Welcoming in the New Year

 

[The Lord Said] “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:18–19 ESV).

 

Happy New Year! I hope your new year is beginning as grand as you could possibly hope. However, I am very aware that often new beginnings bring greater anxiety simply because of the unknown. Often our past clouds our hope for the future. It is far easier to expect more of the same, rather than to hope in the future. The good news is that God’s promise to us is in the “new thing” He is doing.

 

I caution you to read that last sentence carefully. This “new thing” God is doing is not a finished work. It has begun. In fact, that is the at the heart of the Christmas celebration, though God’s work was revealed long before that. Even in the beginning when Adam and Eve sinned and brought death into creation, God had begun the process of redemption. It should not be surprising that He asks, “… do you not perceive it?” It is easy not to understand God’s work. Even the prophet, Habakkuk, had difficulty. Read his words:

 

The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.” [the Lord answered] “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” (Habakkuk 1:1–5 ESV).

 

Habakkuk begins with a complaint. He is distraught that it seems God has been slow to answer his cries for justice and the wicked seem to have free rein in his world. Finally, he says, “justice goes forth perverted” (v. 4). I can imagine the Lord with a gentle smile on his face as He answers the prophet’s outburst. Let me paraphrase: “Open your eyes. Then you will be amazed and awestruck at what is happening. Trust me. Even if I were to tell you all of what I am doing, you wouldn’t be able to understand it.” It is advice we should take to heart.

 

God never needs to explain His purpose in our lives. He has already promised to work all of it for our great good. He simply asks us to trust Him. So, as you welcome in this new year, don’t focus on what was, rather look forward to what will be! It will be awesome and perfect for us! Trust Him… He’s got this!

 

Something New for 2026

 

[The Lord said] And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezekiel 36:26–27 ESV).

 

Today, we are on the eve of a brand-new year, and many of us are making resolutions about those things we know we must do, like losing weight, exercising, and eating healthier. We also begin to list out what we need to do spiritually, like reading the Bible and praying every day, using our gifts and talents in God’s service, to be more loving, Christ-like, and obedient to God’s word. The only problem is that while we resolve to do these things, our resolve soon fades because we really don’t have the power to keep them. And it doesn’t have to do with our will power, but rather because circumstances beyond our control happened. And so, as we enter this New Year, we need a new beginning, which starts with a new heart and new spirit. This promise is given to us by the Lord through the prophet Ezekiel in our reading today.

 

The first thing we see is the need for a “new heart.” This new heart is more than a bodily organ that pumps life-giving blood to the rest of the body. The heart is symbolic of all that it means to be human. Having such a new heart will give us the presence of Jesus inside us. Today, with all that is happening in our world, our hearts are becoming hardened. But God can give us a heart transplant, where He’ll remove our stony heart and give us a heart of flesh, that is, a heart that is open to all God has.

 

But beyond a new heart, God also wants to put a new spirit inside of us. God gives us the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of power. In the Old Testament that word for Spirit is “ruach,” which means wind or breath. The Holy Spirit, therefore, is the breath of God. I have had those moments when I simply couldn’t breathe well. Fortunately the doctors were able to find the arterial blockages and stent them allowing the blood to flow freely to my heart and lungs, thus making it easy to breathe again. This is the spiritual work of the Holy Spirit within us.

 

Like the new heart, the new spirit begins when we come to faith in Jesus Christ. This is seen when the disciples first encountered the risen Jesus, and it says Jesus breathed on them, that is the very breath of God, the Holy Spirit, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22)

 

We also need a new beginning. We can change! But we cannot change on our own. Change comes from within. That’s what transformation is all about, it’s a change that takes place on the inside. And that’s the beauty of the promise given by God through Ezekiel is that we’ve been given a new heart and a new spirit, that is, God’s word written on our hearts, and the Holy Spirit being placed within us.

 

And so, as we look to start this New Year, let’s do so by asking God to give to us a heart that is new, a heart that has been cleansed through confession and forgiveness, and then ask the Lord for a renewed spirit through a genuine Holy Spirit revival in our lives and in the life of the church.

