Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Happy New Year, again

Happy New Year! It's that time of year again when you think about the future and what you want to accomplish this year. You know, it seems like we just did this a couple of months ago. Wait...I think we did just do this a couple of months ago!
    Throughout most of history, many cultures celebrated the new year in the month of March. The British Empire still celebrated March 25 as the beginning of the calendar year in 1752 when the switch was finally made to the Gregorian calendar. They swapped calendars and thought it would be a really cool idea to swap new year's days, too. It may seem strange to us today, but apparently everyone thought the new year should begin with the hope that comes with Spring instead of the death associated with winter. As Christianity spread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, this allowed people to begin the new year focusing on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just as Spring brought life and hope for the coming year, the focus on the Resurrection served as a reminder of the new life and hope that is possible through the person and finished work of the Son of God.
     So, while we no longer celebrate the new year in March (unfortunately), we can still celebrate that fresh, new hope every day. As believers, we should also be celebrating the Resurrection every Sunday, not just at Eastertime. 

Lamentations chapter 3 is a very dark passage of Scripture, yet in the middle of it is this bright gleam of light bursting from the shadowy mists of Jeremiah's depression and anxiety. His winter has been long and cold. He desperately needed the hop of spring, the promise of the Resurrection.

He has made me chew on gravel.
     He has rolled me in the dust.
Peace has been stripped away,
      and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
      Everything I had hoped for from the LORD is lost!
The thought of my suffering and homelessness
      is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
      as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare too hope
      when I remember this:
The faithful love of the LORD never ends!
      His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
      his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance;
      therefore, I will hope in him!”
Lamentations 3:16-24 NLT

You may be in a dark and cold winter of life, but the True New Year has arrived. Your circumstances may not change. The pain will probably still be there regardless of the calendar date, but one thing is certain: God's steadfast love is faithful and never ending; His mercies never fail; and each morning they pour out on His children fresh and new because while you and I frequently fail, He is always faithful! If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, then the Lord is your portion and inheritance. So don't give up, hope in the Lord.
 -Ray PerdueMen’s Ministry Director

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