"...For you have not passed this way before." Joshua 3:4

We do not know what the days of 2006 hold for each of us, but we know that
God knows! Whether the days be sunny or shadowed, that assurance alone
gives peace to our hearts for we know His divine presence is always with us!

Scripture gives us that very assurance as we see in the following verses:
"And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will
bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what
I have promised you." Genesis 28:15

"And He said, 'My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest."
Exodus 33:14

"And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will
not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8

"Do not fear for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

Did you catch God's 'I WILLS'?
'I am with you'; 'My presence shall go with you'; 'I will keep you
wherever you go'; 'I will not leave you'; 'I will give you rest'; 'He will
not fail you or forsake you'; 'I will strengthen you'; 'I will help you'; 'I
will uphold you'. These only a few of His I wills. There are a great many
in the Scriptures and I would challenge each to search them out to see
what God is telling us.

Being assured by the I wills of God, let us look forward to each day with
the great anticipation of enlarging and deepening our personal relationship
with Christ; of getting to know Him more intimately.

One of last week's verses was Philippians 3:12 and we add verses 13-14,
"...I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was
laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having
laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and
reaching forward to what lies a head, I press on toward the goal for the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Making 'pressing on' the desire of our hearts is the natural thing for the
follower of Christ. In our pressing on we see in Hebrews 12:1 that we are
to,
"...Lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us,
let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,"

This being so, should we not examine our own hearts to see if there are any
encumbrances that hinder our pressing on the upward way? He who is faithful
will show us as we yield to the Holy Spirit to reveal any hindrances and as
we keep,
"fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith..."  Hebrews
12:2

No matter what the days ahead may bring, God's promises will never fail.
May His abundant grace fill you hearts with joy and may we never cease to
give Him the honor and glory that are rightfully His. Amen