Preparing for A New Year Ahead

08/11/20 • 19 min

God’s Family Plan: Establishing Generational Blessing

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I would like to ask you two questions?

Were you prepared for 2020? Will you be prepared for 2021?

Kathie and I have already begun to listen and to look for insight and Holy Spirit guidance for the new year ahead. Over the past several years, we have learned the significance of the times and seasons revealed in the Jewish Calendar. From a practical perspective, we operate our daily lives by the Gregorian calendar...the calendar used by most of the modern world. However, we have come to see that prophetic, Spiritual insight is contained in the calendar of the patriarchs, kings and prophets of Israel.

The body of Christ where we worship celebrates both Rosh Hashana...the Jewish New Year.... in the fall and the modern new year on January 1st. We find inspiration and insight in both.

I said all of that to say this.....

By preparing now for the Jewish New Year, we get a head start in preparing for the year that begins January 1st.

Let me give you and example....

This time last year, Kathie and I were in the process of finishing our book and preparing it for publication. We came to see that it was necessary to have the book completed for our Rosh Hashana... Head of The Year 5780 celebration in late September 21019.

God’s Family Plan: Establishing Generational Blessing was published in September of 2019. God’s Family Plan is about managing change and revealing God’s strategy for preparing multiple generations for the future.

Given the changes that occurred early in the new year 2020...little did we know how prophetic this book would be.

What if 5781 and 2021 bring us to events that change our lives as dramatically as 5780 and 2020?

Whether you accept the prophetic, Spiritual dimension of the Jewish calendar or not...I believe it is time to begin our preparations for the new year ahead.

But, how? How do we prepare? Do we prepare for good or evil? Do we prepare for plenty or lack in the new year to come?

The answer is...YES.

That answer may sound a bit confusing...but when I read Philippians, Chapter 4, verses 11-13 in the Passion Translation it may help you understand why I gave that answer.

This passage reads...

I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.

So, I hope you will agree....Philippians FOUR seems like a place to begin in preparing for 5781 and 2021.

Send us a text

Preparing for A New Year Ahead

I would like to ask you two questions?

Were you prepared for 2020? Will you be prepared for 2021?

The body of Christ where we worship celebrates both Rosh Hashana...the Jewish New Year.... in the fall and the modern new year on January 1st. We find inspiration and insight in both.

I said all of that to say this.....

By preparing now for the Jewish New Year, we get a head start in preparing for the year that begins January 1st.

Let me give you and example....

Given the changes that occurred early in the new year 2020...little did we know how prophetic this book would be.

What if 5781 and 2021 bring us to events that change our lives as dramatically as 5780 and 2020?

Whether you accept the prophetic, Spiritual dimension of the Jewish calendar or not...I believe it is time to begin our preparations for the new year ahead.

But, how? How do we prepare? Do we prepare for good or evil? Do we prepare for plenty or lack in the new year to come?

The answer is...YES.

That answer may sound a bit confusing...but when I read Philippians, Chapter 4, verses 11-13 in the Passion Translation it may help you understand why I gave that answer.

This passage reads...

So, I hope you will agree....Philippians FOUR seems like a place to begin in preparing for 5781 and 2021.

Previous Episode

Courage in the Midst of Chaos and Confusion!

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Today's podcast unpacks 3 principles that can be activated in times of transition and change, and even in chaos and confusion, much like the times and seasons we are living in today.

Here’s a recap -

· Remember the prophetic words that have been spoken over you!

· Remember the Word of God!

· Remember who is fighting with you!

Let’s also remember and think about the phrase “be strong and courageous.” These words were spoken by Moses 3 times, by Joshua 3 times and once again by the people. That means this prophetic word was repeated a total of 7 times. In scripture, whenever words are repeated, it’s an indication that something is being emphasized, probably because of its importance. That certainly seems to be the case with this phrase.

“Be strong and courageous” are also important words for us today.

Let’s take a quick look at a couple of New Testament passages that emphasize these words.

‘Be strong’ is found in Ephesians 6:10-20. This is Paul’s discourse about putting on the whole armor of God and spiritual warfare. Here’s the end of verse 10 as it’s written in The Passion Translation -

Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of His explosive power flowing in and through you.

And what about the word ‘courage?

