Forget the former things

This is what the Lord says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

- Isaiah 43:16,18-19

Here we are, another year has passed.

We can’t do anything to change what has happened to us in the last 363 days.

I did a quick look back and found that I have been sending this email since 2011. . . I was a little sporadic about it at first, but have gotten better in the last couple of years about sending His word more often. 

Over the years, many people have asked how I choose the verses that I send.   

The honest truth is that I look at several websites to see what they have listed as the verse of the day, then I look in my heart to see which of those is touching me. 

Sometimes, the verses on Monday come from the sermon at church on Sunday, and sometimes I am struggling with something and I’ll Google “what does the Bible say about ________”. 

I used to copy and paste the verses and commentaries from the internet, but recently I have been trying to use my own thoughts and words (since the creation of my blog, because I claim that the blog contains my thoughts, and I don’t wish to plagiarize.)

Here we are, the end of 2017, and it has been another crazy year for my family and friends; there have been weddings, new babies, birthday celebrations, big wins and travel joys, but it has also brought much sorrow; divorce, the death of a loved one, big losses, illnesses and major life changes.

As 2017 comes to a close, we could daydream about everything that was good and live in a happy bubble.

Or we could dwell on everything bad and live in sorrow and anger.

I don’t want to live in sorrow and anger, I want to listen to what God says and forget the former things.

Tomorrow will be another day, we will have new opportunities and we will face new challenges.

Let’s face it together, let’s face it with Christ beside us.

We already know that God is there, and He promises us that we will not walk alone.  

Have a blessed day and a prosperous New Year!