The starting line

Each calendar year, we act as though we're at the starting line. The possibilities of blank pages stretch into June, September, November of 2012. What will the days bring? Will there be opportunities that we've prayed for? Will there be sorrows and partings?

Yes.

Yes, there will be all of these and more.

Instead of feeling anxious and fearful of the year, let's release 2012 into God's control. Nothing we do or say will make our dreams come true if he has not designed those things for us. No evil can harm us, no shadows darken our way, except his presence goes with us.

Along with working hard and doing our best, prayers of gratitude and surrender will ease us through the coming year. Whatever path God chooses for our journeys, walking with him adds meaning to glorious vistas and barren deserts alike.

People used to spout the cliche, "Let go and let God!" Perhaps a better motto for the New Year would be, "Hold tightly to God's loving hand to find contentment on the journey," whatever the year brings. After all, our eternal God encircles us without start or end, gently guiding to the final destination where we shall "ever be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17).

Read more:

*Genesis 1:1-2:3; Matthew 1:1-17

*Blessed are those who walk not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners,  nor sit in the seat of the scornful;  but their delight is in the law of the LORD,  and in His law they meditate day and night.  

They shall be like trees planted by the rivers of water, that bring forth their fruit in season,  whose leaves also shall not wither; and whatever they do shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3   NKJV  (plural added)

"For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does. He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the LORD fills the earth." Psalm 33:4–5 NLT

*You have made the Lord your refuge. Psalm 91:9

*Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Moravian Prayer: God of our future, things will happen this year which we can not foresee. Some may delight us, and others may cause us grief. At year's end, we will look back and know you were with us. "Great is thy faithfulness!" Amen.

Eternal peace or insecurity?

My husband is writing a paper on the idea of "once saved, always saved," an issue that seems contentious at worst, confusing at best. How nice to have a theologian in the house - his work and passion to know God inspire me to a closer walk with God, too.

I read Scripture this morning, still mulling over last night's conversation about some theologians who want to give us peace in following Jesus. They so passionately want us not to fear that we'll "lose our salvation" that they are willing to say, "If you've ever made a commitment to Christ, you're safe, no matter how badly you behave thereafter." ("Hell be damned, I'm gonna live like the devil because I'm in!") Other teachers are so worried of us sinning that they say, "If we fall away, we deceived ourselves and were actually never saved in the first place." ("Holy insecurity!")

Yet I read in God's Word:
         Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father-to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.  So shall it be! Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Revelation 1:4-8 NIV

Here's what I understand:

• God, holy and magnificent above what we can grasp, is utterly terrifying to humanity.
• Our Maker restored the possibility of a relationship between us, based not on our merits or works, but on his amazing provision through a Sacrifice that satisfies his justice and demonstrates his love.
• Woohoo! We are free; we live in harmony and beauty; we are pardoned from anything we have done or will do. (Yeah, my heart is dancing with joy!)
• When he comes back, we will understand the past, present, and future grace and peace he extends to us. THAT will be a celebration unlike any other for those who love him. (In contrast, the realization will be an unthinkable horror for those who rejected him.)
• It's an honor to live as God's kings and priests among our fellows, inviting them by words and by peaceful, moral, exuberant lives, into relationship with our God.
• God will examine how we lived and reward us in absolute justice, according to our choice to live in him or spurn his friendship.

Am I insecure? Can I lose intimacy with God like a letter I drop on the way to the post office? Nope, I'm safe in the hands of a mighty Lord who keeps me. However, he expects me to press in, to align with his character, and to serve him and others as his emissary. He also lovingly allows me to walk away and reject him, even when that means I deliberately choose to end our relationship.

We choose Life! To THE ONE, who was, is, and is to come, be glory, honor, power, dominion, authority, praise... over all, and in you and me... as we worship with right living and joyful retelling of his goodness. AMEN.