I find myself saying the customary greeting “Happy New Year” with a little reluctance this year. Oh, it’s not that I don’t wish happiness for my friends, family, and folks in general, because I do. But this year somehow happiness just doesn’t quite cover it. Maybe in years-gone-by when life was normal, the world safer, and most people wanted the same things in life. But not this year.

I am amazed at what I see and hear all around me, and I ask, “What has happened to common sense?” Have we totally lost our moral and spiritual compass? I fear that we have or else we are too afraid to speak up for what we know is right. If I analyze what has happened in America, I could easily believe there was a targeted attempt to keep the moral and sane quiet!

However, I do not want to turn my new year’s blog into a political paper. What I desire to do here is to tell you some of the things I wish you—and for me too—things much greater than happiness.

I wish for you to have peace—not the peace that the world gives because it will not benefit you much. Rather, I wish for you the peace that Jesus gives¹—peace with a holy God. Until Jesus came to make peace for us,² we were in a heap of trouble, and today, if you have not made your peace with God, you are still in a heap of trouble. Judgement day is waiting in the wings for all of us. Don’t put it off, but make your peace with Him today. He is anxiously waiting for you to do that very thing. In fact, He is delaying His coming just waiting for you.³

My next wish is a sound mind. May God help us all to yearn for soundness that comes from Him, along with power and love.⁴ How is it that we think we can live beyond our income, individually or as a nation, and it will all come out in the wash? Or that we can defy the laws of God and He won’t notice? Or we can remove Him from our public places and still be a nation whose God is the Lord? Or take the lives of millions of unborn babies and God will wink at it? Or that we can fill our lives with excessive food, entertainment, and material things and we won’t pay the price for it in our spirits? The Bible clearly tells us that God gave the Israelites what they ask for, but sent leanness to their souls.⁵

I also wish for you to have courage—the kind of courage that isn’t afraid of a defeated foe!⁶ Why are we afraid of a loser? May we know the BOOK, remember what it says, and live accordingly. For Jesus’ sake, may His people begin to act like the victors He made us to be.⁷ We must not cower to fear, to secularism, to a sub-standard, soft Christianity, or to anything less than being the people who bear His matchless name. May we hold the Christian flag high in our hearts, our love for Christ where all can see, and stop yielding to a political correctness that is sure to pull us under. We cannot and we must not falter now. We are called to suffer for Jesus sake,⁸ not to happiness that can be found in chasing after the things of the world.

My last wish for you is a sense of urgency. May you and I clearly recognize where we are in the bigger scheme of things. The return of the Lord Jesus is upon us; the end of all things is near.⁹ May we wake up and decide that God is all that matters. It’s true for us and for our families. We must not miss heaven for the pleasures of the world. Eternity is long and hell is hot, I don’t care who has minimized this reality. Do what you need to do today. Tell your kids and grandkids that Jesus is coming soon.¹⁰ Get serious about knowing and serving Him, sharing the Gospel with others, and taking a stand for righteousness now—and be urgent about it!

I trust that my non-customary new year’s wishes do not offend any of you. You are precious to me and certainly precious in God’s eyes. But let’s face it: It is time to be alert and sober¹¹—time for His people to be His people, standing up and proclaiming the truth. We must not turn-tail and run when our time of trial comes, and the only way I know to be prepared is to be at peace with God, of a sound mind, courageous and urgent! And that is my wish for all of us in 2016!

Happy New Year ~ Janie Kellogg

¹John 15:27; ²Ephesians 2:14; ³2 Peter 3:9; ⁴2 Timothy 1:7; ⁵Psalm 106:15; ⁶Revelation 19:20; ⁷Romans 8:37; ⁸Philippians 1:29; ⁹1 Peter 4:7a; ¹⁰Revelation 22:7, 12; ¹¹1 Peter 4:7b