Happy New Year! I have never been one to make traditional new year resolutions. yet, during my morning devotions today, while reading Psalm 34, i really liked the 5th verse (NLT): "those who look to the Lord for help will be radiant with JOY."
that sent me to my Strong's Concordance and discovered there are about 165 times that JOY appears in verses in the Old and New Testaments (not counting other forms, eg:joyful, enjoy, joyous, etc). that's a lot of JOY! one of my favorites is: the JOY of the Lord is my strength. that is reassuring to me: if MY JOY ebbs, the JOY of the Lord wells up and carries me through.
further in Psalm 34 the question is asked (in verse 12): "Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous?" well now! if THAT's not a great question to ponder on the first day of a new year! the answer follows in verses 13, 14: "Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it." wow!
who doesn't want to live a life that is long and prosperous!! if i go by that (and i DO believe that the Bible is the true Word of God), then my new year resolutions appear to be laid out for me:
+keep my tongue from speaking evil; +keep my lips from telling lies; +turn away from evil; +do good; +search for peace; +work to maintain peace.
sounds like my work is cut out for me.
and, at the risk of sounding like a pre-programmed contender for miss america contest: i pray too, that all countries in our world will, throughout 2009 and beyond, SEARCH FOR PEACE and WORK TO MAINTAIN IT.
with peace, comes JOY! please join me in my search, and may the Lord help us. Happy, Healthy, Prosperous, JOY full New Year to all!
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