HOPE FOR A NEW YEAR

What are your hopes for this new year of 2011? Are you anxious about the future may hold?  We do live in troubled times, and we do not know what the year ahead holds for us individually, for our nation or for our world.

There are many fears we can address in these times of depressed economy and the fear of terrorists and their threats.   You may fear losing your job, your home and your security.  You may be facing great physical challenges this year, or the death of loved ones.  All these things can cause us to be anxious, but we do know that our God is in the heavens, and He is in control.  We can be sure of His precious promises, and He never fails.  “Great is His faithfulness!”

God pays attention to His people.  Whether God offers escape from trouble or help in times of trouble, He always hears and acts for those who love Him.  Praise the Lord! And He calms our fears and brings us peace.

“He frees us to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6-7.

It is very easy to worry and to fret about the economy or if we will even have a job to support our families.  God is perfectly capable to supplying everything we need.  If He takes care of the birds, then surely He will take care of us, since we are more precious to Him than the birds.  See Matthew 6:25-34.

Worry never accomplishes anything, and we all worry about little things, big things.  But Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:27 that we cannot add a single day to our lives by worrying, nor can we make ourselves more secure or happier or happier by worrying. 

Constant worry indicates that we don’t really believe in the sovereignty of God; we don’t trust His power and His care for us.  If we are in God’s hands, then what can really harm us?  “What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us” Romans 8:31.  We also need to ask if we have our priorities straight.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”  If we fill our minds with thoughts of God’s grace revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ, there won’t be any room for worry.

Live one day at a time.  Don’t borrow trouble by worrying about tomorrow, when we do not know if we will even have a tomorrow.  Today is a present, God’s gift to us.  Use it, cherish it.  It is okay to look ahead and plan, just so long as we remember to follow the counsel of James 4:15: “Instead, you ought to say, ‘if the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

What is the cure for worry and our anxious thoughts, PRAY!  This is what Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6:

“and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.”

                                              MY NEW YEAR’S PRAYER FOR YOU

Our Heavenly Father in Heaven, as the old year ends and the New Year begins forgive us for the failures of vanished days.  Keep us from worry and fear, and let us face forward with a hope and great expectation for the coming year.

You, Oh God, are from everlasting to everlasting, and you are granting us a new beginning of days, and let us walk those days knowing that You are there to lead and guide in every situation that we may face.

Oh, Lord, help us to abound in whatever is pleasing to You.  May we know that without You we can do nothing, and that in You all things are possible.

And Oh Lord, as the days pass over us, teach us to be thankful for past mercies and ever ready to serve You in the days ahead.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Happy New Year!

Pastor Sharon

O TIDINGS OF COMFORT

AND JOY!

In this final week before Christmas, many of us are tired of the crowds, the commercialism, the traffic and the pressure of this season.   It is a time now for us to take our eyes off the mad rush, be still before the Lord and remember it is He who is King of kings and Lord of lords, and to lift up His Name in all our celebrations and to give Him our Praise!

Christmas or some seems to be all about the gifts, the latest “toy” and what will make family members and friends happy.  However, do those things really bring satisfaction?  Maybe there will be joy for a short time after the gifts are opened, but then it is all over on the 26^th of December, even the Christmas carols cease to be heard.

Then there are long lines to return the gifts that have been so lovingly bought to bring joy and happiness.  Where does it all end?  Then we start looking toward the New Year and great despondency may set in. The holiday season is just not what we expected it to be.  We have lost our focus on the Wonderful Name of Jesus, and it is His Name, the Name above all Names.

Many right now have had a great expectation of the holiday season, but then they lost their jobs, their support of their families.  Maybe they lost a loved one right at Christmas, or a loved one was diagnosed with a terminal illness.  Many situations may have happened that created despair, and they have lost the comfort and joy of this season.

I am reminded of the Christmas Carol, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: “O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, O tidings of comfort and joy.”  Some may ask “but where are the comfort and joys of this season?”

