It's New Year's Eve

 

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. (Psalm 46:1-3 ESV).

 

We’re almost there. Today is New Year’s Eve. 2020 will be in our past after midnight tonight and the annual dropping of the ball will signal the start of a new year. While very few of us can say we have escaped the challenges of 2020, some have found this year to be breathtakingly painful. I found a meme with the familiar face of Macaulay Culkin, who plays the role of an eight-year-old troublemaker left behind when his family takes a trip to Paris for the holidays. He must protect his house from a pair of hapless burglars played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. It is a regular rerun in our home every year.

 

The theme of this meme is altogether too common today. What will keep it from being just more of the same, or worse? What if the Mayan calendar was written by a dyslexic scribe and 2012 really should have been 2021? Well, serious or not, these things should remind us of the unfaltering care and protection of our God. We do need much more than a casual greeting as we stand at the beginning of this New Year. We need to know that also in this coming year someone greater than any ruler of any nation is in control, not only of our lives but also of the course of history. Our reading today comes from Psalm 46; and, it reminds us that in the midst of the many uncertainties in life the God of heaven and earth is in complete control.

 

The psalmist does not make false promises. He does not guarantee that things will go our way. He does not tell us that this year will bring peace and prosperity. He does not promise the end of persecution and poverty. He makes clear that “nations are in uproar” and there will be desolation and destruction. Nations will fall, and rulers will come and go. But, come what may, God will be in charge. He will be “our refuge and strength.”

How do we know? One week ago we celebrated the birth of our Lord Jesus, the day on which the Son of God “moved into the neighborhood” (cf. John 1:14, The Message). His coming is our guarantee that God will always be our “ever-present help in trouble.”

 

With that truth firmly planted in your mind and heart, go ahead and hope… go ahead and dream… go ahead and celebrate! Jesus didn’t die to leave us behind. He died to make sure we reach our eternal home. He will not fail us!

 

Pondering the New Year

 

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:41-52 ESV).

 

We were very fortunate to see our children for Christmas. As we sat around the table visiting in the evening our conversations naturally turned to nostalgic memories of their years spent growing up. You can relax though; I certainly won’t be writing about those stories today. Perhaps I’ll save those thoughts for another time. The key today as we face the eve of a new year is in their natural growth. Mary has been very careful to keep their “baby books.” Those “books” are filled with dates, hospital mementos, and early photographs. Paging through those books triggers all kinds of special memories. In addition she has photo albums of their childhood and adolescence.

 

Mary, the mother of Jesus, didn't have a "baby book" to remember the birth of her son. But she spent more time thinking about the birth of her son than most parents. I know we certainly didn’t take a great deal of time to “ponder” the events of our daily life with our sons. We relished each experience and milestone, but we quickly moved on to the next marker. What Mary thought about were not just memories common to motherhood but especially the incredible things so commonplace in Jesus’ story.

 

Pondering Jesus was Mary's task. It's our task too. Thinking long and hard about Jesus is at the heart of Christian meditation. Thinking about our own lives in the light of Christ's story brings our own purposes into focus. Take time today to ponder Jesus. You will be different for it.

 

 

The Passing of the Year

 

[Jesus said] “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:1-13 ESV).

 

I have heard more than a few folks say they can’t wait for this year to end. I must admit 2020 has certainly had more than enough difficulty and challenge for me. However, I wonder if 2021 is really going to be much different. If you listen to some of the news pundits, the outlook is for much of the same for at least the foreseeable future. Be that as it may, the New Year is coming. In just a few more days the year 2020 will come to an end. The passing of another year is a reminder that all of history will someday come to an end. God himself has set the clock of history, and at the point called midnight, the present age will end.

 

The passing of the year ought to be a stark reminder that God is in control, and when the clock of history strikes twelve, the Lord whose birth we just celebrated will come again. Of course I’m not talking about the mere turn of a calendar page. There is also a time scheduled when the final moments of time as we know it will expire. It is essential that we are ready for that moment.

