Tag: bible

“No one can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending” (Unknown). I want you to remind yourself of this quote as you move into the new year. The upshot of the quote is this: we don’t start over; but we begin again, right where we are, toward the ending Jesus has already worked out for us.

If we believe that “If I do this or don’t do that Jesus will love me more”, then we have the wrong idea of the kind of relationship G-d wants with each one of us. We must change our thinking to “Because G-d already loves me beyond all measure, I will therefore live out that love every day, in every way”. Because there is nothing we can do to have G-d love us more, instead of looking backwards seeking a new beginning, we focus on beginning a new ending for our lives right now.

I do not make New Year’s resolutions anymore. I find them to be limiting. Since I know that most resolutions are forgotten or abandoned within a few weeks, why kid myself into thinking this year will be different.

Instead I try to find new ways to live into the love of G-d and the presence of my family and church every day. Every day I want to have a deeper commitment to praying and reading G-d’s word. Every day I believe the current times and trends in this world requires my undivided attention on G-d’s Word and the truth behind it so I can deal with the trials and tribulations that lie waiting around the corner.

How you end this year will be determined by how you start it. Do you want to get deeper into understanding G-d’s word and G-d’s intent for your life? Do you want a new ending this year? If you’re not a Christian, please know that this could be the best New Year of your life. Your life can be filled with hope and peace as you open yourself up to G-d’s word and the power of the Holy Spirit speaking truth and life into your existence. Why should every year be the same as the one before with nothing really changing?

If you are a Christian and you feel stagnate in your relationship with the Lord, then now is the time to rekindle that relationship – beginning with Word and Prayer. The real ending in our life will be when Jesus says well done my good and faithful servant. Wouldn’t it be nice for each one of us to know where Jesus said that and the love and intent behind what he meant?

 

Pastor Dave

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.

If you put these instructions before the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives’ tales. Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” 1 Timothy 4:1-10

Okay, so what is this Cranky Reverend looking at? CR believes this is the scariest Santa ever. He almost looks devilish. And who is he talking to? Is he calling the parents of the children around the world trying to find out who is naughty and who is nice? Perhaps he is one step away from finding who is home or not so he can leave some cheap toys and take away the home entertainment system.

Watch what you are feeding on! This is what the writer of 1 Timothy is asking and warning. Be nourished on the words of the faith and the good doctrine that you have followed. So Cranky Reverend wants to know, what are you nourished by? What feeds you? That is the question this passage raises before us. What do you feed on daily? What do you put in your mind? What is your habitual input in your life? The sports pages, perhaps? Soap operas? The Dow Jones Averages? TV movies? Best-seller novels? If any of those things are your daily diet, then I can guarantee you will be a spiritually undernourished servant of Jesus Christ, because the apostle makes clear that what you feed on is what is going to determine how effective you become. Not one of them is wrong in itself. We are not to eliminate them, but we are to regulate them.

That is the point Paul makes. Regulate the things you feed on making sure part of your diet is the Word of G-d. Other “food” can be very dangerously distracting to us and often too easily controlling of our thoughts. The apostle urges Timothy to seek out what really feeds his spiritual life. What we all need is less social media and more Jesus – less political division and more Jesus. That is what Christians need.

Pastor Dave