What will 2015 bring to us? Does anyone really know? Can anyone predict the future with 100% accuracy? Certainly no human being on planet earth today is able to tell the future with pinpoint precision. It is simply impossible to know what the next holds, or even the next month, day or minute. We simply plan and progress through the year trusting the Lord.
What we can know with 100% accuracy is what happened in 2014. We can look back over the year that behind to see what happened and what we did in light of it. New Years Eve is a good time to reflect upon the past year. Today or tomorrow take time to reflect and then make plans for the year ahead. See what you did well and decide to strengthen that area. See what you didn't do well and decide to improve that area. You and I have an opportunity each year to make changes in our directions that would better honor the Lord. Yet, remember, you can make changes anytime throughout the year. It's just that at the beginning of the year it is as natural time to do it.
James, the brother of Jesus, says in his Epistle, "Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." (4:13-14) While it is good, proper and godly to make plans and to seek to accomplish those plans, we need to be sensitive to the Lord's will. Maybe the Lord would want to change our plans or cancel our plans. Because He alone is the Wise One, we need to be ever aware of His will first.
As you enter 2015 let me encourage you to do what James says a little earlier in chapter four. In chapter four verse 8 he says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Being close to the Lord we can be assured that we can hear His voice and feel His hand upon our shoulders. If His desire to change our course of actions, being close makes it simple. Be sure, therefore, that you spending time in God's Word and presence. Pray, pray, pray throughout 2015 for His directions and blessings.
Will 2015 be a "Happy New Year"? Only if we walk in obedience to His will will we experience His joy in our hearts. Make 2015 a joyful year by drawing close to Him.
Aren’t I cute? Although I am not a cat lover, I found this picture quite amusing. Let’s face it, dogs are much cuter, but maybe this smile will make you smile.
We are living in a time when everyone seems to have some sort of ailment. Every day it seems we are learning of some new sickness or disease. It is almost as if we should never venture out for fear of contracting some dreaded disease. If I had just seen the future 15 years ago I would have invested in the stock from the Purell company! I mean, let’s not touch anything lest we die! People are so paranoid now that after we do anything we feel the need to cleanse ourselves. What ever happened to “mud cakes?”
Pills exist for just about everything. From pharmacies to vitamins, from doctors to health food advocates we are told any number of ways we can be healthier. “Go to the gym,” some will say. Run more, ride your bike more, play golf more, exercise more, these and other mantra can be heard. Yet, it seems more and more of society suffers from some sort of phobia or illness. How can we get healthier? How can we get better? Let me suggest a way that King Solomon recommended over 3000 years ago.
Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” Yes, a joyful outlook on life, a good time of laughter, will bring health to our bodies. Doctors and researchers have studied the phenomenon of laughter and health and conclude that they co-exist. The more one laughs, the more one possesses a joyful outlook, the healthier one will be. It is both biblical and scientific. Stories are told that Norm Cousins was told he didn’t have long to live. So, as part of his therapy, he was watch humorous movies and cartoons so he could laugh at least ten minutes every day. Reportedly he said for every ten minutes of laughter related to an hour of pain free living. Now, there’s a reason to laugh.
Sunday night we will have a “Family FUN Night.” The design for the night is to have FUN! Is that unspiritual? Based upon Solomon’s word I don’t think so. In fact, at least three time in Proverb he mentions a “merry heart.” (Prov. 15:13,15; 17:22) So, Sunday night we will attempt to have as much FUN as we possibly can. And, it will be much more FUN if YOU would come! If you are reading this and you don’t live in our area, just get your family together sometime for some FUN times. We will play games, sit around and talk, and provide a FUN video to watch. It’s your choice how to have FUN. But, most of all we want to have FUN.
The service will begin at 5:00 pm. We will sing a bit, I will be speaking on the subject of joy and FUN, and then we will be dismissed to have some FUN.
To get you started I found these definitions which I hope will be FUN for you. These are some “red neck” definitions.
Benign – What you be after you be eight!
Catscan – searching for the cat
Barium – What you do with dead folks!
Morbid – a higher bid than I made
Seizure – Roman Emperor
Well, ok, enough is enough. Just laugh more today. Enjoy the Lord and His provisions. If you are suffering, grieving, or in pain, my prescription is this, “The Joy of the Lord is my strength.” (Neh. 8:10)
What’s in your wallet? Have you heard this commercial lately? If not, you are obviously not watching any TV! Which isn’t a bad thing. But, this phrase was made popular by Alec Baldwin as the spokesman for Capitol One credit card. Now, Samuel L. Jackson is the pitchman. But, in each commercial the final question is, “What’s in your wallet?”
Well, at Christmas time, after all the buying is over, maybe we would conclude that not much is left in our wallets! But, if we pull the Capitol One credit card, there just might be a big balance on our bill come January 1.
Today I want to pose a different question. I’m not as concerned about what’s in your wallet as I am about what’s in your heart. As you navigate through this Christmas season have you even thought much about God’s love for you or your love for God? Do you stop to recognize the motivation behind the coming of Jesus to Earth was His love for the Father and sinners? He was obedient to His Father’s will to be humbled to such a low estate. Please read Philippians 2:5-11 to see how the Apostle Paul presents this humbling.
But, we also must ask ourselves how much do I love God; what is in my heart? Nearly every person associated with the Christmas story demonstrates an unflinching love for God. Zacharias, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, the Magi, and the shepherds, all showed their love for God by their obedience. They gave themselves first to God and then to others.
On Sunday we will hear a beautiful rendition of the Christmas story via music. Come to worship the Lord with us.
Joy at Christmas, where do we find it? Many folks will be looking in every ad from now until Christmas Eve to find just the right gift. They will travel to every store imaginable to find just the perfect sale. Not too much nor not too little should be spent on this gift. Friday morning lines of people will be waiting to get into the right store that has just the right sales. Some, in fact, will camp out all night to save a few dollars on the “perfect” gift. Thereby, assuring themselves of joy for Christmas.
Do you remember Charlie Brown’s Christmas? He was concerned for the overt commercialization of Christmas. December 9, 1965 was the first airing of this classic Christmas message. This Peanut’s special has been shown every Christmas since 1965. Charles Shultz was concerned that people had forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. He battled with the CBS executives over the inclusion of Linus reading Luke 2:8-14. In the discussions with the network he wouldn’t budge on its admission into the final product. He is quoted as saying, “If we don’t tell the true meaning of Christmas, who will?” If he were still alive today how much more amazed would Charles Shullz be?
Joy at Christmas come from keeping Christ as the focus of our celebrations. As you approach Thanksgiving and the onset of Christmas shopping, I want to encourage you to keep Christ in Christmas. Sunday we will look at the subject of the Songs of Joy at Christmas.
People are so paranoid now that after we do anything we feel the need to cleanse ourselves. What ever happened to “mud cakes?”
