Welcoming the New Year with Celebration

Happy New Year!

I hope you all have had a good break!

I noticed that every culture celebrates the end of the year holidays differently, but one thing that most cultures have in common is the fellowship with family and/or friends.

This winter season had quite a few reasons to celebrate like the World Cup, Christmas and New Years. It’s been great to see people around the world rejoicing together over celebrations and traditions we created; and the same way we rejoice with sports (or grieve when your team lost), sing together, give presents and eat together, God rejoices as well!

In the New Testament we see Jesus be a part of celebrations and events such as a wedding (John 2: 1-11) and Easter (1 Corinthians 11:23-26); and food and people were always with him!

When Paul and Silas were in prison, they prayed and sang hymns and with that a prison guard came to Christ (Acts 16:25-34). There are many verses in the bible that show the importance of celebrating and rejoicing! 

But why is that important? Proverbs 17:22, says “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” How good is it to see your team score a goal during the World Cup? I myself am very competitive so I can assure you all it definitely makes my heart cheerful! The whole room shakes with everybody cheering and maybe even crying! But, other than celebrating and being cheerful just because of competition or your own will, God also commands us to… basically have fun!

In Deuteronomy 12:7 “There you and your families will feast in the presence of the Lord your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the Lord your God has blessed you.” 

And Deuteronomy 12:12 “You must celebrate there in the presence of the Lord your God with your sons and daughters and all your servants. And remember to include the Levites who live in your towns, for they will receive no allotment of land among you.” God cares so much about what we do, why wouldn’t He care about how and what we celebrate? The God of Joy loves seeing us rejoice! 

No matter the trials, remember God is with you, He is strong when you are weak and that alone is a reason to rejoice and worship Him. This is a new year, new things will happen that for us are unknown and are a mystery, we’ll have new trials, new tribulations, but we’ll also have more reason to worship, to celebrate and to rejoice, for God already knows it all! 

Sarah and Abraham waited for so many years 'till God gave them Isaac, but Genesis 21:8 says “When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion.” Clearly it was worth the wait!

In Zephaniah 3:16-17 it says “On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, “Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid! For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” 

Celebrating New Year is a very precious time. It’s a moment where you look back on everything that has happened in these last 365 days, it helps you look into the future and see what you want to change and do better or do more, it helps you see where God moved in your life and gives hope and courage to see how he will move now!

Rejoice together, gather around one another and sing, feast, laugh, enjoy the moments where the world is united and celebrate together as well! Celebrate with strangers and family! Remember the Parable of the King’s feast?

In Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus shares a parable of a king having a wedding feast prepared for his son. He invites many guests but when he asks them to come on the day they all refuse him. So he tells his servants to go out and bring in the bad and the good and give them good clothes to wear. 

Sometimes you’ll be surprised with who shows up to a party, and who won’t, but think about how a great opportunity it is to bring in new relationships into your life. God is a God of relationships, what brings people together better than fellowship where God is the center of it all? Nothing!

I hope you all have a blessed year!