This coming Lord’s Day is, of course, also New Year’s Day. And with the conclusion of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 we have another opportunity to recount the manifold blessings of the past year and to anticipate those that will flow down most graciously from our Heavenly Father in the next twelve months.

The beginning of another new year also provides us with an appropriate occasion for hard thinking about the months to come. If there were ever any ‘New Year’s advice’ to be found in the Word of God, surely it would be the words of Ephesians 5:15-17,

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

There is another passage from Paul that also comes to mind. In Colossians 1:10, the imprisoned Apostle says that we are to,

“walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him.”

When we consider these Scripture passages together, we can identify a most significant theme as we begin a new year together. It is ‘Living on Purpose.’

I would suggest that Paul’s exhortations, taken together, give us inspired help in formulating our plan for the coming twelve months, and beyond. Will life ‘just happen’ in 2023? Or will we live our lives on purpose, with deliberate intent, with a worthy and all-consuming goal in view?

I look forward to probing this question more fully as we gather before our Lord this Sunday!