Engaging Heaven Today (eBook)

January

JANUARY 1

Curse of Convenience

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

GALATIANS 6:9 NKJV

Everything is happening so fast today, but you can’t have a microwave Christianity in a slow-cooker world. God wants to plant seeds in our lives, but he is waiting for faithfulness. Although we get frustrated, impatient, full of anger and fear, the Father is perfecting his plan. What does it cost? Everything. We are not going to have a Pentecost at no cost. As for me and my house, we are going to believe what God said in his Word and stand on his promises. We are going to know that every word he has promised will come to pass, and we will not grow weary as we wait. A forty-year prophecy does not come to pass in four minutes; it doesn’t work like that. In this outrageous, fast-paced world, we don’t want our Christianity to be convenient. There are things we are going to have to pray over. There are promises we will have to go to war for.

ENGAGING HEAVEN

Keep praying every day. Even if it doesn’t seem like anything is changing, consistency in prayer is the first step to faithfulness. Maybe it’s a good day to start something new in your relationship with God.

JANUARY 2

All In

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

DEUTERONOMY 6:5 NKJV

Let me ask you a question: Why Jesus? Why did you go all in for Jesus? There are many believers going through trauma. They are frustrated, struggling, and wondering what to do next. Well, the next step comes from the presence and power of Christ. See, we can’t be full-time Christians with part-time participation. God is not concerned about our abilities. Do you know what he is concerned about? Our availability. Are you available for what God has called you to do? It doesn’t matter how long you have been saved. If you have never known the Lord, today is your day. If you’ve known him for many years, there is a fresh outpouring that God wants to give you. You are not going to wonder what God is doing on the earth or what he is saying today. You are going to live and move and breathe that fire. Are you living for what he died for? Are you all in?

ENGAGING HEAVEN

Ask yourself, are you all in? And what are you all in for? Are you wasting your passion on politics? Social media?
Entertainment?
Or are you serving Christ?

JANUARY 3

Break Your Pattern

It’s true that our freedom allows us to do anything, but that doesn’t mean that everything we do is good for us. I’m free to do as I choose, but I choose to never be enslaved to anything.

1 CORINTHIANS 6:12 TPT

Now that we’re a few days into the New Year, it’s a good time to ask, Am I breaking patterns? Or am I opening myself up for attacks? Am I changing the way I’m doing things? Am I letting go of old habits? If nothing changes, if every day looks the same in your life, that’s when your light begins to go out. Break your patterns. We live in a society that teaches us to believe we need the things that make us feel good, which often leads to selfishness, bad habits, and even addictions. The truth is that the compounding interest of good decisions will change your life! Every time you say no to something unhealthy and say yes to prayer, spending time with the Lord, devotions, or journaling, you will reap the benefits. If you eat an apple today, you won’t see the results right away, but over time, healthy habits will make you stronger. Familiar, easy, feel-good patterns can be destructive, but God wants to help you change those patterns.

ENGAGING HEAVEN

Think of one or two patterns you need to break.

How are you planning to do this?

JANUARY 4

New Year’s Resolve

“For who has despised the day of small things?”

ZECHARIAH 4:10 NKJV

Resolutions get broken, but resolve stays with you. Some of us look at our lives and think about all the things we’d like to do or change. Well, don’t despise the day of small beginnings. Zechariah was given a big task: to rebuild the temple that was in ruins. It must have been hard to know where to start. But he was resolved. We can’t just wish anymore; it’s time to have real, biblical hope that God can do all things. If you’re ready to make a change, just start and start small. It’s not making a resolution; it’s firmly committing in your heart to a course of action. If you want to start going to the gym, be reasonable about how much time you can spend at the beginning and add a little more each week. If your goal is to spend an hour a day with the Lord, start with fifteen minutes. This can be the greatest year if we refuse to become caught up in the hypes and highs and lows. Just take a little bit here and there every day to get you where you want to go.

ENGAGING HEAVEN

What are you resolving to do or change this year?
Make a plan and start small.

JANUARY 5

A Bitter Soul

Lay aside bitter words, temper tantrums, revenge, profanity, and insults.

EPHESIANS 4:31 TPT

You can’t see mold in your house right away. It starts in hidden places then grows. That’s how bitterness is as well. One day you have a thought, it festers, and before you know it, the situation is blown out of proportion. We’ve all been hurt. But are you going to live in prison the rest of your life? The Bible says to guard our hearts (Proverbs 4:23) because everything is a heart issue. Bitterness is cancer, and unforgiveness can send you right to hell. Are you a person who is easily offended? Are you bitter about something that happened months ago? Ecclesiastes 7:9 says, “Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools” (NKJV). You need to deal with that mold issue in your house, and you need to deal with that bitterness in your bosom because it will destroy you physically and spiritually.

ENGAGING HEAVEN

Misunderstandings produce mistrust. Is there anything you need to air out with someone else so bitterness does not grow in your soul?

JANUARY 6

God Is a Rewarder

We come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who passionately seek him.

HEBREWS 11:6 TPT

David was a shepherd boy. We all know the story. He went down to see his brothers, minding his own business, and found all these trained soldiers too scared to fight the big, mean Goliath. Then David learned about the reward for slaying Goliath: great riches, the king’s daughter in marriage, and an exemption from taxes for the victor’s entire family. Well, the reward system worked for David because he asked three different times, “Wait, what would I get?” Through his faith in God, he slayed the giant, but there was also motivation. Don’t become so religious that you miss the fact that God will reward you. That’s not why we’re obedient, but it’s absolutely an attribute of the rich and rewarding kingdom of God. We don’t give to get, but when we do give with a pure motive, we will reap God’s rewards because he is generous and loves to bless us.

ENGAGING HEAVEN

How has God rewarded your faithfulness in the past?

JANUARY 7

Escape

At each and every sunrise you will hear my voice as I prepare my sacrifice of prayer to you. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart.

PSALM 5:3 TPT

Are you falling asleep with your phone in your hand and waking up to text messages? Listen, your morning routine and your nighttime routine matter. That’s why devotions are essential. Do you value prayer? Do you value intimacy with the Father? Then make it a priority. And we can’t hear God’s voice if we’re not present in the moment—if we’re always trying to block out reality. Instead of trying to escape your life, live abundantly with God where you are. We cannot run around trying to find our spots on earth and then expect God to meet us; that’s not how life works. Sure, go on vacation, but live your abundant life too. Focus on spending time daily with the Lord, hearing his voice, seeking his face, and starting your day off properly. Then you won’t need to escape the amazing life that God already died for you to have.

ENGAGING HEAVEN

What are your morning and nighttime routines?
What would you like to see changed?

JANUARY 8

Spirit of Offense

The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.

PROVERBS 19:11 NKJV

Everybody has a reason to be offended. If you want to be offended today, that is the easiest thing to accomplish. Worse than any virus is...