Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:

The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The clock hand slowly moves,

Minute-minute—second-second,

Midnight strikes, the ball drops,

Crowds cheer a New Year-

Singing “Auld Lang Syne.”

The old with the new. Nostalgia for the past. “Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?” ¹ 

We celebrate the New Year with friends and family who are part of our past. With      reminiscence of those shared memories, we look ahead to creating new ones in a new year. Moving into the new year, we bring the past with us–“for auld lang syne” (for “old times’ sake” ² ) and much more, to the extent that the past can become more influential than the present. Although the past is always part of us, it should never be the greater part of us.

In God’s Holy Word, the Old Testament is a place to return to—and not to be forgotten for much more than “auld lang syne” —for it gives us background, history, lessons, and   applications important to understanding the New Testament:

¹⁸ “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. ¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:18-19)

Although this passage references happenings and events during the time of the Israelites, there are applications for us in the present. We, too, must not dwell in the past. We must do “a new thing” and become a new creation in Christ. God shows us the way in the Word of the New Testament:

**If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)

**Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of    refreshing may come from the Lord, ²⁰ and that He may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. (Acts 3:19-20)

** “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelations 21:4)

**Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (I Peter 1:3)

 The Apostle Paul gives us the resolution we need for this New Year: 

¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

This resolution will be carried out and fulfilled if we remember this promise of help: 

I can do all this through Him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)

The clock hand slowly moves,

Minute-minute—second-second,

Midnight strikes, the ball drops,

Old year passing, I watch the fall,

 Then look up to Him– hope anew.

¹ www.independent.co.up/arts-entertainment “Lyrics to Auld Lang Syne”

² www.scotland.org  “The History and Words of Auld Lang Syne”

(Sharon  G. Tate blog 12/31/17) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word