LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEW YEAR

 

 

The current year is closing; a new one is dawning! How has the current one been; were your expectations met? Were you so disappointed that you can't wait to see the New Year? What are your expectations and hopes for the coming year? It is natural to expect improvement when difficult, rough, or painful.

Looking back on the past twelve months: what didn't go well? What were some of your frustrations and challenges? How do you plan to turn things around? If you expect things to change, you must know what went wrong and why. Only then can you start to look for the right solutions.

Before you think about what to put on your list, I'll remind you that some of the issues you might consider problems are actually the standard of the Christian life. For example, Jesus told His disciples, "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows" (John 16:33). Trials and sorrows are, therefore, to be expected, though we don't know how or when they'll show up. This doesn't mean we should constantly worry and look over our shoulders to see what is coming down the pike. We must remember the Lord's admonition - and the next part of the verse above - "Take heart, because I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

The following will help us cope effectively with the coming year's challenges.

BE ON THE ALERT

The children of God should be watchful, not living carelessly. We should be on the defensive! The apostle Peter explains, "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith" (1 Peter 5:9).   

While being watchful, we should also be ready 24/7 to engage the devil at a moment's notice. "Put on all of God's armor so that you can stand firm against all strategies of the devil. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you can resist the enemy in time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm" (Ephesians 6:11, 13). For the list of the complete armor, see verses 14-18. For example, if you were faced with a gossip situation, the Word of God about gossip you've already hidden in your heart should jog your memory to excuse yourself from the situation and not get caught up in it.

Jesus told Peter, James, and John in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak" (Matthew 26:41). Why? Because if we stay asleep (not knowing what's happening around us) and neglect to pray for strength and courage, we become very vulnerable to the devil's attack. Again, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus told the disciples, "Pray that you will not give in to temptation" (Luke 22:40). When we pray, we demonstrate faith, which intercepts the devil's fiery arrows. As we face a new year, let's prepare to stay on the defensive, always ready to engage the enemy of our souls.

THANKFULNESS

Trials will come; it's only a matter of when and how. We need to be prepared to give thanks for them, no matter how painful, because they serve a good purpose. First, we learn that we should give thanks in all things because it is the will of God for us (see 1 Thessalonians 5:18). Second, we should give thanks because none of our experiences are ever wasted; God uses every single one of them in the process of developing our character to line up with His own. Through our experiences, He gets our attention, rebukes, disciplines, encourages or teaches us (or others), or tests (not tempts) us. Third, the end results of our experiences (godliness) bring Him glory (see Romans 8:28).

REPENTANCE

Sometimes, our sufferings are the result of our sins. When unsure of the cause of our sufferings, we should start with a soul search and repent as needed (see 1 John 1:9). Even if our suffering results from sin, God still teaches us valuable lessons through it. As stated above, no experience is wasted.

TRUST GOD

We cannot overcome trials on our own; Jesus clearly said, "Apart from me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5). We need Him and should rely on His promises; He never goes back on His Word. He means exactly that when He says, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:29). If we believe and claim that promise, nothing in the coming year should frighten us. That assurance should enable us to wholly lean on Him. And if we wonder why we should trust Him, He says, all power in heaven and on earth has been given to Him, and He has overcome the world. What beautiful promises!

The New Year is only a few days away. Have you learned anything from your failures from last year? Don't lose heart; the Lord Himself will be your strength and carry you through the next one. Trust His Word, put on the whole armor of God, and watch and pray. Wishing you a happy and victorious New Year.

 

CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS

Our God loves celebrations! Throughout the Old Testament, we see Him instituting special days and instructing the Israelites to celebrate them yearly as a reminder of His power among them and His provision for them. Also, through the celebrations, He wanted younger generations to know what He had done for their ancestors in the past. The Sabbath, for instance, was instituted to make sure they rested as God did on the seventh day of the week (see Exodus 31:12-17). Similarly, celebrating the Passover was created to remind them of the time the angel of death killed the firstborn of both man and beast in the land of Egypt but spared the Israeli families (see Exodus 12:1-14). 

Over two thousand years ago, God put His salvation plan into motion, sending His One and only Son into the world to make His dwelling among us (see John 1:14) and to become our Savior. About three hundred years into Christianity, 336 to be exact, the Romans recorded the first celebration of the birth of Jesus. We have celebrated His birth ever since with decorations, caroling, feasting, giving, and receiving. Even those who don't believe in Jesus often celebrate it in some form.

Every year when we celebrate Christmas, the birth of our Savior, we should reflect on the truths behind the season:

We are sinners and need redemption –We know we are sinners because Scripture tells us that, through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, sin and death passed to all mankind. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 NIV). Scripture tells us, "Truly, truly, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3 NIV). There is only one way to restore our fellowship with God; it is through faith in Jesus because He came to seek and save that which was lost.

