Monday the 3rd

Happy New Year!! Here is a story I shared yesterday. It is one that is fitting for the New Year. While we are all out making resolutions, remember to make one for your soul.

 

 

There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives.  He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies.  He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much.  He's very proud of her and always wanted to show off her to his friends.  However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other men.

He loved his 2nd wife, too.  She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant's confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times.

Now, the merchant's 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon.  He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be!" Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word. The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant's heart.

The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is so good over here!  I'm going to remarry when you die!"

The merchant's heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I always turned to you for help and you've always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave."

The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated.

Then a voice called out : "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go.

"The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I could have!"
 

We all have 4 wives in our lives. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.

The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we're alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material wealth and sensual pleasure. It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it's a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than wait until we're on our death bed to lament.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Monday the 27th

Psalm 118: ¹³ I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. ¹⁴ The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.

 

 

It has been a tough year for most. Even those who have what many consider to be an “easy” life have had many pitfalls, close calls, times of struggle this year. As David writes, I so feel as this year draws to a close….I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord Helped me. I have stumbled, I have tripped, stubbed my toe, and maybe even knocked to my knees a time or two this year, but I have not fell. The Lord has helped me. Time and time again I have called on the Lord, and He has answered. As this year comes to an end most find themselves looking towards the future, the bright new year awaits on the horizon, full of promise, full of hope, full of expectation; but before we cross that threshold, before we cross into the new year, let us take time to recount the year that has passed. Let us give thanks to God for being our strength, and our defense. I find it no surprise that we celebrate the birth of Christ a week before we start a new year. By Giving the world His Son, God once again answered the call of His people. A world that was on the brink, was pulled back form the edge with the birth of the Christ Child. He gave Strength to the weak, defense to the helpless, and salvation to a world that was heading to death. Let us thank God for all of the joy, all of the triumphs, all of the edge walking, gorge jumping, cliff hanging days that we have survived with Him by our side…..but let us too give thanks for the defeats, the pain, the dark days, and the storms of life that have tossed us around this past year. For the defeat is only temporary, so that God can prepare us for the next season, the pain only serves to make the joy of the Lord deeper, and sweeter than anything we might experience, the dark days, and the storms serve to remind us that with the Lord the darkest night is still full of shadow less light, and the most sever storms are calmed with a simple word from the Lord. Yes we have all been close to falling in this past year, as we remember those times let us also remember that the Lord is always there to help. Let us resolve to make this coming year a year where we walk more closely with the Lord, where we depend on Him more, and ourselves less. Let us place all of our fears, our apprehensions, our doubt, and our hate at the cross of Christ. Let next year be the first year that you allow yourself to live fearless. Trusting in the Lord to help you with His strength, defend you with His power, and save you with His grace. Happy New year to all let’s make it one to remember!

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Merry Christmas

Luke: ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Today we remember that Christ was born as a human into this world. He did not come into this world with trumpets blaring. He was not born into a royal family, nor was his birth shouted from the rooftops by the masses. No, Christ came into this world just like most of us, with little fanfare, with little worldly glory, and very little acknowledgement. His family, some of the common town folk, and a few men who traveled great distance. If anything our savior had less that what we had at our birth. Some rags, a hay manger, and a drafty barn. Christ came into this world with very little, but He came with everything He needed. He came with His Fathers love, His peace, His blessing, and His grace. What more could one ask for? We come into this world just the same. We have all of the that available to us, plus we have Christ our brother, and the Holy Spirit. In many houses, under many trees there will be many gifts. Do not let this day slip by without sharing the story of the one gift that rises above all others. Gather your family, your friends, and your neighbors. Read and share the story of the Christ child. The child that was born to lowly beginnings, but rose to defeat even death itself, so that all might have eternal life. Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you, and your families. May the wonder of this joyous day fill your hearts with joy, and fill your mouths with words of kindness, love, forgiveness, and peace. Rejoice, for Christ is born!

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Merry Christmas

Luke: ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Today we remember that Christ was born as a human into this world. He did not come into this world with trumpets blaring. He was not born into a royal family, nor was his birth shouted from the rooftops by the masses. No, Christ came into this world just like most of us, with little fanfare, with little worldly glory, and very little acknowledgement. His family, some of the common town folk, and a few men who traveled great distance. If anything our savior had less that what we had at our birth. Some rags, a hay manger, and a drafty barn. Christ came into this world with very little, but He came with everything He needed. He came with His Fathers love, His peace, His blessing, and His grace. What more could one ask for? We come into this world just the same. We have all of the that available to us, plus we have Christ our brother, and the Holy Spirit. In many houses, under many trees there will be many gifts. Do not let this day slip by without sharing the story of the one gift that rises above all others. Gather your family, your friends, and your neighbors. Read and share the story of the Christ child. The child that was born to lowly beginnings, but rose to defeat even death itself, so that all might have eternal life. Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you, and your families. May the wonder of this joyous day fill your hearts with joy, and fill your mouths with words of kindness, love, forgiveness, and peace. Rejoice, for Christ is born!

