Grace and peace, Saints.
Every December 31st, we look forward to the coming new year with great anticipation, optimism, and hope. The New Year holds the promise of a fresh start and a new beginning. The New Year symbolizes a chance to make amends, to right wrongs, and to thank those whom we neglected to thank. It’s an opportunity to start things we haven’t started, and to finish thing we have.  It’s an opportunity to stop procrastinating and to become proactive rather than reactive. It’s a chance to become doers instead of merely watchers of them who do.  This year you may even get up the nerve to ask that pretty girl at the library out on a date.
The New Year is a chance to become better people: a chance to become better husbands, better wives, better parents, and better neighbors. Â
Most importantly, the New Year means another opportunity for us Christians to “make full proof†of our ministry: to win more souls for Jesus Christ. It’s a chance to preach more sermons, to pass out more gospel tracts, to finally witness to our lost family, friends, and neighbors. And it’s a chance to finally share the gospel with a boss or coworker who desperately needs to hear it. Maybe you’ve always wanted to start a ministry of your own, but you have no idea what your calling is or what would be the best way to use your talents and abilities for the glory of Jesus Christ. Well, the New Year presents the perfect opportunity for you to go for it. Don’t wait for that “still small voice†to tell you what God wants you to do. Find something to do, and do it. Get busy for the Lord. Maybe later that voice will say, “Ataboy!â€Â
The New Year means a time to readjust, redefine, reevaluate, reaffirm, and reorder goals and priorities. If, for example, in 2013, Satan hindered you from reaching you’re goal of 100 podcasts by year’s end, you merely reaffirm that goal for 2014.  If your goal last year was to witness to at least one person a week, but you managed to witness only a couple of times the whole year, no worries! Simply set a new goal.  You may even want to reduce your target to something a little more do-able.  The important thing is to set a goal and to shoot for it. Even if you don’t make it, the confidence and knowledge you gain will be invaluable. You will also learn the value of setting goals and priorities. There’s just no way to lose. As the old saying goes, if you aim for the stars, you just might hit the moon!
The New Year is also an opportunity for us to rededicate ourselves to the Lord. Perhaps last year we weren’t walking with Jesus as closely as we could have.  Perhaps the cares of this world became too much for us and we veered somewhat off course. Perhaps our hearts became hardened by the deceptiveness of sin. Whatever the reason, the New Year means an opportunity for us to get back on track, to repent, to confess, and to show the Lord Jesus that we mean business.
So as we dust the old year off our boots and step into the fresh clean powder of the New Year, let us endeavor to make it the best one yet. Let us redouble our efforts to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.
Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The Still Man
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