Pastor's Note - December 31 
You may have noticed that many are rejoicing at the end of 2020. Many note that it was a difficult year, and now that this aberration of a year is behind us, we can finally move on to 2021, when all will be well. Of course, we know the reality of things. A turning on the page of the calendar does not magically make hardship disappear, or bring the arrival of shalom. 2021 may be more, less, or just as difficult as 2020 was. We have no guarantee our lives will improve over time on this earth. In fact, Scripture expects that we will endure hardship from beginning to end, so long as sin and evil are present. As Paul says in Ephesians 5:16; “the days are evil.” No matter the day on the calendar, we live in an age of sin and evil, and always have. That didn’t start in 2020, 2000, 1990, or 1960. That began in the garden, and has been heightened ever since the advent of Jesus Christ. Our only hope is the second advent. Only the return of Jesus, not a calendar’s page-turn, will bring shalom. As we read in Galatians 1:4, Jesus “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” So this is our hope. Not in a new year, but in a new creation, brought by the arrival of Jesus Christ. Even though we may not know the timing of that new creation, it is a far more sure and trustworthy hope. This next year, may we continue to place our hope in Jesus and His Shalom, His salvation, His kingdom, and His return; as He has always been our hope.