2024 is officially in the books and 2025 is officially here. We are one week into the New Year. How is it going so far? I’m not really sure about this whole New Year thing.

I mean, I know that a New Year has been around forever. As a Preacher, I very well aware of the Biblical validity of a New Year. In the Mosaic Law, there were several mentions of a New Year. At the end of seven New Years certain things would change…debts forgiven, farmland was given a rest and some servants were released. Then at the end of a series of seven, seven year cycles a Year of Jubilee was celebrated. When this event occurred, debts were forgiven, servants released and land sold previously was returned to original owner.

So, we can see that New Year’s is not just a new turn of events. But, I am not sure I get all of what it is today. It is a New Year, new beginnings, new diets, and a clean slate and so on. However, I just see another day. Everything that was here yesterday is still here today. It is just another day, week, month or year later.

This last year certainly had lots of surprises, challenges and rewards. We saw economic changes. Interest rates went up, inflation continued to increase, minimum wage increased in some states, unemployment has decreased and the stock market faired quite well in 2024.

The political face of the nation changed as the Presidential election went in a direction unexpected (at least for the media) with Donald Trump being re-elected. The House and Senate both have gone to Republican control. Many states saw gubernatorial elections favoring the Republican Party, also.

The world seems to still be in some state of turmoil. The war with Ukraine and Russia continues. Lebanon and Hezbollah and other Middle Eastern nations are still at odds with Israel. Syrian leadership is uncertain with Bashar al-Assad stepping down and finding asylum in Russia.

The storm season for our nation has taken a devastating toll. Tornadoes, fires, floods and most notable the Hurricanes Helene and Milton have scarred the topographic, socioeconomics and affected countless thousands of families and homes across our country. It will take years if not decades to recover.

Not to be a “Debbie Downer” and rain on your New Year’s Day celebration, I am just making an observation. I am quite sure very few, if any, share my view of New Year’s. That being said, I do look forward to the New Year as it’s a time when we can put behind us our not-sobright and shining moments of last year and attempt to do better in the new year.

This New Year certainly brings with it several challenges, but those challenges can make us rise to the occasion and be better, or they can bring us down and make us bitter. Only you can decide which it will be.

I prefer to rise to the occasion and remember that God has all this in His control. Nothing happed/happening catches Him by surprise. So let us practice what the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, “This one thing I do, forgetting those things behind me and reaching forward to those things that are ahead.” (Phil. 3:13) Let us not dwell on failures and mistakes but reach forward to what will make a change or difference. Let’s pray for the leaders of the world and peace to follow. Let’s look around at where we can serve to help others in need, struggling financially and dealing with loss of property or loved ones. Let’s put political bias, hatred or parties aside and look at what can bring about the best for our nation.

You may be thinking that a New Year’s article should tell us to pray more, read our Bible more faithfully, attend church more regularly and give financially to those causes worthy of our gifts. Yes, we should be doing all those things, but if you are only do it to be doing it, what is the point?

For a New Year, how about a new heart? With all the challenges carrying over from the old year into the New Year, why not try to help, solve, or alleviate some of them… be part of the solution, not the cause? Make a difference in this year. Let us look forward to this time next year having dealt with the challenges of the old year and get ready for new challenges in the next year!

Forgetting the Past, Embracing the New Year, Bro. Tim