First Day of the NEW Year

The Very First Day of this BRAND NEW YEAR

Whether it’s a shiny new penny , a shiny new Maserati, or a shiny new year, we are all fascinated by the NEW.

On this first day of this brand new year I’d like to encourage us to re-visit WHY the new fascinates and excites us so. Why does beginning afresh encourage our spirits and energize our souls?  It is important that we have a healthy understanding of where these attitudes and viewpoints really come from. We need to be willing to get rid of wrong thinking and any potentially damaging philosophies.

Listen,  I agree that there is nothing wrong with beginning fresh. I personally so look forward to seeing the dew on the roses in the morning of a new day, as well as, the hope on the faces of people in the beginning of a brand new year. However, instead of imitating this “throw away” society,  pause a minute as we transition from 2012 into 2013. Let’s not waste the lessons of yesterday and the ability to glean from the mistakes made last year as we rush forward towards our shiny new year.

As we embrace the new opportunities that 2013 provides it would be foolish to simply “throw 2012 away” without carefully saving the valuable gifts we found there. Many of these gifts may not have seemed so wonderful at the time,but in fact, some of the experiences I have gained the most from have been the most painful, difficult seasons in my life.

If we want to avoid becoming spoiled and eventually bitter individuals we have to stop running forward at such a fast pace always searching and longing for the next new  toy, pleasure, opportunity or year. Appreciate what you went through in 2012. The people who either came into or left your life. The sorrows as well as the joys. Consider the mistakes and choose to avoid the familiar pitfalls. Ask for wisdom and grace as you move forward. Remember every experience gratefully. Let them mix into you and add the harmonies in the beautiful song that your Creator is composing all around you.

Now, think about the first scratch on that shiny new car or the  first gray hair on your youthful scalp. The reason they were so annoying is that these things harshly remind us that everything and everyone on this planet will wear out. We are constantly bombarded by the fact that we will all eventually die. This fear permeates our lives and in Hebrews 2:15 we are told that it is this fear that holds people captive, “living their lives as slaves to the fear of dying”

He who is called the ANCIENT OF DAYS, The ONE who created time has provided a way that we might be free from any fear of aging (fear of death). A way for us to live free and joy filled lives ! Looking forward to a future beyond even this temporary existence. Salvation through Messiah.

“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”   2 Corinthians 4:18 (NLT)

And that’s what I call GLAM !!!     Happy New Year Friends!