Skip to main content
Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT
Imitate God, 
therefore, 
in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. 
He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT
As a new year kicks in some people like to hold a word for the year, some commit to making changes (resolutions), some go to a favourite verse or Bible passage that has been meaningful, some to writers and thinkers to inspire or encourage us e.g. this one from Rainer Maria Rilke;
"And now we welcome the new year. 
Full of things that have never been."
If nothing has leapt out at you in the first few days of 2025, then perhaps these words from Paul will be helpful:
Imitate God in everything you do.
And why?
Because we are His dear children.
We are Beloved.
We Belong.
We are Accepted.
We are Enough.
What does imitating God look like in 2025?
Love.
Loving others. 
Loving others because we are Loved, Accepted, Enough. 
We already are. 
From that firm foundation we can step into 2025 one day at a time, knowing it is full of things that have never been, knowing we are held as dear children, and there is nothing that can separate us from that.
Nothing.
#2025
#youareBeloved 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,  for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16 NLT OK so this is an English translation of a letter Paul wrote to a church 2,000 years ago, but does it feel like Paul is wrestling with words and ideas to try and capture all of who Jesus is, of who God is, of how does it work that the walking around Jesus was also there before the beginning of the beginning of everything we can see and touch and know. Not only that but Jesus was somehow the agent of everything that has been made in the physical, social, and spiritual.  Jesus is at the centre of it all.  Walking around Jesus. Cooking fish for breakfast Jesus. Heart aching as he ...
Post a Comment
Read more
Now rescue your beloved people. Answer and save us by your power. ... Who will bring me into the fortified city?  Who will bring me victory over Edom? Have you rejected us, O God?  Will you no longer march with our armies?Oh, please help us against our enemies,  for all human help is useless. With God's help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes. Psalm 108 6, 10-13 NLT After the most beautiful and uplifting worshipful first half to this song, David takes us somewhere completely different in the second half.  It's all about victory, power, winning, it's all about him. The "mighty things" he wants God to do are all on the outside, all about power, and David's writing sounds like he's a bit lost in his quest to win. And I do the same thing. Praise God and ask him to fix my problems. Fix the classroom/online/workplace bully, fix my finances, fix my relationships, fix my problems. So as I sit with this psalm of 2 halves, its a bit of a mir...
Post a Comment
Read more
1 Timothy 4:11-13 NLT Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young.  Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. Until I get there,  focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them. 1 Timothy 4:11-13 NLT Sometimes we make the way of faith seem so complicated, and here Paul is laying out for Timothy how to go about being a pastor, leading a church, walking with people... 1. Stay close to the Bible. Teach from it. 2. Your teaching should be encouraging. 3. Live it out. Your life, your day-to-day is an example of what you teach.  Faith Love Purity.  As Paul invites Timothy into this way of being in his community, so this letter is inviting us into a way of being in 2025. Perhaps it's investing time in God's word. Perhaps it's being encouraging. Perhaps it's living out our day-to-day ordinary ...
Post a Comment
Read more