It’s 2016! Happy New Year!

But why? Do you know what happened 2,016 years ago?

Over the last several weeks I posed that question to various people in different locales, from Panda Express, to Costco, to Whole Foods Market. And only one person answered correctly.

What happened? Simply the most significant event ever….

It’s been 2,016 years since Jesus Christ was born, that babe in the manger. Every time you look at a coin, it’s a marker of time, a reminder that Jesus Christ came into this world to seek and to save people from their sin.

Someone once said: “He has turned aside the river of ages out of its course and lifted the centuries off its hinges.”

We measure time as B.C., Before Christ, and A.D. Do you know what that means? Not “After Death.” No, A.D. stands for Anno Domini, “In the year of the Lord.” It has been changed now to “The Year of Our Lord.” The big question: Is he your Lord?

The wonderful irony of all this is that every book in the library, even those that hate God and Christianity, acknowledge that Jesus Christ was born by the dates contained within them. The former Soviet Union, an official atheistic government, has in its constitution that it was formed in 1917.

Interesting, huh?

At Whole Foods Market, one man argued that it wasn’t 2016 A.D. but 2016 C.E., which means “Common Era.” Yes, and there’s a time before that time abbreviated as “B.C.E.;” that is, “Before Common Era.”

The irreligious among us like that designation better because it eliminates all references to God, Jesus Christ and Christianity. Of course, in this Politically Correct era, we don’t want to offend those who do not see Jesus Christ as Lord, do we?

At some point in time, though, he will be their Lord and your Lord, whether they—or you—like it or not. The Bible says, “…that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

So whether a year’s designation is B.C./A.D. or B.C.E./C.E., the great divide is still the life and times of Jesus Christ.

With this being the year of our Lord, let’s make it real by living for him in this New Year.

*That’s this pastor’s point of view. Is it yours?

(Scripture reference: Philippians 2:10-11 NASB)

Images: Good News Unlimited; PinTerest

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