Monday, December 30, 2013

Day 3 Preparation for the New Year or a New Beginning

John 14:27

27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.

-- HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

PRAYER JOURNAL AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

Write your thoughts.

What did God say to you?

What did you say to God?

A Peaceful New Beginning and New Year

Jesus has already given us peace. It’s in us. It has been since the moment we first believed. There is nothing we can do to remove it. It’s there already. We already have peace.

He gave us peace for our lives—and that includes for this next year. After all, we are already living for eternity (heaven and eternal life). He has already given us eternal life, provided we believe Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and that He died and rose again for the forgiveness of our sins and wrongdoings.

So, this year, we can have peace. And, we can prepare for it. How can we do that, let’s take a look at this passage:

Philippians 4:4-8 NLT

4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

-- NLT: Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

PRAYER JOURNAL AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

Write your thoughts.

What did God say to you?

What did you say to God?

Write a summary of Philippians 4:4-8 in your own words.

PREPARATION FOR THE NEW YEAR AND OUR NEW BEGINNING

Do you want to know how to make the next year and the opportunity of this new beginning great—not just good? It’s simple. Prepare and plan for it. Choose to make it happen. The two passages from John and Philippians we just read are examples of how to do so. In fact, they are examples of how to live.

We can make this next year the best year ever—in spite of the circumstances that come our way. We can choose to react to the tough stuff of life in a better way—and that’s through trusting God and living John 14:27 and Philippians 4:4-8. We can build our next year on these verses and passages for the next year.

PRAYER JOURNAL AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

Write your thoughts.

So, what did we learn from John 14:27 and Philippians 4:4-8 about the New Year and our new beginning? Make sure to write your full answer in your prayer journal. Take your time to do so. In fact, work on this morning, noon, and night today and for the next week. After all, these verses give us inspiration as to how to prepare and live the next year and this new beginning.

Also, if we could live these verses out the best way possible in the next year, what would that look like? Again, take your time with this answer. Spend all day and night for the next couple of weeks answering this and re-answering this. Plan and prepare. Do, apply, and live it.

Write your thoughts.

What did you say to God?

What did God say to you?

What’s your plan for the next year and for your new beginning as you color each moment of your life (think of the parable from Day 1)?

MEMORIZE THE WORD AND PHILIPPIANS 4:4-8

Let’s memorize Philippians 4:4-8.

Find it in your favorite version of the Bible.

For the next 4 days, let’s work on memorizing Philippians 4:4.

Philippians 4:4-8 HCSB

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:4-8 EXB

4 ·Be full of joy [Rejoice] in the Lord always. I will say again, ·be full of joy [rejoice].

5 Let everyone see that you are ·gentle [kind; considerate; patient]. The Lord is ·coming soon[or close at hand; L near]. 6 Do not ·worry [be anxious] about anything, but pray and ·ask God for everything you need [or make your requests known to God], always giving thanks. 7 And God’s peace, which ·is so great we cannot understand it [transcends/surpasses all comprehension], will ·keep [guard] your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

8 [L Finally; In conclusion; or Now then] Brothers and sisters, ·think about [focus your thoughts on; fill your minds with] things that are true and honorable and ·right [just] and pure and ·beautiful [lovely] and ·respected [commendable]. If there is anything that is ·good [morally excellent] and worthy of praise, ·think about [focus your thoughts on; fill your minds with]these things.

Monday, December 30, 2013