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(Luke 13:16)
Maybe you've asked yourself, if you're a regular reader of these weekly messages, why I write so frequently about healing and hardly ever write about sinning. The answer is simple: Most people are really good at sinning and don't need any further instruction, but they're still a bit iffy on the healing thing. This was reinforced even more when recently I saw a great man of faith explain to a world-wide television audience that the sickness he suffers from is actually a gift from God. While I love and admire this man, I hardly think that this is God's idea of a reward for decades of outstanding service.
But forget my opinion on this subject. Let's look at the one that counts. As you can very clearly see in today's verse, Jesus does not regard sickness or any infirmity as a Godsend. He identifies its source as Satan (not known as a giver of good things) and compares the crippled woman's condition to that of someone chained and shackled like a prisoner. In no way does He look on this bondage as some kind of perverse blessing, but as a situation that requires His immediate attention and response. In fact, He seems really put out with the fact that this poor woman has been hobbled like this for eighteen years. She is, after all, one of Abraham's kids (So are we; see Romans 4:16) and therefore not required to submit to this torment. He doesn't even ask her if she wants to be healed. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God (Luke 13:12-13). This glorifying God phenomenon is the direct and consistent byproduct of the healing ministry of Jesus. No place in Scripture does it precede healing.
Jesus never refused to heal anyone. That alone should dispel the notion that there are some good sicknesses that we should hang on to. In instructing His seventy new disciples, prior to dispatching them to the surrounding towns, among other things, Jesus said, "And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you' " (Luke 10:9). He doesn't tell them to heal only the ones that God wants healed. He doesn't advise them to pray to know God's will in each particular case. He makes no distinction between this sickness or that. He doesn't even make a distinction between good sick people and bad sick people. He just orders them to heal the sick. Pretty simple. Apparently these easy-to-follow instructions were understood by all seventy because they came back to Him so pumped up by their success that they could hardly stand it. Jesus tries to calm them down a bit but gets caught up in the moment Himself. I don't know if they high-fived back then but that's the picture I get. I can see Jesus slapping some skin. This passage of Scripture shows a side of Jesus we should really get more familiar with. He's so happy with these guys He could bust (Luke 10:17-24).
You know what? We don't even know the names of these seventy guys. That's the beauty of it. They were just ordinary people that had been hanging around with Jesus. Maybe some of them had been at the fish dinner in chapter 9. Maybe some had been in the multitudes He healed in chapter 6. We don't know. All we can be certain of is that they possessed no special skills or abilities we don't have. Except maybe one. They could follow instructions.
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(Romans 7:15)
Last week I received a request for some further illumination on this verse from Paul's letter to the Romans. More importantly, I had this question put to me: How do you stop doing those things you don't want to do and that you know to be wrong?
First of all, Romans cannot be read piecemeal. It is all interconnected. Paul didn't finish writing what we now call chapter 7, stop, and put the numeral 8 and start writing again. This is a letter. So to fully understand chapter 7 you need to read chapters 6 and 8.
In chapter 6 Paul talks about being slaves to sin. He reminds us that we were buried with Christ, and as He was raised, we should walk in newness of life. We are told to reckon ourselves dead to sin, not to let it reign in our mortal bodies and that sin shall not have dominion over us because of the grace working in our lives. He concludes chapter 6 with the statement, The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So far so good. But then Paul launches into a discussion of the Law and how this serves to point out our sinful nature. He then confesses that he finds himself doing what he hates and not what he knows to do and even wants to do. This seems somewhat contradictory after the exhortation of chapter 6. Didn't he just finish telling us we were dead to sin, that it had no place in our lives anymore and paid a very bad return on our investment? Now he's telling us he still has a problem with it. Then like someone in the grip of major denial, he claims that he isn't the one doing this bad stuff, but the sin that dwells in him. He closes chapter 7 with an emotional appeal for deliverance from this body of death (Note: The Romans' unique sense of justice included strapping the dead body of a murder victim to the perpetrator of the crime. He would then be forced to drag the decomposing corpse around until he probably died, too, from infection or just pure misery.)
