Resolutions and Man versus God

RESOLUTIONS

What is your New Year’s Resolution? Maybe it is one of the following popular goals: Lose weight. Volunteer to help others. Quit smoking. Get a better education. Get a better job. Save money. Get fit. Eat healthy food. Manage stress. Manage debt. Take a trip. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Drink less alcohol. All these are understandable goals to achieve. I am sure you can add your own to this list. Whatever your resolution is or what your list may look like, I want you to compare it to just three of the resolutions taken from the year 1940. Those three resolutions are as follows: Improve my character. Spend more time with my family. Attend church more. Are you rethinking your list about now? How many of the modern day resolutions may improve the individual, but how many of them make that person a better member of society? Being healthy, wealthy and wise, to borrow a pun, may be admirable, but don’t necessarily make you a better person. What ails are country today is an increasing lack of God-fearing men and women of high character who anchoring strong families. I see it as difference between the flesh and the spirit. It is an emphasis on what I can get as opposed to an emphasis on what I can do to help others. One resolution from the 1940s talked about attending church. To me this means getting to know God. The foundation of improved character and strong families is a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.  Consider the words of the Apostle Paul. He said, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Philippians 3:7-8).” Paul had achieved everything one could through focus on his flesh; a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, a persecutor of Christians and legalistic, self-righteous. However, he said it was all for nothing as compared to knowing Jesus Christ. As you enter 2015, my prayer for all of you is to resolve to get to know Jesus Christ. If you’re already born again of the spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ, don’t resolve to just make more time for Jesus. Take Jesus into your time. If you are not a Christian, drop everything and accept Jesus Christ as your savior. Then be prepared to begin the journey of a lifetime. Regardless of where this message finds you, Happy New Year and may you find the Lord in 2015.

MAN versus GOD

Man makes Resolutions. God says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring (Proverbs 27:1).” Man promises, “Change we can believe in.” But, I believe in Jesus Christ who is, “the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).” Man writes books about living Your Best Life Now. But, Jesus Christ said, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 10:39).” Man makes plans to prosper. God says, “you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes (James 4:14).” Man says, “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” The Lord says, “Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).” It may be true when Man says, “Learning never exhausts the mind.” But, we must be careful to heed God’s warning about, “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7).” It has been said that, “Like a telescope, which allows us to behold the glories of the universe that we could not otherwise see, God has given us a means to behold His glory. But our ability to see clearly demands an unobstructed view through both God-given lenses …” We must base our view of the world, what Man says and what motivates us, through the how God sees the world. This can only come, first, through faith in Jesus Christ and then through growing in our knowledge of Him and how sees us and the world. When the Apostle Paul, a man, spoke, it was the Bereans who examined “the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so (Acts 17:11).” If we want to avoid being deceived and led astray by Man’s words, regardless of whether we feel they are effective or not, we must align ourselves with how God sees things. We must remember God’s word; “Test everything. Hold on to the good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).” Let God guide you and He will lead you into all truth.