Shoulder To Shoulder #1322 -- 12-26-22 ---- "Another Year??? Dawning??? Already???? More Resolutions????"
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER is a weekly letter of encouragement Bob has written since 1997, covering many topics selected to
motivate people to be strong students of the Word and courageous witnesses of Jesus Christ. It is a personal letter of
encouragement to you, written solely to help "lift up hands that hang down".
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." -- Albert Einstein
“There is a common, worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have -- a cheap Christianity which offends nobody,
and requires no sacrifice, which costs nothing, -- and is worth nothing.” – J. C. Ryle
Shoulder To Shoulder #1322 -- 12-26-22
Title: "Another Year??? Dawning??? Already???? More Resolutions????"
My Dear Friend and Fellow Pilgrim Partner:
Greetings again from a very comfortable Yuma, AZ, where today's high temperature is hitting the mid 70's and tonight is projected to drop to a ludicrous 55 degrees. With all the horrible suffering and hardships so many across the nation are going through, what our little corner of the continent is experiencing is almost shameful and almost makes us feel a bit guilty.
But we get over the guilt feeling quickly.
It is almost frightening to realize we are just days away from the end of one year and the beginning of the next. If it's true that, "time flies when you're having fun", then I'd have to say we're having way too much fun. We just finished leftover Thanksgiving turkey a couple of days ago, and are still waiting to complete our family Christmas celebrations with some video calls and a visit by our youngest and her family the middle of January.
IF YOU MISS AN ISSUE:
For the past 25 years God has blessed me with a faithful and generous mailing service in Glen Stewart, founder of Associate.com and Welovegod.org. God put on his heart to provide free subscriber bulk emailing to Christian ministries. In spite of enormous cost in equipment, maintenance, and upgrades, Glen at one time was providing free service to over 250 e-letters. Even though, of necessity, he discontinued that service last Summer, he continues archiving all of my letters all the way back to February 20, 1998 when I sent my first letter via his service. I had begun writing to a handful of pastors the previous December when I sent my first letter to encourage them.
Today Glen has archived every letter since that February day. So, if you ever want to peruse those letters, OR if you happen to miss one or more letters, you can still access them, download them, or share them by simply going to https://welovegod.org/guide/forums/forum/shoulders/. If you want to locate a particular letter by number, date, title, word, subject, or theme, you can do so by using the search window at the top of the right column. A Ukrainian friend now in Germany did just that earlier this week, trying to recover letters he somehow lost or missed.
THIS 'N' THAT:
+ Accuracy on Ukraine News: It is shocking to hear what some reports say about the situation in Ukraine -- that funds are being stolen, that the country doesn't matter to American interests, that Zelensky is a fraud, that Trump was in "cahoots" with Ukraine, that George Soros was a great benefactor to the country, that the people are corrupt third-class bigots, that Ukraine will compromise their freedom, that the Ukrainian military cannot possibly win the war, etc. . . .
It seems it really Does matter where you get your news. Jo Ann and I have the benefit of knowing and communicating with many friends both in and from Ukraine. In addition, we have access to news sources actually inside the country. Wednesday I had a phone call from a friend, a federal judge from the Ninth District, asking for first hand knowledge about the news he had heard that President Zelensky was shutting churches down. Not only has the New York Times and Newsweek published such reports, but social media networks are rotting with such nonsense -- all based on the fact that the President exposed a number of Orthodox priests who were not only supporting Putin and the war, but we propagating the idea and even storing supplies, munitions, and soldiers in church buildings.
To the contrary, churches in Ukraine are thriving, heavily engaged in humanitarian efforts, housing refugees, and seeing their buildings packed to maximum limit as people's hearts turn toward God in times of war. We have been sending funds since last March to a number of churches and pastors who are truly on the front lines providing for both humanitarian and spiritual aid to thousands. So, with that in mind, here are some reliable links you might consider if you want a better chance of getting accuracy from a country at war with a tyrant.
> English language Kyiv Post ---- https://www.kyivpost.com/topic/war-in-ukraine
> Institute For the Study of War (in Ukraine) ---- https://www.understandingwar.org/
> UkrInform (click on Eng in dropdown menu upper right) ---- https://www.ukrinform.net/
> EuroMaidan Press (select current dated picture) ---- https://euromaidanpress.com/
> Kyiv Independent ---- https://kyivindependent.com/tag/russias-war
> BBC News ---- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60525350 (sometimes slanted)
At a later date I will give you some links to help you understand the true history of Ukraine and Russia's connection to most major conflicts in eastern Europe.
