Tag: NEW YEAR

Our Greatest Gain

On By francesrogersIn GOD'S GLORY, GOD'S GRACE, GOD'S WORD17 Comments

How we begin one segment of time determines how we end. How we finish also determines how we start another.

It is this ending I wish to consider as 2019 comes to a close;

None of us will pass this way again.

How does this year tally? What can we carry into another year?

What we have gained should give us hope for the new year.

2019 has supposedly been a good year on the stock market? What assurance do investors have that this gain will continue through another year?

If this is all we have, we are without hope.

In years past, failed relationships, our troubled marriage, my sins, sins of the world, and issues in the church led me through the whole year. When the holiday season rolled around, there was not much to celebrate, but despondency ruled and extended into the next year.

There never seemed to be any gain until 1992 when the Lord gave me a new heart, a new spirit, and a new life. In the last half of that year, He began to fill me, and I began to know the meaning of abundant life we receive in Jesus Christ our Lord.

I have not accomplished much in the last month due to issues with our computer, but my heart is filled with thanksgiving and praise for the blessings of this year. Our heavenly Father has heaped an abundance of His grace and mercy upon our family and me even in the middle of difficulties (this is where most of our blessings are hidden).

His presence is real and powerful as we seek His kingdom and His righteousness above all else. He inhabits our praises as He leads us through each day in His Word and close fellowship with Him in prayer and intercession.

“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” Philippians 3:8

What have we gained of Christ this year in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3)? It is the eternal hope we have in Him that carries us through each year and from this world into the next.

How will you end this year and this life? Though we gain the whole world, without Him, we miss true life and eternity, here, now, and forever. Christ is all to those who know Him.

Let His Spirit fill us with praise, thanksgiving, and hope as this year of our Lord 2019 closes and a new year begins.

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Isaac Watts

Gracious Father, thank you for your divisions of time. You knew well how to plan for beginnings and endings and transitions from one to the other. We praise you for beginning, sustaining, and ending all things in Christ, your Son. Fill us with your Spirit to keep us in Christ, and in your timing, bring each of us into your eternal glory. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Fran

Image: Google

All Things New

On By francesrogersIn GOD'S GLORY, GOD'S GRACE, GOD'S WORD, QUOTES, TRUTH, Uncategorized16 Comments

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17

In awe for the last decade, I have been given another new year to express the all-glorious presence and blessings of our Almighty God. Ten years ago, I was thinking how close I might be to leaving this planet to be with our Lord. Now in my eighth decade, I sense more and more my weakness and dependence on my Creator and Redeemer as He continues to prepare me for eternity with Him. It is a second childhood I heard about in my first childhood, but, oh so much more than I had imagined. And, I am loving it!

Learning to leave behind those things I thought were so precious years ago, I have been blessed for the Lord to reveal His kingdom of grace in me enabling me to experience a taste of that which is to come.

Trust in the One Who Gives Life
Did I say that these years have been comfortable and pleasant? Not by any stretch of the imagination; they are being spent in trust and leaning upon the One who gave me life twice ~ as Creator and Redeemer ~ a new life that will never end.

Giving me the responsibility as a full-time caregiver for Jerry has been the Father’s way of grooming me as His servant. And there is no greater joy than this. Having served in many roles (too many to list) the role of a servant tops the list for joy and fulfillment in His kingdom.

With one of my favorite verses of His Word, I end my first prayer each day before getting out of bed.

“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.” Psalm 90:17

There is always new work to do. With this expectation, we know this new year of our Lord, 2019 will be filled with newness of life. With every day and every trial in the last several years, we have experienced a greater sense of His presence and His goodness.

Lovecraft ~ A New Look
After eight years of blogging, we are using a new format. In searching, I chose a fitting theme Lovecraft~ not knowing the name of the theme until afterward. We will be tweaking it until we decide on the final look. One difference in this theme is the overlay of the area for the text. Images are good, but we want to focus on the truths of God’s Word and His kingdom. A physical image cannot aptly portray the spiritual truths of His love and grace.

We have also just published a new book which we will review the end of this week; What the Holy Bible Says about The Word of GOD, second in the series What the Holy Bible Says.

Our God is the Living God, the God of wonders, the God who never leaves us. He desired us before the world began and sired us in His timing ~ to bring us to Himself through His Son’s redemptive work and the power of His Holy Spirit. He continues to show us great and mighty things we have not known (Jeremiah 33:3) ~ to us, in us and through us. All this; all that He does is for His glory and our joy.

Dear Father in heaven, you have called us unto your eternal glory through Jesus Christ, your Son. We thank you for your mercy and grace, by your Holy Spirit, to accomplish all that you have planned for us in this new year. Whether to keep us here to proclaim the legacy of your kingdom or to bring us home with you, we praise you now. Continue to fill us all with the outpouring of your Spirit to speak and write the truth of your Word that others may know you and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His name, I pray. Amen.
Fran

Image is from Christian Poetry by Deborah Ann. 
You would be blessed to visit her blog.

