Steve Tunstall of Trinity Church (Baptist and United Reformed) writes

So, 2009 closes and 2010 beckons. Do we look forward to it with eager expectation? Life is a paradox! The paradox for the Christian is that the only two things our God guarantees us in this life are, first of all that he will always be with us by the indwelling power of His Holy Spirit.

Secondly, our only other certainty is for the present moment. But the wonder of the paradox is that although we can only be certain of this present moment, God at the same time guarantees for the Christian the absolute assurance of an endless eternity (not just this present moment) in the glories of heaven.

As we look forward in the here and now of life, a life that the apostle James describes in picturesque language as being as transient as vapour, akin to the steam from a boiling kettle that disappears rapidly into the atmosphere!

So, as the brevity of human life is set against a timeless eternity in glory, is there any wonder that the apostle Paul could write of the need to “redeem the time”, to be circumspect, to make the best use we can of our opportunities in a life that at best, when measured against an unending eternity, is as brief as a snap of the fingers.

Minnie-Louise Haskins famously wrote of stepping out into the uncertainty of the New Year with our hand firmly clasped in the hand of God. But how can we be sure that our hand, when it is in that wonderful grasp, is safe? Because, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man shall pluck them out of my Father’s hand”. (John 10: 27-28).

A very happy New Year to all. Don’t bother with resolutions but do ensure that you keep your hand firmly in God’s hand. And if your hand isn’t already there, then resolve to find out how you can join hands with God. You will then discover what real blessing is and the New Year of 2010 will indeed not only be happy but also blessed – a New Year of hope and of peace. But how? The apostle Paul tells us, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”; if you’re unsure of what the word justified means, put at its simplest it is to be made ‘just-as-if-I’d’ never sinned.

So, in this New Year redeem the time, seek out God and let him hold you in the palm of his hand.