Turning our thoughts toward today's topic, now, I want to address the reality of a brand new year eminently around the corner, and how you and I will face it. Many will use it as an opportunity to make New Year's resolutions -- again -- and again -- and . . . .
I, rather, would advise against such resolutions, and suggest an alternative. We'll tackle that issue right after you consider . . .
QUOTES FOR THE WEEK:
> "The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul." -- G. K. Chesterton
> "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." -- God (Jer 22:11)
> "Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will." -- Jonathan Edwards
> "Lower your expectations of earth. This isn’t heaven, so don’t expect it to be." -- Max Lucado
> "Instead of making a New Year's resolution, consider committing to a biblical solution." -- Mary Fairchild
> "Some people expect a new year's beginning to release God's blessing and provision upon them from the world system. That is one of the most absurd expectations man can ever have. God will choose His own ways of releasing His divine direction, provision, and blessing -- as long as you are in a position to humbly and gratefully receive them, and as long as you are willing to give Him both credit and glory when He does it." -- T. Allen Robburts
> "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." -- Jesus (Mt 5:16)
> "In Christ he has disposed of a thousand enemies that other men must face alone and unprepared. He can face his tomorrow cheerful and unafraid because yesterday he turned his feet into the ways of peace and today he lives in God. The man who has made God his dwelling place will always have a safe habitation.” -- A. W Tozer, The Warfare of the Spirit
> "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." -- Apostle Paul (Eph 4:22-24)
NO NEED FOR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS:
Jo Ann and I returned from the mission field in Ukraine in December, 2008, after unquestionably the most fruitful and thrilling years of our entire ministry (66 years now -- longer than we've been married!). I had committed myself to vocational Christian ministry in 1956 at the beginning of my college days at a little Christian Junior College in the Missouri Ozarks. When Dad took a pastorate in Tucson, AZ in June, 1957, my bride-to-be and I worked together as youth leaders in that small church, married in January, 1959, and then headed to graduate school in Ft. Worth, TX, in 1961. We've never looked back.
Following schooling, children, roles as staff member, then pastor, then vocational evangelist, and finally as missionaries, the journey has taken us to 40 states and over 30 countries. Our lives, filled with countless joys and forgotten disappointments, we are the epitome' of Bill and Gloria Gather's great song, "The Longer I Serve Him", written in 1965.
Since I started for the Kingdom,
Since my life He controls,
Since I gave my heart to Jesus,
The longer I serve Him,
The sweeter He grows.
The longer serve Him, the sweeter He grows,
The more that I love Him, more love He bestows;
Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows,
The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.
Ev'ry need He is supplying,
Plenteous grace He bestows;
Ev'ry day my way gets brighter,
The longer I serve Him,
The sweeter He grows.
The longer serve Him, the sweeter He grows,
The more that I love Him, more love He bestows;
Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows,
The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.
Most people don't know what inspired the writing of this song. It wasn't "what": -- it was "Who". It was Bill Gaither’s grandmother, “Mom” Hartwell. In her book, Something Beautiful: The Stories Behind a Half-Century of the Songs of Bill and Gloria Gaither, Gloria tells the story. As “Mom” Hartwell neared the end of her life, she would sing songs to to the Lord -- songs like, “Oh, He is so precious to me” and others.
One day during a visit with his grandmother, and knowing she was nearing her entry into God's presence, Bill asked her, “Has it been worth it, serving Jesus all these years?” Gloria described the grandmother's response; . . .
“She looked at him with that Irish twinkle in her still snappy brown eyes. 'Billy,' she said, 'the longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.' Not long after that, still forming the name of Jesus with her lips, she slipped out of our arms and into His.”
I still vividly remember watching a Billy Graham Crusade video of The Gaither Trio (Bill, Danny, and Gloria) sing that song before tens of thousands gathered to hear Graham preach. Years later we watched a Gaither Homecoming Video in which, on the spur of the moment, Mark Lowry walked down into the audience and had Danny Gaither (Bill's younger brother), who had lost his voice years earlier and no longer able to sing, stand up and sing. It was an electric moment as God released Danny's vocal cords and, with tears streaming from everyone's eyes, Danny looked heavenward and declared, "The Longer I Serve Him, the Sweeter He Grows." I'll never forget the scene.
