Approach it with eagerness and anticipation

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “A fresh start in a new year”

Our Bible verse for today: “Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Approach it with eagerness and anticipation”

As I write this, we are less than forty-eight hours away from the start of the new year. Granted, January 1^st is just a day on the calendar and there really isn’t anything magical about it. If you want a fresh start, you can begin at any time not just on the first day of the new year. And yet, there is great symbolic significance in turning the page and beginning a new calendar year. We can make the beginning of the new year the starting place for our fresh start.

Yesterday at Oak Hill Baptist Church I preached our New Years sermon to launch us into 2025. If you weren’t there in-person or online, I encourage you to go to our YouTube channel and watch the sermon. But this morning, as we rapidly approach the beginning of the new year and what will be a fresh start for many of us, I want to repeat a few of the key points from yesterday’s sermon.

First, as you think about the 365 days that the Lord has laid out in front of you, frame your thinking in a Biblical perspective. In other words, think about the future the way the Bible describes it. Lamentations 3:22-23 encourages us to view it with trust, eagerness, and anticipation. Jeremiah 29:11-14 reminds us that God has prepared the future for us and He will be there in that future waiting for us when we arrive there. Proverbs 3:5-6 and Matthew 11:28-30 remind us that He will even walk through our days into the future with us, side-by-side, helping us along the way.

It is also true that we should have an attitude of gratitude regarding the life we already have and where God has brought us to so far in life. We then realize that the plan God has for us going forward will be built upon the foundation He has already formed in our life. Another important point regarding our thinking about 2025 is that we are to value our time. Our life is made up of the minutes, days, weeks, months, and years the Lord has ordained for us. We are not to waste our time, nor should we allow others to waste our time either. Your life is made up of your time. If you waste your time, you are wasting your life.

Finally, we should resolve to make a difference each day. Since God has chosen to let you continue living, He has a reason for it. There are things He wants to accomplish in you and through you in 2025. For a fuller explanation of each of those points, please watch the sermon.

I hope you are approaching 2025 with a great sense of eagerness and anticipation. Remember the lesson from a previous devotional in this series that we tend to get what we expect. In other words, our subconscious mind works to create the circumstances our conscious mind is focused on and expecting to get. So, expect good things. You have a good God who loves you and who wants the best for you. Trust Him. Be looking forward to what He has planned for you in 2025.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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