“The best is yet to come!” This statement has often been a popular rallying cry, especially for the Church. It’s a declaration rooted in the belief that God has great things in store for his people just beyond the horizon. And it’s a sentiment we’ve shared and stated here at Cornerstone...but, not anymore. Of course, we still believe the future is bright. But who has time for what’s to come when we’re too busy being blessed by what is? You see, the best isn’t just “yet to come”—it’s here and now! God is on the move, and he is doing a new thing now, in the midst of our present circumstances. Instead of focusing on the future, we’re determined to fix our attention and follow God’s lead, right here and right now.

Has anyone ever told you they have good news—but then they start talking? And as they do, you realize this “good news” isn’t actually that GOOD. That’s what happened 2,000 years  ago at a church in the city of Galatia. The Good News of the Gospel message was being distorted and mangled into something different—something that was not the Gospel. In an effort to fight this fake news, the Apostle Paul wrote that church a letter, calling them back to the true Gospel…a letter we know as the biblical book of Galatians. Now here we are 2,000 years later, and Paul’s call back to the centrality of the Gospel is as timely today as it was then—a much-needed reminder of why the Gospel is Good News.

Did you know that every single New Year, almost every person on Earth believes it’s “going to be their year?” But take a guess at how many people actually get to midnight on the next December 31 happy with where they are? Yeah, not many. And the difference between the people who seize their year and the people who squander their year can really be summed up in one word: Nevertheless. Those who seize the year to come are steadfast and persistent. A bad experience, a difficult person, a rough financial patch—they don’t allow it to throw them off course. And that’s good news for all of us! It means winning in 2024 is completely in my hands, because winning in 2024 is about a mindset. It’s time for us to settle in and buckle up, trusting that no matter what comes our way, God is going to do something amazing in us and through us this year—Come Hell or High Water.