| Happy New Year! We'll ring it in again, right after the midnight bells
toll, ushering in what we call another New Year. It will be a wellmeant wish, but that's
all it will be - a WISH - and nothing more. In this world as such there is no such thing as a happy, and/or a new year. There is nothing new in this old world; there is no real joy in this vale of tears. And yet ... and yet ... we do wish you all a Happy New Year! There can be such a thing all right. Not only a happy New Year, but a happy new life altogether; and it does not necessarily begin on January the first. In fact; it begins at death. That's what it did for Christ, the Son of God. His life in this world was one of grief and sorrow; of pain and loneliness. He was called the "Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief". His life, that life of care and suffering, ended in death, the death of the Cross, where He died for our sins, that God might be able to forgive us our sins, and give us His gift of life eternal. And that Cross was for the Christ of God the end forever of suffering, pain or grief. That Cross was for Christ the end of sin forever, and thus also the end of sorrow, for sin is the cause of all the trouble in this sad sin-cursed world. Yes, Christ said goodbye to blood, sweat and tears forever when He died on Calvary's Cross. It was for the joy set before Him - Hebrews 12:2 - that He died; He is now anointed with the oil of gladness above everybody else in the universe - Hebrews 1:9. And the Cross, my friend, can be the end of all sorrow and suffering for you too; it can be the beginning of not only a New Year, but of a New Life; of a New Eternity. Christ died to make you happy. He died to make good to us the message of great joy announced at His birth - Luke 2:10. There is joy and peace in believing in Jesus - Romans 15:13. Trust Christ as your personal Saviour, and you shall know the peace of God that passeth all understanding. There is amazing joy in knowing that your sins are all forgiven; cleansed in the precious blood of Christ. Accept Christ as your Saviour and the New Year - the New Life - will have begun for you, never to end anymore. For a while, in this sad world of sin, sorrow and suffering, you may know those things in a measure, while at the same time your soul will be filled with the joy of the love of God. And then bye and bye you will say goodbye to this world and be forever with the Lord, in glory. There "His presence is fulness of joy; at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore. - Psalm 16:11. Christ the Saviour of sinners, He is the secret to a happy New Year; a happy New Life; a Happy Eternity. The old Cross ushers in for the believer a New Year. The old Cross makes him a new creature in Christ Jesus - 2 Cor. 5:17. The old Cross makes him an heir to the riches of Christ left to us in His New Testament - Hebrews 9:15. The old Cross makes all things new - Revelation 21:5. Yes, there is such a thing as a Happy New Year. May it by yours! We wish you all a Happy New Year! August Van Ryn |