Same God, new year

It felt good to put the last box of Christmas decorations in the attic and shut the door. I love the newness of January. Every year God hands us a winter reset and we need it. Almost all of my plans for the Christmas holiday blew up and we had to make quick adjustments. I couldn’t help but think about the Janet Denison version of Jeremiah 29:11: “I know the plans I have for you,” says your mother.  

Plans, especially plans that include lots of people, should be held loosely. Something will always change! But, as I sit under my new soft throw, enjoying a newly clean and organized house, and writing my first blog post of the new year, I am enjoying some new thoughts.

Same God, new year

We have a God who makes all things new, including this new year. I was thinking about last January when we were looking forward to a world with no more COVID-19. This January, we know that COVID just keeps reinventing itself. But, this new COVID doesn’t appear to be too bad. The “new thing” might actually be a “good thing” in the long run.  

I love that we have an unchanging God who can change anything. God makes all things “new.”  

God told the prophet Isaiah, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19). As I’ve listened and read what various people are saying about this coming year, I’m sensing a lack of hope and optimism. I’ve felt down and discouraged at times too. 

This is my go-to reminder: God is not the author of discouragement. 

So then, why should discouragement drive our thoughts or attitudes? 

The next time you feel your hope or optimism sinking, remember what God has said: “Behold, I am doing a new thing.” He would ask the same question of us he asked of Isaiah: “Do you not perceive it?” 

We need to look for God in everything. He is either the motivator or the redeemer of all that we see and experience. God is making a way for us to journey through the wilderness. He is providing for us in the desert times. And God is leading us forward to our new life, the life Jesus has prepared for us. 

It’s a new year, but we still serve the same God who spoke to Isaiah. God’s message to the prophet is his message for us today: “Do you not perceive it?”

New year, same calling

God is doing a new thing and it will spring forth. But, there is an important thought for the new year. We have a culture that is increasingly unsettled with some new ideas that actually aren’t new at all. Why did God allow a virus to impact the entire world? Why has the world responded in so many different ways? Why is there so much confusion and dissatisfaction? Why do people look to politicians to fix the world instead of God? 

The angst in our culture should stand in sharp contrast to the peace of God’s people. But, do we perceive “peace” in God’s people? 

We have a new year, but Christians have the same calling. Peter said it this way: “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

New year, same goals

January is a perfect month to hit the reset button in our lives. It’s kind of like resetting our phones to the manufacturer’s settings. What does that mean spiritually? 

According to Peter, these are our goals for every new year: 

  • In our hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy.
  • Always be prepared to explain and defend our Christian faith and values.
  • Always speak to others with gentleness and respect.

Which one of those statements stomps just a bit? 

All of us who are reading Peter’s words probably have some work to do in at least one of those areas. Why does this matter? 

Our unchanging God has an ever-changing family. If we live as Peter encouraged, God will have a larger family by next Christmas.  

Christianity works when Christians allow God to work through their lives.

God makes all things new

God wants to reset our thoughts, our attitudes, our optimism, and our hearts. I could fumble around all day with my phone and never figure out how to do a reset. On the other hand, I can give it to an expert and watch what happens in his hands. 

God makes all things new. We need to ask him, then allow him, to make us new. We need revival and restoration. We need hearts that honor Christ as holy. We need to be ready and able to offer the world an explanation for the joy, hope, and peace in our lives. We need to speak to everyone with gentleness and respect, as one sinner to another. 

I want God to do a new thing in all of us so that he can do a new thing through all of us. Our culture deserves his answers, his love, and, most importantly, his eternal salvation. 

God is doing a new thing. 

Do we perceive it? 

If we start looking around prayerfully, we will.

With joy and gratitude

My thanks to all of you who generously responded to my end of the year “ask.” We are a donor-based ministry and your offerings serve God, who makes everything possible. Thank you for caring and wanting to help. God will do “new things” through what you have given. 

Praying that 2022 will be a wonderful year, with our God who continues to make all things new.

Begin with a good deed

January 1 is always an important day, especially when it’s the first day of a new decade. 

