Well, here we are in another New Year and I never thought that I would see a time such as I am seeing now. Truely, these are the last days that we are living in. We have had a government shutdown, with the threat of another, millions of people have suffered great hardships, if there was ever time for us to pray and trust God, Now is the time.
I began to look at the season we are in and no dubt many of us are in the hardest season of our life. The Bible tells us in 2nd Timothy 2:3, that in the last days there will be perilous times, the love of many will grow cold, people will be boasters, proud, lovers of money, lovers of self rather than lovers of God and the list goes on...
Although there will be many things that we may not understand; we must remember that God is very much in control of our lives, He is in control of every situation and there is no God like Him, we take confort in knowing that He is our Rescuer, Our hope and promise and we must believe the Word and live by the word and stand on the word, especially in times like these.
It is the grace of God that is going to keep us in this last day, so many are suffering with things that are unexplainable. My heart and mind this year is to do the will of my Father; to please Him and to do His will, we must draw closer to Him; we have to put our ear to God's mouth and listen to what He's telling us in this last day. The bible says that if we keep our minds on the Lord, He will keep us in perfect peace. I'm asking God in this New Year to help His people to stay focused on Him; especially in this season of testing. Testing will come, trials will come, temptation to give up will come but we must reember that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
Paul says in Romans 8:38...For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jeus our Lord.
God is in control, no matter what it looks like, no matter how we feel, don't allow anything this year to separate you from the love of God. The word of God also tells us in Jeremiah 29:11"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope. Romans 8:28 tells us: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
People of God, this will be an unusual year but I would say to you: "Fight the good fight of faith this year, walk by faith and not by sight, live by faith and watch God work a miracle in your life...The Lord loves His children and He's concerned about us all...
In His Presence
Pastor T. Owens