 

In the parable of the ten virgins the Lord Jesus compares his second coming to a wedding. His coming again calls for a celebration, one that Christians eagerly anticipate. Those who know him as Lord and Savior have every reason to look forward to the day when he will come again. But knowing that he will come again requires preparation. We must be ready to meet him.

 

That’s where the foolish virgins missed the point. They made no preparations to meet the bridegroom. And when he came, they were left outside with the door shut in their faces. As you approach the end of another year, ask yourself, “Am I ready to meet God at midnight, whenever that may be?”

 

Counting Blessings

 

[The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.] The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. (Psalm 145:13-21 ESV).

 

Yesterday we saw the need to take inventory. Today I thought it might be helpful to concentrate on what we really need to “count.” In Psalm 145 David calls us to take the time to look back on our lives and reflect on the goodness of our God. We are encouraged to praise God for his greatness, his compassion, and his faithfulness, and to thank God for his many gifts throughout our lives. In the words of an old hymn, we are urged, “Count your blessings, name them one by one.”

 

I have often thought how different my life has turned out than I imagined when I was younger. I don’t want that to sound as if there are “regrets.” Of course, I regret some of the decisions made through the years, but God has been faithful to keep His promise of making all things work together for good (cf. Romans 8:28). Some of the good wasn’t revealed until much later in life, but it has always been the same end result. I remarked to one couple recently that their gift to Grace Restoration Ministries couldn’t have come at a better time. What they couldn’t have known is that I was anticipating a particular annual expense related to health care, their gift was the exact amount needed to cover that expense. It seems that is how God has always worked in our lives. Sometimes it required me to do some extra work to earn money for these kinds of expenses, and sometimes it just appeared through the generosity of others to the ministry.

 

That is often a thought that produces a desire to praise God. Of course, it’s possible that you don’t feel like praising God. Maybe you look back on this year and feel you were not blessed at all. Perhaps you feel like the person who said to me, “There is absolutely nothing that I could possibly be thankful for.” Perhaps life came at you in ways you never anticipated. It has been that kind of year! If that’s how you feel, read Psalm 145 again. Take some time by yourself to reflect on every part of this psalm. Look back on this past year, and trace the hand of God who provides you with everything you need. In spite of everything that happens in our lives, God never leaves us. Most important, he gave us the greatest gift imaginable, the gift of his only Son, the Lord Jesus.

Taking Inventory

 

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:12-21 ESV).

 

I can remember well this time of the year, working at a big box hardware store, and needing to take inventory before the end of the year. The merchandise that was on pallets stacked at the top of the shelving was easy to “count.” Each box was labeled and unopened. Those counts were easily obtained. However, the items on the lower shelves were a bit more tedious. This was especially true of all the loose fasteners in drawers and bins. I can honestly say that I have never been more challenged by the mundane as when I needed to count each individual nut, bolt, and screw along that aisle!

 

This is a little bit of the background of our reading today. A very successful land owner and farmer had done very well. His life was one great success story. The things he had dreamed about for a lifetime were about to happen. After working hard all his life, he had reached the point where he could take life easy. One more bumper crop, one more expansion of his business, and he was ready to retire and enjoy the rewards of a lifelong effort to make the grade. And who could blame him? When you’ve worked hard all your life and you have managed to build up your investment portfolio, when you have faithfully added to your 401K and have done well in your career or business, you feel you have earned the right to say, “The time has come to take it easy.” You feel you have laid up plenty of good things for many years. What could be wrong with that?

 

In the parable of the rich fool, the Lord answers that question. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying some of the fruits of our labors. But the rich fool had missed the point of his life: he had not been rich toward God. As we near the end of this year in particular, we should take a serious inventory of our lives. And, it should not be a mere totaling of the “stuff” we have; it ought to include what we have done with the “stuff.” Have we used God’s blessings to bless others; or, have we merely saved it for the “rainy day”?