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New Year Brings Hope

2011-- A Year of Unprecedented Opportunities-

Did you know that the Chinese symbol for `Crisis’ is a combination of two words- “Danger” and “Opportunity”? I believe God wants to move us forward even in the face of crisis, to seize today’s opportunities without fear.
Jesus said that a sign of the end times would be “men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:26). Our Lord’s prophecy is being fulfilled in our days.

But as followers of Jesus Christ, we enter 2011 with great hope. We rise above all fear because we have some “inside information!” Let these truths from God’s Word assure you today as you face the New Year with its challenges and possibilities.
Throughout 2011, always remember . . .
• God is at work in the world. Paul said God “works all things according to the counsel of His own will” (Ephesians 1:11). He knows the end from the beginning and is fashioning all of history toward a great event – the enthroning of His Son over the entire earth!
“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand and I will do all My pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:9-10).
• God is at work in your life. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). As you cooperate with the Holy Spirit, He will take every experience in 2010 to help conform you into the very image of Christ (Romans 8:29).
• God brought you into the world at just the right time. God has work for you to do in the year ahead. He wants you to shine bright with His glory in a dark world. You’re not an accident – and you’re living at this juncture of history by God’s design. You have “come to the kingdom for such a time as this!” (Esther 4:14).

You can enter this New Year confident in God and confident in your calling and purpose to influence and impact the world for Jesus Christ.
We have been given a window of opportunity to obey God, be about His business and fulfill the Great Commission. You can walk in God’s favor in 2011 – by making His priorities your priorities. And priority number one for our heavenly Father is to see His Son known, loved and followed by people everywhere. (Thanks to Dr. David Shibley for this inspiring word.)

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