We are already "far" into the new year 2009 and I wonder along with many others what this year will bring. I have had a break from blogging as I have been celebrating Christmas and our wedding anniversary at the house in the forest. It has been days of rest and tranquility. Now I am back home and take up the normal routines of life again, – like blogging on what the new year will bring.

Sunday morning we attended the service in our Christian Fellowship and we had a very good time together with the covenant community. I noticed that there was a lot of expectations to what God would do in the year to come. We had prophetic words, testimonies and even references in the sermon about the new year we have entered into. I was happy to notice that the people of God is anticipating a move of God in days to come. I was encouraged by every prophetic word that came and every comment made on the new year and what to expect. This year I have not received any specific word from God concerning the new year ahead of us but I have many expectation to God for this year because of his promises in the Word as well as former prophetic words.

2008 was a prophetic year for many of us. It was a year of new beginnings, of resurrection life and a refreshing work of the Holy Spirit. Things that happened in 2008 will have far reaching effects in this new year and in years to come. Therefore I expect the Holy Spirit to work powerfully among God's people and in the entire world in 2009 as well. We are living in the Age of the Spirit. We are living in the midst of a powerful outpouring of the Spirit on all people that will just increase in strength, depth, and breadth.

According to what I heard among the covenant community on Sunday, this year will be marked by a fresh revelation of Jesus as the Holy Spirit will enable us to see the beauty of his holiness and love. We will be brought back to our first love for Jesus and then we will be able to make new disciples. This year God wants us to grow in grace and knowledge of Christ as well as in numbers as new disciples are being brought into the covenant community.

Personally I pray for peace to come to the many countries in Africa and the Middle East this year. It is painful to see and hear of all the killings of innocent civilians due to the evils of war. I would like to see more Christians becoming part of a new pacifist movement that could bring a permanent end to war. Terror and war are uncivilized ways of trying to solve conflicts. Humanity needs to find better ways of solving conflicting interests.