Upward Devotional: <em>Happy New Year!</em>

Upward Devotional: Happy New Year!

Posted on January 10th, 2015 by Jeff McDonald

It’s January, and that means part of my Saturdays are spent in gymnasiums … one in my church, and another in the public high school across the street. It’s the start of the Upward Basketball & Cheerleading season here, in Midland, Texas. Volunteers are helping the program in a lot of different ways … as coaches, referees, time/scorekeeprs, and delivering devotionals to the fans during halftime breaks … I’m one of the volunteers doing the devotionals, and here was my presentation for today …

Good afternoon, everyone … and happy new year to all of you! Let me have a show of hands here … how many of you made New Year ‘s Resolutions for 2015? … okay … now, how many of you are still keeping those resolutions?

Resolutions — looking at ourselves, looking around us and thinking, “this could be better … I could do better” — resolutions are a good thing to have … for ourselves, for our family and for our community. And while resolutions have become a customary part of celebrating the new year, they are a good thing any time of the year. On a Thursday afternoon in November, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln spoke to a crowd at a cemetery in Gettysburg Pennsylvania, honoring the soldiers who were buried there, saying “we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.”

And you know what? God approves of resolutions, too … encouraging us to put the past behind us, and move toward a better future …

“Don’t remember the prior things; don’t ponder ancient history. Look! I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it? I’m making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness.” – Isaiah 43:18-19 (CEB)

That kind of resolution could make for a great future … let’s all resolve, all of us, right here-right now, across this great nation and around the world, let us to meet that future together.

Thank you, everyone, enjoy the game!

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Jeff McDonald

There's a saying around here, something like, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could!" That's me. I'm a 'dang Yankee from back-east' who settled in the Lone Star State after some extended stays in the eastern U.S., and New Mexico. I worked as an archaeologist for a few years before dusting off my second major in English, and embarking on a 25-year career in journalism. Since then, I've embraced the dark side of the force, and now work in PR for a community college in Midland, Texas.