Happy New Year!

When I was a kid these words always held out so much promise and hope. The promise that the next 12 months would be different than the last 12, and the hope that I could leave behind my failures and struggles of the past and that things would go the way that I wanted and I could become the guy that I wanted to be.

That was a lot of hope to put on three words and on one moment in time, and try as I might, most of the time the new year ended up being so much like the one before it, with me having the same hopes and struggles as before. However, after submitting my life to Jesus He began making changes in me and taking me to places that I had previously only dreamed about. And the promise and hope that I desired as a kid was no longer something that was only available to me at 12 midnight on January 1^st of each year, but as Lamentations 3:22 – 24 reminds us:

“Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.’”

Another good part of living my life submitted to Jesus  is that I no longer have to make the plan for my life and then try to make it happen, but instead, I can trust Jesus and as I live for Him, seeking His plan and His will, He will guide me in the way I should go. In Jeremiah 29:11 God made an incredible promise to His people, a promise that extends to us as His people today:

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’”

This promise doesn’t mean that God will make us all healthy and wealthy, but it does mean that even though we will encounter the difficulties of life, God will work for our good, giving us a hope and calling us to a future with Him.

As we begin this new year, take time each day to submit your life to Jesus, be open to who He is and all that He is doing in your life, and then join Him in the work that He desires to do in and through you!

Expecting Great Things Each Day,

                                                 Mark

Monday – Read Isaiah 59:1-2

Why does unforgiven sin disrupt our communication with God?

What can we do every time that we sin? See I John 1:9.

Invite the Holy Spirit to reveal any unforgiven sin in your heart so you may confess it and be forgiven.

Tuesday – Read Hebrews 6:9-12

Thinking about the faith heroes in your life, what are some of the qualities that you notice in them?

Why are we warned to not become spiritually lazy?

How does this passage challenge you? How will you respond?

Wednesday – Read Numbers 14:1-45

What got the people of Israel into trouble?

What reward was given to those who wanted to obey?

How does this apply to our lives today?

How does this passage challenge you? How will you respond?

Thursday – Read Psalm 51:1-19

This was David’s prayer of repentance after being confronted by his adultery with Bathsheba.

What jumps out at you in this Psalm?

According to verses 16 and 17, what does God desire from us more than our religious sacrifices and activities?

Which is easier to do; religious activity or pursue God with our whole heart?

How does this passage challenge you? How will you respond?

Friday – Read John
4:7-26

What do we know about the woman Jesus was talking to?

What was Jesus offering this woman?

According to verses 23-24, how are we to worship God?

How does this challenge you? What will you do?

Saturday – Read I
Thessalonians 5:12-15

December is here. The lights displays are up, the special holiday coffee flavors are out, we have been barraged by an endless cry to buy, buy, buy, and soon Christmas trees will be going up everywhere we turn. It’s easy to view all of these things as distractions to the true meaning of Christmas, the time that has been have set aside to remember the Incarnation, God coming among us through the birth of Jesus. But instead of dismissing all of the cultural trappings of Christmas as a distraction to the true meaning, may we be encouraged by what they remind us about the birth of Jesus.

The lights that we see remind us of the glory of God that shone around the angels in the night sky as they proclaimed the good news of the birth of Jesus. They also remind us that Jesus is the “Light of the World” and He calls us to let His light shine out of our lives for all the world to see. The constant cry to buy more and more gifts reminds us of the greatest gift of all, Jesus, God with us, our Savior and Lord, who out of love gave up the glory of heaven to bring us the gift of life.

The Christmas trees remind us of the wooden cross on which Jesus came to die to pay the price for the sin of the world, so that through faith in Him we may find peace with God, forgiveness, salvation and life. And all of the special flavors of the season remind us of Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”

As you experience the lights, trees, gifts, flavors, and even the advertisements of this season, take time to give God thanks for coming among us and offering to us the greatest gift in the world, the gift of eternal life.

In Christ,

Mark

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  I Thessalonians 5:18

In recent weeks I experienced an exhaustive time of what seemed to be nonstop activity. It was a time of late to bed and early to rise, with each day filled with more activity than there were hours in the day to get it all done. Most all of the activity was good and were things I was looking forward to, but the pace left me rather low on both physical and emotional energy. As I was praying about how I was feeling the Spirit put upon my heart the song “Give Thanks” by Henry Smith.

“Give thanks with a grateful heart,

Give thanks to the Holy One,

Give thanks because He’s given

Jesus Christ, His Son.

And now let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’

Let the poor say, ‘I am rich because of what the Lord Has done for us.’

Give thanks. Give thanks.”   CCLI #2303

For the rest of the day I made that song my prayer and as I prayed back to the Lord the song that He had put on my heart, He filled me with a renewed sense of His grace and peace; He gave me energy and strength; and He met my needs in ways that I might not have even thought to ask.

During the month of November I encourage you to take time to remember, and even write down, all of the reasons you have to give the Lord thanks. And then take time each day to give Him thanks for who He is in creation, for who He is in your life and for all that He has done for you.

Giving thanks to the Lord; it’s such a simple thing to do but it brings us in line with God’s will and it sets His power loose in our lives like nothing else can.

With Thanksgiving,

Mark