Reinhard Ratz Ministries

Heavenly Father We pray for all those we know that are trusting you for their daily bread that all of their needs will be abundantly supplied in the Name of Jesus
Psalms 118:24 (NKJV) This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.

Seize the Day and Plan the Year.

Phil 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. NKJV

On this last day of 2016, here are some comments that relate to starting the New Year well,.

Pastor David Blount of Church on the Rock asked 5 Questions to which I give my answer.
1. What is your view of God? We can know how God has helped people in the past and can help us too. We can bring our prayer requests to our Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus.
2. What is our view of ourselves? We can know we are a child of God. We go with God's view of ourselves rather than what others may have in mind.
3. What is our purpose? We use the gifts and talents we have been entrusted with for the glory of God. We can be fruitful in his kingdom. We have the great Commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel.
4. What difference can we make? It is not by might, nor by power but by the Holy Spirit. As we abide in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can be a blessing to others where ever we are.
5. What will be our legacy? We are more interested in being about our Father's business than building a personal legacy. At the same time, we choose to do what will be tried as silver and gold rather than hay and stubble. He that wins souls is wise.

When it comes to time management, we each have 168 hours a week. Even with sleep taking 56 hours and work taking 50 hours (with commute), it still leaves 62 hours that we can manage and use toward God given purposes. While getting in daily exercise can be healthy, there is no need to overdo it. We can make use of even small increments of time. While smart phones can be used for reading, checking messages and note taking, we can give thought going forward of how much time we spend on media and gadgets. And of course, to put it mildly, sin is a dangerous time waster, an unneeded detour and a deterrent to being what God can do in and through us. There are people who are waiting on the other side of our obedience.

Relatively near to where I live here in Irving, Texas is an excellent church (Upper Room Dallas) that has prayer and worship times in their main auditorium. During most of the year, prayer sets take place starting at 6 am, Monday through Thursday. One can go listen to live worship music, prayers and then pray individually. While I can do the same at home, it still helps to do prayer with others. Without overstating it, in some churches, one give feel the Holy Spirit in a greater way just walking in, making it very easy to pray. We pray and trust God to give us opportunities to speak to and bless others, make our path straight, to give us wisdom, to give us insight and to give us strength during the day.

When it comes to planning for the year, what would can be accomplished this year? We trust God to instruct us and teach us in the way we should go. Just as Noah had a plan for the ark and Moses had a plan for the tabernacle, we trust God to give us plans and to lead us by His Holy Spirit. Just as an engineer gets the an overall building plan from an architect and then fills in his portion, we do our part in the planning and follow through process.

5 things we can always do as a Christian:
1. We can always pray.
2. We can always worship God.
3. We can always plant God's Word into our lives; we can study it, meditate on it and speak it.
4. We can always give to God, to the church and help the poor; we can love God and those around us.
5. We can always tell others the Good News that Jesus Christ is the Savior and that people can be saved.

Jesus said in John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. NKJV