Happy New Year! Are you a resolution maker? I’m not really, although I do reflect on the past year and try to recognize areas in which I could improve. Would you laugh if I said I need to improve my face? No, not with plastic surgery. You see, my face betrays me. A lot. Whatever I’m thinking shows all over my face. And sometimes I’m not thinking about what’s going on around me—I’m somewhere else in my head—but people think my facial expression is connected to what they just said or did. And that’s when my face gets me in a lot of trouble. Words can get us in a lot of trouble, too. Whether spoken aloud or written in an email or social media post, once they’ve been shared, they can’t be taken back. A person who can control what he says shows maturity, and that person will most likely not walk in directions they shouldn’t. It’s not easy to rein in our human emotions, but it’s possible, and when we do it, we show the Spirit’s power within us. Spiritual maturity…a worthy goal.
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As we’ve noted on previous days, Nehemiah became aware of the broken down state of Jerusalem and the despair of its inhabitants, and his heart was moved—he cared. His grief over the city and the Jewish people drove him to his knees. He pleaded with the great and terrible (awe-inspiring)…
Hymn day: “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior”
HYMN DAY! “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior” by Fanny J. Crosby is so tender and humble. Crosby wrote so many wonderful, deeply emotive and applicable hymns. “Whom have I on earth beside Thee?” He is our All in All. Pass me not, O gentle Savior, Hear my humble cry;…

