Happy New Year to you! I hope this new year will bring some welcome changes and new beginnings. Isn’t it amazing that we can experience a tangible sense of letting go of the old and embracing the new? As January unveils, we begin to move forward with a resolution of change.  So, what techniques are you using to shed the past and welcome the opportunities and possibilities that the new year brings?

2 Peter 1:5-8 says, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Happy New Year to you! We are given an opportunity every year to start afresh, to shed things from the past that either didn’t seem to work for us or would regret. Is there something that still has a hold on you, something you can’t seem to shake off? If so, let's take a moment and see what God has to say about that.

This Christmas, may we all remember the wisdom of Linus from “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” when he quoted Luke 2:8-14 (NIV), “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.’”

Linus finally stated the obvious. “THAT’S WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT, CHARLIE BROWN.” And it most certainly is!

What’s so important about having a thankful heart? What difference does it really make in the scheme of things? If we’re grateful for all we’ve been given in this life, or feel like we’ve earned it, I guess it all depends on what motivates us. Perhaps you’re most thankful for God’s peace which passes all understanding. As Pastor Charles Stanley often taught, “Anything you are thankful for, will bring you a sense of peace.”

How would you describe the way you process information? Do you think of yourself as more curious or judgmental? In our current electoral voting system and subsequent outcomes, people tend to label those on the other side of their ideological perspective as friends or foes. Many of us have been misjudged and disrespected for what others assume we believe before they bother to ask us where we stand on various political or spiritual issues. Has this been your experience? Have you felt this way?

What is it about the Bible that makes it so hard to open daily? Is it because it holds 66 books? Perhaps the verses are hard to understand, often confusing, or, as some might say, boring. Or is it simply that it doesn’t seem relevant to the issues I deal with because it was written to a people and culture so ancient that it’s become obsolete? One thing that helps me is seeing the Bible as God’s love letter to us. As I read my Bible, I see the patterns of God’s unfailing love, mercy, patience, and care for His people revealed in every book.

Actively reading our Bible will grow our faith and turn a once-unused book into a treasured means of talking to God.

“Think of a time in your life when you compromised just to fit in. What was the result?” This thoughtful question was posed by Max Lucado in the Bible study I’m currently doing on the Book of Revelation. I recalled the disastrous choices I made in High School and College before I became a Christian. I can’t go back and change the past. It’s been forgiven. What about you? Any time we compromise our own moral code of conduct, it will leave us feeling shame, uneasiness, and regret.

Saints, what if we weaken our ability to share the joy of walking with Jesus because we compromise our godly conduct to be accepted by our peers? Lord, help us when we fear being godly in the presence of the ungodly.

Some of us have friends or know people who have said, “Nature is my church. I don’t need to attend a church to grow in my faith.” Really? All my friends who have taken that stance have gradually lost their walk with the Lord without exception. It has been said that our individual faiths are like embers. If we embers stick close together, collectively, we burst into a mighty flame of faith. Whereas embers that are separated from each other eventually fizzle out. John Piper drove this point home regarding the importance of joining small groups within our various churches by saying, “The purpose of small groups is to keep us believing.” Being part of a local church strengthens our faith.

Pastor JD Greear asked this question, “What is it in your life that, if you did not have it, would rob you of contentment and happiness?”

Kinney deHamel challenges us to look closely at the things that may have inadvertently taken priority in our thinking and absorb the majority of our time, talent, and treasure. Have you honestly identified the idols in your life?

Is there anything sadder to witness or more debilitating to experience than hopelessness? When we lose hope and spin into despair, we can feel as King David did in Psalm 40:2 (NKJV) when he lamented having been in “a horrible pit.” The problem with feeling hopeless is that it puts us in a mental state of being trapped with no way out and nowhere to go. Alexander Pope famously wrote, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blest.” This proverb was intended to convey the idea that humans will never stop believing that things will improve.

So, how can we encourage others who feel like giving up to consider hope, even if their circumstances won’t immediately change?

Jeremiah 17:5 (NKJV) says, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.” Wow! So, when I want to do nice things so people will like me, it actually means my heart is departing from God since I desire man’s approval more than His? Take a moment to think about that: God warns that we are cursed if our goal is to please people because there is an element of manipulation involved, which is never God’s way! Our motive in every action made by choice must always be to please God and to bring Him glory, rather than seeking the glory for ourselves.

Has your faith been tested lately through disappointment, crisis, chronic illness, unanswered prayer, hardship, or even betrayal? It is likely that upon seeing or hearing this question, you will respond with a resounding yes! So, what shakes up our faith? Is it a feeling that God doesn’t hear our cries, or that He is otherwise occupied or maybe we aren’t even sure what we believe anymore? If so, there is a tried-and-true remedy found in God’s Word, and this remedy comes with a reward! The key lies in our trust in God's promises. The more we entrust God with the details and essentials of our lives, the stronger our faith becomes.

God warns us in Jeremiah 17:9 that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” This is hard for us to reconcile since our culture encourages us to ‘follow your heart’ in every situation. Have you ever felt your heart deceive you, proving to be hard and uncaring upon occasion? I have. How is your heart today? Have you ever hardened your heart out of self-protection from hurt, or from fear or even from judging another harshly? If so, God has a remedy for us all.

Have you ever felt completely lost, alone, or forsaken? Most of us have at one time or another. In those moments of desperation, when you are crying out for help, to whom do you direct your cry? Jesus provides the perfect target for our cries. He instructed us to come to Him when we are “weary and heavy-laden,” promising that He will give us rest. He commands us over and over again to seek first His kingdom, to be still and to know that He is God, to trust in Him, to wait in silence for Him, and to be strong and of good courage because He is with us! He is our strong tower!

What dream for your life has gotten dusty on the shelf in the back of your mind?

What prevents us from hearing the voice of God when He is stirring us to move, to act, to become exactly who He created each of us to be? Perhaps we are spinning so fast on the “hamster wheel of life” that we can’t be still long enough to hear His still small voice saying, “DO THIS THING!”

Have you ever been challenged by a relationship with someone living in close proximity that it sometimes feels too close for comfort? There will be moments on this side of Heaven when we will be troubled by people who insult us, falsely accuse us, or simply rub us the wrong way. So, you might ask, how can we be more Christlike to our neighbors when getting along with them may prove to be difficult? That’s a question I asked until someone I knew provided great insight. Listen to how Kinney learned the secret to what it takes to Love Your Neighbor.

What advice can you give sober-minded people who see and agree that the state of the union is in absolute disarray? Kinney deHamel addresses this concern in a way that is timely and honest. In order to be “united,” we must first Walk in His Way!

The desire to become better at listening than talking has been a new and humbling skill set for me. I have learned the value of genuinely respecting others’ points of view as more important than my own, which, as it turns out, makes me a more effective ambassador for Jesus; one who extends genuine care and interest toward others.

It’s the one thing everybody wants. It’s the one thing that’s hard to come by and the one thing that only God can give. What is this elusive desire that’s highly prized? It’s the amazing gift of PEACE. Without this precious gift, we’re like a boat adrift on open water without an anchor, yearning to find the shore. But what exactly is peace and what does it bring?