The gospel summed up in one verse

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  

John 3:16 (NLT)

Here is the Good News that everyone must hear; the verse to draw others into God’s kingdom.  It is just one sentence yet the message in it is so complete that if you hold it dear to your heart, you will live a complete life of love and eternal promise.

1.  For God loved the world so much

May we have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love is (Ephesians 3:18).  In this life I may never fully understand or experience how great God’s love is, but this verse really shows that no matter what, I can never be lost to God’s love.   He is not just saying “I love you”, he is saying “I love you SO much”, it is like he is saying it with a big warm hug that never wants to let go.

How wide:  On a personal scale God’s love covers the breadth of our own experience, and on a global scale his love reaches into every expanse of the universe.

How long:  Before we were even born he set out our life in great detail, he formed each of us in our mothers’ womb and set us apart (Jeremiah 1:5).  Whether in the past, present, or future, he so loves us.  He loves us through our life, death and into eternal life.  His love is never-ending.

How high:  God’s love rises to the heights of our greatest achievements, celebrations and joy.  He is there to rejoice with us in our elations, and this is usually when we so readily acknowledge him.

How deep:  God’s love reaches us when we are in the depths of despair, when we are disappointed and when we are facing death.  As the ‘Footprints in the sand’ poem says, it is in these hard times when we cry out to him and wonder where he is, and it is in these hard times when he carries us.

2.  that he gave his one and only Son.

God made the ultimate sacrifice, he gave his only son so that we may live.  Jesus accepted the punishment and paid the ultimate price for our sins.  Would you offer your only son or daughter and watch them be slaughtered and ridiculed, to save the sinful life of another person, let alone every person that has and that will ever live?  Jesus accepted our punishment so that we could experience God’s unconditional love.

3.  so that everyone who believes in him

The word every, according to Oxford Dictionaries is used to refer to all the individual members of a set without exception, and one being a single person.  And so ‘everyone’ refers to all people without exclusion.  God does not see male or female, black or white, gay or straight, rich or poor.  God gives each and every person on this earth the opportunity to turn to him.  To believe in him means that we must put our trust and confidence in Christ, that he alone can save us.  When we put Christ first in our lives, in charge of our present plans and circumstances, then we will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God (Ephesians 3:19).

4.  will not perish but have eternal life.

In our life as we know it we will suffer trials and our body will be hurt at times.  Eternal life however is not an extension of our present circumstances and the day will come when we will leave our body behind.  Our spirit or soul which is abundant in God’s love will not perish but will come to experience the fullness and perfection of God’s love.  There will be no sickness, sin or evil, holding us back.  We will come face to face with God and live in peace and joy for eternity.

Lord, Thank you for your unfailing love, for your ultimate sacrifice and for giving each and every one of us the opportunity to come to know Jesus through your Word.  Lord I pray that your Word come to life through my loving actions toward everyone I encounter throughout my life.  Jesus teach me so that I may grow in your abundant love, that my words and actions draw others to you, that they come to know the extent of your love and accept the gift and the promise of eternal life, that you make available to all who believe.  In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, I pray.  Amen.

I am very good!

For some time now a good friend has tried to convince me that I am a great mother.  Every time she said that I would say and think to myself, ‘No I’m not’ and a long list of reasons would build up in my mind to support my failings as a mother.  The other day that same friend set me a challenge to think of three good things that I did in each day to support the fact that I am a good mother.

Day 1 – FAIL.  I racked my brain all day and came up with nothing.  I could think of a few ways I had failed though.

Day 2 – IMPROVEMENT.  I fed, bathed, clothed and protected my children.  It’s good, it’s a start.

Day 3 – HELLO.

