Happy New Year's Day!!

Read Genesis 1:1-31

It is the only night of the year that I stayed up all night. Most of the church people were going to be at our house by noon and would not leave until very late. The kitchen would have the aroma of all kinds of food, and mom would be busy making sure everyone had enough to eat. New Year’s Day was that way at the Sanders’ home. Dad would have me outside the week before making sure the hockey rink was all ready for everybody. There was one particular man (who will go unmentioned here) that always seemed to show up several hours before everyone else (and before he was supposed to), but it was perfect for me because I could start the day right away.
I love January 1. It is probably the most exciting day of the year for me. The reason is because it is a New Year. New dreams. New ideas. New goals. New interests. There is something about the turning of a calendar that intrigues even the most stoic person. There just seems to be a breath of fresh air that enters the lungs and fills the soul with new hope for the New Year. We hold to this annual song of hope that things will not only be different than the previous year, but also better.
Genesis 1:1 states that “In the beginning God created…” and there is something that excites the spirit of man that before all circumstance and worldly entities, God had a hand in their creation. Although man has perverted the use of the things that God created, there was nothing until God did create. God created all that there is and so it is vital for everyone to realize that if God created everything, He can fix anything. If your life was filled with chaos last year, He can calm the New Year. If your life was filled with heartache last year, He is able to speak from creation and heal, from the smallest to the greatest of hurts. If your family seemed detached or dysfunctional last year, He is able to pull together the frayed pieces into a cohesive family unit. No matter what took place last year, God is standing at your door knocking, and if you allow Him, He will enter and make all things new.
Does this devotion seem to be out of place? I probably should have had this one for January 1, not June 15. I thought the same thing until I thought of Lamentations 3:22-23, “[It is of] the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. [They are] new every morning: great [is] thy faithfulness.” Did you catch that? Mercy and compassion are new everyday. Today is New Year’s Day. What is even more exciting is tomorrow is New Year’s Day. When I think about it, my favorite day of the year happens every morning. What happened yesterday is over and you have the opportunity for a brand new start today.
So the question becomes, “What will you do for God if you know you can try all over again tomorrow?” Bill Cosby said it this way, “In order to succeed, your desire for success must be greater than your fear of failure.” Give it a shot today because tomorrow is a brand new day.

“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day.”
- Dalai Lama