This would be a good place to point out something terribly obvious that we all still seem to forget: Paul was a man. A good man, a changed and dynamic man, but still a man. He, like the other great men and women of the New Testament, was still capable of messing up, and did from time to time. Only Jesus led a sinless life. We know Paul's past, how he persecuted the early church. We know he was present at at least one execution and approved of the process. We know of his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus. We also know that he was beheaded for his faith. But we don't know what sins he struggled to overcome. He didn't share this with us. But I would assume they were pretty much the same as those you and I struggle with. That is why you will see the apostles portrayed as exceedingly human in these weekly messages. They were no different from us. They didn't start out as statues. They were regular guys with regular jobs and regular problems who Jesus picked to work with Him. He knew their faults, their strengths and even their future betrayals. He hired them anyway. Just like us. He loved them all (even Judas I believe) and proved it by dying for them. Just like us.
So how do we get free from this body of death as Paul so aptly put it? How do we stop doing the same stupid things over and over and over? How do we make ourselves live the life God intended? We don't. We can't. It isn't possible. If we could just will ourselves to be good Jesus would be redundant. It can only be accomplished through the power of His Holy Spirit.
Which brings us to one of the most powerful (and comforting) verses in the entire Bible, that of Romans 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Encouraging words, but don't stop there. If you read on, Paul explains how this is to be accomplished: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (Romans 8:14). The word led here is one of those peculiar Greek participles and it means to be continually led. And while this verse can generally imply a sensitivity to all promptings of the Holy Spirit, it definitely explains the process by which we become more and more obedient to God's Word and less and less inclined to follow our flesh wherever it wants to go.
That, I think, is the truth that we need to grasp, that this walk with Christ is a process. We do have this war going on in us between our new spirit and our old flesh just as Paul said. It really wasn't him sinning. It was that old dead guy the Law had strapped on his back trying to drag him down. We are constantly being changed, transformed (II Corinthians 3:18) into the person we are created to be. It isn't instantaneous. We will slip along the way, fall flat on our faces, often with the astounding regularity and impact of a certain cartoon coyote. This does not come as a real big shock to our Father. He knew who He was getting when He called our names. But thankfully He sees us as His children and if that weren't enough, our Big Brother Jesus is right there to remind Him to cut us a little slack. License to sin? Certainly not! God hates sin. It's just that His love for us is infinitely greater.
I suggest you finish reading Romans 8 yourself. Yes, it will take a whole minute or so, but you will see the man Paul go from the depths of frustration expressed in today's verse to absolutely overwhelming joy and confidence. He's practically singing at the end. Probably just thrilled to have that dead guy off his back.
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(Mark 16:20)
Many translations of the New Testament omit verses 9 through 20 of the 16th chapter of Mark's gospel. Others include them, but as a footnote, usually questioning their authenticity. Still others include these verses without apology or explanation, accepting them as true and necessary to complete the message.
Christians (and their churches) are pretty much divided up the same way when it comes to these ten little verses. Either they dismiss them entirely, believe in them marginally (with conditions), or they embrace them wholeheartedly. See, this is where, in addition to commanding His disciples to spread the gospel, and defining the terms of salvation, Jesus also describes the signs that will follow those who believe, namely, casting out demons, speaking with new tongues, being impervious to snakes or poison, and healing the sick. Our Lord seems to be very positive about this, using the word will nine times in this short passage. He gives no indication that this is an optional part of believing in Him, nor does He warn that this is for a limited time only. On the contrary, He seems to be describing something perpetual.
The odd thing about this, (at least to me anyway), is that virtually everybody from Catholics to Baptists to Pentecostals, and everyone in between, accepts the first part. Even some of the cults that still (sort of) have one foot in Christianity practice this (usually early Saturday morning when you're in the shower): Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). For some reason that I can't fathom, this imperative is still universally accepted by the Church as being applicable to the 20th century, but all the rest of Jesus' admonitions are relegated to The Apostolic Age, and therefore anachronisms.
Here's the problem: The first part, preaching the gospel, was never intended to be accomplished without the rest. These signs are designed to confirm that message (and its messengers) as being the real deal. It's God's way of saying, "What these guys are telling you is absolutely true. I sent them. You can trust them. Here's the proof." God never expected people to say, "Well, heck, this religious stuff sounds good to me. I guess it must be true. Reckon I'll be a Christian." In fact, He never sent anybody to do anything anywhere in the whole Bible without backing them up with some positive supernatural reinforcement. Even Jesus didn't walk into town and declare,"Hi everybody. I'm the Messiah. Start believing in Me or else!" No, He drew people to Him by demonstrating over and over that the Father sent Him by casting out demons, healing the sick and working miracle after miracle. This is why His fame spread (Matthew 4:24). If all He did was preach the Sermon on the Mount they wouldn't even have bothered to kill Him. He would have been just another preacher, and therefore, harmless.