Today God spoke to me (it’s been a while, a long while).  He spoke to me in the sermon today at church.  It’s funny how my mind wandered from the pastor talking about his son reading the bible in a year, something I resolve to do each year, and guess what?  Fail at each year.  So it got me thinking, maybe I could read the bible in a year.  I think I will start in the new year.  Actually no, hang on I will start now so that I don’t fall behind on those days next year when I do fail.  Anyway, I didn’t really hear any of the sermon after that as my mind started racing with thoughts and scriptures to get me started with my ‘bible in a year’ study.  So where better to start then right from the beginning.  And so I began to think through Genesis chapter one and how I could relate to that in my life right now.  And this is when God told me very plainly, that I am very good.  And this too is the first time I think I really believed that I am very good.

Whilst I cannot for lack of space write out the whole of Genesis Chapter One, I can encourage you to go and read it when you have a spare five minutes.  Yes you do actually have a spare five minutes, maybe forgo a facebook check (or whatever other mindless activity you may indulge throughout the day), mine is facebook, I check it every day, and every day I am like boring!  So you probably know how it goes, In the beginning God created:

1. The heavens and the earth.

2. The sky to separate the waters of the earth and the heavens.

3. The land, sea and vegetation.

4. The sun, moon and stars, day/night and seasons.

5. The fish and the birds.

6. The animals, and human beings.

So in all this we learn that God created everything.  God said it, and it was done.  He also said it was good.  God created human beings in his image, he blessed them and said they were “very good”.  When God created you in his image, you became a reflection of God’s glory.  To God you are very good.  You have been created out of his love, patience, forgiveness, kindness and faithfulness.  We possess all these wonderful qualities, and whilst patience may not be my strong point, I do possess these qualities, all of them, and with God guiding me I can grow in these qualities and become more like him.  For too long I have based my self-worth on tangible things – possessions, achievements, appearance, power…  But these are not things I can take to heaven when I die.  When I die my body will mean nothing to me, all I will be left with is my spirit.  And so to help grow in spirit I must learn that my basis for self-worth is God.  God created me, he loves me and thinks I am pretty darn good.  So when I criticise myself, I am really criticising God’s creation and God-appointed abilities.

When we love ourselves, accept ourselves and acknowledge our worth, we acknowledge that God is our Lord.  We open the door to God’s UNLIMITED, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.  We can then get to know him personally and his overflowing love in our lives can pour out into the lives of others around us and fulfill his will in the way we live our lives.

God made you for good reason, you are valuable to him.  God is pleased with you for he made you in his image, when he created you he looked at you and saw that you are “very good”.  Post it on your fridge as a daily reminder,

I AM VERY GOOD.

When you feel that you fail, when you don’t like the way you look or even think that you are a bad mother, that is far from the truth.  God is truth, so when you focus your thoughts on your faults you are actually listening to the devil whispering those evil thoughts in your ear.  And whilst it may be true that we do fail, he twists that truth to make you believe that you are defined by your failings.  But that is wrong, you are defined by God’s truth that you are very good.  So whilst you may be impatient or get it wrong sometimes that does not mean you are a bad mother (wife, sister, friend …) .  We all fail, yet we are not failures.  Don’t open the door to the devil and believe these lies.  Like my friend said, even the devil believes in God.  But he is trying to direct you away from God.  You are of great worth to God, he loves you and he will give you the strength to move on from your failures.  Don’t dwell on them, rather ask God to teach you, to help you grow and become more like him and follow the path he has set before you.  When we dwell on our failures, we stray from the path God has set for us and we become more vulnerable to satans’ deceptions.

So I did do good today as a mother, as I do everyday.  I took my children to church, I did some craft with them, and I praised them when they did a good job.  Yes I did also fail today, but the truth is I am a great mother.  Amen.

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them …

³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

Genesis 1:27-31 (NIV)

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.

Some say money buys happiness, others say money is the root of all evil. What money attitude do you live by?
I used to think money could solve all my problems, that is before I met Christ. I always thought I’d be happy if I just had more money, more money to buy things I ‘needed’, or thought I needed. In fact it seems the more money we have, the more we spend, yet we don’t seem any happier. Since accepting Christ into my life I have felt a change in my desires and have these desires met through the grace of God and seeing miracles happen in my life that demonstrates that God will always meet our needs.

