There Is A New Year Coming.

We have almost made it again to a new year! Is your mind on what the New Year may bring? Or are the events of the year just past still weighing on you?

God's words through the prophet Isaiah looked forward to the future;

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:18-19).

This encourages us not to dwell on what's happened before, be it good or bad. Rather, we are urged to focus on what God is doing in the present, and what he will do in the future. Isaiah was ultimately referring to the coming of Jesus, since the salvation He brings is the 'new thing' which the Israelites in exile were looking forward to.

For us, we know right now the joy of living in relationship with God. Our sins have been blotted out and are remembered no more, because of Jesus' work on the cross (Isaiah 43:25). However, we should also remember that the 'new thing' which God promises won't be fully realised until heaven.

TFTD: Are you able to forget the former things, and not dwell on the past? Are you able to see the 'new things' which God is doing, and will do? Let us be encouraged by our present relationship with Jesus, and the promise of heaven, as we move into this New Year.


"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away..."Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God...""
Revelation 21:1,3 (NIV)

Have a great day,


Peter Clark
(reprinted from the bible Society Newsletter)