Hi, this is Pastor Lutzer, wishing you a very blessed New Year!
When I was a little boy, I learned a little ditty that I think goes something like this: “The future lies before us, like a path of driven snow; be careful how you tread it, for every step will show.” This is a wonderful opportunity for us to think in terms of the direction that we’re going to go, the steps that we will leave behind.
Now if you’ve made New Year’s resolutions, I can tell you (with probably a high degree of certainty) that you have broken them. I say that because I know that I have. Sometimes the resolutions that we choose are too difficult for us; they involve too much. And then, of course, we become discouraged. For example, even reading the entire Bible through in a year—I’ve done that a couple of times, but that’s quite a challenge. Why not go to the Internet and find a reading program that says, “I’m going to read the Bible through in two years, or in three years?” That’s more manageable.
But today I want to share with you a very exciting way in which we can have God in the forefront of our thinking for the entire year… and it is doable. I have before me a set of cards; and these cards have on them the attributes of God. Every week it’s possible for you to have one of these cards, you can take it with you, you can read the verse—for example, this one is January 7th, because that’s the beginning Monday of the New Year. “Who is like you, oh LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” Meditate on that verse. Think about it every day, in addition of course to your other Bible reading. But take this as a focus. Expand your view of God, and each week you have a new card with a new verse that reminds you of the greatness of our God.
I can imagine that when we come to the end of this coming year, we’ll be glad that these are steps that we have taken in the right direction. Have a blessed New Year.