I’m always grateful for the chance to begin anew – a new day, a fresh start, a new resolve. The new year indeed brings with it the hope of new possibilities, but sometimes there’s a dissonance as I face the reality that many of the things I said I would do over of the course of the year, I did not do. I failed in my resolutions or only met them so-so in half-hearted attempts. The memory of these failed attempts can taint my expectancy for the new year.
Yet, as I read Isaiah 43:19, an often-quoted verse, Behold, I am doing a new thing, I get a little hopeful. It’s an appropriate verse for the new year. I’ve often meditated on it. I’ve always heard it in my head with the emphasis on new thing, but today I hear the emphasis on I am doing. As I realize that it is God who says this – the God who sees, the God who understands, the God who desires to dwell with me, the God who has come to set me free, the God who desires redemption, justice, and healing for all of creation - I am expectant, hopeful even. God is speaking! I begin to exhale a bit and meditate on the fact that the new thing is God’s doing. In fact, the new thing that Isaiah is referring to is the coming Messiah, the incarnation of the Son of God. The new thing is something God is doing and has already done for me that I cannot do for myself. I exhale a bit more. Grateful! Hopeful! For the verse continues, I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
God’s way is Jesus Christ! Big exhale.
New Year’s resolution: Jesus – to lean in close, rest my head on His chest as beloved disciple (like John), listen, follow.
In this new year may our eyes and focus be on what God is doing in Christ through His Spirit in the world and in us.
New things in the new year – REUNITE!
We are bringing REUNITE back. February 15-16. REUNITE is an overnight low key gathering for high school campers to reconnect with Jesus and camp friends, a kind of reset and recharge before summer. Go to our website to register. http://www.kingscamp.net/
Also, registration for King’s Camp 2025 will open on February 17. The registration link will be available on our website but here is the direct link:
And finally, be watchful for as we start announcing our directors and counselors on social media. We already have an amazing staff for the upcoming year. God is faithful.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
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