“Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.  That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross:  He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse.”  (Galatians 3:13-14 The Message)

 Yeah Jesus!  By becoming a curse for us, He dissolved the curse.  He broke the curse of sin and the law, which brings death.  He dismantled the curse of sickness and poverty – every curse of the enemy, crushed under His feet.  Every evil thing the enemy would seek to use against us, defeated.

 The enemy came to steal, kill and destroy.  Jesus came to bring victory, life and abundance.  He came to bring Heaven to earth.  Jesus’ death brought blessing, healing, provision, peace and freedom – every good thing!

 Through Him, we are free to live in freedom – no longer slaves to sin, no longer slaves to the human effort of trying to reach God and work our way into heaven.  He reached down and took hold of us. 

 He offers us this life; we just receive it.  He makes us “new creations,” with new desires.  He gives us “everything we need” both spiritually and physically.  He declares that everything in heaven belongs to us.  He makes us heirs of everything He owns.

 We don’t always see the reality of this in our day-to-day lives, but, non-the-less, it is there for the taking.  Truthfully, the fact that we don’t always walk in these freedoms and blessings is frustrating and often difficult to understand, but we do live with a great hope. 

 We have hope, like no other, that one day, when we see Him face to face, everything will be put right.  No curse will ever again prevail over us.  Forevermore, we will walk in freedom, joy and peace.  Every tear, every pain, every sorrow will end.  Forever we will be in the presence of the One who made us and loves us like no other.

 I can’t wait for that day!

“We can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives by the Holy Spirit.”  (Romans 5:5 Msg)

 What father does not want to give their child good things?  What father does not wish they were able to give more?  We, as earthly parents, delight in blessing our children.  We want the best for them, and because of our love for them, would do most anything to protect them.

 If we, as earthly parents, are like this, how much more is our Father in heaven?  In the Word it says that it is His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom.  He finds pleasure in giving to us!  He desires to give us everything we need and more, and in truth, He has.  We just need to receive it!

 We are so blessed as children of God.  We need to understand what we really have in Him.  Through Him , we have a full and abundant life.  We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Heavenly places.  We have everything we need for life and godliness.  We have everything in the Kingdom – life, provision, healing and protection.  We have been given many great and precious promises, which in Him are “yes and amen.”  I could go on and on.

 God, the Father, wants to give all of this to you and more.  He wants this coming year to be a year of blessing and abundance.  He not only wants to meet all of your needs, but He also wants to give you the desires of your heart, as you delight in Him.  That is the key – to delight in Him.

 So may 2012 be a year of blessing and abundance and the fulfillment of desires, as of yet unfulfilled, as you make this a year when, above all, your delight is in Him, who knows you, unreservedly, who loves you, unconditionally and who blesses you, undeservedly. 

 The greatest thing we can give to Him is our hearts – our love, our adoration.  That is what He desires and deserves above all – love, intimacy, relationship with the ones He gave His all for. 

 May this be a year of focus on just that.  Not just serving Him, but loving Him with all our heart, mind and strength.  What better way to serve Him, than to love Him?

Psalm 62:10 “Though your riches increase, do not set your hearts on them.”

 We live in a world today that is so focused on money and possessions.  We are constantly bombarded with messages on how to get rich, or with what we need to buy.  The goal of many is to gain more, become wealthier, to “keep up with the Joneses,” or more likely to get ahead of the Joneses.

 Don’t get me wrong.  I am not saying it’s wrong to be wealthy or to seek for that, if your motive is pure.  I believe God delights in blessing us, when we have a heart to give.  He blesses us, not just so we can get more stuff we don’t need, but so we can be a blessing to others – especially the poor, the widows, the orphans and those in need.  That’s where the heart of God is, and that is where He wants our hearts to be.  When we have a heart to bless others, I believe God will bless us.

 The danger when we increase in wealth is to set our hearts on those riches.  Over and over, in the Old Testament, we see kings who gained much wealth and recognition and whose hearts became proud as a result.  In every instance, God eventually brought them down.  Pride always proceeds a fall.

 It’s easy to get comfortable when our riches increase.  We relax; we think we’ve got it made.  We have money in the bank, money for our retirement and everything’s gonna be okay.  We think, “God must be pleased with us because our finances are blessed.”

 But we need to keep trusting in our Father, not just in times of lack but also when we have much.  One of the names of God is Jehovah-Jireh, which means God our provider.  Do you believe God is your provider?  Is He your source or are you trusting in your own strength and abilities to provide?  Are you trusting in your job or your RRSP’s?

 Any abilities we have come from the hand of God.  For “it is our God who gives us the ability to make wealth.”  “Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father.” God delights in blessing His children, but we must constantly remind ourselves that He is our source.  In times of abundance, He is our Source.  In times of lack, He is our Source!

 “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Sometimes God will allow us to go through a time of lack, in order to test what is in our hearts.  Are we trusting in Him?  Abundance can also test our hearts.  Are we praising God for everything He gives us and are we faithful with those things?  Do we keep finances for ourselves, or are we blessing others?  Do we live in extravagance, or do we live with less so we can pour into the lives of others?

 There is nothing wrong with seeking for blessed finances, but let’s seek with pure motives.  Let’s not set our hearts on riches, but let us seek to be, first and foremost, a blessing to others – especially to the poor and downtrodden.  The Word says when we give to the poor we lend to the Lord.

 “Lord, would you show us how we can be a blessing to those who are on your heart?  Help us to be generous people.  Help us to trust You with our finances, whether we have little or much.  Help us to show that trust by our giving.  I thank You that You are our source.  Even when we come to a point where we cannot work, it doesn’t matter, because we look to you as our provider.  We trust in You.