As we cross into 2022, have you considered what should capture your heart and mind, what inspires you, and what are the possibilities for you in Christ? We often start with a list of goals with most of them unfinished by year-end as they’re either too vague, based on what someone said, or not realistic plans to achieve.
Some may ask if God will speak to you, and I want you to know He does. He may speak to you in a different way from His other children – ‘But to all who received him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God’ (John 1:12) – but our Father God speaks to all of us; our part is this – we must believe.
Some believed He was a miracle-working prophet sent by – and speaking for – God. Others thought He was both prophet and the promised Messiah. Even then, Jesus’ disciples could not wrap themselves around Him to fully understand every facet of Him.
If they could not then, I don’t think we can claim that we’ve fully understood every facet of Jesus. Therefore, WHEN – not IF – God speaks will we believe?
The word ‘believe’ is found 75 times in the Gospel of John (NKJV). it means ‘we’re to accept as true the revelation contained in His title’ – everything He is, everything He’s done, and everything there is about Him.
Concerning Jesus, Mary was told, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
By calling a person by their name, we proclaim its meaning just like when God renamed several of His children in the Bible. He chose a name more fitting for the way He viewed their calling on earth.
When we speak in the Name of Jesus, what we proclaim will reveal to many the debt of sin which has been paid in Jesus’ Name through His death and resurrection.
This isn’t just about us; it includes all the sins ever committed in this world and all the sin yet to be committed. In that one death, God in Jesus Christ paid for all sins, this is the power in the Name of the only Son of God.
Therefore, names have implications and meaning – you hardly ever get to know someone personally and deeply without ever learning their name.
How much more important it must be for us to know Jesus through His Name when the power behind the Name of the only Son of God enables us to reach our divinely-appointed destinations in life!
2 Peter 1:19-21 tells us, ‘We have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.’
The Name of the only Son of God, Jesus, is not a magic word like ‘Abracadabra’ is to magicians and wizards, whose feats are illusions to deceive for entertainment or exploitation.
Jesus’ Name is Yeshua, which means ‘Yahweh saves’. When we ‘believe in Him’, this is the foundation to salvation and when we ‘believe in His Name’, that becomes the basis for taking our authority in Christ Jesus.
To lend focus on my 2022 journey, I’ve received prophecies that include words like ‘adapt, align, know your anchor’, ‘behold, belong, learn to build’ and ‘communicate, connect and be consistent’.
Alignment shifts me from visitation to habitation, belonging causes me to see as God sees, and staying connected allows me to understand Scriptural prophetic events in our day.
Indeed, prophecy never came by the will of men, but was spoken by men separated unto God; and, moved by the Holy Spirit, they prophesied.
Have you received a prophecy from holy men (and women) of God? I purposed that these words would cause me to measure my achievability, relevance, and specificity to work within the time given so that I should review and revise what I must do.
John 3:18 tells us, ‘Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.’
It’s critical for us to begin our journey from the right place, to believe in His Name alone. Jesus’ authority rested with His submission to the Father. Likewise, we must submit to His will, for our authority rests with our submission.
May our faith purify our heart, causing us to draw near to Him when we’re far from Him. May our doubts, which come and go, never have a hold on us; and may unbelief which causes us to make decisions as if there’s no God, making us impure and leaving us far from God, be completely removed in our lives.
Just as being tempted is not equal to committing sin, so doubt is not equal to unbelief. In Mark 9:23-24 Jesus said to the father, “If you can believe, all things are possible for him who believes.” Immediately the father cried out, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Faith and doubt can co-exist and be expressed along our journey, but we must know how to navigate so we may finish 2022 as the Holy Spirit directs.
May Christ Jesus wrap Himself around us so we can see the possibilities and be inspired to do His will, in His Name – Who is the only Son of God!
