realities of heaven. Heaven is prosperous in every way. Heaven on earth is the prosperity, blessing and overflow of heaven being manifested on earth. God intention is for us to partake of Who He is, His divine nature. His nature is prosperous, not impoverished. Poverty is bad fruit of the fall of man. Sin causes poverty. Obedience to God brings prosperity, restoration, overflow, and blessing. It is imperative that we live a life of obedience that we might experience the blessing of God upon our lives – which “at its core” is prosperity.
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
3 John 1:2
It is God’s intention for us to prosper spirit, soul, and body. Our spirit is created for communion with His Spirit. Our spirit prospers when it is connected to God hearts. It is shut down when we don’t seek the Lord. Our soul prospers as our spirit stays in connection with the Lord. Our soul (mind, will and emotions) is the decision-making part of who we are. We must choose to live after the Spirit rather than the desires of the flesh. Our spirit is God-conscious. the soul is self-conscious, and our body is world conscious. Heaven in our lives begins in our spirit then pouring out upon our souls which then affects our bodies. This is prosperity like God intends it. It starts with a yielded heart to the Lord.
- Heaven on earth
- Prospering in our heart, mind & body with abundance
- Obedience to God brings prosperity, restoration, overflow and blessing.
- God’s Blessing makes HAPPY
- At the core “on earth as it is heaven”
Our obedience to the Lord causes the blessing of God to come upon us. Blessed or happy are the pure in heart for they shall see God. To be blessed is to be happy, not sad. You will not be sad in heaven. The norm is to be happy. God’s Spirit manifests the fruit of joy in our lives, not sadness. Part of the prosperous soul is to have extreme joy, peace, love, grace, faith, and all of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. A joyful heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. This is the physical connection between your soul and body. The way your soul feels affects your body. Don’t be swayed into false humility that tells you sadness is holy. It is far from the truth.
Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10
Do not sorrow for the joy of the Lord is your strength. The will of God is strength for your life. The curse brings sadness, but the blessing brings gladness.
Set your heart to respond to God’s RSVP and receive the fullness of every blessing, plan and provision that He has in store for you!