Chapter Eight
New Year's Blessing 2016
My Prayer:
My Lord, Jesus, my enlightening, forgiving, and appropriate God who goes before me, You have revealed and taught me to discern and recognize Your truth. In each event of my life, Your teachings come alive in my whole body, soul, and spirit. You guide me and empower me to distinguish what to do in every situation. When I memorize Your powerful and living Word of truth and hide it deep down in my heart, it is extremely profitable for me. You give me Your understanding to walk through life's doors with confidence and with Your shining light of what I have learned. You have taught and empowered me to utilize the instructions, which You have given me, in what I should do for You. My intimate knowledge of Your will guides me in Your way and because of You, I can discern Your will and the way I should go. My excellent relationship with You allows me to remember Your Scriptures and allows me to put into practice what I have learned, which You have given me. You show me every step of the process and every right move to make. Your knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, which I have held in my heart, give me Your immediate insight, that I would take the proper action in any and every situation—even in temptations and crisis.
You did it again Lord! You went before us in court. We had a lady who was renting from us who was giving us problems. We prayed for her, that You would help her. In one problem we had with her, we had to call the police on her because she was causing a ruckus at two in the morning. The very next evening, I had two belts that I needed to take to the front of the house where my grandson was staying. When I got down there the smoke alarm was going off. I heard that it was coming from this problematic roommate's room. I ran around to her door but it was locked because she wasn't there. I could see, through her window, that there was a fire in the bathroom. She just so happened to be getting home right after I called the fire department. She opened the door to her room and I put out the fire myself. It was a small fire but You called me down there just in time before it became a big fire. The fire department arrived and said that it had started from the fan in the bathroom and from the heat from her stove. She had left them both running all day long. Lord, I know it was You who led me to that part of the house to hear the alarm. The day after the fire, we gave her a three-day notice to move out for disturbing the peace.
After the three days were up, she still refused to move out so we had to get a court order to get her out. The court order gave her another week and she had the choice to come to court on the assigned date or to move out immediately. When the day of court came, she ended up coming. She decided that she wanted to take us to trial. This could cost every one money; her and our family. We had no idea what she was thinking because we knew that she would easily lose in trial. We decided to bring our neighbor with us as a witness of what she had been doing. We didn't know much about evictions but our neighbor sure did!
Before our hearing started our neighbor said, “Let me go talk to her and see if I can get her to settle so we don't have to go to trial. I'll tell her about how much a trial is going to cost plus the back rent and an eviction on her record.” It took hours for us to settle with her but we eventually came to terms and there was no need for a trial. We still had to go before the judge. The judge gave us what we needed. He sentenced her to move out on a specific date, that the space was to be clean and orderly when she left, and that her rent was to be caught up before her move-out date. We also agreed not to charge her any late charges or utilities. The neighbor that went with us to court came by afterwards. He replaced the toilet, replaced the fan, and cleaned up the bathroom. You are so wonderful Lord! You are our Protector. You put Your angels around us and around our home.
The night of the fire I didn't speak very kindly to her and You dealt with me about my tongue. You put me under great conviction, I surrendered to You, and I asked You and her to forgive me for all the stuff I had said. In the end, she and I both got blessed. You got her a new place to live and I got her moved out. Through You, I was able to give her grace and mercy concerning the late charges and utilities, which she owed. You said, “Don't worry. What the enemy steals, I will return to you a hundred-fold in My perfect timing.” You then laid it upon my heart to write a contract about my tongue to You because of what I had said to her...
Contract for Controlling my Tongue
Dear Lord, This is what You taught me about the tongue. It all starts in the very beginning of time, at creation. It is here where we see that when You began our world it wasn't Your wishes, Your hopes, or Your thoughts that are Your creative power. It is Your speech! You said, “Let there be light…” (Genesis 1:3) and there was light. You said, “Let the land produce vegetation…” (Genesis 1:11) and seed bearing plants sprouted up. You said, “Let us create man in Our image…and let them rule over…all the earth.” (Genesis 1:26) and, greater than magic, man rose from the dust of the earth. Through these Scriptures, I've discovered that it is solely Your voice that is the source of Your creative power; the root of Your creative power is speech.
Lord Jesus, You also taught me about my tongue from the book of Proverbs. This book is believed to have been written primarily by a man named Solomon. Solomon was a king and was the wealthiest and wisest man of his day and some believe of all time. He taught mostly of wisdom—the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment—and how to live Godly lives through meditating on wise thoughts. The Scripture about the tongue says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Proverbs 18:21) [KJV] Again, You showed me Your creative power exemplified through speech. Except this time, it is Your creative power in me! You, my Everlasting Father, have given me a portion of the same creative power You possess. You have given me the ability to speak things into existence.
