A Resolution

Many people make a resolution at the beginning of the New Year.  Some people do not because they are afraid that they will not be able to keep the resolution they make.  However, I encourage everyone who reads this article to seriously consider making this resolution: “I resolve to revolve around Christ.”  As you make that resolution, I encourage you to consider a similar resolution the Apostle Paul made when he said, “All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:10).

Notice three important aspects of this resolution:

1)    The resolution is singular in purpose – “all I want.”  It seems that when making a decision, lots of options could be helpful.  However, when too many options are available, decision-making becomes increasingly difficult.  For example, some fast-food chains purposely limit the items on their menu realizing that too many options often complicate decisions for people.  The Apostle Paul had an earnest desire that excluded everything in his life that was not essential.  At the same time, he was very much aware of those things that were of worth and had value.  How about you?  Are you ready to become singular in purpose in this New Year? 

2)    The resolution has a heavenly focus – “to know Christ.”  There is a Christian chorus about a person’s relationship with Christ entitled “The greatest thing in all my life is knowing You.”  The “You” to know, of course, is Christ and that was Paul’s focus.  Notice how the Amplified Bible paraphrases this same verse.  It says, “For my determined purpose is that I may know Him—that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly” (Philippians 3:10). How about having the goal of getting to know Christ better this New Year?

 3)    The resolution includes a dynamic encounter – “to experience the power.”  When astronauts sit on top of powerful booster rockets which thrust their Space Capsule into orbit, they experience a controlled power that is indescribable.  And yet this man-made power pales in comparison with the fantastic power that is available to the Christian.  Paul calls this resurrection power.  The power of God that brought Christ from the dead is the same kind of power the believer can experience.  In other portions of scripture, it is said that the individual who has a personal relationship with God has “been raised with Christ” (Colossians 3:1).  Are you ready for a dynamic on-going encounter with Christ in this New Year?

May this New Year be a year in which your resolution is to revolve around Christ and may you experience all the wonderful blessings He has in store for you as you get to know Him better and more intimately.

Tis the Season

Have you ever thought about the message that many of our popular Christmas Carols covey?  For example:

“Silver Bells” tells us to be upbeat – “Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile.”

“Up On the House Top” suggests merriment – “Ho, ho ho!  Who wouldn’t go?”

“Jingle Bells” advocates fun – “Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!”

“Deck the Halls” proposes being jolly – “’Tis the season to be jolly.

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” advocates happiness – “With kids jingle belling and everyone telling you ‘Be of good cheer.’”

So, what is the conclusion we get from these Carols?  Christmas must be a time filled with joy, cheer, parties, and family gatherings.  Right?  Maybe for some it is.  But this is wrong for others.  Many people experience Christmas as a time of anxiety, stress, loneliness, reflection on past failures, and concerns about an uncertain future.  Did you know that depression affects about 19 million American adults each year?  It takes away a person’s ability to function in everyday situations and affects thoughts, moods, and behaviors.  During Christmas many people are sad and grieve.  Some individuals avoid groups of people because they fear crowds or are afraid of being disapproved or embarrassed.  We need to realize that Christmas will not eliminate loneliness or feelings of sadness.  Here are some suggestions that you might want to try during this often stressed-filled season: 

1)      Look for positive things to alleviate disappointment.

2)      Volunteer to help others.  This will take your mind off yourself and give you a sense of usefulness.

3)      Do something for yourself.

4)      Do not spend the Christmas season alone but find people to be with. 

5)      Open the Bible and read the Christmas story.

6)      List the ways that God has been faithful to you.

7)      Focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

8)      Identify and write down at least 2 dozen (24) things for which you are grateful.

