Revived Hearts, Dreams, and Families | July Monthly Blog

July 01, 2018 | Anne Ballard

In the month of July, revival is coming to marriages, families, and forgotten hopes. God is breathing on the old desires of your heart and calling them back to life. There is grace to forgive yourself and others and step into freedom from the past, and as you move forward this month, God is setting up important partnerships for your role in the coming revival.

FREED BY FORGIVENESS

‘And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins.’ Mark 11.25

For most of us, when we hear the word ‘forgive’ we think of how we need to forgive others. The thought often incites guilt, as we rack our brain for who we’re still holding a grudge against. That is certainly a good place to start - forgiving others for the wrong that they’ve done to you. But just as important as forgiving others is the compassion that we bring to our own heart by forgiving ourselves. Without practicing forgiveness, we are susceptible to growing resentment, bitterness, and ultimately a hardened heart. When we regularly evaluate our heart, keeping it tender and supple, not only are we healthier, but we also position ourselves to hear God and align with what He’s doing. When we are able to forgive, we can reset and refocus, because just as we’ve freed someone else, we are also freed and released.

The freedom that opens up in our own lives when we forgive ourselves is transformational. So often we feel guilt and shame over something that matters more to us than it does to God, and it drives a wedge between us and God that never needed to be there. It is only in forgiving ourselves that we’re able to move into healing and all the good that God has for us in our lives.

BUT GOD

Right now, the sanctity of marriage is being highlighted. ‘Sanctity’ is defined as “holiness, sacred or hallowed character or a sacred thing” (dictionary.com). Marriage between a man and woman is a sacred union and is precious to God. There are marriages that have been divided, separated or divorced - many due to infidelity of differing degrees. God is willing to reunite these couples if they will make the courageous step to forgive and lay down the things that separated them. It’s a scary, bold move to take back the one that hurt you. Ask God if He is calling you to return once more. In Ezekiel 37.3 God asks Ezekiel if the dry bones can live. Ezekiel’s wise reply was, “Oh Lord, you alone know.” God alone knows if there is still life in your relationship. Even though things may look dead, this month God is moving in these situations that feel completely impossible. It will be evident that this change could only have been brought about if God moved.

Revival is happening and it is being birthed in families. Not only biological family, but those living in community, functioning together and living as a family. We need strong healthy couples to be mothers and fathers for this next great move of God.

TAKING BACK TIME

‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.’ Proverbs 18.21

Picture a little girl in front of full-length mirror, telling herself that she’s brave. Her words are creating a reality for her to live in. It takes bravery to speak out the things that don’t feel true yet. It takes a high level of trust to put promises and dream into words that have not yet come to pass, and to say them as if they are true. You’re trusting that those words are going to become something - that they are a truth that you will one day walk in. This month there is grace to take back time. We can take back past experiences in a new way - by forgiving ourselves, and by not allowing ourselves to be named or identified by our past experiences. God calls you by your future, but so often we call ourselves by our past. Freedom can be yours today by making agreement with who God says you are, and letting go of who you used to be. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and behold, all things have become new!” (2 Corinthians 5.17)

NEW LIFE ON OLD DREAMS

“You keep track of all my sorrows.[a]
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.” Psalm 56.8

Are there prayers or dreams in your heart that you’ve abandoned, convinced that they would never come to be? God remembers the prayers you’ve stopped praying. He has not forgotten the dreams that used to live in your heart-the ones you’ve lost hope for. This month He is breathing new life on them again. There’s grace available to dream bigger than before, and to carry bigger dreams than you’ve ever believed were possible. Jesus told us that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19.26). This month He’s reminding you to trust Him once again with the deep desires of your heart.

POWERFUL PAIRINGS

God created you for a divine purpose, and there’s no one else on the planet that can accomplish what you’ve been put here to do. God is birthing marriages, relationships, and partnerships that are pivotal to this coming revival. You’ve been brought together for such a time as this. It’s no accident that you’re coming together now. He’s also working in marriages that already exist, revealing deeper levels of your identity together as a couple. He’s revealing more of what your mission is together. Watch for shifts in your marriage as you are being divinely aligned to walk out what only the two of you can do TOGETHER.

We at The Crowning Jewels believe in the absolute, transformational power of declarations. We know truth comes by hearing (Romans 10.17), and speaking truth is an active way for us to renew our minds (Romans 12.2). We also believe that in speaking forth these declarations, you will change your life. We invite you to partner with what God is doing, and say these declarations for the remainder of the month. We would love to hear what God does! Please email us your testimony at tellyourstory@thecrowningjewels.com.

DECLARATIONS

I am forgiven, as I forgive (others and myself).
Nothing is impossible with God.
I call myself by my future, not my past.
God is doing a new thing!
Revival is being birthed through my family.