Look towards God

I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8)

Praise be to the God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is kind and full of mercy and take care of his Children in critical hours, when circumstances around us become uncertain and it seems difficult to survive. But God always shows His power in our weakness to glorify His Son Jesus Christ. So I always give thanks to my Lord Christ for his wonderful love which is beyond the limit. And I also give thanks to Lord that last year in 2009, he kept me safe under his protection and lead me through His Spirit to glorify his name in the hours when all it seems impossible in the country like Pakistan, where I am working. So I am greatly thankful to Lord for his love and protection and after that I am greatly thankful to Holy Nation Team, especially my Mom, Mama Kim and Yoon Kwonsanim, because they are my partners and they have stood with me through thick and thin. I thank you with all of my heart for your support especially for your faithful prayers over the years. May God bless all of you so that 2010 will be a year of blessing for all of you. As we have already entered in the New Year so brothers and Sisters lets raise our prayers so that God fulfill his purpose in our lives to glorify his Son Jesus.

And during this year let's start to look towards God who is our heavenly Father who loves us. And God also longs for our love and intimacy, and He deserves our absolute love and surrender. He is the lover of our souls, and He wants to be in the life of each believer that's why he sent His Son Jesus for us.

I am convinced that life without Him is empty and meaningless. But life with our Lord Jesus is full, it is abundant, and it is joyful so that's why you have to look towards him in whatever situation you will be. But you don’t have to look back. I know the memories of the past are pleasant but these will lead you on the way to destruction. You don’t have to think about your old life. Just forget all about your old life and come out form your old life and in 2010 look towards God then He will bless you. God said in Iss. 43:18,

"Forget the former things and

 Do not dwell on the past"

So that's why you have to look towards Jesus.

Remember the life of Israelites, when God took Israel out of the Egypt to fulfill his promise that he made with his servant Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God was going to take them in the Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey. God took them through the wilderness. On the way to Promise land the Israelites grumbled against God. They were complaining to Moses. They started to look back. They started to think about their old lives. They were thinking about Egypt. That in Egypt, we had good food to eat, we had meat to eat daily. And they said to Moses, why you bring us here, so that we may die in the wilderness. Those people rebelled against God. They wanted to go back to Egypt. They were just thinking about their past. They forgot all that what God did for them in the Egypt. They were not looking to the future what God has planned for them. They forgot about God's miraculous work of redemption. They forgot that God's intimate presence will brings abundance. They forgot that God's intimate presence will bring blessings. They were just thinking about their old lives. So what God did with them? They all died in the wilderness. No one enter into the promise land except Joshua and Caleb. Because they obeyed the God, they put their faith in God and they looked toward God. So they entered into the promise land.

So brothers and sisters during this year in 2010 we have to look towards Jesus who is our redeemer and who love us and His deep love is immeasurable, boundless, free, and flowing deeper than a mighty ocean in its fullness over us. And we don’t have to look back but we have to look towards Jesus. When we look towards him, then he will be with us. And his intimate presence will be with us. His intimate presence is like a Holy Fire and when it becomes rich in our lives then he begins to bless us. And His intimate presence brings abundance and blessing in our lives.

God's word declares in Psalm 37: 18-19,

"The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever.

In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty"

No matter what happens in the world today, you can rest assured in His promise to take care of you. For the key to divine, godly prosperity is the presence of Jesus Himself. In His presence, there will be no need, no lack, and no bondage. Jesus gave us the secret to true biblical prosperity when He said, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).

He also gave us the secret of abundance when He said; "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10)

So brothers and sisters His presence brings abundance but not only abundance but also blessings.

Isaac knew that the Lord’s presence brings blessings so he obeyed the God's command and looked towards God. Gen. 26:1-3, says

Now there was a famine in the land--besides the earlier famine of Abraham's

time--and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar.

The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the

land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.  (Genesis 26:1-3).

Isaac was on his way to Egypt, following in the footsteps of his father, Abraham. Isaac believed that Egypt would sustain and help him. But God told him not to go to Egypt and directed his steps in a very different way. Isaac obeyed the Lord and stayed in the land while famine was all around him. He looked towards the God and believed in his Word.  And the Bible declares, “Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. (Genesis 26:12).

Imagine the remarkable picture of a man sowing amid desolate, barren famine. Sowing in the belief that God would provide a bountiful harvest, in spite of the famine gripping his homeland, Isaac’s actions must have looked unusual indeed. Most likely, his neighbors thought he was a madman to be sowing seed while the land was dry and dead. All he had to rely on was the promise of God: “I will be with you, and I will bless you.” He believed in God's word and so he looked towards the God. And God blessed him abundantly.

He knew that when the Lord is with us, no death and no famine can stop His abundance from coming our way. That’s why Isaac sowed in famine, sowed seed in a land struck by death. But because God was with him, the land revived and yielded a hundredfold harvest. God even revealed a hidden spring, and Isaac found water in every well that he dug.

Jesus will do the same with you once you make Him your Source, when you start look toward him and when you give yourself in his holy presence then he will also bless you abundantly and abundance will come on your way. Because hundredfold blessing exists only when Jesus comes. He is the Source of it. He is the way to it. And His presence is the key. .

So brothers and sisters in 2010 don't look back like Israelite but look towards the God like Isaac, who believed in God's word and sowed in the famine with belief. When you look towards Jesus then His intimate presence becomes rich in your lives and he will begin to bless you beyond measures. And when his intimate presence becomes abundant he brings total abundance in your lives. God said in Jermiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper  you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

God has great plans for you and me this year! He wants to pour out the very best. And we must be prepared for the outpouring that is coming our way. So that's why you have to look towards him. Then he will bless you abundantly during this year. And you will be the source of blessing for your family, for your friends, for your relatives and for your country and the name of our Lord Christ will be glorified through your life. Amen

 Happy New Year