 

Saving the Best for Last

 

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:1-10 ESV).

 

Some years ago, an advertising jingle for Smarties, a popular candy at the time, asked, “Do you eat the red ones last?” There was really nothing special about the red ones. They were candy-coated chocolates, and the red ones tasted the same as all the other colors of candy-coated chocolates in the pack. But the commercial suggested that the red ones were special, or the best, and it made people think they should save the best for last. You may not have done this with Smarties, but I’d wager you have done this in one form or another. Maybe it was with that last bite of steak you saved to eat after all the other foods on the plate. I mean, if you’ve got to eat your vegetables, why not save one bite of the best part of the plate for last!

 

This is something of the surprise the banquet master at the wedding at Cana expressed. He did not know who had provided the new wine. He just knew that it was better than the wine that had been served earlier. He also knew that this was unusual. Most hosts served the best wine first, but at this wedding the best was served last.

 

Though it was unusual at a wedding in those days, this miracle of Jesus suggests something about the kingdom of God. The best is yet to come. The blessings we experience in our life with God, the goodness of God’s creation, the joy of Christmas, the consolation that comes from God’s presence, the freedom that comes with forgiveness—all these are just a taste of the new life God has promised in Jesus. As the year ends, we look forward in hope, for God saves the best for last.

Living in the Scandal of Grace

 

[Jesus said] “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:38–42 ESV).

 

Martin Luther said that, since the fall, our hearts have been hardwired with a “wages” mentality: We only get what we deserve. We’re only worth how well we perform. If we do good things, we will get good outcomes. And if we do bad things, we will get bad outcomes. So what happens when someone does bad things and gets good outcomes? That’s insulting to us—but that’s the economy of grace. It’s a scandal we should thank God for because if God didn’t relate to us by grace, none of us would have any hope.

 

In the Gospel of Luke, a prostitute hears that Jesus is having dinner at a Pharisee’s house. So, she comes to kneel at Jesus’ feet, weeping and washing his feet with her tears and her hair. She even anoints his feet with perfume. The Pharisee questions (to himself) Jesus’ acceptance of this woman, and Jesus responds, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she, with her tears, has washed my feet and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet since I came in. You didn’t anoint my head with olive oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.’ And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.’” (Luke 7:44–50).

 

The point is that Simon is a sinner just like this woman; the only difference is that he doesn’t realize it. Ironically, the woman has an advantage over Simon because she realizes her sinfulness and he doesn’t. For whatever reason—his upbringing or his privileged place in society or the good education his parents got for him—Simon has learned to cloak his sinfulness better than her and behave in more socially acceptable ways. But his heart has the same sickness as hers.

 

The scandal of the gospel is not that Jesus loves bad people along with the good people. The scandal of the gospel is that God only loves bad people because that’s the only kind of people on earth right now. One of the most ironic and beautiful parts of Jesus’ life is how safe sinners felt around him. This woman, for instance, lets her hair down, which symbolizes vulnerability, even a kind of soul intimacy. She’s saying to Jesus, “You see all of me and accept me as I am.”

 

The safest place in the universe for a sinner to be is completely exposed in the presence of Jesus. This woman symbolically exposes her brokenness of soul to Jesus, and all she finds is love and acceptance. Simon, in contrast, overlooks his brokenness. And in missing this, he misses grace as well. Jesus’ acceptance of sinners doesn’t mean, of course, that he affirms our lifestyle choices or is content to leave us where we are. Those who experience grace are changed by grace. But grace comes first.

 

Jesus says that, while he was on earth, he did not come to judge. One day he will come back as Judge, but he’d been sent to earth only to extend the offer of salvation to all who would receive it. That should be true of our time on earth, too. No matter what someone has done, until their dying breath, we extend God’s acceptance and embrace. As those who have received it in full, our only posture toward the world is grace.

