An Epic New Year
In ancient Roman mythology, Janus was the god of gates and doors. He held the key, so to speak, to the metaphorical doors or gateways between what was and what is to come. He had two faces enabling him to look forward and backward. His job was to keep evil spirits out of homes, buildings, shrines, schools, courtyards, and wherever there was a doorway or gate. His role changed and was applied to the new year when he could look back on the old year and forward to the new. His name came to be applied to the first month of the new year, January. The Roman people took a minute each day to pray to Janus.
Such gods were mythological, fanciful. However, there really is a God who looks back and forward. He is omnipresent, all present. Companion parts of His nature are He is omniscient, all knowing, and omnipotent, all powerful.
The Apostle Paul adopted some of His characteristics and said, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead….” (Philippians 3: 13) In summary, don’t live in the past. The past is now merely a prologue of things to come. Those who live in the past forfeit the best of the present and rob their future potential. Consider this scenario.
In the past (point “A”) you made a decision. Now (point “B”) looking back you see it was not a good decision. The result is a sense of failure and associated guilt. Never judge your point B decision from point A. At point B you made a decision based on two things: the knowledge you had at the time and the love you sought to employ. Now at point A you have more knowledge and greater love than you did not have at point B. The result is you unfairly judge your past self and pull the grief caused by your point B decision into point A. Romans prayed to Janus.
In December 1939, King George VI was England’s reigning monarch. Storm clouds of war were gathering. As was the custom, the king addressed the nation on a BBC radio broadcast on Christmas Day, and, in the uncertain last days of 1939, the king spoke words of peace to calm his nation. He reminded them of the only true King, the One who can provide true peace and real rest in such troubled times. As King George concluded his message of encouragement, he read the preamble of a poem that had been brought to his attention by his young daughter, Princess Elizabeth.
“And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’
And he replied: ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.’”
Try it, you will find it to be true, making for a HAPPY NEW YEAR.
New Year’s Resolutions
“He who swears to his own hurt and does not change.” New King James Version 15: 4
“He keeps his word even to his own disadvantage and does not change it [for his own benefit].” Amplified Bible Psalm 15: 4
Making a New Year’s resolution is a good thing, but only if the resolution is a worthy one and the one making it is a resolute person, one determined, unwavering. Otherwise it is only hot air in a balloon soon to be deflated.
The top 10 New Year resolutions list is as follows:
1. Lose weight
2. Exercise
3. Quit smoking
4. Quit drinking
5. Be a better person
6. Spend more time with family
7. Spend less time on the internet
8. Be more organized
9. Get out of debt
10. Be more spiritual
Regarding number one this story is indicative. A woman saw her husband weighing himself on the bathroom scales, sucking in his stomach. She said to her husband, “That’s not going to help.” To which her husband replied, “Sure it will. It’s the only way I can see the numbers.”
In thinking of the new year we tend to forget about the old one. In the old one did you make any personal changes for the better? Not to be morbid, but realistically it has brought us one year closer to when time will run out on us and we will face the ultimate assessment of life before the Lord. With that applied to the new year, now is a very good time to resolve to live in such a way as to be better prepared for that inevitable eventuality. With that in mind, plan your new resolutions.
All the list of good things resolved and fulfilled will not prepare us for that great assize. The resolution that will condition us for that day is faith in Jesus. Two options are available for that.
One is for those who have never resolutely accepted His forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. It is both an act and a process. It is an act in that it occurs in an instance and a process in that it has a life long transforming process.
The other is for those who have done so previously, but need to renew their devotion to Him. It is number 10 on the list of resolutions. Make it number one.
Following is a worthy resolution. “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)
Behold a Virgin
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7: 14 In Isaiah the Hebrew word translated virgin is “alma.”
“ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.” Luke 1: 26, 27
In Luke as in Matthew the Greek word translated virgin is “parthenos.”
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, ‘God with us.’” Mat. 1:23
In Matthew as in Luke the Greek word translated virgin is “parthenos.”
According to Scripture was Mary simply a young woman or a virgin?
The Greek word for virgin in Isaiah, “alma,” can be translated young woman or virgin. Which can only be determined only by context.
