2016, A Wonderful Year

Chuckle: A woman went to a marriage counselor and complained of her husband's overwhelming self-interest. "It was evident from the minute we married," she said. "He even wanted to be in the wedding pictures."

Quote: "If you truly love Him, your service for Him in the new year will be of the quality that He desires." --Henry Blackaby

A WONDERFUL YEAR

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV).

If you love the Christmas season as much as I do, you wish it would never end. But, for Christians, the spirit of Christmas need never end. Our joy should continue all year long just from reflecting on the love of God that has given us eternal life through faith in the crucified and risen Babe of Bethlehem. With the passing of Christmas, our minds logically turn to the new year. Let's listen to God as we prepare our hearts for 2016. There's a story about a happy little boy with a baseball cap, glove, bat, and tremendous confidence.

"Cocking his bat, he tossed the ball into the air, saying, "I’m the greatest batter in the world!" Then he swung and missed. "Strike one," he said. He picked up the ball, examined it, and then threw it into the air again. As he swung, he repeated, "I’m the greatest batter in the world." Once again he missed. "Strike two," he said. This time, he stopped to examine his bat to make sure there wasn’t a hole in it. Then he picked up the ball, adjusted his cap, and tossed the ball into the air for the third time, and again said, "I’m the greatest batter in the world," and swung with all his might - and missed for the 3rd straight time. "Wow" he cried, "What a pitcher. I’m the greatest pitcher in the world!"

Are you a great batter or a great pitcher? One thing is for sure, at times we have all struck out. So, it’s good to start over afresh with the new year. As you face a new year, you may be painfully remembering how you failed your Lord in 2015. Maybe you were not faithful to His calling on your life. Maybe you lived a life of disobedience. Like the little boy, may I suggest that your attitude will largely determine whether 2016 is a year of victory or a year of defeat. The Bible says: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus"  (Philippians 2:5 NIV).

In our basic passage, God is calling each of us to make a conscious decision to come to him for comfort and rest, and to learn from him - learn to have his attitude about life, love, and service to others. Jesus said, "I have come that they (you and I) may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10 NIV). He's talking about life in the here and now as well as in eternity.

We all enter the New Year asking, "What will it mean to me?" "What can I do with it?" These are natural new year thoughts. We don't know what the future holds -- but we know who holds the future and that the new year will be what we allow God to make of it. Without a promise of tomorrow, We can plan, with God's help, to make 2016 the best year of our lives.  If this is to be a Happy New Year, a year of usefulness, a year in which we shall live to make this earth better, it is because God will direct our pathway. How important then, to feel our dependence upon Him!  --Matthew Simpson

Love, Jerry & Dotse