TAG   |   New Year's

Looking for Laborers

1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into t...

The Second Chance

34 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. 35 And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise. 36 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord. Intro...

New Year’s Resolutions

With the New Year coming up, most everybody is getting in on the act of making a few New Year’s resolutions of their own. Here are some of my own sideline suggestions for New Year’s resolutions. Be it resolved: To Get More Out of Church: That you won’t try to call playing golf on Sunday your “church time” any more than you would call...

The New You and the New Y...

Thoughts of a new beginning appeal to every one of us. Everyone can begin again at the foot of the cross of Christ, and any person wanting to begin life anew must come to him in repentance and in faith. Paul expressed it this way: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5...

The Keeper of the Keys

As we approach another New Year we are again aware that the future holds many mysteries for us. Will it be a year of poverty or prosperity? Will it be a year of happiness or sorrow? Will it be a year of life or death? Who knows? While we do not know what the future holds, we can know who holds the future. The future is in God’s hands. The Romans named January f...

The Rising Sun

After the signing of the constitution in 1787, Benjamin Franklin commented about the chair in which George Washington had sat through all the weeks and months of their preparations. At the top of the chair were the golden rays of the sun. He told Washington that throughout all the proceedings he had wondered if it was a rising or setting sun. Then Washington asked hi...

A Good Goal for the New Y...

When you get where you are going, where will you be? Every life needs a goal. Much of the boredom and unhappiness in life can be traced to a lack of purpose for living. This New Year is an excellent time for you to stop and examine your own goals in life and perhaps reset some of them. The only goal worthy of your highest and best is to do the will of God. Many great...

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Having happiness this year, of course, will not happen automatically. Turning over a new leaf of the calendar won’t change anything. But turning over a new leaf in life can. What do we need in order to have a happy New Year? • You need a self you can live with. If you don’t like yourself it’s hard to like anybody or anythi...

Today's Devotional

Senseless Tragedies

Once we buried a young lady who was only 21 years old. She was killed in a head-on collision while on her way to church. The night before the funeral, my daughter asked why God allows things like this to happen.

I wish I knew. Things like this have puzzled saints, wise men, and philosophers since the world began.

There is simply no one easy answer as to why tragedies like this happen. The answer may lie in the fact that God made us free. He created us with the ability to make our own choices, and choices always involve consequences. If we are careless or foolish in our choices, or if others are, we may suffer because of them. If God did not allow us freedom, we’d be less than people. We’d be robots.

This may be the only explanation we will ever have for some suffering. However, we do not have to know why things happen in order to be victorious over them. On the cross Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) But the heavens were as brass. God was silent. He didn’t even answer his own Son. Jesus might have despaired and become bitter against God. But instead he said, “Father, into thy hands I commend [entrust, hand over] my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

This kind of faith is far more important than any answer we might receive. In our lives, as in the life of Jesus, it is faith that makes the difference between victory and defeat.

So keep believing in God no matter what. Commit your life to him and regardless of what happens, God will help you.

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