“Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
~ Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

If we are honest we all have fears. Fear of loneliness, fear that we don’t matter to the world, fear of loosing everything we have (family, friends, jobs…), fear of getting old — you name it. Fear in itself is not a sin (my personal opinion), BUT how we handle fear might very well lead to sin…

Let me tell you about a couple of personal fears and how I handled them (and still do). Several years ago my marriage was very rocky — to the point that it might have broken up. In order to save my marriage, I looked at myself and not my beloved. Was there anything I could change to save my marriage? No, but with God’s help I was able to change things that mattered, to make my marriage better.

One other fear I battle every single day is driving. I don’t like it — not so much my own ability of driving, but the ability of other drivers (people do do silly things while driving, you know). How do I get over my fear so I can get in the car and drive where I need to go? I walk around my car and pray for protection.

You see battling fear is not so much within us, but we can ask for His help to see us through. In 2010, Isaiah 41:10 is the verse I ‘claimed’ for myself. I have to admit that I am not much of an Old Testament gal, but when this verse popped up three times in a 48-hour period, I knew the passage was meant for me…

Tonight, before writing our 1,000th devotional (YEAH!!!!), I read Isaiah 41:1-20 (ESV). It has so much promise, so much comfort. Read it yourself (just hover over the passage reference to read it). In the passage, God uses “Fear Not” three times in 20 verses. In 2010 let us comfort each other; strengthen each other as God speaks of in Isaiah 41.

Lord of Heaven and Earth. Thank You for Your incredible promise to always be with us, to strengthen us in our walk this side of Heaven. Lord, I pray that You continue to use this blog and its writers to reach out, to comfort, and to pray for others. Lord, may our lips praise Your holy name throughout the next year. May we always be faithful to You; stand firm until Your return. In the precious name of Jesus ~ Amen

I pray that some of you will join me on the journey of living fearlessly in 2010. The series is based on Max Lucado’s book “Fearless”, which one of you can win the first week of January. Check out my personal blog “Grace Alone” on January 1st to find out more…

Live fearless because of His promise to strengthen you…Happy New Year…

Iris

I said goodbye to some old friends a few weeks ago. It was quite a difficult thing to do but it was time. Their time in my life had long passed but yet I held on, not wanting to let go. Those friends I speak about…some of my books.

Before Christmas I spent an entire day in my library/office going through my bookshelves and purging it of some of the many books I have. It was a painful process, because I’m quite sentimental about my books.

There was an old Hardy Boy from primary school, I don’t think I’ll be reading The Clue of the Screeching Owl again… Then there were the weight loss books … The old magazines… There were lots of books that I didn’t want to part with that were serving absolutely no purpose except to take up space so I let them go…

At the end of the day, I had;

- a bag of books to donate to the library,
-a bag to take to school for my students to enjoy,
-a bag for the garbage bin ,
-space on my shelves to fit those books I had hidden in drawers and stacks around my house
-and best of all several books I had bought a long time ago but never gotten around to reading…

Least you think this post is just about books…
As the New Year approaches I want to get rid of some things that have become all too familiar. I want to purge my mind the same way I purged my bookshelves. I would like to;

-Get rid of timidity and make room for boldness.
-Get rid of doubt and make room for faith.
- get rid of the hurts and disappointments of 2009 and in doing so make room for laughter and joy.

In other words, I want to get rid of the “stuff” that often brings tears, depression , feelings of inadequacy and despair and therefore make more room in my life for my heavenly father.

Dear God, thank you for the gift of 2009 and the many blessings that came with it. Should you bless me with another year help me to focus more on you; to purge my life of those things that crowd you out. May I not get so distracted by the cares of this life that I forget that you are the all wise God and that you are bigger than any problem that I will ever encounter.

God bless,

Bernadine

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT)

Paul had reason to forget the past – he had held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:57,58, Paul called Saul here). We have all done things for which we are ashamed, and we live under the pressure of what we have been and what we want to become.

As we come to the close of another year, many of us reflect upon the goals we had set for ourselves this past year. We may even “beat ourselves up” for not achieving those goals. But since our hope is in Christ, we can let go of our guilt and look forward to what God will help us to achieve and become. We need not dwell on our past mistakes or what we did not accomplish this past year. Instead, let us grow in the knowledge of God by concentrating on our relationship with Him now. Let us realize that we are forgiven, and then move on to a life of faith and obedience.

I have set one goal for 2010. To know Christ more, to be like Christ, and to be all Christ had in mind for me. Like an athlete in training, I must lay aside everything harmful and forsake anything that may distract me from being an effective Christian. If I set my sight on that one goal, then everything else in my life will fall into place.

Let us look forward to a fuller and more meaningful life in 2010, because of our hope in Christ our Savior.

“I will extol Thee, my God, O King; And I will bless Thy name forever and ever. Everyday I will bless Thee, and I will praise Thy name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Thy majesty, and on Thy wonderful works, I will meditate.” Psalm 145:1-5

When do you take down your Christmas tree and decorations? For many, it all comes down this week. We pack them all up and we put Christmas back in the box.

I don’t like packing Christmas away for another year. But I also don’t like keeping Jesus as a baby and in a box.

Yes, there is something simple about the birth of Jesus. We think of this story and it somehow feels safe and warm. Visualizing Him as helpless and small makes Him easy to be controlled. I don’t need to deal with His majesty and power.

Jesus doesn’t want to remain a baby in our lives, nor does He want to be put into a box. He grew up and delights in being the God we can trust and follow through every circumstance of our lives. He came to be our Savior and He desires for all of us to see His majesty and awesome power, to fall to our knees and worship Him as our Lord.

Each year I like to keep one Christmas decoration or ornament out of the box and place it somewhere where I least expect it as a reminder to myself to not put Jesus in a box. But to see Him for Who He truly is, our Savior and Lord.

Prayer:

Lord, I love the presents and the lights and I’m not looking forward to taking it all down, but I’m most grateful for You sending Your Son as Light of the World. The decorations gently reminded me I don’t have to be all decked out in beautiful array to come before You; You are more concerned with what’s inside.

I don’t ever want to put You into a box. I pause right now and recognize you as my grown-up Lord and Savior, out of the feeding box and on the throne of my heart. Please help me to always keep You there. My I continually mediate upon Your glorious splendor and wonderful works. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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