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“If you wish with your whole heart to return to the Lord, put away your foreign gods and your Asharoth, devote yourselves to the Lord and worship him alone.” 1 Samuel 7:3

The Christmas decorations are put away (or will be soon, in my case). The guests have all gone home and we are back to our regular work-a-day lives. Before we say we are really ready to take on 2015, perhaps we need to take a look inward and assess what clutter might be lurking in our hearts. What idols have we allowed to take up residence there, clouding our judgement and sapping energy and other resources? Is pride placing too much value on the thoughts of man? Is envy pushing wants to the realm of need? What about shame? Is she still hanging around?

As we are cleaning house, decluttering and organizing through this winter season, perhaps the best place to focus our efforts is inward. We want to love the Lord and trust His provision; we want to hear His voice and find the courage to follow His way. And we can…once we put away all the mess of things that distract us from His truth.

Jesus warned us about idolatry, envy, jealousy, hatred, rage and other sins (Galatians 5:19-20). They get in the way of our relationship with Him. The Lord wants our undivided attention and He provided these examples of what we can expect to see happening in our lives when we are not with him.

He also made it clear what we can expect to see and feel when we are walking with the Lord.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23

If you think about it, the fruits of the Spirit are the foundation of virtually every New Year’s resolution ever made. Self-control…yea, that’s a big one. Faithfulness? Who doesn’t want to trust the Lord more and be brave this year?

I do.

So I’m going to start there. I’m going to clear the clutter from my heart and just love the Lord. I’m going to worship Him more; meditate on His word and seek His help to grow in faith and trust and hope…in Him. I hope you’ll join me.

Here’s wishing you peace, joy and love in 2015.

About the art: Jose Marcus is a visual artist out of the Netherlands. Jose believes that nature, faith and love belong together. The love between God and people is an inspiring power which is mirrored in the classic symbol of love : the heart. The piece featured on this blog is titled, “Give me a Clean Heart.” To learn more about Jose Marcus, visit http://www.josemarcus.nl/

As we begin a new year…

“May God bless us still; that the ends of the earth may revere our God.”

                                                                                              Psalm 67:8

I Pray

I pray for peace.

I pray for love — of God; of grace; of you.

I pray for hope. Hope in peace. Hope in love. Hope in You.

I pray for grace; to be grace-full; to love; to share.

To know God.

I pray for you. For your peace. For your love. For your grace.

I pray for us.

For our hearts’ healing.

For our dark fleeing.

For His light dawning.

In you. In me.

I pray for faith. And trust. And courage.

And they come.

                                                 Joan Fithian Quintana, 2015

Typically when we hear these words from 1 Corinthians 13 quoted, we’re at a wedding. But let’s be honest, we could all probably use a little reminder to be patient and kind during the holidays, and not just to strangers. In fact, in America we are often nicer to acquaintances and strangers than we are to the people we love the most.

So, here on day 3 in our countdown to Christmas, let’s determine to make an effort to be loving to those we love the most. Today, as we lean into the Lord and ask Him to help us share His love with others let’s focus not just on strangers but on the people close to us – our extended family.

To be sure, this can be a challenge. An abundance of family together in one place can be stressful even if it is a joy. It’s easy to step on toes, hurt feelings, and bring old baggage to the party. But we don’t actually have to do that. We could, instead, leave the old baggage behind this time and enter into this family time with a heart ready to love with patience and kindness.

Whether you’re traveling to see family or hosting them in your home; or even if you’re gathering with friends, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 offers a great reminder of how to love those who love us. To make it easier to study, I’ve broken the verse out as a list. Use it as a review before the crowd arrives and ask God to help you with the ones that make you especially uneasy. I know I will!

“Love is patient,

love is kind and is not jealous;

love does not brag and is not arrogant,

does not act unbecomingly;

it does not seek its own,

is not provoked,

does not take into account a wrong suffered,

does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

We’re almost there! Get ready for Joy…and may peace be with you, always!