AMERICA SO IN NEED

A Plea for GOD'S People
Psalm 85

Verses 1-3

Lord, thou hast been favorable
unto thy land: thou hast brought
back the captivity of Jacob.
Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of
thy people, thou hast covered all
their sin. Selah.
Thou hast taken away all thy wrath:
thou hast turned thyself from the
fierceness of thine anger.

Verses 4-7
Turn us, O God of our salvation,
and cause thine anger toward us
to cease.
Wilt thou be angry with us forever?
Wilt thou draw out thine anger to
generations?
Wilt thou not revive us again: that
thy people may rejoice in thee?
Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and
grant us thy salvation.

Verses 8-9
I will hears what God the Lord will
speak: for he will speak peace
unto his people, and to his
saints: but let them not turn
again to folly
Surely his salvation is nigh them
that fear him; that glory may
dwell in our land.

Verses 10-13
Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have
kissed each other
Truth shall spring out of the earth;'
and righteousness shall look down\
from heaven.
Yea, the Lord shall give that which
is good; and our land shall yield
her increase.
Righteousness shall go before him
and shall set us in the way of his steps.

I never cease being amazed how Scripture gives us historical info while at the same time speaks to where we are right now, especially with regard to our own country.  It's almost as if the Psalmist has been looking in through our kitchen windows at the present time.  I spent some time in the above Psalm this week.  As hopeless as America's circumstances may seem, other countries in time past have known the same frustrations as we do right now.  Many have caught on to the fact that God is the answer and some have not.  Many of those who have not learned their lesson and now are either extinct or are greatly crippled.

Those who heeded God's call are still functioning, many shaky at this point. My personal responsibility is vital as is yours. God looks on individual hearts that compose a nation. While praying for our nation, I must consistently be evaluating my relationship with the Lord and my pleasing Him above all other relationships. We are in the middle of a wake-up call from Him. We had better sit up and listen and then put action to His will for each of us

Father, I'm so grateful for your forgiveness and guidance all bathed in Your love for us. For too long You have been patient with our nation that through the years has become very cocky and self-sufficient, often leaving You to one side. Give us individually a renewed heart for You. Bring our people, churches and nation back to You and may we seek this through the strength of Your Holy Spirit. We have tried for too long to do too much in our own strength. Thank You for Jesus Who gave His all for the sins of all. In His precious name...Amen

LOOKING AHEAD

The Lord is the one who goes ahead
of you; He will be with you, He will
not fail you or forsake you.
Do not fear or be dismayed.
Deuteronomy 31:8

There's no way people come up with some of the stuff I do. I don't know about you, but I often look into the future although that future may only be a matter of days away. Usually when I do that, it's with negative thinking as to how badly I think something could possibly turn out. What this amounts to is my lack of trust and faith in my Heavenly Father Who already has the plans for my life decided and just waiting for me, be it in two days or two years.

I had a doctors appointment recently. Have been on meds for Diabetes II for about 12 years. My doctor took me off of all meds for it six months ago while monitoring numbers during that time. Today was my first time back to see him after going through all the blood tests the day before. Driving toward his office, we came to a place along the highway where suddenly the thought hit me, “He's going to tell me my sugar is completely out of control and that I have to go back on meds.” I could take you to that spot in the road where that “came” to me. (Right by the JW church)

The rest of the way, the same thought would strike me periodically so that by the time I got to the office, I was very concerned. He did all the usual things a doctor does but I really wanted him to get to the bottom line...that A1C readout. He pulled out the report and with a slow “Wellll.... I'm pleased. Your A1C has dropped 6 points. That's a really great reading.” I wanted to ask him if he was sure, but didn't dare lest he change his mind.

I wish I could tell you that that's the first time such has happened to me. I know God is already ahead of me and is always looking out for what is in my best interest. No matter what a verdict might be, positive or negative, God knows and I really don't have to know. He'll meet me right where I'm going and will meet me when I get there. I can trust His decisions for my life. Despite the situation, being in a state of worry and fear amounts to sin no matter how I view it. My fretting won't solve anything or change what is ahead of me.

Satan loves to play with our minds, tease and upset us with just a nudge. He has a way of getting his messages to us and we take it from there. For every evil suggestion he sends our way, God has for us unimaginable “I will's” we can trust and count on. Sometimes, when reading in the book of Psalms, I have found so many of those promises of God and have underlined them.

