How iOS7 works like the Holy Spirit

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.” Mark 2:22

So my mom called me and told me I have to do the iOS7 update. I really had no rush to do it, but when your mom does something cool before you, you just have to redeem yourself. So I deleted all my pics to free up 3gigs to download this iOS7 onto my iPhone 4. As mom said, the update was pretty awesome. It's a whole new platfom that looks sleek, clean and easy to use. I thanked God for saving me $199 on buying a new phone because this update made me feel like I was pretty brand new already.

That was until three days later when my phone went black and completely crashed. My first thought was , "Just like those people at Apple. They set my phone to self-destruct so that I would have to buy a new phone." But that wasn't the case at all.

It was simply a modern scenario of Jesus' 2000 year old parable -- "You can't put new wine in old wine skins." And it wasn't until my phone crashed that I truly understood that parable. We are flesh, soul, and spirit. A cellphone is hardware, application, and operating system.

You can't put a new operating system into old hardware and applications and expect to it to to function properly. So too, you can't place the Holy Spirit into your sinful soul and flesh and expect it to function properly. Your renewed Spirit and sinful flesh will constantly be at war for your soul. Therefore, when we are saved we must increase the strength of our Spirit in order to train our flesh to be in subjection to our Spirit.

We often wonder why when we are saved we don't immediately stop drinking, smoking, clubing, fornicating, etc. It feels like the moment we leave the alter we will never be tempted by our flesh again. But that is not the case. You now hold this new Holy Spirit of God inside of you, but you put it into some old hardware. The next step to walking out of sin is renewing your mind and soul, and strengthening your Spirit. "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world (flesh), but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think (soul). Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2)

You do this by growing ever more closer to God by reading and hearing His word. The more the Word of God dwells with you the easier it becomes to let go of the things of your past. So as you walk out your new life and your new operating system, which I have cleverly named the iHS7 (Holy Spirit 7), utilize the Word of God to renew your mind and soul so that you don't crash like my iPhone 4.

Who You Are: A Message to All Women

Spiritual Maturity for Christians...

One of the key messages in the Bible for Christians is that they need to keep moving forward as they walk with Jesus Christ. But what does that mean? If you think about walking in the physical sense, it means:

"A steady progression moving forward along a pre-determined path."

For the Christian this is no different. To progress and grow as we walk with Jesus Christ we too have a path to follow. The key words above are steady, moving forward and pre-determined, these too are the keys to Christian growth.

Steady Progression

The analogy of "walking" with Christ is quite profound. If we had to "run" then we would be quickly worn out, possibly injured and definitely exhausted in the same way as we are physically when we run. But someone who "walks" can keep going for a long time, steadily covering a distance to take in and learn about the things around him or her. As Christians we are striving in this same controlled fashion as we are in this for the long haul.

Moving Forward

Forward motion suggests growth and advancement. As Christians we seek to grow so as to become like Christ. Our aim is to emulate him and to learn, act and behave as he did. The value to us as individuals is that we are no longer at the mercy of our emotions. We can calmly and rationally make right decisions based on the truth of Christ.

A Pre-Determined Path

We follow a certain route to go from somewhere to somewhere else. As Christians we are moving from a life controlled by the emotions, passions and desires of the flesh to become like Christ where we choose to behave and do what is right.

The Apostle Peter described an eight-step program to achieve maturity in Christ, as identified in 2 Peter 1:5-7. We are encouraged to supplement or build upon each successive step to reach towards the next.

Eight Steps to Christian Maturity



1. Faith - This is the basis of Christianity. You cannot be a Christian without faith, without believing in Jesus Christ. It is from this starting point that the Christian walk begins.


2. Virtue - Do what is morally good. Aim to always learn what is the right thing and then do it. This is not about being "holier than thou" but rather living a life of good works and moral behaviour.


3. Knowledge - To progress you must learn what you need to know to progress. Knowledge is the key. Learn what is right and what is pleasing to the Lord through his ways and teachings. Only then you can move towards maturity.


4. Self-Control - Too often the forces, people and things around us influence us, whether peer group pressure, family pressure or our own emotions and desires. Self-control gives us the ability to take a stand, choose rightly and to act appropriately on our choices.