What are your thoughts as you contemplate the next ten years?

I’ve been especially contemplative this year. This decade will mark a great deal of change in our lives. But then, we could say that about every decade as we look back. 

I’m not sure why we mark so much of our lives by a calendar. It’s just in our human natures to measure and value time.

The world keeps turning

King Solomon offered this wisdom at the end of his life: “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Solomon was writing about the cyclical qualities of our world. The sun rises and sets. The rivers run to the oceans, and then the rain comes and the water returns to the land. Seasons come and go. 

King Solomon watched Jerusalem change almost every day. The city was built and transformed under his leadership. Interestingly, the man who said “there is nothing new under the sun” saw change almost every day. 

But, at the end of his life, he called those types of changes “meaningless.” 

God has never changed 

Of course, we will be amazed at the changes that occur in this decade. There will be new technologies, new leaders, new styles, and new trends. We will also mark time as we watch our kids and grandkids age. Our bathroom mirrors will reflect the passage of time. 

This is a changing world, and it always has been. But, the things that matter most will still be the same: 

  • The seasons will still come, go, and return.
  • People will still need salvation through Jesus Christ.
  • The Word of God will still be pure and perfect truth.
  • Eternity will still be our hope and our promise.

It is January 1, 2020. Changes will come in this next decade, but the most important things in life are unchanging. You, and everyone you know, will still need a daily, Spirit-led walk with God. 

That is what mattered most on January 1, 2000, and January 1, 2010, and it is the most important thing today. 

Begin the year with a “good deed” 

I didn’t “ask” you to help this ministry as a year-end gift. A week ago, Jim and I sat together and wrote our checks to the various ministries we support, including our own. If you gave to the Denison Forum, you helped my ministry too. 

But, I also know that I have a lot of readers who are exclusive to this blog. I didn’t do a “year-end” ask because I wanted to take a “year-beginning” approach. You know the gifts you gave at the end of 2019. I would ask you to consider your first gift of the year. Will you make a gift to the unchanging needs in our world? 

Confession time: I just spent $80 to purchase a skin-care treatment that promises I will look younger by Valentine’s Day. Time marches on, and the bathroom mirror is a reminder of that. I’ll let you know if the treatment worked out! I know I can’t stop the changes, but I don’t mind spending some money to slow things down just a bit.

But, the point of my confession is this: it made me realize that if every one of my readers gave that same amount to this ministry, we would be able to reach thousands of new subscribers with the Word of God.

Those bottles of skin treatment will run out, and, let’s face it, ten years from now I’m going to look older because I will be older. But who will be walking with God because of the checks I wrote to ministries? Who will have the hope of heaven? 

Whose children will be reached and led to faith because Mom, Dad, Grandma, or Grandpa had the knowledge of God to share? 

Happy New Year / New Decade 

A lot of change will take place in this new decade but not the things that matter most. 

My favorite verses from Ecclesiastes are the last two of the book. King Solomon closed his final words of wisdom saying, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 NIV). 

Will you make your first gift of the new year a “good deed?” 

Our ministry will use what you give to speak biblical truth to a culture that needs it now—and always will. It is what matters most

Thank you for caring, for giving, and for helping us to fulfill our call to share God’s truth. Whatever else changes in the next decade, the need for this ministry will continue. People will always need a biblical perspective for the changing culture.

Make your first deed of the new year a “good deed.” We will faithfully honor your gift and use it for God’s good purpose.

Happy New Year, happy new decade, and may the Lord bless you each day with his holy guidance. It is a blessing to walk this journey with you.

Two words for a successful life

I sipped my coffee and listened to an interview about “spirituality” for the new year. The person being interviewed would define that word differently than I would, but she made a great point that prompted my thoughts. Her advice for the new year was not to make a resolution, but to choose a word that would be your focus throughout the coming year.

Jim and I discussed her suggestion as we walked down the beach, later that morning. Was that good advice? Our answer: yes and no.

We all enjoy the idea that there can be “5 easy steps” to something. But, we all know that our spiritual lives don’t really work that way. That said, the idea of a word to use as a focus intrigued me.

