Persist

God is so good to us! Just as He did for the folks of long-ago Bible times, He shares with us the secret to strength and courage; He gives us instruction for successful and prosperous living:

Be careful to obey all of His Word and live according to His ways. Keep His Word in your heart and on the tip of your tongue; meditate on it night and day. Let it sink deep into your soul, directing the course of your life. And remember that the LORD your God is always with you, wherever you go! Whatever battles you face, you never face them alone. God is with you every step of the way. Sometimes He'll tell you to simply be still and watch as He takes care of your battle all on His own; often times though, He'll require that you get some skin in the game, and put in effort too—building your character, endurance, and persistence in the process. Keep your eyes on Jesus and on the heavenly prize! Persist with Jesus in mind. We have a powerful weapon that the people of the Old Testament didn't have—the Holy Spirit inside! 

Joshua 1:7-9, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

New Year’s Prayer

Life is filled with ups and downs; we daily encounter the predictable and the completely unexpected; things both joyous and painful that have the potential to temporarily take our breath away. This year, much like all others that have come and gone before, has been a mixed bag of both good things and bad. There have been celebration of births and mourning of deaths as well; there have been weddings and divorces; we’ve endured mass shootings harboring destruction, and experienced massive outpourings of love resulting in communities healing together; we’ve seen the violent force that fire can become as it ravaged everything in its path, but we’re also witnessing the bright and hopeful sprouts of green popping up on all the surrounding hills after just the littlest bit of rain. God is with us through it all, nothing escapes His care. His heart is on this roller coaster ride along with us; He rejoices with us in our times of joy, and He mourns with us in our times of sorrow. And despite the curves that loom ahead of us, He is never taken by surprise. He is our steadfast Rock of Salvation and our firm Foundation of Peace, no matter what we face. He is our hope eternal and in Him our confidence is secure, not because things in our lives are perfect, but because He is perfectly good to us through it all.

God’s love is lavish; His comfort is palpable; His power is endless; His grace is sufficient.  Let’s pray for His blessing and an awareness of His Almighty Presence in our lives for the year we have ahead. Let’s also praise Him and give thanks for every day He gives us.

A Prayer for the New Year:

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you." Psalm 67:1-3 NIV

Unabashedly

Psalm 63:4, "I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your Name I will lift up my hands."

No other Name on earth is worthy of our praise. God alone reigns in glory, ruling from His throne. The heavens high above us declare His power and His fame. With our hearts bowed down and arms held high let's unabashedly worship the King.

Breath

                                                                 
Psalm 33:6-9, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”

          The breath of God brings life to everything. God spoke and breathed the world into existence. Before creation, air didn’t even exist, only God’s Word and breath filled the otherwise vacant atmosphere. God breathed His very own breath into Adam and gave Him life. God’s Spirit breathes life into the Scriptures making them more than mere words on a page; His Word breathes life into our weary, hurting, searching, lonely, hungry souls. His Word is living and active—encouraging, teaching, equipping, and changing us from the inside out.

Honeycomb

Our words have great power, to bring blessing or harm. Let's use them wisely for the purpose of good, to build up and encourage each other, instead of tearing each other down. Words spoken in love taste sweet on the tongue, whereas words spoken is anger taste bitter in our mouth. Words spoken in kindness bring healing to the heart and revive a hurting soul, whereas words spoken in haste can inflict pain and leave a lasting mark. When we open our mouths let's speak love and share our faith, joy, and hope, which God says are much like tasty honeycomb.

Proverbs 16:24, “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

The Invitation

Jesus says, “I have a seat saved especially for you. Just plop yourself down and have a chat with me.”

In the midst of our busyness Jesus sits and He waits. He observes our hectic schedule watching us rush here and there, while we’re gasping for breath. He knows what we need and He offers us rest. If only we’d look up long enough to catch sight of Him, we’d notice Him beckoning us to come and unwind in the chair by His side. The chair Jesus offers is so much more than a place to sit, it’s a place to lay our burdens down and give our spirits a lift. It’s a place of refreshment for our weary bodies and thirsty souls. It’s a place of intimate connection with our Savior. As we go through our busy day, let’s look up now and then so we don’t miss Jesus’ invitation, and miss out on time with our Friend.

Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Stay Close

 (My dog)

I often witness God’s Word and His illustrations come alive in my own life. This morning I opened the back door letting my dog out into the yard for a moment. I had barely turned to grab a cup of coffee from the kitchen, when out of the corner of my eye I saw my small, sweet-natured dog climbing the big hill up toward the wrought iron fence edging our yard. As I focused in more closely, I noticed that my naïve dog was nose-to-nose with a sizable and strong coyote, who was staring him down as if ready to gobble him up. Quick as a flash, as best I could manage, I climbed the hill to rescue my dog. I got about halfway up and called to my dog, commanding him to come back down by my side. After much coercing he finally did, though the coyote continued to linger, hoping to once again catch my dog all alone.  My husband later asked me if I had planned to fight the coyote off, and I told him that if need be, I would have. My dog put himself in jeopardy by wandering from and disobeying his master. Like my dog we behave the same way. We stray from our Master’s side, off into danger, and we too have an enemy roaming and seeking to devour us. The coyote I faced off with this morning didn’t flinch when I approached; I guess I wasn’t threatening enough.  A huge difference between my dog's situation and ours is that when God stands up for us, the devil trembles in terror and very quickly runs away. God is our all-powerful defender; He’s our loving protector and mighty rescuer; He is our blessed Savior. It’s in our best interest to stay close to Him and call on His name.

1 Peter 5:8, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
James 4:7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Psalm 91:14, ““Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.”