If Christmas does not seem like the most wonderful time of the year to you because of stress or disappointment realize that God wants to give you His joy.  Jesus said, “These things that I have spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). Notice that the qualification for a joy-filled life is to possess the joy of Jesus.  This will become a reality when you invite Jesus, who is the reason for the Christmas season, to become your Savior and Lord.  It is He who will give you joy despite your circumstances.  Have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

God and Us

As the Christmas season approaches, let your mind think about the biblical Christmas story and the song that angels in the Bethlehem skies sang over the shepherds so long ago.  Here’s how the Bible records it, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). Why such jubilation?  Why such proclamation?  Here are three truths related to the action of God who sent Jesus, His one and only Son, to the earth.

 1)      Jesus is God WITH us.  Matthew expresses this truth as: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel – which means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23). Did you know that Jesus came to this world, not just so you could celebrate Christmas each year?  He came because God wants to develop a personal relationship with you through His son.  Is God with you?

2)      Jesus is God FOR us.  The Apostle Paul reminds us of this fact when he said, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Christ, but we also know that He lived among us and died on the cross.  Did you know that Jesus died on the cross for you, to pay the penalty of your sin?  Have you personally experienced God’s forgiveness of your sins?

3)      Jesus is God IN us.  The Apostle John uses this idea when he says, “Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them.  And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us” (I John 3:24). The great miracle of Christmas is that God would choose to live in us.  He does so when we receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord by faith and invite Him into our lives.  Have you put your trust in Christ today?  Is God in you?

May you enjoy a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas by inviting Christ to come into your life.  Remember: by receiving God’s perfect Gift, Jesus, He is God with you, God for you, and God in you.  Have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

The Beginning of Thanksgiving

During the month of November we celebrate Thanksgiving Day.  Have you ever wondered where the tradition of giving thanks began?  Throughout history many groups, including the people of Israel, have celebrated a bountiful harvest with a thanksgiving ceremony.  One of the festivals the Israelites celebrated had three different names.  It was called the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Booths, or the Feast of Ingathering.  This feast marked the completion of the harvest and commemorated the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness.  Along with other feasts, this feast did several things.

• It preserved the religious faith of the nation and the unity among the people.
• It was a constant reminder of the way God had delivered them from difficulties in the past.
• It promoted gratitude to God among the people and acknowledged their trust in Him as their wonderful Provider.
• It gave an opportunity for the Children of Israel to show reverence for God.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, let’s be reminded of the opportunity we have in this great country of ours to exercise our faith and worship God.  Let’s thank God for the way He constantly delivers us and preserves us, even through difficulties.  And let’s commit ourselves to exercise our trust in God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.  Calvin Coolidge, the 30^th President of the United States, said the following in one of his Thanksgiving proclamations.  “We have been a favored people; we ought to be a grateful people.  We have been a most blessed people; we ought to be a most thankful people.”

Psalm 100 was written as a psalm for giving thanks.  As you participate in Thanksgiving activities this season, let this psalm be the expression of your heart to God: “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.  Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.  Know that the LORD is God.   It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Ps 100:1-5)

Action Permeated With Thanks

People take different kinds of action every day.  Some action is the result of a habit – like brushing teeth.  Some action is planned – such as taking a much-needed vacation.  Other action transpires in the spur of a moment – for example, when a new idea comes to mind on which a person decides to act quickly.

Some action is general in nature, some could be characterized as evil and other action as godly.  Godly action – that which pleases God – can be found in the Bible.  Every time scripture states a command, people can be assured that God wants them to take that specific action.  One God-pleasing action found in the New Testament in the book of Ephesians is the giving of thanks.  The Apostle Paul explains this action when he says: “Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

This 17-word sentence clarifies the things that should permeate the action that needs to be taken all year long, but particularly during the Thanksgiving season.

1)    Giving thanks should be perpetual – “always.”  The text says that giving thanks is something that should be done at all times - not just once during the Thanksgiving season and then forgotten.  Thanks should be given continually, constantly, and repeatedly. 

2)    Giving thanks should be divinely focused – “to God the Father.”  Thanks is often given to people who have done something nice for someone else.  Of course, these people need to be thanked, but thanks should also be directed toward God.  He should be the object of thanksgiving.