So, I decided to choose these two for next year: Hold fast.  

The same mistake

I sat in a beautiful room, overlooking the ocean. The unending waves rolled in, strong and relentless. I watched the storm clouds approach. I’ve always loved the ocean because it reminds me of God. I think of words like immeasurable and everlasting.

But the word that came to my mind that day was unchanging.

When I think about the past ten years, I do not think Christianity has prospered in our country. I think we are making the same mistake God’s people have always made, and I guess probably always will.

The question today is: Are you making that mistake?  

our response

God’s people prosper when they submit to his word. That’s why God made certain to provide people who would be his prophets and teachers. He gave his laws and an entire body of Scripture. God even gave us his Word, in the flesh. God provided everything people would need to walk through this lifetime guided by his holy truth and, one day, live eternally in his kingdom. People have always been given God’s truth.

We can’t control the oceans, and we can’t control God’s truth. We can control our response to his truth with two words: Hold fast.  

A friend shared a powerful message at a retreat this past fall. She simply read these verses as her message to us. Allow God’s Holy Spirit to speak these to you:

  • “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15).
  • “Test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
  • “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13 NKJV).
  • “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9).

hold fast

If you were to stand on the beach in Tarsus, Capernaum, or Patmos and stare only at the water, you would see the same thing that Paul, Peter, and John saw thousands of years ago. If you looked upon the water in the Sea of Galilee, you would see what Jesus saw when he walked out to his fear-filled disciples. When God created the waters of this earth, he revealed his everlasting character.  

God is unchanging, yet unpredictable. God is all-powerful, yet gentle. God is constant, yet patient. God is timeless, yet still current. God is immeasurable, yet knowable. And God’s word is his truth.  

If you want to walk with the God of the universe this year, hold fast to his unchanging, powerful word. We cannot eliminate the oceans from our world, and we cannot eliminate truth from God’s word. Is there something in God’s word you have chosen to ignore, rewrite, or adapt to your beliefs?

We cannot change truth. God’s word is like the ocean. It will remain long after our opinions are silenced. God’s truth endures. This year, will you choose to hold fast to the ancient and unchanging message of his truth? Will you hold fast to your God whose message is revealed on each page of the Bible?  

The author of Hebrews was trying to encourage the early Christians to remain steadfast in their faith and wrote these words: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

Hold fast to the eternal truth of God’s word. It’s a biblical focus for 2019—and all the new years to come. Hold fast, knowing Jesus will come again.

The waves continue to roll to the shore. God’s truth will continue as well. He who promised is faithful.

Hold fast to his word and you will be faithful too.

Is prayer changing things?

I don’t pray for our nation’s leadership like I should. Truthfully, I don’t really know what to pray for these days. I know a lot of people prayed for our nation’s leaders in church last Sunday. We need Congress to come to decisions that are best for the citizens and the government. I usually pray for the leaders who know the Lord, to seek his leadership rather than lead in their own strength. I pray for God to speak to them clearly, and then I ask God to strengthen the men and women to follow his will rather than the will of the people. But, I then realize I am praying for them not to do the job they were elected to do. Does that prayer really change anything? Does that prayer change me?

I spent a good bit of time trying to search the origin of the phrase “prayer changes things.” As best I can tell, those words began to grow in popularity sometime in the early 1900s. I found people like Oswald Chambers, E. M. Bounds, and Mother Teresa who commented on the phrase, but, after a long Google search, I am still not sure who they would have been quoting. My favorite quote about the verse is from Oswald Chambers who said, “To say that ‘prayer changes things’ is not as close to the truth as saying, ‘prayer changes me and then I change things.’”

Scripture clearly supports the concept of prayer changing things, although not quite as simply as the bumper-sticker phrase would suggest. I originally learned James 5:16 from the King James Version of the Bible. The verse says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” After my Sunday School teacher’s vocabulary lesson on the meanings of the words effectual, fervent, and righteous, I wasn’t real sure my prayers were going to “availeth” much at all. I think I have prayed most of my life without a great sense of certainty about the outcome of my supplications. I know God listens. I know God can do anything, at any time. I also know that God usually limits himself to our free will.

