Dear Friends,
A very happy new year to each and every one of you! We trust that this will be the best year of the rest of your lives!
What is your expectation this year? We always seem to make new year's resolutions and sure as anything, before the first month is over we have broken most of them. Why I ask that question is because we expect many things from those nearest and dearest to us and in actual fact that is very unfair because nobody can be expected to fulfil these expectations. We put such great expectations on them that they are bound to fail.
My dear friend, the only person we should put our hope and expectations upon is the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. He is the one who has promised us that he will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). One of my favourite scriptures is Psalm 62:5 which says, 'My soul wait thou only upon God for my expectation comes from Him alone'.
Over the festive season we all have great expectations of family gatherings and getting together and I know in the secular world that nine times out of ten they never come to fruition because somebody lets the show down, as it were, in one area or another.
As we start this new year let us not put undue pressure on our families to achieve impossible goals, but rather put our hopes and desires in the right places. Let us start becoming men and women of prayer. Pray for your loved ones rather than burdening them with unreal goals which end up in failure and bad relationships. Think the best of one another, speak a word of faith in season. Encouragement is something that is so badly needed in these turbulent times in which we are living, especially amongst young people. Tell them that they can do it, by the grace of God, but if they don't make it there is no condemnation at all and you still love and appreciate them for who they are. Husbands, don't give your wives targets that are not humanly possible to achieve, love them for who they are and you will be surprised how they will come to the fore. Wives, don't put unnecessary pressure on your husbands to produce and don't look over the fence and compare your lifestyle with 'the Jones's' because half of that is not true anyway. We are very good at putting up facades and we need to be content with who we are and with what we have got. The easiest way to do that is to get back to God, look to Him alone for your source of inspiration and comfort and for your future.
Look at 2012 with a positive outlook. Our destiny is not determined by what we do or don't do. It is not determined by the current flavour of the month when it comes to politics or even the economic market. It is solely and purely in the hands of the living God. He alone gives us the very breath that we breathe. Let us be thankful and let us live each day at a time, putting our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, then all of a sudden we will find that this life is so exciting, so rewarding and there will be no pressure from us towards our loved ones and visa-versa.
Lastly, dont look back! We thank God that we don't have to look back because it is gone, it is finished, it will never have to be lived again. All our failures and all our successes are in God's hands. Look forward, travel lightly and be available for whatever God calls you to and He will do the rest. Remember that if God is for us, who can be against us, Rom.8:31. He will be our expectation and He will not fail us, which is wonderful news!
God bless you as you start your new year with plenty of excitement and I am sure quite a bit of trepidation, not knowing what the future holds, but one thing we do know, we know who holds the future. His name is Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world!
God bless you richly,Angus & Jill and the Shalom team
Hebrews 13:6, So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
NEWSFLASH!! 'Family Time with Angus' will be broadcast on ETV (Channel 134) every weekday morning at 5.55am just before the 6am news starting on Monday 16 January
PLEASE PRAY FOR US - this is a HUGE FAITH VENTURE that we are undertaking! We will have the privilege of speaking to the whole nation and surrounding countries. Thank you!
Grassroots TV broadcasts:
Saturdays 7.00 am TBN (Channel 341) & GOD TV globallySundays 8.00 am ETV (Channel 134)
Sundays 11.00 am Rhema(Channel 343)
Tuesdays 6.30 pm CTV
Telephones: We regret that the Shalom Ministries telephone numbers are out of order until further notice due to cable theft. Please communicate with us via email
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. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
