A Joy And Passion For God And His Word

"When he studied, it was to behold the majesty of God. Thus, his sermon preparation was not primarily for others: it was first and foremost for his own heart. With the aid of the Spirit and a firm bent toward biblical authority, Calvin followed hard after his Creator.  And as he did so, the Lord crushed his spirit and fixed within him a fearful admiration of Christ's excellencies.............. Given Calvin's commitment to God's glory, how did he nourish his mind in the Scriptures?  How did he cultivate  his heart before God?"
~Steven J. Lawson in his book "The Expository Genius of John Calvin.

Wow! This paints a picture of the absolute perfect passion us as Christians have the ability to have towards God and towards His holy Scriptures.  I especially love this quote because it mentions both the fear and majesty of God-further meaning God's awe.  And I believe these things to be very important to the Christian life. -the fear of the Lord, and beholding the majesty of His total awesomeness.  If we as Christians had this same passion that we see in Calvin. -this passion that kept Paul going, this passion that brought thousands to martyrdom, and specifically this passion that is instilled in all of Gods people. It seems to me, however, that this passion is less aflame then in was in many earlier Christians. -If we could only light up this passion; if we could just show the world where this passion comes from.  If we could show them what it means to have our joy in the Lord; if they can know us as Joyous people-I can assure you we would be seen in a much different light.

And while we are on this subject of passion for God; I would like to point out, that as John 1:1 states "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." -So this does not just mean a passion for God; but a passion for His word; the Bible.

This reminds me SO much of a verse I recently read in Jeremiah.  This verse is the verse that stood out to me the most in that day of reading; and I find that those verses, the ones that fill you with the fear of God and the awe of His majesty are very important.

"Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD of hosts" ~Jeremiah 15:16

It saddens me to see so many Christians not filled with this joy; but it is a blessing, I assure you, perhaps one of the biggest joys of being a Christian.  So I would like to encourage those who are called by the name of the LORD of hosts to be filled with a joy and rejoicing for God; and, His word.



Note, this article is actually from my other blog, Raise A Light Project. And also,  please comment; its what keeps me going! Why write to produce good, if no one will read it and therefore it will not produce good?

Jeremiah 1:7-8

But the Lord said to me:

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of their faces,
For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

~Jeremiah 1:7-8

Raise A Light Project

Hey all, I started yet another movement, I call it "Raise A Light Project". So please take a look at my blog for it!

What Is Raise A Light Project?

Raise A Light Project is something I started, to write what God has been putting on my mind, relating to His church.  Lately I have been noticing that God has been showing me what is wrong in the church. At first I mostly noticed it in other churches; but now I am noticing it in my church as well. No person is perfect, and neither is any church. -However, we should always strive for His high standard.

You may wonder what I mean by "problems within the church".  One of the first things that was put on my heart, and this was several years ago, is that most churches, particularly non-conservative ones put such an emphasis on grace that they forget about God's standard and act like its not a big deal to sin because He is abundant in grace. He is abundant in grace, but that is no excuse for sinning-we should still try to be our best.

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" Romans 6:1-2

I also noticed some problems about evangelism. Two extremes between the conservative and non-conservative churches. A lot of non-conservative churches take a "be friends with everyone attitude" even when they themselves are not able to handle the temptations that their worldly friends present them with. But ironically, the conservatives, who are often times more prepared, take a complete opposite approach.  They are so focused on "not loosing their salt" that they nearly completely forget the first part of the verse that says to be "the salt of the world". Now here is the thing, we are not supposed to "hide" ourselves from the world in fear of being brought to temptation. What we are supposed to do is equip ourselves so that we can resist those temptations.

Now please note that I am not saying this about all "non-conservatives" or all "conservatives"; but rather making a general observation. Now some will say that conservatives do evangelise. But let me tell you this, if I was not born into a Christian family and they used a door-to-door method on me- it would get me further away from Christ; NOT closer. The only way I could possibly see myself coming to Christ is if I came to have a friendship with a Christian I respected.  And no, I did not say acquaintance, but neither did I say best friend. Now this might not be the same for everyone, but I believe it is for many people.  And it seemed sad to me that if I were not born into a Christian family the likelihood that I would become a conservative Christian would be really slim. And why? Because conservatives did not want to loose their salt? But let me tell you this, by not evangelizing, we are loosing an opportunity to create salt in others. -and not only that, but we are still in a way loosing our salt because we are not investing it.  

