A Word From The Heart:

Brothers, Sisters, Family,

"A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9
 

       In these days, as a new year has come into its own, we look to the future. Not knowing the future can leave us prone to anxiety, prone to worry, even dread. In other cases ,we make grand plans, placing our hopes on events yet to come and joys into accomplishments yet to be realized. The truth is, in a world where we often have no idea what is coming next, these are fearful habits to fall into.

        The Lord our God holds the future in His sovereign hand. He is mighty. He is good. He is faithful. He knows what is to come. Will that joyful occassion be all we hoped it will be? Will that dreadful event out ahead of us come to pass? God only knows. Placing our joy, our satisfaction, our peace in something beyond our reach and beyond our contrl is unwise, hurtful, both to ourselves and to others. Yet, God has promised and proven that He is a God who is near, not far away (Jeremiah 23:23, Acts 17:27). His salvation, His presence is the same (Romans 10:8). The God of peace, He who is the source of all love, all joy, all hope is available today, just a word away. There are times when it doesn't feel like that, when we are overwhelmed with burdens, with sorrows but God has promised He will not leave us our forsake us (Joshua 1:5, Hebrews 13:5). He is still there. He isn't going anywhere.

Let us face this future with our hopes and joys, our peavce and comfort placed in Him. A famous hymn declares this sentiment in a beautiful way:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives

        Let us live as we are called today, with great expectation, with great hope in a God who is near, not far away. He is sovereign. He is good. He knows the future and He will be with us all the way.
                                       

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Mark