This will be the final sermon of the year. I already have some new sermon series planned for next year, and Lord willing we will be getting into those. Also, I have completed the second half of my book on the Minor Prophets, and I will be posting that beginning sometime in January. I want to thank everyone for reading the blog, and I want to thank the Lord for the opportunity to post the messages and the verses each week.
As we leave one year and go into another, many people make new year's resolutions. Most people don't keep their resolutions for very long. Going into a new year, I hope that each of us will focus on a couple of areas in our lives, and work to make sure that we keep up all the year long.
For the new year, I would like to urge everyone to put Jesus first in every area of your lives. In Colossians 3:15, the Apostle Paul tells people to "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." The way that we do this is by following Jesus as Lord. We do the things that He has commanded us to do, and we follow the will of the Lord in our lives. We need to put the way of the Lord first and do things His way as we make our way throughout the new year. Jesus told us that the Great Commandment was to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. This means loving the Lord with everything that we have. It means putting the Lord first in our lives.
If we put Jesus first and let Him rule and reign in our hearts, we will have a good year regardless of what other circumstances might beset us. When we let Jesus be first, we know that we will be with Him one day. That knowledge gives us a peace that passes all understanding. It allows us to persevere even in the hard times of life.
The second thing that I would like us to focus on in the new year is that we need to put the needs of others over and above our own needs. I like the way Paul puts it in Philippians 2:3-5 where he says, "Don't be selfish, don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had."
We do have our own needs. There is nothing wrong with meeting those needs. However, we don't want to just think about ourselves. We want to be thinking about helping others and doing good for other people as we go throughout the new year. There are many hurting people in the world today. As believers in Jesus, we can help others by telling them about the love of Jesus. We can also find ways to meet people's needs in a compassionate and practical manner.
I know that many of us who live in more prosperous countries and are able to give of our resources to help others. We can donate to food banks or help others who don't have the means to get through tough times. We all can encourage others and help them in the hard times of life as the Lord enables us.
As we go into 2024, let us resolve to put Jesus first and to work to help others. That will make for a great year. In all things, let us ask the Lord that His will will be done in His way throughout every day of the new year. Amen.
Prayer Requests
I am doing well in some areas of my health and not so well in others. Please keep praying that I will get to feeling better all around. Thank you.
Please pray for those who are recovering from natural disasters around the world. Pray that they will get the aid that they need.
Keep praying for peace. I know that it gets discouraging, but the Lord has told us to keep praying and not lose heart. Let us keep praying for peace in Israel, Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those living in the nations of Oman and Kyrgyzstan. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, I will post the verses on Tuesday due to the New Year's day holiday. I will post the message next Friday. May God bless you all.
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