2014: A New Beginning

Today marks the beginning of a new year, a year of vast potential, purpose, and promise.  In His wisdom God designed the earth to orbit the sun and orchestrated the division of seasons, months, weeks, and days.  If all we counted were days without hours, time would hold little promise for the future.  There would be no possibility for a year to hold the potential of being "the year where everything changed for good."  A new year opens countless possibilities, and reminds those whose eyes have been opened to the new life we have granted us through faith in Christ.  Every day is a new day to seek God and worship Him, as we grow in His love and wisdom.  Our God is not one of second chances but new beginnings!  Every new day and every new year is one to take hold of as a gift from God and relish the opportunities and even challenges He places before us.

It is now 2014, two-thousand and fourteen years since the birth of Jesus Christ, the One who makes all things new.  Revelation 21:5-6 says, "Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." ⁶ And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."  The way God makes new is not like a "refurbished" electronic device, but is a continual process as we follow after Him in faith.  We are continually being renewed as we put off the old man - our old ways of thinking, doing, and coping - and choose to be renewed in the Spirit of our mind through the Word of God, and put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.  We are not doomed to repeat past failures, nor are we required to bear the burden or guilt of them.  The future spreads before us bright and beautiful as we consider the new life God has offered us through the Gospel.

Sometimes we can feel like change in ourselves or our circumstances is impossible.  We have tried hard before and failed:  why should this time be any different?  Ask that question to barren Hannah, Namaan the leper, or the disciples of Jesus who toiled all night without catching a single fish.  Let us never forget that what is impossible with men is possible with God.  Which is harder:  to change external circumstances or to change the heart and mind of a stubborn, willful human being?  I speak of all men and do not exclude myself.  2 Corinthians 5:17-21 says this:  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ¹⁸ Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰ Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."  Here we see our position and calling before God as believers, unbelievable as it might be.  Consider this, believer!  If you are in Christ, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  We have been reconciled to God and have been ordained to reconcile others to Him as well, for He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  It is His work, yet we are called to be ambassadors for Christ as long as He tarries.  This is both a sober task and a joyful duty.

The Israelites were not able to enter the Promised Land because of unbelief, and many Christians encamp in desolate places where the water is stagnant and the food stale for the same reason.  Day after day they trudge on, and God's promises and dynamic power are forgotten.  They do not feel new, thus they do not believe God can make all things new.  Because they have limited God by their shortsightedness, focusing on their past struggles or perceived odds stacked against them, God cannot do for them what they have tried again and again to do themselves.  You may scoff to yourself:  "A man limiting God?  Rubbish!"  Consider Psalm 78:40-42:  "How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! ⁴¹ Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. ⁴² They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from the enemy."  Unbelief provokes and grieves God.  Jesus had the power to heal, yet He could not heal many in His home town because of unbelief.  Unbelief stayed His hand and blunted His miraculous power.  Unbelief causes us to forget God's power He has revealed to us, having redeemed us from sin and death.  If God has saved us from hell and transformed our hearts through spiritual regeneration by the indwelling Spirit, is anything too hard for Him?

For some people this new year will be simply another day ticking over to the next.  For others, however, it is a new year where God will have freedom through faith in His people to make all things new.  I find this most encouraging and exciting for my own walk, as well as far-reaching implications for lost people of this world who desperately need a Saviour!  May 2014 mark the beginning of a new walk with Christ that is richer, fuller, and blessed beyond reason as we faithfully follow Jesus Christ and shine bright for Him!

Hope Does Not Disappoint!

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. ⁶ For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."

Romans 5:1-6

During a drive last night, part of this passage continued to rattle through my mind:  "Now hope does not disappoint."  Everyone alive at some time has been disappointed, and for good reason.  In every heart there are dreams and expectations that this ever shifting world has unceremoniously shattered.  In the KJV the word "hope does not disappoint" is translated "hope maketh not ashamed."  Paul told the Roman believers that the hope God provides would not leave them ashamed or confounded even in the midst of tribulation.  In the fierceness of the storm there will be calm for those who take shelter in their Saviour.  We commonly say we "hope" when we wish for something, but the hope provided by God is an absolute surety.  Christians can have the expectation that God will always work things for good for those who love God and are the called according to His purposes.

