DCLM Daily Manna Wed 1 January 2025
TOPIC: A Year of New Things
KEY VERSE
“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it: I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert”
(Isaiah 43:19).
TEXT: ISAIAH 43:14-28
DCLM Daily Manna Wed 1 January 2025 Message
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1755) made five resolutions in his youth.
1. Live with all my might while I do live.
2. Never lose one moment of time, but improve it in the most profitable way possible.
3. Never do anything I should despise or think meanly in another.
4. Never do anything out of revenge.
5. Never do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life – Roy B. Zuck.
Jonathan Edward’s resolutions provide a reflective template for the New Year. But resolutions must go along with divine revelation as captured in our text. God instructed the children of Israel to look away from the old negative experiences they have had over the years, especially the unpleasant and humiliating events of their captivity in Babylon. He wanted them to focus on the opportunities ahead rather than the oppressions of the past.
READ DCLM Daily Manna Tuesday 31 December 2024 – Flourishing Like The Palm Trees
Generally, our brains are wired to retain and meditate on unpleasant memories that may provoke bitterness, regrets, and even revenge. By retaining and ruminating on those negatives, the devil keeps us from seeing and experiencing the brighter side of life that lies ahead. This New Year offers new opportunities to recalibrate all our dreams, desires, and decisions. It offers a new dawn of new opportunities to rewrite our stories for greater accomplishments and impacts in our professions, family life, career, and God-honouring social entrepreneurship endeavours. Of course, it offers new resources to rejuvenate our waning energies for service and exploits in the kingdom.
As someone says, “Our attitude will determine our altitude”. Our God is a God of New Beginnings. He remains in the great and unfailing job of turning our mistakes into miracles, lifting us from grass to grace, and ensuring that we rise from the ashes of zero to the beauty of heroes. Instead of being chained down by the past, ask the Lord to engineer better days for you to pursue and possess the glorious things heaven has for you. God is already at work in your life.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: New things begin with a new mindset and a new passion.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: GENESIS 1 – 3
