GIVE THANKS

 It’s Thanksgiving week. I love this week.  The kids have all traveled home, the house smells of pumpkin and spice. The family gathers together. It’s a great time of year. But if that is all Thanksgiving means to me, if that’s where my focus remains, I’ve lost the meaning, the very reason for this holiday’s existence. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November to be set apart as a time to give thanks. This was a time when our nation was in crisis. We were at war, with ourselves!  The Civil War was tearing our nation apart.  And in this dark hour, our president gave this presidential address, consider it:

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come … the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations…

In other words, if a foreign nation wanted to attack the United States, we would be most vulnerable when we were at war with ourselves.  But President Lincoln points out, that during our own Civil War, we are at peace with all nations. He gives God the credit for this. In the midst of the crisis, he finds something to be grateful for. He goes on to say that country is still experiencing provision from our natural resources, industry in many places is still flourishing, the population continues to increase, and away from the battlefields, there is still law and order in the land.  So he says: 

 “No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God…  I do therefore invite my fellow citizens… to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent BUN-E-FI-CENT Father who dwelleth in the Heavens…  And I … commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.”

Proclamation of Thanksgiving  Washington, D.C.  October 3, 1863

In our nation’s darkest hour, in a crisis of immeasurable magnitude, our president declared a National Day of Thanksgiving. President Lincoln didn’t live in denial.  He addresses the widows, orphans, mourners, and sufferers, that were a result of this war.  He said that we needed Almighty God’s Hand to heal the wounds of our nation. 

Now, over 150 years later with the deep political divisions in our nation, we must again cry out to God to heal the wounds of our nation. May we be like our forefathers and find reasons to be thankful. Instead of complaining and grumbling, give thanks. It’s impossible to have a negative mind and a thankful attitude at the same time. Choose to give thanks.

What is your Treasure?

God is to be treasured and adored. Loved and feared. Respected and honored. And when He’s not, the Bible shows us that He will remove Himself from the scenario. That’s what He did when the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines in 1 Samuel 4. God allowed the holy symbol of His presence to be kidnapped. If we treat God with dishonor and try to use Him for our own purposes as a good luck charm, He can remove Himself. We can lose God’s favor, protection, and blessing. Now His presence is everywhere. But God will remove His manifest presence from your life so that you don’t feel His presence anymore or walk in His blessing. 

King David prayed in Psalm 51, take not thy Holy Spirit from me. David saw King Saul lose the anointing of the Holy Spirit and he saw a tormenting spirit take its place. So, David prayed, don’t let that happen to me. Protect me from that, dear Lord. And David wrote this powerful prayer – Make it your prayer.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Thy presence, And do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me, Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit.        Psalm 51:10-12 NASB

God is be Feared. Really?

Who is God? Everyone at one time or another will answer that question. The Bible declares that God is powerful, and as such God is to be feared. Psalm 128:1 NIV says, “Blessed are all those who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways.” Quite honestly, we live in a world that wants to ignore the holiness of God, minimize sin, talk about grace, and water down the concept of fearing God. As I see it, we water it down by saying – to fear God means to respect Him., to revere Him, to esteem Him. And that’s true but it is more than that! Are you inclined to minimize the fear of God?

 What does fearing God look like in the Bible? It’s the kind of fear that the disciples had on Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17 when they heard God's voice and fell to the ground terrified.  Or in Isaiah 6, Isaiah wrote, In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne. Isaiah was so overwhelmed by God’s presence he cried out, “Woe to me. I am ruined.” In John 18, Jesus was about to be arrested, and the soldiers asked Him if He was Jesus of Nazareth. When He responded - I AM, the mob drew back and collapsed to the ground. Or in the book of Revelation 1, when John saw the resurrected Jesus, he said - I fell at His feet as if I was dead.  Would you agree that all those examples describe a fear that is more than just reverence?

