Three Thoughts for the New Year

Wishes for a happy new year are heard everywhere you go.
No doubt you are looking forward to one yourself.
Everyone is.

But just wishing won’t make it happen.
You must do something if you want true happiness and joy in the new year.

It has been said that there are three great essentials for happiness:

(1) someone to love
(2) something to do
(3) something to hope for

Someone To Love

It’s easy to love someone who loves us.
It’s heartwarming to be told that we are loved by those we hold dear.
It’s a real joy to express our feelings toward those we care for.

There is someone who loved us when there was nothing lovely in us.
When we were unrepentant sinners, far away from God and not even caring about Him,
He loved us anyway and provided the Lord Jesus as our Savior (Romans 5:8).

All mankind needs to be saved from sin.
Christ provided this salvation by His death on the cross.
He paid the price by shedding His precious blood (Ephesians 1:7).

Only by faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus upon the cross
can we realize His love for us.
Only then can we express that:

“We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

God is worthy of our love above all others.
Through every day and all through the new year,
we should tell God that we love Him.

Something To Do

God does not permit anyone to work for salvation,
for:

“It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Once we are saved, there are many things we can do to please Him,
and that becomes our one desire (2 Corinthians 5:15).

He has asked us, first of all, to love one another as He has loved us (John 14:34).
We also have the privilege of praying and giving thanks to God.

Further, He desires that we be a witness of His saving grace to all around us.
He also desires that we:

“Do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

Finally, He wants us to read His Word, the Bible,
which is so necessary for our spiritual growth (1 Peter 2:2).

The more we study the Bible,
the more He will reveal to us what His plans are for our lives.

Something To Hope For

We know that time passes faster if we are looking forward to something.
Christians have the greatest event to look forward to:

the return of the Lord to take them to be with Him in heaven.

The Lord promised:

“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself;
that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3).

Are you ready to go,
or will you be left behind when He comes?

It is useless for you or anyone else to wish for a happy new year
without doing something about your relationship with God.

If you pay attention to these things and apply them in your life,
you will be assured of a truly happy new year.
— D.L.P.