Start Fresh

January 17

I am the LORD; that is my name!

I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.
See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being I announce them to you.

Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise from the ends of the earth...

Isaiah 42:8-10

God will use every experience of your past

to position you for the fulfillment of your purpose in the future."

Tom Paterson

January 17

Age, ailments and a whole lot less income have caused us to change the appearance of ministry here at Shiloh. Docksiders was an exhilarating ministry we had for teens and college students. Sixty to eighty young people would pour in here on Thursday afternoons for water activities, DINNER, a concert, a time of testimony and prayer. Do we still work with young people? Absolutely...it is just seen in a different frame.

Just as athletes age and become coaches, encouragers of a younger breed, or expert fans, often our ministries take on a different appearance. God is always calling us to trust HIM and START FRESH. While Billy Graham's message is the same PURE simple "gospel call" he is no longer the one traveling to crusades and on stage. His role still can pack a punch for heaven from a rocking chair and the ministry is most likely magnified through the extended time he has for prayer. Ministry has not lost its potency for him, it is just projected from a different position.

Life is a series of continuous fresh starts!

Whether you are in full time ministry, mommying, memorizing studies in school, money making mode, or you are somewhere in between right now, the landscape will change. Those you are ministering to may move on and new faces will or appear or the steadfast ones will be transformed and have new needs. The children will grow and eventually leave, if you are a student, hopefully you will graduate and for the money makers the job will end or change. Starting Fresh will be necessary in some form. It happens everyday in the kitchen and the laundry room!

So let's sing to the Lord a new song as we experience the changes in life and be excited like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon!

“I never lay my head on the pillow without thinking that perhaps before I awake the final morning may have dawned. I never begin work without thinking that He may interrupt it to begin His own.” G. Campbell Morgan

Pray:

We shout for joy to You, Lord. We worship You with gladness and come before You with joyful songs, recognizing it is You who made us and we are yours. Life is full of ups and downs, trials and triumphs, tragedy and majesty. You, Father, are steadfast and forever. Your faithfulness continues through all generations although the backdrop of life takes on different forms. Fresh starts require us to come to You daily Lord, to be on the alert, and to seek guidance. Hallelujah! Starting fresh keeps us close to You. That's where we want to be. In Jesus' Name, Amen