 God is to be feared because of His unrelenting authority, His all-consuming power, and the majesty of His presence. And to have an accurate view of God, there needs to be a healthy tension between a fear of a holy, all-powerful, righteous Judge and a child-like, peaceful confidence in God as our heavenly father.  A healthy tension.  But in our culture today, that tension has been lost because the fear of God has been so watered down.

Credit to Chris Tiegreen, Worship the King

Is God a Vending Machine?

I read this week that the Israelites of Biblical times had such a fear of God that they considered His name Yahweh too holy to be spoken by human lips. Additionally, if His name needed to be written, the scribes would take a bath before they wrote it and destroy the pen afterward. They had such incredible respect, a holy fear of the God we serve. 

 Today, the opposite seems to be true.  People don’t fear or revere God. They can treat Him as common or ordinary. Viewed as a Giant Vending Machine in heaven, God will you a “prize” if you put in enough currency. Or, people see Him as Grandfather figure who looks the other way at His children’s misbehavior. 

 So, who is God? Romans 11:22 says, “Behold then the kindness and severity of God.”  NASB.  Other translations say the goodness and the sterness, the graciousness and the harshness. The Bible tells us to consider both. He is both a loving Father and a righteous Judge, who is to be feared. His mercies are new every morning but there is a wrath to God that must not be ignored. How often do you ponder God’s wrath?  It’s not a comfortable question to answer, is it?  

 Often, it seems like people want to focus on one side of God and not the other. Let us not take lightly His lovingkindness, His majesty, or His holiness. May we show Him respect and reverence, standing in awe of His holiness.  And as we have this proper attitude toward the Lord, we can take comfort in the fact that we serve a big God.  As we fear God, we need not fear man, or what man can do to us, because our God reigns.  He is omnipotent; He is omniscient, and we can rest in His all-consuming presence. He is holy and righteous; He is loving and kind.

Fix Your Eyes

When I was in college, I went to a church in Boulder but I often left there feeling like something was missing. I couldn’t put my finger on it. I remember talking to my parents about it. I finally pin-pointed what bothered me. It was this: the sermons were good but they were always about how to be a good Christian, a faithful servant, and so on. The problem with that, and what sat wrong with me, was that the sermons were all about us, about people, instead of being about Him, God.  That has always stayed with me all these years.  Is my focus on me or on God?

 If I live with my focus on me, I will live a selfish, disappointed, and frustrated life. If I fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith, I will find fulfilment, peace, joy, and purpose. How do you want to live your life?

 At LWC, we have been asking the question - Who is God? Humanity has no shortage of theories about God. If you went out and did a survey on the street asking people, “Who is God,” you would get a plethora of answers. He’s the big man upstairs, a Grand-Father figure sitting on a rocking chair. He’s an old person in a very old book.

I know God as Savior and Lord. I know He gave His life for me in a sacrificial manner. He is my healer, my restorer, my redeemer.  Every person living will one day bow to Jesus as Lord of all. Is He your Lord?

Is God a Good Dad?

In my last post, I argued that in answering the question Who is God, we can boldly declare that God is my father. But with God as a father, what images does that conjure up for you? Many people’s view of God is determined, at least to some degree, by their own earthly fathers.  Said another way, has your view of God been influenced by what your own dad was like? I can’t help but wonder if the reason that so many people have a distorted view of God is because their own fathers were imperfect and flawed. 

 Let me be clear on this – This isn’t a blog to beat up on dads. Fathers aren’t perfect, but neither are mothers, or aunts or uncles, or siblings. Only God is perfect. I think fathers have the hardest job in the world, partly due to the fact that as a father, they are a representative of God on earth, and as such, they are a huge target to the enemy. But that said, has your view of God been skewed because, perhaps even subconsciously, you have feelings about who God is based on your relationship with your own dad? But what if those feelings just aren’t true? Is your view of God skewed because your own dad was imperfect?  Ask God to search your heart. 