Mark closes his gospel narrative (in the version I use, NKJV) by acknowledging that Jesus' disciples continued this practical evangelism in the method He so deliberately set forth: And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. We see this continue right on through the entire New Testament, giving no indication of being a temporary manifestation of the Spirit in believers' lives. These men counted on God to back them up. They didn't try to convert people on their own charm or knowledge. And they got results.
Somewhere along the way we got the idea that everything is to be taken on faith, and to a certain degree and in particular areas, that's correct. But the Gospel is supposed to be demonstrated. God wants people to see that it is not only true, but that it actually works. We show this with our lives, the way we treat others, and the signs that follow us when we believe. Notice that point. It's been said before but I'll say it again: Signs follow believers; believers don't follow signs. We follow Jesus Christ. If you're just looking for miracles, you could get into trouble. Staying focused on Him is what gives us the power as believers to do what He laid out in that job description 2,000 years ago.
We live in a world where people are pulled in every direction by all sorts of false teaching. You see it everywhere. This will increase. The gospel needs to be demonstrated with power, not just talk (I Thessalonians 1:5). People need to see Jesus working with us. If your church thinks gifts such as tongues, healing and the rest are weird, outdated or demonic (very dangerous teaching, see Mark 3:28-30), you might consider going someplace where these are just considered tools of the trade and the entire Word of God is still valid and honored. Someplace where you get filled on real food. I know that doesn't sound very nice, but frankly there isn't time for nice, in your life or anyone else's.
One other thing. It is also really, really cool when you lay hands on someone and they actually get well. In fact, I'd say it's even fun but then I'd have to convince you that fun and Christian aren't mutually exclusive terms. I think I've pushed my luck enough for one day.
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(Mark 8:4)
It may seem to readers of this weekly thing I do that I have a tendency to have a bit too much fun at the Disciples' expense. They are afterall some of the greatest men who ever stood in sandal leather. They lived heroic, faith-filled lives and willingly died mostly gruesome martyrs' deaths. But they didn't start out that way. In the initial stages of their training they seem to be frustratingly, almost magically, dense. That Jesus refrained from slapping them all upside the head remains one of the most convincing proofs of His divinity and greatest examples of God's love ever recorded in these four gospels. That He still exhibits this self-control with us, His present-day disciples, is further evidence of this love that passes all understanding. I guess that's the main reason I pick on the these twelve guys so much: sometimes they act just like me... and you.
Which brings us to today's verse, a seemingly innocent and even logical question from Jesus' disciples, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?" They are indeed surrounded by four thousand ravenously hungry folks, they are certainly in the middle of nowhere and they only have seven loaves of bread and a few dried fish left (obviously not too swift in the planning department either). Now Jesus wants to feed everyone. So why is this question so stupid?
Because they've already been through this same scenario back in chapter 6!!!! That's right, these twelve Einsteins saw Jesus do the loaves and fishes miracle for five thousand people only a few pages ago! You'd think they might remember something like this. And the odds are even better now: they have a thousand less people to feed and two more loaves of bread! But no. I wish I could have seen the look on our Lord's face. He must have felt like screaming.
Maybe you think I'm being a bit too hard on the Dynamic Dozen. Hey, they had a lot on their minds. Since witnessing the feeding of the 5,000, they had actually seen Jesus walk on water, hundreds of people healed (some by simply touching His clothes), the Lebanese woman's daughter rid of a demon (at long distance), and a deaf mute's hearing and speech restored with spit. It's only natural they should still be wondering, doubting and generally behaving as if they had flunked Faith 101. How, oh how, could 4,000 people ever be fed? (Sarcasm, from the Greek sarkasmos, from sarkazein, "to tear flesh," here employed as a device of satire, an expression that seeks to expose wrong or folly to ridicule).
Now before you get to feeling too superior to these lovable knuckleheads, remember that they at least eventually got it right. The question is, will we?
Almost everyone who has spent any time with Jesus Christ has seen Him do things in their lives that are nothing short of miraculous. You may have had healing from disease, a broken marriage restored, financial blessing or any of a multitude of eleventh hour needs met. And yet it is so easy to forget these miracles when another "impossible" situation arises. I've done this and you probably have, too. The really irritating thing is that usually you've been through worse and this new affliction should be a piece of cake.
