“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’” Revelation 21:5
Happy New Year! The confetti has been cleaned up and the ball boxed back up, but the year is still very young. Our calendars are fresh and crisp – not tired and worn like the ones we replaced. Yes, it’s just another day in another month, but the New Year always seems to bring anticipation and excitement. A hope of what might be and an expectation of what will be.
God created the New Year. Way back when the He delivered the Israelite people from slavery in Egypt, God instructed Moses to invent the Jewish calendar and to make their freedom month the first month. He desired that the beginning of each year be a reminder of His rescue and a celebration of His strength. Recalling God’s faithfulness in the past gave them confidence to rely on Him for their future.
We can be sure of the same. Four thousand years have passed since God split the Sea and saved His people. Two thousand years have passed since God sent His Son and saved His people. He has never changed and He never will. And yet, in His constancy, He is constantly changing us – tenderly transforming our hearts to resemble His. He shapes our desires and molds our minds into His image. He sends the newness of each morning to remind us of our fresh start. As the sunrise fills the sky with brightness, His unfailing love warms us with hope and whispers to us grace.
“I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercy is fresh every morning. Great is His faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23
One day God will make a new heaven and new earth, but right now He’s busy making a new you!
Let the triumphs and the tragedies of yesterday rest in His peace.
Rely on His strength for today.
Count on His grace for tomorrow.
May this New Year find you full of fresh faith in your never-old God!
Time for a Little R&R
REFLECT
How was God faithful to you and to His promises in 2008?
RESPOND
Pause and worship. Praise Him for His goodness and thank Him for His love.
1 comment:
I hope you are right. It all sounds nice when you say it, but I pray this really will be a better year.
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