Devotion:
For an audio version of this devotion, click here.
Read Exodus 20:1-2.
Happy New Year! It seems appropriate that on this, the first day of the New Year, that our Scripture reading is the opening of the Ten Commandments, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:2, CEB). This same God who spoke the universe into being and who made covenant with Abraham is now declaring a relationship with the chosen people as he gives them a framework for morality and relationship among themselves and other nations. “I am the God who released you from the bonds of slavery,” he says. They were words that the children of Israel needed to hear. They are words that we need to hear as well.
It is traditional for many of us to make resolutions as we enter into the New Year, treating the turning of the calendar as a time to start fresh, to wipe the slate clean. We do this by resolving to lose weight, or exercise more, or to better ourselves in some way. For example, the month of January tends to be the busiest time of year at most gyms. But it doesn’t last. We find excuses to back away from what we resolved to do: we break promises to ourselves and fall back into our old habits.
In many Wesleyan churches, the new year is a time to renew our relationship with God with a special Covenant Renewal Service usually held on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. Pastor Nathan led us in the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer from that service a few weeks back. As we enter into the New Year, let’s try to live into the relationship with God that God desires for us. Let us resolve to live into the light that came into the world with the birth of Jesus so long ago. Let us share that light with everyone that we meet. Thanks be to God.
Think about how you can renew your relationship with God and draw closer to God in the process. Pray for God’s guidance as you seek to walk closer with God in the new year.
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