Leave the Past to the Mercy of God,
The Present to the Love of God,
The Future to the Providence of God.

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God grant me
the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the Courage to change the things I can,
and the Wisdom to know the difference.

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-- John 12:46
I have come into the world as a Light,
so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness.

-- 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a New creation;
the old has gone, the New has come!

-- Philippians 3:13-14
13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own;
but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize
of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.



"A New Year With The Lord"

A New year is about to unfold
With New opportunities to explore
Doors will open for New experiences
New adventures with the Lord

Remember not the former things
The things of this past year
The Lord will do New things in us
Much more than we are aware

For He will make a way for us
As we put our trust in Him
And He will guide our every step
By His presence we have within

What God has placed within our hearts
We find we’ll be able to do
If we look for the opportunities
We’ll see the door to go through

We mustn’t let anything hold us back
But rise up and take our place
And be all that God wants us to be
With a fresh touch of His grace

-- M.S.Lowndes

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- Psalm 90:14
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

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Then sing, young hearts that are full of cheer,
With never a thought of sorrow;
The old goes out, but the glad young year
Comes merrily in tomorrow.
-- Emily Miller



The past year is over, the new year begins. As we think about the twelve months ahead, let's invite God to oversee all that crosses our path. Let's give Him charge over every aspect of our lives, including our prayer life.

Today, as we pray -- perhaps feebly, perhaps with doubts and worries -- let's begin again. If yesterday's faith didn't lead us to be effective pray-ers , let's be done with it, as C.H.Spurgeon recommends: "If your Faith in Christ doesn't lead you to pray, then have nothing to do with it: get rid of it, and God help you to begin again."

God is the God of today, not yesterday; God of the living, not the dead. His manna is always fresh and ready for the taking. His answers to our prayers are always right, always on His perfect timetable, and always for our good. -- N.Harrison

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Lord Jesus, at the start of this New Year, we ask for a fresh beginning. Wipe our sins away with Your precious blood. Cleanse our hearts of bitterness toward others. Help us to live each day in close communication with You, our True and Faithful Guide.
-- Corries Ten Boom

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-- Matthew 7:7
Ask and it will be given to you;
Seek and you will find;
Knock and the door will be opened to you.

-- Philippians 4:6-7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by Prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, Present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.



As we flick the calendar to a New Year, we come face to face with the fact that our days on earth are numbered. As the Psalmist 90:12 wrote, "Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."

No thoughtful person can approach New Year's Day without some introspection. We are reminded of the brevity of time. We also look back over our failures, mistakes, and missed opportunities, and vow that we will make better use of our time during the coming year.

We should take time to be pleasant, to smile, to extend the small courtesies we often omit -- to show love to our family. Psychiatrists tell us that most people are starved for love. Take time for the goodbye kiss; we shall go to work with a sweeter spirit. Let us take time to get acquainted with our families. We are not machines. We are not robots.

The secret of a happy home is that members of the family learn to give and receive love. Let us take time to express our love in a thousand ways. -- Anonymous

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-- 1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain:
Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is Love.



-- Galatians 6:15
It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a New creation.

-- 2 Corinthians 3:3-6
3 It’s clear that you are Christ’s letter, written as a result of our ministry. You are a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, a letter written not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Christ gives us confidence about you in God’s presence. 5 By ourselves we are not qualified in any way to claim that we can do anything. Rather, God makes us qualified. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a New Covenant -- not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

-- Epheisians 4:20-24
20 But that is not what you learned from Christ’s teachings. 21 You have certainly heard His message and have been taught His ways. The truth is in Jesus. 22 You were taught to change the way you were living. The person you used to be will ruin you through desires that deceive you. 23 However, you were taught to have a New attitude. 24 You were also taught to become a New person created to be like God, truly righteous and holy.

-- Colossians 3:10-16
10 And you’ve become a New person. This New person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like its Creator. 11 Where this happens, there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, uncivilized person, slave, or free person. Instead, Christ is everything and in everything.

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

-- Psalms 51:10-13
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will turn back to You.

-- Revelation 21:5
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything New!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

-- Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach the Throne of Grace with confidence, so that we may receive Mercy and find Grace to help us in our time of need.

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+ God Bless + Happy New Year + 2008 +

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