The Calendar
The calendar, a commonality for us all—whether we use the pages of the desk calendar, as do I, or for the younger folks the hand held devices—is the instrument that we all use to mark events and plan our lives.
As we ready ourselves to turn the page on a new year, we reflect back on the past year and see the things common to us all. For all of us, the year can be marked by dates circled and remembered with great joy, like the birth of child or grandchild. Or perhaps it was a graduation, new job, retirement or special anniversary. Other dates mark times of sadness with the death of a loved one, loss of a job and more. The point is all these things are common to us all. They are all part of life, and on different days throughout the course of 2022 we all faced days marked by joy and sorrow as we turned the pages of our calendars.
With the turning of the page of the calendar from December 31st to January 1st we begin a new year and once again we stand on common ground. It is a time to look forward, make new plans and enter 2023 with excitement and hope. We all with bated breath look ahead, not knowing what the year will hold. But the anticipation of great things prepares us to march through the days, weeks and months that are ahead with hope—hope of circling more days with joy than with sadness. Our prayer for you is that 2023 brings you much joy, and that in your times of sadness you will feel the warm embrace of Jesus, the Peace Speaker, and hear His voice as He gently calms all of your fears.
This brings me to another commonality best delineated by Paul in the book of Romans: “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” He further explains that because of Adam’s sin we ALL bear the guilt of sin, and because of sin we are ALL alienated from God and destined for eternal death. Thankfully Paul does not leave us ALL here but reminds us that God sent His son Jesus to redeem ALL of us from the curse of sin, and bring us ALL back into fellowship with the Father and the promise of eternal life. The pathway to redemption then is common for ALL of us; Jesus said “I am the way the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.”
Paul then tells us in Romans 10:9-11, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever [ALL] believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
If you have not received Christ as your Lord and Savior, it is our prayer that you will do so in 2023. Believe me, it will be a day you will want to circle on your calendar, joining with those who have marked the day throughout the ages noting it to be the BEST DAY OF THEIR LIFE.
Pastor Mike Kiker