5. Steadfastness - It is important to be stable. Immovable. Steadfastness allows us to be calm when we are under fire. To be the rock in the storm. The value of steadfastness is that we know our position because it is right, and we cannot be moved from it regardless of the turbulence around us.


6. Godliness - Learn to be like God. Learn his ways, which we see in the examples of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Follow the teachings of the Lord so that we can progress to that place where we will be able to behave as he did.


7. Brotherly Affection - In all of this it is important that we care for our brethren. We are called to be a family of God and it is important that as children of God, as brothers and sisters in the Spirit, that we get along.


8. Love - Finally the essence of God is love. Not the mushy pulp depicted on TV or in movies but the love of God, which is action oriented. God is love, and if we are to be mature we need to aspire to living a life of love too. The love of God is identified in 1 Corinthians 13 and all of the attributes of God's love are not about feelings and emotions, but behaviours and attitudes.

Overcoming Procrastination:

"Jesus replied, "But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice." Luke 11:28 (NKJV) 

The Bible has alot to say about procrastination. And I know the things I shouldn't do and I do those. But I procrastinate on the things I really want to change in my life. Why?
Give Reasons We Procrastinate:

1. Indecision.  "A double minded man is unstable in all he does" James 1:8 NKJV

Have you ever sent a waiter away at a restaurant because you couldn't make up your mind?  Indecision causes you to postpone buying a car, choosing a college, getting married, buying new clothes, changing a job.

2.  Perfectionism. "If you wait for perfect conditions, you'll never get anything done!" (Ecclesiastes 11:4 NLT)

If you wait for things to be perfect, you're going to wait a long time. You don't have the time or the money for things to be perfect.

3.  Fear. "Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety"  (Proverbs 29:25 NLT)

Have you been postponing going to the dentist?  Or having that needed surgery?  Or getting into marriage counseling?  Sharing your faith at work?  Ask yourself, "What am I afraid of?"

4.  Anger. "A lazy person is as bad as someone who is destructive." (Proverbs 18:9 GNT)

Procrastination is a way to get back at people we don't like.  We delay.  Kids are great at procrastination.  You ask them to clean up their room.  They do it but they take so long doing it. One of the reasons may be that they're resisting your control. Procrastination is passive resistance.  I don't want to do it because I don't like you telling me to do what I have to do.  Anger causes us to put things off.

5. Laziness. "Lazy people want much but get little, while the diligent are prospering." (Proverbs 13:4 NLT)

One of the most popular words in America is "easy." If it's easy, we like it.  If it's hard, we don't like it.   Can you imagine a best seller titled, "Ten Difficult Steps to Change Your Life" or "Fifteen Difficult Ways to Get in Shape"?

What action that you know you need to take of are you currently avoiding? Why?

The next time you find yourself procrastinating, stop and ask yourself why. Then ask God to help you overcome it so you can move forward and do what you need to do.

The Mouth of the Whale

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:  “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach
against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”  But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. ( Jonah 1-4 NIV)

We hear about strangers every day. We see them in the news, under overpasses, passing through streets littered with bars and prostitutes. We see the obvious sin ravaging our cities. Some of us join community service projects. We take large steps to evangelize to those in need. And these are indeed services that our communities need us to take part in.

But what about people who are not strangers? What about our closest friends and relatives? We all have friends and family that are not saved or are living luke warm. Are we ministering to them or are we afraid to offend them? Are we afraid to get out of our comfort zone with them? Do we believe they deserve their punishment for what ever they do? Do we hold resentment for some of the people we say we love?
We should all think unashamedly and inwardly about ourselves and why our pursuit to save those closest to us is not as fervent as our pursuit to save strangers.

It's funny how sometimes the people you say "I love you" to the most, can be the ones we resent. There are so many different reasons we may harbor resentment -- jealousy, anger, unforgiveness, and distrust. These feelings can often keep us from truly wanting to see the people we say we love be blessed. This may be a touchy subject because no one wants to admit that they aren't truly wishing the best for someone else. We don't want to admit that inside we are bitter and holding back true agape love for them. We may be holding back so much that we cringe at seeing them blessed before we are. Are there people you would rather see fall than be saved?

