Does anyone remember those little toys that you “created”, put in the oven and magically, they transformed before your eyes? When they were put under extreme heat, they would shrink to a couple times smaller than their original size. Heat sometimes has that effect on things. It can shrink things, melt things, bake things and warm things. Heat can have either a positive or negative effect.
In life, it can be the same way. Challenges, disappointments, and life issues can really pour on the heat. The question is how we will respond that heat. Will we shrink back or grow stronger? Heat can transform us into something beautiful or something weak and useless. In this New Year, I hope that I will be found stronger and more Christ-like, in every circumstance. I do not want to shrink back. I want to love more, serve more and bring glory to Jesus Christ in all I do. I no longer want to cling to my old habits, but want to start fresh, covered in the grace and forgiveness of Christ. I pray for a teachable spirit, and a usable life and I pray that I will seek God every moment, listening and obeying His voice.
I had a great start to the New Year, I spent New Year’s eve with family and friends, and then was blessed to be a part of an incredible worship service this morning. What a wonderful way to spend the first day of a New Year, worshiping our Lord with my church family! Our pastor reminded us this morning that we should live out the things written in 1 Peter 4, and I believe this is the only way to withstand whatever heat life will pour on me this year. He helped us to better understand what it looks like to walk as a believer of Jesus Christ. He explained that we should put on the full armor of God, to live by His Word and seek His will, to brace ourselves for what is coming, to live knowing that Christ could come at any time, to pray without ceasing and most importantly, to love well. As we begin this New Year, may we not shrink back, but rather may we pursue God with everything in us. I don’t want to shrink like those little toys. I want to move forward in boldness and the power of Jesus. I’m so thankful for those who have gone before us to help show us the way to walk through this life with courage and trust in the Lord. Not as shrinky dinks, but as brave warriors dressed in the full armor of God!
Happy New Year to you all!
“But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” Hebrews 10:39
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
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