Whatever tasks we are called to, need not be cluttered with our “what if's.” When faced with a “what if,” we need to recognize it for what it is and immediately turn it over to God. It will be a faith builder that will strengthen us for the next “what if” that comes our way... and they will come. Wherever we find ourselves right now, God has purpose for us that will grow us and bring honor and glory to Himself.
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Dear Father, may I be strong in You as the negative things of life come my way. May I learn and walk in obedience to you in every way. May I learn what You want me to learn from every lesson and may I lean on Your strength and not my own. In Jesus' name...Amen 

AS OLDER FOLKS DO

Remember those who led you,
who spoke the word of God to you;
and considering the result of their
conduct, imitate their faith.
Hebrews 13:7

Recently I have been thinking back on my home church and folks I watched. We don't realize as we age how “little eyes” watch us. They may not know why they watch, but I think it's a part of life. Those people watched may never know until Heaven the influence of those watched by little people, especially. This is usually true of children who watch adults in any life situation...school, church, neighborhood, relatives, etc. I recall what an adult watcher I was in growing up days, especially at church.

Kirby Walters was the head of our church deacon board for who knows how long. He sat faithfully on one end of the same pew every service. He was a very nice looking “older” man physically and quiet in nature in my contacts with him. I liked even a moment to greet him. He was a pipe smoker using the cherry scented tobacco so I became acquainted with that warm aroma. He was a faithful man.

Aunt Ida Mayer was anything but quiet. She was a small, thin lady with a strong voice. Aunt Ida was a real woman of prayer. She lived two houses down from our church. Sometimes in the summer as I walked by her house, her front door would be open, but had a screen door. I couldn't see into her house but could hear her. Boy, could she pray. I don't think I've known a woman in my lifetime that was such a prayer warrior as Aunt Ida. When she prayed on Wednesday night, we settled in for a good spell of time.

Rose Stevens lived over the track from our house. She walked to every service from her home. It made no difference what the weather was like, she could be seen passing the front of our house walking at quite a clip for a lady who may have been up in her 70's. If we offered her a ride, she kindly refused. She always smiled, never missed a service and usually had some candy in her purse.

Ruth Young was one of those ladies every small church either has or should have. She did a little of every kind of task from teaching to secretary. She taught me how to teach children during a VBS when I was in high school. Little did I know how far that time she spent with me would take me through my life. At the end of our first VBS she said to me, “Glendarae, some day you will be a great Bible teacher.” I don't know how great, but she started that thought in a young heart and teaching has been a huge part of my life.

Gus Peebels was also a deacon and dad of my best friend, Donna. Before really knowing him, there was one thing I always noticed. He always carried a big Bible, reference style. It wasn't that he carried a Bible, but as I recall, His Bible looked a little tattered in places. He was a dear godly man. I came to know that such happened when a Bible was well used. Gus was a man of the Word and I still remember seeing that Bible . I was watching.

All of those folks are in Heaven now and and I'm so grateful not just for them but others who walked the walk before a little scrawny, blond headed girl who just watched. There were others, too many to list who help me along in so many ways. I believe they will be rewarded for their influence not just in my life, but in the lives of so many others.

In those I've mentioned, all were so different in so many ways . In each of them, no matter the age, weaknesses, where they sat in church or what they gave to the ministry, each exemplified a faithfulness that is hard to come by in our day. We used to have really big snow storms. No matter what, you would find each of those folks in their places at church. Even Rose still walked at her usual speed headed to church. That's hard to come by in our day no matter the age of church members.

Jesus was THE One who taught us the most about faithfulness and lived it with every step He took on this dusty old earth. His focus was on His Father and the Father's will no matter the difficulty, harassment, disappointments and physical trials. He was faithful in every aspect of His life. May we be a faithful people, never knowing big or little who may be watching us with a kind of wonder. It has come so quickly from those days, but now I am one of those of age as you might be. We won't know when younger eyes are watching when around us, but now we are the ones being observed...a bigger responsibility than we know.

Make some time to think back on the church of your younger days and those folks you watched. Take time to thank God for them and their influence in your life.

Father, I thank You for those in my young life who were examples for me and who taught me more than they could ever know. They were just a few among many You allowed me to watch and learn from. Mostly I thank You for Jesus, my supreme example of love and faithfulness. In His precious name....Amen

CHARTING THE PAIN

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that is within me, bless His
holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
Psalm 103:1-3

For several weeks now, I have been basking in Psalm 103. I would encourage anyone taking a look at it. The first five verses are full of so many “I will's” of God that are mind blowing. In verse three, I so appreciated God's forgiveness of my sin, but who also heals ALL my disease, whatever it may be.