God told Jonah to go to the people of Nineveh who had fallen away from Him and warn them that God would destroy them. Jonah refused because he knew that once he warned the people of Nineveh they would turn from their evil ways and God would bless them. Jonah did not want God to have mercy on them. He resented them because of their sin.

Are we choosing the route of Jonah? Are we choosing mercy for those things that us comfortable more than those people who we say we love? It was often funny to me in college to see how quickly I could forgive a boy who cheated, but forever hold anger in my heart for a best friend who betrayed my trust but apologized sincerely. It's even baffling how we forgive our best friends for ditching us for someone else, but never forgive our parents when they don't show up for important events.How do we choose our standards of who gets our mercy?  And are we inevitably giving God standards for who He should show mercy to? Maybe sharing the gospel to strangers who we will never have to see again is easier than sharing it with the people we say we love.

God wants to show mercy to everyone. It's not our choice. It's his. Deal with the deap rooted feelings within you that may be keeping you from sharing the best of God with everyone God calls you to.

Thoughts on Zimmerman Trial

"So justice is far from us,
    and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;
    for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
¹⁰ Like the blind we grope along the wall,
    feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;
    among the living, we are like the dead.
¹¹ We all growl like bears;
    we moan mournfully like doves.
We look for justice, but find none;
    for deliverance, but it is far away." Isaiah 59:10-11 (NIV)

I haven't voiced my opinion socially about the Zimmerman trial. I look at the system and have to remind myself that Zimmerman was tried according to the laws of the state and the constitution and was given due process. He was given all the rights that we, as Americans, fight for when we go to war against other countries. He was given a chance to state his peace. He was given a chance for freedom.

Then I think of Trayvon. I think of the thought that he wasn't given those rights. Maybe his rights were taken the moment he was shot. Maybe they were taken the moment he was moved into a lower-middle-class inner-city school system. Maybe his rights were taken the moment he was born a male. Maybe his rights were taken the moment he was conceived black.

I try my best not to think of things as racial. God loves Zimmerman, just as much as He loves Trayvon. God can redeem Zimmerman the same way He redeemed me from my BC (Before Christ) era. He can redeem Zimmerman in the same way He wants to redeem us all. I don't doubt the redemptive power of God, nor God's ability to put Trayvon and Zimmerman in the same location, cause an altercation, cause one to die, and cause a nation to be awoken to the injustices of its system. I do not doubt God's power to make "ALL THINGS work out for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) And I don't doubt that God has a plan that is bigger than Trayvon, bigger than Zimmerman, and bigger than our own emotional out-cries in this situation.

The verse above says "We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows." It is no denying that as our nation turns further and further away from God and His love, we walk further into darkness. None of us has the answers. We make rash decisions about laws. We want laws that will help us when we need it, but want to remove laws when they aren't helping us. Who "us" is is strictly personal for any one human being. But one thing is for sure, the only law I know to be infallible and inerrant is "the Word of God."

So as we go forth in this darkness that we have created for ourselves, maybe instead of making rash judgments, judging the law and situations based on emotion rather than fact and God's truth, we should just stop and find out where God wants us to be. I am all about solutions. I am all about change. But I am not for change that is spewed by emotion and not truly debated for the pros and cons that lie in all the decisions and laws that this country makes. We cannot be one sided. Don't march without a plan. If you are marching (I think it's great), but if someone asks you "How can we fix the system?” you need to have an enlightened answer. Don't march without a plan. Don't march in the darkness. You're still in the dark if all you know is what the media has fed you and you haven't truly looked into the laws and pros and cons for yourself.  You're even more in the dark if you haven't prayed and asked God to enlighten you and our country on the true reason that this entire situation has occurred and where HE wants YOU to stand in the situation. God may call some to march, some to write, some to plan, some to act, and some to sit still until He tells you to do something. If God called you to plan and you are marching, then you are in the dark. If God called you to act and you are just writing about it, you are in the dark. And if God called you to sit still until He tells you to do something, but you're still moving, then you will surely stumble.

"We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away." Deliverance is far away when we don't act how God has called us to act and with their gifts and influences that He has given each of us. Get into the light. If we want to make a change we have to do it the only infallible way possible --- God's way.

