This new year, like every other year, will have its share of opportunities, trials, temptations, and challenges. How we respond to them is up to us. An article I read recently contained the following list of responses...
Joy or bitterness.
Forgiveness or anger.
Trust or unbelief.
Faith or fear.
Love or hatred.
Kindness or malice.
Temperance or self-indulgence.
Gentleness or stubbornness.
Mercy or revenge.
Peace or worry.
Hope or despair.
Colossians 1:9-14 (NLT) So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
