From Pastor Christopher Kurien – January 2020

Dear Friends,

Wishing you all a Happy and Blessed New Year! The busy holiday season is over, and God has brought us to the beginning of another year. However we try, we cannot live in the past. While we know what’s happened to us this past year, we don’t know what’s going to happen to us in this new year. However, we believe in a God who knows our future.

A new year always gives us the opportunity to reflect about the past year as we prepare to enter and live in the new year. Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2:12,

I press on…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

I don’t know about you, but I know I’ve made mistakes in my words and deeds in this past year. One thing I’d like to do is to spend time with God, not only reflecting about the past year but also asking for God’s forgiveness, so that I will not repeat the same mistakes in this new year. Only with God’s help can we lead more fruitful and faithful lives.

Many of us make New Year’s resolutions. Some of them we follow through. Some others we forget as time goes by. I pray that in this new year we’ll commit to love one another more than in the past year. Apostle Paul writes to the church in Ephesus:

Keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
— Ephesians 4:3.

When we function as the body of Christ the church, we may have our own ideas about things, but we have to look at what’s best for the whole community. We cannot do what pleases us personally, but, for the sake of unity of Spirit, we have to prayerfully discern where God is leading us. If everyone does what pleases themselves, there will be chaos and confusion. We all know that it’s not always easy to put away our personal ideas even as we work in a group, but it will be possible with God’s help and guidance. We have a lot to accomplish this year. May we seek God’s blessings and help in everything we plan and do.

Let us pray that in this new year God’s abundant blessings be experienced by all of us. Once again, I wish each and every one of you a blessed New Year.

Love,

Pastor Chris