Happy New Year 2018
Here we are at, the new beginning, and a brand “New Year” stretches out before us, which is a “Brand – New – Beginning,” for all of us. New sights to see, new places to travel to, new foods to taste and new experiences, and new friends, and maybe even some new family members to get to know. This is so much like, “Coming to Jesus Christ,” as with confession and repentance, this verse applies, 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” If we are living “In Christ” with “Christ in You,” then this applies, Colossians 1:27 “To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”
Our “Past” is now definitely in “The Past” and that is, past, gone, we are all new and now we have Philippians 3:13 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but [this] one thing [I do], forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” The Bible is advocating a good case of “Amnesia” and to forget the sins of the past, and to press forwards all cleansed, with a “Clean Slate” on a “New Beginning,” “In Christ.” The lessons we learnt, we carry with us as a warning of dangerous paths that are certainly not safe to ever walk on, and then we warn ourselves and others of all those faulty paths, and that is now our “Testimony” of how great God is in calling us out of sins captivity, and releasing us into the bounties of his salvation.
There is a vast scope of possibilities and wonderment stretching out before our eyes, troubles and trials make it seem to be a mine field, awaiting our destruction, but with our hand in God’s, then we are safe. Quote; “Day by day we are to fight the good fight of faith. Day by day God will give us our work; and though we cannot see the end from the beginning, we are to examine ourselves daily to see if we are in the path of righteousness. We must strive to overcome, looking unto Jesus; for in every temptation he will be at our side to give us the victory. Every day should come to us as the last day in which we may be privileged to work for God, and much of it must be given to prayer that we may work in the strength of Christ. This is the way in which Enoch walked with God, warning and condemning the world by manifesting before them a righteous character.” {RH, 18/8/1891}
Could this be our problem? Quote “Shortly before Christ’s ascension, Philip said to Him, “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Grieved at his unbelief, Christ turned to him, saying, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?” Is it possible that I have walked with you, and talked with you, and fed you by miracles, and yet you have not comprehended that I was the Sent of God, “the way, the truth, and the life,” that I came from heaven to represent the Father?” {RC 354} Could we be still holding the “five loaves and two fishes” (Matthew 14), and not be aware of the potential miracle in our very hands?
You hold in your hand a “Miraculous Potential” and it is called “Life” and if applied wisely and well to the path before you, then this New Year is going to blossom into an amazing bounty of fantastic blessings to you and to all those around you. Life can be the greatest, or the pits, it is based on how wisely you use your time and talents. As a “Christian” we have it easy, we have “Prayer” so we can talk to God and he talks to us. We have the Bible, and as we read it daily, the Holy Spirit talks to us through the word and we are strengthened and encouraged. Unfortunately many Christians plough through life without daily prayer and scripture; may this not be you.
So, we have a New Year spread out before you, what are you going to do with it? What effects will you have, Bounties or Disasters? I guess it all depends if you “Go it alone” or not; the Army has a saying, “Lone Rangers come back in Body Bags,” so warning, you can go it alone, but success is very limited. Firstly God is standing there waiting for you to give him permission to get involved, and he has amazing fore-sight and buckets of blessings, do you want success? Well commit to him then, right now. Going it alone is a potential “Train Wreck” as they say.
You have wise friends and family to council and to advise, and if you are getting bad advice, then change to a better quality adviser, they will probably mock you when disaster strikes, but a real friend will get down in the mess with you and help you out. Dust off, catch your breath, and then get back into the race of life, head down and focused once more. God is always a “Prayer Away” so always pray, and then stop to listen to his voice as he replies, or else you will rush off doing it your own way, listening to your own voice, and then blaming God for faulty advice, when God was silent upon this course of action.
Dear Reader; why not right now “Commit yourself to God” or “Recommit yourself to God,” and then do it on a “Daily Basis” and you will find the path before you amazing. Quote; “Angels of God are waiting to show you the path of life. . . . Decide now, at the commencement of the New Year, that you will choose the path of righteousness, that you will be earnest and true-hearted, and that life with you shall not prove a mistake. Go forward, guided by the heavenly angels; be courageous; be enterprising; let your light shine; and may the words of inspiration be applicable to you–“I write unto you, young men, because you are strong and have overcome the wicked one.” {ML 5.4}
