With three words, Jesus sums up his time on earth, "It is finished" (John 19:30). His life, his ministry, his struggle - the end had come for each facet of Jesus' walk on planet Earth. And, more importantly for mankind, task he came to accomplish was completed - Jesus had reached the finish line and won the victor's crown for us: "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1Cor 15:57).
Today, we are coming to a finish line, this year, 2013, is finished. Any opportunity to complete tasks, reach goals or address needs is over at the stroke of midnight. Just as for Jesus, it is finished. Unlike him, however, we are not likely to have actually reached all our goals, completed all our tasks, been truly victorious. Looking back over the year, we know we had planned to have done more and better.
It is frustrating to know that we didn't get done or reach what we had hoped for in 2013. Looking back over the year can be depressing. So, let's not! Let's not spend any time lamenting over the past, crying over spilled milk - let's do something empowering instead of deflating, let's look to the possibilities of 2014!
How about joining the apostle Paul in "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead" (Phil 3:13b)? We can't change what we did or did not accomplish in 2013 - it is finished. But we are not finished and God is not finished with us. We have an open door before us and a closed one behind us. It's our choice, which one we focus on. I suggest the latter. "Hello 2014, let's see what you've got for me!"
Win, lose or draw, 2013 is a memory. Whether it is a good memory or bad memory hardly matters as what lies before us is new opportunities. New chances to address old problems and enjoy different outcomes. We may have to reap what we've sown but we don't have to use the same old seeds, again this year - plant something new! 2013 is finished, but you are not. Jus' Sayn.
Here we are on the cusp of a new year. 2014 is less than two days away. It is time to take stock of 2013 and decide what leaves to turn over as we kick off a brand new year. The number one resolution will likely have to do with weight. Time to get serious about what we eat.
I have to agree, most of us do not eat in a healthy manner and consequently are over-weight, under-fit and out of shape (unless we count round as a shape). Resolving (making a firm decision) to eat better is probably a good idea for most of us and is an important decision to make (even more important to carry it out).
However, the food we eat - it's amount and it's quality - will have only a very limited impact on us, it's effect does not last long as it merely "...enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body..." (Matt 15:17). At best, if we are very consistent, it only lasts a lifetime.
Well duh, isn't that the point. It may be the point but it isn't a very sharp one as a lifetime is little more than a blip on a radar screen compared to the eternity to follow for which a diet designed by the best dietitians on earth will have zero impact,
Knowing this truth, Jesus told his disciples, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” (John 4:32). “My food, isto do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work" (John 4:33). A change in this diet can have eternal consequences and, as an aside, can bring about a change in what foods and how much we put in our mouths.
Go ahead and resolve to eat less calories, less fat, more protein, more organic, less MSG or whatever you have decide is best for you, just be sure to resolve to include a soul-nourishing, daily ration of the Word and Will of God. Jus' Sayn.
Hymns, prayers, communion and preaching. Throw in a few announcements and pass the collection plate - there you have it, another worship experience completed. Perhaps or perhaps worship never even began.
Worship does not equal a requisite performance of rituals or exercise of religious elements. Worship is not even something that can be observed by human eyes. Evidence that worship may be taking place can be seen but not the worship itself, for worship takes place within the heart and soul - a place where only the worshipper and God can see.
Jesus was very clear on this subject, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth" (John 4:23). Even in the days of the Mosaic Law and Levitical rituals, the perfunctory act did not move the heart of The Lord as pointed out by David in Psalm 40:6, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire."
Listen to how God really feels about our performing religious rituals: "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise." (Psalm 51:16-17). What God seeks is below the surface and within the heart.
The point is that the outward act of religious ritual has no real worth to God or man unless it reflects the reality of the heart. Worship is much more an attitude than an act. True and proper worship is a reflection of a transformed and renewal of the mind (see Rom 12:1-2) not a repetition of ritual.
When we utter praise but reserve our heart, we "worship in vain" (Matt 15:8-9). What the Father desires is that we "sing and make music in our hearts to Him" (Eph 5:19). Jus' Sayn.
I have heard people say they don't care what others think and some may actually believe they are emotionally autonomous, most are trying to convince themselves. I remember when I was a young preacher and someone would rag on me, my off-handed response would be that "everyone has the right to a wrong opinion." That was my outside voice; my inner voice had a different message intirely - a word of rejection.
The reality is that we care what is thought of us. For some, their own opinion of self is the most important voice. For most, it is the acclaim and/or acceptance of others that speaks the loudest. Too often we listen too much to the wrong voices, voices meant to pull us down or take us down a wrong path.