Now to end this I am not saying that every Christian should be friends with non-christians. Some Christians have not yet developed that self-contol, and are particularly susceptible. But if you can, just give it a try. -you should.

I see I have somewhat driven off the path of my original planned topic...... Well thats what God put on my mind! I guess thats what God wanted me to say. :D So basically put, the Raise A Light Project is about what God has put in our minds and hearts-what He shows us. So if you would like to write for this blog, just comment below and maybe I can get you hooked up!

Also I would recommend reading this, it gives some statistics on the unchurched and what would get them to go to church. Like did you know that 82% of people are at least somewhat likely to go to church if invited but that 7 out of 10 unchurched people have never been invited in their whole lives?
" To God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen."


"For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" -1 Corinthians 9:16

TAM Newsletter February 2014

What's Going On: Lets start with our group, the Ambition Movement before we go onto politics. To start out with we have gotten 17 new members in the month of January, which is the most we have had so far.  We will probably not have this much for a long time! So lets give a nice, big warm welcome to these new members!

Hakeem Ormond 

Jonathan David Bloom 

Jacey Tan 

Rommel Vallejo 

Christian Fontenot 

Aisha Hassen 

Heather HeartFlo 

Paul Redline 

Stephanie Cartwright 

Iliya Peter 

Lemuel Apuai 

Aaron Mullen 

Drew Sproule 

Camille Silva 

Samuel Garcia

Franklin Ruff

Mashlie Jacques

We now have members from not only California but also Kansas,  Virginia, Ohio, Louisiana, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, Colorado and even the Philippines, Nigeria, Haiti  and Papua New Guinea! So in the month of January we now have our first out of the country members!  This is also our first newsletter as some of you know. We also have a facebook group and blog-http://theambitionmovement.blogspot.com/

Now lets get to politics. As some of you know, the Tutt's children were taken away for homeschooling; in spite of Texas law allowing it.  This has been a struggling case for quite some time but finally the judge has said that the children should not have been removed. The case has not quite ended yet; if you would like to stay updated visit http://www.change.org/petitions/tdfps-dallas-county-judges-guardian-ad-litem-uphold-state-law-tdfps-policies-and-tea every once in awhile...

Next we have Jon David Bruegel running for Country Commissioner of Lubbock County. He is a young, conservative politician.  He is the former president of the Lubbock County Young Republicans, small business owner and said wants to host more town hall meetings within the district, and encourage citizen involvement in the county government.

We are also having a problem with chicken being imported from China to the U.S. I would like to include a small portion from an email I recently received.

"China has an unusually troubling record when it comes to food safety. Specific instances include: dangerously high levels of mercury found in Chinese baby formula; more than 16,000 diseased pig carcasses dumped in a river to rot; more than $1 million worth of rat and other small mammal meat sold to Chinese consumers as lamb; and more than 300,000 Chinese children sickened, with several dying, from melamine-tainted milk powder. Last year, according to news reports, a Chinese poultry supplier provided Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in China with chicken fattened by large quantities of illegal drugs. And in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently warned pet owners not to feed their pets jerky treats from China. Since 2007, approximately 600 dogs and cats in the United States have mysteriously died, and 3,600 have been sickened from eating Chinese pet treats, including those containing chicken or duck. 

Yet despite these concerns, chicken can now be processed in China and sent back to this country for human consumption even though there will be no on-site USDA inspectors in Chinese processing facilities to ensure food safety. Furthermore, Chinese-processed chicken does not have to bear “Country Of Origin Labeling,” which means that consumers will not know if they are purchasing or eating chicken processed in China.To make matters worse, under USDA rules, Chinese-processed chicken can be used in the National School Lunch Program and other federal child nutrition programs, despite the fact that children are particularly vulnerable to foodborne illnesses and dangerous chemicals."

