It is nothing short of amazing that the years go by so quickly. They seem to fly by, don’t they? I can remember the eighties like it was yesterday. Even though I have gone through some drastic changes since my high school days, it just doesn’t seem as if that time in my life took place over thirty years ago. Truly the years fly by.

We recently saw the passing of another year into the history books and we witnessed the beginning of a new year. New years are nice. We should thank God that He has blessed us with another year because not everyone was so fortunate. Along with every new year comes new possibilities, some good and some bad. Let’s take a look:

New Possibilities to grow

Growth should be the desire of us all. It is certainly God’s desire for us. Don’t be content with your spiritual condition. In this new year, make up your mind to be a better, stronger Christian. Peter said, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). What are your areas of weakness? We all have them. Are you dissatisfied with the amount of Bible knowledge you have? Study more often and grow in knowledge. Perhaps you have not been as friendly to your brethren as you should be. Make it your goal to enhance your relationship with your brethren in Christ. In other words, grow in brotherly love and kindness. Are you weak in the realm of hospitality? Have folks over for dinner several times in the next year. In whatever area you may be weak, make it your fixed purpose to strengthen yourself in that area. Start as soon as possible. Someone said, “you don’t get much done by starting tomorrow.” Start today growing in faith and becoming a better Christian.

New possibilities for commitment

Are you truly committed to Christ? It is easy not to be. In this world in which there is so many different ways to occupy ourselves, it is easy to lose our focus. 2019 presents each one of us with the possibility of doing less worldly things and doing more for the Lord. How much time will you spend in the next year serving the Lord? Why not commit yourself to serving the Lord more vigorously this year than you did last year? Determine to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Be more committed. We have a new opportunity to dedicate ourselves to the Lord on a higher level. Commit yourself to doing more for the local church of which you are a member. Commit yourself to visiting the sick more regularly this year than you did last year. If you qualify, commit yourself to help out in the public services of the local church more often. Tell the elders you want to do more. If you are a parent, commit yourself to studying the Bible with your children more often. If you are a husband or wife, commit yourself to being a better spouse. The new year brings many possibilities. Let it bring a renewed commitment from each one of us.

New Possibilities to Win Souls to Christ

This should be high on our list of improvements for the year to come? How many souls did you lead to Christ last year? One, maybe two. I wonder how many souls we could win in the next year if we all commit ourselves to the business of soul winning. If we all won just one soul to Christ, the church would experience significant growth. More importantly, though, would be the number of souls saved from eternal punishment. Now, I realize that the number of souls we win is really out of our hands. We can’t force people to obey the gospel. It is the Lord who adds to the church through obedience to the gospel (Acts 2:47). But, we can in the next year put forth a better effort in dispersing the spiritual seed of the kingdom into the soil of men’s hearts. Will you try to do better this year than last? God will bless us for our efforts.

New Possibilities to Fall

The Devil never grows weary of trying to ruin our relationship with God and destroy our souls (1 Peter 5:8). The new year brings many wonderful opportunities and possibilities to serve the Lord, but it also brings the possibility of apostasy. Satan will try hard to stop us from being more committed to Christ. As long as we are here in the flesh, it is possible that we might fall. I know that there are those who say that apostasy is impossible for the true child of God, but the Bible does not teach such. To the contrary, the Bible give us direct revelation concerning the possibility of apostasy (Galatians 5:4; 1 Timothy 4:1-3), as well as several examples of people falling (Acts 5:1-10; 2 Timothy 2:16-18).

The good news is that we do not have to fall away. If we are diligent in adding to our faith, we can withstand the attacks of the Devil (2 Peter 1:4-10). If we continue in the words of Christ and resist the Devil, he will flee from us (James 4:7). This should be our aim for this year and every year of our lives.