Have you ever wondered why this particular miracle of the loaves and fishes was repeated? Both Matthew and Mark in each of their gospels record it as happening twice. Was God just out of ideas? Couldn't Jesus have done something equally terrific but different? Sure. But the point is, He didn't want to do it the second time. He wanted the disciples to do it. This was school. He showed them how the first time, now it was their turn. Let's not forget He had already given them His authority (Mark 6:7-13). All any of them had to do was believe and they could have fed the multitude. Jesus was standing right there beside them. This was their opportunity to show what they had learned, like a final exam, and use it. They failed. So the Teacher had to step in and do what Peter, Matthew, James or any of the other students could have and should have done. But, like I said, they eventually did graduate (with honors), spectacular signs and wonders following these much-changed men wherever they went.
Will we? Too many of us are perpetual students. We keep repeating the same class over and over. It's time to graduate (Hebrews 6:1-2). It's time to apply what we've learned, to move from theory to practice. This is hands-on stuff. It's blue-collar. We've been taught a trade, not a philosophy. When Jesus comes back He expects to find us busy doing the job He trained us for (John 14:12). This time we will get to see the look on His face. Hope He still doesn't feel like screaming.
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(Genesis 12:2)
Promises, promises. People make them and break them. We do it ourselves from time to time. So it's not too surprising that we have a hard time believing, as much as we'd like to, that God keeps His. We see promises throughout the Bible (roughly 7,000) pertaining to blessing, healing, deliverance, prosperity, guidance, protection, wisdom, etc., as well as negative promises (which aren't as much fun) relating to not doing things the way God intends. We want to believe these promises are real and that God will honor them. This is made even more difficult by the means in which He has fulfilled so many of them: supernaturally. We want to believe that the Red Sea just split open, that the Virgin Birth is not mythological and, most of all, that Jesus, somehow, really did come out of that tomb. As much as we want to believe that the Word of God is one hundred percent trustworthy, that we can stake our very lives on it, it can at times be a struggle to walk through this crazy world in faith. So I thought it would be a good idea to look at a couple fulfilled promises, ones that are beyond dispute, to encourage us, and make it easier, to believe the rest.
The life of Abraham is a good place to start. Our verse for today is a part of the first promise God made to him. This story really requires us (and Abraham) to suspend our disbelief. We are told that a man and his wife, well past the age of bearing children, will do so and that their descendants will be beyond number (Genesis 15:5) and in his seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 22:17-18). Yeah, right. After some time and some exemplary acts of faith, as well as some episodes of incredible dishonesty, faithlessness and outright stupidity (hey, sounds like some of us!), he has two kids (Ishmael and Isaac). Not exactly a running start to fulfilling this gigantic promise. As the Book of Exodus opens, we see that this promised innumerable multitude has grown to a whopping seventy people. This group is made up of the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel) and their families.
Without continuing this story any further, let me ask you a question. Did God fulfill His incredible promise to Abraham? Is there any proof of it? Does history back it up? Well, we know for a fact that there's millions of Jews (and Arabs) on the earth today and they had to come from somewhere. They surely didn't start out as millions of people. That they had a common origin isn't in dispute, even among people that think the Bible is an overlong, grownup fairy tale. It isn't even in dispute among Jews and Arabs themselves (but it's about the only thing that isn't). Looks like God kept His word.
But that's not the end of it. He's not finished adding to Abraham's descendants. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ (Galatians 3:16).
Again God chooses to start slowly. He sends one Person, His Son Jesus, to get things moving. Like Israel with his twelve sons, Jesus had His twelve disciples. Later, we see that this twelve has grown to seventy (Luke 10:1), just like the insignificant number the nation of Israel had when they entered Egypt. Coincidence? Probably not. I think this is just God's way of saying, "You guys thought that was something, check this out!" God loves lousy odds.
So what happened? Did God do it again? Let's look at the results. How many Christians do you figure have been on this earth since 33 A.D.? Abraham's family hasn't just grown, it's exploded. And it's still exploding at a rate that defies our efforts to keep up with it. Through Christ, God has fulfilled every word He spoke to Abraham, and through our faith we become part of this family (Gal. 3:29). We know He kept His promise. We are the proof. And to think that this all happened because one (terribly human) guy, Abraham, believed God (Gen. 15:6 and Gal. 3:6).
