My Babies

My Babies

Monday, January 2, 2017

A New Year

2017.  A new year.  A fresh start.  A clean slate.  Often on this blog I write about how each day is a new start.  Hence, the title.  God offers His mercies new each day.  Praise the Lord we get a fresh start each day with him because I, for one, need it. As I was reading in my Bible this morning from the book of Romans I was comforted by God's word that He wants me to offer my body as a living sacrifice in view of God's mercy.  Get that?  His mercy!  How that refreshes this sinful heart and soul.  God wants and desires from His children total devotion.  God's word does not say offer perfection.  If that were the case there would be no need for mercy.  For grace. For repentance, confession, correction and so on.  God is mercy and grace.  He doesn't just show those attributes; He is Grace and Mercy.  How I love that.  I need grace and mercy in abundance.  Do I have to accept that from God?  No, I do not.  That is my freewill coming in the picture.  He pours it out but I must allow it to flow into my heart and soul.  Have I ever rejected God's love?  His mercy?  His grace?  His forgiveness?  Yes, I have.  In my stubborn heart I have often forsaken the one who loves me the most.  As my favorite song states...."Prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love..."  So today, a new day. a new year, a new chapter starting in my life I am thrilled I get to start over with God.  To ask His forgiveness of the sins I commit.  Some, of which, are deliberate.  Yesterday at church the sermon was about the life of Paul.  The worst of sinners is what Paul calls himself in the Word.  But when Jesus interrupted the life of Saul and mercy, grace and love abounded....he became Paul.  The writer of most of the books in the New Testament.  Did Paul have a choice but to serve God?  Of course he did.  We all do.  To say that we don't is to rob God of his sovereignty.  That makes His love and grace arbitrary.  God is sovereign.  He will turn away no one who comes to Him.  He is not willing that any should perish.   He knows who will choose to love, serve and worship Him.  He knew Paul would say "Yes" to Jesus.  The Holy Spirit is the only soul winner that there is.  It breaks my heart to think of the ones who do say "no" to Jesus.  Many do and will continue to do so as the days grow shorter for this world.  Like Paul, I am chief among sinners.  But I am so thankful and grateful and taken away that the God who laid the foundations of the earth cares enough for me to whisper my name to come to Him.  I praise Him even more that I heard His call within my heart and soul and said yes to Him.  I am so thankful for a new year.  New days.  Will I continue to sin?  Of course, I am human.  As Paul says, "I do the things I do not want to do and do not do the things I should".  He continued to sin.  But I can throw my ugly sins down to the feet of the one who loves me and He is faithful and just and  will forgive me. I just praise His name for that.  Thank the Lord for a new year.  This year, 2017, I will take on an new role as a wife, step-mother and daughter-in-law.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for us.  To have the opportunity to lift up a husband each day in prayer.  to pray for his girls, my girls....our girls.  God's sweet mercies never end and this sin-filled girl is so glad.  So as a reminder to me and to you.....


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