God is love – His love for us led to His formulating the plan for our redemption before the foundation of the world. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16 NIV). We are also reminded of His humility! He was willing to leave His throne and majesty above and be born into a sinful world, not in a palace, but in a manger! He says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart" (Matthew 11:29 NIV).

God is faithful – He promised Jesus' coming decades before He was born. "The virgin will be with child, and give birth to a Son, and will call Him Emmanuel," which is translated as 'God with us" (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23 NIV). He promised and then fulfilled it! That is a faithful God! Again, it was prophesied, "For to us a child is born, to us, a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6 NIV). Through the angel Gabriel, He declared the Virgin Mary was going to have a Son and to name Him Jesus. He would be great and be called the Son of the Most High (see Luke 1:30-31 NIV). God fulfilled everything He promised concerning Jesus. How faithful! This reminder assures us that we can trust Him one hundred percent; He has never failed since the beginning of time and never will! We can look forward to the promise of the rapture and His second coming with hope.

We should Express gratitude - We need to be thankful to God because we could never have saved ourselves nor done anything to qualify for salvation. He planned it and carried it out, making us His sons and daughters, so now we can confidently refer to God as: "Abba, Father" (see Romans 8:15).  

Merry Christmas; let's celebrate with assurance, gratitude, and anticipation of His return!

GOD IS BRAGGING ABOUT YOU, DON’T DISAPPOINT HIM!

 

We parents and grandparents always show off and share the children’s pictures and achievements. We can’t seem to get enough of them; we’ll share with all who listen, even if they don’t care. The most important thing is that we care.

God is no different; we got our caring nature from Him. If you are a child of God, He knows what you are capable of because His power is at work in you. He brags about you confidently because He knows you can do anything through Christ, who strengthens you. 

Are you ready? You have to always stay ready because you don’t know when God will want to prove to someone what you are made of. God is putting you on display and waiting to rejoice over you with singing! Don’t let Him down.

How is He putting you on display? You know that issue you have going on:  maybe health, finances, relationships, etc.? That’s how! He is telling people you won’t give in or give up; you will trust Him amid the storm and fight until the end. Now He is waiting to tell them, “I told you so!” Will you grant Him the opportunity to prove again that He knows the power at work in you? Don’t let Him down!

Job was a good man who feared God and stayed away from evil, and he was also very rich. He understood well the Scripture that says: “If your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life” (Psalm 62:10)., He was living the best way he knew how when one day, without warning, tragedy struck! He got messages in succession: first, his farm had been raided, the animals stolen, and the helpers killed; second, out of nowhere came fire that burned the sheep and the shepherds. Third, the camels had been stolen, and the servants were killed. And as if all that wasn’t bad enough, the final blow came: all his children died when the house where they were partying collapsed (see Job 1:13-19). 

God knew how devastating that kind of loss could be for anybody, but He was also confident Job would come through the ordeal with flying colors because He knew Job’s faith was genuine. Sure enough, Job grieved, but he also worshiped! He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken away. Praise the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21) God indeed rejoiced over Job and was able to say to Satan, “I told you so!” His exact words to Satan about Job were: “He has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause” (Job 2:3). Job’s strength to endure this ordeal, of course, was not his own; his strength came from the Lord who made heaven and earth. God’s strength was available to him, and he used it.

How about you and me? Do we know and accept that whatever we have comes from God, and we are only stewards of those things? Job admitted that right away: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.” So, we cannot hold on too tightly to our life, health, family, job, possession, and whatever else we have. We need to be thankful for them while we have them and use them wisely to honor Him. If we stand firm when God gives and then takes away, He has made His point that we still love Him with or without stuff. But He can also restore what He’s taken, as He did with Job (see Job 42:10-13). But if He doesn’t, He will still provide whatever we need for sustenance while we are in this life.

James admonishes us, “When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow” (James 1:2-3). So, our trials accomplish at least two things, 1) God is putting us on display, and 2) our faith is tested, allowing us to grow. We need both of these things.

The next time God puts us on display, let’s not be discouraged, fearful, or depressed, but like Job, let’s worship and consider what God might be up to; let’s be a good sport and let Him win while our faith matures. And oh, others might also learn from it and be encouraged. Let’s be like mount Zion, standing firm and tall, come what may because we trust in the Lord (see Psalm 125:1).

BE A SAINT

Who is a saint, and how and when does one become one? Some think sainthood is pronounced upon a person after death based on how good and/or holy they lived. According to the Scriptures, however, “saint” is another word for Christian. The apostle Paul, addressing the believers in the church at Ephesus, called them saints: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1). The people Paul addressed were alive, so death is not a requirement to be called a saint. Those of us who are in the body of Christ Jesus are saints, whether in or out of our individual earthly bodies. 

