Tears of gratitude flow as I reflect on the past year. Lord in spite of me, You have brought me to levels of my destiny that I have always dreamed of, yet I know this is still only the beginning. I know there is so much more in store, so much for me to do, so much work yet to be done in me.

Thank You Lord for preserving me with Your grace and mercy that I might live to see this day. I’m so thankful to know that no matter what happened in my past, I still have a bright future and even today shines brightly because of Your Love in my life.

Today, I come before You asking for a fresh start to a new year. I repent of any fleshly desires, doubts and fears. Lord cleanse me and dress me in Your Holiness as I rededicate my life to You. I want my days to be increasingly marked by my love, obedience and service for You. More importantly, I give my life to You to use as You please. You have done so much for me, the very least I can give You is myself.

In the coming year, “let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, Oh Lord my Strength and My Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14 NKJV). For “one thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 NIV

Lord, it is my prayer today and every day that I will never leave Your Presence the same way that I entered. May I never become so cold and unrepentant that I come near You and nothing changes or shifts in me. When I hear and read Your Word I pray that my mind would be renewed. When I sing Your praise I pray that my love and reverence for You would be deeply stirred. I also pray that being amongst Your people would always motivate me to become more like You.

The woman with the issue of blood in (Luke 8:43-48) had struggled with her sickness for 12 years and spent every dime she had trying to get a cure. Yet one glimpse of You and she knew her day of healing had come. She knew that one touch of Your garment would change her life forever. She had that much faith in the transforming power of Jesus that it caused her to reach out and touch Him so that she could be forever changed.

You told her that her faith made her well. Lord, I have faith today that no matter how broken and messed up I am, one touch from You will change my life. I am reaching out to You Lord with the expectancy that Your Holiness will touch that which is impure in me and make it clean.

Let us never go a day unchanged by the presence of God.
Philippians 3:10 (Amplified Bible)
¹⁰[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]

The Bible says (paraphrased), “for everything there is a season.” The good news in that is knowing that any season of difficulty you experience is temporary, for it must make way for a new season in your life. The life of David is exemplary of someone who experienced many different seasons but maintained his faith and relationship with God.

I love the way David responded to adversity. In First Samuel 30, David was in deep despair because upon returning to Ziklag, him and his men found that the city had been burned down and the women and children were gone! David’s men wanted to kill him and he didn’t know what had become of his own wives. However, even in these extreme circumstances, David encouraged himself in the Lord! If David could face such adversity and look to God, surely we can do the same!

When David encouraged himself, he also asked God if he should pursue the enemy. The Lord told him he should pursue and he would overtake the enemy. Not only did David pursue, overtake, fight and win; he also recovered everything the enemy had stolen and more, including all the women and children.

Right now, I declare the same for you and I. We will continue to encourage ourselves in the Lord., we will pursue, overtake and recover all! Claim the victory in your life today!

Psalm 118:14-16 (New International Version)

Spiritual warfare is necessary in the life of the believer because there are unseen forces that hate the name, the blood and the followers of Jesus Christ. This is why we must stay prayerful and mindful of the presence of God in our lives. Our worship is a weapon that gives us victory over the enemy and defense against his tactics. During times of prayer and worship, God is able to reveal the enemy’s strategies so that you can be prepared.

In fact , the Lord revealed some things to me yesterday after a time of worship and I have a message for the enemy this morning. The message is, I SEE YOU. And I hope you see me. See how everything you have ever thrown at me only pushes me closer to the living God? Through abuse – both verbal and physical, it caused me to love God more. For God rescuing me out of every mistake I ever made, it only caused me to want to serve Him more. For every time that I couldn’t see a way to make it work, I saw God make a way.

I remember the day I became angry enough to say I would never let another man abuse me. He said to me, “I will not even let Jesus take you away from me.” I recognized you with your idle threats speaking through that man and I put you on notice that my life belonged to God. I said I would serve Jesus with my life no  matter what.

You messed up. You tried to take my life, you tried to convince me that my life was worthless but God showed me what you were doing. You will never get the victory or the glory. I am purchased with the Blood of Jesus Christ and I belong to Him.

There is nothing you can do to me that won’t bring me closer to God.  If I lose absolutely everything, that means there is nothing left for me to do but praise Him! Go ahead and talk. Go ahead and try to throw my past in my face. Have your pity party because I left you. I know I was good to you when I was your girl but I no longer serve you. My King is the Almighty God and there is no turning back for me.

So yeah, I see you, and I know you see me covered by the Blood of Jesus. You can’t penetrate His Blood. I’m going to walk this thing out, trusting God to fulfill the purpose He has for my life. Not only that, but in Jesus’ Name I have already begun to birth generations of men and women who will also serve God and honor Him with their lives.

Let us all be thankful for the way God thwarts the plans of the enemy! Father, thank You for taking a life of hell and despair and replacing it with eternal life and love. Thank You for Your Divine protection, guidance and strength to withstand the fiery darts of evil.

Ephesians 6:11-13 (New International Version)

¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

There are no words adequate to describe the worship experience I had last night at Agape Family Worship Center in Rahway, NJ where Israel and New Breed took us all the way in to the Holy Presence of God. The deeper I went, the more I wanted God to just rip out everything inside me and fill me with Himself all over again.

The presence of God is such a beautiful, powerful place. Just as the North is separated from the South, I felt the Lord separate from me all the errors and pain of my past. The things I struggled with just yesterday to forgive are no more part of me. Those things existed with Rachel. The old patterns, the usual disappointments, the emotional triggers belong to a woman who is no longer here.

