Scripture Passage:  “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”  Lamentations 3: 22-23

 

Dear Friends,

 

     I have never been one to make New Year’s resolutions.  For one thing, most people have no intentions of keeping them.  Secondly, a resolution is only as good as the result it is supposed to produce.  Most of the time a resolution is only a statement declaring what someone believes and has no binding authority upon the one issuing it.  I have sat through many state and national denominational business meetings where a portion of time is set aside for resolutions.  By the time it is all finished, I am resolved, to be resolved, to never present a resolve, that concerns a resolve,  that leads to a resolution.  (How’d you like that?)  I have been in too many business meetings, I considered a waste of time.  I prefer actions over talk.

 

 

     In speaking with a friend today, we talked of the condition of the world, and the imminent return of Jesus.  He said, “I believe it is only by the mercy of God that He allows the world to continue.”  I agree whole-heartedly.  God is not only merciful to the world, but He is merciful to me also.  When I think back over my life and consider all I have done, I realize that it is only by the mercy of God that I am still alive today.  When I have been disobedient, He has been forgiving.  When I have been unkind, He has been compassionate.  When I have been unfaithful, He has been faithful.  God does not act or react as mankind does.  Even God’s chastisement is mixed with love, so that his correction is administered more out of love than it is of wrath.  When God is angry with us, He does not act out of emotional vengeance, but rather through parental care.  It is only because of His mercy and compassion that we are able to continue today.

 

    I am not one to hold a grudge or to continually bring up someone’s past.  I must confess, however, that I never forget.  I have heard it said, “Forgive and forget.”  That is easier said than done.  “To err is human, to forgive divine.”  “To forgive is divine, but to forget is a miracle.”  (That last one is mine.)  Did you ever stop to think that when you sincerely repent of something, God closes the book on that chapter and moves on.  Every day is like a blank sheet of paper waiting for you to write your story.  If you choose to bring up something again, rehash, replay, and even repeat, it is a choice you have made, not God.  If you choose to start over and begin a new chapter in your life, it is because his mercy and compassion is new each morning.  His mercies are new and his compassion will not fail.  You do not have to wait for January 1^st to begin with a fresh start.  Why not begin today?  God is faithful to help.

 

In Christ, – Pastor Johnny