Just recently my father gave us a gift of money so that we could buy a good camera to take quality shots of our children as they grow up.  It was a lovely thought and I was quite excited about shopping for a new camera, until I got online and discovered the vast range of cameras available, and was overwhelmed with choice. Shopping isn’t my favourite thing to do at the best of times but this was just stressful. After about a week of researching cameras I went into the camera shop with an idea of what I wanted and came out even more confused. I am now pleased to have finally made the purchase and have the experience over with. This experience showed me that money doesn’t buy happiness. I was happy before the money, and when I had the money it consumed me, and afterward it left me feeling drained. I certainly appreciate my God-given treasures now more than ever.

A party gives laughter, wine gives happiness,
and money gives everything! Ecclesiastes 10:19 (NLT)

We mustn’t get caught up in the worldly view that money buys happiness. Just as wine gives temporary pleasure, so too does money. The thrill of the purchase soon wears off and we are left once again wanting more, getting caught up in the vicious cycle, and feeling no happier than when we started. Whilst money is necessary for survival, we must not love money more than we trust God to solve our problems.

We should be content with what God is doing in our lives and centre our desires on him. 1 Timothy 6:6-10 brings us to the realisation that one day our riches will be gone and we must:
be content with what we have;
watch what we do with our money, making sure it doesn’t make us wander from our faith;
love people more than money;
love God’s work more than money; and
share what we have with others. (v18)

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:6-10 (NLT)

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord

There are some books my daughter never tires from reading. I get tired of reading them, and some I have read so many times that I can read them without even looking at the words. My daughter too knows all the words but doesn’t seem to tire of them. I can’t imagine though that she’ll still be reading Peppa Pig books when she’s my age, unless of course she is reading them to her own children. There is one book however that we will never outgrow our need to keep reading and studying, the Bible. We need it on a daily basis to keep us on the right path, so that we remain guided by God’s love.

Psalm 19 gives us many good reasons why we should keep reading and studying the word, every day of our lives.

1. The Instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul.
Psalm 19:7a (NLT)
When we are down and feeling distanced from God, his word is there to pick us up and guide us on the right path. It brings life to our soul when we need it most.

2. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. Psalm 19:7b
When I first started reading the bible it was like reading a book written in a different language. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me at first but God gave me the understanding I needed to allow it to guide my life, clearing up the confusion and developing a deeper relationship with him.

3. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. Psalm 19:8a
When we study the Bible, we get to know God better. We become closer to him and it brings great joy.

4. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. Psalm 19:8b
Studying the Bible teaches us how to live a full life. It gets us thinking about what really matters in life, beyond all the superficial stuff. It gives us direction in life, and makes us look beyond our own selfish ways.

5. The laws of the Lord are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. Psalm 19:10a
Money only feeds our greed and desire for more, but God’s word fills a deep desire in our heart that brings contentment and everlasting joy.

6. God’s word is sweeter than honey, even dripping from the comb. Psalm 19:10b
Reading God’s word is satisfying and a real treat, it should never become a chore nor a bore.

7. God’s word is a great reward for those who obey (Psalm 19:11) now and forever.

What could you do to add to your enjoyment of the Bible? It doesn’t matter how we get the word into our heart, as long as we hear it or read it each day. We can read it in a daily bible verse delivered to our phone, computer or on a calendar, or listen to an audio bible or sermon on our drive to work each day. Whatever keeps us motivated and inspired to live by God’s word each day will keep us close to our Lord. Let God’s love guide what you say and how you think.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 (NLT)

Food is not the problem, it is what you feed your Spirit.

Our world today is focused on outward appearance. We are always striving to look like the supermodels or live like the rich and famous. But what we do not see is the unhealthy pressures these models place on their bodies to achieve such slim figures, not to mention the personal trainers and chefs they have access to, that many of us don’t. And although they may seem to have it all, money, power, fame, many often live empty lives with little spiritual meaning. So why do we buy into these worldly expectations at the expense of our spiritual health?

