F or most people, New Year is a time to close a chapter of their book of life and open the pages of a new chapter. In such a time like this, I wish to share three biblical verses that have been a great help to me and to others. Reading God's Word is better than reading horoscope or consulting feng-shui experts. The words of humans are like grasses that wither and flowers that fade; the Word of God, however, stands forever. The Bible is like a collection of God's love letters to His people, these are just three of this collected love letters:

1. Hebrews 13:8 - "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever." In the midst of changes both good and bad, we are thankful that we have a constant God whose love, mercy and kindness never change. The same sun which sets in the west is the same sun that rises on the east. And if Jesus is always the same, then as He saved us in the past, He saves us today and He will save us tomorrow. If He had provided us in the past, He provides for us today, and He will provide for us in the future. Even if at times we prove unfaithful, He remains faithful---and if our hearts are too small for God, then God's heart is too big for us. The same God who is our "Help in ages past is still our Hope for years to come, a Shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal Home." With regards to the Philippine experience, even the savage furies of storms Ondoy and Peping and the senselessness of the Maguindanao massacre did not destroy but only strengthened the indomitable spirit of the Filipino people.

2. Isaiah 43:18-19 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing."  This discriminate forgetting holds true for both successes and failures. If we dwell on past failures, we become fearful and bitter. If we dwell on past successes, we become careless and arrogant. Everyday should be a new day. "This is the Day that the Lord has made!" We must make past failures as our teachers and past successes as umpires. To quote Robert Schuller, "success is never-ending and failure is never final."

3. Jeremiah 29:11 -"I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." When I was a child, my dream was simply to be teacher; then to be journalist; then to be a priest. There were times when I thought that not one of these dreams would ever come true: it turned out that they were all fulfilled and even more, even way beyond my expectation.

I still have many dreams, and we should all have dreams, for dreams keep us young and give us purpose and meaning. But the key, I suppose, is not in dreaming dreams but in knowing God's dream for us, which is always for our good and those of others. When I was a missionary in Singapore, a friend of mine (a Chinese university professor) gave me a name in Mandarin: "Wei Hong Tao" which means, I am called "to magnify the Way." I think we, who live and believe in Christ, all are called to do that, magnify and glorify Christ. For in the final analysis, God's dream is two-fold: to make us know the Good News in Christ and to make us bearers of that Good News to others.

To all of you, dear friends, I wish you God's peace, freedom and prosperity for 2010 and beyond.  Keep your eyes on Christ who alone can truly answer your deepest needs, mend your broken hearts, wipe the tears from your eyes and give you new and abundant lives. Amen.

The Rev. Dr. Canon Winfred Vergara

The Episcopal Church, USA

815 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017

1212-922-5344

www.episcopalchurch.org/asian.htm and www.stmichaelseaford.org