Having established that we are saints, we should also show that unless the Lord draws us, we cannot come to Him (see John 6:44); therefore, sainthood is a calling. Paul, writing to the church in Rome, addressed them this way, “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints” (Romans 1:1). The online dictionary definition of Call includes making a request or a demand, and one of the definitions for to be is to become. 

We are transformed from unbelief/ungodliness to belief/faith in Christ, resulting in the newness of life and the renewal of the mind (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). We are not called to act like saints; we are called to be saints. So, to be CALLED TO BE SAINTS is God requesting or demanding that we become saints. To become something different from what we are requires a transformation from one state of being to another: for example, going from a cocoon to a butterfly.

Sainthood is not a cloak we put on and take off when we feel like it. It should be our new nature, our state of being. We are to be saints around the clock, 24/7. We are to be saints at home, away from home, when we are awake and asleep. We should be saints at all times, no matter what. A saint should be our identity, the name by which we are known.    

God told His people, the Israelites (and us), “You must be holy because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:16). So, how does one become holy? God doesn’t only command us; he provides detailed directions: “Set yourselves apart to be holy … Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord who makes you holy” (Leviticus 20:7-8). There we are: We must put God’s decrees into practice (sanctification)! The rules are summed up in two commands—Love the Lord and love your neighbor. So, to be a saint is to be a Christian, and to be a Christian is to have salvation through Christ and then be God’s image-bearer around the clock.

How can we vibrantly maintain our sainthood? Let’s compare sainthood to professions in the secular world. We must have the mindset that we are saints. Every so often, professionals undergo certification and recertification to ensure their skills and knowledge are up to date. As a retired nurse, I attended many of those during my working years. As saints, we will receive our certifications and recertifications through trials to confirm that we are applying the lessons we learn to maintain our sainthood. Like other roles we hold in life, we must learn all we can about being saints by studying the manual for saints, which is the Bible, and by attending in-services, seminars, and training sessions about saints in the form of attending church and Bible studies. Through these activities, God will equip us to get better at being saints. The Word says we should not neglect the assembling together of the saints, as some are in the habit of doing, but we should encourage one another (see Hebrews 10:25). It also says we should correctly handle the Word of truth (see 2 Timothy 2:15). 

 Sainthood is ongoing and takes perseverance and dependence on the One who called us to be saints: Jesus Christ, our Lord. We will get better at being saints with time as we obey His decrees and keep our gaze on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2).

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 [PNK2]

YOU NEED A SPIRITUAL HEART TRANSPLANT

  

 

A heart transplant is a surgical operation replacing a failing heart with a healthier donor heart. It is a treatment usually reserved for people whose heart condition hasn't improved enough with medications or other surgeries. Quite often, the surgery is successful, with no complications. A friend's family member had one done and recovered beautifully. However, the surgeons do not offer any guarantees for success during or after the procedure, nor can they guarantee longevity. At best, the procedure might extend one's life by a few years, but there's always the possibility of the recipient's body rejecting the donor's heart.

A spiritual heart transplant is a different issue; everyone needs one because we all have ailing hearts, including those who trust the good they do to qualify them as good people. The Bible tells us, "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?" (Jeremiah 17:9) If you are wondering why the human heart is in this condition, it is this: "Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standards" (Romans 3:23). And also, "Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins" (Ecclesiastes 7:20).

Our sin condition results from the sin of our ancestors, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden; they chose to disobey God by obeying the devil (see Genesis 3:1-13). That sin and its consequences (separation from God) were passed on to us, their descendants.

Because of that, we are each born separated from God. If that separation isn't bridged, it will continue into an eternity without God after this life; if it is bridged, we get back into God's good graces. The Bible addresses it like this: "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). The Bible also says, "This is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

Your new spiritual heart is guaranteed never to be rejected. The transplant gives the recipient/sinner a new life that will last forever into eternity, even after death. Have you had your spiritual heart transplant yet? If not, what are you waiting for? If you postpone this transplant until your earthly life is over, it will be too late; you will have missed the opportunity to get a new heart. So, stop whatever you're doing and make that decision today.

A new heart is a free gift from God! It costs you nothing; it guarantees you will never be cast into hell. God promised the Israelites, "I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations" (Ezekiel 36:26-27). This is the only way to obtain a heart that will respond to God's love and directions.

While a transplanted heart helps the recipient return to living as before, the spiritual transplant transforms the recipient's nature and outlook on life. He is totally changed to fall in love with God and desire to walk in obedience to Him. The Bible describes such a person as new: "Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). This changed heart seeks to obey God.

Dear reader, settle this matter today before it is too late; nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. God loves you, but He won't go back on His Word; He will hold you accountable for your sins if you do not repent! Get your heart in order and be ready for that time.