New Year"s Resolutions

 

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:5-8

I think this covers about every New Year’s resolution we could think of making. And, we know that as we resolve, God is on our side to help us make 2025 a year in which we love each other and serve Him.

Do It All

 

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:15-17

Get The Job Done

 

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Yes, it is true that we sometimes get tired of trying to do the work of the Lord.  We get discouraged when we don't see the results we want to see, or if we are criticized by people as being foolish.  But that does not detract from the fact we are working for the Lord and following what He has directed us to do.  

Remember we are not working for the approval of people, but to accomplish that which God has called us to do.

So, when only two people show up for your Bible study group, keep teaching and when the church bus won't start, call some people to go pick up people.  

Don't give up.  Give in to God.  Get the job done.

Be Kind To Those Who Need It Most

 

Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 13:1-2

Let us be kind to those who most need it: the sad, the grieving, the social outcast, the stinky kid and the grouchy neighbor. It is in showing hospitality that we show God’s love to the world.

And, perhaps entertain angels.

God Is On Your Side

 

The Lord is good,

A stronghold in the day of trouble,

And He knows those who take refuge in Him.

Nahum 1:7

One time, when things were not going so well for me, I had a friend who suggested that perhaps it was because of something I did.  I thought, "No that's not it.  Stuff happens and it is not necessarily me causing it." Tough times are not pleasant, but God has not forgotten us. 

So, remember when the boss is yelling and the bills pile up and your kids act up, God is still on your side.

God wants us to turn to Him when things are not going well. In fact for some of us, we do a lot more turning to God in our days of trouble than we do in our days of blessings.

What is important to remember is that in good times and in bad times God is good and He loves us no matter what.

Always On Call

They cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distress.

Psalm 107:13

We all know that troubles will come because we live in a world that is not perfect, but we can be sure that when we cry out to God for help, He will rescue us.

God does not sleep, nor does He take a day off. He is always there waiting to answer our calls.

 

Merry Christmas

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the City of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the City of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you, you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace among men, with whom He is pleased.”

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about the Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Luke 2:1-20

We Wait In Anticipation

 

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

We wait with anticipation the birth of the Savior of the world, Jesus.

 

A Baby!

 

Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

It seems silly that God would chose to reveal Himself to the world as a baby. He sent men, like Isaiah, to tell the world about Himself, but people did not listen. Then, at the right time He sent a tiny baby called Immanuel, which means “God with us,” to prove that He intended to claim us as His own.

When we ask Jesus to be our Lord, Master and Savior, our sins are forgiven and God claims us as His own.

When We Are Faithless, God Is Faithful

Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal, but the word of God is not imprisoned.

For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.

It is a trustworthy statement:

For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

If we endure, we will also reign with Him;

If we deny Him, He also will deny us;

If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

2 Timothy 2:7-13

An Anchor Of The Soul

 

In this same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:17-20

The promises of God never change. He is the one who brings us hope and cares for us. We are never abandoned or forgotten.

We have hope and this hope is the anchor of the soul.

Be brave. Be encouraged. God is with you.

The Christmas Peace Keeper

 

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:1-3

Sometimes, along with all the holiday parties and celebrating comes bickering among families regarding who will celebrate where and when. And, sadly, this often involves children.

Let us step back and take a look at what we can do to make all this better for our families. Rather than quibble about the celebration, let us declare our decision to forgo fighting for Christmas on Christmas and yield to the other side and have our party on another day so that the children get two or three or four celebrations filled with the love and joy that Christmas is all about.

And, we all will have a Merry Christmas.

So Much Christmas

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:1-5

Christmas is one big, free spending celebration in the United States. Almost everybody celebrates it; even people do not know what they are celebrating. For many people Christmas has no religious significance. It is all gifts and parties.

This loss of place causes a lot of finger pointing by Christians.

There are those who blame the Coca-Cola Company; after all Coca-Cola is responsible for modernizing Santa and making him an icon of the Season; hence the absence of Saint Nick at Church. Others think it is the over commercialization of Christmas by retail stores which put up the decorations in August and start pre-holiday, holiday sales in October, creating a greedy atmosphere for children and adults who want and want and want things for Christmas.

The commercial message is more, more, more and more stuff will make your Christmas a merry one.

