Discipleship Digest: Celebrating God’s faithfulness
As we cross over to the New Year, we joyfully celebrate God’s faithfulness, kindness and mercies. It is a new era and things are turning around for better. We may have experienced season of dryness, leanness and famine; suffered severe tribulations, afflictions, pressures and stresses. Many firms and establishments shut down and retrenched some workers to stay afloat or survive the financial crunch and economic crises. This unfortunate situation had great impact on the family. The consequences were not limited to inability to provide for the family, incessant disagreements, squabbles over nothing and living lonely together but also death of relationships. Though times are still hard and things difficult but God’s people are neither hopeless nor helpless. Faith holds to God and His promises. He is forever faithful and compassionate; His anger is only for a short time. As we return to Him repenting, God shows His mercies and amazing grace.
The old and the new cannot operate together. The old includes: sins, grudges, murmuring, laziness, greed, cheats, laboring under curse, working hard and earning little, planting and another harvesting, sicknesses, jealousies and dirty habits, etc. The new life starts with salvation, daily encounter with Jesus, victories and good successes; life of fellowship and discipleship as well as experiencing the power of His Spirit. In this season there shall come to an end the threats of doom, reproach and shame; angels rejoice over us with singing like people at festivals. God will punish our oppressors, rescues the disabled and bring back those on exile. In the place of shame, God gives us honor and praise in every land and endeavor; put our enemies and detractors’ to shame and despise them. He will gather and bring back all our scattered people, scattered efforts and synergies; war time, bad economy, insecurity and leadership failures shall end. He will not only make us fruitful in the new life but also restores our fortunes and prospers us before our very eyes.
At this period of the year, people in desperation are eager to seek knowledge of the future. Some visit fortune tellers and tarot-readers; others buy into the tales of new age prophets. Fortune tellers offer counterfeit futures and new age prosperity prophets speak wealth that exist in the air. If these folks know the future, why are they still poor and enriching selves by exploiting their blind minded followers. Most people believe that knowing the future would give them joy and peace; instead the reversal is the answer. The scripture says that the only way to finding enduring peace and comfort is through Christ Jesus. Jim Kraus writing in Have A Good Day opines, “If we follow Jesus, we will be well directed, well connected and well protected. That’s true peace.” Believers in Jesus suffer heartaches like everyone else but Jesus promises them rest (Mat. 11:28). “God…is able to keep them from falling away and will bring them with great joy into His glorious presence without a single fault” (Jude 1:24).
As we celebrate God’s faithfulness, look far back into the past, if the only prayer you can say is, “Thank you Lord, for all your goodness to me,” that’s enough. The New Year is God’s gift to us; it’s God’s way of reminding us that because of the coming of the Savior we can have a new beginning. So celebrate it and be thankful. Let go past and focus on the future. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed. I wish you all a fruitful New Year.
Reach: Evangelist Ogbonnaya, Godswill at weefreeministries@yahoo.com or P.O.Box 720035, Houston, 77272; Web: www.weefreeministries@org. Ph. 832-881-3929©.