It's almost time to welcome in 2017.
Haggai 2:9 declares that; “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the Lord Almighty. “And in this place I will grant peace,” declares the Lord Almighty.’”
1 Peter 2:9 states; “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
2017 is a year to experience the Glory of God and the ‘wonderful light’ of his Kingdom like never before.
I continue to reflect on Isaiah 60:1-3, a word we have had time and time again for the church:
“‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.’”
Jesus said in John 8:12, ‘“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” And in Matthew 5:14 He says to his disciples, “‘You are the light of the world.”
In Philippians 2:15-16, the apostle Paul encourages the church to, “become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’” When we live like this we will be able to shine in our generation “like stars in the sky.”
In this 21 days of prayer & fasting I want to encourage you to press in for a life-changing encounter with the light of Christ. An encounter transforms everything no matter our background or present circumstances.
One of the greatest opponents of Christianity who became one of its greatest leaders literally saw the light on a road to Damascus in Syria. Acts 26:13-18 records the story of the conversion of the apostle Paul: “About noon, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet….I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light…”
I believe that if we come humbly and earnestly with an open heart and passionately seek the Lord in these 21 days, our 2017 be radically transformed by, and for, the Glory of God.
Pastor Wes
For more details on the 21 days of prayer & fasting, please read the briefing here. You can find the info for all of the events here. Your first time of fasting? Start with our guide to Word, Prayer & Fasting here.