The hope God provides through faith in Christ and his unshakable promises in His Word is infinitely greater and better than any hope offered by this world.  The hope of this world is in reality utter and complete hopelessness.  This world will always disappoint.  One thing may make us temporarily happy, but only one little thing need happen to throw us angrily into despair.  Case in point - yesterday I went to a friend's house to watch the last game of the San Diego Charger's football season, a game with playoff implications.  For those of my fellow loyal Charger fans, we know how it feels to be disappointed again and again.  I hoped my team with win against the Kansas City Chiefs, but nothing for the Chargers can be easy!  I refused to even allow myself to hope for the victory as time ticked away.  Amazingly, the Chargers finished with a victory and squeaked into the playoffs.  The happiness of the victory had hardly sunk in when I reached home and found I had left my laptop power supply cable at my mate's house!  How frustrated I was!  Even when my "hope" of an improbable playoff berth had been realised, my own forgetfulness was enough to extinguish my happiness and replace it with irritation!

This situation brought me back to the words of Romans 5.  Those of us who have been born again by grace through faith in Christ have a sure hope that does not disappoint.  No matter what disappointments I face on this earth, my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life.  I am God's child even if tribulations and troubles come.  I do not need to wait for heaven to receive the proof, for God has sent the Holy Spirit as a heavenly downpayment.  He has poured out His love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given.  When I feel alone or forgotten, I know I have a High Priest in the heavens who stands at the right hand of the Father living to make intercession for me.  He allows even our forgetfulness to accomplish His glorious good.  The peace that God gives does not ebb and flow like the happiness we experience on this planet, but is a constant certainty for those who live to walk by faith and not by sight.

Football teams will disappoint, and we manage to disappoint ourselves at times!  But thanks be to God who has given us peace, access into His presence, and hope that does not disappoint.  When we were without strength and enemies of God, Jesus demonstrated love for us through His willing sacrifice on the cross.  Never, ever let anything in your life rob you of the joy and peace God has given!

Loving Fathers Displease

How important it is to have a biblical worldview!  God is revealed in scripture as the only true source of wisdom.  If we only see as men see, we are spiritually senseless and without wisdom from above.  Libraries contain a wealth of knowledge, and reading is required for understanding and application.  Without a vantage point provided by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we walk though life like an illiterate man wandering through a library.  He may be familiar with the appearance of books, flip through the pages of large tomes, and admire the pictures, but the captions and text remain unknown to him.

We live in a world that largely claims (by whose or what standard I cannot tell) man is inherently good.  Besides, who is permitted to say what is right and wrong anymore with authority?  The Bible has a very different view of things.  It tells us that there is none good, no not one.  When measured against God's righteous standard there is nothing good in us at all!  Jeremiah 17:9 describes the condition of man in clear terms:  "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"  Man is not born righteous and learns evil through outside influence, but wickedness is his natural path.  Circumstances outside a person draw out sin which already resides within.  Proverbs 22:15 says, "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him."

David was a great king and a man after God's own heart.  The expression of his love to his children, however, did not reveal itself through discipline.  Of David's grown son Adonijah it is written in 1 Kings 1:5-6:  "Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king"; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. ⁶ (And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, "Why have you done so?" He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.)"  As Adonijah passed through infancy, childhood, and even as an adult, he lacked correction from his father.  It seemed Adonijah was a bit spoiled (perhaps that is too gentle), for the scriptures tell us David at no time rebuked or disciplined him for bad behaviour.  As an adult his pride was on full display, even demanding his father's throne for himself!  The KJV says "his father had not displeased him at any time..."  The original word translated "displeased" is most often translated "grieved."  Because man is born crooked, he cannot walk uprightly.  We cannot even draw a straight line a meter long with chalk unaided, much less live righteously before God all our days!

