Whew! 2021 is just around the corner.
For most of us, the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 is welcoming news.
2020 certainly has had more than its share of life-disrupting, nerve-wracking challenges. “Normal” life was turned topsy-turvy, upside down and inside out. No one would disagree with that assessment.
I am sure you are thinking, wondering, pondering and praying about 2021. Of course, none of us know what the next year will be like. But I do know this: God knows. He really does. He knows about each and every day that you and I live. Psalm 139:16 says so. “Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” Your and my days have been pre-ordained by our Maker. This is good news in an increasingly bad news world.  
So how should you and I approach the upcoming New Year?
I asked myself that question and wrote down some random thoughts for 2021 that will help me, and hopefully you, navigate the new year successfully.

• Leave 2020 in 2020. I will leave yesterday in the rearview mirror and look forward with faith out the windshield of God’s good, acceptable and perfect will for me in 2021. Forward looking beats looking backwards every time. (Romans 12:1-2)
• Smile at the future. I will smile, not frown or be fearful about the future. The future is forward. God is there. Forward by faith in the Lord is the right kind of going forward. (Proverbs 31:25) 
• Trust God for everything. No matter what direction other people, our nation and the world take, I will keep my faith focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. I will trust Him with all my heart at all times. (Proverbs 3:5-6)                                                            
• Live one day at a time. I will rejoice in each day as a gift from the good, gracious hand of my loving Heavenly Father. I choose to make the most of every day for God’s glory and the good of the people I love. Day by day is the way to enjoy each day. (Psalm 118:24)
• Expect God’s best. I will reject the worst and receive God’s absolute best for me, my loved ones, friends and fellow Christians. Expecting the best from the Lord is the way to live a life of peace, joy and victory every day. No matter what challenges come my way, I will keep my expecter expecting God’s best! (Psalm 62:5-8)
• Guard my peace. With God’s help, I will walk by faith in His peace. I will not be distracted, disturbed, dismayed, disheartened, discouraged or depressed by the world’s negative noise. I will tune out all that attempts to steal my peace in Christ. (Philippians 46-9)
• Love and serve others in Jesus’ Name.  I will make it a personal priority to focus on others more than myself.  Life is not about me. It is about Christ in and through me to touch the lives of others with His love. I will serve, not seek to be served. (Galatians 5:13)
• Stand in the gap through prayer. I will devote time and effort to pray for my family and friends, people who need the Lord, the body of Christ, America and our world. I will believe God for revival to come to our hearts in life changing ways. (Ezekiel 22:30)
• Strive to be more Christlike. I will commit myself to continue to grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ. His likeness is my aspiration and goal. I long for people to see Christ in me. (Romans 8:29)
• Witness for Christ. I will do my best to be a faithful witness of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Through His voluntary, sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus has saved me from sin, death and the grave and is preparing a place for me in heaven. Others need to know this. I pray I will be a positive, winsome witness of God’s love to a spiritually dark world that has lost its way. (Acts 1:8)
• Keep my eyes on the prize. I will faithfully run my faith race, heading steadily toward the finish line where I will receive the “crown of righteousness” that awaits all who love Christ’s appearing. What a day that will be! (II Timothy 4:8)

On the eve of 2021, too many people are anxious, uptight, stressed-out and fearful about 2021. Honestly, how is that a good, healthy, productive, peaceful, happy way to live? Of course it isn’t!
I choose in the new year to tune out the dooms dayers and doom sayers. Anyone with half a brain can think and speak the worst. Biblically, God’s people are instructed, empowered, and encouraged to think and speak the best, even in the worst of circumstances. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I am going to discipline myself to watch my words because life and death are in the power of our tongue (Proverbs 18:21).  
I resolve to speak life and live life in Christ in 2021.
I encourage you to wait on the Lord and come up with your Thoughts On 2021 list. Then go to work on your list for the next twelve months expecting to reap a bountiful harvest of good in your life and others.
Trust the Lord that 2021 will be one of the best years of your life.
“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet: but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
A Word For Your Week: Welcome 2021 with expectant faith in Jesus Christ.

