Yesterday and Tomorrow

+ Security from Yesterday. "... God requires an account of what is past" (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.

+ Ecclesiastes.3:15; 11:9; 12:13-14: - "3:15 Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account. + 11:9 ... Walk in the ways of your heart, And in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. + 12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."

+ 1.John.1:8-10: - "8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ++ 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His Word has no place in our lives."

Security for Tomorrow. "... the Lord will go before you ...." (Isaiah.52:12). This is a gracious revelation -- that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our "rear guard." And God’s hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.

-- Jeremiah 29:11-13; 33:3: - 11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." + 33:3 "Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

Security for Today. "You shall not go out with haste ...." (Isaiah.52:12). As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that God will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.

Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.

-- Romans.8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

-- Oswald Chambers

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-- Matthew 11:28-30
28 "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

-- 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.



We have to face our sins
Before we can put them behind us.

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-- 2 Chronicles 7:14-15
14 If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

-- Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

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What we propose to do in the new year is not as important as what we actually do with the old year. That's why I suggest that instead of thinking about new year's resolutions, we should think about the resolution of the old year.

Sound confusing? Here's what I mean. Before we make plans for our lives in the new year and in our service for God, we need to take care of any problems we still have with the old year.

We should deal with unconfessed sin before we begin making new plans.

So as the old year winds down, try getting away from everyone else for a little while and have a meeting with God. Take along a Bible, a pen, and a blank sheet of paper. First, spend some time reading and meditating on Psalm 51, David's prayer of repentance.

Then write down all of the junk from this past year that you can think of that you still need to confess to God.

Next, following David's example, ask God's forgiveness. Then, just to remind yourself that He will blot out your transgressions (v.1), take that piece of paper, tear it into bits, and throw it away.

Now you can start out the new year with a clean heart. That beats any other resolution you could ever make.

-- J.D.B.

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We're thankful, Lord, that when we fall
We can begin anew
If humbly we confess our sin,
Then turn and follow You.
-- Sper

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-- Psalms 51:1-19
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are proved right when You speak and justified when You judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely You desire truth in the inner parts; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

++ 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.

14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. 18 In Your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight You; then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

-- Psalms 23:1-6
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, 3 He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.



And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: "Give me the light that I may tread safely into the unknown." ++ And he replied: "Go into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light and safer than a known way." -- M. Louise Haskins

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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.

-- 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.

-- James 5:13-15
13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

-- Romans 8:26-28
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

++ 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

-- Jude 1:20-21
20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

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

-- Ephesians 6:23-24
23 Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

May the Joyful Blessings   and   the Holy Spirit of "New Year"
Always be with you and family!