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wings
The New Year is here;
It's time to make changes
The chance for a new start isn't something we should ignore or dismiss. Missteps are as much a part of our lives as successes. Sometimes the misstep is the result of neglect. Sometimes it's the result of bad choices. Sometimes the misstep is the result of deliberate deeds. Regardless of the reason, we have another chance to get it right.
People often find New Year's to be an excellent time to resolve to correct bad habits or to start better living patterns. A person must be willing, first of all, to confess that the behavior he seeks to change is undesirable or detrimental to his life or principles. In this regard, church members would do well to encourage each other to use the New Year to bring about much-needed change in our personal and corporate lives.
A sin, bad habit, or any harmful activity is often hard to stop. Scripture says that we should confess our faults to one another, and in so doing, we find healing. The difficulty with this is that many of our congregations don't create safe places where people can confess and find forgiveness and acceptance. So often, we are more concerned with pointing out the faults, failures, and sins of others as a way of deflecting criticism from our own lives. Then we wonder why so many people sit in our pews, hurting and unable to find healing, forgiveness, and restoration. If we are to encourage people to make needed changes, then we must be willing to admit that we, like our fellow members, need to confess our sins and experience the love and forgiveness of our friends and of our God.
Scripture also teaches us, "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." God always stands ready and willing to forgive us. And when God forgives, God never brings the sin up again. Our response is to accept the forgiveness that God extends.
Once again, it is necessary for the church to model the forgiveness of God. We must be imitators of God in our willingness to forgive each other. We must remember God never charges us for the forgiveness God gives. It is without price.
Wow, what a hard concept to receive! In fact, even as I write this, part of me really struggles with a gift to be received without anything in return. There's something that we do when we realize the magnitude of this acceptance and forgiving love of God, and that is for our souls to shout, "Thank you, Jesus!"
Yet, even as we are forgiven, there's still the issue of throwing off the old patterns and making new adjustments in our lives. So often, this is the difficult part, except we discover that power flows into our lives as a result of this found relationship with the One who forgives. It is out of our gratitude for someone demonstrating to us grace and undeserved favor that we want to please this person who so willingly loves us. It is then that we recognize this friend not only forgives but also empowers us. We might struggle, but we don't struggle alone. Therefore, it is out of this knowledge and experience of God's love that I, like many, will make New Year's resolutions. But I will do so knowing that "the One who began a good work in me is able to bring that good work to completion."
I challenge the people of Holston Conference to dream big dreams of victory over the forces that have held us captive this year. Let's resolve that those dreams will become reality in 2007, because God was willing to reconcile us unto himself and to call us God's sons and daughters.
Happy New Year, Holston.
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Bishop James Swanson
Resident Bishop
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