Matthew Botelho

“Yes, He loves the people; All His saints are in Your hand; They sit down at Your feet; Everyone receives Your words.” –Deuteronomy 33:3.

Happy 2024, my dear friends. We all look forward to a fresh start, a clean slate for the coming year. Some might even say, “Thank You, God, this year is over!” I am sure there are many reading this with that mindset. However, may I suggest that we reflect on the accomplishments  God led you into in 2023? Remember always to thank God for those victories and to reflect on the lessons they taught us. Maybe these lessons help you in 2024.

One thing is sure: trials build us up in our faith and bring into focus how much we need to rely on God in all parts of our lives.

I am reminded of the Apostle Peter and what he wrote:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” –1 Peter 1:3-5.  

In this Scripture, first and foremost, Peter remembers God, the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Then, Peter points us to Jesus, who offers us His abundant mercy and Living hope.

My dear friends, if you have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, you have this incorruptible inheritance. The incorruptible seed of salvation has been placed in you, making you a coheir with Christ, a child of the Most High God. Your inheritance cannot fade away because the Blood of Christ Jesus has sealed you as His own; God’s mercy is over you. Again, Peter focuses first on the Kingdom of God in this Scripture. He is reminding us that God must be first in our lives. Then, without having a relationship with His Son, we should expect no inheritance from God; only children receive a parent’s inheritance.

Peter continues this thought in the following verses: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials; that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found in praise honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” –1 Peter 1:6-7.

Peter is saying we will go through some stuff, maybe like some of the same stuff that made you glad that 2023 is over. But, he’s also telling us that as we go through these trials, we are to rejoice, knowing that our salvation is being worked out in fear and trembling, in awe and wonder of God’s goodness, kindness and mercy towards us.

Friends, as I stated before, if you are God’s child, God’s mercy is on you!

As Peter reminds us, we, as His children, can cast our cares and worries onto Him, who is greater than all of our problems. “casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” –1 Peter 5:7.

But how do we do it, you may ask? I am glad you asked that question. The answer is found in verse seven, where Peter says. “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Our worshipping Jesus is the key to our being overcomers, dear friends.

Accepting trials with thanksgiving because we trust God is at work in us, our situations, and our lives. Seeking God first during the trials. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus reminds us, “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

When we honor God and praise Him with all our heart, Holy Spirit will, as with gold, refine and strengthen our faith; when gold is smelted, impurities are purged, but only when the gold is put into extreme heat. Only then can its impurities be removed by the smelter.

Your faith, as it gets burning hot for Jesus, will grow and become pure if you allow it to stay in the fire.

Do not let that fire burn out, my friends. In Philippians 1:6, the Apostle Paul writes, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” God’s Holy Spirit removes our dross, those things that only hinder our faith, so allow Him to rid you of every impurity still clinging to you from 2023; you no longer need it. 

Keep It Simple, Saints.

Love God and surrender fully to Him. Trust Jesus, sit at His feet, and receive from Him. Let Him who began a good work in you do what only He can as you offer more and more of yourself to Him in worship. “He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” –1 Corinthians 1:6.

If you are reading this for the first time and feel a tug on your heart, please know it is the Lord Jesus knocking. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him. And he with Me,” I pray you will receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior today. I pray you will repent of your sins and ask Jesus to come into your life. Today is the day of salvation! Do not let this moment go by. Receiving the Lord’s salvation will be the most incredible way to start your New Year. Amen