Minister's Thought for the Week - 1st January 2012

Happy New Year

A new year starts today, but really it is just another day.  Not much has changed since yesterday, but a new year has begun and for some there is a sense of a new start, a fresh take on things.  For many we will have made resolutions, things to do or to achieve in the coming year.   I wonder how many of these resolutions will be fulfilled in 366 days time?  Or how many will be forgotten about by the end of January?  Looking back on my previous years' resolutions many seem to be practical in nature, things to do in the house, a desire to get more exercise, both of which usually fail dismally early on in the year.  Perhaps there should be part of our thoughts for the new year that asks how could I get to know God better in the coming year?  Could I perhaps speak to him more no matter what situation I find myself in, perhaps I can find a bit more time to read what he has to say to me through the Bible.  Perhaps too we look back and think 'I feel further from God now than I did at the beginning of last year'.  Let us rest in the assurance that God is the God of fresh starts and new beginnings, whether it is January the first or any other day of the year.

Every blessing

Peter