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GET READY FOR A NEW YEAR
Let Jesus Fill You

A Commentary by Constance Vanides

Get ready for a New Year! The only preparation one needs is of the heart. Follow the prophet Isaiah’s words:
    “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert…to give drink to My people, My chosen.” (Isaiah 43:18-20)

And the “drink” comes from no one else but Jesus, Himself!
    “…whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13, 14)

What heart preparation then do we need?
    “Set your mind on things above not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2)

    “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him…”(Colossians 3:3,9)

More from the prophet Amos, who told the Israelites the same thing we are told today:

    “Seek Me and live…Seek the LORD and live…Seek good and not evil, that you may live…Hate evil, love good” (Amos 5:4, 6, 14, 15)

“Happy New Year!”

Secular though it may sound, this common greeting for the beginning of a new year can only be achieved if I follow what the Bible tells me. What is it God says about that state we call happiness? For starters, I checked out Proverbs. That wonderful book tells me a lot about how to live.

    Proverbs 3:13 tells me, in order to be happy, “find wisdom and gain understanding”; all the things I desire cannot compare with this. That in itself ought to keep me busy this year!

    Proverbs 14:21 tells me to “have mercy on the poor” in order to be happy. I understand it to mean not necessarily “poor” financially, but poor in spirit. This requires me to do something for someone else.

    Proverbs 16:20 Check this one out carefully: “He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.” I’ll actually be happy if I plainly trust in the Lord! Now, that’s a biggee! So much so that this topic is repeated over and over again in God’s Will In Today’s World; click the book’s Topical Index and uncover more about trust.

    Finally, Jesus tells me in John 13:17, “If you know these things, happy are you if you do them.” Reading ahead of this statement, I discover He is talking about washing the disciples’ feet. I’m required to be a servant and do as Jesus has done for me, in order to be happy. That’s a mighty tall order for the entire year!

And those are only four of the ways to become and stay happy!

I’m willing. Are you?

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© Constance Vanides