We go back and read Luke 2 and read about Mary and Joseph and that precious baby in the manger.  We wonder what may be going through Mary’s mind as she holds and cuddles her baby.  That baby is the long awaited Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring His people comfort and joy, for that is the reason He came.  Jesus came to walk this earth, God in the flesh, then face the cross for us, to bring us salvation, raised on the third day, and to bring us eternal life with Him forever.

So if you are feeling like you have lost all comfort and the joy of this season, be reminded in His Word that He promises comfort and joy, no matter what the circumstances are or what the future may hold.  In Isaiah 40:1 He says:  “Comfort, yes, comfort my people!  Says your God.”   “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted” two Corinthians 1:3-4.  So as we look forward to Christmas Day, be comforted by the God of all comfort, may He speak peace to your heart, and in the remainder of that verse, he invites us to share that comfort with someone else.

And then there is the joy.  It is not the joy which the world tries to give, that joy will not last, but only that which He can bring.  He is our Joy!  Psalm 43:4, we read the Psalmist and his words of joy: “Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; and on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God.”  And we think of Jesus going to the cross and able to look beyond the cross and see the joy that He would bring to His people, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” Hebrews 12:2.

So, be comforted and filled with His joy as you celebrate Christmas and look toward a new year ahead.  Know that our Lord has walked that path before you, and He also promises to never leave you or forsake you in any situation you may find yourselves in.

Father, in the Name of Jesus, comfort Your people, especially in the rush and pressures of this season, when we are to remember the One, who is our Comfort and our Joy.  Bring Your people peace, You are Peace.  Blessings on Your people as they gather with family to celebrate You!  And we look forward to that day when we will gather around Your table to celebrate with You forever, in heaven where there will be no more parting or sorrow, heartaches all ended.  So let us celebrate with comfort and joy this season.  And I pray, most of all that Your Name will be lifted up to give You Glory.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Pastor Sharon Besler

DO YOU NEED REASSURANCE
IN THIS SEASON?

I know that many of you are going through storms right now, and God reassures many ways. And the holiday season is upon us.  This season of the year brings many memories and past Christmas times with family.  It is to be a time of joy and celebration.

There are carols in the air; the lights are on the trees and in the stores.  But I know there are some who will spend this season without their mates for the first time.  Hearts will be heavy with memories and grief.  This season, for you, will indeed be a time of storm.  Some of you will even fear the holiday season because of the pain. 

However,  God is always sending us signs of His love and care.  When the Apostle Paul was preaching in Greece, he became very discouraged.  But he was reassured when his friend, Titus, brought the good news that the Christians in Corinth were holding on to their faith (2 Corinthians 7:5-7).

David found reassurance when he remembered watching a sparrow build a nest in the altar of the Tabernacle.  That memory enabled him to keep going and make the vale of tears a valley of blessing (Psalm 84:1-7).

We are reminded that God knows our names.  The prophet Isaiah reminded the people of Israel that God knew them personally, and it holds true for us also.  “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” Isaiah 43:1

And Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and He calls all of His sheep by name.  “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, they know his voice.”  John 10:2-4

Yes, I understand that there may be times when you walk into a room and expect your loved one to be there, or you may expect them to walk in at any moment.  But God brings such peace and reassurance at those times.  And may you always cherish their memories and the years together.  Some of you have spent many years together.  But cherish those memories with family at this Christmas time.  And some of you are seniors, and you can be reassured that someday you will be with your loved one again in that lovely place where there will be no parting forever, forever with the Lord.

And we are reminded that God is in command of this world, and nothing is too small for Him to provide.  He is always demonstrating His tender care for His children, and we never need to doubt His love for us.

In this Christmas season, we are reminded of God’s gift to us, His Precious Son coming to earth to bring us salvation and eternal life with Him.  So have a blessed Christmas season as you gather with family and friends.

Blessings,

Pastor Sharon Besler

AT THE END OF YOUR ROPE,

HANG ON TO YOUR HOPE

What are we to do when all that is good falls apart?  What do we do when illness invades, marriages fail, children suffer and death strikes?