We don’t usually see leaders fall on their knees and admit they don’t know what to do. We rarely see leaders who promise to obey and follow the will of God regardless of personal consequence. We often see leaders who think they know what is necessary; therefore, it’s difficult to expect them to have asked God for his ideas. So how do we pray for God to lead people who lack an inclination to follow?

One answer is found with a second look at James 5:16 and the wisdom of Oswald Chambers. Prayer doesn’t change things; it changes people, starting with me. My prayer may not change the personality of my president or the character of my senator. On the other hand, my prayers might change the life of a Christian who will then impact one of them. My prayer might lead to a release of God’s power. He can bring about changes I couldn’t imagine or wouldn’t think to hope for. Prayer isn’t about changing things as much as it is about changing people. We know God changes people—we know God has changed us.

A “righteous” person is a person who is right with God. What do you have to do today to be made righteous in God’s sight? We need to pray for ourselves to be cleansed before we pray for others. That’s what Jesus meant when he taught his disciples to handle the log in their own eyes instead of the sawdust in someone else’s (Luke 6:41). A righteous person can pray fervently for our nation’s leaders. God knows what needs to be done, and he will lead us to pray for his will. When we have said “amen” to his will, our prayers have been “effectual.” Something will have changed because we took that time to be righteous and fervent with our prayers.

More than eleven thousand people will receive this blog today. What if eleven thousand righteous people pray effectual, fervent prayers for our nation? Will there be a story in the news this evening that makes us smile? Will we see God at work in Washington? Will our leaders be convicted of their sin because we were first convicted of our own? Will someone run for office because God called them to make that choice?

Mother Teresa said, “I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.” I think Mother Teresa’s life affirmed those words. How many lives were changed because of her prayers?

Let’s take the time to seek righteousness with God. Let’s pray when our words and thoughts are fervently aligned with God’s will. Those prayers will “availeth” much.

We may not see our leaders drop to their knees in front of the television cameras this week, but God may see some of them bow before him. God is ready to bless and guide every leader who is willing to follow. How will those righteous men and women change Washington? I will pray for them—as soon as I have finished praying for that righteousness in myself.

Target: The consequences you won’t see in the news

I still don’t want to shop at Target and I hope the same is true for you. Last April I wrote a blog post about Target’s dressing room policy. The store’s policy declares: “In our stores, we demonstrate our commitment to an inclusive experience in many ways. Most relevant for the conversations currently underway, we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.” Opinions circulated in the media, in lunchrooms, in other stores and businesses and in blogs like this one. It’s been nine months since that time. How are things at Target?

  • AdAge reported that Target took their $686 million-dollar media account to a different agency.
  • The January 9th Stock News Journal reports Target has experienced a 12.70% earnings decline.
  • A Wall Street Journal article reported that Target’s CEO, Brian Cornell, admitted that some of the financial woes were backlash from their public bathroom/dressing room policy.
  • The American Family Association reports more than 1.5 million signatures were collected from people who said they would no longer shop at Target.
  • The AFA also called for Target to change their policy last June when another young girl reported a man recording her on his cell phone while she was trying on a bathing suit in the women’s dressing room.

Target has not changed its dressing room policy, but they have changed their ads. The store is spending millions of dollars on charities and on ads talking about their charitable giving. Chip and Joanna Gaines signed a lucrative contract with the store (much to my disappointment) in the hopes of helping Target’s image and sales with people like me. I like Chip and Joanna Gaines very much, but I’m still not going to shop at Target.

It’s easy in today’s media climate to think that we are “losing ground” in our nation. But I think Target might tell us a different story. There are a LOT of people, both Christian and non-Christian who would like this country to change its values and moral standards. We want our country to be a safer and happier place and earn more respect and favor from other nations as well.