The Hardest Fight! The Pride Chronicles

The Hardest Fight! The Pride Chronicles

You CAN do This

Romans 8:36-37 "As the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed everyday; we are being slaughtered lke sheep. No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loves us."

Despite all the stressors of the day, God loves you and "overwhelming victory" (that is more victory and success than yopu can even handle) is yours through Christ. When God wins, you win; And God always wins. So don't fret in the midst of hardship and stress. God is there to help you through it. He too will see you through it and make sure that everything He was for you to accomplish, is accomplished. He will give you all you need to accomplish it. He is working to build your experience, time, awareness, and confidence in your own strength. You CAN do this. You WILL do this. God knows you don't want to let Him down. And because of that, He won't let you let Him down.

THIS CROSS I'LL CARRY 'TIL I SEE JESUS. NO TURNING BACK! NO TURNING BACK!

I Am, that I Love.

"By the grace of God, I am what Iam." 1 Corinthians 15:10

It is but by the grace of God that I am what I am.

It is but by the grace of God that I have what I have.

It is but by the grace of God that I live how I live, that I think as I think, that I see as I see, that I love as I love.

I live each moment in remembrance of that simple truth, not only for me, but for the people around me. I live in realization that it is only by His grace that I can be connected with the people that are in my life. And it is only by His grace that they live another day for me to be able to love them and them to share their love with me.

I rejoice in knowing that God, the giver of life, holds all of life. And I praise Him for the time He gives, no matter how long or short. I am thankful for the time given to love once more and be loved once more, if only just for a moment.

For the grace of giving love and receiving love is the greatest gift of all. And with that gift we are filled and made complete. Never to be empty. Never to be wanting. Never to be needing. But to be perfectly full by the love that abounds in us through and by Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Because it is by love that we live and breathe, walk and talk. It is only by love that we are sustained. And I'm more thankful for just a single moment to love and be loved than for anything else in this world. And if I shall pass from this world, I will pass with a grateful Spirit and having lived a completely full life because I have, by grace, been loved and shared love through Christ Jesus, who is love.

For the only reason for me to be graced to live a single moment more is because there is more love for me to share and receive. The day I stop loving is the day I stop living. And that would be a sad day indeed.

So live by His grace. Live to love another day. For it is by His grace that I am, that I love.

God is Love. 

Forgiveness...

Without a doubt, one of the hardest things in the world to do is forgive. We spend a lot of time in church talking about Christ’s work of sanctification in us. The Holy Spirit highlights sin and areas of correction and we crucify it. God digs deep into our heart and exposes selfish motives and personal sin, but where is all the talk about how to handle life when the sin wasn’t yours?

You may know how to repent of sin and turn towards God when there is wretchedness in your own heart, but what if your struggle is something that was done to you instead of by you. What do you do if the wretchedness was in someone else’s heart? What if that person who has wronged you doesn’t even know it, or worse, even care. How do we walk in forgiveness when it feels like life just keeps happening to you?

Bottom line…it isn’t easy. However, we do have an example to follow. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” That last part is our hope in Christ. Whether we realize it or not we are guilty of offending God. Sometimes we offend Him with willful sin and sometimes we sin without even realizing it, but we still offend Him. So how does God handle forgiveness? God chose to walk out forgiveness to us by Christ dying on a cross and being the stand in for us. He can forgive us because He doesn’t see the sin, He sees Christ’s payment for it.

We have a God who chose to forgive us for not just what we have done, but what we will do to offend Him. That should be our example as well. We should “forgive one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Was the offense against you great? I’m positive that it was, but take the example of our God and choose to walk in forgiveness anyway. Don’t look at the offense to you, look at Jesus and His perfect payment for that offense.

Disciples make Disciples

If you are following Jesus, you are a disciple. However, being a disciple doesn’t mean it’s just “you and Jesus.” Being a disciple means that you are following Jesus along side other people who are following Jesus. A disciple submits himself to the Lord as well as the community of others who are submitting to the Lord. It is within the context of community that we grow personally and corporately with Jesus.

