Tag Archives: new year

I am a miracle

I am a miracle. A living, breathing, thinking feeling creation. A masterpiece of intricate biology, a perfect balance of chemicals, an extensive network of connections and systems. We are the work of the Creator, the potter, the master craftsman! Life is miraculous, and it’s all around us – growing, bearing fruit, reproducing! Yet as God’s children, made in his likeness, created to walk in the garden with him, we also have great intellectual depth, strong feelings and emotions. And more than these, the promise that our souls carry the very spirit that Christ carried, to guide us and help us. Wow!

Yet to tell the truth I often feel the antithesis of this wonder, especially at this time of year. I become lethargic with routine, uncertain of my direction, burdened with anxieties or heavy with fatigue. It’s time to “refresh”, like the page on a search engine, to reboot, rethink, remember…to remember that I the clay could never fathom, perceive or understand fully the mind of the potter. That I the clay must trust, retrace my steps back to find the beauty, love and wonder that signpost the way to the Creator. And allow faith to arise in God, my Lord, Almighty one, Father, Shepherd, Prince of Peace, King and Saviour, merciful Redeemer.

We are unique, precious, known and loved by a God who yearns to be with us. So as the New Year begins, the most important thing on our “to do” list should be to begin to value ourselves the way that God values us. He loved us so much, enough to pay all our debts, to take the most dreadful acts of man upon himself, and by doing so to transform heaven and earth. We “the clay” can trust that death is defeated and look forward to the eternal wonder and expanse of God’s creation. We are sons and daughters that inherit the Kingdom of God, forever.

Prayer for the New Year

By the love and grace of God we are always offered a new page, a fresh start, a new beginning. With this heavenly blessing we can be assured of new hope! For most people the coming of the New Year brings attempts at resolutions and new commitments. It can be a springboard for change, yet it can also be a place of depression, failure and procrastination.

Our lives are complicated, littered with the trappings of comparison forged in the maze of social media and TV, heavy with the weight of loss, or murky with the sediments of confusion, resentment, fear and disappointment. Christ offers us a way to filter, to cleanse and to receive fresh living water into our souls by his Holy Spirit that works deeply within us. This is an ongoing process and at the start of this New Year so many of us will come before the Lord with a mixture of emotions, sufferings and needs.

I promise you that as you dwell before your heavenly Father, his love for you is unconditional. He will hold you close and his Holy Spirit will work gently in your heart and soul to minister, to renew and to bring new hope and healing: –

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28, The Message)

The wonder of this offer is that it is not just once a year, like a fleeting January sale. It is not withdrawn if you fail, if you doubt, it is not eroded by illness, or by persecution or sin, or if you lose hope. The grace of God is like a never-ending river that can flow in and through our hearts, our words, our deeds and lead us onwards in life’s great adventure. This is truly amazing news!

The following is a little prayer that I wrote some time ago, which today as this New Year begins I earnestly pray for myself. As you watch the film or pray this prayer, allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart, sooth away resentment and forge forgiveness, allow him to brush aside disillusionment and bring vision and clarity to your heart and mind: –

Prayer for a New Beginning

Lord,

At the beginning of this new day, I offer you my life.
Come take my voice, may the words I speak be filled with encouragement and goodness.
Come take my hands, may the work they create be generous and giving.
Come take my feet, may the journeys I walk be led by your Spirit within.
Come take my life Lord, for I love your goodness, your kindness and your leading.

Amen.

It’s possible to download and keep this film in HD by following this link.

Turn This Boat Around

At the beginning of a new year, many of us relish the possibility of change. For some it is the thrill of setting a new course, for others that of developing relationships in family life, for still others it is the hope for new patterns to emerge in work life. I imagine that our Heavenly Father, the one who is bursting with love and forgiveness, longs to help us to embrace all these things.

I have so many things on my New Year list! Sometimes it feels as though even making a small change can take months of pondering and planning. Sometimes changing direction is like turning a really heavy boat around against the flow of the tide! All too often in early January I see some of these hopes fizzle out, drop off my agenda or become crushed by insecurity or doubt. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. When I lift my eyes to the skies I see the birds fly where they choose on the winds of the moment! This is a beautiful metaphor for the freedom intended for us all. Why is it that so often we feel like we are moving in slow motion or dragging ourselves through treacle? Sometimes it is the well trodden paths of history which pull heavily on our decisions. At times it is the internal doubts and insecurities that confine us. At other times it is the ties in life, the responsibilities we carry, that hold us back. Or perhaps it is the way we look at these things? Could they be transformed into possibilities, joys and adventures? So let us stand, hand in hand with each other, and explore without fear! Share and laugh together. Take mini steps, moment by moment, day by day. Here we can hold steady to a loving God, and stand on the bed of grace given to us by Jesus. He is alive! And we can be alive too. So hope and breathe anew!