The end of a year marks the entrance of a brand New Year, and it’s an invitation to pause and to reflect. Reflection fosters learning, stimulates growth, calls for course correction, identifies priorities, and renews focus and energy. This is a great time to reflect on the past as we anticipate the future with anticipation and expectation.
Looking back is an important way to live your best life and prepare for the future. It helps us to reflect on the blessings, the challenges, and the lessons learned as we move forward in the New Year. Looking back also creates gratitude for the things we sometimes take for granted. As you reflect on the past year you will be absolutely amazed at all that God has accomplished in your life and ministry.
The year 2023 was an unpleasant year with devastating violence, ongoing and new outbreaks of conflict destroying lives and homes, displacing millions, and further dividing an already polarized planet. It is undeniable that 2023 is a year that changed the course of human history. As we reflect on what has happened and what is happening around us, it is easy for us to become fearful, dreading what the New Year of 2024 will bring. Instead of becoming fearful I am encouraged by God’s Word in
Psalms 31:15 “My future is in your hands, and you will rescue me from those who pursue
me.” This psalm reminds us that God is our Refuge. As we face this New Year of 2024,
we can face it knowing that God is our Refuge and that our Future is in His Hands.
In these rare moments of reflection and honest self-assessment, we can admit our failures and our victories. We pledge to learn from them and move towards a better future. Making plans for the New Year can become a reality when we turn to the One who makes it possible, the One who truly makes all things new, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The passing of one year to the next is universally marked by a period of reflection concerning the year passed, and a pledge to begin anew, to make changes in the year ahead. This is because we all desire to be made new, and, intuitively, we all know that means we must be willing to make changes within if we desire to experience changes around us. Let us determine like the Apostle Paul that we will, “Forget the things that lies behind, and reach forward to what lies ahead” ( Phil. 3:13). We cannot live on our past victories, nor should we allow ourselves to be crippled by our past failures. This is a new day, we are entering a New Year, and that brings newness that is available in Christ Jesus.
The best way to begin this New Year is to join the Global Church of God of Prophecy in our 21 days of prayer and fasting as we seek new strength, new vision, new provisions, new growth, and a new anointing as we seek to Equip, Develop, and Empower others for the ministry of Reconciliation. Join the Church of God of Prophecy January 8-28, 2024, for our 21 days of prayer. Pray with believers around the world with the #OnePrayer devotional that is now available in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese at www.housesofprayer.global.org.
I would like for us to bring our time of Prayer and Fasting to a close by having the Mid Atlantic Region coming together for a time of Prayer on Sunday evening January 28, 2024, at 7pm on the zoom platform.
On behalf of my wife, Pauline, and I, we would like to wish you a Blessed and a Prosperous New Year. Grace and Peace for 2024!
Upcoming 2024 Events:
✓ January 8-28 Prayer and Fasting
✓ January 28: Mid-Atlantic Regional Prayer Time (7-8pm Zoom Platform)
✓ February 3: Mid-Atlantic Youth Leaders Training
✓ February 17: Regional Pastoral Symposium
✓ March 1-2: District #1 Convention
✓ March 15-17: District # 5 Convention
✓ March 22-23: District # 3 Convention
✓ April 5-7: Regional Ladies Retreat
✓ April 19-20: District # 4 Convention
✓ April 27-28: District # 2 Convention
✓ April 28- May 5: Emerging Leaders Cruising Forward
Woodroe Thompson, (M.Div)
Regional Bishop,
Church of God of Prophecy
Mid-Atlantic Region USA