We often focus on our appearance as we think this will give us value in the eyes of others. If you were walking down the street and saw a svelte well-dressed woman who looked like she had all the money and power yet with little expression on her face, and behind her walked another lady dressed simply and walking with a satisfied smile on her face, which would you rather be?

In my younger days I spent hours at the gym every day, sweating it out to achieve the perfect figure. I spent my money on clothes and makeup, and partied my weekends away. My life had little direction and purpose. Now there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look your best but sometimes we need to look deep into our inner being to see what is driving our need for perfection. Why can’t we just be happy with who we are? We always seem to be too thin, too heavy, too freckly, or not tanned enough. The words we say to ourselves are often harsh and untrue, although we are quick to believe them. And so I have come to live by what God tells me to be true, and that is:

I am loved. We love each other because he loved us first. 1 John 4:19(NLT) And we too must love ourselves because God our Creator loves us.

I am a masterpiece. (Ephesians 2:10) Who am I to say that there is something wrong with my body? That would be rejecting God’s creative work.

I am strong. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13); and

I am a temple of the Holy Spirit. You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (MSG)

Nowadays I get my strength from Christ and rather than put my body through strenuous exercise and miserable diets, I now treat my body as the temple of God that it is. I live for health and vitality so that my body is equipped to do God’s work and live a productive life. I fill my mind and my heart with God’s truth so that I love and treat myself well. I post scriptures all over my fridge so that I always have words of truth to nourish my spirit throughout the day.

So now when I look at food, rather than see fats and calories, I look to nourishing my body so that I take care of this temple that God has created in me. Instead of telling myself lies that my body is not good enough, I instead nourish my soul with God’s words of truth so that I may find joy in the Spirit. God has given us all a Spirit of power, love and self-discipline (1 Timothy:7). So when we have first nourished the Spirit, then we can be complete, having God by our side (Colossians 2:10) to accomplish the health goals we seek.

Don’t you know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the intestines and is finally defecated? But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart. It’s from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments … lies, and cussing. That’s what pollutes. Eating or not eating certain foods, washing or not washing your hands—that’s neither here nor there. Matthew 15:17-20 (MSG)

The Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

Prior to accepting Christ into my life I pretty much did what I pleased without giving much thought to my actions. Whilst I did the right thing by others, I didn’t give any thought as to how my actions affected my spiritual well-being. On several occasions I went to see a psychic or fortune-teller. They were the spur-of-the-moment type visits, whilst out and about, walking past a market stall and thinking, ‘oh that might be fun’ and gave it a try. I thought it was quite harmless and gave no thought as to how these people operated. Only recently have I given it some thought and as such decided to research the topic in the Bible.

Knowing what I know now and living life as a Christian, I no longer have any desire to seek to learn the future or contact the dead. The Bible clearly says in Leviticus 19:31(NLT)
Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the Lord your God.
If we invoke evil powers we are rebelling against God and his authority, and instead are siding with Satan. Don’t do as I did and believe that superstition is harmless, we mustn’t desire to know the future, it only opens the door to demonic influences. These mediums’ beliefs are totally opposed to God and regardless of whether they are fakes or in contact with evil spirits, they are extremely dangerous.

We are naturally curious creatures and we’d all like to know what the future holds and often look to others for guidance. Yet all we need to know is what is written in the Bible, and be guided by the Spirit that lives within us and the Word that lives in our hearts. And although we may not seek to gain information from occult practices, the devil is sneaky and often works on those areas in our lives where we are vulnerable.

Some years ago a friend gave me a message that was said to be given to him through my mother’s spirit. Again I assumed there was nothing harmful about this message and I had not invited the contact with the dead. It was a positive message that contained some truth, yet it was a sneaky way for the devil to once again prey on my vulnerability with my mother. Satan will use any tactic to get our attention and to take our focus off God and off what is right. In our hearts we know what is right, we condemn what is wrong, but we must also do what is right.