I would also like to add that the Valiant Defenders Party is now in the middle of a campaign for the vice presidency. We have Taylor MacArthur(bridging the generation gap) vs. Brittany Collett(increase quantity and quality). In the next newsletter you will find out who has won.

Activist Section:  We would ask that you help indorse Jon Bruegel's campaign for County Commissioner. We have two ways you can do that, an easy way and a more time consuming one. First off you can share his youtube video add(30 second long) on Facebook or forward it to a friend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFq-H1ZXRh4

You can also go a step forward with helping to make calls throughout the county, no matter if you live in Texas or not.  We need to make about 4000 call in the month of February; and are getting a team together to do the job.  If you would like to volunteer please either contact me or fill this quick forum out:  http://jondavidbruegel.org/get-involved/ We could REALLY use some help! :-)

If you would like to sign the petition to ensure that Chinese-processed chicken is not included in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program; and prevent funds from being used to implement any rule that would allow poultry raised or slaughtered in China to be exported to the United States. -please sign this petition, it only takes a minute!  https://www.change.org/petitions/congress-keep-chinese-chicken-out-of-our-schools-and-supermarkets?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=46794&alert_id=EibaTshrRZ_JsBreBiJst

Please help the Ambition Movement grow, we give you a task this month, to ask the most ambitious person you know to join our group, point them towards the blog, newsletter and Facebook group. We need to grow! :-) We now offer members the opportunity to write for our blog. We are looking for articles on ambition, politics, do hard things, the rebelution, spiritual growth, doctrine, problems within the church, culture problems,  etc. Please submit your article to bretagne27(at)gmail(dot)com.

Devotional of the Month:

(my favorite devotional I have read this month)

 

Morning, January 7

Go To Evening Reading

“For me to live is Christ.”

Philippians 1:21

The believer did not always live to Christ. He began to do so when God the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the dying Saviour making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new and celestial birth the man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for him; to his glory we would live, and in defence of his gospel we would die; he is the pattern of our life, and the model after which we would sculpture our character. Paul’s words mean more than most men think; they imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ—nay, his life itself was Jesus. In the words of an ancient saint, he did eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business—are you doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self- aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, “Is that a mean reason?” For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without committing a spiritual adultery? Many there are who carry out this principle in some measure; but who is there that dare say that he hath lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet, this alone is the true life of a Christian—its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all gathered up in one word—Christ Jesus. Lord, accept me; I here present myself, praying to live only in thee and to thee. Let me be as the bullock which stands between the plough and the altar, to work or to be sacrificed; and let my motto be, “Ready for either.”

Prayer Time:

(this is specially designed to go with the problems we are experiencing in our country, culture, world, etc. If you have a prayer request please email me).

 

Dear Heavenly Father,

 

We would like to thank you for what you have done for the Tutt family so far and would like to ask that you help them finish off this case, with the odds in their favor. We would also like to pray for Jon David Bruegel and his campaign and ask that you put your blessing on him. We pray for The vice presidential campaign for the Valiant Defenders Party and would like to ask for your will in that. We would like to ask that you help remove this Chinese chicken from our schools and marketplaces and ask that our taxes are not used to enforce this chicken to be imported.  We would also like to thank you for this generous growth you have given the Ambition Movement and ask that you will allow us to continue to grow. We would like to pray for our political leaders across the world and ask that you will reveal your will to them and that we will see you welcomed into political systems.

 

In Jesus' name we pray,

Amen

Bible Time: 

 

Galatians 5:13

 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion of the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Be Equipped: A short one-page article by Answers In Genesis on the proof of creation through the large amounts of carbon 14 found in fossils, coal and diamonds.  

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v7/n4/carbon-14

We have all been hearing about the debate, but here is a thirty minute live interview you can watch on youtube! Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham  Live Interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR-oyG4oDSs&feature=youtu.be

 

 

And now here is an awesome opportunity, Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham

Live Streaming FREE on Feb. 4 at 7 PM ET Just sign up right here: http://debatelive.org/

 

Feature article:

The Meaning of Life

So many thoughts, ideas, and philosophies have gotten lost in time.  But the richness of their truth is overbearing.  In 1674 in "Westminster Shorter Catechism" the chief end of man is said to  be "to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever".  We are going to evaluate that statement.  What distinctly is "glorifying God" and "enjoying God"?  What does the Bible have to say?