You won’t find many Christians who will argue against following Jesus or being a part of a community. Deep down, we all see ourselves as a disciple. The problem comes when we leave out the most important part of being a disciple. Following Jesus and being in community is crucial, but Jesus taught that ALL of His disciples would also be (Luke 5:10)”…fishers of men.” What’s the bottom line of what Jesus is saying? He is saying that disciples follow Jesus, they grow in the context of community, and they make more disciples.

Disciples make disciples. If you are a Christian and you are reading this blog, it’s because over 2000 years ago, one of the original 12 disciples made more disciples, who then made more disciples, and eventually the pattern continued until you. A disciple is one who grows closer to Jesus and wants that for others. A disciple finds those younger and newer in their faith and lives life with them. They show the younger in faith how to properly reflect the grace that was so freely given on the cross. The disciple teaches younger disciples how they can disciple. The process is an ongoing growth where we all follow Jesus in the context of community and “fish for men” to become new disciples.

So the question is, are you a disciple who is making disciples?

Can You See Me Through the Crowd?

 "Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" - Matt 20:29-33 (NIV)

As all teenage girls growing up in the late '90s early millenium, I had an awful rediculous crush on Lil' Bow Wow when he still had the "Lil'".  My parents took me to the 2002 Orange Bowl Parade because Lil' Bow Wow would be performing. He came by on, what I remember to be, a hot red sports car. I think I had an out of body experience at that point. I ran from the stands, away from my parents, and into the crowd. I was jumping up and down screaming and trying to see Lil' Bow Wow. My mom kept pulling me to come back, but I just couldn't stop. I just needed him to see me above the crowd. Once we made eye contact and I got that wave, it was like my life was complete.

What if instead of Lil' Bow Wow, it was Jesus coming in that red hot sports car? How much more would I have done just to get Jesus to see me over the crowd?

Unfortunately, these days it feels like Jesus is the one screaming for our attention above the crowd. He is trying to pull our attention away from our noisey friends, those ratchet reality shows, haters, and even our own reckless minds. I think it sucks that Jesus has to scream so hard to get my attention sometimes. He get's louder and louder and sometimes I have to lose everything just to finally hear Him.
Unlike the two blind men in Matthew 20, I don't have to wait for Jesus to come through my town for me to hear His voice or be blessed with His healing and peace. He granted all of us a comforter, the Holy Spirit, to always be with us. But instead of us being grateful for that wonderful gift, we may find ourselves ignoring Him. Those two blind men would have done anything to have the gift I havel; The gift we have.

We all need to make a conscious decision to listen to our Spirit, jump through the crowd and the noise of every day life and run to God.

How much would you do to get to Him?

God, It's Your Turn to Wash the Dishes

Matthew 9:28 - The two blind men went right into the house that Jesus was staying and Jesus asked them, "Do you believe I can make you see?"

"Yes, Lord," said the blind men, "we do."

As a kid  my mom used to have my brother and I alternate nights to wash the dishes. Whenever I washed the dishes, 30 minutes later I would go back into the kitchen and see my mom rewashing them. So after a while I started telling my mom I wasn't going to wash the dishes any more because I knew she was just going to go right back in there and wash them. She didn't trust my dish washing abilities. Of course I still had to wash the dishes any way because my mother surely didn't spare the rod. But knowing that she was going to go back and wash them herself,  I didn't work as hard to get them clean.

And God feels the same way. When we pray to Him and ask Him to handle our situations, do we trust Him that He will take care of it. Or after we pray, do we wake up the next morning and start carrying out our self made plans to handling the situation. When you do that, God is like "Why should I help you when I know you're going to go back and do it yourself anyway?"

God is waiting for us to truly believe that He can wash the dishes and make the dirty parts clean again. His dish washing abilities, unlike my own, are superb.

He has promised that if we pray His Word and Will it will come to pass if we patiently wait. Don't pray and worry. When we start going through the motions of our plans, instead of God's plans, we negate our prayers. It is as if we never asked Him for help.

Give God a chance to show you who He is. Delete your plans and delete your lists. Allow God to do His job. He is more than able to provide and He won't hold back anything from those He loves.  If He is holding anything back, it's because He's seen your future and knows there is something better than that for you. Or He may be building your character because if you got what you were praying for right now, you wouldn't be ready for it and you would end up losing it tomorrow. Unfortunately we can't always see past our own nose to see the plans God has for us. We're blind. But come to the God that sees all things so that He can open your eyes.

