Pastor David’s Devotional

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Happy New Year! What do you hope the New Year will bring? The New Year is a wonderful time to take a few minutes to think about our lives, where we have been and where we are going, and to set in place some new practices that we want to take root and grow into new ways of prioritizing our time.

Many people make commitments this time of year to do “better” than last year; for some, changes might include a new diet or exercise program while for others it might include working less or investing more in relationships. As we think about our physical health and relationships, we are doing the important work of evaluating our priorities.

While these kinds of priorities are important to a happy and healthy life, it is important for Christians to understand personal priorities as a part of what it means for us to be living a God centered life. In other words, when God is first in our lives, everything else takes its proper place. John Wesley (the founder of the Methodist Church) wrote a prayer that I find especially helpful and meaningful as I think about 2021, my priorities and what I hope to accomplish. As you think about 2021, your priorities and what you hope to accomplish, I invite you to join with me in praying this prayer:

I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

God bless you, and stay well.

Pastor Dave