Peer groups, media outlets, magazines, self-inflated bigots, self-proclaimed experts, the list of wrong-headed and/or wrong-hearted voices goes on. Even well-intentioned voices of family, friends and co-workers can be way off base in the assessing your worth department. And you may be the worst of the lot. As the apostle Paul put it, "When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise" (2 Cor 10:12b).
The simple truth is that while input from others and even from self can and often should be weighed, that assessment is not complete or truly accurate until we we present our lives to the One who really knows us and what we are called to be and do compared with who we really are and what we actually do. "For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends" (2 Cor 10:18).
To discover our true worth and potential, as well as our areas of lacking, it is necessary to go to the Father. Time spent in His Word, in devotion and in prayer is where we can hear The Voice that really matters. Jus' Sayn.
Relationships are hard work. The divorce rate among first marriages is 41% and it gets worse in subsequent marriages (60% in 2nd marriages and 73% in 3rd attempts). It seems what was missing that caused the 1st divorce is still there in in future attempts.
With all the books on marriage, relationship seminars, marriage counseling and pre-marital training, one would think that we would be more than equipped to make a marriage last a lifetime, but there is no denying the numbers: 4 out of 10 original marriages fail and most do not learn from their failure as 6 out 10 next attempts fail and 7 out of 10 on the following round. What is missing?
All the professional relationship-building and/or mending advice notwithstanding, I think it comes down to one factor being missing in the marriage by one or both parties in the relationship: The Christ Factor.
When couples love each other in the way Christ loves others, divorce does not even appear on the horizon, let alone become the path taken. When this simple factor is at work in a marriage, a marriage simply works. So what is this factor? I'm glad you asked.
It is found in Philippians 2:5 and what is revealed is this: "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus," which was to "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves..." (v. 3).
Reminds me a lot of the "Golden Rule" found in Matthew 7:12 and the "Royal Law" of James 2:8, both of which are given by Christ and focus on the good of the other.
The Christ Factor, factors out selfishness, which is the root cause of divorce and the breakdown of relationships in general. When we, like Christ, give sacrificially, relationships are redeemed. Jus' Sayn.
In Hebrews 11:6a, the writer affirms, "without faith, it is impossible to please God..." James, the brother of Jesus, wrote, "you believe, good, but even the demons believe..." (2:19).
Hmmm, what"s up with that? Are we seeing dueling practical theology here? Is the writer of the book of Hebrews and James clashing pens over the importance of embracing the Truth?
No, actually they are in agreement coming from different angles of embracing the Truth. James is warning that to just believe, or have a mental assent to a the proposition that God exists, is weak. In fact, so weak as to be called "dead or useless" (Jam 2:20), something even demons are up for.
The writer of Hebrews goes on to say that "...we must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek after him" (11:6b). There is a clear line drawn between belief and faith. Belief says that God exists and therefore could bless me, faith says that the Living God is and will bless me.
Believing that God lives is an academic pursuit of religion. Having faith in the Living God is an active pursuit of relationship. The religion of demons includes God, but their relationship does not. They serve another, they have no expectation of God working on their behalf or through them.
What about you? Do you believe in God? If so, that is a start. But do you trust in Him to bless you and to use you to bless others. Do you believe God can and will work in, on, through and for you? Do you trust in Him, do you live in faith?
The Word says that "the righteous shall live by faith" (Rom 1:17). So, tell me, are you really living? Jus' Askn.
A song from my memories of Christmas past is "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth." The tag line was, "so I can wish you Merry Christmas!" To understand this, ask Grandma to say "wish" without her teeth in.
In reality, we tend to want much more for Christmas. In fact, we tend to expect and demand more. If we don't get what we want or don't want what we get (different scenarios with a similar outcome), we are generally bumbed out and quickly lose our Christmas Spirit, if indeed we truly had any.
An epic illustration of this is seen in the movie classic, "A Christmas Story," where a young boy's only desire for Christmas is BB gun. Any other outcome would be devastating. I recently heard of a husband who got his pregnant wife a pair of "training shoes" to work off the baby fat in the spring. You can probably imagine her response.
Giving the perfect gift or the perfect amount of gifts can be a real chore, largely because we already have so much that are wants and expectations tend to be so high. People who have little or nothing rejoice when they receive anything. People who have much don't rejoice over much, they rejoice over very specific things and very specific amounts of gifts.
I think we really struggle with the whole Christmas experience, which was, in the beginning, about giving: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son..." (John 3:16). And the Wise Men brought gifts. No one was expecting or demanding gifts.
Tandie and I, chose this year to not get ourselves anything because we have everything in Christ and with each other. We were blessed to instead be able to give to others, which feels really good. It is as the Lord said, "more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).
Jus' Sayn and wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!