​Dashed hope.
There is nothing more disconcerting than to hope for something that ends up in shattered pieces on the jagged rocks of disappointment and disillusionment.
Dashed hope has disrupted my life at times. Most likely yours also. While my ultimate hope has always been rooted and grounded in God, I hoped a couple of times in men too much. I really thought some folks would come through, help me out, have my back, if you know what I mean. Unfortunately, my trust and hope was misplaced in some who proved not worthy of trust.
Let’s be honest:  who doesn’t hope to hope in people to help us along the road of life? It is so human and natural to put hope in people, systems and the world around us. But I ask you: what hope can a hopeless world offer? False hope is the only hope the world knows.
Currently many people in America and the world are feeling hopeless and helpless because their hope is misplaced. Men and movements are not saviors. Institutions are not redeemers. Christless religion is not a deliverer. Humanistic philosophy rescues no one. 
Hoping in persons or things that cannot bring hope breeds hopelessness.
Result: a mental/emotional battle with disappointment, discouragement, lack of peace, disillusionment, depression and even despair for a season.
I have good news, very, very good news if you are feeling hopeless.
Biblical hope is much more than a positive attitude or an optimistic outlook. It is a “living hope” based on what Jesus Christ has done for you and me.
One of my favorite biblical passages is found in I Peter 1:3-9.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has cause us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation or your souls.”
I could preach on this passage forever. However, I only have room for some summary thoughts.
1.“living hope”. Hope in Christ is alive because Jesus is risen from the dead. Our hope is alive because Jesus lives! No one can diminish or take that away from born again believers.
2. “imperishable inheritance”. Wow! Inheritance from God that is undefiled, imperishable and will never fade away. It is so good to be in the Father’s will!
3. “reserved in heaven”. God’s kids are protected by His power. Nothing on earth or hell can take salvation away from Christians who have reserved seats in heaven! Who in this world can hurt the “living hope” of those who believe in Jesus Christ?
4. “rejoice with joy inexpressible”. Rejoicing, praising, party time when we realize that we have a “living hope” because of Christ’s glorious resurrection. Note it is a joy that cannot be put into words it is so overwhelming awesome. No depression here. Thank you Lord Jesus!  
5. “salvation of your souls”. Bottom line of “living hope” in Christ is salvation. You and I are saved from our sins, forgiven, because of Jesus’ shed blood on the Cross and an empty tomb. The hope of eternal salvation is hope indeed!
Oh my, I could shout His praises with all my being right now! Do you get this, what a “living hope” is? It means nothing that comes into our life, even if for a time our faith is tested, God’s people come out of the fire proven, pure as gold. His holy fire sanctifies and purifies those who have a “living hope” in Jesus.    
“Living hope” is an eternal hope. Hope in anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ is dead hope. Temporal hope expires. Eternal hope is secured through faith in God’s only Son Jesus. Eternal hope endures for time and eternity.   
Christmas 2020.
Living, eternal hope is a baby in a manger who died on a cross, rose from the dead and is coming back in glory to take those who love Him home to heaven!
Christmas without Christ is hopeless.
How is your hope this Christmas? It is alive in Christ? Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? Receive Him into your heart by faith right now. Invite Him in. Ask Him to forgive your sins. Commit yourself to obey His Word and serve Him the rest of your life.
“Living hope” is the greatest Christmas gift you and I could ever receive.
”…and hope does not disappoint, because the love of Christ has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:5
“…which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27
A Word For Your Week: Hope in what is hope indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Surrounded. Hemmed in. Trapped. No way out.
2020 can make you and me feel surrounded by an insurmountable army of evil.
Pick your surrounding army(s). Covid-19. Economic setback. Election confusion. Violent protests. Corruption. Hatred and division. Need I add anything else?
When you and I are surrounded by evil, we have two choices: surrender to fear or stand firm with faith.
II Kings 6:8-23 records the incredible story of the prophet Elisha who was surrounded by a massive, marauding, murderous army. Here is the Cliff Note version of what happened.
King Aram hated Elisha because he warned the King of Israel that Aram was going to kill him in an ambush. Israel’s King was saved, which ignited Aram’s wrath toward Elisha.
During the night, the Aramean king sent “a great army that surrounded the city” (verse 14) where Elisha was. In the early morning, Elisha’s servant peered out the window and saw a sea of enemies with horses and chariots circling the city. Fearful, the trembling servant turned to Elisha, saying “what shall we do?”
In verse 16 Elisha replied “So he answered: Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Mr. Servant, don’t push the panic button!
In verse 17 Elisha prayed and said “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” WOW! The servant saw what Elisha knew was there, God’s mighty army encircling the enemy troops.
Then in verses 18-23 Elisha asked the Lord to blind the Arameans while Elisha led them to Samaria where he did not kill them but put on a feast for them and sent them home! They never attacked Israel again.     
Three things Elisha did that blow me away.