Lets start with "glorifying God"...... please read the rest here: http://theambitionmovement.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-meaning-of-life.html

P.S. If you would like to comment on this, or follow my blog please do not reply to this email; you can comment on the blog. http://theambitionmovement.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-meaning-of-life.html

 P.S. Section:

 

I have decided to add a "song of the month". This month we have "World" by Five For Fighting. It goes with the Ambition Movement because of these lyrics

 "What kind of world do you want? Think anything
Let's start at the start, build a masterpiece
Be careful what you wish for
History starts now"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoAvgaQOXTE

 

We have quite a bit in this newsletter this month, and it will probably not be this long usually, but here is a non-creation resource, it is actually on theology.  I am sure many of you have heard of Ligonear Ministries and R.C. Sproul, well here is an article from their magazine Tabletalk, about hell; and how it seems to have disappeared from our churches today. Now do not run away so fast, this is actually a REALLY good article. http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/disappearance-hell/

How Scientist Market Their Theory's and The Public Buys

.

By Luther Conigliarro


Lets suppose you owned a exotic jewelry store and for years you had the publics trust through cultivated relationships, Trust and fine craftsmanship. Now let's say another knock off jewelry store moves in next door to yours. They have copied everything you sell in yours, but everything in their store is fake imitation. To make matters worse for you the man who owns the knock off jewelry store is telling everyone in town that you have been ripping people off for years and they should quit doing business with you. Now to make matters worse in this analogy, months have gone by and now this man owns 10 stores and there are bill boards all over the city, and the news media is covering his store and helping to spread the deception that your authentic jewelry is somehow the inferior one.

Well this is like what's been happening in colleges around the world for the last 80 years+ Many people have been working hard to get us to believe a marketing slogan and that slogan is..

"To question science is tantamount to rejecting truth all-together!"
But wait a minute. Aren't there hundreds of scientific fields of inquiry? I mean take the word "Inquiry" its defined as.. "To investigate" To examine" "to dig" to find out"

Find out what? Ah yes, if a theory passes tests. Find out if it is true! Now certainly in many scientific fields questioning is good. But not all. Take The hot Evolution debate: If you question evolution today watch the powers that be come after you with fury! If you don't believe me ask Dr. Behe and see if he agrees with me. Or try to go into a "civil chat room" where evolutionist are. And see how they treat you for challenging the belief. Which begs the question; Why would "Inquring" or questioning the trust worthiness of a hypothesis be equal to rejecting science?


There are problems with Darwinism. Many problems. For one the heavily contested fossil record.

In Darwin's day, it was easy to claim that the fossils were there but had not been discovered. Problem is, we now have hundreds of thousands of well-catalogued fossils, from all continents and geologic eras, and we still haven't found these intermediate forms. As Denton puts it..

"Despite the tremendous increase in geological activity in every corner of the globe and despite the discovery of many strange and hitherto unknown forms, the infinitude of connecting links has still not been discovered and the fossil record is about as discontinuous as it was when Darwin was writing the Origin."

Scientist that argue for Darwinism will say things like.., "Close enough to be fact" but the fact is in the words of Dr. David Berlinski "Darwinian evolution: We aren't even close, to being close to calling this a theory" Dr. Belinski is correct because scientifically speaking before one can have a tested theory that passes muster it must first pass being a hypothesis.


But just like the analogy above the pubic has bought right into the Marketing slogan! A 80+ year PR campaign designed to capture the hearts and minds of the world. I would venture to say if one was to go up to 100 students on any university campus ask, "Do you believe that science can answer all things?" 90% or more would say "yes"!

Now Don't think for a minute that I hate science. Science is an amazing tool for discovery.
I also don't for a second agree that science is inferior to religion. I believe the two are compatible. And friends of each other. Religion is a friend of science. And vice versa. It has always been a false dichotomy to pin one over the other.

It's absurd to think about how a select few have gone around Universities for decades, and acted as if they are the guardians of Truth. I think it's time for a new slogan. And that is, "Science doesn't say anything, but scientists do. Therefore, it's time to examine all scientific theories and claims!"

