MAKING THE MOST OF A NEW YEAR… RECALIBRATING OUR LIVES

Every January 1, for over 40 years, I have paused and read the sacred words of Psalm 90 and pondered life and eternity. This Psalm, written by Moses, is about the brevity of life. Verse 12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.”

Remember, Moses saw a whole generation of two million people die before the next generation could enter the Promised Land. This would have been an average of eighty-five funerals a day. Moses challenges us to count our days and says in verse ten, “as for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years.”

To recalibrate my life on New Year’s Day and live with a better perspective in light of my future date with eternity, I have done something since the 1980’s that you may consider morbid. I have calculated how many days I have until age 70 if God gives me 70 years. Annually, I write the new number in my Bible. I had over 15,000 days when I started this discipline but now the number is 640. Now I know today could be my last day or I could live to be one hundred. Time flies so once a year I count. It reminds me – Life is short. Eternity is loooooog. I need to live considering these two realities.

With my cancer challenges this year, these truths are all the more real to me. How about you? The clock is still ticking.

I’m leaning into the great hope I have in Jesus who gives us the victory. To live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil. 1:21). As long as I have breath on this side, I want to serve the Lord.

God usually gives me a word or a renewed focus for the coming year. In 2026, I want to focus on PASSING THE BATON… especially to the younger generations. I’m thrilled that God is at work in Gen Z and perhaps the beginnings of revival fires are being stirred. I pray for revival every day. Is there hope?

One of my most special and sobering learnings in 2025 was visiting DACHAU CONCENTRATION CAMP outside of Munich, Germany. The atrocities at Dachua were Evil, Evil, Evil. I wondered… was there any hope at Dachua?

Yes!

At three o’clock daily a large bell reverberates across the grounds. What is that sound? It is the three o’clock bell. The bell rings at three o’clock every day.

Why three o’clock?

Because Jesus died at three o’clock. In the midst of this painfully horrific place of the Holocaust, Christians wanted the world to know that Jesus suffered and died to purchase their victory on the cross.

In the hellish places and times of suffering the bell sounds. It rings the message of victory. The bell tolls the sound of forgiveness and hope through faith in Jesus Christ.

This was the bell tolling of a victor not a victim. It reverberates down through the corridors of time and makes every living thing celebrate or tremble… or should. The power of sin is broken. Peace with God is possible. A bridge to God was built. Death no longer has to have the final word.

Happy New Year to all!

Dr. Michael Sprague serves as Louisiana State Chaplain with the Capitol Commission and President of Grace Adventures. He ministers in a non-partisan pastoral role at the Baton Rouge Capitol, offering Bible studies, prayer, and spiritual care to leaders. A former senior pastor, he holds degrees from the University of Maryland, Capital Bible Seminary, and Dallas Theological Seminary. He helped launch Touch Global Crisis Response after Hurricane Katrina and authored two books. Michael does life in Mandeville, LA with his wife Donna. His motto is “Bet the Farm on God,” reflecting his passion to help others know Jesus. You can find more information about Michael here.  

Image by DEEPAI