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But I will rescue you from those you fear so much. Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the Lord, have spoken! Jeremiah 39:17-18
Fear is the great crippler of society. Fear causes to do things we never thought we would do. Fear allows us to be bullied. Fear opens us to abuse. Fear keeps us from living a life of freedom. Fear has been used for centuries to keep people in check.
Governments, family members, even the church has been guilty of using fear to keep people in line. One sad example is the philosophy some use in the church in which our faith in Jesus is a ‘get out of hell free’ card.
While our faith in Christ indeed promises us that we’ll spend eternity with him, the motivating factor of grace isn’t fear of punishment but love of Jesus. Grace is giving with no hope or standard of paying back.
Do you go to church to fulfill a religious obligation? Stay home. Do you read the Bible so you’ll be a better Christian? Stop wasting your time! Sound harsh? When we go to church, or any other religious activity out of obligation we are simply joining in legalism.
The Apostle Paul spent most of his writings reminding us we are saved by faith, not works. Other New Testament writers totally concur. Our hope comes from a love relationship with Jesus.
Freedom comes when we grow deeper in our love for him, not in participating in more and more religious activities. A love relationship with Jesus never involves fear.
The fig trees are forming young fruit, and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming. Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one! Song of Songs 2:13
Each spring I notice a rather interesting activity in the north country where I live. People are out walking! Now, you may say, what’s interesting about that? Just this. As spring turns into summer the numbers dwindle, there may be a slight uptick in the fall, but most of the time the number of walkers in spring is more than any other time of year?
Why, you may ask? Because winters are long, cold and dark. But when spring comes we can smell the freshness of new life. The air is full of the aroma of flowers. The birds sing in each morning with gusto. The winter is over. The time of new life and warmth is here!
As the year wears on, the heat increases and schedules get busier, somehow we fail to find time to walk, to enjoy the season we are in, to bask in the warmth of the sun.
Song of Songs is thought to be a love poem written between two lovers, but with pictures of our relationship with Jesus. In Song of Songs 2:13 the writer implores his lover to join him in a walk of sorts. To get up and smell the roses. To enjoy the new season before them.
Each new season is filled with challenges. Each new season is filled with the unknown. But this verse urges us to see the positive in each situation. We don’t know what lies ahead, but we walk with someone who loves us, protects us and longs to see us succeed.
Enjoy the ‘walk’ of this new year. Bask in the warmth of the SON. Enjoy the intimate fellowship of one who loves you more than you can imagine.
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.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 