daily java

Daily Java:

I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:12-14)

It is the New Year tomorrow night. The old year with all its sorrows and difficulties and all its joys and successes is gone. Bad things and good things are gone, not to be recalled except in memory.

Was it a lousy year? Then it is time now that you can work to make it better. It was not your fault that it was so bad? Maybe not, but you can do something to make it better.

Was it a great year? Maybe so, but the absolutely true thing is that you cannot live on your past successes. Sooner or later you have to do something else. High school reunions are filled with old jocks who do nothing but recall past glories, but have not done anything lately.

Even the apostle Paul said that anything he had done before was gone and he had to move forward. He looks instead of backward, he looks forward. What can he do this year? What great things will be accomplished this year? It is the end that really matters, not the stuff you do between.

Yes, those things are good and important. But when people see you, they do not see the past successes nor the past failures. They see you and what you are doing right this minute.

And I have learned this past couple of weeks that there is no real guarantee of a future. You may not make it past this year. And as you stand before God, what do you want to come to him with? A bunch of excuses? Or successes?

God does not save us according to the good things we have done. That is works salvation and the Bible never commends that. On the other hand, do I want to show up before God with nothing but excuses. “Well, you know, God, I meant to do good stuff, but this kept happening and those people didn't like me and I got sick and on and on.”

Instead, we press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize. We move on from where we are and go to a better place. We become good workers, faithful stewards. We become better at our language, at our actions, at things that really matter.

When we do that, we move on, and we press on and we accomplish something great in God.

With his grace we can. Move with him this year.

Happy New Year from brother John and sister Ella.

daily java

Daily Java: 

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23-24)

The new year is only a week old and already showing its age.

How many resolutions did you break already. Why did you even bother?

There is actually a good reason for bothering. It is the innate nature of humanity to try to be better. That is one reason why colleges exist, why people want promotions, why people play sports, why they do almost everything.

We are not happy with things standing still. Most people, if they own a house, keep on fixing it up through the years, making it nicer. On a pretty day, you will see people washing and waxing their cars, wanting them to look better. Go to the mall and there are a whole bunch of people who just want to look better, more stylish.

It is no wonder that we sit down every January 1 with pen in hand and try to figure out ways to become  better. It is our nature to do so.

But, it is also our nature to fail. It is a glitch in the machinery. It showed up first when Adam and Eve disobeyed the one command God gave them. One thing wrong and they had to mess it up for everybody else.

So it is also no wonder that after we have sat down on January 1 and wrote a bunch of high sounding stuff down to make ourselves better that by January 2 we have already broken 16 of them. All of our good intentions, it seems, down the toilet.

But not really. As long as we try, that is the point. The writing of the stuff down seems a bit foolish, but we need to do it.

As I wrote last week we need to work at forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, and then we can press on toward the goal. (Philippians 3:12-14)

The goal will not attain itself. We have to do something. God will not drop holiness down on us like a net over a gorilla. It is a reciprocal thing. After all he created us for good works (Ephesians 2:10).

When we try better, we will win. He will help us win.

We may not lose 175 pounds this year or work toward a marathon or even write that set of commentaries. We have trouble losing ten pounds.

But with him, all things are possible (Mark 9:23)

Even getting rid of procrastination in my life. I will do that this year if I can get around to it.