New Year.

The Children of Israel were about to cross the River Jordan, and enter the land that YHWH had promised to them so many years earlier.  But the man who had led them out of Egypt, with its slavery and hardship – Moses, the great prophet – was not to enter that Promised Land with them.  And so, before they crossed, he spoke to them – reminding them of all that YHWH had done for them, and of the laws and statutes that He had given them.  This long discourse of Moses has been handed down to us as the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, and as we approach the end of 2015 I want to leave you with a few words from that address: “You shall never return that way again” (Deut.17:16; RSV). With these words, Almighty God closed a gate on what lay behind His people, and set their faces towards what lay before.  What does it mean to us, this closing of the gate of 2015, and opening of the gate of 2016?  Well, it is possible that, for some, it may bring a measure of relief.

It may be that you are glad that the year is over; that 2015 is past and gone.  You wouldn’t want to live through that year again.  It has been too distressing, too traumatic, a year.  There may have been some experience that has become etched, almost indelibly, on your minds.   The actual circumstances, and situation, will differ from one person to another.  It may have been a bereavement, or an illness, or an injury.  It may have been redundancy, or a forced move to another area, or a major financial loss.  It may have been the way in which we failed the Lord, in one way or another.  

Whatever it was, God’s comfort and peace; His love and forgiveness; His mercy and grace; are available to all, and sufficient for all!  We’ll never walk that way the same way again.  He has closed the gate, and bids us march bravely into the future.

For others, of course, the ending of the year is a matter of regret. It may be that some of us would want to live the past year all over again.  It may be that, for us, it brought much delight.  Like Peter, on the Mount of Transfiguration, we want to stop.  “Lord,” we would cry, “it is good for us to be here” (Mt.17:4 inter al).  We’ve been enjoying this year so much; does it have to come to an end?  We were up on the hill-top, in the clean, fresh air – we don’t want to go down into the valley of human need, of personal responsibility.

However, no matter how, or in what context, we reach the mountain-top, we must always come back to the valley – and often it’s the valley of disappointment, or despair.  That great servant of God, Moses, found this to be so.  He went up on the mountain to speak with YHWH – and came back down to find the Children of Israel worshipping a golden calf that that they had made.  And even Jesus knew the contrast.  Wasn’t it immediately after the tremendous experience of His baptism, and His acknowledgement as the Beloved Son, by the Father, that He underwent the wilderness temptations?!

 

It’s good that we experience both sunshine and shadow.  The one brings the other into sharper focus.  But the gate must be closed.  “Today’s trouble is enough for today”, said Jesus (Mt.6:34) – and so is today’s grace!  Yesterday’s grace is not sufficient for today, yet so many seek to live on past experience.  I wonder if you are clinging desperately to  the enjoyment that the past year brought; or to  the achievement that the past year held?

The end of the old year, and the beginning of the new, can bring a measure of relief; it may be a matter of regret.  But surely it must also be  a moment of resolve.  New Year is traditionally the time for making resolutions and although, like many traditions, this one appears to be less popular today, I imagine that there will be some who read this post who will have made such resolutions.  I would suggest that we do need to make some resolutions, and that our resolve must be concerned with two specific factors.  The first of these concerns what we must leave in the past.

The past, as we have seen, has dangers.  Both success and failure in the past may hinder progress in the future.  If we have known failure, then we must have an assurance of God’s forgiveness for those who confess their faults, their failures, their sinfulness.  If we have known success, then we must remember that we are still totally dependent upon God.    He does not want us to live in yesterday, and lose today!  Paul knew this.  So we read in his letter to the followers of Jesus in the Roman colonial centre of Philippi: “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” (3:13-14). He knew that if he was absorbed in what lay behind, then he couldn’t have a real interest in what lay before.  And yet, if any man had reason to live in the past, it was Paul!  But he did not try to keep the gate open.  

Of course, although we ought not to live in the past, we may certainly learn from the past.  So I can remember what I have learned about myself – and about my Saviour; about my stubbornness and stupidity – and about His ways and wisdom.  I had thought that I was pretty wonderful – now I realise that I, left to my own devices, I am weak and helpless.  But my appetite for progress has been whetted.  Whatever God has done, it is nothing to what He can do!  And I’m encouraged as I recognise His workings in my own life.  As is often said - I’m a work in progress!

  

Not one of us knows what the coming year holds for us.  The signs, both nationally and internationally, do not provide much in the way of encouragement as we anticipate years of trying to repay the ever-increasing debt into which the nation continues to be plunged; as international terrorism continues to disrupt, and maim, and kill.

Some, however, may remember saying, “I don’t know what the future holds; but I know Who holds the future!”  Will you place your hand into His hand; trusting Him to guide you, strengthen you, help you into 2016?  Will you?  May each one of us be granted the grace to do so - to His eternal praise, and our eternal salvation  

New Year Resolutions

With only a couple of days left before the end of this year, I wonder how many have been thinking about their New Year Resolutions?  It's an old tradition - the practice of making New Year’s resolutions goes back over 3,000 years to the ancient Babylonians. There is just something about the start of a new year that gives us the feeling of a fresh start and a new beginning, an opportunity to make a determined effort to be a 'better' person.  In reality, there is no difference between December 31st and January 1st. Nothing mystical occurs at midnight on December 31st.

The Bible speaks neither for nor against the concept of New Year’s resolutions. Personally, I have only made one that I have managed to keep for more than a few months.  That was when I resolved never to make any more!  However, if a disciple of Jesus does determine to make a New Year’s resolution, what kind of resolution should he or she make? 