Last week I taught Psalm 33. Verse twelve says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.” In Colossians 3:12 Paul said that Christians were, “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.” We have already reached the half-way point of January. This is a good time to re-evaluate our goals for the coming year. I think each of us should add at least one more: Let’s endeavor to ignore the suggestions that somehow the world, and our culture, is slipping away. It’s not. God created the world, has always been in control of his creation, and He always will be. And Christians are his chosen people, holy and dearly loved.

Your influence, empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, is immeasurable. Christians held Target accountable and they have been paying ever since. Truett Cathey, the owner of Chick-Fil-A has openly stated his Christian beliefs and a lot of people thought he would go out of business when he did. What did the line look like the last time you wanted some Chick-Fil-A for lunch? Hobby Lobby won their recent Supreme Court battle. Maybe things are going better than we think?

So, to all my Christian readers – keep speaking up and occasionally, speak out. We have a lot more influence than we tend to realize. We speak up every time we choose where to spend, or not spend our money. We speak up every time we withhold our opinion and every time we give it. We speak up every time we trust God’s power more than anything else.

Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” Let’s rejoice and be glad in that fact. This world is progressing as God always knew it would. We are just one generation closer to his end. It isn’t better or worse, it’s both and it always has been both. Keep moving forward with God’s strength and guidance. Your life and witness matter more than you realize. God said so, and now, so would Target.

Would you vote for Oprah or King Solomon?

We do live at an interesting moment in history. I watched the Golden Globes and wondered when actors and entertainers began to think their job was to influence the world. And I wondered if the average people in our nation genuinely believe they should.

I found it ironic to watch women in low-cut, beaded, sequined, skintight dresses express their distaste toward being objectified by making sure the color of their gown was black. I found it ironic that many of the films and shows that won Golden Globes reportedly contained graphic content. Hollywood’s confusion was apparent when the same crowd that gave the standing ovation for Oprah’s speech offered murmurs of discomfort as Dakota Johnson, the actress in the Fifty Shades movies, walked to the platform to present an award. It’s hard to look innocent when you are covered in the evidence.

People who read this blog or hear me teach are familiar with my love/hate relationship with Oprah. I think Oprah is a remarkable woman who was both savvy and smart with her career. She took advantage of her opportunities and achieved a great deal of fame, which led to a great deal of influence, which lead to a great deal of power. I respect her business savvy, but I have always cautioned people against her message.

Oprah knew she would receive the Cecil B. DeMille award at the Golden Globes. She was well prepared to give her acceptance speech. She was both eloquent and powerful with her words and with her presentation. She began by describing herself as a young girl watching television and ended with saying she knew she would be influencing young girls today. Judging by the faces in the crowd, she was influencing more than the young girls.

I watched Oprah influence the women of my generation. Almost all the women I knew watched her afternoon show. Those who worked often recorded it to watch later. Oprah confessed her abuse and campaigned for change. She promoted reading and education. Oprah encouraged equality and fought the prejudice that she had grown up with. She was a talk-show host who used her platform to accomplish a lot of good things.

But Oprah spoke about marriage as unnecessary for women because it gave their power away to a man. She illustrated her point by openly living with her partner. She gave advice on raising children even though she never allowed hers to be born. Her vocabulary was filled with catchphrases like “personal truth” and “self-empowerment.” She defined truth as whatever a person wants it to be and encouraged people that they had the power to choose their version of truth over anyone else’s.

So why am I using a blog post to put Oprah on display? Because I want us to consider her influence and ask ourselves why she has it. I would almost bet my house that Oprah’s speech last night was the first of many. I think she has wanted to be the first female president for a very long time, and I think she used her Golden Globe speech last night toward that end. I won’t elaborate on why I think that is true. There are plenty of articles on the subject.

I would ask each of us to consider this important lesson from Oprah’s story. Have Christians worked as hard as Oprah to achieve a position of influence with our truth?

Oprah spoke to a confused crowd and a confused world at the Golden Globes and offered them answers. She told people to believe the World Press because of their “insatiable dedication to uncovering the absolute truth that keeps us from turning a blind eye to corruption and to injustice.” I think the most telling portion of her speech reflected the theme of the evening at the Golden Globes. Oprah used the story of Recy Taylor’s horrible abuse to say, “She lived as we all have lived, too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men. For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up.” She concluded her speech by saying that truth goes marching on with “every woman who chooses to say, ‘Me too.’ And every man — every man who chooses to listen.”

