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Wednesday, December 31
Ebenezer? Who is that? No, not Scrooge. This Ebenezer was a what, not a who. In the Bible, Ebenezer means stone of help. It’s purpose? Let’s see…
At one time in Israel’s history, when they faced the Philistines, Samuel and Israel fasted, prayed, repented, and offered a sacrifice. God answered their plea by confusing and defeating the enemy that pursued them. To commemorate the fact that Israel was victorious and recovered all the territory the enemy had taken, Samuel set up a stone as a marker of remembrance.
When he did this, he exclaimed, “Up to this point the LORD has helped us!” (1 Samuel 7:12 NLT) Samuel, whose name meant heard of God, knew the Lord would hear them and be on their side in the future.
The Lord’s hand remained against the Philistines as peace reigned throughout the land. The enemy never came into the territory of Israel again all the days of Samuel.
Did the enemy pursue you this past year as he did me? In the midst of all the raging storms against my life, God’s hand was evident to me. Did you experience the Lord’s presence with you? I felt His canopy of caring covering me. Were you aware of it over you? Did He provide shelter and sustenance, even if in quantities less than desired? Yes, He did for me.
Through all the contrary times, through sickness, through loss, through poverty, through grief, through trials, through temptations…the Lord has provided up to this point.
May we not halt or destroy God’s plans for the future, for, out of the old, a newness arises through His regenerating grace, creating all things afresh, as God said through Isaiah, “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Is. 43:19 NKJV)
Will there be room in the New Year for the Lord to do a new thing in our lives, or will we be filled with last year’s leftovers? Therefore, let us not carry into the New Year the baggage of regrets, unforgiveness, resentments, failures, ungrateful hearts, or disappointments in others or in ourselves, all of which weigh down our usefulness.
As He stands in the present, He is poised, firmly fixed between the years, His presence casting a shadow over the past year, concealing its troubles, sorrows, and disappointments and transforming all the old…the old attitudes, the old habits, and the old ways, into something new.
As the light of His guidance beams across the New Year, illuminating the passage into the land of the unknown, His road will take you through each dry wilderness to streams of fresh, flowing water.
Will you stand bravely at its threshold, ready, willing, and obedient to follow the Lord, no matter where He may lead? Will your attitude be to enter His portal with thanksgiving, remembering His goodness over the past year, and to ask His blessings over the coming year?
Instead of resolutions, set goals and ask yourself these questions:
* How many lacking souls can I replenish?
* How many heavy-ladened spirits can I encourage?
* How many grieving hearts can I console this year?
* How many lost ones can I introduce to salvation?
To commemorate your year of the Lord’s goodness and your victory and recovery of all the territory the enemy has tried to take from you, set up an Ebenezer stone…the Lord, “The Stone of Israel,” the Rock of your salvation.
May the Lord’s shadow of forgiveness conceal the disappointments and troubles of your year now past, while His light is cast as a beacon of guidance to His safe haven of the days yet to be explored. May His hand be against your enemy and His peace reign all your days.
As “the LORD Himself watches over you,” I pray that the His hand will be upon your household “from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year,” that His comfort and blessings fill every room of your home so that the sounds of joy can be “heard far in the distance,” and that He will “preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.”
May His servants Goodness and Mercy pursue you throughout the days to come.
Have a very happy New Year!
~~Blessings, Lynn~~
Oh Lynn, I was just in the middle of writing a new posting about how I, all of a sudden - this afternoon, have been attacked, and a flood of all the horridness of this year past surrounded me distracting me from all hope. I stopped to write in my journal and when I finished, I went back to my blog and noticed your new posting!
Abba has caught my eye and my heart with His Truth and Hope by the words you have written. Thank you. Thank you Lord! Isaiah 43:19 spoke straight to my heart and I am so thankful for your perspective about the year past, to leave it and to move forward, standing bravely at the threshold of 2009!
How easily I have let down my guard that the enemy of my soul could distract me so!
May God continue to use your words to bless others throughout the year to come.
Sincerely with hugs, ~mp:)
Awesome words Lynn! A blessing pronounced and also a ring of the prophetic. Let's get right and get ready!! Hallelujah :-)
Wonderful words, Lynn, and beautifully written. I'm inspired and plan to share your post with friends!!
Lynette
Wow. Lynn, there is so much here! Wonderful, beautiful words the challenge and encourage. I'll have to come back later to catch what my mind was incapable of absorbing this time. Happy New Year to you!
Oh, MistiPearl, you have no idea how you've touched my heart. I knew I had to get this posted at the exact moment I was impressed. The Lord is so awesome and His timing is set in perfection! Blessings to you for the New Year...
