January 2010

"God's Outlook and Yours"

As we embark upon a new decade, what is your outlook?  Certainly you have hopes and dreams.  You probably also have some fears and concerns.  The world in which we live today is fraught with uncertainty.  Our hopes can be reduced to little more than the kind of hope we have for good weather on an upcoming vacation without really knowing the forecast.

     What is your outlook on the future?  That outlook goes a long way in determining what you will do.  That outlook goes a long way in setting your priorities in life.  That outlook goes a long way in what you commit yourself to.  With the changes in the world around us, and many of them unsettling, our outlook can become bleak; and as we look to get our houses in order, how easy it can be to overlook the Lord and the relationship He has established with us.

     Let this new year and ushering in of a new decade serve as a call to you to embrace God’s outlook for your future.  As recorded in Jeremiah 29:11, the Lord Almighty says, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

     The God who came to be born in Bethlehem for the purpose of living and dying and rising again to give us life that will never end has plans for you that always result in blessing.  That is God’s outlook on the future – your future.

     The plans He has for you are found in His Word, the Word that you are able to read, and study in Bible classes, and hear proclaimed in worship every week.  God’s outlook is one we can count on.  It provides the certainty of His promises in an uncertain world.  God’s outlook rightly orders our priorities and commitments and what we do.

     God, who looks at you in Jesus and declares you to be His own child, forgiven, restored and blessed with life abundant and full, invites you in this new year to put aside your outlook for the future and embrace His for you.  God’s outlook is well-considered, eternally conceived, and never forgotten.

      “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

A Blessed New Year to all,

Pastor John

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