But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. Psalm 52:8

When I visited Israel in 2017, I went to the Mount of Olives. There were olive trees still standing, green and alive, though gnarled and knotty. Our guide told us that some of those very trees were probably there when Jesus Christ walked in the garden. The olive tree is one of the longest living and most prolific tree in the world. The Psalmist David uses this analogy to describe his feeling about God's house. Even though David was a fugitive at the time, he remembered the serenity and rest, and of the tabernacle's presence when he met Ahimelech in the mount of Olives. That experience also reinforced his faith in God's mercy.

It is exciting to think what God will do in 2026 and yet with all the anticipation of life's happenings, most probably there will be many challenges to face. God has a way of balancing the years, days, even moments of our lives with good and evil, comfort and pain and strength and weakness. He does so to remind us of our need of Him and to shape and mold us to be more like Jesus. Each of us will surely bear all the problems God has allotted for us in 2026. Most likely, there will be days when we feel overwhelmed and instead of faithful, we feel like fugitives and as confused as a termite in a wooden yoyo.

When trials come we should turn to God. The church is one of God's most useful means of grace He used to remind us of His presence and to grow and strengthen our faith. Most of all, the church is a true testimony of God's mighty mercy! David calls God's mercy everlasting, even lasting longer than the olive trees. And in the twenty third Psalm, David said this:

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.Psalm 23:6

None of us know what the new year will bring, but what we should know is that if God brings it to us, He will see us through it! God always keeps His promises and He has promised to always be with us. In fact, have we not pushed the old year out by celebrating the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, 'Emmanuel' or God with us?! That being said, it's vitally important that we spend as much time in church or thinking about and worshipping God as we can in 2026. Now, you don't have to be in church to do that, but if we can, it will pay big dividends. There are many of God's children who cannot physically go to church, but "back in the day", they were there and they re like olive trees still standing, still bearing fruit! Corporate worship including singing and preaching keeps the believers' faith green and lively. Bible study classes help the redeemed to put down deeper roots in the Word. All of these prove needful for living in a sinful world. Don't expect 2026 to be less sinful than 2025, rather expect it to be more sinful for according to the Bible, it will be.

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.  II Timothy 3:13

Politicians say that things will be better in 2026. It is hard to mix politics with religion, especially Christianity.

The olive trees at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem have seen many wars, storms, parades and perils, yet they still stand on the ground where they were planted. Christians too are plantings of the Lord. God has a divine purpose for every soul He saves. That purpose may be to bear fruit or simply supply shade or comfort to benefit others! I was walking from my truck to go inside the church for the preaching service last Sunday morning and I smelled the smell of fresh sawn lumber from Howard's Lumber mill in town. It made me think of how trees had to be cut down and sawn and shaped to be more useful. The true measurement of a tree is hard to determine until it is cut down!

It's important that we grow in grace and faith because that's what our Lord plants us or saves us to do. Spending time with God's people, learning His Word and ways balances our ives and keeps us growing in the right direction. Living a life of faith as a testimony to God's amazing grace will mean a lot when it comes our time to die. Like the tall pines of South Georgia, when we're cut down in death, the influence and example left behind will prove valuable building material for others.

We all do have a most precious privilege as we embrace the new year to be happy and live hearty. This would not be possible without the Lord Jesus Christ. But since He is the head of the church and is a River of Life ever flowing, we, like the age old olive trees, can stay green and be useful in His Kingdom until He comes again.

Together we are tree-mendous

Really, the local church's purpose is to witness God's amazing grace whereby sinners and strangers are brought together in the unity of the Spirit. A threefold cord is not easily broken and a grove of threes provides more shade and protection than a single tree standing along. Jesus Christ died on the cross so that we could be reconcile to God. Eternal life itself is oneness with our Heavenly Father.

When we gather together in Jesus' name, Jesus Himself has promised to be with us and to be in the very presence of the Savior, the only begotten Son of God, is just purely tremendous!

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20

Since Jesus said that, we can be sue that when we go to church and gather together with God's people, we're spending quality time with the Lord Jesus too!

Sitting together in heavenly places like the church on Earth also has a medicinal benefit. There are lots of broken hearts in this world and lots of the time the children of God seem to hurt the most. Yet the Balm of Gilead flows from Calvary's cross and there is healing in the winds of Jehovah! God usually works through people and that is never more evident than in His church. God doesn't comfort us just so we'll be comfortable, rather, He comforts us so we can comfort somebody else.

God's Holy Word is not only food for our souls and a revelation of the mind of Christ, but is also a mending medicine we need to take daily to revive our sin-sick souls and make our haughty hearts healthy. Have you ever not felt like going to church but went anyway and then after you got there felt better? Not only is worship glorifying to God, it's also how God mend us. This is why when we get together in the right way and for the right purpose, there is hope, there is spiritual health and it's a most tremendous experience.

Tied to christ we stay green

A Christian is like an evergreen tree in the sense that no matter the season, the greenness shows. Green is the color of life! On the third day of creation, God created life and colored it green.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind; and God saw that it was good! And the evening and the morning were the third day. Genesis 1:12-13

Jesus Christ's resurrection on the third day brought eternal life to all the elect family of God. And, because Christ is the head of the church and the church is His body, the church has life and stays green because of His powerful grace -- no matter the season nor severity of the storms. The life of the Christian is greener and more glorious only because of the tethering to the cross of Christ. The closer we are to Jesus, the farther away from the devil we are and the brighter His light will shine in our lives and there will be greenery everywhere we go.

Trust God's Mercy

God is surely a most trustworthy God! If we can't trust God, who could we trust? The reason we can trust God and should trust God is because of His mercy. Never ask for God's justice, though He is that, just pray for His mercy. We need mercy everyday in ways and places that may not show on the outside.

The trees I see standing in my backyard are standing, living trees because of something underneath the ground that I cannot see, namely roots! These roots supply nutrients to keep the trees green and alive and they also hold the tree in place and keep them from toppling over when a hurricane blows in. As long as the roots are there, the tree will have life and even if the tree is cut down it will sprout again.

God calls His people trees of righteousness, the planing of His own doings. Have you ever thought what a merciful God we serve that would choose us, give us life, and plant us for His use and glory?

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he doth shall prosper. Psalm 1:3

I have owned GMC trucks for almost thirty years. I drive a GMC not because it's all that better than a Ford, Dodge, or Chevrolet. I drive a GMC because long ago those three letters meant not General Motors Corporation, but to me meant "God's Mercy Continually!" With God's mercy we can make it to where He wants us to go and, no matter how many curves or valleys or mountains or deserts He has mapped out for our lives, because of His mercy, every road leads home!

Happy New Year!

Brother Randy