Today you and I are nearing the beginning of another new year. While I may end this one with some minor regrets, I won't leave it with very many disappointments. God has been more than faithful, and the journey has been spectacular, winding its way through both valleys and mountains. When Jo Ann and I returned from Ukraine fourteen years ago, we never dreamed that we would spend these last seven years ministering primarily to senior adults facing the same challenges she and I have faced -- increasing physical limitations, economic shortfalls, relational fractures, a major national moral collapse, and a chaotic world -- all waiting for something (or someONE) to fix it all.
Everybody trying harder next year may bring brief reprieve, but it won't fix our broken world. Making New Year's resolutions has been a common practice for who knows how long. I used to make them; -- but almost never kept a single one longer than a few weeks to a couple of months. They are like millstones around one's neck, and do little more than drag you emotionally and spiritually downward as you realize, "Well, Magoo! . . . you've done it again!" (You have to be old to know that quote!)
I'm not going to mess this coming year up by making resolutions that will likely not be kept. Commitments, yes. Resolutions, no. Contentment, yes. Striving, no. Propositions, no. Prayers, yes. There is a vast difference between our humble obedient trusting and our simply trying harder. Jesus explained the former, and showed the futility of the latter. The adage is true -- "If you keep doing the same thing, you'll keep getting the same results." If you're satisfied with that, be my guest. I've been there -- and done that, as they say.
NEW YEAR'S PRAYER INSTEAD OF OLD RESOLUTIONS:
William Thomson Hanzsche (1891-1954), was an early 20th Century Presbyterian leader. His education included Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Washington and Lee University, Union Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, and University of Chicago. He pastored Upper Alton Church in Alton, IL, Union Tabernacle, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Prospect Street Church, Trenton, New Jersey. He also served as Editor of The Presbyterian Magazine, in NYC He wrote in Spiritual Leader, . . .
“As we grow older in life, years somehow seem to shorten and New Year’s Day approaches with an ever increasing tempo. The more mature we get, the more we realize that time is only relative; how we live means more than how long we live. Haply also we do not live by years, but by days. In His wisdom God does not show us all that lies ahead. So we enter a new year to live it day by day. What is past is past. Today we start anew, and what we do today will make our life for tomorrow. Chin up, shoulders straight, eyes agleam, let us salute the New Year, and each day let us follow more faithfully, more courageously, more daringly the lead of our great Captain who bids us follow Him.”
I stopped making New Year's Resolutions years ago, but I do pray special prayers each year. For the twelfth consecutive year now, I am asking God for the same three things I began asking in 2009 soon after we returned from the mission field in Ukraine. Since then I have added two more. So, here's what I began praying immediately after Christmas for the coming new year. In addition to repeating them ever December, I have been repeatedly praying them this past year, now an older and hopefully wiser man: . . .
"Lord, extend our days, increase our endurance, give us good health, sharpen our minds, -- and open doors."
People keep saying "you're a young 84!", but I really don't know what that means. I'm just me. It's true that my body doesn't want to cooperate the way it used to, but the rest of me is still alert and perceptive . . . and hopefully wiser than ever. Someone recently posted on Facebook (and I passed it on), "I don't make more mistakes now that I'm older; it just takes me longer."
Besides that, with over 78 years behind me as a follower of Christ, and with all the adventures of people, places, and events, and with a life filled with the grace, mercy, goodness, and blessings of God, why would I want to bail out now when there are still so many people who have yet to trust Him and so many needs to be met?
Maybe A. W. Tozer's statement describes my thinking today: . . .
“I do not advise that we end the year on a somber note. The march, not the dirge, has ever been the music of Christianity. If we are good students in the school of life, there is much that the years have to teach us. But the Christian is more than a student, more than a philosopher. He is a believer, and the object of his faith makes the difference, the mighty difference. Of all persons, the Christian should be best prepared for whatever the New Year brings. He has dealt with life at its source. In Christ he has disposed of a thousand enemies that other men must face alone and unprepared. He can face his tomorrow cheerful and unafraid because yesterday he turned his feet into the ways of peace and today he lives in God. The man who has made God his dwelling place will always have a safe habitation.” -- A. W Tozer, The Warfare of the Spirit
CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR NEW YEAR:
Since I don't make resolutions -- to do better, be better, try harder, not fail this time, etc. -- I've thought of some things that have shaped my prayers for the coming year. Maybe they will help you.