1. Do not be afraid servant. No need for fear. Almighty God is near! Those with us are more than those with them. God’s heavenly army far outnumbers Satan’s hellish troops. MORE THAN THEM!
2. The servant’s eyes were opened to actually see the heavenly host! Can you imagine what that looked like! I am getting spiritual goose bumps right now! Man’s wood chariots would be no match for God’s chariots of fire!
3. Elisha spared the enemy. He showed them amazing mercy. Talk about the spirit of Christ in Elisha. I wonder if I would have spared them. I like to think I might have.

Here is what I take from this true story. When surrounded by evil enemies, God surrounds them with greater numbers. More, not less spiritual troops. The heavenly warfare described in Ephesians 6:10-20 doesn’t give Satan the upper hand.  He is outnumbered, outmanned, outgunned if you will, and can never win! Hallelujah!
What does this mean for you and me as 2020 winds down? It means God’s people win over evil. Every situation. Every time. No exceptions.
Maybe we need to open our eyes to see that there are more for us than for them. What do you think?  
I think that is a fantastic idea that I need to put into practice more often. Oh Lord, give me a heart and eyes of faith to see what is really going on, that I am on the winning side even when seemingly surrounded.
Remember when surrounded we have two choices: surrender to fear or stand firm with faith.     
Standing Firm in Faith When Surrounded

• Always remember that Almighty God is for you, with you and working on your behalf.   Who or what on earth or from hell can stand against Him?
• God’s heavenly forces far outnumber hell’s menacing evil minions. No contest.
• Resolutely resist the spirit of fear when surrounded. Resolve to put your faith in God.
• Fix your eyes on God who surrounds the enemy who surrounds you.
• Watch God do His thing in vanquishing inferior forces that come against you.
• Rejoice, again I say rejoice, that the battle is the Lord’s and He never loses!

When Satan surrounds God’s people, God protects His loved ones by surrounding the devil with superior forces and decisively defeating him.
I am still soaking this up folks. Though God’s resources are often invisible, they are really there, fighting on our behalf. By the way, I read the end of the Bible which makes it clear that God’s side wins and Satan loses. Glory to God!
Feeling surrounded, overwhelmed by evil? Take your eyes off the evil. Focus your faith on a good God who delivers His people from evil.
Fear of a few, or faith for many. You decide.
“If God be for us, who can be against us.” (Romans 8:31). I heard a pastor say “If God is for us, everybody else might as well be!” Amen to that!
“You are of God little children and have overcome them, because greater is He (Jesus) who is in you than he (Satan) who is in the world.” I John 4:4
A Word For Your  Week: Never surrender your faith when surrounded by evil.

