Title: Trust God for the way ahead

Date: 05 January 2014

Passage: {bible 47}Galatians 5:16-26; Proverbs 3:5-8{/bible}

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The responsive "resolution" that Bruce used in his sermon (the text is below) was based on a quote by Max Lucado:

 

No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I CHOOSE LOVE

I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical, the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, just like me, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE JOY

I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PEACE

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS

I will go without payment before I take dishonest money. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS

Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My family will not question my love. And children will never fear that I will not be there to protect them.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS

Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS

I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot to rule what will live forever - the temporal to rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ.

I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. To these I commit this year, this day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek God’s grace. And then, when each day of this year is over, I will place my head on my pillow and rest... and look forward to another day...

TO TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL MY HEART