2023. Wow, time has flown. I
actually cannot believe that I am writing a message concerning
2023. It feels like yesterday that I wrote about 2022. And this
just reminded me that we must make most of our time. We shouldn't
take time for granted, but use every opportunity that we have to
further the Kingdom of God. It doesn't matter what our occupation
is, right there where we are we can make a difference.
I then had a look at what the
number '23' means in the 'Numbers Dictionary - A prophetic
understanding of numbers' book that I have and I found the
following:
"It symbolizes a call to preach
the Gospel It is a calling to church planting and breaking new
ground for the Church of Christ and the Kingdom of God where you
will receive supernatural power for that purpose. It is also a call
to preach repentance and to perform miracles in Jesus' Name. Number
23 shows that you will receive your reward if you live in harmony
with God (abiding in Him). This abiding presence of the Lord will
urge you to go forth and preach the Gospel to those that you are
sent to."
The only way that our country and
in fact the world around us will ever be a better place to live for
all of us is if the Gospel is preached and spread. When people
truly repent and follow God, then everything will turn around.
Corruption will disappear, crime will dissipate and racial hatred
will subside. It is therefore imperative that we all commit to the
spreading of His Word and His Kingdom. Whether it is physically
going and spreading the Word, or praying for the spreading and the
church leaders, or providing finances for the Word to be spread, or
volunteering in between your occupation, or being an evangelist
right there where you find yourself on a day to day basis. The time
has come that we all need to jump in and break new ground for
Him.
I also believe that in addition to
breaking new ground, we need to help cultivate ground that has
already received the Gospel. We need to watch what we say, how we
talk about our country, our leaders, how we fuel racial fire, how
we raise our children, what we watch on any media and so forth. We
need to look after the garden of our soul and live in harmony with
God, abiding with Him. And we can only abide in Him when we keep
our side clean through the examples mentioned above. Because when
we are filled with filth, we will still go to Heaven if we truly
gave our hearts to Christ, but we won't be able to walk close with
God and we will miss our reward. May that not be the case for us in
2023.
The end times are here. Jesus told
us that we will be able to recognize the signs of the end and it is
definitely here. The 'end times' can last a millennia still, or the
rapture can be tomorrow. The point is our main responsibility is to
spread His Gospel and to keep our own garden clean and without
weeds.
It is actually exciting times and I
for one look forward to 2023. I truly believe that God wants each
of us to walk in the mandate that He has fashioned for us even
before we were born. He wants His Kingdom to expand and He wants
His children to live as examples to the world of His goodness and
grace. He wants us to focus our thoughts on what is good and pure
(Philippians 4:8) and leave the rest to Him. He wants us to trust
Him. He wants us to look away from the scary things in the world
and the doom and gloom predictions and up to Him! He is our Light,
He is our way, He is our truth, and He is our Life. He is the One
who will open the Red Sea for us. Nothing is impossible for Him. Go
into this year with this mindset. Do not fear the future, but
embrace a sound mind and all that He has to offer us. Hallelujah!
All glory to Him!
Father thank you for the blessing
of a new year. Thank you for the reassurance that we can trust You.
We want to abide with You and live in harmony with You. For then we
can know that all things will work together for our good. We
dedicate this year to You. Help us to walk the narrow path and to
follow You in all our ways and to spread Your Gospel everywhere we
go. We love You. Amen