“Be Made New! God Is Cleansing His People” Anne Ballard

[Ron McGatlin]

“Be Made New! God Is Cleansing His People”

Anne Ballard, Bedford, TX

In this season, God is giving His people a reset. It is His grace and faithfulness to offer us course-corrections and invite us into a new thing. There is an awakening taking place, causing the world to come out from its slumber with hunger to know more. During this time, God is directing your path and accelerating the process to discovering revelation and truth you are seeking. There is a call to investigate what God has been highlighting to you and to do it with tenacity.

In this season it will be important to pause and lean into the various ways God is speaking to you. Intentionally set aside time to become aware of the beauty that surrounds, allowing it to inspire you.

A Purified People

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:25-27)

In the Bible and in life, water often symbolizes a cleansing. Just as when Noah re-emerged from the ark after the flood, he entered into a land that had been purified and cleansed. It was a clean slate, a new world, and a chance to begin again. Throughout the Bible, and in our everyday lives, we are shown that water brings a cleansing: in the flood, through water baptism, through the washing of feet with water. In each of these instances the water brings a cleansing; a purification. After each of these instances, the people are cleansed, purified, renewed without blemish, holy and blameless. Sin has been washed away each time and the water has made things new.

We are being made new. God is bringing the cleansing for His people. He’s giving us a reset. With Noah, He flooded the world because it was too far gone. He’s cleansing His people so we can go further than we’ve gone in generations before. As His people, we are to be less defined and dictated by what we see in the physical world, through our earthly circumstances, and more influenced by what we see in the spirit.

Ephesians 6:12 tells us that our battle is “not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

This word is for people whose spirits have been compromised. It’s for people that have been ruled by the flesh more than the spirit. This could be through something as common as worry; allowing ourselves to partner with fear and anxiety (from the wrong kingdom), which can then overtake our thought process. It could also be through idolatry which could look as “benign” as gradually trusting others with creating a plan more than we trust God.

During these unprecedented times in which we live, it is critically important that we humble ourselves, repent and confess when we realize we’ve gotten off track. Our gracious God is faithful and just to help us course correct, cleanse us and make us new once more.

Seeking Truth

“You yourselves used to be in the darkness, but since you have become the Lord’s people, you are in the light. So you must live like people who belong to the light, for it is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth.

“Try to learn what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the worthless things that people do, things that belong to the darkness. Instead, bring them out to the light. (It is really too shameful even to talk about the things they do in secret.) And when all things are brought out to the light, then their true nature is clearly revealed; for anything that is clearly revealed becomes light. That is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
And rise from death,
And Christ will shine on you.”
(Ephesians 5:8-14) (Photo via Pixabay)

Complacency, which can be defined as “a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like,” can be insidious and creep in under the radar. When we are overwhelmed by the world around us, not doing anything is easier than participating or changing how we’ve been living. We tend to take the path of least resistance because change can be uncomfortable and requires work. God is bringing an awakening that is causing us to wake up from our slumber.

We are called to be in this world but not of this world (John 15:19, 18:36; Romans 12:2). That means that the values and thoughts that drive us may at times feel countercultural to what the rest of the world is doing, or the narrative that we’re hearing all around us.

God is causing people to awaken to current events in the world, to their health, to what their bodies really need, and to the financial plan God has for His Kingdom. Those that are awakening during this time, who feel like their eyes are being opened to truth they haven’t seen before, will feel led on their journey by God’s prompting.

You may be on a path of discovery you never thought you’d be on, researching answers that you’re hungry to know. During this time God is accelerating the process and directing your path to discover revelation and truth. It is now time for you to be awakened to His plan, and so He’s making it possible.

This word is for people that are wanting to see change but haven’t known their part to play, causing a standstill. They may have felt like they didn’t know where to start. They were comfortable in their complacency, unaware of what was really going on around them.

As God is leading them on their journey of discovery, they must commit to His process, commit to His change, listen and be led by Him in order to partner with what He is doing. God’s plan is not man’s plan, and on the journey of uncovering God’s plan for us, it may not make sense by the world’s standards. Have faith in what you’re hearing and ask for confirmation from Him along the way.