Max Lucado states in For These Tough Times, Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope and Healing: “ In our toughest times we may see what the followers of Christ saw on the cross.  Innocence was slaughtered. Goodness murdered. Heaven’s tower of strength pierced.  Mothers wept. Evil danced, and the apostles had to wonder, when all that is good falls apart, what can good people do? God answered their question with a declaration.  With the rumble of the earth and the rolling of the rock, He reminded them, “the LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD sits on His throne in heaven. And today, we must remember. He is still in His Temple, still on His throne, and He is still in control.  And He still makes princes out of prisoners, counselors out of captives, and Sundays out of Fridays.  What He did then, He will do still.  It falls to us to ask Him to do so.”

“When all that good falls apart, what can good people do? The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD SITS on His throne in Heaven.”  Psalm 11:3-4 (NCV)

David’s point in this scripture is unmistakable:  God is unaltered by our storms.  He is undeterred by our problems.  God is not frightened by our problems.  He is in His holy temple.  He is on His throne in heaven.  Buildings may fall, careers may crumble, but God does not.  Wreckage and rubble have never discouraged Him.  God has always turned tragedy into triumph.

Did He not do so with Joseph?  Look at Joseph in the Egyptian prison.  His brothers have sold him out; Potiphar’s wife has turned him in.  If ever a world has caved in, Joseph’s has.  Or consider Moses, watching flocks in the wilderness.  Is this what he intended to do with his life?  His heart beats with Jewish blood.  His passion is to lead the slaves, so why does God have him leading sheep?

Daniel was among the brightest and best young men of Israel, the equivalent of a West Point cadet or Ivy Leager.  But he and his entire generation are being marched out of Jerusalem.  The city is destroyed.    The temple is in ruins.

Joseph in prison, Moses in the desert, Daniel in chains, these were dark moments.  But remember Joseph became the Prime Minister of Egypt. Moses led God’s people through the wilderness to the promised  land, and Daniel became the king’s counselor.

God’s love will never fail us in our hard and tough times.   “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?  Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity or are persecuted, or hungry or destitute or in danger or threatened with death?  (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day, we are being slaughtered just like sheep).”  Romans 8:35-36 (NLT)

These words were written to a church that would soon undergo terrible persecution.  In just a few years, Paul’s hypothetical situations would turn into painful realities.  This passage reaffirms God’s profound love for His people.  No matter what happens to us, no matter where we are, we can never be separated from His love.  Suffering should not drive us away from God but help us to identify with Him and allow His love to heal us.

“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.  And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.  Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow, not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below, indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:37-39 (NLT)

These verses contain one of the most comforting promises in all Scriptures.  Believers have always had to face hardships in many forms:  persecution, illness, imprisonment, and even death.  These sometimes have caused them to fear that they have been abandoned by Christ, and have lost their hope.  But Paul exclaims that is impossible to be separated from Christ.  His death for us in proof of His unconquerable love and nothing can separate us from Christ’s presence.  God tells us how great His love is so that we will be totally secure in Him.  If we believe these overwhelming assurances, we will not be afraid or lose our hope.

We are never at the end of our hope.  “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed.  We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.  We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God.  We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.  Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.  Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.  So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.”  II Corinthians 4:8-18 (NLT)

Paul reminds us, that though we may think we are at the end of our hope, we are never at the end of our rope.  Our perishable bodies are subject to sin and suffering, but God never abandons us.  Because Christ has won the victory over death, we have eternal life.  All our risk, humiliations and trials are opportunities for Christ to demonstrate His power and presence in and through us.

Our ultimate hope when we are experiencing terrible illness, persecution or pain is the realization that this life is not all there is.  There is life after death.  Knowing that we will live forever with God in a place without sin and suffering can help us live above the pain that we face in this life.

One final promise in Psalm 11:7: “For the Lord is righteous, and he loves justice.  Those who do right will see His face.”

That is our great promise.  No matter what we go through on this earth, when things seem to crumble around us, we are going to see His face, and as I said in last week’s blog, when we see His face, we will be just like Jesus.  Praise the Lord!

Pastor Sharon