Some have a view of God that if He is indeed loving, He will acquiesce to our every desire.  This is not a biblical view.  God is altogether righteous and loving, but He is not like a man who gives into the whims of His children to speed them towards their own destruction.  David loved Adonijah, but the love he displayed towards him according to a biblical worldview was more like hate!  Solomon wrote in Proverbs 13:24:  "He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly."  If your child is perfect in thought, word, and deed, discipline would be unnecessary.  But if the Bible is true in saying foolishness is bound up in the hearts of children, then discipline is not optional:  it is a requirement to be carried out promptly when necessary!  Discipline is displeasing to those who receive it, but in the end it yields peaceful, delightful fruit.  God loves man too much not to question us.  He at times will rebuke us:  "Why have you done so?"  Those who love Him will receive such love by taking to heart His rebukes.

I do not give my allegiance or loyalty to God because He always does what I want or has not displeased me at any time.  I have given my allegiance and chosen to trust God because He loves me and has proven Himself trustworthy.  Not one word of His promises have failed.  Jesus has demonstrated His love for me and all people by dying on the cross for my sins.  I am the crooked one, and He has opened my eyes to see the straight and narrow way of salvation through the Gospel.  I am grateful for God's love extended to sinners like me!

Symptoms or the Cause

It is easy to focus on the symptoms and neglect diagnosing and dealing with the source.  For years I have dealt with a shoulder injury by avoiding actions that cause additional pain.  I take care not to lie directly on my shoulder at night, and ensure I stretch properly and warm up before physical activity.  To this point I have not taken the time to seek a professional opinion or pay for scans.  Instead of having the cause fix, history says I prefer to treat my symptoms through strengthening exercises, avoiding painful activities, applying ice and pain relieving rubs, and using anti-inflammatory medications.  Eventually, I keep telling myself, I will have the shoulder examined and scanned.  But in the meantime, I will keep treating my symptoms rather than seeking out the cure.

I do not believe I am alone in this.  Governments, businesses, churches, families, and individuals sometimes see a symptom as a problem rather than ferreting out the cause and dealing with it openly.  Even the medical and scientific communities can focus on the wrong thing.  Billions have been spent on searching for cures of diseases that kill millions every year.  Cancer, for one, is a viscous disease that causes millions to die every year.  People hate cancer.  But cancer, strangely enough, is merely a symptom of a deeper, greater illness in the heart of every man.  Death itself, seemingly the final blow from our perspective on earth, is a symptom of a far worse evil:  that of sin.  Sickness, pain, sorrow, crying, and death are all products of sin.  When Adam rebelled from God, sin and thus death passed to all men.  The fact that people fall ill and die of cancers, disease, or even old age are indicators of man's true spiritual condition in the world.

Sin has a devastating effect upon body and soul.  God says the soul that sins shall surely die.  We mourn disease, suffering, and death in this world, but have we yet mourned over our sin?  Sin is the one who conceives such horrors.  The bodies of believers and non-believers on this planet will perish because we have all been born steeped in sin.  Death for Christians is turning the title page to the first chapter of eternal life in a glorified state.  For the unbeliever it is the penultimate blow, infinitely overshadowed by the second death where all who die in their sins will face the wrath of God for eternity in hell.  To cast a look at sin is to stare into the snarling face of death, truly horrific beyond description.  It is a horror Jesus Christ came to earth to save sinners from and usher us into eternal life through His sacrifice.

I think most people would claim cancer is a far greater evil than sin, but cancer is only a symptom.  Let us take our symptoms to the word of God and see if the effects of sin have clung to us as well.  Consider the list we see in Revelation 21:4-5:  "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." ⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."  During your life have you every cried, experienced sorrow, or physical or emotional pain?  If you have experienced any of these symptoms, you have most certainly come in contact with sin.  The only cure is found in Christ through the Gospel.  When we repent and trust in Jesus as Saviour, He cleanses our souls from sin and gives us eternal life through Him.  We are all guilty of breaking His Laws, but Jesus has paid our debt.  He took our sins upon Himself, having become sin for us upon the cross.  Have you received this unspeakable gift?

John 11:25-26 reads, "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"  This is the question Jesus asks all men.  Our answer will determine where we will spend eternity.  John 14:6 also says, "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."  It is only after we recognise the severity of our disease we will seek after the cure, regardless of the cost.  Won't a man give anything to save his own life?  And what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his own soul?  Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  A choice of life and death has been placed before you.  Are you ready to stop treating the symptoms and deal with the cause?