Introduction:

In my devotions the other day I was spending time waiting on the Lord. I was reading my Bible, praying, asking God to speak to me. In the moment I felt like God said he was getting ready to reset my life. This got me thinking, “What do God mean by resetting my life?” I spent some time praying and thinking about this and feel like it is time to share my thoughts. Today is the beginning of reopening for us here in Saskatchewan in relation to Covid – 19. This is a great time to think about a spiritual reset. “Am I passionate for Jesus and my relationship with God?” “Do I look forward to sharing my faith?” “Am I struggling with temptations?” “Do I have vision for serving God?” “How is my prayer life?” Asking these kinds of questions will give us an idea if we are in need of renewal.

John the Baptist:

One of the biggest resets in history came with the voice of John the Baptist declaring, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight paths for him” (Matthew 3:3). There was a crossover event taking place in Israel that would change a nation and change the world. Jesus Christ was about to appear as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Everything was about to be reset. The religious world. The political world. And the spiritual world. One of the keys messages was, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying…” We are living in similar days. Things are changing. Here are several lessons we can learn from John the Baptist regarding times of change.

John was fully committed to God’s plan and purpose unfolding in Jesus Christ. He did not hold back. He did not hesitate. He did not give into fear.
John had a ministry in his own rights. He had a following. He was a leader. But he was also very humble. John said, “He must increase, and I must decrease” (John 3:30). John’s message was powerful and simply. He explained that he was not the Christ, but that Jesus had arrived from heaven.  In times of reset humility is key.
He prophesied of the new day that was upon them, the transition from the Law to Grace. John was the last prophet under the Law. His message was one of reset. Jesus ushered in the Kingdom, which is based on true relationship with God by grace. It is important to hear but also discern the prophetic word of the Lord. John truly prepared the way of the Lord.

The Great Reset:

Recently, world governments met for their 50th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in June 2020. The theme was the rebuilding of society and the economy as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The forum was entitled, “The Great Reset” and highlighted in three points, green growth, smarter growth and fairer growth. While these points seem to be appropriate, there were lots of uncertainties and criticisms raised from secular leaders. A Forbes Magazine article said the Great Reset agenda was another example of wealthy, powerful elites appeasing their consciences with unreal efforts to help the masses, and in the process make themselves even wealthier and more powerful. Others called it the Great Reset Conspiracy Smoothie. This opened the doors for the religious communities to jump on the bandwagon and raise their own questions related to the End Times and one world government. The idea of reset is something that the world and the church are currently wrestling with.

The Lord has a plan for Reset:

The Lord has set order in his creation from the beginning of time. We know that due to the fall of mankind into sin, things that were set in place became out of order. Relationships were broken. Greed entered into the heart of mankind. The proud sought to rise to the top and rule over the poor and needy. God wants to restore order. Unfortunately, all around us we see disorder increasing causing fear and racism to swell. In Jesus, a new setting of grace was established. The church of Rome was faced with great challenge in finding unity among Jewish and Gentile believers. They needed a reset. Something, someone to shift their mindsets. Paul introduces them to the gospel of Jesus Christ, a gospel of grace. We know that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men” (Rom 14:17-18). We please God when we reset our lives. And when we reset our lives we find the approval of men; to be approved means that one has been tested in battle, is reliable and trustworthy.

Resetting is coming into agreement with the plans and purposes of God, both personally and corporately.
Resetting is repenting of the things that are displeasing to God, taking out your trash.
Resetting is hearing and obeying the voice of God even when it is not the politically correct thing to do, resetting your alarm clock.

Resetting is rediscovering your passion and desires; replanting…
Resetting is learning how to realign to shifting times, resetting a broken bone.

In Conclusion

There is so much more that could be said about reset. I would say that it is very important to understand the times in which we live. We are the church do not want to be found asleep in a time of reset. We do not want to miss the wake-up call. We do not want to be like the 5 foolish virgins. I am again reminded of John the Baptist prophesying about the Messiah, the New Covenant, the reset coming upon the world in his day. I would say that the church needs to be like him. A voice calling in the wilderness of the world in which we live. The world as we know it is passing away. The world is trying to reset. Politicians, economists, scientists, the rich and famous are pursing their own plans for humanity. It will not work and will end in wars and rumors of wars. Pandemics. Famines. The rich getting richer because of the love of money.

All the while God is working in the hearts of his people – resetting them to his plans and purposes. I can say with total confidence that Jesus Christ is coming again. He is coming for a pure and spotless bride. The reset that Jesus is bringing with be too good to be true for some and eternally devastating to others. We need to make the shift in our lives.

I hope that today we are inspired to reset our lives with Jesus.

In Application

How can we apply the message of reset to our lives, our families, our church?

Here are three ideas for us to consider.

Obedience is key.

Faithfulness is rewarded by God.

Keep loving God and people.

Let’s pray