Over the years I have encountered so many believers who struggle to have any sense of themselves—any clarity about their identity. On one hand, this doesn’t seem surprising. This is a prevalent question in our culture: who am I? If you google “how do I know who I am,” you will get over 1 billion hits for self-help articles and assessments trying to answer this question.

For the Lord would say, "You are moving into a new season." And the Lord says, "You must not lead the remnants of the old season behind you." And the Lord says, "This is a time to take stock of things that have troubled you, old pain, old wounding." And the Lord says, "You must shake the dust off your feet or the pain of your yesterday, so I can bring you into a new tomorrow."

As Christians, most of us are probably familiar with 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (NKJV).

This scripture assures us that, in God, we are remade, and our identity is now found in Him; however, in spite of this affirmation, many of us struggle to really embrace the truth and walk in it daily. We can become stuck in the old “sinner saved by grace” mode and not realize that, in Christ, we have so much more—grace for grace.

Knowing who you are in Christ has never been more important. When we have a firm sense of our place and purpose, God can use us more effectively as change agents in society.

Each year, a group of respected prophets from around the nation meets to seek the Lord’s will for the upcoming season. There are keys to our success as well as admonitions for us in the word of the Lord for the year that we need to pay heed to—not only on a personal level, but also on a corporate level.

Many prophetic words coming forth for the New Year include some mention of harvest—a significant increase of people coming into relationship with God. Several I have noted include, "These are the beginning of the days of a great harvest!" and, "We really sense that the Holy Spirit is coming with a massive harvest." The ACPE Word of the Lord for 2015 stated, "This is the time for the harvest of the Jews to begin."

I must confess, I love the new year.

The more I learn about process, cycles, and seasons, the more I love things that symbolize fresh starts and new beginnings. Each Monday, when I open my planner to a new week, or each month, as I turn my calendar to a new page, it is like a breath of fresh air. When the natural seasons change, I celebrate, teaching my kids fun little rituals to mark the transition.

Many people are so busy in their lives. They hurry to church, hurry to pick up their children, and hurry to finish projects. For all of the hurrying, they never seem to finish and catch up. In the midst of the frenzy, you’ll hear comments like, “I’m so weary of all this rush, and I feel like I’m tired all of the time.” Why is this so?

When I think of the stories that fill the pages of Scripture, I notice something that many of them have in common—waiting.

Abraham and Sarah waiting for their promised heir. The Israelites waiting for their freedom from slavery. David waiting for his time as king. Jesus waiting to reveal Himself as the Son of God. Paul waiting for his time in ministry. John waiting through his time of exile.

Family.

That single word can conjure up such a flood of mixed emotions, especially during a time of year that holds increased likelihood of getting together. Even the happiest, healthiest families experience conflict, disappointments, and tensions.

Spiritual gifts are the expression of God’s heart through His people into the world around them. Not only do they serve to build up His church, but they also reveal His character to a broken, hurting world.

In different seasons of my life, the Holy Spirit seems to give me a special emphasis. Usually, it becomes a theme that changes me first, and then when I preach about it, God will do extraordinary things because it is already such a living word in my heart. Acts 1:8 is like that for me right now.

Godly discernment is the divine ability to rightly judge what is going on. In its broadest sense, discernment is closely related to wisdom as an expression of the spirit of God. By this Spirit, we can function in the manner that Jesus did: “He [did] not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears” (Isa. 11:2-3).

Being an encourager is not something that has always come naturally to me. Truthfully, I was more likely to take a critical or “tough love” approach when dealing with people, priding myself on “telling it like it is” and not sugar-coating things. But then the Lord convicted my heart with the reminder that it is actually His kindness that leads us to repentance, and a process of change began in me.

For the Lord would say, "I am preparing an assault against the enemy that is going to release your captivity. For the enemy has come to take you captive, to capture your emotions, to capture your finances, to capture your children, to take the things that I want for blessing, and try to rob and steal from you."

“I will stand my watch… to see what He will say to me…” (Habakkuk 2:1)

Simply expressed, prophecy can be defined as hearing the voice of God and speaking what He says. This gift is commonly experienced in two ways.

Teachers feel compelled to instruct. We can’t help it! We are fascinated with knowledge and driven to share what we learn with others. Indeed, it is a gift, even if we have to learn to recognize when someone actually wants to be taught and when we are trying to force our knowledge on others.

For the Lord would say, "You have asked for wisdom, and you need wisdom. I am going to provide for you a well of wisdom."

Recently, good friends of ours who pastored a local church were divorced and left their position. The pressures and demands of ministry simply became too much for this couple to handle.

Our friends are not alone. Lately, I’ve encountered some sobering statistics:

Before the Lord radically changed my life, there was a point when I was really struggling as a stay-at-home wife and mom—it took every ounce of my strength just to maintain my daily routine. Even simple chores like preparing meals for my family felt like a monumental challenge.