“No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.” – Isaac Newton

It takes boldness to accomplish your plans for 2012. All that timidity accomplishes is ‘nothing’.

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Speaking about boldness, here is a funny story. An elderly lady was well-known for her faith and for her boldness in talking about it. She would stand on her front porch and shout, “Praise the Lord!” Next door to her lived an atheist who would get so angry at her proclamations he would shout, “There ain’t no Lord!!”

Hard times set in on the elderly lady and she prayed for God to send her some assistance. She stood on her porch and shouted, “Praise the Lord!! God, I need FOOD!! I am having a hard time. Please, Lord, send me some groceries!!”

The next morning, the lady went out on her porch and saw a large bag of groceries and shouted, “Praise the Lord!!” The neighbor jumped from behind a bush and said, “Ha Ha!! I told you there was no Lord. I bought those groceries. God didn’t.”

The lady started jumping up and down and clapping her hands and saying, “PRAISE THE LORD!!! He not only sent me groceries, but He made the devil pay for them!!”

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The Scripture declares that “the righteous are as bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1 NIV). It’s not by chance that the two words – ‘righteous’ and ‘lion’ came together. The one who embraces the righteousness of Christ is the only one who can stand up boldly and do ‘lion-kind’ acts! Choose to be bold.

Talking about boldness, there are two ways to understand it:-

1. Inner Boldness - Though boldness is a gift of God, it rises from our spirit. It permeates our minds with images and thoughts of valor.

2. Outer Boldness - Boldness has to be acted out. It is not a concept. It is an act. It is not shy to appear in public!

God hasn’t given us boldness to ‘play it safe’. No, He gave it to help us accomplish His plans in this New Year.

As you launch out, you will soon confront an enemy called Opposition. It can come in various forms, through various people, and at various times. The one thing that Opposition is afraid of more than any other is Boldness! That’s why God commanded Joshua, “…Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9 NIV).

Being bold doesn’t mean that you don’t ‘feel’ fear. Being bold is all about acting bold in spite of fear! But once you start acting boldly, fear loses its grip over you.

So, remember: You must choose to be bold to start this year afresh!

In the next post, we are going to have the sixth step to starting 2012 afresh. In the meantime, how did you find boldness working wonders in your life? Add your comments below in the comments section.

- – - written by Joe Abraham from www.joeandancy.com

Assurance is defined as ‘something that is designed to inspire confidence’. You can consider 2012 as a new beginning. You can decide what you want to accomplish this year. You can commit your plans to the Lord. But until you get the assurance that God is present in this whole affair, your confidence level would be on a low level. So it is important that you get assurance about your plans and actions.

We can ask experts to give us wise counsel. We can refer books to get helpful insights. These are good ways of building up confidence. But going to the Holy Bible works better than any other way! Psalm 119:105 (NLT) says, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

When we are not sure of our steps, God gives us assurance through His Word. When we feel confused about the actions we got to take, God’s Word brings clarity to our actions.

The disciples of Jesus have experienced the assurance that came through His Word. They knew that only Jesus could grant it to them. That is why Peter exclaimed, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”! (John 6:68).

Here are two major ways that help you obtain assurance from the Scriptures:

1) Analyze your plans with the Scripture. It can be a direct scriptural principle like water baptism. Or it can be an indirect scriptural principle like a particular company you like to work with. Prayerfully and diligently search the Scriptures to find what He wants you to do. The Scriptures will start ministering to you and your confidence level will shoot up.

2) Follow the peace. God’s peace works as an umpire. Colossians 3:15 (AMP) says, “And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds…” As you continue in the Scriptures, check the level of your peace. The more you sense peace, the more your confidence level increases.

After searching the Scriptures, if you find that your plans do not line up with God’s Word, be willing to change your plan. Ask God for a better plan. Also, if you do not sense peace in your heart, ask God to give you a solution. He will surely give you a better solution which you may have never thought of earlier.

So, remember: You must obtain assurance from the Scriptures before you launch out!

In the next post, we are going to have the fifth step to starting 2012 afresh. In the meantime, what are some of your experiences about being guided by God through His Word? Add these in the comments section below.

- – - written by Joe Abraham from www.joeandancy.com

I know a friend of mine who went through severe financial crisis sometime back. He had a passionate desire to conduct open-air Gospel meetings at different rural areas in Kerala. But since he didn’t have sufficient financial backing, He gave the matter into the Lord’s hands.

After sometime, he got a witty idea. Why not construct a facility on top of his house and rent it out for business? He began working on that idea. With the help of a substantial bank loan, he hired a construction company to build his dream facility.

To cut a long story short, now his facility houses three business groups and his financial woes have ended. Besides, he is following his passion and hosting open-air Gospel meetings at different places!

Psalm 37:5 declares, “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you” (NLT). Why should we commit our plans to the Lord? The reason is simple: God is omniscient (all-knowing) while we don’t know everything. He knows our past, present and future while we know much of our past and present with less knowledge about our future. So God knows well what we should do for growth and productivity. And He is ready to tell us if we ask Him!

Check out this beautiful passage: “Put God in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place” (Proverbs 16:3 MSG). It’s not about asking God to bless your plans. Rather it’s about asking God to work out His plans on your plans! And the result will be, His plans work like a catalyst on your plans and transform it to something beautiful and powerful.

Here’s a smart way to commit your plans to the Lord: start a Plans Journal. You may use a diary, notebook or A4 paper for journaling. Make two columns on the selected page. On the left column, write “Plans I commit to the Lord” as the heading. On the right column, write “How God worked it out!” as the heading. Fill out the left column with your plans that you commit to the Lord. And as results start showing off, log it in the right column. By the end of the year, you will be so amazed at how beautifully God transformed your plans and brought huge blessings out of that!

So, remember: Committing your plans to the Lord helps you start 2012 afresh!

In the next post, we are going to analyze the 4th step to starting this New Year afresh. Meanwhile, what are some of the benefits you reaped by committing your plans to the Lord in the past? Add your comments in the comments section below. Also share this post with some of your friends to help them start this year afresh!

- – - written by Joe Abraham from www.joeandancy.com