Only God is perfect. Don’t expect any one else to be.  At the same time, don’t assume that the weaknesses you saw in your dad are also in your heavenly Father.  Unlike our earthly fathers, God’s love is perfect, pure, and limitless. God the Father will never let you down. He will always do what is best for you. He will always be there for you.  

God our Father

Again, I ask the question, “Who is God?” My answer today? God is Father. Have you ever wondered where the “God as father” identity originated?  Was Jesus the first one to call God, Father?  If you are familiar with the Gospels, you know that the religious folk in Jesus’ day did not like the fact that Jesus called God, His Father. They found that over-reaching and blasphemous.

But God referring to Himself as Father was not a new concept in the New Testament. God’s identity as Father didn’t start with Jesus living on earth. Rather, in the Old Testament, the Creator chose to identify Himself as the Father of the nation of Israel. He called His people “His children,” implying the idea of a close relationship between the Creator and His people.  Look at these scriptures.

In Deuteronomy 32:6  NIV “Is this the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?”

Isaiah 64:8 NIV “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”

David called God a “Father to the Fatherless…” in Psalm 68:5 NLT

If you study Jesus’ prayers in the New Testament, you will find that His favorite term for addressing God was the name, Father. And in fact, the word Father is used 165 times in the Gospels. Jesus’ first recorded sentence in the scripture, when He was 12 years old, was “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Father is the first word of the Lord’s prayer, and it is the first word Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. It’s His first word on the cross – Father, forgive them. And it’s one of His last words on the cross – Father into your hands I commit my Spirit.

 This is my point. In answering the question – Who is God? - the scripture makes it clear that we should view God as our Father.  And like Chris Tomlin’s song states, “He is a good, good Father.”

Gentle and Humble

A month or two ago, I read a very familiar Biblical passage Matthew 11:28-30 NIV. “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

 Probably like you, I have read this passage many times. But this time as I read it, I saw something I had never seen before. It smacked me. So, I went and did some research to see if my enlightened moment was accurate. And I found that it was. What I saw is that this is the only place in scripture where Jesus, in His own words, describes His own inner person.  Now Jesus gave a lot of descriptions about Himself, His role, and His purpose.  He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the Great Shepherd. The resurrection. The Light of the world.

 But this is the only place in scripture, at least that I can find, where Jesus, in His own words gives us a glimpse of own His inner self – of who He is.  When He gives us this quick glance  – He uses 2 words.  He doesn’t say – I am strong and mighty.  Or I am wise and holy.  Or, I am peaceful and courageous. Look at the 2 words He uses to describe Himself. He says - I am gentle and humble

 I have been asking myself the question – Who is God?  Would the first words you picked to describe God be the words – gentle and humble? That’s who God says He is.

Who Do People say I Am?

In the book of Mark, Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say I am?”. Then He gets more specific. ‘“But what about you,’ He asked, ‘Who do you say I am.’”  Mark 8:27, 29 NIV.  When Jesus walked the earth, He asked the very question we are asking on Sunday mornings.  Who is God? Who do you say that I am?  

Quite honestly, when we’re gathered together in church, it’s easy to give the right answer.  Jesus is the Messiah. The Savior of the world.  Our refuge. Our deliverer.  But when you leave here and walk out of the church building and face the troubles of the world that will inevitably come, who is God to you then? 

When life takes a sour turn, when prayers go unanswered, when you suffer, when a relationship is impossibly broken, when finances look bleak, when tragedy strikes … in those awful moments, Who is God to you then?  This is my point – In times of suffering, you discover if your answer to the question Who is God is just good theology in your head, or is it a truth that is rooted in your heart? My prayer is that we will all have written in permanent, indelible ink deep down in the depths of our being, the truth of who Jesus is. And that nothing can shake it or erase that.  He is my righteousness.  He is my Lord. My Comforter.  My Redeemer. My friend. The Truth.  My strength. My hope. My Wrap-around God.     

