Thirty Ways to Appropriate the Blessings of God in the New Year
1. Rejoice in the Lord - (Phil. 4:4; Psalm 98:1,2) - Sing to the Lord a new song for He has done marvelous things. His right hand and His holy arm has gotten us the victory. We still have the power to choose to rejoice regardless of the circumstances. Do not be like Curly of the Three Stooges who played the victim card and said, "I’m a victim of circumstances."
As the New Year unfolds may the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ envelope you.
Before you --- To lead you (Isaiah 45:2)
Behind you --- As a rear guard (Isaiah 52:12)
Above you --- To instruct you (Deuteronomy 4:39-40)
At your right hand --- To shield you (Psalm 18:35)
Underneath you --- To protect you (Deuteronomy 33:27)
Within you --- Building your faith (Galatians 2:20)
Round about you --- To surround you (Psalm 125:2)
2. Revere the Lord - Bless the Lord and forget none of His benefits who heals all your diseases and redeems your life from the destruction. (Psalm 103) Praise has the capacity to lift you up out of your depression and give you a fresh infusion of His grace, goodness and glorious power.
3. Relinquish your rights - (Luke 9:23,24) Jesus said, "If we really want the blessings of full fellowship found through Christ like discipleship we will have to surrender everything to His control.
4. Remember Jesus Christ - (2 Tim. 2:8) Whenever you get weary in well doing consider Him who endured such sufferings of sinners against Himself lest you be wearied and faint in your mind. (Heb. 12:3,4)
5. Refuel - Jesus said, "If you abide in me and my word abides in you you can ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you." (John 15:7) Do not run out of spiritual fuel by working in the flesh instead of by the Spirit’s power. (Zech. 4:6,7)
6. Resist the devil - (James 4:7,8) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
7. Repent - (I John 1:6-9) If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a] sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
8. Re-direct your attentions - (I Chron 22:7-11) David redirected his attentions to helping his son Solomon build the temple instead of becoming bitter for God’s relegation. " David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. 8 But this word of the LORD came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,[a] and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ 11 “Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would."
9. Restore - (Psalm 23) David declared the Lord to be His Shepherd so He would not want and allowed God to restore His soul, spirit and His mind. Take time to allow the Lord to feed you from His word and Spirit in morning devotions everyday.
10. Rapport with believers - (Phil. 2:1-4) Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
11. Resurrection Power - Live more in the light of His resurrection power in all areas of your life. (Phil. 3:10-14) I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Realize you need to keep pressing onward and upward so you do not grow stagnant -
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
13. Renew Your Mind - (Rom. 12:1-2) Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
14. Remedy From Christ and His Word - (2 Cor. 1:3,4) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. "Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal."
15. Replace evil with good - (Eph. 4:22-32) You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Remember Not the Past - Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
29 Refuse to speak negatively about others - Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
16. Run from lusts and refuse arguments putting away all resentments
(2 Tim. 2:22-24) Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
17. "Remold and Remake Us After Your Will" -
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
2. Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, was me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
3. Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power all power surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!
4. Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
Lyrics: Adelaide Addison Pollard
18. Repair - Ask God to heal, fix and restore broken things in your life.
Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Refrain
Savior, Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Let me at Thy throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief,
Kneeling there in deep contrition;
Help my unbelief.
Refrain
Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace.
Refrain
Thou the Spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in Heav’n but Thee?
Fanny Crosby
19. Resilience - (Romans 12:21) "Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good." Resilience refers to the idea of an individual’s tendency to cope with stress and adversity. This coping may result in the individual “bouncing back” to a previous state of normal functioning, or using the experience of exposure to adversity to produce a “steeling effect” and function better than expected (much like an inoculation gives one the capacity to cope well with future exposure to disease). Resilience is most commonly understood as a process, and not a trait of an individual.
20. Rule of Christ - (Col. 1:16-18) For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
21. Righteousness of Christ as Our Goal - (Matt 6:33) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
22. Re-Educate -( Eph. 4:11-15) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Respect the mature life of Christ -
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
23. Re-Examiner - (Psalm 139:23,24) Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
24. Rescue Me Lord - (Psalm 6:4) Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.
25. Rock, Fortress and My Deliver, the one whom I trust - (2 Samuel 22:2) He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; in Him will we trust."
26. Realize and Recognize God’s Plan - (Jer 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.
27. Re-infuse With the Spirit’s Fruit - (Gal. 5:22,23) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
28. Re-Connect with Prophecy - (Ezekiel 36:26,27) I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
29. Repair Relationships - ( I John 4:20,21) Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
30. Revive Us Oh Lord -
We praise Thee, O God!
For the Son of Thy love,
For Jesus Who died,
And is now gone above.
Refrain:
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.
We praise Thee, O God!
For Thy Spirit of light,
Who hath shown us our Savior,
And scattered our night.
All glory and praise
To the Lamb that was slain,
Who hath borne all our sins,
And hath cleansed every stain.
All glory and praise
To the God of all grace,
Who hast brought us, and sought us,
And guided our ways.
Revive us again;
Fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled
With fire from above.
31. Draw from the chief resource of God
From Him and through Him and to Him are all things to Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. (Romans 11:35,36)
32. Remedy your situation with the healing touch of God
I am the Lord who heals you. (Ex. 15:26)
The phrase "I am the Lord who heals you" is a direct quote from the Bible, found in Exodus 15:26. This declaration, also known by its Hebrew name Jehovah Rapha, signifies that God is the ultimate source of healing—both physical and spiritual—and is the one who can make things whole.
33. Rectify your situation with the help of God
I will never leave you or forsake you so you can confidently say the Lord is my helper what can man do to me. (Heb. 13:5,6)
34. Rest in the Lord
Jesus said, Come to Me all you who are weary and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me for I am gentle and humble of heart. (Matthew 11)
35. Read the scripture and apply it with trust and obedience
All scripture is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness so that the man of God could be equip for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16,17)
36. Reframe you mind and actions
"Casting down imaginations" refers to the act of rejecting and demolishing thoughts, ideas, and arguments that contradict the knowledge of God, according to the Bible. This process involves bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, often by confronting and dismantling negative or false beliefs with the truth found in scripture.
What it means
A spiritual act: It is described as a key component of spiritual warfare, using divine weapons like God's word to tear down "strongholds" or "fortresses" of wrong thinking.
Challenging false beliefs: This applies to both illogical and logical strongholds, whether they are based on false images of reality (like a thin person believing they are fat) or on faulty reasoning that hinders faith (like thinking one cannot follow a calling due to job constraints),
Submitting the mind: It is an active and intentional process of taking control of your thought life, rather than being controlled by it, by making the choice to focus on the thoughts that align with Christ's teachings.
How to practice it
Recognize the thought: Become aware of the thought or imagination, whether it's fear, doubt, or a wrong idea.
Compare it to scripture: Ask yourself if the thought aligns with what God's word says about a situation, a person, or God himself.
Reject the lie and accept the truth: Actively reject thoughts that contradict the truth of scripture and accept God's word as truth instead.
Bring thoughts into obedience: Take the thought captive and make it obey Christ by bringing it in line with divine teaching, as discussed in this Facebook post.
Example
A negative thought: "I will never be good enough."
Casting it down: Instead of dwelling on it, you would cast it down by declaring scripture like, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made".
Taking thoughts captive: You would make that negative thought a prisoner to the truth of the scripture (2 Cor. 10:5)
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