“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” Isaiah 42:9

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” I Peter 1:3-5

Dear Faithful Friends, Saintly Seed-Sowers, and Courageous Covid-Warriors,

Above are a few passages of Scriptures that I turn to as I prepare for each New Year.  I think of all we each had to walk through in 2020.  Who would have imagined that a world-wide pandemic would shut down our lives on a dime? I also like to reflect on the new year and on the “new things” that God will do in my life, your life, and in the lives of all of us during this new year: 2021!

I love the passage from Revelation: Write them down for they are “trustworthy and true.”  What powerful words to reflect on!  What words are your hearing? What words are you reading? What words are you thinking on?

Did you know that the word “new” is used 192 times in the Bible? The word “new” is used with the words — “new moon, new wine, new harvest, new king, new treasure, new tomb (Jesus’ burial), new command (love), new life, new song, and new name” to name just a few.  The Hebrew word for ‘new” is “חָדָשׁ chadash” and it means “new, fresh, to reveal.”  The Greek word for “new” is a combination of two words — kainos (καινος), neos (νεος).

As we sit on the brink of this NEW Year, think about this. The slate is clean for this New Year.  The pages of your life in 2021 have yet to be written. I read this devotional thought from Robert G Lee:

“If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,400, that carried no balance from day to day, allowed you to keep no cash in your account, and finally every evening canceled whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day. what would you do?

Draw out every cent—of course!

Well, you have such a bank, and its’ name is “Time.” Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off—as lost—whatever of this you failed to invest into good purpose. It carries no balances. It allows no balances. It allows no overdrafts. Each day the bank named “Time” opens a new account with you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.”

One gift that COVID-19 has given me is the gift of time. My wife and I are caring for her elderly father-in-law with severe Alzheimer’s. We are aware that each day contains 86,400 seconds and, yet we are blessed to be able to keep dad at home. Have you thought about what gifts this pandemic has blessed you with?

This year I am hoping to end my day with this question: Did I spend my 86,400 seconds wisely?

Here is to a very Happy New Year!

May the Lord bless you and keep you in His everlasting and His mercy that is NEW every morning.

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

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