God is....

At LWC, we are in the middle of a series entitled, “Who is God?” How would you answer that question? As I have attempted to answer it, I have come to the conclusion that the question is somewhat unanswerable. Let me explain. As humans we like to boil things down into understandable pieces. We like explanations.  We analyze things to come to conclusions so that things make sense to our logic. But the thing you must always know about God is that He is outside of our logic. In our attempt to answer the question – Who is God - we must remember that God is a mystery.  The Bible says, “As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of things.”   Ecclesiastes 11:5  NIV

The truth is that we will never understand the nuts and bolts of God. Whatever systematic way we come up with to answer the question – Who is God – we must realize that He is ultimately undefinable.  We can never reduce God to something we can understand. We will never get a full handle on Him. He is too expansive. I read this quote recently, “A god we can explain isn’t God.”

David wrote in Psalm 145:3 NLT  “Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure His greatness.”  The Passion Translation says it this way, For there is no end to the discovery of His greatness…”  So in asking the question - Who is God – we aren’t trying to figure God out. We aren’t trying to define Him. Rather, we are trying to know Him - more!

Paul wrote to the Philippians, “For my determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly….” 3:10 Amplified  So, that’s the goal of this series -to know Him more. My prayer, like Paul’s, is that we will more completely understand the wonders of His Person. Selah.

Who is God?

We have started a new series at church called “Who is God?” If you had to define God, how would you do it? Last week, I encouraged us to consider the whole picture of God, His kindness and His severity.  He is both a loving Father and a righteous Judge, who is to be feared.  Let us not take lightly His lovingkindness, His majesty and His holiness.    

I read this week that the Israelites of Biblical times had such a fear of God that they considered His name Yahweh too holy to be spoken by human lips.  Additionally, if His name needed to be written, the scribes would take a bath before they wrote it and destroy the pen afterward.  They had such an incredible respect, a holy fear of the God we serve.  May we show Him the same respect and reverence, standing in awe of His holiness.   And as we have this proper attitude toward the Lord, we can take comfort in the fact that we serve a big God.  As we fear God, we need not fear man, or what man can do to us, because our God reigns.  He is omnipotent; He is omniscient, and we can rest in His all-consuming presence.

You are a Child of God

This Sunday is Father’s Day. It used to be such a joyous day for me. Now it’s a hard day. Even though I know that my dad is in heaven with Jesus, I miss him. It can be terribly hard to lose your earthly father. I read this quote recently. “If you simply cannot understand why someone is grieving so much, for so long, then consider yourself truly fortunate that you do not understand.” Losing a dad is hard. But here’s the thing. Even though I have lost my earthly father, I’ve been adopted. I have a heavenly father. He loves me and watches over me. Spend a moment considering that. The God of the Universe, the Lord God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Adonai (Master), El Elyon (The Most High God), Jehovah Shammah (The Lord is there) has adopted me. And He has adopted you too. He has claimed you as His child.   

In the New Testament, Jesus referred to God as His father. But God’s identity as “father” didn’t start with Jesus living on earth. Rather, the Creator chose to identify Himself as a father through out the Old Testament. He called His creation “His children.” God desires a close relationship with us, one where He is our provider, our mentor, our counselor, and our comforter. He exists as the perfect father, loving and caring for us, his children. So, if Father’s Day is a hard day for you, as it is for me, chose to focus on the fact that God is not some distant being who isn’t involved in our lives. Instead, find comfort in the fact that God will father you. In fact, He calls Himself a Father to the Fatherless. That’s me. And perhaps that’s you. Let Him Father you. Let Him hold you in His arms. Let Him gaze in your eyes and tell you how proud He is of you. Let Him pour His love, HIs encouragement, and HIs joy into you. Let Him Father you. You are a child of God.

What Easter Means to Me

God cares.  This what Easter really means to me.  We serve a God who cares.    