I used this example of a promise kept because it's something we can see every day with our own eyes. We can be reminded of it everytime we meet another believer. When we see thousands of people come together in stadiums around the world to honor Christ, we can remember that it started with twelve men sitting around Him in a circle. And when we read other promises in His Word, even the ones that seem too good to be true, the ones that seem downright impossible, maybe we'll find ourselves simply believing. Worked for Abraham.
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(Matthew 20:34)
Jesus and His disciples are leaving Jericho, headed for the triumphant donkey ride into Jerusalem. Jesus has just finished explaining to them again that He is going to be arrested and killed, but will rise again in three days. The disciples, apparently as clueless as ever, are busy arguing about who should sit next to Him in His new kingdom. Even James and John's mom (God love her) gets in the Savior's face over this. As He walks, His mind full of the enormity of what is about to take place, He is mobbed on all sides by ever larger crowds. Some of these people are simply curious to see the Guy who has been doing so many amazing things. Maybe He will do something spectacular today. Others are expecting a virtual coup d'etat any minute and would like to be there to see the Romans get theirs. Some simply have nothing better to do.
As this noisy, jostling procession makes its way up the road, two blind men who had parked themselves on the curb suddenly become aware that in the midst of this commotion is none other than Jesus. As the crowd is passing, they scream out, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!" This prompts a quick response from the multitude, most of whom were either absent or sleeping during the Sermon on the Mount, of, "Hey, shut up you two!" Undaunted, the two blind beggars scream at the top of their lungs, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"
Jesus stops, bringing the whole parade to a screeching halt. He calls the blind men to Him and asks, "What do you want Me to do for you?" Unable to look at each other in disbelief at what would seem to be one of the most obvious questions ever asked, they reply, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."
So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him (Matthew 20:34).
While this is another wonderful example of Jesus' healing ministry, which, by the way, continues to this day, it is also a perfect description of the New Birth, of someone being born again.
These men called on the name of the Lord. They didn't listen to those who would stop them. They made it clear to Jesus that they were serious, determined to get to Him. Even though He was surrounded by people clamoring for His attention, He heard them above the crowd. They asked for mercy, something an unrepentant person would never do, and in so doing acknowledged their sin and His Lordship. This stopped Him from passing them by and He responded by calling them to Him. Immediately He put Himself at their service, requiring of them only their faith. He caused this faith to rise up in them by asking a direct and obvious question. Their faith responded. Their eyes were opened. They saw Jesus for who He is and did the only thing that made any sense: they followed Him.
It still works that way today. Unless Jesus Christ opens your eyes, this Gospel looks like utter nonsense (I Corinthians 1:18, II Corinthians 4:3-4), or at best, a good story about a good man. Either way, you're still walking around in the dark. Actually, it's more like driving down the freeway with your eyes closed.
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(Matthew 10:38)
Every time I read this passage from Matthew's account of the Gospel or the corresponding verse of Mark 8:34, one picture immediately comes to my mind. I see the disciples with rather puzzled looks on their faces doing their best to pretend they understand what Jesus is talking about, nodding their heads in affirmation, but inwardly thinking, "I don't get it. I hope I'm not the only one who doesn't know what He's talking about."
Remember, we know all about the Cross. They didn't. Up until the moment Jesus was crucified, they seemed unable to grasp the fact that He was actually going to die, even though He had been telling them this over and over. So this lesson about taking up their own crosses must have just zoomed over their heads. This is not to say that they were unfamiliar with crucifixion as a means of execution. They had probably seen it many times. But to these twelve men who envisioned themselves ruling an eternal kingdom with their Leader this must have made no sense at all. Of course they did eventually come to understand what this all meant.
The question is: Do we?
How many times have you heard someone say, "This is just my cross to bear" or "We all have our cross to bear" when referring to sickness, unhappiness, lack or any other unpleasant situation? How many people that you know think that suffering is all part of following Christ and if you aren't miserable you're just not doing it right? After all, we are supposed to take up our cross, an instrument of (painful) death and follow Him. So if you're sick, bear that cross with a smile and know that the sicker you get the worthier you become. Wear that affliction like a medal. Thank God for that poverty that brings you ever closer to a perfect walk with Him. Praise Him for everything crashing and burning in your life because this proves you're on the right road, your own personal Via Dolorosa. Suffer for Christ.
