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“Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.”
Luke 1:45

Beloved,

Happy New Year! I can’t believe that we are living in the year 2007…time seems to be speeding
along or is it just me? Well, along with the New Year comes a new theme verse for our devotions.
This year God has impressed on my heart Luke 1:45. It reads:

And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things
which were told her from the Lord.
KJV

Did you get that? There are two words that I want you to key in on…blessed and believed. There is
a direct connection between believing God and being blessed. What is does blessed mean?   It
means to be happy. Mary was happy because she believed what God has told her. She took Him at
His word…and it made her happy. I think we would all be happier if we believed what God tells us.
And God does speak to us…every time we pick up our Bibles; He is speaking to us through His
word. See I think if we believed the promises of God, found in His word, we would all live happier
lives.

There is no doubt about it; God’s word is full of promises. The question is simply this…do we
believe God? Believing God really means that we have faith. What is faith? Faith is defined in
scripture this way...

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1 NIV

See Mary had no visible proof that she was pregnant with Jesus, yet she believed God anyway.
Faith is the foundation of our faith. We are saved through grace by faith. And without faith, it is
impossible to please God. Mary believed God’s word and because of that she was blessed.

Look at the last part of that verse…”for there shall be a performance of those things which were
told her from the Lord.”

In other words, God said it and He is going to do it…He’s not going to let you down…it SHALL be
done. God often tells us such amazing things in His word that we just simply can’t get our mind
around it. But this year, it is my goal to study His promises and to believe Him. It is my earnest
desire to grow in my faith…to trust God more, and to know His word better. What can I do to grow?
What steps can I take?

First I am going to pray…Prayer is an expression of our faith in God.   Prayer says, “God I believe
that you are listening and that you care for me”. So this year, I am committing to pray like I never
have before. I have always prayed but this year…I want to express my complete and utter
dependence on God and His provision in my life through prayer. I’m setting aside an hour a day to
spend time alone with God. I challenge you to set aside a daily time of prayer. It does not have to be
an hour…start small but start. Don’t delay. I know without a doubt that at the end of this year, I
will be different. Why? Because you can not spend time in the presence of God and not be
different. Prayer is the breath of the Christian life. We must pray if we want to see change, we
must pray if we want to know God’s will, and we must believe that God hears us when we pray, and
that He will answer us.

The second thing I am going to do is spend time daily reading His word…His word is His guide book
for life. His word is full of promises just waiting for us to grab a hold of and claim. His word is
where He meets us, encourages us, corrects, expresses His love for us, and shows us His might. His
word is life.   I love His word. I want you to love it too. His word is truth and it is the truth that sets
us free. What do you need to be set free from; selfishness, pride, anger, sadness, confusion, sin,
shopping? His word also expresses what we can have as His children; abundant life, freedom,
happiness, joy, gentleness, a new mind, freedom from worry or anxious, a relationship with the
Living God, His unfailing love. See no matter what it is God’s word has an answer…it may not be
the answer we want, but it will be the answer.

We just need to believe that He answers us. We just need to believe that hears our prayer. We need
to believe Him. It is not enough to believe in Him, we have to believe Him. Do you believe Him?

This year, we will be combining prayer and the study of His word every month in our devotions.
Next month we are going to start with this promise…

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me
and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.”

That is a promise you can cling too.

Beloved, won’t you join me on this journey? Commit to pray. Commit to spend time in the Master’
s presence. Know that you will be blessed by your faith. If you are willing to join me this year in
growing in our faith would take a minute to email me. I want to pray for you as you begin the most
exciting journey of your life. Clink on the Email link I commit to the journey

Heavenly Father,

You are Holy…In you are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. God I love that you are
interested in our growth. Lord we want to grow in our faith this year. We want to lean on and
depend on you and walk with you like never before. God would you meet us? Would help us and
guide us. Lord, I pray as we carve out time to spend with you every day, you would make our time
fruitful, and the rest of our day smooth. God I pray as women commit to prayer and study time
daily, that they find they are getting more done in a day than before.

God I pray for hearts who are willing to grow…I pray you would ignite a passion and a holy fire for
you and your word. I pray that prayer truly becomes our strength and our breath. I know that time
with you daily will change us…I know that you will answer prayers and change hearts, and provide
guidance like never before for the women who commit to spend time with you. God we love you and
the desire of our heart is to walk with you minute by minute, day by day. Meet us. We love you. In
Jesus Name, Amen.

Love you guys – CJ

Study Time – If you want to know about the role faith has played in lives of people in scripture read
Hebrews 11:1-31.

What does Jesus have to say about faith? Many times in scripture Jesus stresses the importance of
faith, commending those who express it and rebuking those who lack it. Let’s look at two passages
that illustrate this difference.

27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of
David!”   28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you
believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. 29 Then he touched their eyes and
said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored.

What jumps out at you in this passage? The faith of the blind men is directly connected to
restoration of their sight. They believed that Jesus could restore their eye sight and it was
restored. Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you can not see.

Why do you think that Jesus asked the men if they believed He could heal them?   I think it is
because what we confess with our mouths is important. Romans 10:10 says… “For it is with your
heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and our saved.”
Confession of faith is vital to the believer.

Now let’s look at what He says about a lack of faith. Lets look at Matthew 14:25

25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the
disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in
fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he
saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did
you doubt?”

What are your observations regarding Peter? What do you notice about His willingness to walk to
Jesus? Why do you think He began to sink? What reason does Jesus give for Peter sinking?

I am initially amazed at Peter’s faith. He was willing to get out of the boat…did any of the other 12
step over the side and onto the water? What does this say to you about their faith?

Look again at verse 30, what was the result of Peter taking His eyes off Jesus and focusing on the
water? Here is a life lesson…when we take our eyes off Jesus and begin instead to focus on the
waves and storms life, we sink. How many times in your life have you been walking by faith only to
allow your circumstances to overwhelm you and sink your faith in what God said He would do.

Jesus said come…He invited Peter on the greatest adventure man has ever taken…Peter walked on
water! I’m here to tell you that if we will step out in faith and believe God…trust in Him for our
provision and protection we too can experience the thrill of walking on water. For we walk by faith
not by sight!

Beloved ponder that this month in your quiet time…