For months I prayed for healing of a bad knee without having to seek medical intervention. However, it seemed I should seek orthopedic help. After all, God heals all our disease even when medical services may be needed. God still should get credit for our healing.

One thing in this process I knew about already but became more personally aware of and that was of a pain chart. It's very simply a line numbered from 1-10. When asked my pain level by a nurse or doctor, I was to respond according to that magic line with the numbers....one being the lowest level of pain and 10 being the highest. I don't know how many times I've been asked, “What is your pain level?” I guess it gives the professionals an idea of the status of the patient's healing progress.

In the process, I was thinking along the way if we were to presented with just such a chart but not related to physical pain. Using the same form but looking at our spiritual status, I wonder how I would view my own spiritual health. Unfortunately, our spiritual well being can vary at times depending on our good or bad circumstances.

The thing that encourages me is that God doesn't need any kind of chart connived by human beings. He is well aware where you and I are all the time whether we be in pain or concerns be physical, emotional or even spiritual. He meets us at every place in our lives. He not only knows where we are in our various states of being, but has the answers and healing we need. He is not a Heavenly Father afar off. He waits for us to cry out to Him for His loving care. I'm afraid in our struggles, we call on others before giving God a thought. We know from His Word that He loves us beyond any human love. We also know that nothing is impossible for God and He will always work for our good. Where are we today on that little chart 1-10 in our relationship with Him?

Thank You Father for Your patience with us as we scuffle about trying to solve so many of our situations without giving You a thought. Our love and trust at times is feeble at best. Forgive our lack of faith and help us in Your strength to seek healing and to be renewed in our faith. We love you. In Jesus' precious name....Amen

 

PURE DELIGHT

Delight thyself in the Lord;
and he shall give thee the
desires of thine heart.
Psalm 37:4

It's been some time since I have visited this verse even though it is a favorite of mine. The word “delight” isn't a word we use very much anymore, but it's real in its every aspect. Scripture speaks of delight as God takes great pleasure in being a cause of our delight. The above verse speaks of a mutual delight between the Lord and us on a very individual basis. I define it as an event that causes my “innerds” to tingle to the point I want to giggle like a little kid. It's having one's blesser being blessed almost beyond words.

Over the last 3-4 months, I made a personal decision to watch for God's working in my life in little things that often get lost. People do kind things for each other all the time, but it's easy to see how God is the One prompting so many of those things coming our way. Afterall, we know that every good and perfect gift comes from God Himself.

Coming back from therapy this last week, I was weary and sore and as we turned the corner to our house, the thought just crossed my mind, “I wonder if there will be flowers on the porch when we pull up?” I receive few flowers which is okay...its just not my thing. We pulled up and no flowers. There was no big thing about it. Soon a call came from a florist wondering if we would be home for a delivery. Flowers came. I can't even describe the beauty of the arrangement and it even had some little butterflies included (my favorite insect.) My friend knew nothing of my need of a special touch from God, but He did and He knew just who He could trust in the process.

I surmised who they could have come from but was I surprised. They were from a newer and dear family to our church. She and I almost always touch bases with each other at church. I have known her son and family and coming to know the rest week by week. There are times when the Lord just connects folks as only He can do it. Mrs. W. had the flowers sent today, not yesterday or tomorrow but today. She's a loving Godly lady who probably is more in tune with God's prompting than she even realizes.

We all may experience what the world would consider to be coincidental events. The longer I live and see how God works in so many ways, I'm not sure I believe in such anymore. I'm thinking of times some folks have come to mind and I don't know why. It's a strong enough prompting that at times, I've phoned such a person. It hasn't been unusual to hear on the other end of the line, “How did you know I needed to hear from you?” So rarely has dawned on me that it was a prompt from the Lord. It's been the same with sending notes or whatever else. So how did I know to make that contact and in a timely way. As God's child, He can use me or you as He sees fit.

So what points are sticking in my mind with all of this?
*Appreciate the delightful moments God brings my way.
*Appreciate those dear ones in my life who are in tune with the Spirit when He speaks.
*Be more in tune to the Holy Spirit's leading me in being good in another person's life.
*Although we want to be servants and like when others appreciate our efforts, the fact
remains that God does all things well.

