What is the season we find ourselves in? Do we recognize it? Are we in a season of gladness, and righteousness, or has disease and the selfishness of man banished our hope in the goodness of our shepherds, the provision of our land, and brought drought to the Church? Whether it is joy, hopelessness, or some season in between, God gives those who keep their faith in Him His blessings, he sends us showers of blessings to sustain us, and gives us hope in Him, through His Son Jesus.
When everything is going remarkably well in our lives it is easy to become proud, and to walk arrogantly in the world, so we are taught to be humble, and when life is beating us down, and Satan is attacking us at every turn, we can become distressed, and depressed, so we are taught to stand tall, and lean on God. The challenge is not to simply be humble, or to stand only in our strength, it is to know when it is appropriate for us to display one, or the other. The goal is to be neither defeated by our pride, nor destroyed by the suffering that life is handing us. Our faith teaches us to find a gentle and productive place in Christ where we can be like Him; avoiding arrogance, while experiencing strength, and standing firm in the midst of our humility.
As Christians we are not meant to be blind to the meaning of God’s Holy Word, nor are we to be deaf to His truth that is contained there. There are many who read and study the Bible, and claim to know it, yet their hearts remain empty, and their minds like barren wastelands. I pray that we will never join these who will passionately argue scripture, or quote verse in hollow repetition, never feeling true love for the Lord, or Jesus Christ… not even in passing. They pour over the words, but not once do they feel or acknowledge God’s love, and presence, in His Holy Word.
There are occasions in life when our troubles, or enemy, seem overwhelming and there is no hope for us, except in the Lord. We feel overwhelmed in such times, and before we go to war, or confront our troubles, we are quite certain we have already been undone, or defeated. But in such times we are not powerless, and our hope is not lost, quite often we just don’t realize how mighty our God truly is, and that He goes before us. Many times we lose sight of the fact that the battle is not ours to fight at all, but His. So, when do we lean on Him, and ask Him to help us? Do we say a quick prayer in the moment before we run into a fight, or do we look to Him beforehand, and pray that He will fend off the conflict long before it arises? When do we ask Him for His help?
When We ask Jesus for something, we find that if what we are asking of Him is trivial, or something we feel is possible, but perhaps unlikely, then we can easily hand it over to him, and our faith is sufficient to allow us to do that, but can we do this when a real miracle is needed, one in which there is no earthly way that what we are asking could ever occur? If the life of our child is in the balance, we pray, and Jesus says that our son, who is on his deathbed will be healed, can we trust in Him enough to walk away? Can we muster the faith it takes to believe that this will not be the last moment we will see our child? Miracles still occur; let’s listen to what happened in Capernaum.
Jesus was concerned about how much we could bear, and as we follow his example, we should be equally worried about the troubles, and progress of those around us. Our love for one another should always dictate the expectations we have for our fellow pilgrims, and it should determine the degree to which we take on the load of the weakest member in our number. Are we stronger physically, or in faith, than those we travel with? If so, do we see our brothers and sisters struggling, and walk on at a brisk pace without any consideration for their pain? By not concerning ourselves with the load of others are we loving them as we love ourselves? Are we obeying the commandments of Jesus by neglecting the struggles of others?
We claim to know Jesus, but does He know us? His name is spoken around the world, yet few have really come to know Him. His us a name that’s dropped when we find it suits us, but will He claim to know us? We’ve read His gospel inside out, and can quote some favorite verses, yet when we describe His nail scared hands, do they really cause us to feel pain? Many will say they’ve know him, and some will come to claim Him, but few will ever obey His voice… fewer yet will walk with Him on the water. So, who are we when we say His name, and will He claim that He has known us as we stand before his Father in judgement? Do we worship Him in spirit and truth, and do we love Him like we should? Or will His life be just another name we drop in church circles while saying we known Him very well, and quoting scripture that has never been revealed to us. Will Jesus know us on judgement day? That depends on this… do we know Him now?
Today is the beginning of a new year, and like so many new undertakings it offers us a chance for a fresh start, and a new beginning. All those disappointments, and challenges, that nagged at us, or nipped at our heels last year can be left behind if we will only realize two things. The first is that God never withholds good things from us if we will lovingly obey Him, and walk righteously. The second is that in Jesus we are transformed, made new, and leave the old behind, therefore in Christ we have entered into a new year, and the old should be forgotten.
This is the final day of the year, and what better way to close it out than with a doxology, a concluding prayer extolling the virtues and power of God, and lifting up the glory He has placed in Jesus Christ who abides in us, and the Church of which we are members by our faith. Praise Him now!
Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and the new year will be welcomed around the world by many as they party, and celebrate, in drunkenness, lewd acts, and other rowdy and worldly activities, but as Christians we “ring in the new year” in a much different way. The festivities for us begin as we welcome the coming year filled with the Holy Spirit, and by thanking God for what He has blessed us with during the past year. We lift up our Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ, in hymns, spiritual songs, singing, music, merrymaking, and by experiencing the intense joy of the Lord as we look forward to what the New Year will bring. This is how we should anticipate the coming year, by being thankful for what has been, and hopeful in what lies ahead, doing all of this as the church bells ring in joy, and celebration.
As Christians we speak of faith, and most of us stand on its shore in awe, as if it were a vast sea, but few of us go out upon it, or see beyond what our human eyes are capable of gathering in. Our belief is held in check by many things, fear is one of them.
We sit before Jesus listening as He teaches, and we speak of being humble, but when He kneels before us, do we let Him wash our feet? Do we share in this moment of His humility, service, and love? Can we even allow Him to kneel before us? Can we begin to feel what He is feeling at that moment, when one at a time He takes each of our feet into His hand and ladles water over it with His other? Do we feel ashamed as He rubs the filth from us, and is that shame because we are allowing Him to serve us in a manner that we feel is demeaning to Him, or because we have looked upon so many others as being less when they were serving us? This one act of foot washing teaches us truths at so many levels.
Do you want a close, loving, and meaningful, relationship with God? If so, then seek Him, and make Him the focus of your life. As we draw nearer to God, He will also draw nearer to us. Just as we can’t see unless our eyes are open, so too we can’t love, and be loved, unless our hearts have been softened. In this way… even as we abide in Him, He will abide in us. How are our hearts, eyes, and relationships with the Lord today?
Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of Jesus Christ, and now today we should no longer anticipate the future coming of the Messiah, but behave as believers, in the full knowledge that He has now arrived. In doing this we must realize that He humbled Himself, not by His birth as king, but by being born a servant. He served not only God the Almighty Father, but all of mankind… even the absolute least of us. So today we compare ourselves to the living Christ, but are we satisfied with what we see in our spiritual mirror, or do we still see arrogance, ambition, selfishness, and the other attributes that Jesus was born to shun?
Today we celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ, born into the lineage of David. So it is only appropriate that we do so in verse as David would have done, and perhaps some of us will even play the lyre, and sing these words of His coming, and life. Messianic Prophesy became reality on this day long ago; so let’s contemplate Him and His life in this very special way.