by Sasa Felipe
There is always something different about the ending of a year and the ushering in of a new one. That one-week interval between Christmas Day and New Year’s somehow evokes feelings of nostalgia for the year just passed and, at the same time, a feeling of anticipation and excitement for what the new year will bring.

New year has always been about new beginnings, new life — a time we can hit the refresh, restart, reboot buttons on our lives and start afresh. Hence, the most popular graphic or icon of the New Year is a baby in diapers. The baby is a symbol of new life. Jesus Himself said in Luke 18:17,  “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

As we say goodbye to the old year and look forward to the new, let us take this opportunity to:

1. Count our blessings. Go ahead, list them all down now then thank our Lord Jesus for each and every blessing, big and small. Say quietly in your heart, ‘Thank you, Jesus’ for even the smallest blessings, like finding a nice parking slot, or thanking Him that the congested traffic will enable you to listen to good praise music, etc. Look at the world around you with fresh eyes. See and marvel at God’s beautiful creation all around you. Stop to smell the flowers, the sunset, the play of lights on that mountain ridge looming on your horizon and thank Jesus for all these.
2. Have a Positive Mindset. After you’re done counting your blessings, get a new sheet of paper and start writing down your new year’s resolutions. You’re most probably going to commit to changing old worn-out habits and creating new good ones. Put at the top of your list: ‘I will have a positive mindset.’ This means that you will always think the best of others in spite of the circumstances. Cast aside any criticism, negativity, bitterness, and resentment and see things with new eyes and a heart brimming with gratefulness. Find something wonderful, positive, and pleasing about each one, and focus on this, not on the bad. Do this with every person God allows to come your way. Start now. Look with fresh, clear eyes at the people around you. Stare in awe at your family with new eyes and see how each of them fascinates you.
3. Let go of the old and put on the new. Truly ”the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning, new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness, Oh Lord….” Each new day brings God’s fresh mercies, God’s fresh grace, God’s fresh forgiveness, and God’s fresh love, just as each new year gives us a chance of wipe the slate clean.The New Year is a wonderful opportunity to let go of the old and get on with the new.  We have been miserable, negative, and critical for so long now and oftentimes, the new isn’t as much about things, as it is about attitudes. But a change in attitude is transformation of the heart. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” This kind of transformation can only be done by our Maker. Only Jesus can heal broken hearts. Only Jesus can change hearts.Sinful as we are, we need a Savior. Jesus is the only Savior. He paid a very painful price so that we may live in newness of life. Only Jesus will enable us to view the people in our life for the value they bring to us and not what we can get from them.
4. Pray for an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. As we say goodbye to the year was and usher in the new year, the best resolution we can ever make is to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Pray to receive His love, His grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness. This resolution will enable you to fulfill all other resolutions you might make. The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Choose, this New Year, to start fresh with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Only He can give new life… a life that is joyous and everlasting.

On a clear and breezy Wednesday, December 17, about 100 CCFers gathered at the foot of Mt. Makiling for the ground-breaking ceremony of the CCF Prayer Mountain and Retreat Center.

There was no bustle in Batangas. Pastors, parents, and friends enjoyed snacks and lunch beneath a large mango tree. Children followed the ponies that had free run of the land. A handful of people picked spots on the grass for reading or a nap. It was a lovely day.

The program began at about 1:30 P.M., with a few songs of praise. The sun was high, but the wind was cool, and there was plenty of shade.

Project Head Albit Rodriguez then gave a brief message and started by citing the motivation behind the Prayer Mountain project.

“Where’d we get the inspiration?” he said. “From no less than the Lord Jesus Christ,” who himself went up to the mountains to pray.

Rodriguez also cited the Korea Prayer Tour of 2002, which enriched the prayer life of many CCFers who had gone. He described an experience at a prayer mountain facility in Osanri, South Korea and said that they had been moved by the Spirit to make prayer a greater part of their lives, by helping CCF to set up a similar facility here in the Philippines.

Pastor-in-charge Roy Felipe followed with a devotional message based on the parables of the sower and of the mustard seed. He also mentioned Ezra and Nehemiah, two men who led the exiled Israelites back to Jerusalem in order to rebuild their walls and temple.

“Nehemiah said, ‘The gracious hand of God is upon me.’ I believe that as we break ground this afternoon, the gracious hand of God is upon us, is upon this project,” Ptr. Felipe said.

After the pastor led a shout of “Lord, Lord, Lord!” everyone was encouraged to pray for the success of the CCF Prayer Mountain, “that many people, all who come to this place, will have changed lives, transformed families, and renewed relationships with the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Pastor Joby Soriano then closed the program with a prayer of thanksgiving:

“We know, Lord Jesus, that this place will do miracles in many people’s lives. It’ll be a quiet sanctuary for people to commune with you and experience you in a very personal way. We look forward to the day when we can all come here and worship you together.”