1. Narrow your praying and make it specific. -- Someone once said, "A man that shoots at nothing hits it every time." I can ask all five of those things I have been asking, and do it in broad generalities. I have my doubts that Jo Ann and I would have seen the results. Generalized praying tends to get generalized answers. There are times for panoramic praying, but praying about the new year may not be one of those times. I still remember when my Dad prayed that God would take away the pain in my Mother's frozen shoulder. He did, but He didn't "unfreeze it; He only took away the pain. God loves to respond in specifics. What specifically would you ask of God for this coming year?
2. Make your praying clearly kingdom focused. -- Whatever it is that you would ask, make sure it is kingdom focused and not "me" focused. Even when it is for things that will benefit you, the benefit should be in order to seek, build, strengthen, or fulfill the Kingdom of God. Remember, the things of this world all pass away (I Jn 2:15-17). It is wasteful to invest your time, talent, and treasure in building such a kingdom -- a kingdom of this world (Jn 18:36) -- when you have the opportunity to focus on an eternal one. Ask God to do to, in, and through you that which is focused on His kingdom and nobody else's -- not even yours.
3. Point your praying directly toward eternity. -- What you pray for -- and who you pray for -- should always have in mind the reality of eternity. Whatever it is that you choose to ask God for in 2023, it should go beyond this world and the temporal, and point directly at eternity and eternal benefits. If, for example, if you decide that one of your requests for the year is the healing of some unbelieving friend, your praying should not conclude with healing, but rather with God using the healing to draw that person to Christ. The Bible tells us that at some point, "time" as we know it will no longer exist -- only eternity. So, why should we concentrate on things restricted to "time and place"? Is what you plan to pray for 2023 related toward eternal goals, values, and destination? Or is it still earth bound and time conscious?
4. Center your praying on people. -- Whatever it is, your ultimate goal should be the welfare of people. Some people pray for answered prayer so they can boast of answered prayer. Rather, we must pray for answered prayer so that the answer is about people, and not about answers.
5. Cradle your praying in unwavering confidence. I cannot explain it to you, but when I first began praying for those five things I noted above, a confidence welled up inside me that released a sense of certainty I had seldom experienced in the past. The instant I first prayed that prayer in 2009, I knew beyond any doubt that in some way God will answer each of those requests. I know now that that confidence was because I knew that God knew my heart, He knew my motive for praying thus, and I knew that each of them fit the previous four criteria above.
How did I know? I don't know how I knew. All I know is that I knew that I knew that I knew that I knew. While there have been moments of curious uncertainty -- usually regarding when, where, or how -- there has never been a doubt about His answering them. Even with current circumstances and the aging process attempting to diminish or negate those prayers, I still have the same confidence today -- even greater confidence -- than I did when I began praying that way in 2009.
SOMEWHERE UP AHEAD:
So, still today, I am asking God for those same five things for Jo Ann and me -- even though I will be 85 my next birthday.
Extend our days,
Increase our endurance,
Give us good health,
Sharpen our minds,
Open doors.
Perhaps, because age has become to me a state of mind rather than a calendar date, it seems no small thing that God could continue to answer them all for many years to come. I have asked the Lord to enable us to serve Him until I am at least 90 or beyond.
Yes, there will be a time and place when the Lord, Who has determined our days, will call one or both of us home to be with Him. I do not anticipate that happening anytime soon, though it certainly could. If it were soon, why would there still be such "a burning in my bones" to be here in such a chaotic and challenging world instead of being in His visible presence where all struggle is over, hardships don't exist, and we are made perfectly whole?
When the time for our home going does come, I'm certain we'll respond like the words of a song my father sang so often: ----
"When I come to the edge of eternity,
near to the land of light;
What joy it will be, there my Savior to see,
as heaven unfolds to my sight.
There'll be no shadows, for morning will come.
Sunrise awaits there for me!
There'll be no shadows when I leave for home,
Where Jesus, my Savior I'll see.
"When I come to the edge of eternity,
All of life's sorrows gone,
With heaven so near I have nothing to fear,
A new day is nearing the dawn.
