interesting
More intention, less obligation
A new year, a new decade, a new beginning. A clean canvas to fill. 358 days to paint within. What colours and word are you going to choose for the painting of this next chapter? What will you make space for within the framework of this year?
Beginnings hold potential; potential to transition you into a new trajectory in life; potential for blooming. It often takes boldness to begin, for beginnings can feel both bare and brutal, big and beautiful, blurry and bright all at the same time.
Whether your beginning to this new year feel beautiful, blurry, or brutal (or something completely else), I pray you're awake to your heart's desire.
One of my desires for the new year, and even decade, is to live more out of intention than obligation.
An obligation is defined as a duty, a debt (of gratitude for a service or favour) and being bound morally and legally to someone or something. Obligation is not all bad. The bible speaks about how we are obligated to:
- Take care of our families (1 Tim 5:4 AMP talks about it both being a religious duty and a natural obligation).
- Speak in a manner that reflects our fear of God and profound respect for His precepts (James 3:10 AMP).
- Walk and conduct ourselves just as Jesus walked and conducted Himself if we claim Him as God and Saviour (1 John 2:6 AMP - moral obligation).
- Follow the Spirit's promptings instead of the flesh's demands (Romans 8:12 AMP).
- Walk in His ways, His statutes, His commandments, His precepts, and His testimonies (1 Kings 2:3 AMP).
- Righteousness (Romans 6:20 TPT).
Obligations keep us accountable to the ones we love; to our God and our families.
Where obligation gets unhealthy is when the vision for our own life is altered and others' agenda instead get to dictate our days. It affects our fruit and our freedom. Focus and effectiveness is rarely evident in our lives when we are dragged in different directions due to the pursuit of pleasing others:
"But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing!" Romans 13:11 MSG (my emphasis).
It's so easy to live unintentionally with no aim and just do what's demanded of us each day - to go about our errands, stay long for that birthday party because you feel obligated to, keep meeting up with a friend because you always have done it and so on. It's beautiful wanting to delight others. But when these above examples are done to earn approval or acceptance, you wear yourself out. God cares about the motive for our actions, though they look good on the outside:
"Though they fast, I will not hear their cry; and though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them [because they are done as obligations, and not as acts of loving obedience]" (my emphasis).
God doesn't wants dreadful, dutiful, dulled actions with no heart in it. He wants our loving obedience to the assignment He is waiting for us to steward. He wants our hearts, our all, surrendered before Him. He wants us focused and awake, not sidetracked by others' agendas, demands and expectations of you:
"Since we are approaching the end of all things, be intentional, purposeful, and self-controlled so that you can be given to prayer" 1 Peter 4:7 TPT (my emphasis).
He has an assignment for you this season which takes prioritisation. He wants to partner with you to give your dreams legs.
If you're up for that shift in life, I believe 2020 can be the year where you’ll live more out of intention and less out of obligation. Jesus' death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one, canceling your old obligations once and for all (Heb 9,16 MSG). Therefore you can resist and refuse those who try to tie oppressive burdens of religious obligations on your back (Matthew 23:4 TPT).
Instead, by your beautiful intentions you can continue to do what brings pleasure to him (1 John 3,22 TPT). You can finish what you started last year without intentions growing stale. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can't (2 Corinthians 8:10 MSG).
As you're intentional with your time, treasure and talent this year, you'll make space for new births. It will move you out of being stuck in transition and into the trajectory for your life.
You've got what it takes to finish it up, so get to it. Your heart's been in the right place all along.
Whether you intentionally begun this new year or you have stumbled into it, the matter of fact is that it has begun! And though what you have intended to build into this year seem insignificant, know that the Lord delights in small beginnings and asks us not to despise them.
Remember the promise that “[...]Though your beginning was insignificant, yet your end will greatly increase” Job 8:7 AMP (my emphasis).
More intention, less obligation in Jesus' name.
Walk in His liberty.
All the best,
Sandra Hultén.
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Picture: Sophie Vestergård (instagram-handle: @sophvest).
Accepted
I believe 2020 has the potential to be the year you’ll internally hear and believe that you’re ACCEPTED instead of rejected! 🙋🏼♀️
“Accepted” will be the soundtrack you walk to. Roots of rejection will be uprooted as you, by faith, receive the grace to walk free from people bondage and past wounds and into your identity in Jesus of being fully accepted - enfolded into the family of God:
“And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God” Romans 8:14-15 TPT.
To accept means to give consent, say yes to, approve of and to welcome.
