"My Lord,
What a Morning". Praise the Lord for the first Morning of the first
day of 2016. Praise the Lord for the way He has ushered us into the verge
of another year of His love and faithfulness. This was our first New
Year's Eve in a new place and a new location. One of the church members
called me yesterday and told me with great sense love and
humor, that "Our Town is a Dry Town. Please keep a very low
profile". Alice and I walked for over one mile in the coolness of
the evening. One of the blessings of Christmastide is that the days are
beginning to get longer every day. . Walking and reflecting on the graciousness
and the goodness of our Lord is blessing. The streets are still lit
with Christmas decorations. People were strolling and heading to the
local restaurants in celebration of New Year's Eve. The festive and the
celebrative spirit was in the air. Alice and I watched some of the New Years
Eve Celebration at the Iconic Time Square in New York city. They were
announcing that over 1 million people had gathered there to celebrate and
welcome 2016. Light triumphs over darkness. Righteousness
rules over sin and evil.
It
is snowing here this morning. It is gentle and friendly. My wife,
who loves snow, announced to me loudly that it might snow in the vicinity for
several inches. We live near the Greek Peek Ski Resort. The whole area
comes alive during the winter season. Once again the hills and
mountains will come alive with the sights and sounds of snow and the
snow lovers.
We
are going to my younger brother's house to celebrate the New Year's Day with
some Indian Cuisine. Our Children are all in their respective cities
celebrating the day. Our daughter Laureen was attending a Worship
Conference in Kansas City, MO. She was blessed to be there along with
20,000 others. She will be flying back to Washington, DC today.
Jesus is Born. All is well.
How
do you prepare for the New Year? Here are some interesting New Year's
traditions from around the globe:
- In Siberia it is tradition to dive into a frozen lake while holding a tree trunk, which is placed underneath the ice.
- In a traditional festival from Burma, people splash water on one another to start the New Year with a purified soul.
- Armenian mothers bake special bread which they knead with good luck and good wishes.
- In the Philippines homeowners open all their doors and windows on New Year's Eve in order to allow negative energy to leave and good energy to enter.
- Spanish tradition holds that eating 12 grapes just before the clock chimes midnight will bring good fortune for all 12 months of the upcoming year.
- One New Year's custom in Russia is to write a wish for the upcoming year on a piece of paper, then to burn the paper and place the ashes in a glass of champagne, which needs to be consumed right before the New Year is rung in for the wish to come true.
- Residents in Johannesburg, South Africa throw old appliances and furniture out the window, representing the old adage "out with the old and in with the new."
- Brazilians wear white clothing, a custom meant to bring good luck for the upcoming year. This is often accompanied by a trip to the beach to throw flowers in the sea while making a wish.As we venture into 2016 I was looking at Psalm 37:23-24, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand”. All of us wonder what the new year will bring. What will happen in 2016? Since every detail of life comes under God’s control, we can remain confident and peaceful even when life itself seems to spin out of control.Many of us are familiar with the name George Muller, of Bristol. For over 60 years, George Muller oversaw a group of orphanages in Bristol, England, that provided food, clothing and personal care for over 10,000 boys and girls. Here is the amazing fact: He never once took an offering, sent out a fundraising letter, or made an appeal for money. He depended on God for whatever was needed to support the work. His diaries record numerous instances when they had no food and no money to buy food. He would gather with his fellow workers to cry out to God for help. On many occasions, the help came while they prayed—a grocer would come by with bread, cheese, meat and eggs so the children would have breakfast in the morning. Mr. Muller proved in his own life that you can take God at his Word. After he died, someone picked up his well-worn Bible and began to leaf through it. Because Mr. Muller was an avid Bible reader, its pages were filled with jottings from his daily devotions. Next to the words of Psalm 37:23, he had added two little words to the text: “The steps AND STOPS of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” How true that is. For the Christian the path of life is never an unbroken straight line to heaven. We all go through “many dangers, toils and snares” on our way to the Heavenly City. How good to know that our God ordains both the steps and stops of life.
Happy and a very blessed
NEW Year in Jesus.
Brown