There'll be no shadows, for morning will come.
Sunrise awaits there for me!
There'll be no shadows when I leave for home,
Where Jesus, my Savior I'll see.
"When I come to the edge of eternity,
Hope, like an anchor sure
Will steady my soul though the wild billows roll,
In Jesus I'm safe, I'm secure.
There'll be no shadows, for morning will come.
Sunrise awaits there for me!
There'll be no shadows when I leave for home,
Where Jesus, my Savior I'll see."
"When I come to the edge of eternity,
Anthems of praise I'll hear.
Oh joy! Oh delight! Heav'n is almost in sight,
Its melodies fall on my ear!
There'll be no shadows, for morning will come.
Sunrise awaits there for me!
There'll be no shadows when I leave for home,
Where Jesus, my Savior I'll see."
I still can see and hear Dad in my memory sitting at the piano playing and singing this song, with my mother sitting on the couch wistfully watching him through nearly blind eyes. The thought brings deep emotion to my heart just now as I think of heaven someday ---- and people around me who today have no such hope and confidence. The message is still true, and the offer is still here to all who will accept the first and receive the second. The old hymn is true: . . .
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face; and the the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."
I think Jesus said it well: . . .
"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Mt 6:33)
I'VE BEEN ENCOURAGED BY OTHERS:
It is not merely coincidental that, while the past several months have been unusually tiring -- simply because of extra doctors' appointments, jump starting the ministry here at Chapel de Oro, and a pretty heavy project load -- God has greatly strengthened us by emails, Christmas cards, phone calls, and Facebook posts. People from whom we have not heard sometimes for ten years are more have taken time to strengthen us with the comments. For example, . . .
> Rick, a pastor we met in 2007 at a conference in Switzerland took time to briefly comment, "Thanks, brother. Your note blesses and encourages me."
> Deb, a friend and former member of the church in Kyiv who worked for the State Department there, said, "Thank you for your faithfulness to Jesus and teaching us all about Him and His ways. I am most encouraged how you encourage me writing about our founding fathers and their faith."
> Rod, my car mechanic from the 1960's and 1970's recently reminded me of past days when revival raged in our area, saying, "God bless you Bob. I just read all of your message, and I want to lay my face on the floor again like I did in 1969-70 . . . You knew earlier than I did. Thank you."
> Steve, a longtime pastor friend I met in the 1970's in Iowa and then conducted several meetings for in Washington state stated, "Your newsletters have been right on regarding revival and our country. I’ve often wondered about the prayer revival of 1857,58 why it didn’t stop the Civil War even though so many were saved. I guess it just prepared them for the war. And I’m thinking that perhaps that might be what is around the corner for USA today. Much humble, repentant prayer will open the door for God’s blessings, but possibly strengthen us for the darker days to come. In any event, prayer changes us first."
> Richard, a minister we met in Iowa as a result of his wife working at the same Christian bookstore. He now is in western Indiana and recently encouraged me with a brief, "Another great message. Keep it up."
> Vitaliy, a dear and special friend who served alongside us in two churches in Ukraine recently messaged me, "Thanks for you feeling with and for Ukraine. I hope things are all right with Jo Ann and you in the US. America seems to become closer to the Ukrainians after Zelenski's visit. We are so encouraged! . . . Thank you for your prayers, Bob. We feel your care and support. May God be with you in all you do as His servant."
I know it may look like I'm arrogant for posting them, but nothing could be further from the truth. It's simply that comments like these truly motivate us both and stir us up to "KOKO" (as a British friend in Florida says) -- "Keep On Keeping On!" To be brutally honest, the aging process and frequent heaviness of work load or burden has given cause for us to question just how much longer we are to carry on. We are still driven by a thought I had five years ago -- "I'm ready to go, but not ready to leave." That still drives us today. I am ready to go home to be with the Lord, but I'm not yet ready to leave the work and the people we love. I have not yet come to that place at which Paul arrived when he said, "I have run the race; I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; . . ." (II Tim 4:7). Words of encouragement like these above help fuel that fire that still burns within us. I expect that same mindset to carry us through 2023, and frankly, pray it will you as well. So, . . .