In the Gospel of John chapter 20, John writes about Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Jesus at the tomb.   The scripture says, “Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the bomb and found the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.”  John 20:1   Notice that it says that Mary was at the tomb while it was still dark.  Do you think perhaps she couldn’t sleep?  After all, she saw Jesus die on Friday.  Saturday was a day filled with sorrow, questions, fears, doubts, and agony.  (I’ve had a few “second day” Saturday experiences in my life.  Have you?)  Finally, the third day arrives. After a sleepless night, Mary heads for the tomb perhaps because she doesn’t know what else to do. 

And this is the part that hits me. Even though it’s so early in the morning that it’s still dark, the stone has already been rolled away!  In rising from the dead, God didn’t for the normal activity of the day to begin.  He didn’t wait for a crowd.  He didn’t even wait for the dawn.  For the Scripture to be fulfilled, He had to wait for the third day.  But once the third day arrived, God moved immediately.  He didn’t wait any longer than necessary.  God didn’t want the disciples to suffer any longer than absolutely necessary.  Why?  Because God cares! Our feelings matter to Him.  Our sorrows, questions, fears, doubts and agony matter to Him.  We serve a God who cares. 

Pray and then Pray Some More

If there’s one area in which we as believers feel the need to improve, it’s often our prayer lives.  I’ve rarely met a Christian who seems content with the amount of time he or she has spent in prayer.   And yet, Scripture tells to, “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.”  Ephesians 6:18 NLT.  How can anyone pray at all times?  Do we isolate ourselves from society and from daily work in order to devote ourselves to pray?  Clearly not. 

So what does praying at all times look like?  Often in the scripture it says that Jesus went away by Himself to pray.  We need to set apart time in our day just to pray.  But additionally, I think God desires for us to make prayer a focus of our lives.  He wants us to be talking to Him continually, throughout our day, about the circumstances of our life, constantly seeking His wisdom and help.  The Bible doesn’t necessarily encourage long prayers.  In fact, the Pharisees were criticized for them.  Instead, make brief prayer a habitual response to every situation you meet throughout the day.  Someone once said, “Prayer is the greatest power in the universe to which Christians have access and yet it is the most under-utilized gift that God has given to man.”

Stop Dieting

In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus said, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  Was He talking about food?  I don’t think so.  Rather, Jesus was referring to spiritual food, feeding our spirits with the Word of God.  Jesus prayed that God would give it to us, but it’s up to us to take it in and eat.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy skipping meals.  I hate to fast and don’t particularly enjoy dieting either.  My body likes food.  But I must realize that the same is true of my spiritual man.  It likes food.  When we starve our spirits of the Word of God, we are denying it the very nourishment that will give us focus and energy, strength and help. 

We live in a time where Bible illiteracy is the norm, even in the church.  Let’s change that!  Truthfully, you will never really learn the Bible unless you read it and study on your own. You will never learn to recognize God’s voice unless you feed your mind and your heart with His words on a regular basis. Feed your spirit and your soul every single day by reading the Bible.  Be diligent. Be disciplined. Be determined. Read the Word of God. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”  Psalm 119:105

Offer Apples

“Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.”  Colossians 4:6

When my boys were in preschool, they were taught the difference between apple words and lemon words.  Apple words taste good; they are sweet and encouraging. Lemon words are sour, critical, and negative.  When I was growing up, my parents constantly reminded me to be careful about what I said.  They described words that criticized others as “put downs.”  We live in a culture where to build yourself up, you can feel the need to put someone else down. Don’t believe me? Turn on the television. Listen to the news or to a group of commentators. Put downs are a constant reality.  Criticism, disparagement, and fault-finding is the norm. It should not be so.

The Bible puts a huge emphasis on our words.  Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”  Ephesians 4:29 says, “Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”  Spend some time this week thinking about what you say.  Encourage others with your words.  Encourage yourself with your words. Don’t put down others; don’t put down yourself.  Speak life.  Offer apples. 

