New Year, new beginnings, new goals, new diet??? What I have to look forward to and think about is my word for the year. I have done this several years running and have found it better than a goal. Goals you either do well or fail, with a word you have a driving force to look to each and every day.
Last year my word was Thankful. I started the year keeping a thankfulness journal until I realized I did not need it anymore as my focus was turned outward instead of inward each day. I continued with various things to keep me focused on thankfulness as the year progressed. I always end the year by writing a Christmas letter and letting people know how the word impacted my life for that year. It is amazing to me how God helps me choose just the right word and scriptures to make the word meaningful and productive in my life.
So how does the process of choosing a word begin? First, pray about what God wants your focus to be in the New Year. Ask Him for a word of direction to guide you. God is faithful and will provide. Don’t expect it to be instantaneous. Usually He impresses upon me the word He has for me over a series of day and events. Next, ask God to show you scriptures to claim during the year for that word. Search the scriptures and God will show you how you can define and refine this word. Then define the word yourself by choosing 8-10 words that remind you of your word or show your word in action.
That’s enough for now- pray and talk with God about your focus for 2026! I will leave you with my favorite New Year verse that I claim- Lamentation 3:21-23 “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end;23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Have a blessed New Year and depend upon His faithfulness!!
Lent is a time of self-reflection and prayer. Each Sunday during Lent, I will post a passage that will hopefully turn your hearts towards Him in thanks. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we can be eternally grateful and secure in our salvation.
Psalm 85: 7-9 Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people. But let them not return to their foolish ways. 9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, so our land will be filled with his glory.
Acts 4:11-12 “For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ 12There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Ephesians 2:7-9 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
John 10:28 is a favorite verse of one of my Sisters in Christ as it assures us that we belong to Him and NO ONE can remove us from His care and love. “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. Noonecansnatch them away from me.”
Thank you Lord for sending Jesus so that we might be reconciled to you through our faith in Him. Thank you Lord for sending Jesus to redeem us eternally and make us his own. Jesus paid the price for my sins and I am eternally grateful. Amen.
As we ponder Christ in the past, present and future, we can be mightily encouraged by today’s scripture from 1 Corinthians 1:3-9. I have read it in various translations and like the Message as it is the clearest to me. The Apostle Paul was writing to the Corinthian Christians to encourage them in their walk with Christ so that they could endure the trials of their faith in their present culture. Corinth was a very large pagan city with many temples and shrines to various pagan gods. Their faith in Christ was definitely counter-culture and there would have been many temptations to return to their pagan ways.
3 May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father, and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours. Paul begins by letting them know that all they have in faith comes from Jesus. The same is true for us today as without Jesus we would have nothing. I am so thankful Jesus came to set me free from the burden of sin so I can live in Him.
4-6 Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives. We are so rich in Christ. We have access to the Father, the indwelling Holy Spirit and God’s Word to guide and direct our lives. Whom do you pray for in the faith? Do you remember your Christian friends, like Paul is doing? Yes, we pray for our unsaved friends to come to know Jesus and be freed from sin’s power in their lives, but what about those who know Jesus? Praying for the strengthening of the faith of our fellow believers is part of our job as fellow Christians. Whom will you pray for this season?
7-9 Just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.
These are such encouraging words from Paul. He reminded them, and us too, that we are gifted by God in so many ways. We have salvation in Christ, the fruits of the Holy Spirit that will be evident in our lives as we mature in Christ and the Word of God to guide us. Romans 1:16-17 speaks of salvation, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Galatians 5:22-23 explains the fruits of the Holy Spirit that can be manifested in our lives as we mature in our faith “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Jesus also sent the Holy Spirit to guide us in His ways. John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. “God’s Word provides guidance as we seek to walk with Jesus each day, Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
We do indeed have it all in Jesus! Because He came to die on the cross for my sins and be resurrected to life, I can know Him and be used by Him to reach others. I am so thankful that Jesus came to redeem me and a future with Him gives me hope as I live in today’s world.
May your hope abound as you consider what you have today in Jesus!
Colossians 3:15-16“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.“
Paul was writing to Colossians about their attitudes towards one another. In verses 12-15 he describes what their behavior should look like towards one another that would be pleasing to God. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” If we are behaving as Paul describes, then we just need to relax and let Christ rule in our hearts bringing peace and unity to our gatherings. Because of the message of Christ, we can worship together and praise God in one accord with extreme gratitude in our hearts.
What if this is not what our homes, families, and churches look like? Then we need to seek God’s help. Hebrews 4:16 “ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our timeofneed.” God will seek to use us to bring harmony and peace to where we are. He promises His peace to indwell us and knowing that promise we can indeed be thankful. At this opportune time of the year, let us express our thanks to God and to let others know that our THANKFULNESS comes from GOD! Remember, Psalm 107:2 “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble.”
A truth to claim with thanksgiving: I am forgiven. You might wonder why I chose this truth for today’s scripture. As my remember my own sin, it brings great thankfulness for God’s forgiveness. I can look at others as ones loved by God who also stand in need of forgiveness. I am reminded of Romans 5:8“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God loved me and sent Christ to die for me. That is the center of my thankfulness and heart of gratitude towards God and others. Here are a few other verses about forgiveness: Colossians 1:12-14 “and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Micah 7:18-19 is one of my favorites to claim with hope and thanks, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. 19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” Thank you Jesus, my sins are gone!
I also love the image given to us in Isaiah 38:17 “Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.”
Let your forgiven heart be open to the needs of others and seek to make peace at your Thanksgiving table. Remember you have His peace within you and can testify to the wonders of His Name.
Fearless Living 