Hopeful Future

A new year turns!  Thanking God for every promise He has given us to have hope, to ponder anew his mercy, and to look forward. May your year be blessed abundantly with peace from Heaven, joy everlasting, and enduring love.

Jeremiah 29:11 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 hope and a future.

 

1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...

 

Revelation 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

Continuous conversion...

 

. . . unless you change and become as little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. —Matthew 18:3

 (My Utmost for His Highest - Oswald Chambers for December 28)

These words of our Lord refer to our initial conversion, but we should continue to turn to God as children, being continuously converted every day of our lives. If we trust in our own abilities, instead of God’s, we produce consequences for which God will hold us responsible. When God through His sovereignty brings us into new situations, we should immediately make sure that our natural life submits to the spiritual, obeying the orders of the Spirit of God. Just because we have responded properly in the past is no guarantee that we will do so again. The response of the natural to the spiritual should be continuous conversion, but this is where we so often refuse to be obedient. No matter what our situation is, the Spirit of God remains unchanged and His salvation unaltered. But we must “put on the new man . . .” (Ephesians 4:24). God holds us accountable every time we refuse to convert ourselves, and He sees our refusal as willful disobedience. Our natural life must not rule— God must rule in us.

To refuse to be continuously converted puts a stumbling block in the growth of our spiritual life. There are areas of self-will in our lives where our pride pours contempt on the throne of God and says, “I won’t submit.” We deify our independence and self-will and call them by the wrong name. What God sees as stubborn weakness, we call strength. There are whole areas of our lives that have not yet been brought into submission, and this can only be done by this continuous conversion. Slowly but surely we can claim the whole territory for the Spirit of God.

A message for us...

The apostle Paul wrote,

"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son."

Happy birthday, Jesus.

Hebrews 1:1-2

Humility

Humility...God comes to earth as a baby.

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet Isaiah, 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel - which means, God with us.'"

 "I want to stand by the manger long enough for all my foolish pride to die, all my vainglory to vanish, and any estimate of values to become adjusted to the humility that is God." Anna J. Lindgren

Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14

Plans

"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord." Proverbs 21:30

Offended?

"A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense." Proverbs 19:11

How do I respond when offended?  Some days, not so good.  Even if I don't verbally respond, my thoughts can run rampant.  This guidance reminds me that overlooking the offense is glorious!! It might not appear glorious to those around me.  In fact, it might look non-confrontational or weak.  But, the wisdom that brings this kind of patience is glory to God. 

Jesus our Messiah hung from a tree and looked down on Roman soldiers who pierced him and religious leaders who mocked him and said, "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do."  He exhibited such patience for all humanity.

Self-Controlled

"Better a patient person than a warrior,
    one with self-control than one who takes a city." Proverbs 16:32

This is a convicting word for me...self-control means it is in my power to be patient in difficult and trying situations. Times that would cause me to want to war against someone.  Being a warrior seems so much more powerful. Help us, oh God, to be patient and self-controlled in the areas of our lives that cause us to want to do battle.

Proverbs 15:1

In the Bible, there is a book called Proverbs composed of great wisdom mostly from the biblical patriarch, Solomon, the son of King David. There are 31 proverbs each containing about 15 - 30 short verses.

Working with children I have found the proverbs to be a great starting point to spiritual conversations.  When they enter my classroom at the end of the day, there is always a Proverb of the Day posted with an application question.  Here is today's choice:

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."  Proverbs 15:1

Mrs T asks, "What kind of answers did you give today?"

Wisdom

Walk with the wise and become wise,
    for a companion of fools suffers harm.

Proverbs 13:20

Psalm 32

Of David. A maskil.^[a]

 Blessed is the one
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered. 

 Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord does not count against them
    and in whose spirit is no deceit.

 When I kept silent,
    my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long. 

 For day and night
    your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
    my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
    the guilt of my sin.

 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
    while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
    will not reach them. 

 You are my hiding place;
    you will protect me from trouble
    and surround me with songs of deliverance.

 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. 

 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
    which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
    or they will not come to you. 

 Many are the woes of the wicked,
    but the Lord’s unfailing love
    surrounds the one who trusts in him.

 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
    sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Purposeful Life

"When David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep..."

What is the purpose of your life?  King David had a purpose in his generation, and then he died.  God called him 'a man after his own heart' to be appointed King of Israel and to be the ancestor of Jesus the Messiah. He took hold of the purpose God had for his life. And he was just a man, like you and I.

The Bible promises that, "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Have you taken hold of that purpose?  Is the love of God tugging at your heart to cross over from unbelief to belief...then take the first step. Believe that He loves you. Receive it as His perfect gift. And let the unfolding of God's purpose for your life begin.

Acts 13:36,  Samuel 13:14, Matthew 1:6, Romans 8:28

Are you under it?

Psalm 40 is a reminder of waiting patiently through trial.  We tend to fill our time or multi-task our way through pain and troubles.  Instead of seeking the face of God, we seek the hand of others and miss the opportunity to see divine intervention.  IF you are 'under it' today, take a moment to read the entire Psalm 40.

"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God."

Grace

"The livelier our sense of guilt and grace and gratitude, the more faithful and fervent will be our obedience to our Lord and Saviour. When we are grateful for the grace that is greater than all our guilt, our souls are stirred to deeper reverence and higher loyalty.” 

 DiGangi, Mariano; “The Day I Met God”; Philadelphia: “Time and Eternity”, 1965.