The Gospel

Tomorrow in the Twin Falls – Times News:

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Joy In The LORD!

On the eve of 2017 we have yet another natural moment for annual evaluation and projecting hopes for the coming days.

Like the dawning of any new year, we get a moment from the Author of time to reflect and consider. Not everyone will see this moment of pinning a new calendar on the wall as a spiritual or eternal moment; but to those that do, may I offer a few thoughts?

• I get that a healthier physical body is something that is a pursuit of many at the start of the year. I would even go so far as to agree that it should consume some of your consideration, both for you and your family.
• It’s good to set goals for personal order such as organizing your home, cleaning out the car, finally going through all the boxes that have not been opened since your last move, establishing a reading goal for the year (including reading the bible through).

These are not bad things to consider as we face the dawn of 2017.

But greater than the changes we hope to make by breaking bad habits and establishing new goals, is the matter of joy.

What is the source of your joy?

Getting your house in order, losing 20 – 40 pounds, running a 5K, or any other temporary matter will only bring about temporary joy. It doesn’t settle the core matters of life. So long as we put temporal goals as our primary pursuit in life, we will always have something left undone or unsatisfied.

What is it that brings humanity our greatest joy?

Contentment in this temporal day is difficult to achieve until we address the eternal matters of our eternal being.

And listen closely, not just any eternal pursuit will do.

Not all paths are equal.

It’s true that many people journey different paths and we live in a blessed land that allows all to pursue their paths equally. We can live in respect of each other in this while noting at the end that only one source of all truth exists.

May I encourage you to give consideration to the greatest pursuit of your life?

There is lasting, eternal joy, only in the LORD, Jesus the Christ, the son of the Living God. He is a gracious land owner, a redeemer and savior.

To know Him, you have no greater source than the Holy Bible. May it be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. There are people all throughout the Magic Valley who are in pursuit of eternal joy in Christ Jesus, the LORD. They meet with other believers throughout the valley on the LORD’s day in organized locations for the purpose of worship in fulfilling their longing for joy. Not just any kind of worship, but the worship of God, the creator of all things and the redeemer of the souls of repenting men, women, boys, and girls.

Not all places of worship are equal in their object of worship.

Be sure that you gather in places where salvation is in Christ alone, through faith alone. Be sure that the source of this salvation is from the recorded pages of the Holy Bible alone. Any other path, by any other means, by any other source is not a path of eternal joy.

O may you taste the eternal goodness of God this year!

Happy New Year