2008 A Year of New Beginnings

A certain man had retired. When he got up in the morning, the first thing he did was read the obituary column to find out who had died. Well, on this particular morning he read that column and the newspaper mistakenly put his name in the column and reported that he was dead. He was not only shaken, he was irate. He called the editor of the newspaper and fussed him out. Finally the editor said, "I'll tell you what we'll do. In the morning we'll put your name in the birth column and give you a brand new beginning."

There really is something exciting about new beginnings and something exciting about a new year because you know it’s a new beginning. There's something exciting about starting a new job because you know it is a new beginning. There's something exciting about moving into a new home because you know it could be a new beginning. There's something exciting about a new day because you know with it comes a new beginning. Believe it or not, you can have a new beginning in your life more often than you think because a new beginning requires three simple, but different, looks. First of all, it requires a look BACK to see where you've been; it then requires a look AROUND to see where you are; then it requires a look AHEAD to see where you need to go. Now, you can't really get to where you need to go until you know where you are, but you really cannot know where you are until you know where you've been.

Mickey Mantel was going to Yogi Berra's apartment one afternoon, and he got lost. He stopped at a pay phone and called Yogi and said, "Yogi, I'm trying to find your apartment, where is it?" Yogi said, "Where are you now?" He said, "I'm at the corner of 5th and Main." Yogi said, "Well, just keep coming in this direction," and hung up.

The nation of Israel was less than a two-week journey from the promise land. They had been wandering in the wilderness for forty years, and they were now poised to cross the Jordan, conquer Canaan, and claim a new beginning. But before they did, Moses gives them "a blast from the past." He asked them to open the vault of their memory, and REMEMBER what the Lord HAD DONE for them so that they could REJOICE in what He WAS DOING for them, and then RECEIVE what He WOULD DO for them.

The number eight (8) means new beginnings! It’s an opportunity to “Let bygones be bygones.” In essence, it’s a new start! I want to challenge you in 2008 to get started on the right foot. No, I’m not necessarily talking about new years resolutions. I’m talking about new years commitments. You see, January 6th will be our first Sunday in the new year, and the Holy Spirit has been speaking to my heart about “First Fruits”. First Fruits is a type of sacrifice to the Lord. It’s your way of saying: “God, you are going to be first in my life, and I want to make this year the best year I’ve ever had spiritually, physically, financially, and emotionally. So, begin praying now and talking to the Lord about where you want to be in this new year, because we are fast approaching 2008. After all, it is the year of New Beginnings!

Sincerely,

Pastor Tony