This principle is constantly at work, whether I choose to acknowledge it or not. I am either speaking life or death and I am eating the fruit of my words. When trouble comes my way I can either say, “This looks too hard to handle.” Or, I can say, “I got this! I am equipped to handle everything You place before me!” When I wake up in the morning, I can either say, “Today's gonna' be another one of those days.” Or, I can say, “Good morning God! Thank You for another breath of life! Today is another day, which You have created, and I will rejoice and be glad in it!” Whatever I choose to speak, that's what I'll get...life or death. Through You, I choose life!
Thank You for using these Scriptures to teach me about Your gift of creative power. You have given me the ability and free will to believe and to speak whatever I please. What I choose to believe will determine my words and my words will determine my life. This is how You designed the world to work. My God, now that I know this, I pray that You would empower me to choose my words wisely unto Your glory. Another Scripture You showed me, in Proverbs, says that, “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:24) [KJV] As I become increasingly mindful of my words, I believe and trust that I will indeed obtain my deepest righteous desires and advance toward fulfilling Your will for my life.
You are looking for people who are ready to move out of the natural and into the spiritual. This means standing firm on Your powerful and living Word of truth, regardless of what the world teaches us. The world will continue to tell us, “What you see is what you get.” But I have to remember that that's the world speaking. What do You say God? You say, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Proverbs 18:21) [KJV] It is my tongue, not my eyes; my speech, not what I see, which determines my future. As a follower of You, my Lord Jesus Christ, I am called to “...walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) [KJV] Therefore, I choose and it is my will to let this truth resonate deep within my heart and soul and to begin choosing my words wisely every day.
You did not create me to be ruled by the world. You gave me the power to rule over it! When I buy into, “What you see is what you get,” I am believing that this is the way things are and that there's nothing I can do about it. When I believe, “What you see is what you get,” I give the enemy an undeserved right to govern my reality. You have placed Your creation in my hands, not his! A more accurate statement, concerning the truth nature of reality, would be, “What I say is what I get.” I choose and it is my will to, with Your power, begin choosing my words more wisely because I have the power of life and death in my tongue. I can either glorify the enemy and worldly things with my words or You, my God, and holy things. True faith requires taking my beliefs to new heights by speaking them out. By signing this contract I am coming into agreement with what You say, Lord Jesus Christ God Almighty, in Your powerful and living Word of truth about the tongue. By signing this contract, I commit myself to speaking Your Godly, holy, and life-filled words every day. I believe that You will fulfill Your promise to empower me to speak life-filled words every day. Not my will, but Your will, Lord Jesus, in my life at all times. I thank You and I pray in Your name, Jesus Christ. So be it. Amen! Your servant forever,
x________________________________
New Year's Blessing 2016
My Prayer:
My Lord, Jesus, my enlightening, forgiving, and appropriate God who goes before me, You have revealed and taught me to discern and recognize Your truth. In each event of my life, Your teachings come alive in my whole body, soul, and spirit. You guide me and empower me to distinguish what to do in every situation. When I memorize Your powerful and living Word of truth and hide it deep down in my heart, it is extremely profitable for me. You give me Your understanding to walk through life's doors with confidence and with Your shining light of what I have learned. You have taught and empowered me to utilize the instructions, which You have given me, in what I should do for You. My intimate knowledge of Your will guides me in Your way and because of You, I can discern Your will and the way I should go. My excellent relationship with You allows me to remember Your Scriptures and allows me to put into practice what I have learned, which You have given me. You show me every step of the process and every right move to make. Your knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, which I have held in my heart, give me Your immediate insight, that I would take the proper action in any and every situation—even in temptations and crisis.
You did it again Lord! You went before us in court. We had a lady who was renting from us who was giving us problems. We prayed for her, that You would help her. In one problem we had with her, we had to call the police on her because she was causing a ruckus at two in the morning. The very next evening, I had two belts that I needed to take to the front of the house where my grandson was staying. When I got down there the smoke alarm was going off. I heard that it was coming from this problematic roommate's room. I ran around to her door but it was locked because she wasn't there. I could see, through her window, that there was a fire in the bathroom. She just so happened to be getting home right after I called the fire department. She opened the door to her room and I put out the fire myself. It was a small fire but You called me down there just in time before it became a big fire. The fire department arrived and said that it had started from the fan in the bathroom and from the heat from her stove. She had left them both running all day long. Lord, I know it was You who led me to that part of the house to hear the alarm. The day after the fire, we gave her a three-day notice to move out for disturbing the peace.
After the three days were up, she still refused to move out so we had to get a court order to get her out. The court order gave her another week and she had the choice to come to court on the assigned date or to move out immediately. When the day of court came, she ended up coming. She decided that she wanted to take us to trial. This could cost every one money; her and our family. We had no idea what she was thinking because we knew that she would easily lose in trial. We decided to bring our neighbor with us as a witness of what she had been doing. We didn't know much about evictions but our neighbor sure did!
