“...I will walk within my house with a perfect heart”
(Psalm 101:2, NKJ)

This time of year, people often take time to reflect and set goals for the New Year. But have you ever set “perfection” as a goal on your list?

Now, that may seem a little strange or unobtainable to many, but really, in God’s eyes perfection isn’t about performance. In fact, it isn’t about behavior at all. What God is looking for is a heart that is perfect toward Him. Scripture says that man looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart. That means that He is more pleased with someone who has a heart toward Him who may mess up than He is with someone doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons.

The condition of your heart is extremely important to God. When you have a right heart, you are humble before Him. You seek His ways. You get up each day with a desire to please Him. You submit every area of your life to Him, and you are willing to make adjustments and receive correction so you can grow and come up higher.

As you prepare for the coming year, make knowing Him your number one priority. Yield yourself to Him and let Him shape your character. Serve Him with all your might and let your heart be perfect toward Him!

/>

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor...”
(Isaiah 9:6, NIV)

Do you need wisdom or direction in your life today? The scripture tells us that Jesus is our Counselor. And He’s not just any kind of Counselor, He’s a Wonderful Counselor. When something is wonderful, it means it is unusually good, marvelous or astonishing. Think about that for a moment. God is a marvelous, astonishing, unusually good Counselor — the very best you could ever have!

Today, no matter what you may be facing, no matter what kinds of decisions you have to make, consider God. Ask Him to direct your steps and confirm His perfect will for your life. Remember, He is the best counselor there is. Let Him direct and guide your path. Seek Him with your whole heart, put Him first, and let Him lead you in blessing and victory in every area of your life.

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you”
(John 15:7, NIV)

In life, we all have ups and downs. There are seasons that are more difficult than others, seasons of testing, trials and temptation where our character is being developed and our faith in God is being strengthened. Sometimes it can feel like you are taking two steps forward and then three steps backward. But if we’re not careful, we’ll start thinking that life is always going to be this way. Even in the strong seasons, you'll start looking for things to go wrong.

God doesn’t want us to be living life like a roller coaster. He wants to bring us to a place of stability where we remain strong in Him. Jesus said, “I am the vine. You are the branches. If you abide in me, you will bear much fruit and your fruit will remain.” The word “remain” means “to be fixed, immovable, not affected by circumstances.” If you will just keep abiding in Him, just keep meditating on His Word, He’ll bring you through. He’ll make you strong, He’ll keep you stable, and you’ll keep moving forward into the life of blessing He has prepared for you!

/>

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
(II Corinthians 5:17, NIV)

Every person has had negative things spoken over them in the past. Maybe someone told you that you don’t have what it takes or that you’re not going to be successful. It’s almost like they cursed your future. But the good news is that the blessing of God is greater than any curse. If you’ll get rid of those negative strongholds and choose to believe what God says about you in His Word, you will begin to see a turning point in your life.

Today, declare blessing over yourself — that you are strong and courageous. You are full of talent, creativity, and wisdom. You can accomplish your God-given dreams. You walk in divine health. You have favor with every person you meet. Everything you touch is going to prosper and succeed. Those seeds of greatness on the inside of you are growing stronger and stronger. That hidden treasure is about to burst forth and you’re going to come in to new seasons of increase, new seasons of favor, new seasons of God’s blessings! You are who God says you are. You have what God says you have. Declare you can do everything God says you can do, in Jesus’ name, amen!

Who can tell who's next to need words of encouragement or any insightful reminder at any given moment? That is why I thank technology that mobile phones are a great help for quick messaging people. There have been moments that I was in dire circumstances when I suddenly received a text message from a sister or from our pastora, that as I meditated on that message, I exclaimed that indeed it's just the one that I needed! See, the inspirational thoughts from our brothers and sisters truly make a difference :)