Devotions 31-12-07 (Eph 4:32)

"And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."

Today is the last day of 2007. Tomorrow will begin a brand new year and I think the above verse is good to end things with and a great way to begin a new year. The context of this verse makes it even more dynamic. Read Eph 4:25-32 to get the real impact of what God is saying.

There are three things I must do and one thing I must never forget. I am to be kind to others and that means to do whatever I can to help them and to encourage them. I am to be tender hearted to others and that means I must think with my heart and not just with my head. I must seek to understand how their heart is feeling and help or encourage them in their emotional condition. Last of all I must forgive others and not hold grudges or be bitter or any number of responses I could have but they will not work.

What I am to remember is that Christ has done all of this for me and I am His child and His servant. I want to honor Him just as he has honored me with such kindness, tender heartedness and most of all forgiveness of all my sin and selfishness. I must review daily all that Christ has done for me so I might be kind and tender hearted to others. The hardest is to be forgiving to others as Christ has forgiven me. Yet, this is the most wonderful part of walking with God is that I carry no grudges or bitterness toward anyone and this gives me freedom that Christ came to give me.

Pray for me as I seek to apply this truth to my life in the days and years ahead.

I want to thank the Lord for His grace and mercy to me this past year and these 7+ years we have been living in Estonia. We return to the USA this coming year and begin a new life again and seek to serve our Lord closer to our family and loved ones the remaining years of our lives. I turn 75 in 2008 and Mary Lou is a few years behind me. God has been so gracious to use us in the lives of some very special Estonians that have become part of our lives like family.