Let’s take Saul as an example in 1 Samuel 28. Saul lived by God’s guidance but when God didn’t answer Saul, he turned to a medium for guidance and disaster struck him. When God doesn’t give us an answer or seems distant, we must not demonstrate a lack of faith by turning to evil, we must maintain our trust in God’s guidance and live by his truth, should we not do this then evil and disaster take over our lives.

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 1 John 4:4 (NLT)

You will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:19

Even after a week of swimming lessons, my four year-old daughter has still not grown in confidence in her swimming teacher.  Whilst she is confident in the water when we go swimming together, she still does not trust her swimming teacher and won’t put her face in the water. I guess she might get that from me. I am quick to refuse help because I like to do things my own way and often don’t trust others to do the things that are under my responsibility or control. And whilst I try to encourage my daughter and build her confidence and trust, only she can take that leap of faith, giving up all control, and trusting in her teacher.

The same could be said for many of us. Even though we have years of experience beyond our children, we too at times hold on to the little control we have over the circumstances in our lives. Even when we find words of encouragement in the Bible, we must take these words of truth and wisdom and apply them to our lives. We often need to just take a leap of faith at times when we are holding back or clinging to our own abilities. Do you have a hard time giving up control of those areas in your life that overwhelm you? When you think about asking for help with your health, finances, work, relationships, who is the first person you call on? A doctor, financial advisor, or a counsellor? In any circumstance the first call for help should be to God our Creator, the only one who has all the answers, the one with all incomparable power, the great power that is available to help you.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe in him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honour at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 1:19-20 (NLT)

When you understand that God’s great power is like no other and is available to you (that same power that raised Christ from the dead), then you will see that there is nothing too small to escape his attention, and nothing is too difficult for him handle. Trust in God’s everlasting love for you, he wants to bless every area of your life, but you need to trust him first.

Jesus told us in Matthew 28:18, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”
If we live as citizens of God’s kingdom and Jesus gave his life so that we could have eternal life through him, then if God is willing to offer each and every one of us salvation, then his love for us is certain to bless us in all areas of our lives. Just as Jesus had the authority over disease when he healed the sick, the authority over nature when he calmed the storm, authority over demons to leave possessed bodies, authority to forgive sins, and the authority over his own life when he gave it up for our own, then he too has authority over every area of your life. So regardless of whether life is running smoothly or seems to be out of control, give all authority to Jesus in every area of your life, you don’t have to do it on your own.

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT)

God is here in the now, engage with him.

How much time of our day is spent thinking about or doing things based on what has happened in the past, whether it be fuming over this morning’s road rage, or flustered by yesterdays busy day at work, or pondering last years loss of a loved one? And how about the worry wasted on what might or might not happen in the future? We often live our lives distracted by yesterday and tomorrow, that we miss out on a relationship with God today. God isn’t in the past or future, he is with us right now, he lives in today.

So we must give our entire attention to what God is doing right now. (Matthew 6:34 MSG)

How do we give our entire attention to God in this moment? First let us release our burdens to God (1 Peter 5:7). Forgive those who have wronged you, and confess your sins and ask for forgiveness. Let God take the weight of your burdens and find release and freedom from the past. Let go of the past right now and move on with living your life today. Next let us plan for the future to alleviate worry (Matthew 6:34) and trust in God’s will and provision for our lives (Philippians 4:19).

When we can let go of the past and trust in God’s plan for our future, then we can live for today. Don’t let your regrets or worries affect your relationship with God today. And so to be with God today we need to look at how we spend our day. For many of us we are so busy doing things for ourselves, our family, and for God, that we forget to just stop and be. To have a relationship with your spouse, your children, your friends, and God, we need to remind ourselves to stop our busy actions and thoughts and just be together, genuinely engage with each other, be interested in the people in your life.

When we are gathered together as a family for dinner or just doing your own thing, why not turn the tv and any other distractions off and come together to talk to each other, to fully engage with one another. Make this time one where you devote your full attention to your family. Don’t sit there while others are talking and think about what you need to get at the store tomorrow or how you are going to handle the disgruntled employee at work. Rather than be distanced, fully engage with your loved ones, be interested in their interests and share your thoughts, cares and concerns with one another. Really come together to bond as a family.

