“My days pass faster than a weaver’s shuttle.” — Job 7:6
Life is short. Since our time is limited, we should use it carefully and sincerely.
The Bible reminds us that we are living in a serious and sacred time. In Bible days, the Day of Atonement was a time when God’s people humbled themselves. They searched their hearts, confessed their sins, felt genuine sorrow, turned away from wrong, and trusted fully in God’s saving mercy.
If there have been problems between you and others—if jealousy, anger, bitterness, or bad thoughts have taken root—don’t ignore them. Confess these sins honestly. Don’t speak in vague terms. Go directly to the person involved. Be clear. Be humble.
If you are guilty of one wrong and the other person of many, confess your one wrong as if you were the one most at fault. Reach out your hand. Let God’s Spirit soften your heart. Say something like:
“Will you forgive me? My attitude toward you hasn’t been right. I want to make things right. I don’t want anything standing you and I. It does not seem like that is God’s way at all. I want a clean heart and a clean record.”
Who could resist a spirit like that?
There is too much coldness today—too much indifference, too much of the “I don’t care” attitude—among those who claim to follow Christ. We should care deeply for one another. We should protect and look out for each other. Jesus said, “Love one another.” When we do this, we become a strong defense against the enemy’s attacks.
When opposition or hardship comes, we should not become harsh or hurtful. We should not join in blaming, accusing, or tearing others down. That kind of spirit does not come from God.
Use the remaining days of this year, 2025, to pull out every root of bitterness. Bury it with the old year. Start the new year with kinder hearts and deeper love for everyone in God’s family. Stand close together. Stay united. When we stand together, we are strong—but when we are divided, we fall.
Choose to live on a higher level this year than last year. Every day, in every way, go one step better. Try not to worry about the whole new year in advance. It might seem impossible then. One day at a time. One step at a time. One step better at a time seems to be God’s ideal. Mat 6:34 tells us that “sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
As we move into this new year,2026,God assures us that He will not only make a way, but a new way (Isa 43:19) A new way shaped by His transforming grace and sustained by His presence each day. We are not called to instant perfection, but to daily surrender, reaching for one step better as God patiently reshapes our hearts. Scripture gives us this transforming confidence:
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
This journey is not driven by willpower alone, but by divine renewal, captured clearly in this assurance:
“A character formed according to the divine likeness is the only treasure that we can take from this world to the next. Those who are under the instruction of Christ in this world will take every divine attainment with them to the heavenly mansions. And in heaven we are continually to improve. How important, then, is the development of character in this life. {CG 161.1}
True Character a Quality of the Soul.–Mental ability and genius are not character, for these are often possessed by those who have the very opposite of a good character. Reputation is not character. True character is a quality of the soul, revealing itself in the conduct.{CG 161.2}