That is why we Christians have such a big job to do at this time of year. We will be encountering seekers who are looking for the real reason for Christmas – Jesus. They will show up at church on Christmas Eve and take all the seats. They will hear the story of the baby born to poor teenage parents and the message of God’s love for man will settle deep within them. And, then they will leave.

So, our work for God begins. We need to warmly greet these seekers, get their names and where they live and write it down before we forget who they are. We need to pray for them and in January take them some cookies with a note saying we hope they will visit our church again.

We are the hands of Jesus on earth, and it is our job to help the seekers comprehend who He is: Our Lord Master and Savior.

What better time to do it than Christmas?

A Way Out

 

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond that what you are able, but with temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:12-13

Sometimes our inner alert system fails us and we find ourselves facing almost overwhelming temptation to do something which we would not normally consider doing.  

This type of situation leaves us feeling confused and maybe even questioning what we consider to be right and wrong.  We know we need to step back and take time to think.  But all these people seem to be enjoying themselves, and maybe we should, too.

My experiences like this involved alcohol consumption.  I do not drink, at all.  My solution was to sneak out and go home and hope nobody noticed.  I usually drove myself so the quick exit was easy. 

To this end I say, when you feel overwhelmed by temptation, look for a way out... God will provide one.

Welcome Those Who Welcome You

 

He who receives you receives Me, and He who receives Me receives Him who sent me.

Matthew 10:40

Jesus makes it clear that God goes with us when we set out to preach the Gospel. I use the word preach to encompass all manner of sharing the love of Jesus and the message of salvation with everyone.

We should not shy away from accepting invitations from those who are not Christians and even those who openly proclaim their unbelief, because we can’t bring them to Jesus if we don’t talk to them. And, if the invitation appears to be for some type of event which we find objectionable, we can counter with, “Well, I can’t make it, but how about if we have coffee on Tuesday? I’ll buy.”

When we are welcomed by unbelievers, we have an opportunity to share the love of God.

Error On The Side Of Love

 

So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or stumbling block in a brother’s way.

Romans 14:12-13

This is a novel idea. Instead of second guessing each other’s decisions, let’s cut each other some slack allowing for the fact we do not know all the circumstances of each other’s lives.

To do so is to error on the side of love.

Be Kind To Everyone

If you meet your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him.

Exodus 23:4

‘Tis the season to do something kind.

Go and do it.

Who Do We Trust?

 

The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,

Because he trusts You.

Trust in the Lord forever,

For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.

Isaiah 26:3-4

Who can we trust? How do we maintain our faith in God when things are not looking so good to us? We believe God; yet, we are plagued by uneasiness.

We cannot control what others do or the choices they make which seem contrary to all rational thinking or at least to our thinking. We can be eaten alive physically and spiritually by things we cannot control but we don’t have to be.

We trust God to manage the affairs of the world, our families, our friends, and our lives. We can confidently take our concerns to God, release our worries to Him and watch what God will do.

In God we must trust.

Shine A Light On It

 

Your word is a lamp to my feet

And a light to my path.

Psalm 119:105

God does not leave us to fumble through life alone. He gave us His Word, the Bible, to use as a guide. We can read it, meditate on it and apply its principles to our actions.

The Word of God lights our way.

High Voltage Love

 

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven or on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to His be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generation forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21

If you aren’t charged up for God, after reading this prayer you should be.

God welcomes our prayers, in whatever words we chose to use. However, He also provides us prayers we can pray. This prayer is powerful in that it opens us up to receive from God the knowledge of His great love for us.

God’s love is high voltage and it is in us.

God Does The Rest

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

Romans 1:16-17

The early Christians had a magnificent revelation from God that salvation through Jesus was for everyone. Jesus, the Messiah, did not come as a political leader as the Jews expected, but as a spiritual leader who broke the barrier of sin which separated man from God.

The power of the Gospel is that through Jesus, God extends His forgiveness and love to everyone. No one is too good or too bad. We are all candidates for forgiveness.

All we have to do is ask Jesus to come into our lives, forgive us and to declare Jesus to be our Lord, Master and Savior and we are forgiven.

When we have faith, God does the rest.

Getting Things Right

 

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:5-8

I think the first step in getting things right, is getting ourselves right with God and humanity.  

