New Every Morning

How many of you have made new year's resolutions this year? How many have you kept so far?

From Facebook: "I decided I wouldn't make any New Year's Resolutions, instead I will make new choices in the new year. It shouldn't take a new year for us to realize we need to make a change with some things."

Blank Slate Every Morning

• Job 7:18 For you examine us every morning and test us every moment.
• Psalm 5:3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
• Psalm 143:8a Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you.
• Psalm 90:14 Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
• Psalm 30:5b Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
• Psalm 92:2 It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening,
• Lamentations 3:23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

A Note on Mercy

• "God’s mercy is His compassion toward us even when we deserve punishment, His commitment to restore us even though we deserve to endure the consequences of our sin, and His covenant of love expressed at the point of our great foolishness.” ( Spirit Filled Study Bible, © 2002, Thomas Nelson Publishing)

Isaiah 43:14-21 This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon, forcing the Babylonians to flee in those ships they are so proud of. I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator and King. I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick. But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and owls, too, for giving them water in the desert. Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed. I have made Israel for myself, and they will someday honor me before the whole world."

The Path, The River, The Light

• Luke 1:78-79 Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
• 2 Peter 1:19 Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.
• Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”
• Revelation 21:5-6 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

Jesus makes ALL things new! Don't wait until next year, or next Sunday, or tomorrow to respond to Him.

• James 4:13-17 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
• Hebrews 3:15 Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”
• 2 Corinthians 6:2 For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.”Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.
• "It shouldn't take a new year for us to realize we need to make a change with some things."