God made us as human beings (Genesis 1:27), so let’s make an effort to do less and be more. Be with our family, be with our friends, be with God. God wants to have fellowship with us (Genesis 3:8), he wants to walk with us in the garden in the cool evening breeze. So find a part of the day when you can do that, when you can be still and engage with God. Spend some time in the garden with him.  When you are walking on the beach sit down and marvel at his beautiful creation, engage with him. Go for a walk on your lunch break and sit in a quiet park, engage with him. Set your kids up with a quiet activity and sit and have a coffee and chat with God, engage with him.

God lives and exists in this moment, so don’t let another moment of your life go by without inviting God to be a part of it. God wants to be a part of everything you do, he is interested in you. Take a moment in every day to give your undivided attention to God, rid your being of distractions and engage in a relationship with him.

2013 The year for Love

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Luke 6:45 (NLT)

Long have I wished for a right heart, to speak and act lovingly toward my family. Every day I intend to show my love for them, and yet every day I feel I have failed them, when at times I find myself too busy to stop and spend some time, and too often speak harshly. It breaks my heart that I continue to do this day in day out, and yet it must break their hearts even more that their loved one should treat them this way. And so I have committed this year, 2013, to learning to love as Jesus does.

In yesterday’s church service altar call, I gave my heart to the Lord and told him I didn’t want it back until it was whole and made new. I ran into God’s arms, calling him to lead me home, to lead my heart home so that it may be filled with his love and nothing more, so that all I have to give is love. So rather than have good intentions to speak and act out of love, I am committing this to taking action. I am choosing to love, for love is a choice, an action, it takes some effort. (unconditional) Love is not a feeling or something that just happens. And so I am committed to making an effort, to learning all that God has for me, and applying it to my life so that I may live my life as a loving and caring wife and mother.

Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. Romans 13:10 (NLT)

Lord, Take this heart of mine and make it new. Give me the self-control to run from evil when I feel my patience is tested, and instead
to hold on for dear life to good. Fill my heart with your love so that I may be a good mother and wife who loves deeply, and put others before my own needs. (Romans 12:9-10 MSG) Amen.

A New Years Resolution to change your life. Freedom is here!

I became inspired this morning by a woman who had realised her weight problems were a result of carrying around her heavy burdens. The burdens she carried were of worry for her children, her clients and the problems of the world around us. Rather than make a New Years resolution to lose weight, make a resolution to treat your body well, to become healthy, physically and spiritually. Let God take your burdens, when you do that then you can focus on those things you can change and make a change that will lead to success. Why keep repeating the same things that only bring failure. Let God be the recipe of your success.

I used to worry, until I found this Scripture a couple of years ago:
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

When I read that verse everything changed for me. I prayed to God and released all my worries and cares to him, and realising that he cares so much for me that he would take all my worries away brought great relief. I no longer worry and I thank God every day for that wonderful freedom he has given me. Whenever I find myself starting to worry I recite this verse and give my worry to God. Worry is unproductive, so focus on God and on those things that we can change, let God take care of those things that are out of our control, let him carry our burdens. Pray, and pray some more.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Philippians 4:6 (NLT)

I know it’s hard not to worry about your children and others, but we are only ever in control of our selves, so in those situations we can only ever be a support to those people and pray that God is with them and know that God’s greater plan is one for good. Although times might be hard now, we can look forward with hope for a brighter future, for everything that happens is preparing our way for greater things. We can see this in Jeremiah 29:10-14 (NLT):
10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”

If there is just one resolution you make this New Years, give your cares and worries to God. It may seem like a big deal at the time, for we often cling to what we know and what is ours (good or bad) but we don’t have to own our burdens, release them to God, give up ownership. This is the best thing I have ever done, and the easiest. The only effort it took was to pray and ask God to take my worries, and he did! Praise The Lord. Happy New Year to you.