February 2020
Make It Happen
Hi Everyone,
I trust you all had a great Christmas, some timeout and plenty of refreshing family time. Most importantly, that you stayed safe and are now ready for the New Year, which comes whether we are ready or not. Let’s all work together to make it count for the glory of God.
There is no doubt that Christianity has moved into a new phase – I want to declare it a time of unprecedented infancy. Yes, you read right! That is truly what I believe. For me the sure sign of its infancy is the degree that so many churches and individuals are conforming to the ways of the world. When this happens, it is almost always the result of one thing – a lack of knowledge and/or value of the Word of God. Once that goes, and it has, the rest is a foregone conclusion. We cannot transform the world without a Biblical worldview and without being in the transformation process ourselves.
I read a book once about a place at God’s table. Well, there is certainly a place for everyone there, but currently it has a lot of empty seats. This is very sad. My study of history has taught me that an old paradigm must die off before a new paradigm can begin. I believe we are witnessing this very process right now. The old has not yet gone, so we cannot see what the new is going to be.
I can say with confidence, what it won’t be though. It will not be a season where the Eternal God, will become the ultimate participator in the human demand, requirements and endeavours. God refuses to conform, so we are stuck with either conforming to Him or living and working in the futile hope that we are the answer to this planet’s problems and that we don’t need His involvement or wisdom to help shape its future. His main passion and mission is to see everything created in His image and likeness. There is no plan B, so unless His people are prepared to make this paradigm shift, there is no way we are going to be able to “save the world.”
Many prophets in the Body of Christ are claiming that 2020 is going to be a year of perfect vision (get it – 20/20 vision). This means God is going to equip us with clear insights to His ways, so that we can know how to follow them. I am not convinced. I am actually sensing something very different for 2020. It is found in Haggai chapter one. I do not believe it is vision that we need – I believe it is faithfulness and obedience. This is what Haggai Chapter One is all about. Please read it for yourself, but let me give it to you in brief.
Hag. 1:5 – Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways!
Hag. 1:6 – “You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”
Our chief enemy is the subtle enticement of the world. We put it first, before the Kingdom of God and, as a result, God withdraws His blessing from our labours and endeavours. In the Body of Christ many good intentions are not carried out because, like the people Haggai was speaking to, it is claimed that it is not the right time or we don’t have the time right now.
All the while some amazing opportunities go begging as we are caught up pursuing the things of the world. If we labour only for that which perishes, we have wasted our labour.
If we want to really have the comfort and continuance of temporal enjoyments, which God wants to be part of with us, we must bring Him into them. He is not just there as our Master to make us serve Him – He is a loving Father and we are His beloved sons and daughters. He wants to connect with us in every way, including our fun and leisure, but the only way He will do this is if we put His Kingdom first. It is then, as Matthew 6:33 tells us, that all these other things will be added to us.
So here is a good question to start 2020 with. Where is the balance between your passion for the Kingdom of God, and your desire for your own projects, desires and possessions? Which takes up the most time? What occupies your thoughts most? How are you doing in terms of time/effort and results. If you are pouring a lot of energy into your life but not getting anywhere, it may suggest that “your wages are going into a purse full of holes.”
Rather than more vision I am praying for more passion to come to the Body of Christ – passion that leads us into the everlasting arms of the Father – a passion that desires above all else, to see an expression of His Kingdom in every arena of life.
Let’s shape up everyone – let’s make 2020 a year of great achievement. Put God’s Kingdom first – nothing else has owns the destiny and purpose He holds for each of us.
God bless,
Bruce Billington