What do you want from the new year 2008?
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Yesterday, on the 31st of December together with the “Holy Trinity” church we had a divine service to thank God for the beautiful way He had worked among us and in our hearts that year and to pray for the year that is before us. When it was my turn to share from the Word of God, I read the next passage from the Bible, where Apostle Paul expressed his appreciation for the faith and love of the Christians from Colossae.
We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf. (Epistle to Colossians 1:3–7)(NASB)
In this encouragement Apostle Paul bears a beautiful testimony about the way how the Gospel was spread in that time and he said that it was “bearing fruit and increasing”. We were glad to make an evaluation of the way how we grew up and what fruit the Word of God bore among us, of our church and in our country. Then I went in the church and I asked all Christians who were present: “What do you want to do in 2008 so that the Gospel may bear fruit in your life and it may increase and bear fruit in the lives of other people through you?” I received many beautiful answers. Those who were teachers at University told me that they would set aside more time to pray for people, for their salvation and then to form groups of Bible study and to invite students. Pupils that learnt at school said that they wanted to share more about the truth of the Gospel to their classmates, and to show the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives. Mothers said they wanted to go to school and to help the teachers of their parents and in this way to build up beautiful relations with them and to tell them the message of the Gospel. Men from the church said they wanted to speak to all people about Jesus and to do their utmost for that.
What do you want to do in 2008 to let the Word of the Truth of the Gospel bear fruit in your life, so that it may increase and bear fruit in the lives of other people through you?
Translated by Djugostran Felicia
