“But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (NLT). Another translation of Isaiah 40:31 has, “They that wait upon the Lord..” Still another translation, “They that hope in the Lord...” Waiting, trusting and hoping in the Lord are closely related.

While the world lives in fear during this time, Christ-followers must look to the peace and power that God provides and be living the hope found in His name. Faith can be an antidote to fear. We are promised in God’s Word that he is faithful and will protect us. God wants us to let go of fear and to live life to the fullest as in John 10:10 (NIV) states: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

While the day has become a much commercialized celebration of all things Irish, let’s take a moment to review the inspiring Christian origin about this time of gospel advance. Saint Patrick’s direct mission from the Lord was about pioneering the church among an unreached group of individuals and bringing God’s amazing grace to an ungodly country.

You may not be surprised to hear that most New Year’s resolutions don’t last. Unfortunately only about 9% of people who set resolutions actually achieve them. After a few weeks or months of starting out strong, life gets in the way and we lose momentum with the good habits we established in the beginning. The same thing can be said sometimes with our walk with Christ.

As we enter the New Year our hearts take with us a journey of a couple whose child and His future was prophesied guaranteeing in blood to be sufficient for the forgiveness of any and all sin. It was Jesus who came to this earth and shed His “blood” at Calvary, making our salvation possible. 

Thanksgiving is a day when many Americans gather around with family for an afternoon of food and football. Thanksgiving week is the busiest traveled holiday during the year. But none can probably top the travel of a group of English settlers, who left on a ship called the Mayflower in the fall of 1620 from England, traveling to North America where they ended up in Cape Cod Harbor establishing Plymouth, the first colony.

First, a summary of a well-known story: “David & Goliath” in 1 Samuel 17: There was a king named Saul who ruled the Israelites (God’s chosen people) but kept disobeying God. So God asked Samuel to find a new king. David, the youngest son of Jesse was anointed by Samuel to be the next king of Israel. Meanwhile, Saul was still the king, but he and the Israelites were not in a good relationship with the Philistine people.