Christmas is ended and we look forward to a new year. We have no idea what this new year will bring. It may bring pleasure or it may bring heartache.
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I think back to the end of 2005. I was still single then, and my friend Katie was telling me that I would marry her best friend who I had never even met. I did not take her seriously because people had been trying to set me up with their friends for years and nothing ever worked out. But when Katie’s friend Crystal came home from a year in Peru, I started to wonder if perhaps I should pay a little more attention to her.
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Sure enough, Crystal and I fell in love, got married, and now have 4 little boys. We had not even met in 2005, but were married by the end of 2006. Neither of us were expecting this to happen. It seems that Katie was the only one who did. Of course God was not taken by surprise either. He knew all along what would happen. “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” (Isaiah 46:10)
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Often when a new year starts, people make resolutions, but those resolutions are frequently broken before February. Sometimes they are broken because of a lack of will power, but often they are broken because events occur that are out of our control.
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In the Bible, the book of James tells about some people who had resolved to do business in a city over the next the year and make some profit. It was not a bad goal or even a foolish business venture. The problem was that they figured that they could have their next year all planned out and that it would work out just like they expected it to. Further, as they were planning out their year, they were focusing on what they could make for themselves, rather than remembering God.
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Consider what James wrote: “Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we shall 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 be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that." But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.” (James 4:13-16 NASB)
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As we come to the next year, let us remember that things may not work out like we had planned. They might be better than we expected or they might be worse. Perhaps the next year will be boring and uneventful. Regardless of what happens in our lives, let us remember that it will not take God by surprise.
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Our conduct does have an effect on our lives, but we must realize that we are not the gods of our own destinies. When I was a farmer, I quickly realized that the one variable that had the most effect on yield was the weather. It reminded me that although I had a responsibility to engage in good farming practices and that the better job I did, the better my yields would be, that ultimately, whether I had a huge crop or a failure, depended on the grace of God and what kind of weather He sent.
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Regardless of your plans and goals for the next year, remember that God is in control, not us.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Friday, December 12, 2014
Jesus Proved He is Good
Our little boys watched soccer on TV for the first time. They had already watched football and one of them wanted to know if the team with the horses on their helmets was playing because he wanted to watch the Broncos. I explained that they did not wear helmets in this game and then proceeded to explain the rules.
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After explaining that the players could not use their hands unless they were the goalie, my five year old quickly stated that he wanted to be the goalie so that he could use his hands. His brother also agreed. Ironically, neither of them has ever even played soccer.
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In order to be pro soccer players, my sons would have to prove that they were good enough. In order to play the position of the goalie, they would really have to be good. Imagine however that years from now, one of my sons showed up for tryouts for a goalie on a soccer team. Imagine then that he was so quick and so coordinated that no one was ever able to score a goal. Then the coach was so impressed with his performance that he called in the best soccer player in the world to try to make a goal and that player was still not able to score against him.
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Such a performance would prove that this young man should be on the team. It would prove that he is a worthy player. It would prove that he has what it takes.
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However, imagine that instead of a new soccer recruit, the world was looking for a new king. Not only were they looking for a king, but they were looking for a savior to rescue them from the curse of sin. In order to provide a rescue, this savior/king would have to perfect. He would have to sinless. He would have to be totally righteous. He would have to be so in touch with the will of God that His behavior would prove He is God.
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When Jesus was temped by the devil, He was able to prove all of this. Just as a great soccer goalie is able to prove his skills by showing up on the soccer field, Jesus was able to show His goodness by going to a place of temptation. We must be careful not to think that we should follow His example in this. Our very sinfulness proves that we have already given into temptation many times.
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As we consider the temptations Jesus faced, His goodness is contrasted with the sinfulness of all mankind. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
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The first temptation in Luke 4 was to turn the stone into bread. Why would that be sinful- especially considering that Jesus later used a miracle to feed thousands? It would be sinful because He would have been giving into the will of Satan rather than the will of God. Because Jesus as the son of God is God, He understood God's will perfectly. You and I do not always know every last detail of God's will and this is further proof of how far we come from God's glory and why we need a savior.
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The next temptation involved the kingdoms of this world. As we look at the corruption of world leaders both then and now, we are again reminded of the sinfulness of mankind and of our need for a sinless savior and king. Jesus proved that He is that kind of a king as He resisted temptation.
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Finally Satan tempted Jesus by quoting Psalm 91:11 which speaks of the angles protecting Jesus. When the devil quoted that verse, he left off the words “in all they ways.” In other words whatever Jesus does, he will be protected, but we have to remember that whatever Jesus did was the will of God. Satan was trying to get Him to follow another will, but Jesus proved that He would always do what was right and never come short of the glory of God. By passing the test, Jesus proved that He is worthy to pay for our sins.
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After explaining that the players could not use their hands unless they were the goalie, my five year old quickly stated that he wanted to be the goalie so that he could use his hands. His brother also agreed. Ironically, neither of them has ever even played soccer.
-
In order to be pro soccer players, my sons would have to prove that they were good enough. In order to play the position of the goalie, they would really have to be good. Imagine however that years from now, one of my sons showed up for tryouts for a goalie on a soccer team. Imagine then that he was so quick and so coordinated that no one was ever able to score a goal. Then the coach was so impressed with his performance that he called in the best soccer player in the world to try to make a goal and that player was still not able to score against him.
-
Such a performance would prove that this young man should be on the team. It would prove that he is a worthy player. It would prove that he has what it takes.
-
However, imagine that instead of a new soccer recruit, the world was looking for a new king. Not only were they looking for a king, but they were looking for a savior to rescue them from the curse of sin. In order to provide a rescue, this savior/king would have to perfect. He would have to sinless. He would have to be totally righteous. He would have to be so in touch with the will of God that His behavior would prove He is God.
-
When Jesus was temped by the devil, He was able to prove all of this. Just as a great soccer goalie is able to prove his skills by showing up on the soccer field, Jesus was able to show His goodness by going to a place of temptation. We must be careful not to think that we should follow His example in this. Our very sinfulness proves that we have already given into temptation many times.
-
As we consider the temptations Jesus faced, His goodness is contrasted with the sinfulness of all mankind. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
-
The first temptation in Luke 4 was to turn the stone into bread. Why would that be sinful- especially considering that Jesus later used a miracle to feed thousands? It would be sinful because He would have been giving into the will of Satan rather than the will of God. Because Jesus as the son of God is God, He understood God's will perfectly. You and I do not always know every last detail of God's will and this is further proof of how far we come from God's glory and why we need a savior.
-
The next temptation involved the kingdoms of this world. As we look at the corruption of world leaders both then and now, we are again reminded of the sinfulness of mankind and of our need for a sinless savior and king. Jesus proved that He is that kind of a king as He resisted temptation.
-
Finally Satan tempted Jesus by quoting Psalm 91:11 which speaks of the angles protecting Jesus. When the devil quoted that verse, he left off the words “in all they ways.” In other words whatever Jesus does, he will be protected, but we have to remember that whatever Jesus did was the will of God. Satan was trying to get Him to follow another will, but Jesus proved that He would always do what was right and never come short of the glory of God. By passing the test, Jesus proved that He is worthy to pay for our sins.
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