Title: Making The New Year New

Date: 2007-12-30

Reference: Eccles. 3: 1-8 and James 4: 13-15

I have always enjoyed the New Year Holiday. There is something very therapeutic about a New Year a new start. Yet turning a page on a calendar will not automatically change our situations. The debts incurred in 2007 must be paid for in 2008. A person going to sleep in a prison cell on New Year’s Eve will wake up in that same cell New Year’s Day. A troubled relationship will not suddenly be transformed at the stroke of midnight. A bitter person will not become hopeful and healthy just because another year has presented itself.

Yet people are hopeful about a New Year. I’ve already met with several couples who plan to be married in this New Year. People are looking forward to graduations and other commencements in 2008.

People have always been fascinated with the idea of a new, fresh, start. The Gospel holds out the chance for New Life, New Beginnings, and New Opportunities. The challenge is not making the New Year a repeat of the same old mistakes, habits, and attitudes that have plagued us before.

I like to make Resolutions for the New Year. I have noticed that my resolutions are very similar over the years.lose some weight, get more exercise, more BS, less worry, smell more roses. The fact that I’m resolving the same things is a tip off that I don’t always follow through with my good intentions. But as long as we are alive we can improve, make a difference, and change for the better. It’s never too late so long as we are living.

I believe the first step in making the New Year New is putting the past in perspective. Many people don’t deal adequately with the past. We drag the heavy luggage of yesterday into he present. Contained in that luggage are sins that have not been forgiven, relationships left frazzled, mistakes we’ve made.

The Bible admonishes us to forget those things that lie behind. At least not to dwell on them. The Hebrews were told to take little with them when they made their journey toward the promised land. They were told to travel light or the journey to the future would be cumbersome and impossible. We too must shed the things that make the journey into the future a hard one. The past is dead and gone, we must not attempt to live there again. Failure in the past does not mean you will never be able to change. Focusing on past failures, however, does guarantee their repetition. It is like driving a car and looking in the rear view mirror the whole time. You are going to collide with what’s ahead of you. You have to put your past behind you.

At the same time we are called to honor the past and learn from our past. Someone has said one of the lessons we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. Over and over the Bible urges us to remember. In remembering we build upon the legacy left for us by preceding generations while learning the lessons of history.

I began by saying I found it therapeutic to look ahead to a new year. I find it equally therapeutic to look back on the year past with gratitude for it’s gifts. At the beginning of a new year we would do well to reflect on the past year and give God thanks. We must remember its blessings, its opportunities, its experiences and its difficulties and failures.

Looking back we are grateful for the new friends we have made and for the old friends we have retained. We are grateful for the special events we were privileged to celebrate, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations, and vacations. . We are grateful not only for the necessities of life but also for the luxuries we have enjoyed. We are grateful for the opportunity to of earning a living and for a sense of accomplishment in our work and in our volunteer services. We are grateful for God’s presence during times of crisis and thankful for God’s guidance as we faced difficult and painful decisions. We remember with sorrow the passing of family and friends, but we also remember with gratitude the lives that were lived, and the legacies of character and compassion that remain.

James Thurber said: “Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear. But let us look around in awareness.” God will help us be faithful to our past while moving beyond our disappointments and mistakes.

The New Year becomes New when we realize we have a 2nd chance. I’ve received a couple of new calendars and I like to thumb through the pages while they are all white and unused. The new calendar reminds me that of this moment the new year is undecided. Next year provides us with a new set of alternatives. Robert Frost wrote a poem about two roads and how they diverged in a wood. The traveler was only able to take one road or the other. The road he chose made all the difference. In this new year our options are not frozen. Things can be different and better. The time can be redeemed. We have options and real choices to make. We may not be able to change our situations but we are free to choose our response to those situations.

As we look ahead we remember God’s promise to go with us. We are never alone. God is always there. In prayer we seek God’s guidance for the future.

I’ve been working on a report for our annual church meeting which you are all invited to attend on January 8th. Looking back we have had a good and productive year as a congregation. We’ve accomplished a great deal together. There have been ups and downs but over all we’ve made good progress. We’ve have new friends and families join us. We are so thankful for the energy, experience, excitement, and dedication of the persons who came to us from the former St. Paul’s Church. We are grateful for all of the persons who have become a part of our congregation in the last year. At the same time we’ve had good friends move away and we’ve lost dear friends who have gone to be with the Lord. We have worked so hard on our building and property and have made many improvements. Our congregation has been involved in missions around the world, and this world is a much better place because of our efforts.

What is true for our congregation is true for our families and for individuals. 2007 has been in many ways what we have chosen to make it. We’ve all had our good times and our hard moments. And through all the joys and heartaches of life we affirm: God is Good.

I continue to believe the best days of our congregation are still out in front of us. I am very optimistic about our future ministry together.

The Apostle Paul said: “This one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind, I press on toward the goal.” The Bible tells us to take hold of life and to begin to act. We need to be intentional in our planning.

But as James reminds us: “It’s okay to plan so long as we remember God knows what ought to happen and when it should occur. We trust God to lead us into an uncertain future. We know God loves us and desires the very best for his children. The safest place in the world is right where God wants you to be doing what God has asked you to do. The will of God comes from the heart of God. God’s will is an expression of His love. So we don’t have to be afraid.

In prayer we seek the will of God for the future. Life is made up of people, places, activities, goals, days and years. Each one of us must make crucial decisions for ourselves and others day after day. We do the best we can trusting God to lead us to where we need to be.

Life is so uncertain. The Bible tells us not to brag about tomorrow as each day can bring it’s own surprises. James warned us not to make plans for a whole year when we can’t even look ahead into the next day. This teaching reminds me of Jesus’ story of the rich man who built bigger and better barns to hold all his wealth. He said: “Now I have it made. I’ll take it easy and enjoy myself. I’ll never have to worry again.” That very night he died and someone else enjoyed the wealth he had worked hard to accumulate. Only when we are walking with God in God’s will can we be confident of tomorrow. Only God knows what lies ahead. We would be sacred to death if we knew what even the immediate future held for us. It’s enough that God knows.

Life is also very brief. This theme is repeated throughout the Bible. Our lives on earth are described as a vapor. We count our years at birthdays but God tells us to number our days. We live life one day at a time. These days rush by the older we get. Life is so brief we cannot afford to merely spend our lives. To waste them We must invest our lives in the things that are eternal. We should begin to see life as an eternal investment.

In a new year may we thank God for the blessings we enjoy. May we remember the main goal for anyone of us is a relationship with God. May this new year be one of the best and most meaningful we have ever had.