We’ve had snow, sleet, ice and extreme cold temperatures. We know this is not a permanent situation. We have knowledge of the established weather patterns for our area, because we can all to remembrance the past history we know our current condition is only a temporary thing. It’s passing, but during the present it has many far reaching effects. We’ve had to dress warmer, turn up the thermostat, sometimes limit our travel, businesses, schools and churches closed and are affected by the immediate conditions, but even after the weather has passed there will be effects. We may have stayed home more, which as a direct effect on our grocery bills and also affecting the food businesses. Children possibly will have a snow day in school at a later date when they’ve long forgotten the snowball fights and the snowmen they made. We adjusted our heat to be more comfortable, but when the bill comes due we may have forgotten the unusually cold weather and ask ourselves why is the bill higher than usual. Those who live in the north have a different plan; those who live in the south have a different summer plan or life. So it is with our lives, we have a plan that for the most part works for us a long as there are no unexpected changes.

The Lord is invading our lives and our plans with His presence. May times His presence has immediate effects and at other times there is the ripple effect, such as throwing a pebble into a pond. When we’re touched by the ripples many times we’ve long forgotten the original incident that set things in motion.

The consistent theme for the year 2008 is one of new beginnings, new doors, new gates and also a new gait, a new way of walking. Through it all we will walk in a new way. In order to enter into the new we are consistently brought back to some of the old. We’ve experienced some hardship, disappointments, unexpected events and intense resistance even in the first days of this year, our new beginnings. The Lord is using this time to bring to our attention these forgotten incidents that have had a ripple effect or a consequence in our lives. In His goodness and His mercy He desires to show us events in our life that we’ve forgotten - thinking they are such small things. It is those events that are producing some of the waves we’ve experienced as we’ve looked for new things. When past events are taken to the cross they may not have an immediate effect on our today, but they certainly will on our tomorrows. We may have unknowingly thrown many pebbles into our lives, but we know that when the Rock - Jesus Christ comes into our lives there are continual effects bringing our new beginning as well as our destiny.

We indeed have crossed over into a new beginning, doors have been unlocked, gates are opening and all of the other promised things, but we may be distracted by some of the ripples that seem to be never ending from the past. But we are not to loose heart and become weary in well doing. All things are working together for our good as we are the called of the Lord. It just may not look like or feel like what we have anticipated.

God has answered our prayers, but we must not lose sight that sometime answerers are delayed as the answer has yet to break through. God has given us the authority to decree His purpose in the earth. The first new beginning we will step into is a new way of talking that will line up with our new gait. Yes, there are opposing forces at the gate, but greater is He than is in me than he who thinks he holds the hinge or latch on the gate. We have, are and will over come by the Blood of the Lamb and by the Word of our Testimony. This is season to position ourselves to see what the Lord would say.

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