Things To Remember!

It was such a blessing to be in the mid-week service at our church on New Year's Day!  My heart was encouraged as we sang together, prayed together, and rejoiced together.  In our Sunday School paper last Sunday, there were a few selected things to remember as we begin this New Year of 2020.  Perhaps you would like to make a list, and refer to it frequently. 

     * That it pays to forget those things that are behind.
     * That what I would do for the Lord must needs be done for others.
     * That a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.
     * That the way to find happiness is to forget self.
     * That there is no lasting happiness in things.
     * That a word once spoken can never be recalled.
     * That no suffering is too great if it contributes to the building and nurture of Christian character.
     * That to correct one fault in myself is greater than to correct ten in my neighbor.
     * That yesterday is gone forever; tomorrow may never come; today only is mine.
     * That time is too precious to be used other than for the glory of God.
     * That to offer a cup of cold water in His name, or to help one discouraged soul, is a greater       
            contribution than to "speak with the tongues of men and of angels."
     * That the glory of life is ------
            To love, not to be loved;
            To give, not to get;
            To serve, not to be served.
     * That nothing short of loving the Lord my God with all my heart, and my neighbor as myself,
             will please Him!

Praise the Lord!  As I begin this New Year of 2020, with its unknown tomorrows stretched out before me, this hymn by William Bathurst is the sincere prayer and desire of my heart --

     "Oh, for a faith that will not shrink, though pressed by every foe,
That will not tremble on the brink of any earthly woe.
      That will not murmur nor complain beneath the chastening rod,
But, in the hour of grief or pain, will lean upon its God.

      A faith that shines more bright and clear when tempests rage without;
That when in danger knows no fear -- in darkness feels no doubt.
      Lord, give us such a faith as this; and then, whatever may come,
We'll taste, even here, the hallowed bliss of an eternal home."  Amen.