Who do you follow in the New Year

Dear Following Christians:

 “the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them.” 

                                             Matthew 2:9b

     As we enter a new year perhaps you are like me and you wonder to yourself - what happen to the last year. It seems to me that we spend a lot of time wondering how time goes by so quickly. I had such big plans for this year, and now I blinked and we are on the verge of a whole new year. Do you ever just look around and wonder what happened and so then you think ahead and promise yourselve that the New Year will be different.

    But then one year comes and another goes. The Sun rises and sets. The moon waxes and wanes. Days just keep slipping by and really there is nothing we can do about it. It is the fact of life. The earth revolves around the sun and we as such also travel that same path revolving around the sun; time passes, moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day. It just keeps passing by.

   So now we stand at a New Year. It gives us that clean slate, a new starting mark, one more beginning. We look ahead and see the possiblities, the hopes, the promises. What is it that you look ahead and see in this New Year? Perhaps this year we should take a moment and look to see who it is that we follow into that new time that is beginning. Perhaps now is a good time ot examine our priorities. What exactly are we doing with our time that we have? What do we emphasize or spend our time doing? What is it that we look towards as the goal, the outcome, the hope that we are seeking to fulfill in the New Year? We cannot stop our trip around the sun, the time marches on, but we can travel it seeking something great and glorious.

    The magi traveled following a star. A star that they noticed rose ahead of them and they followed, trusting that it would lead them to something great. Too often we may find ourselves concentrating on stars of our own making that lead nowhere and we come to the end of our journey wondering what happened. But like the wise magi, we can travel this road of time, looking to the great morning star, the one who gives us worth and hope, Jesus Christ. May you look this New Year to the one who gives all reason and all hope. May you begin this New year looking to the Star that rises and travels ahead of you and with you always, our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus the Christ.

       In the Peace and Grace of God,            

                    Pastor Kirk Griffin