3)    Giving thanks should be comprehensive – “for everything.”  Thanks is not complete unless it includes thankfulness for all things. Grant Richison said, “All things includes both bane and blessing, adversity and benefit, for the small and the big. We give thanks for the miserable things, the things we cannot understand, as well as the good. In other words, we surrender to the will of God no matter how it hurts. Only a Spirit-filled person can do this.”

4)    Giving thanks should be spiritually qualified – “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  In other words, thanks in the name of Jesus represents everything that characterizes Christ as well as all that He has done for mankind including providing salvation and eternal life.

Warren Wiersbe, an American Christian clergyman, said, “The word gratitude comes from the same root word as grace.  If we have experienced the grace of God, then we ought to be grateful for what God brings to us.”  Let’s let our thanksgiving permeate at that we do both now and throughout the year.

Being Connected

On a spring vacation I wanted to connect to the internet but discovered that I was out of Wi-Fi range and did not have a proper password for a local hotspot.  This quickly made me aware of the importance of being connected.  Not having the connection when I desired it, or thought I needed it, was frustrating.  Without a source of power my effectiveness was hindered.

In technology, as in other sectors of life, it is important to be connected.  I suggest that it also important to be connected spiritually.  The Bible reminds us that it is essential for us to tap into God’s divine power.  If we neglect doing so, we will be hindered in our spiritual development and become ineffective.  Many people think they can get along without God.  However, when God is left out of our lives our strength is diminished, we deceive ourselves, and we lose the effectiveness that we would otherwise have.  The Bible says, “His [God’s] divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (II Peter 1:3). Think about these four aspects of this verse:

1)      Originating Source.  The supply of spiritual energy is God himself.  The text calls this “His [God’s]” power.

2)      Specified Energy.  The energy is far more than human power, it is godly vitality because it is called “divine power”.

3)      Exhaustive Supply.  The resource God provides is comprehensive because it includes “everything we need” – that is, everything that is essential for our connection to God.

4)      Personal Connection.  Our link with God is intimate because He has “called us”.  God personally desires that we live a godly life as we grow spiritually and learn more about Him.

Being connected to God means that we have godly strength.  With this personal connection to God, we receive His divine power which is necessary to live a fruitful life that pleases Him.  Are you connected to God’s spiritual energy source?

Being Used of God - At Any Age

As you read the Bible you will find several people who are advanced in age.  It is interesting that these people were willing – and even eager – to keep working for the Lord or to take on new tasks for Christ and His Kingdom.  One of those individuals was Caleb, who along with Joshua, after wandering with the Children of Israel in the wilderness, were sent into Canaan (the Promised Land) to spy out the land.  To show the abundance of the land the spies came back with abundant, delicious produce. However, despite the great produce ten of the twelve spies gave a negative report focusing on the giants and fortified cities.  Their counsel was that Israel should stay put and not advance into that territory. On the other hand, Joshua and Caleb gave an optimistic report and encouraged advancement into the land.  They admitted that the giants and fortified cities were obstacles, but with God’s miraculous power these obstacles could be overcome.

After Israel moved into the land Caleb made these comments. “Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old!  I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said” (Joshua 14:10-12).

 

Notice several important characteristics of this 85-year-old man of God.

 

1)      God was in control of his life and was not finished with him – “he has kept me alive.”

2)      He believed that he was able to take on the task – “So here I am today … strong … vigorous.”

3)      He was willing to accept a difficult job – “To go out to battle … Now give me this hill country.”

4)      He trusted in the Lord and his help – “the LORD helping me.”

5)      He expected great results – “I will drive them out.”  All this at 85 years of age!

 

Lessons from this text for all of us – even for those who are advanced in years.

 

·         God is in control of our lives and is not finished with us.

·         God has a task that He wants to accomplish through us.

·         We need to be willing to take on the task that God has given us and believe that He will provide help and support.

·         We can expect results in our work that will exalt the Lord and bring honor and glory to Him.

 

As an adult, are you ready to let God use you?  What task are you ready to take on for Christ and His Kingdom?