Happy New...

For many people, the New Year is a time of promise--a second (or third) chance to get it "right." The gyms are full, the resolutions posted... then February arrives, and gravity exerts its tug.

The changing of the calender is like a car's odometer. The rollover creates a momentary sensation of "neat..." but you're still in the same vehicle.

For those who trust in Christ, though, that won't always be the case.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son."

This is one of my favorite passages--the true promise of things to come. So Happy New Year, as we step ever closer to the New.