what's waiting for you in 2008?

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

This morning I found myself, on the first day of 08, continuing my devotional time in the book of Acts. I just happen to start where I left of in Acts 9:31. When I got to the last part of this verse… I could not go any further.

In my Bible it read like this:

The believers were walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.(NLT)

As I began to pray and meditate on this passage, several ideas came to mind for this New Year.

1. When I fear God all other fears seem relatively small in comparison. In this way I can be courageous in confronting the fears that keep me from reaching my God-potential. Fearing God means He becomes my motivation for every decision I make.

2. In the process of accomplishing what God has for you, we all need to be comforted. The great thing is that the Holy Spirit abides in us to comfort us when we need it.

I'm so encouraged by these words found in Acts. In the first 4 chapters of this book, the believers were reaching more people than ever before. They were also going through the strongest opposition. This explains the fact that they feared God and were also comforted by the Holy Spirit. They needed both to accomplish the task Jesus commanded them to do before he ascended (Acts 1:8).

In 2008, I need to remember what this verse means for our church. As the campus pastor of Flamingo Road church Doral, I believe this year will be the most important year in our history. To reach the people in this community, we must all work hard knowing that there is nothing to fear other than God Himself. And when we do that, He promises to be there for us and comfort us when we need it most.

While most New Year's resolution do not make it past the first month, this one does not have to be like this. Allow God to do something special in you and through you, making this year the best year ever.

This year God wants you to trust Him more than ever. If we do that, He will continue to do more than we can ever imagine. Let's go after it together as we grow into reaching our God-Potential.

To the best year yet,

Igor