Good Morning!

Well, that’s it. Another Christmas come and gone so fast it makes my head spin. It was a good time with new memories made, although I can’t say I remember every present I have given or received as each year passes. Actually, the memories kind of blend together so that it is difficult to pull one year’s out of the sack of I store them all in.

Alistair Begg had an interesting take on some of this during a series on Joseph. He remarked about Christmas letters that often accompany cards from friends and family. I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t like these letters. We find out how much Johnny and Susie have grown, where the family went on vacation, and all that stuff. I’ve written lots of these letters myself. I suppose these are becoming a thing of the past with Facebook and Instagram.

Alistair made the observation that these letters highlight all the good things that happen. Seldom do we discover the trials and difficulties of the year gone by. Perhaps it is a missed opportunity for Christians to share how God carries us through life, even in the most dire of circumstances. After all, what human has gone a whole calendar year without some sort of difficulty that they were powerless to change? Think about it. Things happen to us or loved ones all the time, far more often than a family vacation.

Perhaps it would do us good to reflect on the pages of our calendars and review these times, not to bring us down but rather to remind ourselves how God has carried us through them. After all, he has delivered each of us through some unbearable challenges, has he not? Of course, he has. If I am honest with myself, I tend to forget those times. This is to my shame because I then forget how mighty my God is to save. It’s also a missed opportunity to tell others about how great my God is and how they may be saved as well.

Have you every noticed how the bible spends a great deal of time retelling events? In fact, I tend to find myself rushing through these passages because I already know them. I can almost imagine in ages ago when families used to study their scripture and how the little kids may have gotten fidgety. Perhaps the parents had to remind them how important their history is to their lives. Why? So they would not forget how their God has delivered them. Why? So they would not stray after strange gods, the gods our God warned them about. And, as we seen in the pages of our bibles, this is exactly what plays out over and over and over again.

Read Psalm 136 or Stephen’s speech in Acts 7. See how they know their history, about how God has delivered them. Maybe we are prone to the same error as all the others. Maybe I forget how my God has delivered me. Maybe I, too, and prone to wander after false idols. My tight belt is proof that I am.

As for me, 2018 has been a difficult year, business-wise. In fact, I thought seriously about changing course, but my Lord has calmed my fear and reminded me that I use my business as a platform for sharing the gospel. That is what I am focusing my attention on while relying on his promise of Matthew 6:33-34. God has blessed me with a wonderful, Godly woman in my life through an almost immediate answer to prayer. My daughters were not too happy about that, but God is showing me how to be patient and loving in ways that aren’t natural to me. Through this, I see very positive changes in me and am seeing him work in others. Through the year, I have had times that I have drifted and times that he has drawn me back. Yes, this was a difficult year in many ways, but my God has delivered me and blessed me abundantly. His steadfast love endures forever!

Father, thank you. Amen.

Copyright © 2018 Scott Powers