Happy New Year

 Happy New Year!  There is a line in a Christian music song which says, God has "opened up my future, closed my past."  This New Year's Day may generate that specific desire within each of us – a longing for a new beginning. 

 One of the ways people seek to make the New Year better than the old one, is to make New Year's resolutions which are commitments to personal goals, projects, or the reforming of a habit.  The only problem with looking to self-determined New Year's resolutions is that statistics tell us that after only 9 days there is a 75% failure rate in keeping the resolutions.

It is no wonder that we love to celebrate Christmas -- the birth of Jesus Christ.  It is truly a wonderful life-changing event because the Bible tells us: But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. (Galatians 4:4-5 NLT)

 Before the beginning of time, God planned for each of us to live in a productive, loving, creative connectedness to Him.  He planned for us to have the opportunity to daily walk and talk with Him.  His desire was for us to know the peace and blessing that flows from a relationship with Him.  However, humans often reject the ways of God and foolishly chose for their own ways.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your beloved son Jesus who was willing to pay the debt of death for my sin. I choose to surrender my will and life into Your care and trust that as I faithfully follow You, Your good plans for my future will open up, and the year ahead will be my best year yet. Amen