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Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. Colossians 3:1-2
It’s a new year. As I write this we are a few days away from watching celebrations across the world as we enter in a brand new year. People will get engaged. Relationships will be healed. Goals will be set. Resolutions will be formed.
Each year is the same. We talk of hope. We talk of new goals. We talk of new opportunities. The problem is, the vast majority of those things pledged entering the new year will go unfulfilled. Changes will be temporary. New crisis’ will form. Life will, at best, go unchanged.
Are we better off than we were a year ago? If we look at things from a worldly point of view I think we’d all agree things aren’t getting better. In fact, if you look at things like world hunger, wars and rumors of wars, disease, relational and racial conflict, mental health issues and more, it can get pretty depressing!
So, how can we rise above the discouraging things looming in the shadows of the future and maintain a positive outlook on life?
Perhaps we need to look at the world situation through the eyes of our new life. Paul reminds us that when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior we are no longer citizens of earth, but of heaven. Here, in Colossians he tells us to focus on the realities of heaven. He isn’t telling us to be so heavenly minded we are of no earthly good. Not at all. But he is challenging us to allow the situations we face to pass through the lens of Heavenly Realities.
What are some of those Heavenly Realities?
- Our God is Sovereign. All things are under his control, especially those things we don’t understand, those things that worry us, those things that cause us pain.
- God never asks us to understand him, he asks us to trust him.
- God’s love for us is new every day. He never gets weary of hearing from you, watching over you, helping you heal.
- You are God’s number one! You are made in His image; given eternal life through His Son, Jesus; Empowered by His Spirit to accomplish all He has planned for you.
- The worst day in heaven will still be better than the best day on earth.
These are just a few things we can focus on as we enter a new year, as we enter new challenges, as new worries attack us. Can you think of more? The true hope of the new year looks back to that baby in the manger!
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:13-14
“What was I thinking?”
Has that thought ever gone through your head? Maybe you’ve even said it out loud to yourself or others listening. We all have those days, those times when we look at ourselves from the outside and, frankly, can’t believe the action we’ve taken, the words we’ve spoken or the thought/attitude that has crossed our mind.
Let’s face it. Our humanity fails us. One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Romans 7, where Paul expresses his own personal frustration with himself. ‘The things I hate I find myself doing, the things I desperately want to do or be known for I fail to do…daily!” (My paraphrase)
So, how do we move on? What steps can we take to remedy the situation? After all, we know there will be some who will take our failings as an opportunity to judge us and to constantly hold our failure against us.
I love what Paul says in Philippians regarding failure. Basically, (again my paraphrase) he is telling us, ‘Stuff happens, we fail, sometimes miserably. People will judge us, condemn us and criticize us, but move on.’
It amazes me how many Bible people failed. They were dishonest. They lied to cover up their own mistakes. They were cowards. They ignored specific commands of God to try to further their own agenda, oftentimes at the expense of others.
Paul isn’t saying we don’t try to make things right. When we’ve wronged others, we need to try to make amends. When we’ve failed we need to put boundaries in place to keep us accountable and protect us from making the same mistakes. But then we need to move on.
The new year is a great time to look back over the previous year and evaluate the path you have taken. What things can you do better?
What things need to be corrected?
What relationships need to be mended?
What relationships need to be ended or at least put on hold?
Are you closer to Christ now than you were a year ago?
When Paul says, ‘forgetting the past and looking forward’ I don’t think he said that flippantly. I think he looked back at the past, made up a plan to make corrections and then he moved on. He didn’t dwell on his failures, he used them as stepping stones to a better tomorrow.
As the calendar flips to a new year, what things do you need to learn from? What things do you need to let go? How can the Holy Spirit help you? Who can you seek out as an accountability partner to walk through life with you?
For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19
I’ve been accused from time to time of being unobservant and I have to admit I’m guilty as charged. Sometimes I miss trivial things. I’ve never been able to find Waldo. He’s MIA in my book. Those ‘magic eye’ pictures. Yeah, no. Sorry.
While not being able to see pictures in a puzzle is a trivial thing, with no real damage done except to my pride, sometimes we can miss things of importance if we aren’t careful. A hunter needs to keep a keen eye out for whatever he is hunting, especially if they are camouflaged against the background. When driving at night in my neck of the woods it’s wise to keep an eye on the ditches for wildlife that may wander onto the highway.
We can miss a lot in life if we don’t pay attention. Automobiles have a large windshield and a small rear-view mirror for a reason. It’s important to keep an eye on where you’ve been, but more important to see where you are going.
