Looking Ahead to 2012

New Year signifies a new beginning. Flipping open a fresh calendar, with its 12 untouched months, is perhaps one of the most universally hopeful acts we perform. Finally, a chance to shrug off a year's worth of worries, conflicts, and mistakes; a chance to start over. It's no wonder we all welcome the holiday with such enthusiasm.

It is also a time to look back, to review the previous year's successes, failures, struggles, disappointments, and victories. This is important for several reasons. First, we all need changes. Some we find very hard to admit to ourselves. I've heard people who say, "I have no regrets about my life. If I had it to do over, I'd do it the same way again." But that attitude is way too blind and self-serving, in my opinion. There is great power in confession~to ourselves, to God, and to others. Owning up to our failures is the first, painful step on the road to something better.

Second, when we change calendars is a good time for reassessment. How did last year go? What do I want to do differently this year? This time of year always reminds me of a passage of Scripture, better understood by farmers than suburbanites: "Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among thorns" (Jer. 4:3). It makes sense. The more land you put into production, the more prosperous you'll be. But our tendency is to try to sow seeds in land overrun by thorns without breaking up the soil and taking care to root out the thorns as they come up. This requires both courage andintentionality.

God has been good to us this past year. There can be no doubt that we have walked through some significant struggles and difficult times as a congregation, as families, and as individuals. As you take time to prayerfully reflect over this year I hope you will see, as I do, the hand of God at work in our lives. The Word of God is true, and like Jeremiah we can say "The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, 'The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!'" (Lamentations 3:22-24)

Looking forward always creates in me a sense of excitement. In my times of prayer I have been asking God to give us a year full of new things in the same way He promised Israel, "Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert."  (Isaiah 43:19) Growing up I frequently heard the phrase, "The future is as bright as the promises of God," and I wholeheartedly believe that is true. There is an important addition, though, that we must take care to not overlook. The future is as bright as the promises of God and the obedience of His people. God's blessings flow where His people trust and obey Him.

In many ways 2012 is a year of transition for us. We will apply the Biblical truths we have learned in recent months about church membership. We will refocus our attention on the priority of knowing God personally and corporately. We will clarify and declare our understanding of and commitment to essential doctrines of Scripture. And we will continue to grow in our understanding and practice of sharing the Gospel in our mission field. I can't wait to see what this year holds!

You probably know that one of my heroes in the Bible is the Apostle Paul. Talk about difficulties! Throughout his life he was opposed, persecuted, shipwrecked, stoned and left for dead, deserted by trusted co-workers, slandered, and scorned. Sometimes it seemed that ministries to which he had devoted years were turning to dust before his eyes. But during one of his stints in prison, we can see from one of his letters an unwillingness to quit. "Forgetting what is behind," he wrote, "and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13-14) No wonder God used him so powerfully to impact the world for Christ. Like him may we press on in Jesus, for His glory.

Happy New Year!!

~Pastor Marty