Do you believe that He can make you see?

Being LOVED and Being LIKED

BEING LOVED AND BEING LIKED

There is a difference between people knowing they are loved and knowing they are liked.  It seems to me that there has always been a great desire for man to feel both loved and liked, but in Christian circles we are taught that we have to love.  Its not a choice…we just love.  We love our God and we love people.  However, even though we are supposed to love people we don’t always like them.

That’s the interesting part.  If we buy into the notion that you can “love something” but not really “like it” then what does that say about our God who is the example of love? What does that say about real love?  Is love just an emotion of tolerance?  So many Christians equate God’s love with their own view of love that it starts to form the question in their heart “If God loves me like I love people, then does God even like me?”  We have created categories that allow us to fulfill our duties to God, and still keep some form of personal preference and identity.  In reality, we are only doing the latter meaning no one person is perfect and we could all be doing more to build our relationships with Christ.

It’s so ironic to me that we have unknowingly put so much emphasis on winning God’s approval when we have had it all along.  God’s delight (or the capacity of His love and fondness of us) is not based on “sacrifices” or things we achieve (Psalm 51:16).  It is simply based on the fact that He loves us, and He likes us.  There is no difference to Him, that’s it.

We are great at saying that we “love people” but then avoid them because of some personality flaw.  We justify our actions by saying “I love them in Jesus name…but they need to get saved,” like its an excuse for us to not like them.  ”I have to love that guy, but he is so self centered, I don’t like him.”  Is that even possible?  God is our example, and if He has the capacity to love us completely and like us too then we should have that capacity as well.  God likes your quirky little laugh, and your crooked nose.  He likes your strange feet, and He even likes how you have to brush your teeth twice every night before bed.  He likes that you still have areas to grow in humility, and He delights in the fact that your love is immature, but real nonetheless.

So stop feeling like every time you mess up in your Christian walk or don’t live up to an expectation you have to spend 6 hours in probation before He forgets about what happened.  God doesn't just love you because He made a covenant that He had to…He really, really, really likes you.  So remember, you aren't just loved by God, you are liked by God too.

READ : Psalm 57: 2 | Psalm 51:16-17 | Psalm 34 | Psalm 36:7-9

Palm Readers, Psychics, Astrology, and Dooms Day

2 Kings 1:3-6 "Why are you going to Baal-zebub, the God of Ekron, to ask whether the King will recover? Is there no God in Israel?"

When a new year approaches people fervently seek out knowledge of the future year.  People may go to psychics, palm readers, and other false prophets to learn what is to come in their life. Even the "Dooms Day" theories of the world ending on December 21, 2012 were another way for humans to try to seek out information regarding the future by going to a historical calendar and scientists.  On a day-to-day basis people may seek astrology or seemingly "all knowing" friends for advise about their futures.

But God asks - Why do do we go to other people to advise us of our future? Why do we seek science and astrology for information that only God has? Do you now know a God that knows all things? Do you not trust Him?

We sinfully go to false prophets and unbelievers for advise. Doing such things shows a lack of faith in our God. If you have a question about your future, ask Him. Habakkuk, the prophet (see Book of Habakkuk in the Bible), vehemently came to God and asked Him numerous questions about things of present and things to come. He demanded answers, He waited on God, and God provided them. There should be no doubt in a believers mind that God will answer all your questions when the time is right. But some questions may be better left unanswered. For God states, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34).

Furthermore, every time you seek astrology, scientists, psychics, and other false prophets for answers you show a lack of faithfulness. And a lack of faith is a sin that requires repentence (and God is faithful to forgive). "Everything that does not come from faith is sin." (Romans 14:23b).

If you serve a God that knows all things, why would you go to anyone other than Him, or someone who is lead by His Spirit to advise you? Doing such things is just like going to false God's as the Israelites did. It's a slap in the face to God.

As you seek out answers and guidance for the new year pray to God your father. He loves you above all others and He would never lead you astray. Come to Him with all your questions and present to Him your requests. Wait patiently for His loving answer, be thankful for what He has already done, and continue to do His work.