Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Thursday 1/1/09) Happy New Year

How You Go Out Is How You Go In...

Exodus 22:29-31(a) (Amplified Bible)
29) You shall not delay to bring to Me from the fullness [of your harvested grain] and the outflow [of your grape juice and olive oil]; give Me the firstborn of your sons [or redeem them].
30) Likewise shall you do with your oxen and your sheep. Seven days the firstborn [beast] shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
31) And you shall be holy men [consecrated] to Me;

All week people had been asking me, did I have plans for New Year's Eve. When I would answer I am going to spend the first hours of 2009 in church, some people would give me odd looks, others would stand in awkward silence waiting to change the subject. Even my son was surprised that this year that instead of our normal family time at home, where we would usher in the new year with prayer and a toast of sparkling cider, that I had declared I was attending church. For many years going to church on New Year's eve was a given, but it had become habitual instead of something purposeful. So, for the last four years I had chosen to be with my family, instead. As 2008 came to a close I looked back over this year, and if I only shared a quarter of my situation, most would have said I needed to go and pray for change, but instead I had purposed in my heart to go for many other reasons, one being thankful that God kept me through 2008 in my right mind and still with a heart to serve Him. Another reason I choose to be in church was that I realized how I spent the last hours of 2008 and the beginning moments of 2009 would determine a lot for me.

What would be my last offering of the old year and my first offering to God in the New Year? I had chosen and purposed in my heart and mind that it would be "Me." That I would choose God over all others. The significance in that choice was placing God out in front of this year I was entering into. Asking Him to be the one that would guide me through this coming year, and lead me in the path of His righteousness for His name sake and not my own. There is a saying that "how you end a thing is how you will begin another." I wanted to end one of the worst years of my life in God's presence, why because He was and is the most important thing to me, He was the source of my strength and He gave me the will to go on even in the face of some of the worse crisis and natural circumstances. But I also wanted to give God the control and the ability to guide me into and through my coming year. I wanted God to know that I loved Him enough to be obedient by bringing him the very first of my year and offering it to Him, and offering Him the lead through out a year that for most is filled with uncertainty and concern. You see I choose to consecrate myself and the coming year to Almighty God so that He can have His way in my life.

God could have easily taken from all of us this New Year's eve what He wanted, but He would rather we found Him important enough to give it to Him. If only all of us had seen that if we would have only chosen to surrender the first of our year to Him that it would be consecrated, covered and set apart, blessed beyond our measure, but not beyond God's measure. See for me there was no other choice but God, how about for you? What was the thing that was your priority and what did you consecrate yourself and your coming year to this New Years eve?