I grew up going to church, a choir boy and priests assistant but my life was never truly changed by all of this. At university I gave up going to church. When I got my PhD, I worked for 2 years in the USA. Invited to attend a church, Jean and I met a Methodist pastor. There was something about this man, a love of God, knowledge of the word, love of people and a genuine desire for us to know Jesus as he did. This started me on my journey to believe in Jesus and ask Him into my life as Lord and Saviour (Rom 10:9-10). We all need to ask ourselves, “Do our lives impact people for Jesus, as our Methodist friend did us? Do people look at us and desire what we have as Christians?” How should people see us as Christians? The early church saw thousands of new Christians added to their numbers (Acts 2:41; 47b). What did people see in the lives of these early Christians? These Christians told others about Jesus, they emphasized prayer, the teaching of the apostles (God’s Word), communion, praising God and a unity and spiritual fellowship with God and each other (Acts 2:41-47). Caring for one another was a cardinal virtue of the early church (Acts 4:32-35). The apostle John exhorted us not to love the things of the world around us but to do God’s will (1 John 2:15-17). The apostle Paul wrote a wonderful description of Christian character; we are to be holy, merciful, kind, compassionate, humble gentle, patient, forgiving and people at peace in God’s unconditional love (Col 3:12-15). Let’s shine for God in 2025!