I’m reminded of the time the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water in the midst of a storm. It’s recorded in both Matthew 14 and Mark 6. Here are verses 50 & 51 of Mark 6 in The Passion Translation -

[They] screamed out in terror. But he said to them at once,

“Don’t yield to fear. Have courage. It’s really me—I Am!”

Then he came closer and climbed into the boat with them, and immediately the stormy wind became still. They were completely and utterly overwhelmed with astonishment . . . .

These are just 2 examples of the use of the words ‘strong’ and ‘courageous’ in the New Testament, but there are many others.

Whenever you’re in a challenging situation, it can be helpful to remember to ‘be strong and courageous’. The words Moses and Joshua spoke to the people centuries ago are just as relevant now as they were then.

Along with remembering these words, it is important to speak them, pray them, decree and declare them. This is a ‘peh season’. That means “speak up.” Psalm 81:10 says it well. Here it is in The Passion Translation -

I am your only God, the living God.
Wasn’t I the one who broke the strongholds over you
and raised you up out of bondage?
Open your mouth with a mighty decree;
I will fulfill it now, you’ll see!
The words that you speak, so shall it be!

I believe Psalm 81:10 is a now word and it will also be an important word for next year – the Hebrew Year 5781 that is as known as 2021 in the Gregorian calendar.

‘Be strong and courageous’

Speak those words over yourself. Pray into them. Repeat, decree and declare them. Believe for victory in every battle! As you do, you will be changed. You will be empowered for every battle. You will be equipped to enter in and possess your promised land!

I decree and declare over you today that you are activated to:

Remember all the prophetic words that have been spoken over you in the past!
Remember the Word of God and find the now word of the Lord for you in your current situation!
Remember who is fighting with you! You are not alone! He will never leave you nor forsake you!

I decree and declare that you and all your loved ones are fully equipped, enabled and empowered to be strong and courageous!

Next Episode

The Sky Is Falling Testimony - A Personal Testimony

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Just now, as I was sharing my testimony about the ceiling falling in, Holy Spirit reminded me of the children’s story ‘Chicken Little.’ I love children’s literature and have found that adults can enjoy stories right along with the little ones; so here goes . . .

There are many versions of this story, but I’ll share the one that begins like this -

Once upon a time there was a little chicken, and everybody called him-- Chicken Little. And one day while he was out walking, up in the sky a bird flew over and it dropped an acorn, and the acorn fell down and-- bip-- bopped him on his head.

Chicken Little said “AWK!” and looked up, and didn’t see anything, and he looked down and didn’t see anything. So he said “Help, help the sky is falling! Help, help the sky is falling! I have to tell the King!” And he went running down the road, looking for the King.

Chicken Little panicked. He was motivated by fear. And he began sharing his fear with everyone around him. Chicken Little spread the “sky is falling in news” with Henny Penny, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey. And then, it’s not surprising that the entire group had an encounter with Foxey Loxey. Foxey Loxey will almost always show up whenever there’s a tasty morsel of negative news nearby. Did you notice that Chicken Little was so focused on sharing his fear and telling everyone around him the sky was the falling in that he never did talk with the King about the situation?

Although I never expected to be sharing about Chicken Little during this podcast, the scenario does sound a bit familiar. Think about it. Did you ever get so focused on your fear – either real or imagined - that you never got around to spending time with the King and asking Him about His strategies and solutions for the situation?

Anyway, moving on - I googled “Chicken Little” and discovered there is something called a “Chicken Little syndrome.” Chicken Little syndrome is described as “fear-mongering.”

I’ll quote the internet explanation of “fear-mongering.”

“Fear-mongering – whether justified or not – can sometimes elicit a societal response called Chicken Little syndrome, described as "inferring catastrophic conclusions possibly resulting in paralysis". It has also been defined as "a sense of despair or passivity which blocks the audience from actions".

Wikipedia says the phrase “Chicken Little” is “applied to people accused of being unreasonably afraid, or those trying to incite an unreasonable fear in those around them.”

Right now there certainly seems to be a lot of fear-mongering in the atmosphere. There are also quite a number of “Chicken Little” people that are suffering from fear, despair and a kind of passivity that may have them paralyzed with hopelessness.

I’m not saying there is no reason to fear. There are certainly a multitude of reasons to be concerned about all kinds of very significant issues. However, I am saying there is an antidote to fear and it’s important to be aware of that antidote and know how to activate it.