A Deeper Look

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13)

The true nature of deception is that you don’t know you’re being deceived. The enemy is a liar, and we know that he has come to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). God is guiding us into all truth right now as a Body and as individuals. The truth we each personally need to uncover may be different, but this is something He is doing corporately at this time.

There is an invitation right now to not take things at face value or the way you’ve always accepted things to be, but to look deeper and press into what the Lord is showing you.

The call to search deeper may include things that have shaped your mindset or belief system, such as traditions, customs and even societal norms. There is a call to investigate the things that God is highlighting to you. Trust Him to guide you on your journey of uncovering the truth.

In this journey, God is giving keys to your destiny – the keys that you personally need. Ask Him to show you why He is revealing these things to you, how you are to pray and how you are to partner with Him.

You may even find a like minded community emerging around you on your process of discovery. For some people, He will show them a question in their spirits. They may find themselves questioning the truth of a matter. Others may find that literally overnight they wake up questioning something they’ve always accepted as “what’s best,” or “just the way things are.” There is grace for the process of discovery.

Watch as God leads you with curiosity through recurring themes and confirmations from other people. Trust Him to light up your path and to lead you. This word is for people that feel drawn by a persistent, maybe even subtle questioning that they feel led to answer. It is time to accept the challenge and step out in faith as you partner with God. (Photo via Unsplash)

Beauty All Around

“One thing I ask from the Lord,
This only do I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To gaze on the beauty of the Lord
And to seek Him in His temple.”
(Psalm 27:4)

By simply observing creation, it quickly becomes apparent that God is a lover of beauty. Whether it is in looking at all the flowers He intricately wove together, how graceful He made swans or even in the laughter of a carefree child playing outside – beauty is all around us if we choose to see.

Humans, who were made in His image, also have an appreciation and love for beauty. God speaks to us through it. At times we can become focused on more practical things, but the fact that so much of what He created is excellently formed and exquisitely designed communicates to us that beauty is important to Him.

Take some time this month to pay attention to the beauty around you; whether that is in people, nature or simply a well crafted design. Expect inspiration and revelation to come through this practice, as you ponder what He envisioned in creating what you’re beholding.

God is inviting you to pause, take in beauty and allow Him to speak through things you find beautiful. Perhaps it’s in nature, going to a museum, listening to music or even studying a beautiful magazine. There’s revelation and inspiration available to us when we pause to reflect on why something is beautiful. Why do we love it? What does God love about how He made it? Beauty brings us joy and inspiration, which leads to creativity. Joy and creativity are both from God, and nothing is impossible with God’s creativity inside of us.

Take, for instance, the beauty of the hummingbird, which is symbolic of the truth that nothing is impossible. God’s creativity is noticeable in its exquisite coloring, its gentle investigation of the flowers, and the fact that it is the only one of its kind that can fly forward and backward on its journey.

This word is for people that have felt stuck or that want more joy, creativity and fun in their lives. Take some time this month to pause and meditate on what sparks joy and what you find beautiful, then surround yourself with more of that. God created us to glean inspiration and joy from what appeals to us. Intentionally set aside time to spend being aware of the beauty around you and allowing it to inspire you.

Declarations:

• I am led by His Spirit and I’m being made new.

• God is leading me into all truth.

• My journey of discovery is changing the way I think.

• The beauty of His creation is restoring my soul.

• The Spirit of Truth is leading me to His answers to my questions.

Anne Ballard
The Crowning Jewels
Website: http://www.thecrowningjewels.com
Email: hello@thecrowningjewels.com

Texas born, Anne Ballard worked as a nurse for seventeen years before fully embracing her creative nature. Having grown up believing that God only spoke through the Bible, her life was transformed with the personal knowledge that He still speaks today. As she experienced a revelation of God’s love for her and the power of words to transform and heal, she began designing jewelry, partnering with Holy Spirit to create a tangible way to bring Heaven to Earth. This is where her prophetic jewelry company, The Crowning Jewels, was birthed. Many people recognize her company as a business-ministry hybrid. She is known as a prophetic visionary with the drive to accomplish her dreams. Her mandate is to champion others as they discover their God given identity and fulfill their divine purpose. After living in Redding, CA for ten years, she recently moved back home and currently resides in Texas.

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