Let’s begin the year with worship: “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your Name …” (Psalm 8:1).

Bible readings for New Year's Day - Ecclesiastes 3:1-13; Psalm 8; Revelation 21:1-6a; Matthew 25: 31-46

How excellent is our Saviour – He takes away the emptiness of life without Him.

‘God has put eternity into man’s mind’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In every human heart, there is a God-shaped blank. It can only be filled by Jesus Christ.

Many people try to find true happiness without opening their heart to Jesus Christ. That’s like ‘trying to catch the wind’ (Ecclesiastes 4:16). True happiness keeps slipping through your fingers. There’s always something missing - ‘an aching void the world can never fill’ (Church Hymnary, 663).

Jesus Christ stands at the door of every human heart. He knocks. He waits for your answer. He says, ‘Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in...’ (Revelation 3:20). Will you invite Him into your heart? He is waiting for you to pray, ‘Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today. Come in to stay. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus’.

How excellent is our Saviour – He is preparing us for a glorious future.

Our Saviour is ‘Faithful and True’. He is ‘the Word of God’. He is our ‘Lord’and ‘King’(Revelation 19:11,13,16).

We are invited to ‘come’ to Him. The invitation - ‘Come, gather together for the great supper of God’- is a call to come to Christ (Revelation 19:17). We come to Christ so that we might ‘reign with Him’(Revelation 20:6).

Coming to Christ is only the beginning. God is preparing us for something even better - reigning with Him. This is a great future - ‘no more death or mourning or crying or pain’(Revelation 21:4).

There is, however, a Word of warning for those who refuse to come to Christ for salvation - ‘If anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire’; ‘Their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur’(Revelation 20:15; 21:8). ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved’(Acts 16:31).

How excellent is our Saviour – He gives us joy as we serve Him day-by-day.

We are to be faithful to God (Matthew 25:21). There is a reward for faithfulness (Matthew 25:29; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). Our ‘reward’ is not to get more glory for ourselves: ‘what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord’(2 Corinthians 4:5). Bringing glory to God - this is to be our greatest joy.

We are not to be thinking, ‘What am I going to get out of this?’. We are to be asking, ‘What can I give to others?’.

The ‘righteous’ are not full of boasting about their ‘righteous’ actions (Matthew 25:37-38). The Lord’s true servants do not draw attention to themselves.

Do you have ‘talents’? Yes - you do! Use them! ‘Serve the Lord with gladness’(Psalm 100:2).

Let this be your ‘reward’: the joyful privilege of bringing blessing to others and glory to God.

On earth, we begin to ‘enter the joy of our Lord’(21). In heaven, there will be ‘fullness of joy’ and ‘pleasure for evermore’(Psalm 16:11).

Lord, we worship You in the place of worship ...

Psalm 48:1-14 Lord, we worship You in the place of worship – “Within Your Temple, we meditate on Your unfailing love.” Help us to go out from there, and play our part in seeing that Your praise “reaches to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 48:: 9-11). How will other people know of Your love, if we don’t tell them? How will they find their way to Your House, if we don’t invite them? When we share Your Word with others, help us to remember Your promise: “My Word … will not return to Me empty, but will … achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

Jesus And The Woman At The Well – Learning From Jesus

Jesus is tired. He rests at the well. A woman comes along … Out of this very ordinary situation comes a great opportunity to speak of spiritual truth. Jesus doesn’t barge in like a bull in a china shop. He makes an intriguing comment about “living water” (John 4:10), and, then, He waits for the woman’s reply. She asks Him to explain what He means (John 4:11-12). She asks. Jesus answers. His answer is a call to faith. He doesn’t start pleading with the woman – putting pressure on her. He gives a general answer to her question. His answer leads to her next question, “Sir, give me this water … ” (John 4:15). The woman recognizes the uniqueness of “this water.” Jesus is speaking about something different. She’s still confused. She’s doesn’t understand what He’s talking about – but she wants to understand. Suddenly, Jesus changes the direction of the conversation. He asks her to go and get her “husband” (John 4:16). What’s going on here? What’s this all about? Jesus ...

God Doesn't Keep His Distance - And He Doesn't Keep His Silence.

The Lord, our God, is “King of the whole earth. He rules the nations” (Psalm 46:10; Psalm 47:7-9). The Lord is great. He is “the great King” (Psalm 48:14). The Lord does not remain detached from us in isolated heavenly glory. He comes to us as the God of our salvation - “God will buy me back from the power of hell” (Psalm 49:15). By His Word, spoken to us and acted out on our behalf, God involves Himself with us as our Saviour. He is not a God who keeps His distance from us - “Our God will come.” He is not a God who keeps His silence - “and will not be silent” (Psalm 50:3). This God comes to us with His promise of salvation - “Call on Me in times of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honour Me” (Psalm 50:15). Along with this promise of salvation comes God’s call to live in faith and obedience: “Bring your thanks to God as a sacrifice, and keep your vows to the Most High” (Psalm 50:15). To those who walk in His way, the Lord promises His blessing: “Whoever offers thanks as a sacr...

Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

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