New Year

O, year by year we well may be
Deep exercised in soul to see
Just what is chaff and what is wheat,
As valued at the judgment seat!

Look DOWN into the deep dark pit,
Whence we were digged - O think of it!
Look BACK - we only render praise
For grace attending all our ways.

Look OUT upon the fields so white-
The gladsome harvest just in sight!
Look UP - the objects of God's love
Are fed with manna from above.

Look ON - for glory is in view,
And Jesus waits to welcome you!
But do not ever look WITHIN,
Upon the wretched source of sin.

How bright the coming days would be,
If only souls from self were free,
And had the mind and heart absorbed
With CHRIST alone - their glorious Lord!

E.J.C.

Thoughts for the New Year

A lot happens during the first month (Abib) of the Jewish religious calendar. Three feast out of seven takes place in the first month and from these feasts, we can take a few things to heart as we enter into a brand new year.

The Passover (Exodus 12:1-14; Leviticus 23:4-5)
- A reflection of the past occurs
The Sufficiency of Christ in our lives (Exodus 12:4-6; 1 Corinthians 5:7)
We reflect on the year that has passed and ask ourselves, have we found Christ to be sufficient?

The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15-20; Leviticus 23:6-8)
- A renewal for the future occurs
The Separation of Christ from sin (Leviticus 2:4-5,11)
We renew our walk for the year to come and ask ourselves, have we become more Christ-like?

The Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:9-14)
- A returning in the present occurs
The Satisfaction Christ brought the Father (1 Corinthians 15:20)
We return to the Lord what is rightfully His and ask ourselves, have we pleased the Father the way Christ did?

I said to the man that stood at the gate of the year, "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown." And he said to me, "Go forth into the darkness and put your hand in the hand of God; And it shall be to you better than a light and safer than a known way."

Minnie Louise Haskins

Start Over

When you've trusted Jesus and walked His way,
When you've felt His hand lead you day by day,
But your steps now take you another way,
Start over.

When you've made your plans and they've gone awry,
When you've tried your best 'till there's no more try,
When you've failed yourself and you don't know why,
Start over.

When you think you're finished and want to quit,
When you've bottomed out in life's deepest pit,
When you've tried and tried to get out of it,
Start over.

When the year's been long and success few,
When December comes and you're feeling blue,
God gives a January just so you
Start over.

Starting over means victories won,
Starting over means a race well run,
Starting over means the Lord's "well done"
So don't just sit there,
Start over.

Woodrow Kroll

Excerpt from "One Day at a Time"

New Year's resolutions are good but fragile, that is, easily broken. New Year's prayers are better; they ascend to the throne of God and set answering wheels in motion. As we come to the beginning of another year, we would do well to make the following prayer requests our own:

Lord Jesus, I rededicate myself afresh to You today. I want You to take my life this coming year and use it for Your glory.

I pray that You will keep me from sin, from anything that will bring dishonor to Your Name.

Keep me teachable by the Holy Spirit. I want to move forward for You. Don't let me settle in a rut.

May my motto this year be, "He must increase; I must decrease." The glory must all be Yours. Help me not to touch it.

Teach me to make every decision a matter of prayer. I dread the thought of leaning on my own understanding. "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jer. 10:23).

May I die to the world and even to the approval or blame of loved ones or friends. Give me a single, pure desire to do the things that please Your heart.

Keep me from gossip and criticism of others. Rather, help me to speak what is edifying and profitable.

Lead me to needy souls. May I become a friend of sinners, as You are. Give me tears of compassion for the perishing.

Lord Jesus, keep me from becoming cold, bitter, or cynical in spite of anything that may happen to me in the Christian life.

Guide me in my stewardship of money. Help me to be a good steward of everything You have entrusted to me.

Help me to remember moment by moment that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. May this tremendous truth influence all my behavior.

And, Lord Jesus, I pray that this may be the year of Your return. I long to see Your face and to fall at Your feet in worship. During the coming year, may the blessed hope stay fresh in my heart, disengaging me from anything that would hold me here and keeping me on the tiptoes of expectancy. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"

William MacDonald (Jan 7 1917 - Dec 25 2007)