​Praying for others matters.
If you have a grandmother or grandfather who faithfully prays for you, you are richly blessed. I am convinced praying grandparents move heaven and hell on behalf of their loved ones.
As a teenager, I was confused, at times rebellious and definitely lost. I made my share of hormone-driven adolescent mistakes. At one point, my waywardness threatened to end my young life. Enter George and Willa Eplin, my prayer warrior grandparents.
These precious people loved me unconditionally. Faithfully they interceded for me in the spiritual gap while their teenage grandson wildly spun out in life. I would not be saved and headed for heaven if my Christian grandparents had not hounded heaven on my behalf. They even asked the Lord to call me to preach! Who would have thought (certainly not me!) that Steve Roll would be a preacher of the Good News of Jesus Christ! Miracles do happen!!!
My grandparents were gap standers.
I believe my godly grandparents spent many hours on their feeble, aged knees at the watchtower, fervently praying for me to come to the Lord and serve Him. On my behalf, they consistently, courageously, boldly battled the enemy of my soul in heavenly places. One day when I see them in heaven, I will give them a huge hug and heartfelt thank you for interceding for me.
Intercessory prayer is praying for others who need prayed for. Who of us doesn’t need someone to stand in the gap for us on occasion?
God is always looking for gap standing intercessors.
In ancient times, God sent Ezekiel to call Israel back to the Lord, rebuke false prophets, and foretell future events. In the Bible, Ezekiel 22:30 contains an ominous word that we need to heed today. “And I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land that I should not destroy it, BUT I FOUND NONE.”
God searched for an intercessor for Israel but did not find one. Not even one. Oh my, no one interceded for the nation. Deliverance from destruction did not come.
Gap standers do not sit in life’s bleachers eating nachos, sipping Coke Zero while watching others pray. They get on the playing field, praying, seeking the face and heart of God. They stand in the gap with faith for people who are struggling in life.
Today, many, many people who feel hopeless, helpless, defeated and desperate surround you and me. They may or may not be praying for themselves.
Prayer to the Living God has the power to touch their hearts and turn them toward the Lord to receive His healing, restoring, renewing strength.
My heart is heavy, burdened for our families, friends, the church, our nation and the world. Gap standers who pray in the name of the Lord are needed more than ever today.

• Standing in the gap for family and friends means praying for loved ones to be saved, to love the Lord, to worship Him, obey His Word, serve Him and be a vibrant witness for Him. Christians are the light and salt of this dark, unsavory world. (Matthew 5:13-16). May our families and friends go to heaven and take a bunch of folks with them!  
• Standing in the gap for the church means praying for the body of Christ to wake up, live holy lives, practice the moral standards in the Bible, share our faith in Christ and stand up boldly against evil in Jesus’ name. Pray for Christ’s bride to act like His bride.
• Standing in the gap for the United States of America means praying that our citizens repent of sins, sincerely return to the Lord, obey the Bible, forsake immoral, corrupt behavior and honor God in everything we do as a nation. America must return to her Judeo/Christian roots or destruction will come upon our land. May that never be. 
• Standing in the gap for the world means praying for the “Multitudes in the valley of decision.” (Joel 3:14). May God break the heart of the church for lost souls. Billions of people on our globe still do not know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Sadly, many have not even heard about Jesus yet. Proverbs 11:30 declares “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”

From cover to cover, the Bible is a book of prayer. Jesus prayed (Matthew 14:23). He taught His followers how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13). He told us to not lose heart and pray without ceasing. (Luke 18:1-8).
Who knows what may have happened in my life if the Eplins had not built a wall of prayer and stood in the gap to pray for me?
Do you have some Eplins in your life? Gap standers who seek God on your behalf? Who can you name and thank God for because they have prayed for you?  
The Lord is continually looking for a man or woman to stand in the gap. Will you be that person? Will you be an Eplin to family, friends, the church, nation and world?
Stand in the gap for someone, who like me, was saved because of the intercessory prayers of Christians.
I pray you and me will not be the one who would not intercede for others.
“Pray without ceasing.” I Thessalonians 5:17
A Word For Your Week: Be a gap stander for someone who needs prayer.

