2023 December
Dear Fellow Alumni,
Love, Joy, Peace and Hope to all of you as we have just celebrated Christmas, and now approach the new year!
2024! What will it look like for each of us? Maybe for some it will be celebration of weddings, promotions, awards, either your own, your children’s, or even your grandchildren’s! For some others it may be new ministries, new mission fields, transitions and retirement. Yet for others it could be challenging times ahead because of family crises, ministry uncertainties and health issues. In whatever situation we find ourselves in 2024, the passage in Ephesians speaks words of encouragement and promise.
In all circumstances take up the?shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arts of the evil one; and take the?helmet of salvation, and the?sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,?praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.?To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for the saints… (Ephesians 6:16-18.)
We know that this letter was written by Paul when he was in prison, and he tells us so in this chapter the reason for his imprisonment –?for openly declaring the mystery of the gospel, and therefore becoming?an ambassador in chains! (Ephesians 6:19-20). He urges Christians in Ephesus to pray for him so that God will give him words to proclaim boldly, to speak as he should! How amazing! How wonderful! He is not asking to be delivered out of prison but to continue to be effective in the current situation he finds himself in!
As we enter 2024 may we take up the shield of faith, that faith that first brought us to Christ and into the family of God. Hold on to it! With this shield of faith, put on the helmet of salvation, worn on the head, to deter false thoughts and doubts, and to fix our minds on God’s truth and his wonderful promises. Faith in God grounded in the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit, is what will enable us to stand firm and fight the schemes of the devil. Undergirding this faith is PRAYER! Paul exhorts us to pray all kinds of prayers – prayers of praise, thanksgiving, petition, supplication/intercession….and the God of Peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus?by giving us his shalom in all circumstances! (Philippians 4:6-7).
I too am wrestling with some major health issues right now. I realize how important it is for me to hold on to the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit and undergird my entire life with all sorts of prayers so I will stand firm in the midst of challenging times!
Our God reigns! Jesus is coming again soon! May we keep looking up to Jesus, claim his wonderful promises that He is the faithful, dependable and constant factor in the midst of changes. God never changes!?Because He Lives, I Can Face Tomorrow!
HAPPY AND BLESSED NEW YEAR!