2017 ~ The New Year of our Lord Jesus Christ

On By francesrogersIn CONTENTMENT, GOD'S GLORY, GOD'S GRACE, GOD'S WORD, UncategorizedLeave a comment

What a blessing to start new and fresh on
The Lord’s Day!

The first day of the week

The first day of the month

The first day of the year

Remembering His birth, His Life, His death,
His resurrection, His ascension
and His position as our High Priest,
at the right of the Father,
interceding for us as His Holy Spirit
ministers to all His children.heb-13-20-ww-notrace-9x6
Image

A New and True Reflection Of Christ

On By francesrogersIn CONTENTMENT, GOD'S GLORY, GOD'S GRACE, GOD'S WORD, PRAYER1 Comment

DSC02891This original picture was taken in Bavaria, Germany. We have never been there.  I duplicated this with my camera from the cover of a Big Ben 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle box.

After separating some pieces of the puzzle, I thought of the many reflections of nature. Then I realized later, as I was praying for the transition of one year to the next, that where there is light and a means of receiving, there will be a reflection of that which is higher, brighter, greater, more powerful and beautiful.

God, our Father has created all things, and the most important of His creation is that which He created in His own image.  Since the Fall that image has been marred—just as a reflection that we see from the sky to the lake is not clear.  But, He has planned, through the giving of His Son, to restore that image for eternity—when all shall be a new heavens and a new earth; and we shall be like Him.

No True Images of Christ in a Picture
Just as I have no true knowledge of Germany, never having been there, there is no true knowledge of Jesus Christ, except as the Father brings (draws – John 6:44-45) us to Him.  No one can paint or draw an image of Christ that will reflect His image in us.  He has to first give us a new heart (Ezekiel 36:16) through which we see Him.  He must draw His own image; only by the power of His Holy Spirit applying His Holy Word to our spirits, hearts, and minds can we be humbled and still, so as to receive His image in us.  And unlike water that only reflects an image, Christ’s image is in us.  The external only reflects what is internally and eternally ours.

My prayer for a new year is that we, as His redeemed children shall know our lowliness and His highest, His power working in us as new creatures in Christ; for a new outpouring of His Spirit; that we may know His light in us, the receiving and reflecting of the nature and disposition of Christ,  yet, somewhat still blurred.

My desire is to desire what He desires; and to be transparent—just as in the picture I do not remember the lake—only the reflection in it.

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness,
who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”
2 Corinthians 4:6,7

“Beloved, now we are children of God;
and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be,
but we know that when He is revealed,
we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.“
1 John 3:2,3

“As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”
Psalm 17:15

“The LORD bless you and keep you;  The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you:  The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace” ~~~ “Christ in you,” this year.

The Newest Year ~ The Best Wine

On By francesrogersIn GOD'S GLORY, GOD'S GRACE, GOD'S WORD, PRAYERLeave a comment

The Father has opened my heart to think of this new year as the newest year, one that will surpass all others.  Each year of my life has brought new revelation, new truths, new vision, new purpose.  Each year has brought me closer and closer to Him. With time, aging, experience, and trials we can witness that He keeps His covenant and fulfills His promises. So why should we not come to this year with even more expectation, with a great and joyful anticipation?

All my life I seem to have been motivated by new beginnings, though they come with mixed blessings.  For every new beginning there has to be an ending, which means we leave something behind or lose something.  We may have to let something, or someone, go.  We may have to start over completely.  Years ago there came the realization that endings are like deaths.  Some are good endings that we have looked forward to. Others may be accompanied with grief, which may take time to get over.  But in the process is the preparation for the future that our Father has for us, and for things that He has prepared for us.  We are not speaking of the future as a reference to an after-death experience in heaven.  What we refer to is for here and now, a taste of heaven here on earth, and preparation for glory.  Every year, every trial, every ending, every death, every beginning brings us more of His blessings, and the heavenly gifts He waits to give.

New Heart ~ New Birth

To experience the newest we have to set aside the old.  With the new birth we start over. With the new heart our desires change.  The things that we lusted for, even things that seemed good are easily left behind for something better.  With the new spirit we look forward to new experiences that the Father has planned for us.  The child-like faith gives us hope for further fulfillment of His promises, and we rest in believing that He will show us great and mighty things we have not known. (Jeremiah 33:3)  The child-like spirit delights in the unexpected. We are not satisfied to live the same year again, but in anticipation that all things will be fresh and new from Him every day, and every year that we are here.  These new things are never lost, but added to year after year, with even greater anticipation.