I love the servant attitude and actions of my friends and I love them for it. In it all, it encourages me to love my Heavenly Father even more knowing He's always looking out for me. He will use His choicest servants who will act on His bidding. They can feel a delight in knowing they carried out God's biding.

Looking at the day, I see God's working, friend acting and delight sparkling all over the place!

Dear Father, what a privilege to be a part of Your great family and to feel so much love despite all the disease, cares and cultural distress all around us. Thank You for my friends and for You blessing me through them. You are such a delight in my life...in Jesus' precious name...Amen 

MARCHING ORDERS

The Lord is the one who goes ahead
of you; He will be with you.
He will not fail you or forsake you.
Do not fear or be dismayed.
Deuteronomy 31:8

Joshua is a favorite person of mine in Scripture. He always appeared to be a fairly common guy, brother of Moses and thus became the right hand man of Moses. Who could foresee the role he would eventually play in the wilderness wandering scenerio. As the group of Israelites neared the Promised Land, God let it be known because of Moses' disobedience at one point, that he would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land.

God let it be known that Joshua would lead his people across the Red Sea into the land God had promised the people. It wasn't going to be a Sunday school picnic. Somehow, we always thought God's people were going to walk right into the land their ancestors had left many years prior. It wasn't going to be that easy.

Joshua not only was going to lead a people, many very disgruntled, but they would have to do battle. They weren't a warring people...they weren't soldiers armed to the nth degree. Joshua wasn't a military guy, but he was going to be one.

I love the latter part of Deuteronomy where God and Moses spoke very clearly to Joshua. I see no back talk from Joshua. He certainly had witnessed God in action for the past forty years and knew God's power first hand. I love what Moses said in the above verse to assure Joshua that all would be well. God would do His part...Joshua would have to do his. Joshua had his marching orders given from God who would secure Joshua's victory.

Guess what? The God who instructed and led Joshua those hundreds of years ago is the same God we love and serve in our day. I wish we could learn that God has purpose wherever He chooses to lead us. We all are at different places...some are in financial straits while others may be facing serious health issues. Some folks have struggled with errant children and we all feel deeply with a country we love that is flaying it's arms in the battle for survival.

We cannot concentrate on all the negatives we see around us. I'm sure Joshua viewed his own circumstances as being pretty impossible to cope with. The thing I see about Joshua is that he didn't go looking at the problems of others. He was a concerned leader but when God spoke, Joshua's job was to keep His eye on Him and do in it all to stay focused on God and His plan. We tend to take on the problems of the world knowing full well we're doing quite well to just handle what God expects of us. For some, just reading their Bible and praying daily seems an impossible thing to accomplish. You and I are called up to do what God has called us to do in our own arena of life.

Let me suggest a reading of the first chapter of Joshua. Absorb all of those promises given by God to Joshua. Whatever the personal call, on our lives, the call is personal. I won't be held accountable for your call. In His Word, God makes clear his expectations for each of us. May we obey Him much like an Army private would toward his commanding officer.

Thank You Father for Your personal care of me. Help me to stay on track spiritually and to know Your love for me is precious and personal. Help me to be faithful in these days...faithful to the basic things of my spiritual walk with You. I love You and all You are in my life. In Jesus precious name....Amen 

CALL ME

Call upon Me in the day of
trouble; I will deliver thee,
and thou shalt glorify me.
Psalm 50:15

Call unto Me and I will answer thee,
and show thee great and
mighty things which thou
knowest not.
Jeremiah 33:3

Calls come to us in our day in many forms. I realize there are all types of phones and then there is the computer we can use for contact, but we usually have our one phone we are used to using. Through time, we've heard the word “call” in various forms.

“Call me...we'll have lunch.”
“Got the call...I got the job.”
“The pastor called to just check on us.”
“If you need me, don't hesitate to call.”
“The grand kids called to sing HB to me.”
“Calling to see how you're feeling.”
“You haven't called me in ages.”

We use the “call” word all the time and don't think much about it. However, such calling no matter the reason is a major form of contact for us. Through it we are informed how any number of situations are going. We learn of the needs of others in our calls. People can share needs, joys and heartaches over a phone they might not want to speak of in person.The word “call” means communication in any form even if it's justcalling someone's name across the street from us

Scripture gives us many instances where we are encouraged to call upon our Heavenly Father. The two verses I have led with have a little different feel between them. In the first verse, we are encouraged to call up the Lord when we are in or have troubled times in our lives. I think we are pretty good calling under such circumstances. Today, I had to go have a Covid test prior to my surgery tomorrow. Had to wait for an hour for the verdict. I knew I wasn't ill but one never knows about those tests. I just gave it to the Lord. If He wants me to have surgery tomorrow, it will happen. It it meant a later time, well, that was in His hands. The call came and I'm cleared for surgery. When God comes to our rescue, I wonder if we take time to praise Him and give Him the glory He so deserves. In this case I'm still praising Him.

