“I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.”
– Psalm 3:5

When you’re struggling with the burdens, trials, and tribulations of life, train yourself to remember that as followers of Jesus Christ you aren’t alone and don’t have to endure them by your own strength. For those who’ve put their faith in Jesus, He is with us every moment of every day and faithfully gives us the grace we need to glorify Him each day when we ask.

Ask for His strength to carry on in prayer. “Give us this day our daily bread.” Through Christ, God will strengthen and sustain you, providing what you need to get through another day for His glory. We must celebrate that while trials and suffering may last for what feels like a long time from a human perspective, God sustains us even through the simple things we often take for granted, like sleeping and waking. There is great beauty, peace, and power when we begin to see and celebrate God’s sustaining presence in these “little things”.

“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.”
– Psalm 2:8

At the very beginning of the Psalms we encounter Psalm 2 which is quoted often in the New Testament. We know this psalm points us to Jesus the Christ, the anointed one of God, the Messiah. Verse 8 reminds us that unlike an earthly king who rules a particular land, Jesus is king over every part of the earth – every nation, every territory, every island.

After His resurrection, Jesus declared that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him. He is king over the deepest jungle, driest desert, biggest city, and remotest island. However, in far too many of those places, the people don’t yet know their king. Billions of people have never even had the chance to hear about their king!

That’s why Jesus created and commissioned the church to go and make disciples, to tell people everywhere about King Jesus. We call this the Great Commission. We must be praying for those who haven’t yet had the chance to accept Him as Lord, Savior, and King. We must be supporting those who go to them with prayer, encouragement, and sacrificial financial support.

We must also realize that the call isn’t simply to outsource the Great Commission to the pros. We too must go: with those who are able going and those who aren’t able sending (which entails great responsibility and commitment). Each church and each Christian must boldly seek God’s Great Commission calling. If you don’t already know your part in the Great Commission, begin seeking God’s will today!

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” – Genesis 1:26

As we begin a new year and new decade, there are an enormous number of important truths in this single verse!

First, we see God speak to Himself in the plural (“let us…in our image…”). We see here a glimpse of the glorious and eternal relationship that has always existed within the Trinity. Our God is three (Father, Son, Spirit), yet indivisibly one. This is hard to understand, but if we take seriously the words of Scripture and the teachings of Jesus, this conclusion is unavoidable. For those who deny the Trinity that is a refusal to carefully read Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Already in verse 2 we saw the Spirit of God at work in creation as distinct from the spoken creation power of the Father. Let this be an encouragement to get to know God more richly and deeply in 2020!

Second, we are assured that man is made in the image of God. We aren’t the result of a series of random accidents. Your life has meaning, value, and purpose. Indeed, all mankind – men and women of every race, nationality, social class, and background carry the image of God. Every person we interact with, read about, or are tempted to condemn or write off is an image-bearer of God. We must take this truth seriously! We must diligently seek to restore all people to relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We must never simply write off, condemn, or dismiss people as worthless or hopeless. As image-bearers, every human being from those unborn in the womb, to those living in the farthest corners of the earth, to those lying nearest to death have purpose, significance, value, and are worthy of respect and love. Love all God’s image-bearers (including yourself) better in 2020!

Third, we were made to rule over all of creation as stewards on behalf of God. We have absolute authority to manage the earth and all creatures within for God’s purpose and glory. That means we have responsibility to care well for the earth. We must be good stewards of what we rule. But it also means that we must not place the creation above God or the good of humanity. Good stewardship does not look like abuse of our power over nature nor does it look like servitude to nature. Rule over the earth wisely and well in 2020!