The start of a new year is upon us. In fact, the start of a new decade.

That means you have a blank canvas in front you right now. That canvas is your life.

What kind of decade do you want to live? What seasons will you go through over the next 10 years? Marriage, retirement, children, university, business – there are any number of significant milestones we will experience.

The real question is this: How will you get where you want to go? How can you be sure to have the quality of life you desire?

This series will answer these questions by focusing on one of the most important concepts in life: principles.

The principles you build your life on determine much about your future. We will explore the most critically important principles in the following areas: Family, faith, finances, fitness, and friendships.

Come along and bring a friend. This series will change the next 10 years of your life.

We all need a vision for our finances.

Proverbs 29:18

• “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (KJV)
• “Where there is no vision (revelation), the people are unrestrained.” (NASB)
• “Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint.” (JND)

Proverbs describes the condition of a person without vision. It says people cast of restraint. We all know how easy it is to do that with our finances!

To get a correct Biblical vision for your finances, you first need to check your values. Most incorrect financial habits are a result of people not seeing their finances correctly. All your values put together comprise your financial philosophy in life. Now you may not of thought of this, but values are important.

Lets look at two different sets of priorities:

World’s Values for finances:

1. Get to Keep

2. Measure financial status by how much you make

3. Goal: Financial independence – enough for me to live

Word of God Values for finances:

1. Get to give

2. Measure financial status by how much you can bless

3. Goal: Financial abundance – enough to resource others

We have a choice to make – the world’s values or God’s values. The world’s values are easier in the short term, but in the long run God’s values open up new levels of capacity.

Aligning your financial priorities and giving to God means you are giving into something that will make an eternal difference. Why? Because it helps facilitate God’s plan on earth: transforming lives.

http://www.lifeplace.com.au

P Frank has just started a blog - here is one of his first posts that is relevant to us as we give our First Fruits offering:

The Kingdom of God operates on principle of supply and plenty, while the world operates on the principle of lack and limitation. We are conditioned to think in terms of lack and limitation, because we allow the world system to shape us by its attitude and influence. We begin to see lack and scarcity everywhere, and we begin to believe that there is shortage of what is needed. We are conditioned by the continuing message the world feeds us that there is never enough.

Cell phones have limited minutes and limited calling areas. Cars have limited gas and travel. Our insurance has limited coverage. Our global oil supply, water supply, and clean air supply is limited. Everything is limited and running out so we must protect what we have!

Have you been influenced by the world system’s thought? Have you begun to cling tightly to everything you have because you are afraid that things are running out?

There was a widow that had begun to live with the lack and limitation principle of the world. The national economy had fallen through the floor and she couldn’t afford to put food on the table. She scraped the last remnants from her cupboard to prepare one final meal for herself and her son. She had given up. She had no future, no provision, no hope.

Then Elijah showed up and reminded her. God doesn’t operate on the world system. He operates on the principle of supply and plenty. Elijah’s first words, “Stop being afraid.” Stop being afraid of what the news is saying. Stop listening to the voices of fear and move into the realm of faith.

Remember this – God is not limited! He never runs short! He never runs out! He is God!

This Sunday at Lifeplace we have our annual First Fruits offering.

If there was ever a time in history where people needed to have a correct view of their finances, then that time is now.

As a nation, we are over-spenders. Many people don’t know where their money goes each week, and thousands struggle with credit card debt.

God’s plan for your finances is seen in two stages. Firstly, that you be able to manage your finances diligently. Secondly, that this would position you to be a blessing to others.

Imagine having a goal of being able to help resource God’s plan on earth today – your local church.

Neh 10:35 – “We promise to bring the first part of every harvest to the Lord’s Temple year after year-whether it be a crop from the soil or from our fruit trees.

First Fruits offering is where we give God an offering as a seed for the year ahead. As we give in faith, we are believing to activate a principle in the Word of God over our lives financially. What is this financial principle? It is the favour of God over our lives.

Generosity will do something for your life that no Excel spreadsheet can measure.

The challenge we set for First Fruits is to give the equivalent of one weeks salary. Of course, you give at your own discretion and at your own level, not under any compulsion.

Wouldn’t it be an awesome thing to rally together as a church in faith and generosity to see a great First Fruits offering this year.

Here’s how you can participate: Go to http://www.lifeplace.com.au/firstfruits.php to give right now.

God bless you as you step out this year!

There is more power in prayer than in all the armies of the world. Our prayers are not just idle words being spoken; they are unlike any other form of language because there is a spiritual element attached to prayer. I think if we really understood the power in our prayers then we would be praying a lot more!

Here are some keys to improve your own personal prayer life:

1. Time. Place. Method.
   Have a time. Set aside a certain point in the day that you know is your time to talk to God. Put a value on your time with God.

   Have a place. You can pray anywhere at anytime, but to develop a disciplined, regular prayer life, we should have a place where we know we can focus our mind on God.

   Have a method. It can be after the kids have gone to bed, on the way to work or going for a run. Find what method best suits you.

2. Put away distractions
   I think I am most distracted when it comes time to pray. All of a sudden I am thinking of a million other things I have to do and people to call, or what to have for lunch.

   To solve this problem I always have a pen and paper with me (or my iphone task list) and if something comes into my mind that needs to be done (and it always does) I simply write it down and then get back to praying.

   It is important that we recognize the things that will distract us and try to minimize them. Once we know what our distractions are, we can overcome them with solutions and further develop our prayer life.

3. Use the Bible as a guide
   If you are reading through Proverbs and it is talking about wisdom and right living, start praying that God will give you wisdom to help others and to live a Godly life.

