A New Year's Promise

Devotional for Wednesday, January 1, 2003 by Mary Daniel

Acts 2:39 - For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (KJV)

Galatians 3:14 - That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (KJV)

There are more passages with promises of God's love and eternal life for us than this page could possibly print.

When you think about it, our lives are filled with promises. We promise to be good, or not to do something we did that we shouldn't, again. We make promises when we join clubs. Perhaps my earliest promise was as a Brownie, which, I believe, included the words, "I promise to do my best to do my duty to God and the Queen, to help other people every day, especially those at home." Although that's a tall order for a little person of eight years to make, I feel it has stayed with me, and that, for the most part, I've endeavoured to keep that promise.

When we marry, we promise to "love, honour, and cherish" our partners, or we make similar promises of mutual love and respect, which often break down and shatter. And we make New Year's resolutions, which, in effect, are promises -- promises which are often broken.

So what is this word, "promise"? Why do we so readily use it, yet so often can't seem to keep it? It's because we lack the willpower to persist in whatever it is we have promised to do. Many such promises entail changes in our lives, changes usually associated with habits such as eating, drinking, or smoking. We often choose to view this as giving something up, rather than seeing it as doing something beneficial to our health, for ourselves, and that is possibly why the resolution or promise doesn't last.

Seeing as we expect God to keep His promises, as His people, we need to be more careful to keep our own, with His help.

May we each, this New Year, make a promise to Him, to give thanks for at least one thing each day. We don't have to give anything up. We need only acknowledge one of the many, many things that are already abundantly placed before us. It's a promise He makes very, very easy for us to keep.

Prayer: God of all creation, as we are blessed with another New Year, may we see your gifts that surround us each day, and give you our thanks. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Mary Daniel <marydee@shaw.ca>
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

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Today's Music:     Standing At The Portal Of The Opening Year.  

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