New Year's Celebrations

Read: Psalm 31:14-24

I trust in You, O Lord . . . . My times are in Your hand. —Psalm 31:14-15

I don't know what your family does to bring in the new year, but it's celebrated in many different ways around the world.

In Japan, people dress in new clothes and decorate their houses with bamboo and pine branches—symbols of long life.

In Scotland, groups of friends or families get together for dinner at a host's house and exchange gifts soon after midnight.

In Greece, the children leave shoes by the fireplace, hoping St. Basil will fill them with gifts.

For many years, my wife and I have spent New Year's Eve with friends, eating dinner together, playing games, and enjoying good conversation. As midnight approaches, we read from the Bible and pray. We thank God for the year that has passed, and we ask Him to use us to accomplish His will in our troubled, suffering world in the year ahead.

The times and seasons and years, including this new year, are in God's hand (Psalm 31:15). As Christians, we have nothing to fear, for God's goodness is great (v.19). We can walk with Christ each day and join the psalmist in saying, "As for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God' " (v.14). —Dave Egner

God will never fail us, He will not forsake;
His eternal covenant He will never break,
Resting on His promise, what have we to fear?
God is all-sufficient for the coming year. —Havergal

The future is as bright as the promises of God.

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