The second verse I listed is a favorite of mine. It may be one you love as well. It's quite different from the first one. This verse doesn't necessarily speak of troubles or problems although in such times, God can certainly show us great and mighty things. It can also refer to wondrous things He wants to show us that perhaps we could never have imagined. Even if we don't call on Him to reveal those great things, He has a way of showing such to us anyway. However, He invites us to call on Him and when we do, think of all He has in store to reveal to us. Again a heartfelt, sincere glorifying Him is certainly in order.

Father, what a privilege You give to us to call on You at any time. We don't have to have a problem to call upon you. You've promised to listen to us whenever we do call on You and no phone is needed. Help us to learn to enjoy talking to you at any time under any circumstances. We love You and know You love hearing that. In Jesus' name...Amen 

EIGHTY-TWO AND COUNTING

I have been young and now I am
old, yet I have not seen the
righteous forsaken or his
descendants begging bread.
Psalm 27:25

Writing this blog early will have to do for Monday. I chose to write today because it's my birthday. Can't believe the Lord has given me 82 years. I may have mentioned my mother talking about my Sunday school teacher when I was about 5. She said that Nellie Barker was 65 years old. I remember crying because it sounded like she was about to die.

I recall talking to Brian's grandmother when we were first married. She was in her eighties at the time and spoke of all the things she had seen historically during her life. I guess in my lifetime, I too have seen major events and changes. One of my biggest changes was going from my Royal typewriter to now a computer keyboard. I would go back to the first in a minute.

Aside from wars and various tragedies that I felt deeply about during my lifetime would have to be that of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was my first stark memory in my life as I was only about three at the time. I remember women in our neighborhood talking about pearls. Back then, most women had pearl necklaces and I thought someone had lost theirs and everyone was crying over it

At the age of ten, I accepted Jesus as my Savior. I wish I could say there were bells and whistles with fireworks, but it wasn't anything like that. I knew I was saved but had a lot of growing to do. I received my first Bible when I was twelve and from that day, loved it's cover but loved more the pages inside. I wish I hadn't had so many growth spurts in the Word through the years, but did. Since getting married in 1969, my Bible has been a constant companion.

All of us have our favorites in Scripture...some may be verses we have memorized or just lean on. There may be a chapter or two we almost have by memory because of reading them so often. Our Bibles might fall open to certain pages because of so many visits to them.

One such chapter for me came into my life about 45 years ago. I suggest it for women who struggle with depression or who have had rough life histories. I again soaked in this chapter last night and will continue to do so today. That chapter is Psalm 139. This chapter just oozes with God's goodness in our lives. I strongly recommend it for the good or bad times as well as the so-so times.

In this chapter we see how well God knows us...in entirety. It's hard to absorb the fact that there is Someone who knows my history, my in's and outs, my every move and thought, etc. It puts me on alert to do better. I'm also assured in this chapter of God's consistent love and care for me, loving me despite who and what I am at times. A love like all of that is impossible to find, but it's Him, our Father. No matter our age, young or old, this chapter speaks to us all. We see how precious we are to Him and yet challenges us to be more for Him than we ever thought we could be....no matter our age.

My utter shock in these moments is how fast my age seemed to come upon me. Life sure flies which encourages us to make the best of it all for God's glory.

Father, how precious is Your Word to us. It is clear, challenging and full of Your love and concern for us. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for speaking through David and on into our individual hearts. Thank You that through Jesus, we share spiritual birthdays. In Jesus' precious name I pray...Amen 

LET'S GET REAL

 
Thy word is a lamp to Psalm
my feet and a light to
my path.
119:105

Some of us who are in the older years of life are in more and more spiritual jeopardy the older we get. Many of us have been in church and Sunday school most of our lives. Most of the Bible is overly familiar to us. We may own well marked Bibles which I have said to myself, “So what?” My desire for my own self and friends is that we get real with the things of God. That means not just reading Bibles, but soaking in the Word. Hopefully the soaking will be enough to seep into our spirits where we will respond to the Spirit's leading in our quest.

