Happy New Year

Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:12-14

Many of us are plagued by guilt. We worry that we may have committed a sin unknowingly, done something good with selfish intentions, failed to put our whole heart into a task, or neglected what we should have done. Guilt can play an important role in bringing us to Christ and in keeping us behaving the way we should, but it can also paralyze us or make us fearful, unwilling to act because we have deemed ourselves "unworthy." Let that garbage go. God's love is so great that He fully and completely forgives us - even for those sins we do without realizing it.
Would you change the way you live if you knew that every word and thought would be examined by God first? David asks that God approve his words and thoughts as though they were offerings brought to the altar. As you begin each day in this new year, determine for yourself that God's love will guide you by what you say and how you think. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things." Philippians 4:8

Happy New Year,

God Bless you and yours,

J.H.