Have you ever taken a walk on a new path without a guide? How did you get to your destination? (Allow children to respond.)Walking alone on an unknown path can be dangerous, especially without a guide. A new year can be likened to a new path, where no one knows anything about it. It is dangerous to travel this year without God. God knows everything about the year because He created time and seasons. He has a template of how to navigate the year. Those who choose to journey with God are assured of safe landing but those who refuse live on chance.

What does it mean to follow a new path of closeness with God?

Following a new path in the New Year means changing the direction you were following before. It involves looking back to think about how you walked with God in the previous year and deciding to leave the old path of being far away from God and getting closer to Him, drawing nearer to God and committing your ways unto Him. In James 4:8a, Apostle James encourages believers to draw near to God. There are several issues of life which can make a person deviate (to be far away) from the Lord.

To draw near to God is not just about attending Sunday worship; it is about having a consistent walk with God through personal daily devotion, Bible study, prayer, and fellowship with other believers. This is the path God desires that children follow in the year. It is a path to a smooth relationship with Him. God desires that His children walk closely with Him as He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before the fall.

In the cool of the evening, God would come to Adam and Eve to talk and fellowship with them. It is important to note that closeness to God is a pathway of salvation, peace, rest, joy, and eternal life -that is the new path God is calling everyone into. Will you obey James’s advice and follow God’s path?

Why should children be close to God?

The journey of the year is new, and no one has travelled it, but God knows the way. God is the creator of times and seasons. He knows what the year holds and He controls all things. That is why it is important to walk closely with Him so that He can lead the way. You can be sure that His presence will abide with you such that whatever lies in the year will work for you. He will also help you overcome all of life’s challenges and teach you the best path for your life.;g

How to Follow the New Path of Closeness with God

1. Quit the Old Path of Bad Behaviour: Someone once said, ‘Sin is departing from God; grace is returning to Him.’When you keep on displaying bad behaviours such as fighting, cheating, stealing, lying, abusing and so on, you are separating yourself from God. It also means you are still following the old path. But the new path God is calling you to walk is to have a cordial relationship through fellowship with Him. When a man draws near to God, he will no longer remain and walk in sin. Sin will become an old path. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have gone and new things have begun.

2. Read and Study your Bible Daily: The Bible is the Word of God that every serious believer must read regularly to get guidance and direction from God. As you read and study it daily, you will get to know God’s will and plan for your life throughout the year. It will guide you on how to live daily.

3. Pray Regularly: Prayer is a way to communicate with God. Children need to pray without ceasing. Prayer is necessary to walk rightly with God. It enables us to overcome temptations. Jesus told His disciples at Gethsemane to pray so that they would not fall into temptation,(Luke 22:40; Mark 14:41). Prayer is also necessary to know the will of God for one’s life. It protects against dangers and satanic attacks. Prayer is also important to achieve all your plans and aspirations in the year, according to God’s will (Psalm 37:5).

 4. Live Holy: Sin separates man from God but holiness pleases God. The moment the first man and woman fell, sin became a part of humanity, disconnecting us from God. Psalm 15:1-5 says, who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? The one who has clean hands. Clean hands refer to one’s actions. What actions do you exhibit-fighting, cheating, stealing? They are part of the old path that you must no longer walk. Our lifestyle through our actions must demonstrate a new life in Christ. It is the way we live daily that will show if we are taking a new path in Christ. Jesus, while speaking to His disciples on the mount in Matthew 5:8,”Blessed are pure in heart, for they shall see God.’The verse shows that Jesus is concerned about the state of our hearts. Is your heart right with God? As Christ’s disciples, avoid bad thoughts, dirty words and other bad actions. Rather, be truthful and honest in all you do. Commit today that you will follow a new path of living a holy life that pleases God, starting from now and throughout the year.

Conclusion: God is calling you to follow a new path, which is the way of life. It is by building an intimate walk with God this New Year. Have you found Christ’s way and are you walking in it? It is the way that leads to life eternal with God. In it, you will have fellowship with God, peace with Him and people, and an abundance of all other blessings. May the Lord help you to always desire to walk in the path of life in Christ Jesus.

100 Devotional Topics to be Closer to God

Adoption, Apostleship, Ascension, Assurance of Salvation, Atonement, Baptism of/in/with the Holy Spirit, Believe,. Binding and Loosing, Blamelessness, Blood of Jesus, Bom Again, Calling/Election, Charismatic, Christ in Me(Union with Christ), Church Membership and Ministries, Communion, Compelling Love, Complimentary between Males and Females, Conversion, Conviction, Covenant, Deliverance from the Spirit of Disobedience, Dethronement of Satan, Diaconate’s Services and Pastoral Ministry, Discerning of Spirit, Balanced doctrines, Dying with Christ, Endurance, Empowerment for Life and Service, Equality in Personhood, Eternal Security and Life, Faith…, Filling with the Holy Spirit, First Fruit, Forgiveness, Freedom, Fruit of the Holy Spirit…, Gift of Jesus Christ and Various Benefits, Gift of the Holy Spirit., Temporal gifts, Glorification, Grace, Healing, Holiness, Holy of Holies…, Holy Spirit’s Work in Us, Hope, Inspiration, In-Christ, Intercession of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Into Fellowship, Justification, Keys of the Kingdom, Light out of Darkness, Manifestation of God’s Active Presence, Mediation of Christ, Mercy, Miracles, Signs and Wonders, .New Creation, New Creation , Out of Darkness, Peace, Personal Name and Address, Empowerment, Power of Sin is Broken…, Prayed for by Jesus, Priesthood of all Believers, Purity of the Church, Resurrected and Raised with Christ in, Perfect Body, Rapturable and Parousia, Reconciliation, Redemption, Regeneration, 4 Original Guilt, Pollution and Sin are Wiped Away, Pentecost, Perfection, Perseverance of the Saints, Predestined to Conform, Satan Defeated., Salvation and Repentance, Sainthood and Righteousness, Sanctification, Saving Faith and Salvation, Security of Believers, Speaking in Tongues, Unity, Veiled by Christ, Wisdom and Mystery, Scripture Word of God and Scriptures, Word of Knowledge and Words of Wisdom, Worship, Xmas Celebrations, Zealousness, Zion, not Sinai, Ten unbeatable reasons why you must, Love, Anxiety and worry, Fifteen Lies You Must not Accept from, Anybody and Truths that Will Set You Free., Fifteen Lies You Must Not Accept from, Anybody and Truths that Will Set You Free…, Gains of Being Raptured, Work out Your Salvation