Thoughts on Jan 1, 2012

I’ve been bombarded with thoughts and challenges for the new year.  Maybe resolution is the buzz word of the day. Some of the thoughts just stem from internal reflection and a desire to think “what could/should be different in 2012. Some thoughts are from those around me; their insights; their challenges they voice for the unknowns of 2012. I’m just going to attempt to put some thoughts down, random as they may seem…

“Love isn’t the words we say to each other. Love is action; Love is lived out in our deeds.”

“The only thing Satan has access to is what I have not laid at the cross of Christ. He has nothing else.”-Pastor Brown

A lady stood in church to share. She said early in 2011 she had claimed Prov 3:5-6 as her verses for the year. A few weeks ago her 25 year old grandson dropped dead suddenly from a heart condition he didn’t know he had. She said at first she felt anger.  The challenge of the verses were with her…Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. These are her words about God…”He is sovereign…and good…and you have to hang onto that.”

What does God want for me in 2012? He is the author and finisher of my faith, not me. He will take my faults.  He will take my failures and defeats…and He will redeem them. I can’t. With Christ, there is nothing wasted. He will work on my behalf. It is the gospel of redemption and reconciliation that He embodies. He asks me to embrace that.

No one ever cared for me like Jesus… because He values the unseen part inside of me– because He doesn’t look at my feeble attempt to “dress this ol’ clay up” and smirk at my inability–because He sees me spiritually slumped over on the side of the road, destitute and empty, and still reaches out to me–because he gives life where there was death–because he opens my heart to truth where there was blindness–because He gives hope when there was not even a seed to plant–because He is sacrificial love.

Do you remember when He called you? How He called you? You HAVE been called to know Him, to love Him, to repent and live with Him.

I am called. I am loved. I am kept by Jesus