Has anyone written their New Years’ resolution? Any do’s and
don’ts for 2014?
I have my to-do, and that is to diet and exercise again. I
am hoping and determined to lose weight again and I planned to start it this
New Year. Yes, I preferred to wait until tomorrow :)
I think this goes to everyone. Each of us has their own
plans as the year starts.
Yes. I also have my don’t-do-it-this-time list on my mind; things that
I should stop doing. One of those is to sleep late or not having slept at all… (let me try!)
As Christians, I know we should not practice this New Year’s
resolution list anymore, we should be living a life pleasing the Lord and not
according to this list (the above were just examples).
We look at New Year as start
of something new and something great. This is the best time for new endeavors;
to step in a new opportunity or challenge.And this is also the perfect time to leave the past behind.
Those things that we want to forget; experiences and difficulties that causes us
pain. We can all move forward to start anew.
HOW DO WE CELEBRATE
NEW YEAR?
In the Philippines, we have firecrackers, the louder, the
better; for the old belief of sending away the negative things with a bang and
welcoming the year with new vibes. We all know that those came from Chinese
culture, which goes with having round fruits which symbolizes prosperity.
Here, we have get- together party during media noche or we
go out to watch for the grand fireworks.
In reality, even us Christians were still bounded by
cultures and traditions; most of us still put the same rounded fruits on the
table. Erika still jump hoping to increase my height... Admit or not, we cannot let go of these traditions; thank
God I don’t have a polka dots pajama anymore.
WHY DO WE CELEBRATE
NEW YEAR?
As the end of the yuletide season, this is our thanksgiving
for all the blessings received from the past year and gratitude and hope for
the coming year.
We celebrate the good life; we are all healthy and
comfortable. We have our family beside us. We have shared our thanksgiving…
We are grateful for the chance that is ahead of us. New Year
is new beginning. Opening of a new
chapter of empty pages of our lives and the pen is in our hands to fill in
those pages.
We are hopeful for a better year. We look forward to
stepping on the next level. We’ve learned a lot from the previous year and we
now look ahead at greater obstacle to overcome.
We embrace freedom from the past. As we start anew, we let
go of the heartaches and pain, we release the hatred and anger. People that
hurt us and experiences that made us down; this is the time to make wrong
moves, right. We made mistakes and here
is the chance to make things better.
WHAT IS THE
REASON TO CELEBRATE?
The celebration of the end of one year and the beginning of
another is the perfect time to focus on the faithfulness of Christ, and leave
the past behind and press on to the future.
Because everything ultimately flows back to this
one reality: Jesus is the reason of everything good and right and full of
hope.
This is a time to focus on forgiving the failures of the past and
focusing on the hopes and dreams that God’s puts in the heart of every
believer.
Our faith in Jesus, who He is, what He has done and what it means for
us.
WHO HE IS:
John 1:1-3
In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him
nothing was made that has been made.
WHAT HE HAS DONE:
1
Corinthians 15:3-4
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
WHAT IT MEANS FOR US
John 1:12-13
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he
gave the right to become children of God-- 13children born not of natural
descent, nor of human decision or a
husband's will, but born of God.
The Only reason why we can look ahead and never look back; whom we
lay down our hope and repent our sins; the Only One who holds our future and
released us from our past.
Have a blessed 2014 to everyone!
May the life of Jesus Christ manifest in us in the years to come.
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