The prophet Isaiah paints a great word picture for us going into in the new year, or any other new situations we may face. He gives us a challenge and a promise to take with us as we move forward, which by the way, is what God intends for us. As one writer stated, in the Christian life there is no standing still. We move three steps forward, or we move two steps back.
Our ‘challenge’ as we move forward into the unknown is to look carefully for how (not if) God is working.
Our promise? The way is already started. He provides a path through the wilderness. Not an interstate, not even a back road. A path. I love to hike and while some trails are easy to follow and even paved, some are nothing more than game trails through the forest. But I’ve also noticed that in many cases, the more obscure the path, the more beautiful the scenery.
God offers us a path for a purpose, so we can see the wonder of what he is providing for us. He also will provide for us in the wilderness. He provides a stream, not a well. A stream can be followed and offers continual refreshment, a well is a one-time stop. A stream allows you to move on. A well requires you to stop or even camp out.
I’m a worrier. Not proud of it, but it’s a trait I constantly battle. The reality I can rest on, even when the enemy of worry attacks, is that the path God has for me is already complete. Mine isn’t to blaze new trails through the brush, mine is to look for his way in the wilderness and drink from the stream he provides for the journey.
As you move forward into whatever wilderness you may be in, look for the way God has for you and enjoy his provision along the way.
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. Isaiah 43:18
For many of us, the gifts under the tree are opened, the celebrations are over (although some may still happen this week) and we are left with left-overs in the fridge, some after party cleaning and one more thing that can’t be taken away, the memories of time spend together.
Those who know me well know that I’m a bit of a self-proclaimed sap. When our kids left yesterday there was a smile and a knot in the stomach. A smile because our ‘family’ was complete once again, if only for a few hours. A knot because things aren’t the way they used to be.
Oh, the love is still there and stronger. We are so proud of the adults we once carried in our arms. But time was never meant to stand still. Time moves on. A rushing stream has has life, a stagnant pool is lifeless.
Not all memories are good of course. Not all memories are even healthy! Isaiah writes to a people who were in horrible times, yet, he writes with a promise of brighter days ahead. It’s good to visit the past, but don’t live there.
It’s good to laugh at each other and tell those family stories, but don’t forget to form new memories, new stories that your grandchildren can pass on.
It’s even good to remember your mistakes, those things that took you down a road you never thought you’d be on; those roads where you ended up getting stuck in a rut that kept you trapped for days, or months or years. But don’t live there.
Our sovereign God of love allows us to take those side trips as opportunities to be reminded of his love and grace and mercy and forgiveness. Cherish the memories of this holiday season. Look deeper at the hidden blessings you may have received. Then move on. Move on with the promise that times will change, kids will grow, we’ll get old, but our God stays the same. His love never changes. His mercy is new every morning.
2023 may have been a challenge or a blessing. But 2024 is already planned for you by a God who loves you!
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:20
What a night that must have been for this group of shepherds. They went from what was going to be an uneventful night in the fields to an encounter with angels; from looking over a bunch of sheep to gawking at an infant with divine implications; from being virtually unknown to being the talk of the town.
We don’t know how long they were gone. But from the story in Luke we can surmise at least three things. First of all, they hung around long enough for everyone to hear their story. We are told that everyone was amazed at what this group of men told them about the babe in the manger. Once you have an encounter with God you can’t keep quiet.
You may have experienced this. A friend, or family member finds Jesus and is delivered from a life of addiction, fear, worry or whatever. Then they find Jesus and all they ever talk about is Jesus. Every conversation is an opportunity to tell about what they are learning from Jesus. You may even be amazed at how they can turn every life experience into at God-experience. Once you have a true encounter with the Messiah you can’t keep quiet.
The second thing we can see is that they went back to what they were doing. To the best of our knowledge none of them wrote a book and went on a speaking circuit. None of them formed first church of the hillside to focus on the very spot where the angels appeared. They went back into the hills to do what they did best…shepherd sheep. Sometimes God calls us to move on from what we are doing to do something new, something exciting, something noteworthy. And sometimes he calls us to go back to the hills and shepherd sheep.
The third thing I see is that they went back changed. On the outside they were still a bunch of men guarding and guiding sheep. On the inside they were worshippers of the almighty God. On the outside they called out to the sheep to move on to a new field. On the inside they were praising God for Messiah.
I’d love to have sat around the campfires of those men in the future. I’m guessing the conversation no longer centered around the woes and evils of the Roman Empire. I’m guessing they spend more time in prayer and remembering the words of the prophets than they did gossiping about the latest news from town. When you meet the Messiah you live life changed.
May you have a fresh encounter with Messiah this Christmas. Whether you’ve been walking with him for years or are new to the family advent is a time to refresh our love for him.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 