Salvation Army Message: Get It Right for the New Year!

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  (Matthew 6:33, Bible, King James Version)

I spotted this article that Elder Blain brought home in The War Cry, a Salvation Army publication.  It was written by the UK Salvation Army leader Commissioner John Matear, 1 January 2011.  It is printed below as it seems well worth sharing.

As the new year arrives it seems many of us intend for things to be different.  For those of us in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, 2011 will be challenging.  Financial responses to our straitened state have been presented and laid upon us.  We have yet to live with the full consequences.

It is certainly true that in all areas of life -- public, private, economic, emotional -- we need more than resolutions.  We need solutions.

Deep issues, personal and national, need thorough dealing-with rather than cosmetic measures.

New year is the time to get it right in terms of life investment -- of how we spend, not so much our money but, our time.  It is an opportunity to seek forgiveness for mistakes of the past.  It is a time to commit ourselves and our future to God.  It is a time, with God's help, to leave the past behind us and move forward -- to fill our minds with good thing and determine to live purposefully.

It is easy to let life slip by.  But opportunities do not wait for us; they pass.

Relationships, including our relationship with God, are a source of wealth.  They are valued investments with short and long-term gains.  We can build up our relationship capital by reaching out to people for the first time, by renewing old friendships and restoring those that have been broken.

Now is the time to consolidate our debts:  to drop grudges, to write off long-held resentments.  This is the time to get rid of any dangerous and destructive unforgiving spirit that dictates our actions and attitudes.

It is also a time to liquidate our assets:  to make use of who we are and what we have.

It is time to invest in other people:  to give rather than concentrating on getting.  Being of good service to others may well result in us becoming part of someone else's solution.

It is a time for new initiatives:  to seek forgiveness and to invest in words of encouragement, reconciliation and love.

This is a time to get things right with God.  Life is a gift.  The only time that is guaranteed to us is now.   Yesterday has gone.  Tomorrow may never come.

January sales will be full of slogans such as 'must end soon' or 'today only'.  Jesus' advise is:  'Seek first [God's] Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well'  (Matthew 6:33  New International Version).

This is truly the number one priority.  Get this right and everything else in life takes its proper place.

The new year can be just a calendar-changing event.  Or we can take hold of its challenges, commit ourselves to God and make it a life-changing event.

I pray for you and yours a God-blessed 2011.

(Amen, from me, and said better than anything I could have written).  Thank you, John Matear.

P.S.  See the cartoon that goes with this article in the lower right hand corner below: