Happy New Year!
Aren't you glad that life isn't just one long unchanging time-period. God has divided time into days so that every 24 hours we have a fresh start. Then there is the new week, the new month and the new year. Each new year is a new beginning, the start of a new season. I pray that it is an enjoyable and fruitful one for you.
I'd like to share two of my favourite promises with you:
One is from Jeremiah 29:11 and it says, "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Those are positive and encouraging words that reveals God's heart to us. Amazingly, these words were spoken in one of the darkest periods of Israel's history. Jerusalem has been destroyed and they were in captivity. Yet God was reaching out to his people to give them a promise … of a future and a hope. No matter what kind of year you had last year, let's believe that this year will be one of hope for you.
I also really like the apostle Paul's words in Philippians 1:6 where he says, "I am certain (or confident) that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." God has begun a good work in each one of us, whether we are just starting to get to know him or whether we have been walking with Him for many years. Let's believe that this year God will further that work in us – shaping our character, developing our gifts, and spreading our influence.
Together let's DEVOTE ourselves to 3 things – to PRAY, to SHARE and to SERVE God in new ways in 2013. Imagine the impact than we can have … together. God bless you and happy new year!
Mark Conner