HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace." 

Numbers 6:24-26

As I look back, I am reminded that another year has come and gone and that time is moving faster and bringing us closer to that day when our time on this earth will be over. Each day brings us closer to that day of reckoning, whether it be the day of death or the day that our Lord returns. A day when we all shall stand before the Judge of all and give account for all our deeds here on earth (2 Corinthians 5:10). That day when He will either say,"Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34). Or sadly He will say, "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). We are pleased with what our God accomplished in 2019 and we thank Him for the glories He has shown us. Isn't it exciting to imagine that God has no limits on what He might do in our lives! The phrase "Happy New Year" has the sound of hope and second chances. We feel that no matter how badly we may have failed this year, we still have a second chance to do things better in the new year. There is one thing I have learned with the passing of time and that is that the real basis of life does not consist of material things but of loving and serving God with all of our heart and mind and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Teaching others to love God with all of their heart and mind is part of serving God here on earth. We have much work to do. Souls are at stake and ours as well. There is precious little time left to do the work God has left for us to do. Let us use this coming year wisely, and focus on getting souls to hear the Gospel to be saved. We must reach out to them in effective, purposeful ways. Let us use our time well to God’s glory.

Sadly our New Year’s resolutions are often shallow and quickly broken after a few days or weeks, for we don’t stick to them perhaps for lack of commitment. Perhaps, we need to be more motivated to not give up too quickly. The apostle Paul resolved to obey Christ despite the obstacles and stumbling blocks he found in his way, for he was determined to do God’s will all the way to the end. He did it once and stuck to it! Without a doubt, Paul’s powerful resolution carried him throughout his life, motivating him to sacrifice all until the very end of his life to glorify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who gave everything up for us that we might have the hope of eternal life (Philippians 3:7-11). What a wonderful way to start the New Year! Paul’s resolution was to know Christ more and better, for he yearned to finish well the work that the Lord had entrusted to him. He held fast to the Gospel until the end! My greatest desire for the New Year and of course for the rest of my life is to know Him better and to walk in a manner worthy of Him who called me out of darkness into His marvelous kingdom of Light and righteousness.

As we come to the end of a year and the beginning of another, it's wise to do some self-examination and reflect on how we have used this year, choosing to do better and make better and wiser use of the time the Lord has granted us. The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to make changes that would make a huge eternal difference in our lives. We must make the change to improve our relationship with God. There is no greater need in one’s life than to maintain a good relationship with our Creator! Life without God is meaningless and hopeless. The only truthful purpose in life is to walk with God and have an intimate relationship with Him as we do His will. Nothing can fill the need for God in our life, except God Himself! So let us use this New Year to dress for spiritual success (putting on the whole armor of God) and walking in a manner worthy of the Lord so that our souls might prosper in all Truth and love. And while it is true that we cannot undo the past, we can change our course in the present. We can choose to live a different life that glorifies God as we walk wisely, making the best use of the time because the days are evil (Eph. 5:15). The reality of walking with Jesus is that when our Lord pardons our faults, He gives us the hope that tomorrow will be better and more fruitful. And yet, maybe we don't aim high enough to soar to the heights of God. Therefore, let us use our time well and not allow anything or anyone to distract us from serving our Lord faithfully. God demands that we put Him first and put self to death, take up our cross and follow Him. We must strive to live for Christ and not self! (Gal. 2:20).

The truth is that this will be the last year for many! Will you be one of those who will stand before God this year, or will you live to see many more years? Only God knows! So, let us walk in a manner worthy of God and serve Him better this coming year, 2020. May we further our service in God’s kingdom not only this year but each day of our walk with Him. May we evaluate our strengths and weaknesses so that we may fulfill our purpose on this earth. And may we carefully consider what is really our best for the Lord and His kingdom. Our hope for our brethren and friends is that you may have a year full of wonder and Grace.

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called… ” (Ephesians 4:1-3)

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Col. 3:23).

Luci