A Year in Review

Rev. J. den Hoed, Editor

The year 2010 has come to an end. For each one of us, the Lord has opened the door into a new year. While standing on the threshold of the New Year, looking back at the old year, the words come to us, “kept by the power of God.” It has been the Lord who has spared our lives and brought us thus far. It is the Lord who has kept the truth of His blessed Word amongst us. Throughout the entire year that truth could be proclaimed from every pulpit within our denomination. Although it was always just a handful of seed, the Lord graciously provided it and also gave His servants the ability to sow the seed.

The question now comes to each one of us,“What have I carried in my heart of that sown seed from the old into the New Year? Was that seed blessed to my heart, and may I begin the New Year as a missing, seeking, begging one, that His mercy and grace may be established in my heart?” Has that seed been blessed, so that with David you might cry out, “From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I”?

May the Lord provide in the New Year that we may receive and treasure that same seed. We also pray that that same God will feed His children with hunger and thirst for His blood so freely given, and offer that blood as a hiding place in the storm so that there His holy name may be honored and feared.

Again in the past year we had reasons to be thankful for the Christian education provided to our children. May the Lord give a rich blessing upon that instruction so that it will serve as a solid foundation in their future endeavors.

We should also acknowledge the Lord for the work performed by the editorial staff of our denominational publication, The Banner of Truth. They have labored quietly, selflessly, and prayerfully so that month after month the Banner may be received in our homes. May the Lord provide that same diligence and strength in 2011 so that the work can continue as in the past. There are also many other committees, each with their own mandate; may the Lord’s indispensable blessing rest upon all these endeavors in the coming year.

We have noted in the year 2010, as in many previous years, that empty places have come in our congregations and in our families. The Lord, who knows all grief, graciously comfort the mourning ones, and may those who are mourning and who still continue on life’s pathway take heed to the calling found in God’s Word, “Prepare thy house for thus thou shalt die.”

When we look to the future, there are many reasons for concern. Not the least of these is the continued lack of students in our theological school. May this concern bring us into our inner rooms begging the Lord to remember us as a denomination. May we understand, however, that in the midst of all these concerns, there is one thing which is most essential, namely, that the Lord prepares us to leave this world in peace.

We hope that the mission work, especially in Bolivia, may continue to be felt as a mandate which the Lord has given us, not only by us as congregations but also as individuals. May we realize that in Bolivia, the work continues not in our own strength but only by the grace of God.

Our tomorrows belong to a faithful covenant-keeping God. May the coming days be blessed for many souls upon the way to the never-ending eternity.

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