Saying yes…

As the Christmas season ends and a whole new year is upon us, I am with joy in knowing the fact that I have a savior to help me through.  
This time of year, can be so stressful and busy  through the holidays, and often sad as well. I lost my dad 16 years ago and my husband just lost his dad and it makes for a sad time when your heart is heavy during those times and when you see your other family members hurting. We know that peace is in Christ and he is the one who will get us through and we go on as life goes on. We say yes Lord…. yes, we will keep on keeping on for you, we will keep working for you, pounding the pavement, meeting with people, talking with people, preaching, teaching, helping," yes, Lord we will keep on…" 
    Danny read the scripture in Acts this Sunday about Paul going to Jerusalem, knowing he could be killed, or worse tortured then killed, but he did it anyway… he said "yes, Lord. " 
Then Paul answered, what mean you to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts 21:13
Wow, he knows what he is in for and that is at the minimum, being bound in jail, but he is also ready to die. I often think of the stories you hear of missionaries that have died while doing God's will or doing service for him and often I am humbled as I might be doing missions and yes at times I do feel a little endangered but nothing like foreign dangerous missions and nothing like Paul here in these scriptures.  He knew the consequences of going back to Jerusalem. 
  So why do we make it so hard here living life every day. A majority of us struggle with being in the world but not of the world. Why is it so hard for us to say Yes, Lord? We make it hard, because we try so hard to hold on to every piece of the world we can. We try and justify or prove what we are doing is not too bad, and what is the minimum we can do to still be  accepted by our peers. We hold tight,  and before long that innocent or harmful thing we cling to comes between us and God and our view is clouded. We get busy with life and getting by, little by little we drift away from God.  We compromise, we fail to put God first and our hearts are not pure and we struggle, we get oppressed and or depressed. We strive with our inner man and at times we are defeated. 
    We come to the realization of our failures and cling to his promises and at times we just have to brush the dust off, and stand up and try again to get to the top. 
     Well, I want to challenge you this New Year to say Yes to God !! If you are not his, say yes to his salvation, if you are his, just say yes !! Yes to work, yes to witnessing, yes to living a separated life, yes to stand on his word, to be strong and firm. Just say yes, Lord !!!