2013

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Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: 
for the Lord will do great things. 

Joel 2:21

As another year closes out, I can with certainty look back and say "The Lord did indeed do great things, for He does all things well." This year will always hold numerous memories for me; the majority of them being very special ones. 

2013 marks the year when I earned 30 more college credits, met some online friends face-to-face, attended a conference in Washington, participated in several musical performances, saw increased babysitting opportunities, attended two funerals for close family members, and began teaching Sunday school. There are many, many more things I could list, but that would take far too long and that is not my primary intent for this post. 

The verse quoted at the beginning of this post would have been a good one to remember at the beginning of the year, perhaps. It looks forward to a future of good things. I could not have told you at the start of 2013 what kinds of great things I would encounter--and yet, I clearly saw this promised fulfilled. I can now look forward to 2014, knowing that the same promise holds true for each and ever one of God's children. 

It is interesting to note that God commands His people to "be glad and rejoice" in their present moment and not after He had done "great things". No, He called them to be joyful even when they could see what the future held. They were also commanded not to fear. Joyfulness in the Lord is a confidence that He holds your future in His hands. And confidence in the Lord replaces fear.

Our confidence comes from knowing that we have a *present joy...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. (1 Peter 1:3-8)

 and a *prospective joy...

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. 

Sometimes I forget that I probably don't just have Christian readers, though. Maybe some of you don't have that joyfulness, trust, and confidence in the Lord. True, not all believers demonstrate those traits consistently, but they have the means of receiving it. 

True joy will only come through the Lord Jesus Christ—He is the Creator of it, and only He can give it. You may see happiness in doing “good works” or accumulating fame and fortune, and, while those things are not always inherently wrong, they will not provide you with eternal life. One day you will die…or the Lord will return before that happens, and in that final day when He judges the earth, you will either both fear and dread Him or you will join the thousands who will praise His name forever. You can choose to believe God doesn’t exist or that your good works will outweigh your bad, but that doesn’t eliminate the fact that your life will be measured according to the righteous standards of God’s law.

There is no other name, person, religion, or method that will prevent you from eternal damnation. (Acts 4:12) Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Him. (John 14:6) Through the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross, He took your sins on Himself, and provided eternal life to those who confess their sins, turn from them, and believe in the Lord. You will die and you will be judged—where is your eternal destiny?

For those of us who have eternal confidence, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is faithful, and has promised that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Fear not—don’t give way to the devil’s temptations, disappointments, and doubts. May you enter 2014 with gladness and joyfulness, knowing that He who has done great things, will continue to throughout this next year and until the day of Jesus Christ.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:11)

May God go with you all.

Your sister in Christ,

Kaleigh

*Terms and quoted texts taken from my pastor's sermon.

Determination!

                                        "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;
                                     for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom,            
                                         in the grave, whither thou goest."  ~Ecclesiastes 9:10


I'd like to share a couple of stories with you that I read in Devotions both this morning and a few days ago.


"Charles F. Kettering, a noted scientist and inventor, believed that the easiest way to overcome defeat was simply to ignore completely the possibility of failure and to keep forging ahead.  He once gave an address to Denison University on this theme.  He told how he had once given a tough project assignment to a young research worker in a laboratory at General Motors.  He wanted to see how the man would react to a difficult problem so he kept from him notes about the project that had been filed in the lab's library.  These notes, written by expert researchers, included various sets of statistics and formulas that proved the assignment the young man had been given was impossible to do.

The young research worker set his mind to the project, and worked virtually night and day for weeks.  He refused to give up or think the project impossible.  One day he came confidently to Kettering to show his work.  He had succeeded in doing the impossible!

A little extra time...a little extra effort...a little extra care...a little extra attention sometimes makes all the difference between success and failure, and not only that, but the difference between good and great."

                                                                           ~~~

"There once was a Louisville University quarterback who dreamed of playing pro football.  Upon graduation, however, no pro team drafted him.  So, he wrote to several teams and finally got an opportunity to try out for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He gave his best effort, but wasn't chosen.  His friends said, 'You got a raw deal...it wasn't meant to be...I guess it's time to hang up your cleats'.  But the young athlete didn't give up.  He continued to knock on doors and write letters.  Finally, he received another invitation.  But again, he didn't make the team.

Most people would have given up long before this point, but not Johnny.  He was fanatic about his personal dream.  From his early days of playing sandlot football, he had been obsessed with this goal.  So, patiently and persistently, he continued to pursue try out opportunities.  Finally, he was invited to try out for the Baltimore team...and he made the third string!  Through training and many long hours of drills and fitness building, he worked his way up to be starting quarterback.  Indeed, he became one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play in the NFL.  The dreamer's name?  Johnny Unitas.

Keep driving until you arrive at your goal line!"



History is filled with determined people.  The 1984 USA All-Around champion, Mary Lou Retton, is another example.  She was in therapy constantly for five weeks leading up to the '84 Olympics after a much needed knee surgery had been preformed.  That year, she came home with one gold, two silver, and two bronze medals.  With her determination and positive attitude, she not only succeeded what seemed "impossible", she also became the first American to receive an All-Around gold medal.  I admire Mary Lou for that determination.  Not only for her fighting spirit, but because she was also born with hip dysplasia and still went on to perform amazing acts of agility and balance.  

Can you maybe think of some people in history who, though the thought of success seemed impossible, achieved it?  Those are the kind of people who are not willing to give up their dreams.  They have a vision and chase after it instead of expecting it to just be laid on their doorstep.

"Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to."

Phillipians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

In Christ,
Anna