We can expect the continued power of the Holy Spirit to guide us into and through the year, moment by moment, day by day, week by week, month by month until the ending of this year, unless He has chosen to bring us to glory  ( Psalm 73:24; Colossians 3:4) before then.  We anticipate further sanctification, cleansing and purifying of the heart and the hands, transforming by the renewing of the mind (Romans 12:1-2) and conforming us to the image of His Son. (Romans 8:29)

“He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure;

 for this is all my salvation, and all my desire.”

2 Samuel 23:5 

We look forward to His instructions, to His order of the things with which we are still unfamiliar, but that He promises to reveal to us. (Deuteronomy 29:29; John 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:10)

On this first day of 2008 the question is asked, “Am I willing to give up my own ideas, the desires of my own heart, and seek, with diligence, the kingdom of God and His righteousness?”  (Matthew 6:33)  The Father has promised us an abundant life in His Son. (John 10:10)  The newest and the best are given only in Christ. All beginnings are of His grace—not a cheap grace, but one secured for us by the Father and the Son through the sacrifice of His life, a covenant of grace made for us before time began. (2 Timothy 1:9)

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”  John 3:30 

We enter this newest year with an open calendar and the prayer, “Lord, fill it with your plans for me—for your glory, and for my joy and the joy of others. Let there be less of me and more of you.”  And this same prayer we ask for all His people, for the building of His church and His kingdom. “Fill our hearts and prayers with more love for you and others, more praise, more gratitude, more of your grace. Let there be new springs, new fountains, new rivers of living water flowing in hearts, families, and churches.”

“Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.  This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.”  John 2:10-11

At the marriage feast at Cana Jesus turned water into wine. Much of what we have seems good until we, in the times of our seasoning, come to what the Father has for us. It is but as water, or only a good wine, compared to the better. We can afford to wait for the best that the Father has planned for us.  “The heirs can afford to wait.”  (Andrew Murray) He has promised a heavenly life for His people who live in anticipation of the spiritual things from His heart and kingdom. (Ephesians 1:3)  He has promised new wine in new wine skins.  He keeps filling our hearts with His Word, His promises, His Spirit, His power (Ephesians 3:20; Colossians 21:27,29) and excitement that spills over into each year.  Still, the newest year and the best wine are yet to come, in Glory with Him.

“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all,

how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” 

Romans 8:31

Keeping our eyes on Christ we live in daily anticipation of the filling of His Spirit, and the bread from heaven, the Spirit of the life of Christ given to us by a loving heavenly Father, and we pray, “Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-13; Revelation 4)  Before anything else we desire the honor of His name, the coming of His kingdom in our hearts, and His will to be done in our lives, as it is in heaven.  If these requests are fulfilled we can know that the others will be also.  The rest of the Lord’s Prayer is a petition for our needs based on our faith in what He promised and is able to do—for His glory and our joy.

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,

unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:” 

Ephesians 4:7,13

(Fran 1/1/08  Article from 50 Days of Prayer and Praise ~ Articles and Stories of Faith)   Join us for our daily devotional  agoldentreasury.com.

The Lord’s Day ~ The First Day

On By francesrogersIn GOD'S GLORY, GOD'S GRACE, GOD'S WORD, PRAYER, THE LORD'S DAY (SABBATH)Leave a comment

THIS IS THE LORD’S DAY ~  THE FIRST DAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF THE FIRST MONTH OF THE NEW YEAR OF OUR LORD ~ 2012

HOW DID IT START WITH YOU?  WAS IT IN FELLOWSHIP AND COMMUNION WITH YOUR FATHER, AND THE LORD JESUS CHRIST? WAS THE DAY SPENT IN WORSHIP WITH HIS PEOPLE, IN PRAYER AND THE READING OF HIS WORD?

DID YOU COMMIT THIS DAY, THIS WEEK, THIS MONTH, THIS YEAR ~ ALL THAT YOU ARE AND HAVE ~ TO HIM?

THEN EXPECT THAT HE WILL BLESS YOU,

PROVIDE FOR YOU,

STRENGTHEN YOU,

HELP YOU,

COMFORT YOU,

GROW YOU,

KEEP YOU UNDER THE SHADOW OF HIS WINGS,

LEAD YOU THROUGH THE MOST ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT THIS NEW YEAR WILL BRING.

THEREFORE,  TRUST HIM, LOVE HIM, FEAR HIM, OBEY HIM, WORSHIP AND SERVE HIM, PRAY AND PRAISE HIM, LIVE FOR HIM ONE DAY AT A TIME, ALL THE WHILE PROCLAIMING THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST WHEREVER YOU ARE.

THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU AND YOURS THIS NEW YEAR OF LORD JESUS CHRIST ~ FOR HIS GLORY AND YOUR JOY!

(Join us at agoldentreasury.com for daily devotions from A Golden Treasury for the Children of God Whose Treasure is in Heaven by C.H.v Bogatzky.)