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

wed the 22nd

Psalms 37: ⁷ Be still before the LORD  and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

 

Be still before the Lord, wait for Him…..boy that is a tough one. I do not like waiting on my wife, my daughters, my co-workers, red lights, traffic, matter of fact I can’t think of many things I do like to wait on. But wait we must! It was 500 years from the time the last Old Testament book was written until the coming of Christ. That is some patient waiting! 500 years, of greed ruling the day, wicked schemes running at full speed…..500 years waiting on the Lord…..and the wait was well worth it! Christ came into the world, the people had waited and waited, and God changed not just each individual life but the entire world. I think of the magi when they got to the meager stable. I can hear them now “Finally!!, we have waited for the savior, and here He is.” “all of the evil in the world, all of the wrongs, all of the wickedness has been leading to this very moment” We too have to wait, we too have seen many wicked schemes carried out, many successful people lifted high because of their deceitfulness. We are reminded here to be still before the Lord, or as the KJV reads “rest in the Lord” The worldly might get their riches now, however those riches will fade, and rot, just as their lives will fade and end in death. We live in the devil’s playground, not the land of the Lord. Wait patiently for the Lord, this life is simply the precursor, the beginning, the prelude to a life of eternal peace, and love. We do not have to wait 500 years for the Lord to intervene in our lives, He does that daily. We do not have to wait 500 years for Christ to give us the protection, and the direction we need, we only have to wait the length of time to pray. The Savior is among us, giving more than we deserve, and more than we can return. Now we only have to wait for His light to cast away the shadows, and we only have to wait one lifetime to enter His eternal rest. Rely on the Lord. The world waited 500 years between the last promise, and the promise becoming a reality, I believe we can each muster the patience of one lifetime. Live a patient life with the Lord in your heart today, and prepare to spend eternity beyond contentment.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Tuesday the 21st

Matthew 6: ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

 

I want o really just look at the first part of this scripture, Christ is saying do not worry about your life. Did you know that Christ is recorded talking more about not worrying, being courageous, and letting go of fear, than He does about loving our neighbor. We know that Love is the most important law. Love for God, and love for each other. Yet Christ spend more time talking about letting go of fear. Stress, anxiety, worry….call it what you want, it is all fear. Christ knew it would be, and honestly, still is, a hurdle for most, and a brick wall for the rest. Fear is something that we all must deal with. Christ gave us the answer….He actually gives the answer several times. He tells us the key is to set aside fear, and replace it with faith. Faith in Him, and faith in His Father, fear of nothing. Living fearlessly, what a concept. That is not to say that we will no longer feel that pang of fear, that knot of worry, or that ball of anxiety that shows up in moments of distress, however what we do with it after the acknowledgement will make all the difference. The feeling of fear strikes us all, however those who replace it with faith carry on forward, confident of the fact that God will be there to take care of us. For those that hold on to that fear, well…..they become paralyzed by it. Fear will cripple you if you let it. It can bring the strongest man down, and stop even the most driven person. Fear is the devils best weapon. What starts off as just a simple little fear of the unknown, can quickly turn into fear of the impossible, fear that God will not do it, so you have to do it yourself, fear that you will never achieve, never pass, never obtain, never live, never rise, never……how much more can we add to that list? It is quiet endless if you think about it, and with each new entry, the heart beats a little faster, the palms get a little sweatier, the pupils dilate. Life can go from looking pretty good, to pretty hopeless in a short amount of time, and the next thing you know that confident child of God, is now cowering in the corner, so sure that they have been abandoned. There is no room for fear in the lives of the God’s children. There is no need for fear with Christ as your brother. Does that mean that our paths will be lined with roses, and the sky’s will always be blue? No, I wish I could say that was the case but we all know it is not. There will be storms, they will come out of know where and toss us around like a cork on the water, we are just like the disciples in the boat with Christ we will call on Christ, and I can hear Him already, “you of little faith, why do you doubt?” With that He will calm the storm, just like He has for all of those who will call on Him, and have faith in Him. So I ask each of you why do you doubt? Christ has told us time and time again, do not worry, take heart, fear not,  be courageous….He is with us, replace the fear with faith. 

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com

 

Thursday the 16th

Matthew 18:  ²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”  ²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

 

What a friend we have in Jesus…it is an older hymn that most everyone knows or at least recognizes. Many country artists will drop it into their song somewhere…”Jesus is my friend”. We tell each other that Jesus is our friend, and many people will use that phrase when recounting their testimony. We like that term, we love the implication, we know that with a friend like Jesus we have nothing to fear. Yet, as with any phrase, we have used it so often, that I fear the power of that phrase might be lost on some. This scripture gives us insight into what type of friend Jesus is. You see when we think of a friend , we often think of the type if friend we are as well. We tend to become friends of convenience. We are friends when the circumstances work for both parties. We become friends that while we might be friends, there might come a time when we cannot be friends any longer. As my father used to say about most friends “they are friends through thick, and thin….but when it gets thick, they thin out.” As a result many people, because of phrases like this,  think of Jesus as just their friend, not their friend and Savior. The difference is that Christ is a friend that a friend would like to have. Jesus is there for you all of the time, not just when it suits Him……or maybe it is when it suits Him, He just loves us so much that all the time is the time that suits Him! You know what the best part of Christ’s friendship is? It is His forgiveness. You see while most friends will put up with you for a while, you slip up one time to many and you are out. Jesus on the other hand knows you better than you know yourself, He was there when you were created, HE was there before you were created. He knows that you are going to stumble and fall…..many times….and over the same rock! While the world might leave behind those who repeat the same mistakes, Christ knows that you will eventually succeed, and He does not mind waiting, helping, and encouraging you to get that foot a little higher on the next pass. With each stumble, Christ simply stands by your side, giving you a shoulder to lean on, and the words of encouragement, you can hear Him whisper “it’s ok, next time, you got it!” He does not damn you for your transgression, He forgives it, and readies you for the next run. Jesus is a friend to each on of us, but do not make the mistake of humanizing Him to the point of thinking He is anything like your best human friend. e He is well above that! He forgives, not until He is tired of you failing, but until you are successful. He loves not until you fall one to many times, but for an eternal lifetime. He is with you through thick and thin, and when it gets thick, He gets thicker into your life. The tricky part of this relationship is two fold first, you have to let Him be that friend, and second, you have to work to be as good a friend to Him.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com