Alycia Burton came to know Christ, that changed her life.

“Living free ‘In Christ’ is being free to choose to live in total dependence on the Lord.”

I was pondering the issue of free will and what it means to live in total dependence on the Lord. Then I remembered these videos of Alycia and her horse. The relationship of this horse with her illustrates beautifully an important principle.

The stallion is obviously free but ‘chooses’ freely to be in a relationship with her and submit to her will and purposes.

I’m finding this year’s devotional ‘Journey with Me’ by Catherine Campbell very challenging. In 1 Kings 19 Elisha is plowing, the twelfth of twelve pairs of oxen. Elijah comes up to him and throws his mantle on his shoulders as God has commanded him to do. Elisha’s first reaction to Elijah’s call is to ask for time to ‘kiss his father and his mother’.

In response to Elijah’s negative reaction Elisha sacrificed his oxen and left to follow Elijah and minister to him. Catherine in her application voices this prayer.

“Lord help me not to be afraid of what You are asking me to do today. If bridges need to be burned, may I be willing! Amen”

Is your longing for a deeper and more intimate walk with the Lord? Are you truly seeking Him?

Chris Tiegreen puts these words into the mouth of God.

“The offer stands—always. Your hunger and zeal will keep you pressing toward Me in faith, and I am a rewarder of those who diligently seek Me. If you choose—if you are persistent in faith and refuse to become discouraged—then the promise I gave ages ago will continue to be fulfilled to you and to anyone else in your generation who asks. You will experience My Spirit abundantly.

“Ask for this. I told you to seek first My Kingdom, and this is the highest priority in that search. The Kingdom must come in you before it comes through you. Don’t look for the Kingdom around you without looking for it deep inside. I will pour out My Spirit—My perspectives, My thoughts, My power, My heart—within you. Only believe. And then be open to whatever I do.”

Chris Tiegreen writes in ‘Hearing His Voice’ my devotional book for this year.

“Make it a habit to listen in the morning for whatever verses God gives you and whatever impressions He whispers into your spirit. Write them down. They may seem random at the time, but if you review them at the end of the day, you may find a correlation between what He said and what you experienced. Not only will this encourage you in times of need, but it will confirm that you are hearing God’s voice – and that He goes before you to bless you.” Psalm 139:5

In that context my thoughts often turn to Deuteronomy 10:8 (NASB).

“At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him and to bless in His name until this day.”

Thinking about the implications of this verse for us today…

We carry the presence of the Lord with us wherever we go.

We are to stand daily in His presence to discern His heart and ways.

We are to serve Him as He leads.

We are to bless others in His name.

May you walk in His presence this year, hearing His voice and available for anything He may purpose through you.

Billy Graham writes some thought provoking words in his devotional; ‘Hope for Each Day’

“What are your thoughts as you look back over the past year? Was it a year of heartache and loss, tragedy and sorrow? Or happiness and joy, success and achievement? Or something in between? Do you close the book on this year with regret or with relief?

No matter what your answer is, I hope you will pause and prayerfully ask yourself two important questions.

• First, how do you think God looks on this past year in your life? Did it bring you any closer to Him? Did it expose any weaknesses or find you wandering from His way? Was He disappointed in your responses to its challenges?

• Second, what lessons will you take from this year into the next? What did God teach you? What did He try to teach you? What needs to change –and how will it happen?

Don’t be bound by the past and it’s failures, but don’t forget it’s lessons either. Like Paul, forget the past and press on in obedience to Christ.”

Have a truly blessed 2017.

My devotional readings this year are taken from ‘Hope for Each Day’ by Billy Graham. Yesterday I read this: “We have learned to harness the power of the atom, but very few of us have learned how to fully develop the power of prayer. We have not yet learned that a man can be more powerful on his knees than behind the most powerful weapons ever developed.

We have not learned that a nation is more powerful when it unites in earnest prayer to God than when its resources are channeled into weapons. We have not discovered that the answer to our problems can come through contact with the living God.

Weapons by themselves will not keep us safe or solve the world’s problems. Our basic problems are spiritual in nature, and only spiritual solutions will solve them. That is why prayer is so vital, for only God can change the human heart.

Who knows what might happen if millions of believers around the world availed themselves of the greatest privilege this side of Heaven – the privilege of intercessory prayer? Will you be one of them?” Billy Graham

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

Billy Graham writes, in relation to this verse, one of the most challenging devotions I have read for a long time. He says…

“Jesus demands to be Master and Lord of every part of your life.

Is He Lord of your mind, of what you think, read and believe? Of what you dream about, meditate on and entertain yourself with?

Is Jesus the Master and Lord of your body? Are you presenting it to Christ as a living sacrifice? Do your eyes belong to Christ? What about your ears? Your mouth? Your hands? Your feet? Your sexual urges? Our eyes can be covetous and never satisfied. Our tongues can do unspeakable harm. Our hands can do the work of the devil. Our feet can take where we shouldn’t go. And our sexuality can get us into trouble before we know it.

Is Jesus the Master and Lord of your social life – your friendships, your relationships and your amusements?
Ask yourself these questions when making your plans: “Can I ask God’s blessing on this? Can I do this to the glory of God? Or will this be a stumbling block to me or someone else?””

Christ became the Bridge for us, making restoration with the Father possible. Today we have the privilege of abiding in Him. Of this relationship Anne Graham Lotz writes…

John 15:4, NKJV “The branches of a vine “abide” by just remaining connected to the vine. Permanently. Consistently. Day after day, week after week, year after year. They simply rest in their position, allowing the sap of the vine to flow freely through them. They exert no effort of their own. The fruit that is subsequently borne on the branch is actually produced by the life-giving sap within.