As we enter the New Year, how will we live 2022 differently in the light of Christmas? Here is a devotion that helps us understand how “God with us” transforms this world through the next:

IN WORD John saw a new heaven and a new earth. We may have been taught that earth passes away and heaven remains, but that isn’t the picture Scripture gives us. God doesn’t waste what He created; He restores it. And the new heaven and earth replace an old order of things that will pass away and never return. Do you realize the implications?
The laws of physics as you know them may not function the same way anymore. The biology you learned will have to be relearned, this time with no death and decay involved. Pathogens will cease to exist. Dangers will no longer be a threat. Wolves and lambs will lie down together. We may even swim with sharks. Most of all, people will not hurt each other.
In the new creation, everyone will give and receive grace, and no one will give or receive judgment. We will never have our feelings hurt, never get discouraged, never cry out in frustration, and never make futile attempts at growth and success. Instead, we will overflow with gratitude, enjoy everyone around us, celebrate on a daily basis, sleep in peace if we choose to sleep at all, feast on good food if we want to eat, and see beauty everywhere. How could it be any other way? We know the heart of the King. This is the only kind of Kingdom He could devise.
IN DEED Even now, don’t get stuck in the old order of things. Don’t get mired in its thought processes, limited by its perspectives, and trapped in its futility. Yes, you will brush up against those things at times, but they are not your lot in life. You don’t live in that climate, not as a citizen of the Kingdom. Even now, you can give people a glimpse of that realm—the unlimited grace and joy, the expectation of fruitfulness, the energy of the celebration of life. It’s real. It’s lasting. And it’s coming. “Take all the pleasures of all the spheres, and multiply each through endless years; one minute of heaven is worth them all.” Thomas Moore (in “Heaven on Earth Devotional” by Chris Tiegreen)

Although 2022 is starting off with a measure of uncertainty as we face a mutating pandemic and the threat of more extreme weather, we do not have to follow the dystopic narrative Hollywood is portraying in so many movies nowadays. Even as things seem to be deteriorating, there is another narrative that has already been prophesized (see Matthew 24) and is even now unfolding. The question we must ask each day is which narrative drives our daily life, our decisions, and our actions.
Take some time to read and reflect on 2 Corinthians 4 this week and pray for the Holy Spirit to grant you discernment on how to shape 2022 into something brand new. Have a blessed week! - from Singapore, Pastor Sam