Sign Up For The New Ambition Movement Monthly Newsletter!

We, The Ambition Movement, are starting up a new monthly newsletter. It will include the following sections: 

Feature article: the best article of the month; having either an ambitious, political, spiritual or patriotic theme.

What's Going On: info on what is going on in our world and country, good and bad. Keeps you updated; mostly on political matters or feats; lets you know when things head our way or take a toll for the bad.

Activist Section: This gives you the opportunity to help with the issues in the "What's Going On" section; whether emailing senators, signing petitions or anything else to help the country; and change the world a one person at a time.

Devotional of the Month: a selected devotional, for each month, from the book "Morning and Evening" by Charles Spurgeon; specially selected based on what is going on.

Prayer Time: a prayer based on what is going on around the world; and prayer requests from people; specifically members. Lets change the world through prayer!

Bible Time: a Bible verse; new one each month; that God has put on my heart.

Be Equipped: a section with free online resources, books, etc. that will equip you to defend you faith, the Bible, a young earth, -or really anything.

P.S. Section: This might contain a quote, song, story, or really anything.

Please comment below with you email(or message) and you will be put on our monthly mailing list. This a great way to help the world and country, and change spiritually. Please forward this message to any friends you think may be interested!

Brittany Collett

The Case On Integrity

Integrity is something that has been around for a very long time; and perhaps was cherished very much so at some point in time. However it seems as if the long lasting bond with virtue has been cast off; but we need to change that. -It is one of the biggest things we, as Valiant Defenders are dedicated to. Wikipedia says "Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes."

So first lets talk about me, and MY integrity. What are my strengths and weaknesses?

Do I have enough integrity to properly lead this Party(Valiant Defender's Party, comment for more info) for another year? Well to start out I took an integrity test (I love tests, I could not resist). I got very high scores in devotion, reliability, introspection, dependability, faithfulness, loyalty, honesty and self-awareness.

Lets talk about the integrity of the us, as a group.  I believe that as a group we should have integrity; one of the most opportune things would have to be activism in politics. -now I am not talking about being a politician, but things like signing a petition, a quick email to a senator, etc. What is so amazing about activism, is that it not only shows integrity, it also shows initiative and innovation. I think this is something simple and easy, that our group should do even more often.  Integrity, initiative, innovation and helping the world all at once. -What could be better?

Please comment! I love to hear what my readers have to say! :-)

Inspiring People

Perhaps you have heard of the great, young, people from history. - but what about in these days?  Are there any ambitious young people left?  The answer is yes.  -from Pakistan to the U.S. young people everywhere are putting in their share.  I have put together a collection of stories; about the ambitious people of this age. -people, whom I hope, will inspire you.  We all have our gifts, our talents, our dreams; - and something to give to the world around us.  Some of us dare to dream, and do hard things, while others go with the social norm.  These are stories of those who did dream, and who implemented those dreams. - they made this world a better place, and I hope you will too.

Alia Sabur was 14 when she graduated high school.  She was born in 1989, her mother was a reporter, and her Father a Pakistan native.  She earned a Tae-Kwon-Do black belt at the age of 9, left public school as a fourth-grader and was admitted to State University of New York.  She earned an M.S. degree in 2006 and made the Guinness Record as the world's youngest professor at age 18. In 2010, she came up will a plan to help alleviate the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico.  She is currently a Material's scientist and continues to inspire others.  Her story especially touches me; because she pursued an engineering degree and graduated high school early.  My plan is to also graduate early and become an engineer.

John Shea - earned his bachelor's degree at age 17, got a scholarship into law school, and became an attorney at age 21. At age 15 he already had 18 college credits. “Don’t be bound to the expectations of the culture,” Shea says, “Try not to compare yourself to other people your age; instead, compare yourself to those you want to be like.” Those who work hard, display strong character, and set themselves apart from a mediocre generation of young people are those who will excel in all that they do. John Shea is a perfect example of this, and his young life testifies to the faithfulness of God in the lives of those who dedicate themselves to Him. To view full story - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fo60McfAzQ

Malala Yousafzai - was born in 1997 and is the youngest person to ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize (age 15).  She lives in Pakistan and is a spokesperson for women's rights, and education.  She continued her cause even after surviving a bullet.  She said : "Today we all know education is our basic right. Not just in the West; Islam too has given us this right. Islam says every girl and everybody should go to school. In the Quran it is written, God wants us to have knowledge."

