Beloved students, I greet you as we enter the second month of a brand new year. I hope all of you are celebrating your own movement forward, as well as the forward movement of 2011. As we have already noted, 2011 should prove to be a year filled with opportunities on many levels, but it will not be free of challenges. I wish each of you well as you negotiate the new experiential terrain that arises before you. While this process presents itself annually, each year that you traverse bears its own identity, offers its own gifts, and marks its own challenges. The year 2011 will be one of redefinition, and your personal areas of growth will likely be redefined, as well as the growth of the planet as a whole.

As we begin this lesson, I would like to draw your focus to an ancient Hebraic scripture, a text from the prophet Jeremiah. This particular text is part of what might be called a diatribe against the sins of the people of Israel, and it is couched in terms of war, portending the ultimate destruction of Israel. Without going into the entire rather complex story, there may be some merit in reviewing the words in the Book of Jeremiah as you chart your course for 2011. Indeed, the sixth chapter of this book amounts to one of those "Woe unto . . ." texts. Speaking of those who have led the people down the wrong path, this passage states, "they have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace" [Jeremiah 6:14, esV].