Before our hearing started our neighbor said, “Let me go talk to her and see if I can get her to settle so we don't have to go to trial. I'll tell her about how much a trial is going to cost plus the back rent and an eviction on her record.” It took hours for us to settle with her but we eventually came to terms and there was no need for a trial. We still had to go before the judge. The judge gave us what we needed. He sentenced her to move out on a specific date, that the space was to be clean and orderly when she left, and that her rent was to be caught up before her move-out date. We also agreed not to charge her any late charges or utilities. The neighbor that went with us to court came by afterwards. He replaced the toilet, replaced the fan, and cleaned up the bathroom. You are so wonderful Lord! You are our Protector. You put Your angels around us and around our home.
The night of the fire I didn't speak very kindly to her and You dealt with me about my tongue. You put me under great conviction, I surrendered to You, and I asked You and her to forgive me for all the stuff I had said. In the end, she and I both got blessed. You got her a new place to live and I got her moved out. Through You, I was able to give her grace and mercy concerning the late charges and utilities, which she owed. You said, “Don't worry. What the enemy steals, I will return to you a hundred-fold in My perfect timing.” You then laid it upon my heart to write a contract about my tongue to You because of what I had said to her...
Contract for Controlling my Tongue
Dear Lord, This is what You taught me about the tongue. It all starts in the very beginning of time, at creation. It is here where we see that when You began our world it wasn't Your wishes, Your hopes, or Your thoughts that are Your creative power. It is Your speech! You said, “Let there be light…” (Genesis 1:3) and there was light. You said, “Let the land produce vegetation…” (Genesis 1:11) and seed bearing plants sprouted up. You said, “Let us create man in Our image…and let them rule over…all the earth.” (Genesis 1:26) and, greater than magic, man rose from the dust of the earth. Through these Scriptures, I've discovered that it is solely Your voice that is the source of Your creative power; the root of Your creative power is speech.
Lord Jesus, You also taught me about my tongue from the book of Proverbs. This book is believed to have been written primarily by a man named Solomon. Solomon was a king and was the wealthiest and wisest man of his day and some believe of all time. He taught mostly of wisdom—the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment—and how to live Godly lives through meditating on wise thoughts. The Scripture about the tongue says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Proverbs 18:21) [KJV] Again, You showed me Your creative power exemplified through speech. Except this time, it is Your creative power in me! You, my Everlasting Father, have given me a portion of the same creative power You possess. You have given me the ability to speak things into existence.
This principle is constantly at work, whether I choose to acknowledge it or not. I am either speaking life or death and I am eating the fruit of my words. When trouble comes my way I can either say, “This looks too hard to handle.” Or, I can say, “I got this! I am equipped to handle everything You place before me!” When I wake up in the morning, I can either say, “Today's gonna' be another one of those days.” Or, I can say, “Good morning God! Thank You for another breath of life! Today is another day, which You have created, and I will rejoice and be glad in it!” Whatever I choose to speak, that's what I'll get...life or death. Through You, I choose life!
Thank You for using these Scriptures to teach me about Your gift of creative power. You have given me the ability and free will to believe and to speak whatever I please. What I choose to believe will determine my words and my words will determine my life. This is how You designed the world to work. My God, now that I know this, I pray that You would empower me to choose my words wisely unto Your glory. Another Scripture You showed me, in Proverbs, says that, “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:24) [KJV] As I become increasingly mindful of my words, I believe and trust that I will indeed obtain my deepest righteous desires and advance toward fulfilling Your will for my life.
You are looking for people who are ready to move out of the natural and into the spiritual. This means standing firm on Your powerful and living Word of truth, regardless of what the world teaches us. The world will continue to tell us, “What you see is what you get.” But I have to remember that that's the world speaking. What do You say God? You say, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Proverbs 18:21) [KJV] It is my tongue, not my eyes; my speech, not what I see, which determines my future. As a follower of You, my Lord Jesus Christ, I am called to “...walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) [KJV] Therefore, I choose and it is my will to let this truth resonate deep within my heart and soul and to begin choosing my words wisely every day.
You did not create me to be ruled by the world. You gave me the power to rule over it! When I buy into, “What you see is what you get,” I am believing that this is the way things are and that there's nothing I can do about it. When I believe, “What you see is what you get,” I give the enemy an undeserved right to govern my reality. You have placed Your creation in my hands, not his! A more accurate statement, concerning the truth nature of reality, would be, “What I say is what I get.” I choose and it is my will to, with Your power, begin choosing my words more wisely because I have the power of life and death in my tongue. I can either glorify the enemy and worldly things with my words or You, my God, and holy things. True faith requires taking my beliefs to new heights by speaking them out. By signing this contract I am coming into agreement with what You say, Lord Jesus Christ God Almighty, in Your powerful and living Word of truth about the tongue. By signing this contract, I commit myself to speaking Your Godly, holy, and life-filled words every day. I believe that You will fulfill Your promise to empower me to speak life-filled words every day. Not my will, but Your will, Lord Jesus, in my life at all times. I thank You and I pray in Your name, Jesus Christ. So be it. Amen! Your servant forever,
x________________________________
