NEW YEARS MESSAGE

Proverbs 27:1: Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

Matthew 6:25-34: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Philippians 4:6: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

For believers, every day is like a new year day. God never promised us an easy life, to the contrary, Jesus said: "Take up your cross and follow me". What He did promise is peace in knowing that we were once dead in sin and made alive in Christ through grace (Ephesians 2). He promised that nothing can snatch us out of His hand (John 10:28), nor separate us from His love (Romans 8:35-39). When we understand who we were before Christ, a wretched sinner, undeserving of grace yet Christ lowered Himself from His throne to come and live the life we could not live perfectly. He went to the cross as our substitute and bore our sins and took upon Himself the wrath of God which we deserved so that we who were once enemies of God now are reconciled unto Him. He justified us, clothing us with the righteousness of Christ in order to stand before a Holy God. Adopted us as children, no longer separated and in enmity. Sealed with the Holy Spirit, to keep us and sanctify us. What more do we need? What more do we need to worry about or desire? What motivational word or prophecy and pep talk do we need? There will be trials, next year will have struggles, especially struggles with our flesh, but we have the greatest gift, salvation, and comfort in knowing that every day is a gift, we once deserved hell but have a hope of eternity in glory. Each breath we take we are breathing in the grace of God. Our old self is dead and we new, born again, alive in Christ. So let's not repeat the same tired new years messages and let our words be Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

James 4:13-17: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Hebrews 13:8: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

1 Peter 1:3-10: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5: Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.