"Hello" and "Thank You" for subscribing to our e-newsletter!
Although I am already tired of shoveling and plowing, and shoveling and plowing, and shoveling and plowing some more, I do have to admit that the snow we have been getting so regularly is absolutely beautiful!
I have been snowshoeing quite a bit with Kay in our "back 20" and the stillness, silence and purity of the woods after a fresh snow is absolutely breathtaking...I am in awe of how God covers the landscape with such pure white, hiding the dirt and debris, the salt spray and road splatter, and all the messes that I failed to get cleaned up this fall!
As I reflect upon such whiteness, I can't help but also reflect upon what Jesus has done with our sin...in 1 John 1:9, I am reminded that we simply need to confess in order to be cleansed, in Psalm 103:12, I see just how far our sins have been removed, and in Isaiah 1:18, I read that our sins have been cleansed by Jesus blood, that we have been washed white as snow.
However, unlike the dirt and debris that is simply covered over by the snow and the messes that will reappear in the spring, God has been so gracious as to completely remove our sin forever... Hebrews 10:17 and Hebrews 10:14 both indicate that our forgiveness is everlasting and eternal, that, in God's eyes, our mess (sin) is gone forever, never to be uncovered or dredged up or revealed again...as far as He is concerned, it is like a daily snowfall covers us over in all seasons; whether spring, summer, fall or winter, we are white as snow!
This New Year, my prayer for you and me is that we celebrate daily the love and mercy that God has lavished upon us, that our relationship with Him becomes our most important relationship, and that we are as devoted to Him as He is to us! I also pray that we will develop a stronger more reverent fear of the Lord, that as we embrace His love and mercy, we also recognize His just right to strike us down for our sin as indicated in Hebrews 9:22,Leviticus 17:11, and Romans 6:23.
Whether you don't yet know the Lord, or you have known Him for a lifetime, may this year be the year that we all fall in love with Jesus afresh!!!
Happy New Year and God Bless,
Mark D. Halla
Steward
