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Monthly Message
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January 2010
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by Dean Allen
Dean Allen serves as a deacon at SRVBC and is the author of SRVBC's Monthly Message
Previous Messages:
January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
August 2010
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Grant Us Peace In The New Year
The Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians, “Now may the God of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:16). What an awesome prayer for 2010. The God of peace who controls all things is the One who gives us peace always and in every way. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself casts out all fear, anxiety, worry and doubt.
It is so tremendous to have peace with God, having a personal relationship with the Prince of Peace our Savior, and to experience the peace of God when He brings the calm assurance to our hearts in every circumstance. The devil does his utmost to distract us, discourage us and depress us, but when we have the Holy Spirit ruling our hearts, peace is present. We can then face obstacles, problems, difficulties, hardships, sorrows and disappointments, knowing that the Lord is with us.
“The Serenity Prayer” by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) is so appropriate as we begin a new year: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things that I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make things right if I surrender to His will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.”
No one knows what will happen to us in 2010, but the Lord does. He has a plan for our lives and will accomplish His perfect will in us and through us. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “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” (New International Version). What a comfort for the child of God! We do not walk alone, for the Lord has promised to be with us both now and forever.
The world today is craving for peace but looking for it in all the wrong places. Only the Lord Himself, the God of peace, can impart true, lasting peace. We thank the Lord that we have His peace in our hearts as a treasure. May we say all together, “Lord, let Your peace shine again in 2010!”
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