Happy New Year

"I say only this: forgetting what is behind me, I race forward and run towards the goal, my eyes on the prize to which God has called us from above in Christ Jesus." - Phillippians 3:13-14

With the new year, we always try to put in the past the mistakes we've made and look forward to starting over on a blank slate with new resolutions. But let's be honest - just like we're not going to stick to the diet, we're going to let God down. We might fall back into those sins we're trying so hard to leave behind. Here, Paul gives us a message of hope for all new things, forget what is behind you and move forward with your eyes on the prize! Don't hold on to the guilt of those past sins or feeling like you can't get forgiveness from the Lord because you can. We're bound to fall from time to time, but don't let that stop you, don't let that slow you down! We all have to keep racing towards our dreams and goals. Our life is one big race and the only way to win is to keep looking forward. When we look back at our mistakes, we carry them with us as dead weight and we will stumble and fall. 2008 is your year to set your relationship with the Lord on fire. He is wiping your slate clean and with repentance in your heart, He has forgotten all of your past. All you have to do now is look forward and keep on running.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You for the new year and all I've grown in 2007. Help me to, like Paul, keep on racing towards You and never look back at the mistakes of my past. Help keep me steady, confident, and set on You and the plans You have for me. In Your Name we pray, amen.

A Scary Road Ahead

"But I put my trust in you, O Lord. You are my God; my days are in your hands." - Psalm 31:14-15

It is so scary to face the future and come across opportunities in which we have to make serious decisions. Sometimes we know what to do but most times we don't. I remember how scary it was to pick a college and pick a major. It felt so final and how was I to know at that age what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life? And then after college, where was I to work? Now I find myself thinking about marriage and it being so permanent when I'm not sure where my path will lead in a couple of months. Life is so scary; and there's no way of knowing if the choices you make will be good or bad in the long term. Will I be ok in the long term? Will I be ok in 6 months? Or 1 month?

I only know one thing though, and that's that I am going to trust in God to guide me through. He knows where He's taking me even if He lets that road be dark for a couple of miles. I tell Him every day that I hope that He really knows that no matter what, I just want to be led by Him. Tonight in my ministry class, my teacher shared a poem written by a monk named Thomas Merton. I found myself and all I was feeling in those words and it showed me that in all walks of life, we are all scared, but in all walks of life, God is there.

I hope it brings you comfort as you try to figure out your path:

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that my desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore I will trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, I will not fear, for you are ever with me; you will never leave me to face my perils alone."

Living In The Past

"You have scrutinized my actions and all my days are ordained by you; you have recorded them all in your book before any one of them ever existed." - Psalm 139:16

You know, our pasts dictate our future. On a positive note, if we do well in school and make the right choices, we walk a straight path in life, but then there are also the twists and turns along the way that bring about pain and sin. If this is the case, then most likely, you carry along the fear, shame, and insecurity that nothing will turn out right for you and you'll never have a good relationship or get a good job. You allow the past to tell you what your future is. But God just doesn't work like that. If you trust in Him, He will create ways to give you the future He destined you for, no matter what in your past has gone wrong. You have to remember that God is good and has promised to be with you, to guide you, through anything.

I heard a preacher say that the highest buildings have the lowest, deepest foundations. This means that it doesn't matter how poor you are, how dysfunctional your family is or how badly you've behaved, you can put your trust in God so that He can take you to a higher place. You will go from the depths of that building and rise above it all in your future! This psalm says that before anything ever happens to you, God already has it recorded in His book, yet you are very aware of the beautiful plans He has promised you! You have to believe that God uses your past to bring more value, meaning and joy to your future if you allow Him to! Let your past dictate your future so that you can see God turn your depths into sky scrapers!

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, thank You for using my past, although I have trouble believing it, as a stepping stone for the wonderful promises You have ahead of me. At times I do struggle and it's hard for me to see that light at the end of the tunnel, but I know that You are God and You are the Almighty so I will put my faith in You. In Your Name we pray, amen.