​Evil seems to be winning in America.
My friends, at this strategically significant moment in American history, we are engaged in a monumental spiritual/moral battle for the souls of our citizens and nation.
The United States teeters precariously on a perilous precipice of self-destruction.  If our nation tumbles over the edge, our beloved country will cease to exist as we have known it.
I am fully convinced that if committed Christians do not stand strong and boldly in Jesus’ name against the merciless onslaught of Satan against America, we will soon lose “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” The devil is systematically pulling out all of hell’s stops for the sole purpose of eradicating Christian influence in our nation.
I find this disturbing prospect frightening and totally unacceptable for me, my wife, my children, grandchildren, friends and fellow Americans.    
 Christians who love the Lord and His Word cannot sit idly by and watch evil triumph. Only the power of God can stop the power of hell. It is time to stop playing church. Instead, God’s people must get after the evil one in the triumphant name of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Jesus has something to say about His bride the church. In Matthew 16:18-19 the Lord said “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build My church; and the gates of hades (hell) will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
In the context of our verses, Peter had personally confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God (verse 16). Jesus is the Rock the church is built upon. Peter and all believers are little rocks, living stones that make up the church (I Peter 2:4-10).
Jesus declared in no uncertain terms that hell would never overpower, not prevail over His church. The thought in the original language is that hell would not push back the church. Quite the opposite. The church is to push back the gates of hell. When push comes to shove, the church, not Satan, is to do the shoving!
The good news: the church will never be overpowered! Not now, not ever! Who or what could possibly remove Jesus from the throne of His Kingdom?
The not so good news: why isn’t the church prevailing over Satan, pushing back the gates of hell? Why does the church appear spiritually anemic, seemingly powerless to turn back the assaults of the evil one? Why do we wimp out when we should courageously and confidently use the “keys of the kingdom” to keep Satan at bay?  
The church is not commissioned to just hold the fort. Digging in defensively and hoping to hang in there is not God’s will for His people. God’s good soldiers are to charge the enemy in the name of our Commander in Chief, routing the enemy back to hell where the devil and his demonic troops belong. (II timothy 2:1-4).   
Evil is in our face. Up close and uncomfortably personal. Shouting violently with vile threats targeting God’s people. Mocking, ridiculing, intimidating, manipulating, deceiving and duping segments of the church into submission. This should not be tolerated.
 Hell-inspired evil is pushing righteous people around when we should be pushing evil around! What happened to taking authority over Satan? Rebuking, resisting and binding the devil in Jesus’ name?
 It is time, right now to push back the gates of hell through intercessory prayer.
To intercede means to stand in the gap for another, to represent someone else, to intervene. The church’s most effective spiritual weapon is to intercede for our families, friends, the church, our nation and the world. Never minimize the power of prayer.  
Satan trembles when we pray.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, never, never cower or retreat from Satan and his demons. Stand up boldly to the devil and his demonic cohorts in the name of the holy Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ who has stripped Satan of all authority. (Colossians 2:13-15). 
The right fight is the faith fight. Jesus said “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22). It is time to stop fighting the wrong fights and start fighting, protected by the shield of faith, for the souls of our people and our nation.
Are you doing your part to push back the gates of hell in Jesus’ name? Are you standing up strong with biblical faith to help turn the tide from evil to good? Can you be counted on to be a person of righteousness that will turn this unrighteous tide around?
Beloved ones of the Lord, its pushback time on the devil. Let us get on our knees to humbly, fervently seek God, then stand up in the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit with the Word of God and save our nation from self-destruction.
Push back or be pushed back is up to you and me.
Next week I will discuss how to pushback the gates of hell through intercessory prayer. Look for my devotional next Tuesday called “Standing In the Gap”.
“Righteous exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to a people.” Proverbs 14:34
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen for His own inheritance.” Psalm 33:12
A Word For Your Week: Now is the time for good people to overcome evil.