Applying all diligence, we can do this.

 

Everybody Is Doing It

 

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:13-14

When we are questioned about things we are doing which may be legal, but not necessarily reflective of being a Christian, a standard reply is, “Everybody is doing it.”

If everybody is doing, we probably should not be doing it. This can be a hard lesson. Peer pressure is everywhere. Little temptations can grow up into big ones, like gambling or excessive alcohol use or cheating on our spouse.

All of it has the same ugly result – destruction of our good life.

Jesus loves us so much that He is willing to offend us by pointing out our wayward ways and leaving the narrow gate open.

God Will Not Abandon Us

 

I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;

Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.

I have set the Lord continually before me;

Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;

My flesh will dwell securely.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol;

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

You will make known to me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 16:7-11

Not The Plan

When they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us extraordinary kindness, for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold; they kindled a fire and received us all. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.”

But they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.

Acts 28:1-6

The Apostle Paul wanted to go Rome to preach the Gospel. He did not plan to go as a prisoner. Nor did he anticipate that he would be shipwrecked, rescued, bitten by a snake, accused of being a murder and then called a god. However, Paul took what we would consider to be a horrible trip and turned it into a mission trip.

So, when we are trying to do something for God and things are not going the way we planned, we need to consider that perhaps things are going according to God’s plan and go with the flow. And, we might be surprised how well things work out.

Put The Merry In Christmas

 

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it until it gets the early and late rains.

James 5:7

I know this verse has to do with the second coming of Christ, but it can also be applied to us as Christmas approaches because we are sometimes so anxious in our preparation that we forget what we are preparing for and the merry is missing.

Perhaps, we could do a little less preparing a little more celebrating. We could visit a live Nativity scene or go for cookies and caroling or go to a Children’s Christmas pageant. Doing something different can help us focus on what Christmas is about: the arrival of the baby Jesus – our Lord, Master and Savior.

And, put the merry back in Christmas.

Braver Than You Think

Then Gideon said to God, “If you will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken, behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken.”

And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water.

Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.”

God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and the dew was on all the ground.

Judges 6:36-40

Gideon was the greatest warrior of all time. He was brave and strong and fearless and he led the army of God to victory after victory.

However, Gideon was surprised when God selected him for the job and that is why he put God’s call to the test – twice. God proved to Gideon that His call was real and His promises were true.

When we feel the nudge of God to do something, we have two choices. We can jump to it and get it done or wait to see if God persists in His nudging. God is faithful and when we answer His call, He will use our work to His glory.

And, like Gideon we may prove to be braver than we think.

Always On Call

 

They cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distress.

Psalm 107:13

We all know that troubles will come because we live in a world that is not perfect, but we can be sure that when we cry out to God for help, He will rescue us.

God is always on call.

Our GPS

 

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

Why do we read the Bible?

We read the Bible because it is God’s Word to us and by reading it we better understand how we are to live our lives.

There are people who say that they do not like what the Bible has to say about some things. Well, we do not have to agree but we need to consider that the Bible is a road map for how we are to live our lives.

When we examine our intentions and our actions and consider what the Bible instructs us to do, we become better people.

Use God’s road map for your journey and see what happens.

When Plans Go Sideways

As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

And he said, “Lord I want to regain my sight!”

And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”

Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.

Luke 18:35-43

Here was a blind man crying out to Jesus and here were Jesus’ followers telling him to be quiet because he was messing up the parade. But what did Jesus do? Jesus stopped and healed the man because the purpose of the parade was to glorify God and what would glorify God more than healing the blind man?

When we are planning events this Christmas season let us keep in mind that that the purpose of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus so that people will come to know Him. What we might consider as interfering with our plans, might be just what God has ordered so that He will be glorified.

We are mankind. He is God. Let’s see what He will do.

 

Big Plans

 

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and those whom He predestined, He also called and those whom He called, He also justified, and those whom He justified, He also glorified.

Romans 8:28-30

Wow! Knowing this is God’s plan and promise for us, how can we doubt that God is on our side? He not only promises to take care of us, He explains His plan for us.

We are not mere blips on God’s creation radar. We, being each and every one of us, are major players in God’s plan. God knew us from the beginning and He wants all of us to come to know Him as He knows us.

God has big plans for us.