Some
Thoughts for the New Year
By
Ellen G. White
The old year, with its burden of record, is fast
passing away. The new year, with all its possibilities, will
soon be ushered in. What advancement have we made in the knowledge
of Christ during the past year? Are we prepared to show, more
decidedly than ever before, that we are on the Lord’s
side? At this time, when the nations of the world are wavering
between infidelity and idolatry, are we prepared to stand as
faithful ambassadors for Christ? Shall we not, at the beginning
of this new year, give ourselves and all we have to God? Shall
we not listen to His voice, which calls us to a renewed contest,
to a more thorough consecration of ourselves and our intrusted
capabilities to His service?
To God we owe all we have and are. In Him we live and move and
have our being. We have not been forgotten by Him. In His book
each human being has a page, on which is recorded his whole
history. Constantly and untiringly God is working for our happiness.
The treasures which He has placed within our reach are numberless.
“The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over
all His works. Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire
of every living thing.” He is the Father of mercies and
the God of all comfort. The earth is full of His goodness. Creation
proclaims, with myriad voice, the forbearance, love, and compassion
of the Almighty.
Through all the ages God has manifested for the human race a
love that is without a parallel. He so loved man that He bestowed
on him a gift that defies computation. That the abundance of
His grace might be revealed, He sent His only-begotten Son to
our world, to live a man among men, to spend His life in the
service of humanity. In our behalf the Son of the Infinite God
was numbered with the transgressors. Christ was the channel
through which the Father poured into the world the rich stream
of His grace. God could not give less than the fulness, nor
was it possible for Him to give more. “Herein is love,
not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son
to be the propitiation for our sins.”
God has made us His stewards. To every one He has given some
talent, which is to be improved and returned to Him. Every one
is the possessor of some trust. Time, intellect, reason, money,
the tender ministry to which some are adapted,--these are the
gifts of God. From the lowliest to the highest, all have been
intrusted with the goods of heaven, and all are called upon
to make a return to the Giver.
The first thing we are to do is to give ourselves to the Lord.
Life, with its endowments and privileges, is God’s gift.
Let us remember that it comes from God, and is to be wholly
consecrated to Him. Let us say with Paul, “I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found
in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law,
but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith.”
When we have given ourselves to God, we shall be willing to
give Him what He has given us. All we have and are is to be
laid at Christ’s feet. We have been bought with a price
which can not be estimated, and we should count it a privilege
to co-operate with God by denying self, by giving of our earthly
possessions to make it possible for those in the darkness of
error to hear the truth. Each soul saved is worth more than
a world; for he is saved unto eternal life. Those who invest
their means in this work double their talents.
Whether or not we give mind, soul, and strength to God, it all
belongs to Him. God speaks to each human being, saying: “I
have a claim on you. Give me your zeal, your capabilities, your
energy, your means.” He has a right to ask this; for we
are His, redeemed by His boundless love and by the agony of
the cross of Calvary from the service of sin. On no account
are we to devote our powers to self-serving. Day by day we are
to return to the Lord that which He has intrusted to us. And
we are to ask Him, not only for temporal blessings, but for
spiritual gifts. He who asks in faith, believing that God will
fulfil His word, and who acts in accordance with His prayer,
doing God’s will in all things, will receive rich blessings
from on high. And as he receives, he is to impart to those who
need help.
From
Signs of the Times, January 2, 1901.
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|  God's
Word Our Assurance
Christ
Our Righteousness A Morning Talk
Through
Faith Alone Part 1
Through
Faith Alone Part 2
What
Was Secured by the Death of Christ
Seek
Those Things Which are Above Part 1
Seek
Those Things Which are Above Part 2
Christ,
Our Loving Comforter and Restorer
Work
to Show Christ to the World
"Let
Him Take Hold of My Strength"
Ellen
G. White's Last Recorded Letter
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A
New Year's Day Letter
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Our Hope
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Help
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Christ's
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Trusting
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The
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How
God’s Love is Manifested, Part 1
How
God’s Love is Manifested, Part 2
"Ye
are Complete in Him," Part 1
"Ye
are Complete in Him," Part 2
"Ye
are Complete in Him," Part 3
"I
Will Give You Rest"
Working
as Christ Worked
A
Life-Changing Experience
The
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What
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God's
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A
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With Us
Ask
and it shall be given you, Part 1
Ask
and it shall be given you, Part 2
The
Meaning of God's Pardoning Love, Part 1
The
Meaning of God's Pardoning Love, Part 2
The
Foundation of Our Peace
One
Thing Impossible With God
Windows
Wide Open
The
Only Foundation
Christ
Spans the Gulf of Sin, Part 1
Christ
Spans the Gulf of Sin, Part 2
Homeward
Bound
A
New Year's Day Letter
Asking
to Give
The
Mighty and Inspiring Conflict
God's
Word a Treasure House
True
Success
Little
Things
You May Trust
Him
Hearts
Filled with Thankfullnes to God
Calamities
and God’s Love; Sin, Judgment, and the Shortness of Time
Lord
is Risen
The
Sabbath
Some Thoughts
for the New Year
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