How powerful to accept (give consent to, say yes to, approve of and welcome) the Holy Spirit’s stamp on you, His life in you, His breath in you. ✨
When you know you’re accepted, you can give consent to make God stretch you beyond what you’ve currently seen without looking to the left or right for approval of your every move. When you know you’re accepted, you can say yes to who you’ve been created to be.
When you know you’re accepted, you can approve of the gifts you’ve been given and not reject or neglect using them anymore.
When you know you’re accepted, you can welcome rather than abandon yourself - that is the redeemed, renewed self. The self which Christ shines through.
Christ in you is the hope of glory. We share in Jesus’ glory. What a grace and what a mystery. What an ACCEPTANCE.
So - welcome how Christ in you is expressed... Your personality, your gifts, your abilities, your quirks.
Challenge accepted? (no pun intended)
I know I want to receive this by faith and apply and align myself accordingly 🤗
Whether you’re carrying perceived rejection, internal self-rejection with a harsh inner critic or experienced an actual rejection in a relationship, from a job, a certain group etc., know that you can apply the Word of God to your mind. 📖
With the mind of Christ, you’ll believe you’re accepted even while being rejected on the outside.
As you accept the gift of you, you can give of yourself to others rather than neglect, abuse, despise and discard what you have to offer. ❤️
We’re accepted - in Jesus’ name. ✨
Picture by Sophie Vestergård (Instagram-handle: @sophvest)
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A blueprint for the new year part 1
Have you ever received a blueprint from heaven?
Synonyms for a blueprint is a model, design, strategy or template. Blueprints are used to describe the detailed, blue, photographic prints which architects used for their buildings since 1942. 🏠 I love the word ‘blueprint’ is also used in the paraphrased, modern translations of the bible.
A blueprint is more than a vision. It is a plan on how to live it out. There are countless examples of this in the bible.
God revealed to Noah how exactly the Ark was to be built to carry out God’s rescue plan from the flood for the righteous (Genesis 7). David received the exact blueprints from God to pass on to Solomon to build the temple of God. (1 Chronicles 28:11 MSG) Jesus taught us the blueprint on how to pray (Luke 11:1 NIV).
I believe in the strategies of heaven. I believe God has designated plans for us and I know He wants to share His secrets with His friends: “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him” Psalm 25:14.
With 2019 just around the corner, we can draw near to God to receive blueprints of heaven for our new year: 🎆
“Or, to put it another way, you are God’s house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ.
Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely.” 1 Corinthians 3:9-15 MSG.
I love the analogy of our lives as a house, and I feel the weightiness of the scripture too. God is serious about the foundation and the materials the house is built with. Why? Because the house we are building with our lives is the home He dwells in, His sanctuary.
Therefore, regular heart-check-ups are healthy. Is our foundation still Jesus Christ? Are we co-builders of His house building something of eternal value? Are the materials we use silver and gold that will stand the test of fire?
Or is it rather hay and straw that will make our house come burning down by the exposure of time?
In The Passion Translation commentary, it says that “there is an allusion here to the temple of Solomon, which was built using gold, silver, and costly stones. Wisdom will build her house with divine substance (gold), redemption’s fruit (silver), and transformed lives (costly stones). See 1 Chronicles 22:14-16; 29:2.
Wood, hay, and straw are emblems of the works of the flesh, the building materials of men, not of God.
It is both quality and durability that God commends. Fire will cause the better material to glow brighter, but the inferior material will be consumed.
How we build and what we build matters to God. Note that it is possible to build on the true foundation of Christ but with wrong materials. We need God’s work done in God’s way.”
We need a blueprint to build something of quality and durability in 2019. Are we building with His wisdom, His insight, His understanding, His provision and His perspective?
I hope you are encouraged that God is a God of blueprints. God has a blueprint for the wicked (Job 20:29 MSG), God used wisdom’s blueprints to build the earth’s foundations (Prov.3:19 MSG) and God has a blueprint for your life and season! You are heaven's assignment. You are believed in and dearly loved, and your life has purpose.
With your wise strategy for 2019, you can wage war and confuse the enemy’s blueprint for your life. (Proverbs 24:6 TPT; Psalm 55:9 CEV)
Be encouraged to build your life on the foundation of Jesus Christ with materials that will last and stand the test of time:
“You will find true success when you find me, for I have insight into wise plans that are designed just for you. I hold in my hands living-understanding, courage, and strength. They’re all ready and waiting for you.” (Prov. 8:14 TPT)
Let's press in and receive what God has for us. He has exciting things in store!
Bless you,
Sandra.
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