Lean on Jesus Christ in 2024

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ

Happy New Year!  

It’s no secret, 2023 was a challenging year for our world!  2024 is shaping up to be even more interesting – with many people and groups fighting for our attention.  Let’s pray for each other in this New Year – more than we’ve ever done!  Let’s commend one another to Jesus Christ, as well as all the hurts, all the fears, and all the worries that keep us awake at night, and threaten the Peace and Joy that Jesus Christ gives us.  Let’s place them all in his hands, and simply cling to Jesus.  

One of the traditions of the New Year is for people to make Resolutions, usually to start a new discipline, or to end a habit.  The reason so many resolutions fail, though, is often because we try to maintain those resolutions ourselves, using determination and will power.  

The problem is, as Christians, we know our Savior Jesus tells us, “apart from me, you can do nothing.”  (John 15:5)  So, if we’re trying to maintain a New Year’s Resolution by the merits of our own strength, we’re guaranteed to fail.  But the story doesn’t have to end there.  

New Year’s Resolutions are almost always about our own personal growth and improvement.  This means, there’s a weakness in us that we want to turn into a strength.  While we know this is impossible for us to do on our own, when we abide in Christ and we acknowledge our weakness to him, Jesus can make his power perfect in us. (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:9).   He will persevere, even when we waver and our strength fails.  

I am praying that 2024 will be filled with blessings for you, for your families, for our church, our community, our nation and our world!  May Bethany Church continue to be a beacon of hope for you, and for a world in the midst of a glorious, but sometimes chaotic, transformation.  Remember: whatever we give our attention to, will grow.  As Paul encourages us in Philippians 4:8-9, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. And the God of peace will be with you.”    

In Christ,

Shane