A BRAND NEW YEAR AND A RE-NEWED HEART

Many of us would have to say have just come through a pretty rough year. I wish I could tell you that it is going to be smoother this year...but we all know that is known only to God. So I have a few things that we do know and that we must remember “come what may”.

GRACE TO HELP IN TIME OF NEED

God promises to give us the grace we need to face whatever lies on the path ahead. Amy Carmichael once said “One day I was in trouble and oppressed about many things. It was one of those days when everything seems to go wrong. I was trying t

o get my Quiet Time but was constantly interrupted. Suddenly these words came—I could hardly believe they were in the Bible, they seemed so new to my needy heart—‘Grace to help in time of need.’ I found them and read them and marked them with joy, and in that moment, the moment of their coming, I was renewed in strength.”

GUARD YOUR HEART

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23) Christian (godly) character can withstand the storms of temptation. A story in Our Daily Bread relates that after a violent storm one night, a large tree, which over the years had become a stately giant, was found lying across the pathway in a park. Nothing but a splintered stump was left. Closer examination showed that is was rotten at the core because thousands of tiny insects had eaten away at its heart. The weakness of that tree was not brought on by the sudden storm; it began the very moment the first insect nested within its bark. With the Holy Spirit’s help, let’s be very careful to guard our purity.

GLORIFY GOD IN ALL THAT COMES OUR WAY

George MacFarren puts it this way:

Father, let me dedicate

All this year to Thee,

In whatever worldly state

Thou wilt have me be:

Not from sorrow, pain, or care

Freedom dare I claim;

This alone shall be my prayer,

Glorify Thy Name.