The First Day Of The Year
Happy New Year! What will we do in this year 2021? Will it be the “same old same old” or will we choose to live in response to God’s love for us? Will we earnestly pray to know God’s will for us and to have the power to carry it out in the year ahead?
You have now become a new person and are always learning more about Christ. You are being made more like Christ. He is the One Who made you. (Colossians 3:10 NLV)
God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Don’t be angry with each other but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you. Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12-14 ERV)
Today, and throughout the next 364 days of this year, can we really hope to live like that? Yes, because hope is not based on our own self-effort but in the amazing God who has chosen us and who works powerfully in us to make us His holy people.
In Step-2 of the 12-Step program of A.A., this is what we are affirming when we speak about coming to believe that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. This is the humility of Step-7 when we humbly ask God to remove all our shortcomings. This is the immeasurable joy of Step-12 as we realize that we have had a spiritual awakening and are not only sharing the good news with others but are practicing it in all our affairs.
Prayer: Loving God, thank You for not only inviting me to new life but for coming to be that life in me today and each day of this new year. You are the hope that lives in me and the love that is always there to take me forward. One day at a time, I pray that You will help me live in this year as the person You created me to be. Help me to become more like You every day. Amen
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