Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

again"
new"
saved"
LESSON HELPS FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 30, 1955
THE FIELD tS THE WORLD,
TW 5rrO (S THE WORD OP GOD
"
VOLUME LIV WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 1955 NUMBER 2
Happy Sew
Year
or is it a HAPPY new year That will depend upon
the way in which you will face this coming year.
Some face it with a hangover. They have hur
ried the old year out with a hoot and noised the new
one via the pathways of this world's fancied plea
sures.
Some face it with a horror. They know that the
of one year for another will not of itself
dropping
make any welcome change, for there will be a carry
over of problems and perplexities.
Some face it with a hush. Perhaps stark tragedy
has struck during this dying year. Or maybe now at
the time-threshold, some loved one is "lingering in
shadows,"
the land of the long and they walk softly
wishing that this were not a new year.
Here and there will be found those who face it
hallelujah."
with a "heavenly These are they who
have been to Calvary, having come to know the bles
sed marvel of, "Therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature : old things are become (2
Corinthians 5:17). Being "born (John 3),
there has truly been a brand new beginning. These
have given heed to the requirement of, "repentance
Christ"
toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus
(Acts 20:21). These are safely anchored in the
"Haven of Rest," and are more than able to declare,
"I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day" (2 Timothy 1:12). Yes,
For them it is truly HAPPY NEW YEAR!
There is no true NEW year, and there is certain
ly no HAPPY new year, if it be commenced without
Christ and without Calvary. That is a final fact !
I have nothing but pity and sorrow for, you if
you face this new year with mere resolutions. What
is vitally needed is not resolution, but revolution!
There needs to be a radical change in the entire life
makeup. What is desperately necessary is not "turn
ing over a new leaf" (for the whole book is stained
with sin !) but the transformation of a new life. Hear
the Word of the Lord: "He that heareth my word,
and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting
life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is
passed from death unto life" (John 5 :24)
.
It will not be wise nor well for you to say, as you
have been saying for all these past new years, "Well,
I will try to do better," for such a "better" without
the Blessed One, is bitter indeed. Why not say in
stead : "I will not try to do better but will do the very
best, the only right and proper thing. I will turn my
Christ."
self completely over to the Lord Jesus
It is not petty promises made to yourself that
count. Rather, what is vitally important are God's
and defi
powerful promises, so marvelously, clearly
nitely underwritten in the blood of the cross.
When Christ is claimed and crowned, then ev
erything becomes blessedly NEW! And certainly
these years which are now past should have more
than sufficed for rejection and refusal. Who can dare
tell if you shall reach the end of this present year
and welcome another new one
"Come now, and let us reason together,
Lord"
(Isaiah 1:18). "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be (Acts 16:31).
saith the
Let Christ come into your heart, then this will
indeed be a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Edwin Raymond Anderson
American Tract Society a non-profit organization
Publishers of Christian literature since 1825
21 West 1,6th Street, New York 36, N. Y.