Oprah’s speech was powerful, moving, and influential. The danger is that her speech was partial truth rather than full truth. The media does not have an insatiable dedication to uncovering absolute truth, but if Oprah chooses to run for president, the media will love her for saying so. Our culture has not been broken by brutally powerful men who hindered women who dared to speak “their truth.” Our culture has been broken by both men and women who, like Oprah, think “their truth” is the truth.

It occurred to me that, in today’s political climate, King Solomon would never have been elected. When Solomon was crowned king, God appeared to him and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you” (2 Chronicles 1:7). Solomon answered, saying, “Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (2 Chronicles 1:10). Israel achieved its height of power and influence under Solomon. Solomon’s great strength was that he knew he needed God. His weaknesses were apparent when he began to trust his own truth instead of God’s.

I’ll conclude my blog by rewording Oprah’s words, with biblical truth in mind:

All of us live in a culture that for too many years has been broken by sinfully powerful men and women. For too long, God’s truth has not been heard or believed because people have dared to speak their truth rather than rely on his. But their time is up. Their time is up.

Truth will go marching on when every Christian chooses to hear God say, “Choose me,” and every person, men and women alike, chooses to listen.

Five promises from God for 2018

The media is full of lists right now promising a healthier, wealthier and happier new year if we will follow their five or ten directives. I wish reading those lists accomplished the goals. I’m often more of a “reader” than a “doer.” I find it comforting to know that James needed to address my same struggle when he told his peers, “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22). Are you a listener or a doer? Most people are both.

God makes a lot of promises in Scripture, but most require us to be “doers” if we want to receive them. This year as you throw away the leftover Christmas cookies, dust off the treadmill and delete the store ads from your inbox, consider making a few spiritual goals as well. If we get the cart behind the horse this year, the rest of life will fall into place.

Consider these promises from God and ask yourself what you can “do” to receive them:

  • You have a strong advocate. “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14). What hinders you from finding time to sit with God and listen to his perfect advice? If there was a doctor who could cure you, how long would you sit in his waiting room? If there was a financial expert that could double your wealth, what would you do to remember every word he spoke? The Creator God of the universe has promised to fight for you. When will you choose to be still and let him?
  • You have a reason to be brave. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Exodus 41:10). The “right hand” of God is symbolic for his omnipotent, creative power. This year’s news began with a shooting, North Korean concerns, a plane crash and a sense of distrust for all things political. Fear and dismay are the natural result of listening to the evening news. God promises that whatever happens in this world, Christians are protected by the same power that spoke the world into existence. So, do not choose to fear and do not be dismayed. God has you in the palm of his omnipotent hand.
  • You can improve your life. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). What does God want you to avoid this year? What does God want you to purge from your life? What areas of your life has Satan been given access to enter? Label those areas as danger zones. Submission to what God wants for our lives is how we resist the devil. Hand God the key to those doors and enjoy the simplicity of having fewer rooms to clean up.
  • You have, or will have, everything you need. “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). If you read my blog, you know the difference between a need and a want. It’s interesting how often we try to satisfy our needs by getting something we want. Christians need love, friendship, security, and we need to serve others to feel complete. God gave us Jesus so that we could literally have everything. How often do you want Jesus and his blessings?
  • God will make this a good year. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). This is a cornerstone verse for all of God’s promises. A perfect new year is yours, if you will love God and live each day according to his good purpose. If something isn’t good today, you can know it will be good someday. Love God and love others with all your strength and allow him to call you to his good purpose.

All of us want to have a “happy” new year, and for most of us, it will be mostly happy. But let’s set our hearts on things above and choose to want a “happy” eternity. That one goal will change everything. God has promised his promises are a promise – forever. And every new year is one year closer to our perfect forever.

Let’s view this year’s news and events in the light of his promises and it will be a blessed 2018.