This is a new day. My middle name, Renee happens to be french for “reborn.” A friend said on Facebook, “you are the best Rachel Renee ever!” I received it prophetically as, God is doing something new in me and I am becoming the best me I have ever been. The Lord confirmed it during worship last night. Indeed, I am Rachel Renee, Rachel reborn in Jesus Christ. Rachel Dead to sin, shame and bondage, Rachel Reborn in joy, freedom and righteousness.

God is bringing me to a new level of spiritual maturity. I know this is necessary because of all the things He has entrusted me with this year. It is time to fully embrace the new me. Time to stop fearing whether the old me and all of her problems will return. It is time to fly!

Fly with me! Be renewed in the presence of the Lord, be renewed in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (New King James Version)

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Lord I don’t want anything I do to simply be a show of praise. I don’t want to perform acts of worship and secretly wish for recognition of my talents. I want my words, my song, my attitude to come from a place of humility and thankfulness.You are not impressed with a show, You simply want true love and worship from me.

Please forgive me for the times I have rushed through reading Your Word. Please forgive me for standing in Your Presence and being distracted by other things. You have done so much for me and You deserve nothing but the Highest Praise that I can give!

I don’t ever want to forget how You were there for me in my darkest days. I don’t ever want to feel like I am strong enough to stand on my own without You. Without You, I am nothing. Without Your Love, anything I want to offer is meaningless. It’s all about You, Lord. I am broken before you. I worship You with my whole heart.

Psalm 51:16-17 (The Message)

^16-17 Going through the motions doesn’t please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.

Psalm 51:16-17 (New Living Translation)

¹⁶ You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

Each one of us has a unique purpose and calling on our life, however all of mankind also shares a common destiny: we were created to worship and glorify the Lord in the earth. There are times when it  can be difficult for anyone to walk out their purpose and destiny so I am offering you this encouragement today. Don’t allow anything or anyone to steal your purpose!

If there is ever any doubt that you can fulfill the calling on your life to worship God, remember that you were made for this! God is so sure that you can do it, that He said if you won’t then He will get the rocks to cry out! How ridiculous would that be?

You were created with a voice to sing His praise and speak of His goodness, hands to lift in adoration, knees to bow in reverence and feet to carry your thankfulness with you wherever you go.

You are so divinely appointed to worship that if you don’t do it, you feel an emptiness, a longing inside that just gnaws away at you sometimes. In those moments you wonder about your existence, you wonder why you are even here and you feel so unfulfilled. You feel that way because your heart longs to worship its Creator! There is an empty space inside of you that only He can fill; your heart grows sick when it is separated from Him!

Step into your destiny today; be fulfilled and worship Him! Thank Him for simply waking you up this morning! Thank Him for providing for your needs and your desires. Worship Him because He is God.

Psalm 150 (New International Version)

¹ Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.

² Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.

³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,

⁴ praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,

⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.

Lord I come before you now with a heart full of thanksgiving. Because of You I know what is to be Loved. I know peace and joy because of Your presence in my life. You are my joy.You are my hope. My trust is firmly anchored in You Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.

Your love is sweet and Your voice is music to my ears. I love to sing your praise and speak of your goodness Lord! Where would I be without Your Love? I would not be here to talk about how You set me free from heartache and pain. I would not be here to testify about the beautiful friends and family you have blessed me with. I would not be here to share your Love and compassion with anyone else if you had not rescued me from the hell I was in.

No matter how uncertain it seems, I will praise you continually. I will keep my eyes on you instead of the situation because I know You have it under control. I can praise You because it is already done! You deserve the highest praise Jesus. I will bless Your name forever for You are Holy, You are Perfect, You are Love.

Psalm 34:1-3 (New King James Version)

¹ I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
² My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
³ Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.

The sovereignty and magnificence of God is displayed everywhere we turn. The force of gravity displays that there is a Creator holding everything in place. The complexity of life exhibits God’s glory- the way the human body operates, how many tiny miracles take place all day every day just so that we can breathe and move. Just learning about how the heart and brain operate is mind-blowing in itself; it testifies of a Father who painstakingly put His Love into the details of creating man.

How many times have you had a near-death experience? Have you ever experienced love and care from another person? Have your needs ever been provided for? If you are reading this, do you realize what a miracle you are, surviving conception and birth, processes that only God could have orchestrated? You have interacted with God from before the day you were born.

We see the miracles of God every day yet somehow we take them for granted. We forget that we are not responsible for making our lungs work, for making the blood flow, for sending those signals to the brain. We are sustained by the Living God, who saw fit to put His life, His essence into us!

I cannot say anything else but God, thank You! I am so in awe of You and Your workmanship. No one could ever deny Your existence as long as they have breath to tell it – for there is no air, there is no breathing without You. Almighty God, I worship You with my life today.

Romans 1:20-21 (New International Version)

²⁰For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

[To the melody of Destiny's Child's "Cater to You"] Let me cater to You; I thank You for a new day. Do anything for You Lord because You blow me away. What You desire/ require, I just want to serve You Lord. Let me cater to you.

This is the song of my heart as I wake this morning. God You have been so kind and so gracious toward me. You have done so much just to prove Your Love, even though I could never deserve it. From the bottom of my heart, I just want my life to be pleasing to You!

I want to serve you with everything that You have given me! I don’t want to withhold any good thing from You, Lord. I belong to You. I pray that You would be satisfied with the work of my hands Lord. I pray that you would be pleased with the song I sing to You, that it would be a sweet sound in your ear.

I am like the woman who washed Your feet with her tears. I am so overwhelmed by Your Love that I cannot stop. Let my gifts be like the costly perfume that she anointed your feet with Lord. I want to pour the very best of me onto You.

Luke 7:43-47 (The Message)

“…”Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.”