 

Wisdom in the New Year

 

[Jesus said] And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25–37 ESV)

 

Wisdom… highly sought, and seldom fully attained. Our reading today is such a wonderful lesson to be learned and practiced. A “lawyer,” that is to say a trained rabbi who specialized in the laws of Judaism, came to Jesus, with what seems to be a straight-forward question: “Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” I can imagine Jesus smiling a bit, knowing that the answer the man wanted and the one he was about to get were vastly different. Jesus answers with a question: “What is written in the Law?” The lawyer gives the standard interpretation of attaining eternal life: “Love your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” Really! No one, with the slightest bit of personal honesty, could claim to have lived up to that command!

 

The lawyer then tries a different approach. He never wanted to have an answer from Jesus. His actions were designed to trick Jesus into an error and thus discredit Himself. So, he asks a second question, “And, who is our neighbor?” I must confess I’ve tried that a time or two by saying something like “I can love them, but I don’t have to like them.” Actually, you do.

 

The Apostle Paul said, "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity" (cf. Colossians 4:5). God often presents us with opportunities to minister, but we often let them slip by because we're not wise enough to see them for what they are. God often places good works before us in the form of opportunities to share our faith with people who are outside the faith. But we need to be wise and willing enough to make the most of those opportunities. I’ve discovered that a lot of the time these opportunities come from experiences with people I wouldn’t ordinarily “like.” You know… these are the people that we simply cannot agree with on most anything. Yet, those people are created by God. He loves all His creation. Who are we to decide who should and shouldn’t hear and receive the grace of God through our works?

 

As this year draws to a close and we enter a new year, we need to remember that each new day brings opportunities to serve the Lord and express our faith to others, sometimes in strange and different situations.

 

Hope for the New Year

 

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. (Psalm 25:1–5 ESV).

 

We will welcome the beginning of a new year in just four days! For some this is very good news. This past year may have been very challenging for you. In fact, it may be that you look back and think, “I’m sure glad that’s over!” Regardless of past circumstances, we all look forward in hope to a new year filled with potential. However, if we do not know the source of hope, we may be very disappointed. It is through Scripture that we find God in Jesus meeting our deepest needs. So, it is in looking toward Jesus—the Savior who has come and who now reigns in heaven until the day he will come again, that we may find that unshakeable hope for the future.

 

The Apostle John saw that when he was given the Revelation of Jesus. Words can only begin to describe the power and glory of the ascended Savior. He is the Lord of life. John describes Jesus as standing in long flowing robes. Long robes were worn by royalty, or at times of celebration. They were a sign of victory, security, and work completed. A person fleeing danger or a worker could not be encumbered with a long robe. But Christ stands in flowing robes (cf. Revelation 1:4-15).

 

There is no threat to his kingdom; his redemptive work is fully accomplished. Children of this victorious King have eternal security. As we enter the New Year, may we all declare, “My only comfort in life and in death is that I belong to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ!”

 

Don't Miss This!

 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. (Jeremiah 29:11–14 ESV).

 

It happens in the blink of the eye! One moment there are gifts neatly wrapped surrounding the tree; and the next moment the beautiful wrappings are torn and littered across the floor! If you’re not careful you might even miss the moment of glee your children show with each surprise!

 

Many of the people near that small stable in Bethlehem missed the greatest moment in history. I don’t blame them for missing what happened. Who would have thought that the Lord of heaven and earth would come into the world as a child born in a stable?

 

We are about to close the book on 2025. Today you might find yourself remembering some of the triumphs and trials of the past year. Even if you have had some wonderful successes in the past twelve months, you can probably remember some low points as well.

 

As you enter a new year, I hope you can remember that God’s plans have always been to prosper his people. He can transform ordinary events and difficult trials into key moments that help his plans to prosper. He is not out to harm us, but the dark moments we experience can be part of the most important lessons to help us grow nearer to him.

 

God has a way of saving his world that we may find hard to understand. He introduced his Son into the world and brought about our salvation in a way that could easily be overlooked—and yet he has changed the world, and his kingdom keeps growing. That same God comes into our lives and draws us into his plans for a hope-filled future!