Many Christians make New Year’s resolutions to pray more; to read the Bible every day; and to attend worship services more regularly. No-one could deny that these are fantastic goals. However, these New Year’s resolutions fail just as often as the non-spiritual resolutions, because there is no power in a New Year’s resolution. Resolving to start or stop doing a certain activity has no value unless you have the proper motivation for stopping or starting that activity. For example, why do you want to read the Bible every day? Is it to honour God and grow spiritually, or is it just because you have heard that it is a good thing to do? Even in a more physical situation, why do you want, for example, to lose weight? Is it to honour God with your body, or is it for vanity, to honour yourself?

So, what sort of New Year’s resolution should a Christian make? Here are some suggestions:

(1) pray to the Lord for wisdom (James 1:5) in regards to what resolutions, if any, He would have you make;
(2) pray for wisdom as to how to fulfil the goals God gives you;
(3) rely on God’s strength to help you;
(4) find an 'accountability partner' who will help you and encourage you;
(5) don’t become discouraged with occasional failures; instead, allow them to motivate you further; (6) don’t become proud or vain, but give God the glory.

Psalm 37:5-6 says, “Commit your way to YHWH; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”

Now that's a good resolution to make - at any time of the year!

If I were to become a Christian!

One of the aids that I use in my personal devotions is a Prayer Guide produced by the Revival Prayer Ministry.  Yesterday and the day before were covered by one item - about the Christian church in South Sudan.  I was struck by a quote from Bishop Elias Taban of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.  He said: "In my area of Africa, many people think they are Christians because they have a Christian name.   Sadly, many have not heard or understood the message of salvation."

Equally sadly, the same thing could be said of many living in Scotland, the rest of the United Kingdom and, indeed, any part of the world today.

Over the years during which I have been publishing this blog, I have dealt with the question "What is a Christian" on more than one occasion (use the 'search' box at the top left-hand corner of the blog to remind yourself of what I wrote!).  This time, I want to ask what becoming a true Christian - a follower, and disciple, of Jesus the Christ - will bring to you if you are willing to surrender to Him; commit yourself to Him; and seek to show your love for Him by obedience to Him.

It will, first of all, be the greatest discovery you will ever make! Sir James Young Simpson, the discoverer of chloroform – a tremendous benefit to those who had to undergo all kinds of operations and amputations – was asked during his own last illness, ‘What do you consider to be your greatest discovery?’  Back came the answer, without moment’s hesitation – and there was no mention of chloroform!  “On the morning of Christmas Day, 1861," he said, "I discovered that I was a sinner, and that Jesus Christ was my Saviour.”

You see, it's only when I realise that I am a sinner, and am unable to do anything about it - regardless of the number of New Year's Resolutions I may make - that I will seriously even look for a Saviour.  The wonderful discovery that James Simpson, and every other true disciple of Jesus, made is that Jesus can be, and is, that Saviour.  Through Him, and Him alone, my sins not only can be, but are, forgiven!  John assures us that "... if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." (I John 1:7).  Did you notice that?  It's all sin!  That includes even the sins that I have not yet committed!  Now, to begin to grasp something of the dynamics of that, one needs to have some insight to the relationship between time and eternity.  Much too big a subject for a blog post but, if you are really interested, I devote a full chapter to the topic in my book, Great Words of the Faith - details above!

My sins are forgiven, through Jesus; and my life is changed, by Jesus.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (II Cor 5:17).  But yielding your life to the Christ, you will discover, is also the greatest decision that you can ever take. It is one that involves accepting His salvation.  It affects the whole person – body and spirit; what we become here and now, as well as where we shall spend eternity.  And, in accepting His salvation, I find that I am accepted for His service.

I love those two little verses in Mark’s account of the Gospel.  “Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and they told [Jesus] about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.” (1:30-31; NKJV)  Saved – to serve.  When I accept Jesus as my Saviour, I acknowledge Him as Lord.  It’s no longer what I want to do that’s important, but what He wants me to do.  And, for some, most amazing thing is that there’s so much He does want us to do!

Finally, there is in store for you, if you decide to follow Jesus, the greatest difference anyone can ever know.   If everyday decisions can make the differences they do to your life and to mine, how much more can one as momentous as accepting God the son as your Saviour, and Lord - and Friend!  He gives you a new start in life. 

If you have discovered that when Paul says that “…all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal;” (Rom.3:23; LB), his “all” includes you; but you have also discovered that “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (I Tim 1:15; TLB), and have now decided to surrender to His loving control; then the change in you is so radical that it can only be compared to being born all over again – a new birth; a completely new start.  

However, that's not all.  He gives you, not just a new start to life, but also a new life with which to start!  Instead of stumbling along in darkness, you walk in light with Him.  From being in bondage to sin, you are set free from its penalty, its power and, ultimately, its presence.  Instead of being tormented by a guilty conscience, you have peace with God through the Son, and the very love of God fills your heart and life.  In receiving Him, you change from being a creature of God to being a child of God, adopted into His family.

The greatest discovery that anyone can make; the greatest decision anyone can ever take; the greatest difference anyone can know.  Why not make that difference yours, right now, just where you are, by quietly handing yourself over to the Saviour.  He is waiting for you to trust Him, and He will never disappoint you.  Will you let Him be your Saviour, and Lord, and Friend?  Will you?  You’ll never regret it if you do.