Our First Love | Jan. Monthly Blog

In the month of January God is stirring up a longing for His people to return to Him. He is revealing the areas of our life where we haven’t fully trusted Him and asking us to surrender them. He wants to breathe fresh life into us, reignite us with inspiration and passion, and invite us to dream with Him again. Others’ lives will be changed as they are drawn in by the fruit of God’s love and humility that invades our lives. It’s a new season - God is speaking in new ways and giving His people fresh, new vision as we gather together and seek what He is doing in this coming year.

Scandalous Trust

“Surely God is my salvation;

I will trust and not be afraid.

The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense

he has become my salvation.”

Isaiah 12.2

Most Christians would say that they trust God, but what that means from person to person varies greatly. Perhaps you or someone you know have been in seasons where you had to live by faith-maybe you were without a job and living on support or donations, or you were without a home and you were reliant on people offering you a place to stay. Maybe you would never do that because you view that as irresponsible. We all have different thresholds and the lessons that God is teaching us vary greatly from person to person. In our world today different things can bring us security, comfort or peace of mind. For some people it could be something as simple as a reliable vehicle, job stability, a certain size savings account, extra food or guns. While none of those things are necessarily wrong, for some of us there’s a subtle transition between putting our trust in those things rather than putting our trust solely in the Lord. How much is too much? I would say it’s the amount that causes us to not trust God anymore. When we no longer live a life where we have to lean on Him, we start to lean on our own understanding. We were created to dream with God, and to live supernatural lives. Is there wisdom in doing some of those things? Certainly, but God wants us to be relying on Him to direct us and relying on Him to sustain us. When we’re only doing things out of what we feel would be practical, we are not actively partnering with and relying on God to lead us. This often masquerades as being a good steward when it’s actually not coming from a place of faith at all. When we truly Trust God from a place of deep intimacy we are not as prone to worry, even in tumultuous times.

What is God doing right now? He’s revealing the areas of our life that we don’t fully trust Him and asking us to give those to Him. This word is for people that don’t have dreams that are bigger than themselves. It’s for people who don’t require God to show up because they can accomplish everything all on their own. When you feel afraid, what is your first go-to? God desires to have us come to Him when we are feeling afraid rather than going to our practical needs? Am I afraid because I don’t have money to pay my bills? He wants you to come to Him rather than getting a second job (to have more money). Maybe He will lead you to do that very thing, but He wants you to come to Him first. If you feel this word is for you, ask yourself WHY do you need _______________________ (fill in the blank). Process this with the Lord. Ask God to give you a dream or a word that is an undeniable invitation to partner with Him. Set your mind and heart focused on a kingdom worldview and not just your physical worldview. Some questions to ponder and process with God: Was Jesus practical? Can you be too supernatural? As you look through scripture, you’ll find Jesus addressed practical needs in a supernatural way. How did Jesus live his life? How did He meet problems or needs? Was He a good steward?

Returning to Our First Love

Hosanna by Hillsong United (a portion of lyrics)

Written by Brooke Fraser

I see the King of glory

Coming on the clouds with fire

The whole earth shakes

I see His love and mercy

Washing over all our sin

The people sing

Hosanna

Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation

Rising up to take their place

With selfless faith

I see a near revival

Stirring as we pray and seek

We're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean

Open up my eyes to the things unseen

Show me how to love like You have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks Yours

Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause

As I walk from earth into eternity

Imagine a lighthouse. What is a lighthouse? A lighthouse provides light in the midst of darkness, and even distress. It brings direction and safety. God is calling the church to be reestablished around the world. We are called to be a light in the darkness and a safe place for others. The lyrics of this song paint a beautiful picture of how the church is a lighthouse to the world. What if God was raising up a generation to take their place with selfless faith? What if there was a near revival, stirring when we pray and seek? What if we as the body of Christ were contending for God to break our heart for what breaks His?

