Friday, January 1, 2016

There Is Hope

Happy new year!  There's something about the start of a new year that brings a renewed hope for good things to happen.  The past and its failures and disappointments are behind us.  The new year brings a fresh start.

My Bible reading for today reminded me of all the benefits we have in serving God.  It is in Psalm 103, and I wanted to share part of it here:

Psalm 103
Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
 
The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
    his deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
 
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
    he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
    they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
    and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children
18 with those who keep his covenant
    and remember to obey his precepts.
 
What great promises!  When I read that, it gives me such hope for the future.  I hope it gives you hope, too.  If we don't know the Lord, our past brings regrets, our future brings fear, and our present is filled with turmoil.  But if we do know Him, our past brings forgiveness, our future brings hope, and our present is filled with peace.

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