I trust you’ve had a blessed Christmas. 2020 is drawing to a close and most of us are saying, “Good riddance!” This year has been marked by frustration, heartache and pain. The pandemic has touched us all. Some paying a much greater price than others. My heart breaks for those who have lost loved ones and for those who spent days, weeks, even months alone isolated from loved ones. The last week has offered some hope with the arrival of the vaccines in our state. I’m praying for better things in 2021. Add to the physical challenges of this past year the social and political strife. The deepening divides socially and politically giving evidence of the sin-cursed nature of our world. While all of this could be seen as encouragement for finding a cave to hide in awaiting the return of Christ, I choose to see it as an opportunity.
An opportunity to let the light of the gospel shine through our lives. An opportunity to embrace this new year with renewed faith and confidence that our God is still on His throne and is working all things together for our good and His glory. Let’s embrace the dawn of this new year, determined to live out our faith. To be vocal in our gospel witness. To love our neighbor as ourselves. To give a reason for the hope that is in us. At the beginning of each new year many resolve to read through the Bible in the coming year. I hope that you will do so. But I’m going to ask you to do more. I’m going to ask you to resolve to actively engage in discipleship in 2021. What do I mean? Make it a point this coming year to seek to invest your life in the life of fellow believers. Make it a point to engage your fellow church members in gospel conversations. Make it a point to seek to do your brother and sister in Christ spiritual good. Meet to pray together, read a book together, have spiritual conversations. Discipleship doesn’t demand hours together or a program. It’s a simple matter of living out the truth of your faith together. It means meeting for lunch and discussing what God is doing in your life, encouraging one another in the faith. I’m not asking you to commit to another meeting a week (though that’s not wrong) but I’m asking you to take seriously the fact that we are accountable to and for each other spiritually. If we’ve learned nothing else from 2020, we’ve learned this – we need each other!
I don’t know what 2021 will bring but I do know this, we are in this together. We are called to live the Christian life as a body of believers and not as single soldiers. I pray that you have a gloriously and prosperous new year.
I’ll see you Sunday,
Rod
Don’t forget, we are not meeting this Wednesday, December 30 and there is no New Year’s
Breakfast this year.