O How He Loves You

“But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”  Romans 5:8  God loves you. Let me say it again, GOD LOVES YOU.  He loves you so much that He sent Jesus, HIs only son, to die for you. Not when you were almost perfect, not when you were worthy, but rather while you were still a sinner, messed up and troubled.  Ask God to give you a fresh revelation of His unconditional, unmerited, unlimited love. His love changes us from the inside out. 

God understands you completely.  He knows everything you do, everything you think, everything you say. He is fully aware of your humanity. He knows your faults, fears, failures, and frustrations. He doesn’t expect you to be Superman or Superwoman.  He is not waiting for you to fix yourself.  He loves you no matter what.  And once you completely grasp that there is nothing you can do to earn or lose His love, you can relax and bask in His tender loving care. You can be yourself. There’s no need to pretend. You can take off your mask. Be confident in who God has made you to be, knowing that God knows all about you and loves you anyway. 

O Death, Where is your Victory? O Death, Where is your Sting?

Death stings. I have lost a couple of dear friends recently - one to Covid and one to something else. It hurts. I have been incredibly sad. The Bible tells us there is a time to mourn.  Jesus cried when Lazarus died even though Jesus knew He was getting ready to raise Lazarus from the dead.  Crying is important.  Face your grief with tears, with time, and face your pain with truth.  

Max Lucado wrote, “God has the last word on death.  And if you listen, He will tell you the truth about your loved ones.  They’ve been dismissed from the hospital called Earth. You and I still roam the halls, smell the medicines.  They meanwhile, inhale springtime.” 

When someone dies, we miss them like crazy. But let’s talk truth.  My friends knew Jesus. He was their Savior and their Lord. They are in paradise.  A place where there is no more pain, suffering, or tears.  And you know what, they were ready to go!  They are happy, at peace and rest, and enjoying every moment of eternal life. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says that there is no need for you “to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.”   God has the last word on death.  Jesus, and now my friends too, know the joy of the resurrection! So, from God’s perspective, and from my friends’ perspectives, death is not victorious and death does not sting.

What are You Pursuing?

Pursue Gratitude. 

It is the beginning of the year.  My 2021 closed in a hard way. For the second year in a row, I spent Christmas Day sick with the Covid virus. When I tested positive again last December, I could hardly believe it. Why? I asked God repeatedly - why? He was silent. It was so easy and natural to focus on what I had lost - again. But instead, the Holy Spirit reminded me to pursue gratitude. There are always reasons to complain.  Injustices exist.  Fairness is something that can be elusive.  Troubles exist. Sickness is rampant.  But, in spite of life’s difficulties, let’s choose to give thanks.

Have you noticed that once you start to complain, whether verbally or just in your mind, you almost always find more reasons to be disgruntled?   Well, gratitude is the same way.  It’s like a magnet.  Once you begin to give thanks, you find more reasons for gratitude.  Complaining causes us to look at life’s problems.  Gratitude makes us look to God.  Look up this new year, and give thanks.   “In everything give thanks for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  1 Thessalonians 5:18  Pursue gratitude. 

Happy New Year

I am not one who is inclined to make New Year’s resolutions.  But at the first of the year, I do spend time praying and asking God to work new things in me.  Here are some of the things I have asked God for –

·       Lord, make me quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry

·       Work in me a greater self-control, in my daily life and in my emotions

·       Help me to pray and fast more this year

·       Give me more mercy, patience, and kindness toward others

·       As I carry the aroma of Your presence with me everywhere I go, make me sensitive to those around me, always being ready to share the hope of the gospel

·       Make me more hungry for You this year

·       Give me wisdom beyond my years and a discerning heart

·       Make me a worshipper

·       Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your word

·       Help me to walk in the favor and the blessings of the Lord this year

Here’s a verse to ponder – “When you get serious about finding Me, and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.”  Jeremiah 29:13 The Message