John Tyler Hammons - became major of Muskogee, Oklahoma in 2008(with %70 vote), at age 19, as a college freshman.  -and was reelected in 2010.  He spent most of his first year improving the city’s quality of life. He made plans to improve and enhance countrywide 911 telephone system. To view more- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tyler_Hammons

 

Alex and Brett Harris- Christian teen twins who started a website "The Rebelution" together at age 16. -it got over 32 million hits; from people all around the world.  They wrote the book "Do Hard Things" together at age 18; promoting rising above the low expectations of this world, that are set before us.   Kirk Cameron Interviews Alex and Brett Harris Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LVKzq_EYAQ

 

Zach Hunter- became an activist for anti-slavery at age fourteen. -and authored four books at the age of eighteen. "Be the Change", "Generation Change", "Lose Your Cool", and "Chivalry"  He speaks around the world and is a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post.

So are there ambitious people these days? Are people still capable of so much more? I say yes, and I hope after these examples, that you can truly see that you can do more, and be more. So do something; do not just sit there. Do not be the average person, do not talk the talk; walk the walk. I am going to end with a quote from Alex Harris. “God set His standards this high so that we won't make the mistake of aiming low. He made them unreachable so that we would never have the excuse to stop growing.”
― Alex Harris

 

 

Please comment! I love to hear what my readers have to say! :-)

Kirk Cameron Interviews Alex and Brett Harris

Kirk Cameron Interviews Alex and Brett Harris Video

Difficulty: The Reward

"The more difficult something is, the more satisfying the result; and the more the result is a reward."

Join The Facebook Group!

On Facebook? Love groups?  Come join our "Ambition Movement" group!

 The Ambition Movement Facebook Group

1000 Views Reached!

I may not have many followers; but I have reached 1000 views!  What a wonderful goal to reach; and right on New Years!  May God bless all off you!

A New Spirit God Has Given Us

          

Years end, years come, what goes up, must come down, what comes, will pass, but the Lord will be with us forever. -as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says,

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Are you in Christ? Have you entered the body of Christ? - if so, you are His "new creation". Old things have "passed away". -and "all thing have become new." Isn't that a wonderful blessing to know, that we are his new creation, that old things pass away and that ALL thing have become new?

God says in Ezekiel 36:26-27 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."

He has given us something new, not only a new start for this coming year but a new heart, and a new spirit. -what makes us alive, what gives us our ups and our downs. The word "spirit" has been in language -for who knows how long; and is something that is paid carful attention to. This word comes from the Latin word spiritus which literally means breath, soul,  personality and consciousness.  And as Christians, we have the blessing of the Holy Spirit; "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." -(Philippians 2:13)

What does the Bible say about the spirit? -John 3:6-8 says,

"Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

In Romans 8:2-6 Paul says,

"Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death......... in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.  Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.  The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace."

 So, "the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace". Now that, I am glad of. -to know that the Spirit guides and helps me, to know it gives me life and peace......  Some of us are still young in our faith, and some of us simply have not yet obtained that deep, relationship with God and the Spirit. - but let me tell you, this a gift to be obtained; to find all you happiness in Christ, to know and feel the Spirit working in you; to be perfectly content, to crave the word of God, to a point you wish you could read it all day. I feel sorry for those do not have this, and I hope all Christians will come to this point in Christ.

I would like to end this with a quote from Charles Spurgeon from his devotional book 'Morning and Evening'.  "Perhaps, this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus is the rest which remaineth for the people of God, is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a double bliss."

And let me tell you, this is very true. That is what Charles Spurgeon wrote for January 1'st, the starting of the year. I would highly recommend his book, it has both a morning and evening devotional; enough for a year. It is my favorite Christmas present and I look forward to reading it throughout the year.

I would like to end with this verse "But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might" -(Micah 3:8-10).