Happy New Year

A new year is upon us, filled with promise and new possibilities. The
turn of the year is a time when we reflect upon what is past and look
forward to what the future will bring. The New Year is a time to
acknowledge God’s providence and care in our lives. God exists outside
the normal bonds of time and space, as we know them. Scripture says,
“With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years
are like one day.” (2 Peter 3:8)

Yet, we live within the bounds of time and space. Time is a gift of God, and one that we
should use wisely, for we never know how much of it we have. At the dawn of a new year, I
would encourage us to consider the gift of time we have been given, both as individuals and as
a church. How will we use the time, energy and resources God has given us in the coming
year? What would we like to accomplish over the next twelve months? What kind of people
do we want to become over the next year? How would we like God to work in and through us
to make us more of the kind of people we’d like to be?

Scripture encourages us to be awake, alert, prepared, and ready for God’s kingdom
work. We are encouraged to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18) I would like us to make this our theme in 2018. Let us consider how
we might grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ over this next year. Perhaps it is
through a deepening of our prayer lives, or increasing our reading and study of God’s word.
Perhaps it is through greater generosity and giving. Perhaps it is through cutting back on
superficiality and engaging more deeply in relationships in our church and community.
Perhaps it is simply slowing down and paying attention to the little things in life and learning
to savor small joyful moments, recognizing these as God’s precious gifts to us. God’s grace is
the favor God gives us purely out of love, not because of anything we do to deserve it. God’s
grace is also God’s action in our lives, shaping us more into the people God desires us to be.

In 2018, let us grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to him be
the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Blessings,

Pastor Hilary Livingston