THE NEW YEAR

 

The New Year

 

     It is hard to believe another year has come and gone.  With the New Year comes resolutions.  We plan to follow some new routine, goal, plan, or philosophy.  In fact, here on the top New Year resolutions.  Exercise more, lose weight, get organized, learn a new skill or hobby, live life to the fullest, save more money, spend less money, quit a bad habit, spend more time with family and friends, travel more. and read more.  Now all of these are excellent resolutions but unfortunately about only 5% of us stay with and follow through on our resolutions.

     The New Year of course is a great opportunity to turn a page and start again.  The Bible states that we can do this daily it even encourages us to do so.  There is a wonderful verse found in Jeremiah 3:22-23.  It states, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”  So let me break it down and give you some advice from these verses. 

     First, the steadfast or stable love of the Lord never ceases.  That means that you can rely on the love of God to be constant.  It will never stop or cease.  God will love you no matter what.  You see the nature, essence and character of God is love.  You can not do anything to diminish or stop his love.  Secondly, his mercy will never end.  God will always look at you in a favorable way.  He has extended his love through Jesus Christ.  When Jesus died on the cross, he made a way for mankind and God to be connected.  He bridged the gap between us and God.  This was done through the mercy of God.  Mercy means that you have every right to punish and bring justice to an offending party but instead you choose to pardon them.  There is a story a a son who was brought before a judge who was his father.  The son had broken the law and it meant he would either serve jail or a fine.  The father said to his son that he had to administer justice as a judge.  So, he sentenced the boy to six-month probation and a thousand dollar fine.  After the sentence had been administered the judge took off his robes.  Went to the bailiff and said, “As a judge I had an obligation and duty to administer justice but now as a father I out of love for my son am going to pay the fine.”  God in His mercy did that for us through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The mercy of God did this.

     Thirdly, the love and mercy of God are new every morning.  This means everyday God’s love and mercy are extended and available for application in our lives and situation.  This is amazing.  Every single day we can receive and live in these two attributes of God.  Lastly, God is faithful.  He was faithful in the past, he will be faithful today and in the future.  I have had the privilege of serving the Lord since 1974 and have had a lifetime of experience living these verses.  In fact, they are a part of my daily regimen of verses that I pray and quote. 

    So, as we head into 2026, may I suggest that you think about incorporating these verses into your daily routine.  I am suggesting that it would be better to live day by day because the truth of the matter we do not even know if we are going to make it through the day.  I am not being morbid or scary I just know from experience that life is fluid and know there is no guarantee that someone could meet eternity unexpectedly.  Jeremiah in these verses says enjoy the love and mercy of God because they are steadfast and never cease.  These virtues are new every morning because God is faithful. Remember each day is a gift to be enjoyed and lived to the fullest. There is a wonderful line from a movie called Ever after.  It states. “They did not just live happily ever after, it was the fact they lived their life in love.”

Let us live our life in 2026, in the love and mercy of God and remember they are new every morning because God is faithful.