There are a number of problems with this kind of thinking, even though it has a pseudo-spiritual ring to it. First of all, Jesus never saw sickness as anything but something to be rid of. He never praised anyone for bearing it or asked them to hold on to it a little longer. He never saw sadness as an appropriate burden. He came to bring us joy. He made very clear how he felt about lack and need by feeding the 5,000. Twice. And He turned every unpleasant situation, be it a wedding party short of wine or a funeral of a friend four days dead, into a celebration. In fact, I can't find one instance in the ministry of Jesus where He looked on anyone's suffering as a blessing, proof of righteousness or even the will of God. The only good He saw in any of these situations was the chance to get rid of the problem and, in doing so, glorify His Father.
In reference to this concept of suffering for Christ, I heard Pastor Casey Treat of Seattle sum it up this way: I thought Christ suffered for me. When did I become His Savior?
When Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow Him He is speaking symbolically. The disciples did not rush out and get crosses to carry around, nor should we. Nor does our cross augment the work His Cross accomplished. We can't do that. It's already done. To think we can do this is to minimize the substitutionary death Christ suffered on our behalf. Our cross is simply our decision, our willingness, to sacrifice ourselves and say, "Here is my life. It's Yours. I will follow where You lead." That's not a burden. That's liberation.
Now you may think I've forgotten that most of Jesus' followers suffered painful deaths as martyrs for their faith. I haven't. We, too, can expect persecution in varying degrees. We have His word on it. But none of these men died of cancer. None of them starved to death. They didn't go through life depressed and miserable wishing they were anything but Christians. They led victorious, dynamic, and even joyful lives. They saw God do amazing things through them. They changed the world forever. And when it came time to die for Christ, they were willing to do it. But the real sacrifice, their cross, was living for Him. That's still the ultimate sacrifice.
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(II Corinthians 5:17)
Happy New Year, or as we say in Hawaii, Hau'oli Makahiki Hou! Since this is the first message of the new year, this verse from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians seemed appropriate.
As 1998 begins, the optimists among us are hoping for something better, something new. This hopeful attitude, while it may be short-lived, seems to spark a desire for change in even the most comfortably stuck in the mud. We are bursting with resolve. Anything is possible. This new found confidence and determination prompts us to loudly declare that things will change. We will not repeat the incredibly stupid mistakes we made in 1997. True, we did say this in '96 but this year it's going to be different. That extra weight will come off, we will quit smoking, we will listen to our wives (even on third and long) and respond in complete sentences, we will spend more time with our children (whether they like it or not) and none of the little stuff is going to bother us anymore. We will stick with our diets, show religious devotion to our exercise machines and live within our budgets. We will be on time, dependable, stop that darn procrastinating, work harder and finish what we start. We will be kind, patient and show more concern for others than for ourselves. In other words, we are going to be someone we've never been before.
Pardon me for hitting a sour note in this Symphony for the New Man, but just how do you plan to do this?
This is why New Year's resolutions almost always fail. People think they can become someone they've never been before, or what Paul calls a new creation, without taking the first step that makes it all possible: being in Christ. This being in Christ (our accepting Christ's death and resurrection for us by faith) is the only way you can be kainos, or new. See, new, the way Paul uses the word, does not mean just made, but fresh and novel; something new and different. And this being in Christ not only transforms us into someone we've never been before, it begins to change things around us: behold, all things have become new (fresh, novel, unused). Every aspect of your life is touched and affected by this personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Does this mean you will immediately lose five dress sizes or get into those Levis you wore ten years ago? Probably not. You're getting a new spirit, not a new body, mind or personality. But this new spirit will for the first time enable you to control and change that body, alter the way your mind works and develop the good characteristics God placed in your personality. You will have the ability to see yourself and others through God's eyes. Don't underestimate this shift in perspective as the catalyst for real, lasting change.
Oh, one more thing. You won't spend eternity in Hell. This may seem like a small thing compared to, say, losing weight, but it really isn't if you think about it. The fact that you finally got into those Levis will be of small comfort if you're spending forever in constant torment, separated from God, just because you thought being in Christ was unnecessary. Make a New Year's resolution to wear them to Heaven instead. The climate's better, the people are friendlier and they're going to have a New Year's party you won't want to miss.
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HAVE FAITH IN GOD!
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