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Midnight strikes. You hear commentators  wishing you “Happy New Year!” from the screen as people embrace and cheer. And the questions sound in your heart, “What will be new this next year? What can be different?” Recently, my grandson bemoaned to his parents that he couldn’t clean up the toys in the room with his sister. It was too overwhelming. There were too many. How could it ever change from the state that it was into something different? How do we start something hard and see it through? Well, my daughter gave the same advice to my grandson that I remember giving to her as a little girl: ”How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

One starry night, long ago, a baby was born in a manger. The angels in the Bible describe this infant to the cowering shepherds as their “Savior… Christ the Lord!” Now, I imagine these Jewish men did not expect the King of kings and Lord of lords—their Messiah!—to come as an infant. But when they hurried from the scene of the angels to meet Jesus, lying in a manger, they saw their God take on one of the humblest forms imaginable. And He did it for you and for me.

Did you know gratitude goes hand-in-hand with grace? It makes sense when you think about it! The definition of grace is “the undeserved favor of God.” Romans 3:24 says that we “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” The natural response to a gift as big as the undeserved grace of God towards us—a people who chose rebellion against our Creator—is gratitude.

How does a farmer know to harvest? When I typed this question into Google’s search engine, article after article from farm bureaus to agriculture websites shared all kinds of technology that help the farmers of America choose just the right time to gather their crops. However, after reading a few such writings, I couldn’t help but to chuckle to myself. I would answer the question the same way my Grandad Collins might have…it boils down to a farmer looking at their field and seeing that the crop is ripe! You know, the Bible uses the very same analogy for a spiritual harvest of souls ready to accept the free gift of eternal life.

“From generation to generation of those who fear the Lord…” If you are an avid Bible reader, this is a phrase you may have come across. In fact, throughout the Bible, God talks about truths that surpass generations. I’ll mention three: our sin, God’s power, and God’s mercy.