In our American calendar, it is the month of January and the year 2008. The month is named after the Roman god, Janus.
In Roman mythology, Janus (or Ianus) was the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings. His most apparent remnants in modern culture are his namesakes, the month of January and the caretaker of doors and halls: Janitor.
Janus was usually depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions.
Janus was frequently used to symbolize change and transitions such as the progression of past to future, of one condition to another, of one vision to another, the growing up of young people, and of one universe to another. He was also known as the figure representing time because he could see into the past with one face and into the future with the other. Hence, Janus was worshipped at the beginnings of the harvest and planting times, as well as marriages, births and other beginnings. He was representative of the middle ground between barbarity and civilization, rural country and urban cities, and youth and adulthood.
This is a new year, and a time of new beginning or beginning again. It is a time of new opportunity and new mercy. Actually each day is a new beginning and a time of new opportunity and new mercy. God's mercy is new every morning
Lamentations 3:22-26.
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.
That's why it is called "the present."
A new year, and each new day, is a time to forget past mistakes and failures and face the present in the mercy, strength and grace of God. My wife has a little sign on the refrigerator which says, "Lord, help me to remember that nothing will come my way today that You and I together can't handle" (or something like that).
For several years as I face the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one, it seems the Lord places the same thoughts/Scriptures in my mind. These are
Matthew 6:5,
Matthew 6:16, and
Matthew 6:2 in that order. These are Christian basics: prayer, fasting, and giving and these three things are to be major in my life. When I first recoiled at the "giving" my mind was directed to
2 Cor 8:1-5 where it seemed the Lord impressed upon me that I was to give myself to Him and for Him --that giving of self is more important than giving of things. In my opinion, I am supposed to be a giver or a giving person who devotes himself to serving others and to praying and fasting. But, according to
Matthew 6, my praying, fasting, and giving is not supposed to be something flaunted or even noticed by others.
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