Good morning church family! Eldie is resting today so I get the joy of sharing a tip of my heart with you all 🙂

I was absolutely blessed by the Recovering Redemption series we viewed at the retreat. It was like a clear summary of all things I felt the Lord has been trying to bring out of me especially in 2013 so it was refreshing to my spirit and just honey to the soul. I woke up eager to continue the message series and was delighted to hear the message on Sanctification! If you are looking for a powerful word to head into the New Year, I absolutely recommend it. *google: the village church sermons, Sep 22, 2013 message, the village church also has an app that make it easy to find the entire series!

There is one grave danger that I have learned in the absolute hardest of ways, that I must continuously fight against, and that is my mind -and the absolute necessity to RENEW it. Our mind is something we can never replace, it was with us at birth and will be with us until we leave this earthly body, and therefore, just like our cars, it requires maintenance, renewal.

2012 was a year of failures for me of where I can say without hesitation that I reached lifetime spiritual lows. How did it start? It started subtly, by not renewing my mind to those things that are true. Gradually I allowed bitterness and anger to push my priority of spending time with my God to grow into fighting Him which lead to ignoring His voice and most devastatingly, questioning all that He is. We are born rebellious, and if we try to ignore the fact that we are prone to drift in that direction without grace driven effort, we will find ourselves consumed and suffocating in an instant. His mercies are new every morning, we need them, like water, every morning.

I enjoy being reminded that sanctification, is a process. It takes place from our initial conversion until glory when we are in heaven- none of us has arrived, and we, as believers, are all being refined for His great work and purpose. It takes grace driven effort to pursue and be transformed in the likeness of our God, it does not happen in an instant and it does not stop in our failures. If our failures bring out of us a deeper understanding, zeal and pursuit of all things true, praise Him!

Let us together, pray for discipline to seek after our God especially when it feels like we are just running into a wall or drowning in a cloud of doubt, fear, anxiety, hopelessness, anger, bitterness… Pray with me that this be a year that we pursue our God and His truths like never before. That He shower us with grace driven effort to discipline ourselves to seek after such things, and as we do, we humbly allow his truths to transform us from the inside out. Yes!

Some encouraging verses to help us focus forward as we get ready to tackle a new year!
Colossians 3:1-4… If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Romans 12:2… And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Phil 4:8…Whatever is true, whatever is honest, whatever is just, pure, lovely… think on THESE things!

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”
Jeremiah 29:13