I came across this article. It is a good read, especially for today, as we look forward to a new year.

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/my-prayer-for-next-year

Prayer turns theology into experience

During my devotions today, reading Colossians 3:1-17, I was mulling over just what, "Set your minds on the things above" (v. 2) practically means. Paul does go on to describe it in practical terms in the following verses. Look them up, and you will be blessed today!

You'll Never Walk Alone

Our middle son, Mark, played youth soccer. All of the years, he played for a club which had a special connection, through its British-born coaches, to Liverpool Soccer Club. On their uniforms was written the motto, "You'll never walk alone." I suppose the primary idea was about teamwork, but perhaps there was an inference to the great biblical truth that every Christian can rejoice in. We never walk alone because Christ lives in us. We are His temple, and the Holy Spirit of God dwells permanently in us. "I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me", because "it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." Paul Tripp said, "Why give way to fear when, in Christ, it is impossible for you to ever be alone because you are now the temple in which God dwells?" Not only that, but he goes on to describe the ways that God's indwelling presence works in us. "By grace, His power is at our disposal. By grace, he fights on our behalf even if we don't have the sense to do so. By grace, he works within us to complete the labor of grace that he has begun. By grace, he animates us to desire and do what is right. By grace, he exposes us and convicts us. We are able to choose and do what is right only because he lives in us and gives us the power to do so by his grace. He hasn't just forgiven us, he's taken up residence in us, and in that there is real hope." Let's cast aside fear, doubt, loneliness, and all that accompanies those nagging emotions, by looking to the power that works within us, the Spirit of Jesus Christ the righteous, Who will never leave us or forsake us!

Who is this Jesus?

Colossians 1:15-19
^"15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him..."

What is the writer saying?

What indescribable greatness is in Jesus Christ. He is the very image, not created in the image as man is. Jesus is the very image of God. By Him, all things were created. He created not only everything visible, but also the forces, and even the kingdoms of the universe, let alone the earth, for all of time. These are not only created by Him, but through and for Him. How can I get a grasp on these statements? First, "by Him", meaning that he was instrumental in the actual creation process, He must have been the key Creator of all things. Then, "through and for" Him also, indicating by "through", that Someone else was also involved, meaning God the Father and God the Spirit (remembering in Genesis the Spirit moving above the waters."(Gen. 1:2) Then, "for Him" indicates that all of creation's purpose is for Him. And then, "in Him all things hold together" indicates that He is actively preserving the universe. How great is Jesus Christ, the God-man, the Lord of everything!