And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served (that were beyond the flood) or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but I and mine house will serve the Lord.
Then the people answered and said, God forbid, that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods.
Joshua 24:15-16 The Holy Bible, Geneva 1599
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New Years Resolution!
Posted by Pastor Steve on January 2, 2012, 1:02 pm
Greetings!
Well, how many have made "New Year Resolutions"? WOW! That many??? Okay, now, how many have broken their New Year Resolution already? Hmm, let's be honest now... Have you ever considered why we are so prone to fail with these New Year Resolutions? It's not that we are asking ourselves to change, it's that deep inside we fail to ask if we are willing to change. Do we have the willingness to change? Are we ready to give up ________? (fill in the blank) Have we asked God for His help? We need too because without God we are nothing. Oh, wait, what is that? I know what many are thinking, it goes something like: HEY, PASTOR, YOU JUST WAIT ONE COTTON PICKIN SECOND! WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE ARE NOTHING? Yeah, I've heard that along with: HEY PASTOR, I'M BETTER THAN THAT GUY OVER THERE... Well you may be, but do you think your standard will be used when it's time for judgement? Well it will not be used, or even reviewed. No, God's standard is all that matters. So, if we accept that God's standard is all that matters then it only makes sence to ask for God's help when trying to make a change in ones life. When Yeshua saved me I was smoking, I tried to quit so many times I cannot remember. I tried gum, pills, patches you name it: I had been there - done that! Nothing worked. Until... One day I went to The Lord in prayer and fell at His mercy. I asked God to take the addiction of smoking away from me. I have not smoked since I prayed God's mercy and strength, nor did I suffer the terrible cravings that had always managed to get me to give in all of the times I tried on my own before. Without God I am nothing, He strengthens me. So, instead of being disappointed with failing New Year Resolutions, try starting this year on your knees in prayer asking God to take over. If there is something specific you wish to change give it to God and stand in awe of His great mercy and grace. James, the half brother of Yeshua answered the question: "You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures." James 4:2-3 NRSV
So, here is a resolution we should be able to keep: "In all things, pray for God's blessings and guidance" Then we will have less to worry about if we give it all to God in the first place. Less worries? HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let's all praise and thank God for His Son, for His Holy Spirit and for His mercy and grace! AMEN"Here is the patience of the Saints: those here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12 (Geneva 1560)
"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 ESV All rights reserved. Praise, I said praise The Lord!
on January 2, 2012, 1:02 pm