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Dear brothers and sisters,

A new year has begun. This means for us that God is giving us more time to prepare for the return of Christ. It is up to us to make good use of this time. That is why our motto for 2025 is: “It’s time to do good!”

As children of God we are called to do good. This is certainly not easy, especially since we live in a time characterized by the reign of evil. But it is indeed possible because the Holy Spirit gives us the strength we need.

Goodness is anything that pleases God and that corresponds to His will. And Jesus Christ taught us what it means to do good.

God wants all human beings to be saved. Starting with ourselves. Do good to yourself and occupy yourself with your own salvation. Ask about the will of God and look at the example set by Jesus. Nurture your soul, foster your relationship with God and with your neighbor. And the more you become aware of all the good things God wants to give you, the more you will feel the need to do good to others.

Parents only want the best for their children. What could be better for the next generation than teaching them the love of Jesus and the value of Christ’s church? Even though it is not easy these days: let us help them to come to grips with their salvation and to shape their faith. It is high time to do good.

Our efforts continue in the congregation: Jesus wants us to look out for one another and to help one another. He wants us to utilize our different gifts in order to build up a strong and united congregation, in which we all give thought to one another’s salvation.

Let us always do good things for one another, because in so doing we demonstrate that the Gospel is still valid and powerful today. Yes, we can help people to experience, through our behavior, the love of Jesus. Even here, in this situation, it is possible to put the gospel into practice. Then others will see and feel it too: “Here, they do good.”

Doing good does not stop when we step outside of the church building. We should always do the same good to others that we ourselves would like them to do for us. This is what Jesus Christ expects of us. In the coming months, God will create many opportunities for us to perform good works. All we have to do is keep our eyes and hearts open. Let us take advantage of such opportunities. In fact, let us actively look for them.

This also includes the plights and needs of other human beings. It is not credible for us to care about the salvation of our neighbors' invisible soul while ignoring their obvious distresses and needs. Sometimes a good deed is a good way to open a person’s heart to the good news.

The time has come to do good. All we need to do is make time. Let us take inventory of our activities and see whether all the efforts we put into them are really doing any good. There are enough things that we can give up and then do better things with our time.

It’s high time to do good. Let us not hesitate. And let us not look for excuses or allow ourselves to be discouraged. Let us redeem the time that God gives us. The Holy Spirit will show us all the things that we can do.

Let’s do good now!