Colossians 1:13-14 For he has rescued us fromthe dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (NIV)

              Youand I are going to make mistakes during the coming New Year. We’re going to saysomething we regret. We may do something that will disappoint or hurt others. We’llprobably let pride overtake our spirits and allow impatience to damage our hearts,minds, bodies, and souls, as well as our relationship with God and others.

              Weconstantly make mistakes because we are human and far from being perfect. Wecan try our best to avoid these sinful things with prayer, meditation, and patience,but then, just when we expect it the least, someone will say or do something toannoy us and before we know it, we will stumble down that old familiar roadwhich causes us to find faults in others and do something wrong in return.Sadly, we may quickly experience regret, guilt, or even shame which could leaveus isolated, ornery, and perhaps even alone.

              Despiteour continuous faults, God will not leave us there to woefully marinate in ourmistakes. The Lord has redeemed us from all of these things in the past. We mayhave our flaws, but God will still forgive us. Long ago at Calvary, Jesus diedfor every wrong thing that we do, or have done, or have still to do, so He willforgive us if we take time to sincerely come to Christ and humbly ask toreceive His pardon and grace.

              Friends,we will all make mistakes during the coming year, but Christ will also be withus, too, when we need Him most to grant us mercy, grace, renewal, and hope.

Prayer: Lord God, in the past You constantly allowed Your sinful people to be restoredto Your sacred presence by loving them continuously, despite their faults andfailings. We now know that Christ sacrificed Himself for us, so we may also berescued from our guilt and despair, our mistakes and sins. Thank You for thesegracious blessings of love and restoration which mean so much to us every dayof every year. In Jesus’ Name, we thankfully pray. Amen.

Pastor John