The Sunday News
Itai Chapunza
THE year is fast coming to an end. As you read this article, a few days from now will be 2020. The Lord has been good to you. No matter what happened, he has allowed you to be alive to witness the New Year. It is certainly not a mistake. You are part of a divine plan that was set in motion the day Christ died for you on the cross. It is only wise to start it by dedicating our very lives to God.
We understand that by our own strength we would never make it to Heaven. We would not have the blessing the Lord has made available to us by that one event that took place 2020 years ago. When Jesus Christ hung on the cross taking all our sins with us. In order to make manifest all these things, we pray a payer of salvation. This prayer makes you a child of God.
Prayer of salvation
Lord Jesus, I ask you to come into my life and forgive me all my sins. I confess my sins to you this day. I denounce Satan and all his works. I confess Jesus is the Lord of my life. I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that you rose from the dead. I am saved by the blood you shed for me. Write my name in the book of life. Today is the day I am united with the Lord Jesus. I pray this prayer in the mighty name of King Jesus.
Amen!
Welcome to the family of God. The Bible says there is great joy in Heaven when one person turns to the Lord. If you are doing this for the first time, you will need to do the following:
1. Get yourself a complete Bible, starting from Genesis to Revelations.
2. Read the book of Romans, it will give you a clear explanation of what you have just done. It will also give you a clear picture of your new identity as a Christian.
3. Find a living church of God, attend service every Sunday and get baptised. Make sure to receive the Holy Spirit, He will change your life.
Now that we have set the right spiritual stance to take on the New Year, we have to also change the way we perceive things. We cannot be the same in 2020 as we have been in 2019. It’s called insanity. Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. Instead we must change the way we do the things we do. Even if 2018 was a year full of victories for you, you must evolve to maintain the grip on things, to keep the success coming, you must evolve.
The first thing we need to start doing is pray more. Prayer in simple terms is talking to God. When we talk to God, the impact is infinite. For someone who does not pray much, the need to pray may seem like something that is not a pressing issue they need to address quickly. This is mainly because they have not lived through the benefits of praying. But one that prays often will testify to the blessing of constant and continued prayer to God. There are many types of prayer one could make, each are important and have different purposes not to be taken lightly.
Matthew 21:22
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.
In 2019, start to pray more and longer. According to Jesus, the minimum amount of time one should spend on prayer a day is an hour.
Matthew 26:40
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter.
So dedicate an hour a day when you can pray without interruption. Preferably during a time when you will not be interrupted by noises and people talking to you or phone calls. Usually very early in the morning before everyone is up would be the best time to pray. You will start to see the result. If you have never done an hour of praying it may seem like a long time to pray but in truth, it is not. So start by 15 minutes, move up to 30 minutes a day, then move to 45 minutes and eventually you will be able to pray for an our very easily with no problem.
Work harder and smarter in 2020. We do not serve a God who is stingy. Our God is a giver. So all things we want he gives us. But like I always say, God will not make the money rain on you, he will provide ways to obtain it through honest work. The word is full of God giving to his people, one of my favourites is Romans 8 verse 32.
Romans 8:32
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
God did not withhold his most important possession. He was willing to give that to us. How then can God fail to give all other things that we desire? God wants us to have all these things, but the way to get them is to work hard. We cannot be swallowed into the false gospel that tells people that they can get things without working for them. That is not a Godly principle. God wants us to work hard, then his part is to bless whatever we work towards.
Deuteronomy 28:12
The Lord will open the Heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.
The Bible is clear, God will bring rain on your fields in season. This means two things, we must work. The work we do is to plant, and cultivate the land so that when the rain comes in season, we have something in the ground that will grow from the blessing of God. We must also work smart. When the Lord says the rain will come in season, he means that there is a set time when the rain will come. He will not bring it in months that he has not designated as the rainy season. So we must be intelligent workers, planting strategically in order to maximise our gain.
In 2020, make a deliberate effort to work harder, work smarter, pray more and seek a better relationship with God. You will not regret it. It is pleasing to God when his children do well and seek him through all things.
Have a blessed 2020 and may you increase in your knowledge of who Christ is.
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