A New Year, Anew Peace

“Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, 
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.  
May the Lord give strength to his people! 
May the Lord bless his people with peace!” 
(Psalm 29:1 &11, NRSV)

There is a fundamental step in normal child development, in particular that of human beings, when we begin to become aware that things in our world come from some kind of origins.  Before that, we simply accept that things are.  For example, it does not matter to the child prior to that point how the adults in the child's life came to possess size, strength, ability, or even presence.  Of course, once the awareness of origin kicks in, we encounter the non-stop questions of where does this come from, where does that come from, etc., etc.

But so often, we slow down or become selective in asking those questions as we get older.  I suppose we either do not necessarily see the importance of knowing some of those origins, or we are satisfied with our assumptions from whom or where something originates.  Problem is that our assumed assumptions can have lots of influence on our perspectives and choices.  For example, assuming the wrong source of strength can have us placing allegiance or commitment in places we may come to regret.  Or doing the same around peace could result in missing the opportunity for peace entirely.

On the other hand, knowing that all real strength comes from the One who loves each of us without question and who came and died that we may all be saved, puts us in the right position to participate in that strength.  As we embark on this brand new year ahead, let us fully embrace the origin of our very strength, direction and being.  For ascribing to our God as the true origin of glory and grace makes our path to experiencing real peace possible.   

May you ascribe to the Lord the foundations of glory and strength, that you may personally know the strength and peace that only God can offer.  

Peace and blessings to you, those you love, those who love you, and every son and daughter of God …  Pastor Bob