God is stirring up a longing for His people to return to Him. He is releasing a deeper level of intimacy than we’ve known before. Many will be awakened to a fresh encounter with Him. This word is for people that are experiencing a lack of passion in life, in their relationship with God and possibly in their relationship with others. They are just “going through the motions.” They’ve been feeling this way for a while. If this is you, try spending some time with the Lord. The church being re-established as a lighthouse to the world will be when the church returns to their first love. When we can come into God’s presence in humility and just to be with Him, He breathes life into us. We become filled with inspiration and passion as we start dreaming with God again. It’s from this place that we draw others to the truth of who God is, and to the light of His love.

Drawn by Humility

“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

Romans 2.4

The Church should be the healthiest group of people on the planet, but the enemy has sought to sabotage it, divide it and break it down. The religious spirit has crept in and created complacency, pride, judgement, a critical spirit, and performance amongst a body of people that were created to champion one another. This spirit has caused believers to think they don’t need to grow (pride). Why is there a lack of people sharing the gospel? Why aren’t more believers passionate about seeing others saved? Is it because they haven’t been radically saved themselves? Or are they doing it out of a place of performance? There is a harvest of souls coming out of a movement of humility. This movement is bypassing the pride and ugliness that the religious spirit has snuck into the body so that the truth of what Christ has done for you is on display more than what you can do. When we are re-connected to the personal sacrifice that Jesus made for each of us we are able to share our faith out of that place which is undeniably appealing.

God is bringing conviction to places of pride, and releasing forgiveness and love to those who have repentant hearts. In keeping our hearts tender we allow God access to mold us and shape us to be more like Him. Some of you may have been convicted recently about the fruit of your life and you want to see that change. If that is you, then God wants to use you now. Perhaps you’ve seen judgement, a critical spirit, lack of compassion or grace within your own heart and you’d like to see that change. Not only are you miserable, but you’re having trouble drawing others to you. It’s time to humble yourself. Realize that it is the Holy Spirit that wins souls, but your part is to be authentic in how God has moved in your life. Others’ lives will be changed because they see the fruit of God’s love and forgiveness through you, and they are drawn in by that kind of humility and authenticity.

New Synergy

“ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Matthew 18.20

2020 was a wild year and the enemy was on a mission to divide us. Now is the time to undo what He tried to do by uniting together. It’s a new season and when that’s the case we can’t expect God to speak to us as He always has. He’s speaking in new ways. Some of you may feel stuck. When you try and try over and over and it’s not working, then go back to the basics-physical acts of worship or reading your Bible can shift things in the spirit.

God is giving us a new perspective-fresh vision-to help us see things differently. If you’ve been feeling stuck and like things just aren’t working, this word is for you. You may keep trying, but no matter what you try you aren’t having success doing things the way you’ve always done them. It’s not hard to receive what God has for you. Worship Him with your whole heart and be open minded in how to receive from Him in this fresh, new season. As we trade in the old from this year and reunite with our first love, we can look ahead with anticipation and hope that God has good things in store for His people. Open your hands, your minds and your hearts, as He has been preparing you for the blessings He wants to pour out!

With prophetic insight from Bethany Hess

Written by Anne E. Ballard

At The Crowning Jewels our desire and our mission is to bring encouragement, to build others up and to bring comfort to people’s lives (1 Corinthians 14.3). As a team each month we ask the Lord what He’s doing in the coming month and for any words of encouragement he might have for people as a loving God. We realize that with a corporate prophetic word not all words are applicable to all people. If it’s prophetic it also needs to be encouraging and edifying. If our words bless you, please take hold of them and apply them in your own life. If it’s not specific to you, please pass it on to someone else who might be blessed. We do not sell prophecies; prophecy is a free gift from heaven. As a prophetic business, our mission is to bring encouragement and edification to people; our product is simply jewelry.

DECLARATIONS

We at The Crowning Jewels believe in the absolute, transformational power of declarations. We know that truth comes by hearing (Romans 10.17), and speaking truth is an active way for us to renew our minds (Romans 12.2). 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.

January Declarations:

I trust God radically and He meets me supernaturally.
I am returning to my first love.
The fruit of my life is humility and authenticity.
God releases fresh vision when I feel stuck.
God is speaking to me in new ways that I can hear and understand.

Each month we design two limited edition pieces of jewelry, only available for that month, handmade with words and charms that reflect the monthly prophetic word. If this word resonates with you and you'd like to wear a reminder of its truths, click the pieces below to shop!