We're in a new year and the last one was tough. If I learned nothing else, I came, all over again, to appreciate how the Spirit can speak so clearly to us even in the difficult times. His Word is our rock and comfort and because of those days of 2020, I've come to re-evaluate how I approach God's Word. I want a freshness of it in my life not in just looking at a new year, but in looking at my “every days.” Scripture tells us all the things God IS and wants to be for you and me. He says to come to Him when we are weary and heavyladen and He'll give us rest. He stands ready to be all we need and we can be overcomers.

At times, I've read my Bible through several chapters in one sitting, but don't ask me an hour later what I read. Sound familiar? It's not that way all the time, but I don't want that to happen at all. I want to read, even if just one or two verses, that I can chew on, gleaning all the truth from them that I can. In this process, I hope to do some slimming down in my reading so I can really hear what God wants to say to me.

I've been preparing for knee replacement surgery 1/25. I've had most of my duckies in a row for a little bit while looking toward that time. It dawned on me that I had done little in spiritual preparation. I am changing where and what I read. I came up with fixing Scripture verses on a binder ring that I keep with me wherever I go. If I have some free moments, I pull out my little ring with my Scripture cards and read slowly over them. Right now, I'm not trying to memorize them. Reading makes me go word by word, absorbing as I go. The 3x5 cards are cut in half. Every now and then I add a card. It has been spiritually fun and I find nothing wrong with that.

Another thing I like doing is having a lined notebook where each day, I write a verse. Again it doesn't mean typing it on a computer. When I do this daily a verse is impressed in my heart. I may end up with 2-3 or more verses on a page. I write the date and reference on it's own line. If I miss a day, I catch up or keep on moving.

My challenge for all of us is that we get real with Scripture, not casually reading but reading with purpose, applying however the Spirit leads. We've been through some tough times and they aren't over. We must be “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Stripped of so many things we've come to love and depend upon, God wants us back with our attention focused on Him. May it be so as we change that date indicating a new year.

Father, thank You for Your patience with us. Forgive our becoming so entwined in the problems of our world, often leaving You to one side. Give us a peace and resolve as You walk us into coming days. Keep us close...nudge us when You must. In Jesus' precious name...Amen 

GOING BEFORE

And he Lord, He it is that doth
go before thee:
He will be with thee,
He will not fail thee,
neither forsake thee:
fear not, neither be dismayed.
Deuteronomy 31:8

Much time is given to God's instruction to His people prior to entering the Promised Land. He spoke to the people and to Moses and then to Joshua as the new leader is commissioned. Moses because of disobedience knew he wouldn't be entering the Promised Land because of past disobedience. I must say that looking at these final chapters of this book of Deuteronomy reminds me in so many ways of our own culture today and I'm still wading my through it.

I can't imagine the fear the people felt knowing they would be venturing into the Promised Land minus the leader they had come to know and love. It had been a long “field trip” but Moses wouldn't be going any further with the people. This left Joshua in charge and I really can't imagine his feelings...feelings of loss of Moses while looking to future days with him the new leader. He had some really big sandals to fill.

We too are now into a new year. We're told to be encouraged of new days filled with wonderful opportunities...the encouraging phrases continue. However, having come out of 2020 with much of the dust of it still clinging to us, there is uncertainty. Uncertainty in anyone breeds fear. We are commanded over and over to “fear not.” We should know by now that God never gives us a command we cannot obey while relying on His power in our lives.

I've deliberately typed out the above verse like I did for a reason. There are a lot of God's promises bundled into that one verse. Someone might say, “Are you taking this verse out of context?” Having seen the character of God throughout the Old Testament and knowing we are His people now just as they were, what He promised them is for us today. Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. They were venturing into a new land and in that land there were difficulties as well as joys awaiting them. You and I sit at the start of a new year. There will be joys but there will be difficulties. Lest we begin to wallow around in the unknown, look what God promises in this new venture:

*God will go ahead of us making our way plain
*He will be with us
*He won't fail us
*God won't forsake us ( run off and leave us)

Thus we aren't to be fearful nor dismayed stepping into new territory. The word “dismay” can cover a lot of territory: loss of courage, sad, upset, all that can lead to depression. Let's step forward with courage knowing God will make our way clear and will make all things work together for our good.

Father, we claim Your promises for this and any year. May we live in obedience and in Your power. Help us to keep an eye on You as You lead. In Jesus precious name...Amen