   If you are reading through Psalms and reading David’s praises to God, begin to praise God also. Whatever you read in the scripture, you can apply to your own life.

Remember prayer is not a passive act. Prayer is AN AGGRESSIVE, ACTIVE MINISTRY. You are putting your shoulder to the wheel and moving the forces of heaven. It is two-way communication. God wants to speak to you more than you need to talk to him.

Prayer is about our lives changing.

24/7 is here and church is open the entire week, just waiting for you to come in and seek God.

It is such a great opportunity for you to see the power of prayer at work, as we dedicate every night of a whole week to seeing God move. Things you have wanted breakthrough in for years are going to change as a result of the power of your prayers this week.

So to help you in your praying during our meetings here are a few keys:

1. Give God praise. When we pray we should give him praise and thanks – remember who He is and all of the incredible things he has done in our lives. This is our way of lifting up God in our lives and making sure He is number one and above anything else. Matthew 6:10 “May Your kingdom come soon. May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
2. Align our prayers with God’s will and not our own. 1 John 5:14 “And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him.”
   Often we wonder why God doesn’t answer our prayers. Sometimes it’s because they are not in line with His will.
3. Present our needs to God. God may know everything that we need, but He still wants us to ask for things and believe that He will supply everything that we need. Matthew 21:22 ” And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
4. Repent and Forgive. Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore, and turn, that your sins may be blotted out.” Repentance is more than just saying sorry. It is feeling – a sense of regret for what we have done; but it’s also making a decision to turn away from that sin and live a different way. It’s only when we have repented of our sins that we can start to live differently and God can begin to change us.

5. Put your life in God’s hands. He will help us to live Godly lives and protect us from the traps the enemy would want to set for our lives. Allow God to be the guide of your life. Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

We are believing as a church for every individual to develop momentum in their personal prayer life and find spiritual breakthrough for 2010.

Join us this week for 24/7 – there is such power when believers come together and pray as one.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Psalm 46:1

¹ God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

The best time to prepare for a storm is before it hits.

What happens this decade when a breeze starts blowing? What happens when thunderclouds start overtaking our blue sky? What happens when a full-scale cyclone hits our life?

Will we turn away from God, or will we turn towards Him?

Here is a storm survival kit we all need to have on hand:

1.     Remember God is in control

2.     Prepare in advance

3.     Build your life on strong foundations

4.     When you’ve done everything, stand

5.     Allow the storm to change you

Keep hope, God is in control. He is with us through all things.

We can rise above the clouds.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

⁸ We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. ⁹ We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

Matthew 7:24

²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶ But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷ When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Let’s break this story down.

There are 2 houses in this story.

These houses are very similar. In fact, to the casual passerby they may appear cosmetically identical. The difference between these two houses is hidden – it is the foundation.

The 2 houses represent 2 different ways we can live.

House number 1: This represents the person who builds their life on the Bible and on good teaching. They hear the teachings of Jesus and follow them. This is a life built on solid rock.

House number 2: This is the kind of person that still knows the Bible and has heard plenty of preaching. But they lack execution and struggle to follow through in life.  This is a life built on shifting sand.

Lessons for our lives:

1. The violence of these storms will hit both houses

2. The difference is in the response of the houses

What kind of foundation are you building your life on? The best thing is to answer that now, because one day the storm will answer that for you.

Take hope – a life built on the right foundations can survive any storm!

There is a person in the Bible who is known for one thing – suffering. He is known for going through crises in life that would be unthinkable for most of us. He embodies what it means to go through storms. But the reason why he is in the Bible is not just because he suffered. It was his response to suffering. He is a lesson to us on how to have hope when our circumstances plot our demise. When suffering overcomes our mind like an ocean, or when our heart is filled with anguish, or grief, where is God and where is hope?

Job was a real man. He was an extremely wealthy man, and he was also a Godly man.

He had thousands of livestock and a large family. He loses everything and hits rock bottom. He lost his family, health, and wealth.

This is as real as it gets.

Job 14:7-9

For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease.  Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant.

I love Job 14. It gives the picture of a tree. The tree was once vibrant, green, flourishing, and bearing fruit. But through the storms of life it has been decimated. All that remains is a stump in the ground. It appears that all hope is gone. But this is not the case. Jobs says at the hint of water it will bud again.

Your life may feel like this. It was once a flourishing tree but is now just a stump. Well take heart and have hope – even a stump can bud again! With hope in God, new life, new green shoots, new leaves and new branches can break out all over your life.

Broken dreams, pain, disappointment, sorrow – with God you can have hope and a future. The best is ahead of you!

In Luke 8 Jesus goes for a trip on a boat. A huge storms arises, and as His disciples fear for their lives, Jesus is having a nap on the boat!

When they awake them He demonstrates a very important principle for all of us to know: Jesus has power over the storms.

Whatever, you are facing, no matter how difficult or unexpected it is, remember that God is still in control.

Luke 8:22-25

²³ As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.

²⁴ The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”

When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. ²⁵ Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?”

The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!

We all encounter situations over which we have no personal control. It could be a serious sickness that comes out of nowhere. Maybe a relationship is not turning out the way you thought. Perhaps you have a business deal go bad, or you are having a trial of faith.

Whatever the case may be, we all experience the storms of life. Storms are unexpected – they don’t make appointments before they arrive! But when they unleash their power, storms can do devastating damage.

Let’s look at nature for an example of storms:

A storms vicious wind and powerful rain can tear structures apart, rip roofs of houses and overturn cars.

But let’s remember that storms always end. Always.

We all love sunny days, but we will encounter storms. When a storm hits, it can test our hope. Although storms can shake the very foundation of our lives, we can still have hope in God.

Proverbs 10:25
²⁵ When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.