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ATTRACTIVE MESSAGE FOR 2023 OR TRUTH?
(12/29/22)
Article by Joni Ames
Dear Friends,
Almost every year around this time, the prophecies will come that it is a year of breakthrough. Almost as if it’s a magic wand type of event.
More than getting an attractive message for 2023, we need truth that sets us free.
So I just want to say, breakthrough comes as a result of consistent faith, hard work, and dedication. It’s a result of PRESSING THROUGH to the mark of the prize.
“(13) Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
(14) I PRESS toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 3:13-14)
Is breakthrough possible? Yes, but there are no short cut magic tricks. It’s about faith and patience. When we do our part, God does His.
“See that you do not become sluggish (lazy), but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
(Hebrews 6:12)
It’s about not giving up, no matter how many times you fail. Because if you quit, you’ll never win. But if you get back up, and get going, you eventually will see breakthrough come.
My personal saying is, “If you let anything start stopping you, it will never stop stopping you. So don’t let it start.”
So yes, breakthrough is possible and is coming for those of you who have done so.
What do you desire from God for this new year? What are you willing to invest of yourself into it?
I was talking to a businessman friend of mine in California the other day, and he said he has one question he likes to ask his people. That question is, “What
do you want (or need) to get out of today? Or this week, month, or year?”
He reminds them that every need/problem you have is someone else’s solution.
Likewise often your solution is finding the answer to someone else’s need/problem. As we help each other our needs also get met.
Many times the things we go through become our testimony and the fuel to help someone else get up and get going again.
We need each other.
Many years ago, Barbra Streisand had a song called People. It states, “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”
Trying to walk through life alone creates a sad, dark existence. Many famous people have lost hope and given up on life because of loneliness.
Even if we have relatives who prefer their circle of friends rather than us, we can still create our own circle. Jesus did.
Jesus pointed to a crowd and said that they were his family.
“(48) Jesus answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” (49) And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!
(50) For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
(Matthew 12:49-50)
At another time He stated:
“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29)
Loneliness is often of our own choosing. It’s selfish. It’s ingredients is self related. A cure for it is when we decide to focus on making someone else’s day better.
As a young single mother with two tiny children in 1985, I moved to the Carolinas. I had no help from anyone while raising them. I clung to those verses.
I did not cling to them to obtain anything except family in the body of Christ. Not just for myself, but to help fill a void for others too.
I would open my home (whether a small apartment or mobile home) every chance I had - especially a holiday - and invite anyone who was lonely. I didn’t have a lot of money or resources. I would just say, “Bring a dish if you can, but if not, God will provide through those who can.” And He did. One may bring a can of beans, another a pack of hot dogs, another a loaf of bread, or a box of macaroni and cheese, while someone else brought a cake they baked. There was always more than enough for everyone. And always a whole lot of love to be shared. Many of those who came are family to me even now.
It’s not about what life hands you. It’s about what you do with it that matters.
Life is mostly about what we make of it. Not what we’re handed or gain materially.
It’s about being family - the true church.
In this new year we are being given, we have an opportunity to shine during a dark time in history. And in the midst of that, to have some of the best times we’ve experienced.
What will we do with it?
What will we do with the people God has surrounded us with?
How will we use the resources He has already given to us?
On the Jewish calendar, the numbers have meaning and indicate what is ahead. It is 5783 and means a time of declaration and a season of retribution/paybacks.
That can mean both good and bad. We will continue to see big mouth people declaring false and terrible things. But we will also continue to see godly people declaring the word of the Lord unashamedly and gaining a harvest of souls.
We will see those who have done wrong receive their just rewards. But we will also see those who have stood strong in the Lord flourish. Paybacks all the same.
Economic systems will continue to fluctuate. It’s just a part of life. You do not need a prophetic word about it to know what’s coming. The financial strategists and forecasters are paid a lot of money to study and let us know what’s ahead.
Most importantly, the Bible tells us in Matthew 24 what to expect. Then in Matthew 25 He lets us know what He expects of and will judge us by in this season and instructs us to get our own oil and take care of one another.
There are those who are dredging up and regurgitating old prophecies for the new year. But if you really want to know what’s going to be going on, read your Bible. Don’t be sucked into a vortex of fear, speculation, and crystal ball type of thinking.
What is in the Bible is enough to scare folks anyway.
Some are spreading fears regarding artificial intelligence. Others are spreading fears about a possible EMP attack on our power grids. But an EMP attack may well end what artificial intelligence tries to cook up.
So what should we do?
Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus, my friends. He’s still the best player in the game. The best answer to it all.
Despite all that’s going on out there, trust Him. Yes, trust Jesus. He’s the best financial forecaster or prophet there is. And His Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Don’t fear nor lose heart. He will direct your path. And as He does, you and your family will bask in His love, grace, and goodness and be taken care of and flourish in the land of the Living.
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.”
(Psalm 27:13)
“You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance.
(Psalm 65:11)
The best IS yet to come!
Blessings & Love in Jesus,
Joni Ames
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Joni Ames has been in itinerant prophetic ministry over 25 years, traveling and encouraging the Body of Christ. She does so totally by faith. If you would like to send a non tax deductible love gift to her, this is how:
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