Critics say it should be translated “young woman,” and it refers to Ahaz’s son. Behold, a virgin shall be with child,…. These words are rightly applied to the virgin Mary and her son Jesus, for of no other can they be understood; not of Ahaz’s wife and his son Hezekiah, who was already born, nor of any other son of Ahaz by her or any other person since she was no longer a virgin, nor of the wife of Isaiah, and any son of his, who never had any that was king of Judah.
The prophecy is distinctly Messianic, but the sign in Isaiah is not so much concerned with the manner of the child’s birth, but with the name, and the deliverance which should happen in his infancy. Therefore, the weight of the reference is to the name “Emmanuel” and to “the true Son of David.”
Emmanuel was not used of any ordinary child born in the time of Isaiah.
Emmanuel shall save from sin. No one other than Jesus could do so.
Mary knew she was a virgin. She said, “I have never known a man.”
The angel in Matthew put emphasis on virgin and considered Mary to be a virgin.
Discrediting the concept of Mary being a virgin is essential for critics because if their criticism is true Jesus had no divine nature, He would have been only a human like all of the race, and inadequate as our infinite savior.
For Him to fulfill His role as Mediator He had to have a divine and human nature. To be a mediator the one has to be equal to both parties and able to represent both equally.
“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:5)
By faith you can engage Him to be your personal Mediator before the Father. That is what He is when you pray in His name and will be in the judgment.
Salvation Pure and Simple
A new year is a very good time to assess our spiritual life. This is offered for those needing a spiritual transformation.
Hopefully all who are reading this have experienced what it means to be saved.
Scripture tells us salvation is the gracious, undeserved gift of God (Ephesians 2:5, 8), and the only path is through faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). We receive salvation through faith, first by hearing the gospel. The next step is when we decide to believe and trust the Lord Jesus (Romans 1:16).
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14: 6)
Some say this is being narrow-minded, bigoted, and opinionated. Marvel not there is only one way. Rejoice there is a way.
This is not a trait peculiar to Christians. Every faith professes their proposed way is the way.
If you were going to make a counterfeit $20.00 bill what would you make it look like? Logically it would be the real thing, an actual $20.00. If you were going to make a fake of Christianity what would you make it look like? In order to deceive persons it logically would be made to look like the real thing.
In the final analysis there are only two ways proposed for salvation. Christianity proposes it is by grace through faith. We are saved “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us….” (Titus 3:5) This is based on what Jesus has done.
All others propose another way with different versions and it is “works.” That is, what we must do to be saved. Scripture notes:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2: 8, 9)
It is impossible to work, earn, or merit God’s favor.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved….” Acts 16: 31
Believe is a little word full of much meaning. As often used in the Bible it calls for action.
Faith is belief in or confident attitude toward God, involving commitment to His will for one’s life. Belief is to place one’s trust in God’s truth. A person who believes is one who takes God at His word and trusts in Him for salvation.
After the initial act of faith comes new life resulting in a lifestyle of obedience to His will and way of life. We are not saved by works, but to work.
If you have trusted Jesus for salvation, pause now and thank Him for it.
If you haven’t, pause now and ask Him for forgiveness of sin and the gift of salvation.
Think About It
“as a man thinks in his heart so is he.” Proverbs 23:7
One of the most amazing gifts that God has given us is the human mind. What goes on in your mind defines who you really are.
Consider the rest of Proverbs 23: 7, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. ‘Eat and drink!’ he says to you, But his heart is not with you.”
What is defined here is a person who says one thing with his lips, but his heart is in a completely different place. Which represents the true person? It is the one whose heart is not in it. What a person really is can’t always be determined by what he says. A person’s actions reveal his true nature. By their fruit you shall know them. Everything a person really is flows out of his heart.
This principle even applies in a person’s relationship with the Lord. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
We must guard our heart, being mindful of what is in it. May your heart and lips be in sync.
Things worthy of residence in our heart are established for us in Romans 12. Consider these factors.
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
20 Therefore, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
When the Old Testament character Samuel was seeking a new leader for his people He was warned: “…the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
God is saying to us, “I see you.” As a child that thought frightened me. Then I came to realize that was good because He knows who we are, where we are, and what our needs are. Be open hearted with Him.