FINALLY:
Frances Ridley Havergal was born in in 1836 in the town of Astley, England, to the family of hymnist William Havergal. Learning to read by age three, and being raised in a literary and musical environment, she quickly developed as a Christian singer and hymn writer. By age four she was reading and memorizing the Bible, and began writing poems by age seven. As she matured, she learned to read and speak several modern languages as well as the ancient languages of Latin, Greek and Hebrew. She also memorized the entire New Testament, Psalms, Isaiah and the Minor Prophets.
Never married, yet highly educated and cultured, she instead lived a life of simple faith and confidence in her Lord. Her life could probably be best described, even as a spinster, as one of quiet trust and total contentment. Before she ever wrote a line of poetry, she first prayed. She said, . . .
"I believe my King suggests a thought, and whispers me a musical line or two, and then I look up and thank Him delightedly and go on with it. That is how my hymns come. Writing is praying with me. You know a child would look up at every sentence and say, 'And what shall I say next?' That is just what I do; I ask Him at every line He would give me not merely thoughts and power, but also every word, even the very rhymes."
Her most famous hymns are "Like A River Glorious", "Who Is On the Lord's Side?", "Take My Life and Let It Be", and "Another Year Is Dawning". All of them are favorites and are found in almost all Christian hymnals.
Frail of health all her brief 43 years of life, when Miss Havergal was told that death was near, her sister reported that she exclaimed, "If I am really going, it is too good to be true!" Her sister said, "She looked up steadfastly, as if she saw the Lord; and surely nothing less heavenly could have reflected such a glorious radiance upon her face. For ten minutes we watched that almost visible meeting with her King, and her countenance was so glad, as if she were already talking to Him! Then she tried to sing; but after one sweet, high note her voice failed and as her brother commended her soul into the Redeemer's hand, she passed away."
Described by one writer as "a bright but short-lived candle in English hymnody", she was baptized by hymnist John Cawood, she died after writing thousands of poems, many of which were on her greeting, Christmas, and New Year's cards. Many of them were set to music by various musicians.
As I thought about this new year and all it wondrously holds for you and me, I couldn't help but think of this song she wrote just five years prior to her death. In spite of ill health, she epitomized the attitude that you and I . . . and every follower of Christ . . . should embrace for 2023: ----
Another year is dawning:
Dear Father, let it be,
In working or in waiting,
Another year with Thee;
Another year of progress,
Another year of praise,
Another year of proving
Thy presence all the days.
Another year of mercies,
Of faithfulness and grace;
Another year of gladness
In the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning
Upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting,
Of quiet, happy rest.
Another year of service,
Of witness for Thy love;
Another year of training
For holier work above.
Another year is dawning;
Dear Father, let it be,
On earth or else in heaven,
Another year for Thee.
-- Francis Havergal, 1874 (1836 - 1879)
The Apostle Paul said it this way -- ". . . one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." -- (Phil 3:13-14)
What are you praying for 2023? Or, are you just thinking "resolutions" where you'll try harder, already knowing you'll probably fail?
Will you Narrow your praying and make it specific?
Will you Make your praying clearly kingdom focused?
Will you Point your praying directly toward eternity?
Will you Center your praying on people?
Will you Cradle your praying in unwavering confidence?
I think if I'll keep praying for and trusting God to provide extended days, greater endurance, clearer thoughts, open doors, and improved health. All the rest I might wish for will likely take care of itself. I think it would be the same for you. Be encouraged as you look to 2023 and how God wants to bless you and use you in it.
May this also be our heart cry before our King. And it is . . .
In His Bond, By His Grace, and for His Kingdom,
Bob Tolliver -- Romans 1:11
"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness,
examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." -- Dr. Luke (Acts 17:11)
"A fire kept burning on the hearthstone of my heart, and I took up the burden of the day with fresh courage and hope." -- Charles F. McKoy
Life Unlimited Ministries
LUMglobal
lifeunlimited@pobox.com
Copyright December, 2022
"If Jesus had preached the same message that many ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified." -- Leonard Ravenhill
"The time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the Church will have clowns entertaining the goats." -- Charles H. Spurgeon
If this letter has blessed you, feel free to forward it or copy from it, with proper credits, to any and all you wish.
Please do NOT hit reply to this letter. This is an automated unmanned system.
If you want to write Bob, send directly to lifeunlimited@pobox.com.
Replying to "Shoulder To Shoulder" mailer gets you nowhere.
Bob Tolliver Life Unlimited Ministries LUMglobal