A new year, a new chance for a fresh start!

I wish you all a good start to the new year with God by your side.

My message today is less about celebrating the new year and more about celebrating the life God continues to give us. For He gives us the opportunity for a new beginning with Him. We have the chance to leave our old selves behind and sincerely seek God's face. Ephesians 4:22-24 says: “Look at your former way of life and put off the old self, which is corrupt through deceitful desires. Be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on the new self, created in God’s image in true righteousness and holiness.”

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the past cannot be recovered, and above all, the time we have left is uncertain and short. For it is written in Genesis 6:3-8: “Then the Lord said, ‘The breath of life I have given to mankind will not remain in them forever, for they must die, and from now on they will not live more than 120 years.’” Our life on earth passes quickly, but life after death is eternal.

May this year be a year of great spiritual awakening to God, our Creator. Psalm 37:4 tells us, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” God knows what we need. He will always shower us with His blessings if we put Him first and follow Him with a sincere heart. For who but our Creator can truly see into the heart? Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, “Nothing is deceitful like the heart; it is incurably diseased. Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to the fruit of their deeds.”

Let us pray for a wonderful life with God this year. Let us rejoice in the life he gives us, in his grace that redeems us from our sins and empowers us to love him with all our strength.

Be blessed in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen!