Keep The Faith

 2 Tim 4:7
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 
The year has ended, the last day for 2022. It has been a year of change, but the goal has been the same. The course has been completed for another year, and my resolution to keep the faith has not been deterred. As we enter into 2023, the course is still the same, and has not changed. Heaven is the end goal, and being faithful to Jesus and His word. The enemy will do all he can to alter our course, we must continue the good fight. Stand for what is right, live out our faith, let our light shine for Christ. We may make many resolutions for the new year, but the most important resolve we make is to keep the faith, love Him with all our hearts, and show others the love of Christ.

At Our Wit's End

 Psalm 107:27,28

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end…Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

My kids grew up with the popular Christian radio show, “The Adventures of Odyssey”. The radio show was designed to nurture children’s imagination and teach children to put their trust in God regardless of what happens in life. Wit’s End was a soda shop owned by Mr. Whittaker, a wise elderly man who had a way of knowing how to solve problems. We sometimes come to our wit’s end and don’t know what to do next. Life takes on a roller coaster of up and down emotions, tossed about in unknown outcomes. We cry out to the Lord in desperation, because He is the one who controls our destiny, and it is at His pleasure we are rescued. Life is like a ship at sea. We don’t always anticipate when the storm will come, but we can stand on God’s promise, that when we are at our wit’s end and distress with life, that He will bring us out of our troubles and calm the waters that trouble us. 

Let God Speak Through You

 Matt. 10:20

For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.

For some people like Peter, speaking out for the Lord is second nature, they have the gift of speaking. There are many like Moses that find it hard to speak in front of others. Most of us are somewhere in between these spectrums. Finding the right words to say without coming across too aggressive, or overbearing is always a concern. Not saying the right words for the situation is a fear that others may have. There are times that it is best not to say anything, and let your presence speak for you. But, there comes a time that God wants us to speak, He has something to say, and He wants to say it through us. We are His vessels of honor, we are the instruments that He has chosen. At that moment, we speak to Him in prayer. “Lord, may the Spirit of the Father help me to say what needs to be said, no more and no less.” We can take comfort in the words of Jesus, for He has promised when the time comes to speak, the Holy Spirit will speak for you.

God Makes Everything Good

 Gen. 1:31

And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good…

From the beginning, we were created in the image of God. In the likeness of his holiness. Not created to be a god, but to have a relationship with a holy God. We were made good and without sin. “Everything He made was very good”. Good turned to bad when Adam and Eve yielded to temptation. Satan deceived them, causing them to disobey what God forbidden them to do. God’s good creation fell from having a good heart to a sinful heart of unbelief. The sin was not in the fruit, but in their unbelief to trust God and obey his commandments. This is a sad story given to us in His word. But, the story does not end there. Christmas came, and Christ was born. Born to save us from our sins. Restoring the goodness that we lost when He died and paid the supreme sacrifice for our sins. Sin has been nailed to the cross. The blood of Christ has been shed that we may once again have pure fellowship with the God of creation. We who were born in sin, can be made good when we accept Christ as our Redeemer and Savior. God is so good, and He makes everything good.

The Battle is God's

Judges 7:9

And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.

The story of Gideon (Jerubbaal) reminds us that the battles in life we face should not be dependent on human strength and ability. God took down Gideon's army from 32,000 to 300 to prove to him that this battle he was facing is not won by the arm of the flesh, but by the hand of God, when we follow His ways. This does not mean that we don’t have a part to play in seeing God move. Our faith is challenged and we act on what God leads us to do. God helps those who act on their faith to put the outcome of the battle in the hands of God. He should not be our last resort when we find ourselves in a difficult situation. His ways are not always conventional, and may at times seem to be out there beyond reasonable, but learn to trust your heart when your heart is following God. He just may ask you to break some pitchers and blow a trumpet!

In My Youth

 Psalm 71:17

O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

God first spoke to me in my youth. Raised in a religious Catholic home, I knew the importance of church and the reality that there was a God. But, I did not know Him. I was familiar with the teachings of the church, having been confirmed at age 12, and taught the 10 commandments and the rules of the church. But in my youth, I came to know that Jesus was more than God’s Son who came to earth to die for the sins of man. I came to understand that He came for me. Confession of sin was personal, like King David, I went straight to the source for forgiveness of my sinful ways and sinful heart. Confessing my sins to a priest gave me a sense of relief, but it did not give me peace that passes understanding. From the time of my youth, I came to the realization that I could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I devoured His word. I meditated on His word day and night, His word I hid in my heart that I would learn to please Him. “Hither-to, I have declared His wondrous works”, and His marvelous grace. Almost 50 years later, I still desire to know more of Him. He is everything to me, may I continue to declare that He is good and desires only what is good for me.

Prayers Night and Day

 2 Tim 1:3

I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day.

Pray for those you care for and love every day. We often keep our loved ones in our thoughts, but Paul did more than think about them, he prayed for them. It is nice to think about those we care about, but the power of prayer connects our thinking to our Father in heaven, who controls the affairs of people. He knows what others are going through, He sees the trails and stressful circumstances that they are facing at that time. Positive thoughts do not change things, it is through prayer and petitioning God that makes the difference. Prayer moves the hand of God, prayer makes it possible to see God move in the lives of people. Without ceasing, let us remember our loved ones in prayer as often as we can, trusting them over to God who is able to meet their needs when they need it.