Oh, sweet Lorrie! Your words always bless me! Thank you so much! Blessings to you...
Lynette, What an awesome blessing...to have you share my writing with your friends! The Lord is so good. I am honored. Blessings...
My friend Tanya, My heart is bursting today from your precious words. May the Lord touch your heart with a special outpouring of His presence. Blessings...
After the year our family has had, this post gave me such hope and peace. I'm typing with tears in my eyes. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful devotion with us.
I'm copying this and reading it through the year when I feel particularly overwhelmed.
Thank you,Lynn, and thank you, Lynette for passing this on to me. :)
Lynn- what an amazing devotional. I know I get so focused on the worldly side of even being a Christian writer. How many books can I sell? Can I land a cntract? But what God wants us to focus on is just waht you said, especially replenishing new souls. Love that phrase. Thanks you- I needed this.
Trish
www.TrishBerg.com
Sabrina, I am overwhelmed what the Lord is doing with this devotion. I am so grateful to Him that He has used this to touch your heart. I pray the Lord will fill your New Year with abundant blessings and a special outpouring of His presence.
Trish, We all get so intent on a project, at one time or another, that it's easy to forget the Lord's plan for why we do it all...for His glory and the benefit of others! I am so grateful to Him that this has been of benefit to you, and I give Him all the glory! Blessings to you...
Fantastically encouraging post, Lynn. Thank you so much.
Crystal, Thank you so much for your precious words. You have made my heart very happy! Blessings to you...
This is a wonderful post! Thank you! It is so true that many of us will enter a new year with baggage from the last. Instead allowing the Lord to heal and restore us we carry unneccesary heavy burdens forgetting that it is not God's will for our life to be under these heavy weights.
May this new year give many a sense of a fresh start and a new beginning to draw closer to our Lord and become more rooted in His Word and His Love.
God bless you Lynn thank you for your words of encouragement they truly are edifying. xoxo's
Thank you Lynn, as always!!! Just this morning I started writing down the things I expect this coming year, the new things I have planned and the unknown things I know the Lord has in store for me. One was: I want to be so joyful that it scares people, haha! No matter how many disappointments I had last year, I want to be a beacon of light this coming year! I purposely choose not to be discouraged! Because He loves me!
Thank you for sharing your blog with me Lynn. It's lovely!! I will enjoy resting here.
Gail Rodgers
www.gailrodgers.ca
Lisa, Thank you so much for your wonderful comment. You so bless my heart. Blessings to you for a special year!
Marja, What a great goal! Be so joyful everyone will wonder and ask you why! Be blessed this year!
Bless you, Gail, for visiting my blog. I'm honored. May you have a very blessed New Year!
This is the perfect message for my family for '09. Mrs. Walk wanted a big rock for her flower bed in the front yard. It took a forklift to put it in place and after all was said and done, I told her it looked like a tombstone, but now it will be our "Stone of Remembrance" as a constant reminder of what God has done and will do in our lives.
Hey, Terry! Love this idea! So cool! Blessings...
Very nice post Lynn. As my life takes some very difficult and new turns this new year, this will stand as my encouragement. Thank you for sharing the blessings that God has given you. We are all blesses by them.
Chris
www.chrisdepewrites.com
Oh, Chris, thank you. You bless me. I will be praying for you in your new direction. May the Lord bless you!
What a word! Thank you for sharing that. I want to do such great things for the Lord. I'm ready for him to use me...and don't want any old remnants from last year--
I love your blog site and you are a great teacher of the word! God bless the work of your hands!
Oh, Duong! Thank you for those precious words. You so bless and honor me. The Lord is blessing my socks off with this word. I am overwhelmed! Blessings to you...
Lynn, thank you for your obedience in writing this post. This will help so many people to remember what God has already done for them. I will print it out and post the four questions on my mirror:
* How many lacking souls can I replenish?
* How many heavy-ladened spirits can I encourage?
* How many grieving hearts can I console this year?
* How many lost ones can I introduce to salvation?
Bless you.
There are those precious dimples! Thank you, sweet Diane! This just blesses me so much. Unbelievable! Blessings to you in the New Year!
Beautiful post! I so needed to read this today. Many blessings.
Oh, Julie, isn't God's timing awesome? He blows me away as He leads us to the things He knows will bless us or benefit us. So glad you stopped by today! Blessings to you...
Hey, Lynn! Just wanted to let you know this post is still resonating within me. I linked to it in my post today: http://inthedailies.blogspot.com/2009/01/mama-loves-answered-prayers.html