NEW YEAR

A New Year almost always means new resolutions or commitments.  A new year gives us an opportunity to start fresh and to better ourselves.  But, most resolutions are forgotten before the first month of the year is over.  There are, however, commitments, or resolutions, that promise to make a radical difference in our lives if we follow through on them.  We can start the year 2004 in a way that can significantly change the way we live.  By following God's advice, by making four new commitments, we can discover the way to a better, more meaningful life.

1) Commit yourself to forget your failures. Paul gives this advice, "Forgetting what is behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus." God tells us that we do not need to live our lives imprisoned by our past.

For many of us, memories can be painful - failed relationships, wrong decisions, regretting things said and done. God tells us that we must not allow ourselves to be bogged down by our past failures. We are not to dwell on our past - for it can stop us from moving into the future that God has intended for us. This New Year is a good time to stop being chained to our past failures. God doesn't want us to go through life branding ourselves as failures. Jesus died on the cross so that we could accept his forgiveness and forgive ourselves.

2) Commit yourself to give up grudges. Paul writes, "Bear with each other and forgive each other whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." God challenges us directly and personally to give up our grudges. A grudge is a deep ongoing resentment that we cultivate in our hearts against someone else. A grudge is an unforgiving spirit that leads to unforgiving attitudes and unforgiving actions. Grudges are dangerous because they are destructive. Grudges destroy marriages. Grudges break up families. Grudges ruin friendships. Grudges split churches. One of the scandals of the church is the grudges Christians hold against one another.

Grudges are not only destructive, they are self-destructive. A grudge that is harboured, eventually hurts the one holding on to it, if not physically, then certainly emotionally and spiritually - making one a bitter and twisted person. Job describes people who "Have not happiness at all, they live and die with bitter hearts."

According to God's Word, the way to give up a grudge is to forgive a grievance. That means acknowledging how wrong and painful what was done to us is, and to decide to forgive the one who did the wrong. If Christ can forgive us our sin despite the pain of the cross, then surely we can give up our grievance, whatever the cost.

3) Commit yourselves to restore your relationships. God invites us to check our personal relationships to see if they are working as they ought. Paul writes, "If it is possible, as far as it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." God challenges us to do all we can to restore our relationships. God wants us to do everything we can to restore any relationships that have gone wrong in our lives.

God recognizes that things can go wrong because of what others have done. That's why we read, "If it is possible..." If you have caused the rift in the relationship, it is your responsibility to restore it. A New Year is the right time to restore the relationships we have spoiled by being sincerely sorry for the angry words or selfish and unthoughtful actions. Restitution deals with more than property. Restitution is admitting our past errors in relationships and humbly seeking forgiveness from the ones we've hurt. It is not easy to make personal restitution.

4) Commit yourself to turn your back on your transgressions. Paul writes, "Do not let sin control the way you live, do not give in to its lustful desires.... we are no longer slaves to sin." God challenges us to turn our back on sin. Every one of us had some sort of tormenting sin. It can be a quick temper, a caustic tongue that loves to assassinate someone's character or wound someone's feelings, or a critical judgmental attitude. God challenges us to turn away from sin - whatever it is - to stop letting it control the way we live. Jesus' death broke the power of sin.

The Holy Spirit gives us the power to resist sin. We are no longer slaves to sin. If this New Year we ask God's forgiveness for our sins and God's power to resist sin, then we can have a new beginning in our spiritual lives.

We can make 2025 more than just a calendar changing event - we can make it a life-changing event by rising to God's challenges and making meaningful commitments - significant resolutions. The challenge is yours to accept.

Advent Readings - Week 4

 Advent Readings Week 4: Giving

Readings - Luke 12:33-34, Matthew 6:19-21, James 1:17, 2 Corinthians 9:7

Why read these verses this week?

We know that ‘tis the season for giving, but these verses highlight what a giving spirit really means.

2 Corinthians 9:7: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Luke 6:38: “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Families, especially children, may be eager to unwrap presents and to get, get, get, but these advent readings can remind us how God did nothing but give when he sent Jesus to earth.

A Prayer:

Jesus, it’s oh so easy to forget the true meaning of Christmas. That you gave. You gave your life so that we could have life abundant. May we not get lost in the consumerism and greed that often accompanies this season. Give us a spirit of compassion and charity so that we may bless others this time of year, and throughout the year. Not just in December. Amen. 

Advent Readings - Week 3

 Advent Readings Week 3: Christ as Saviour

Readings - John 1:1-18, Colossians 1:19-20, John 3:16-17, Romans 5:8

Why read these verses this week?

Easter and Christmas usually are about three to four months apart in the calendar year, but for some reason, we don’t often associate the two with one another. But the birth of Jesus should make us think about Easter. After all, Jesus came to earth not for us to exchange presents but to ultimately save humanity from their sins. Think about the profound nature of Jesus’ birth. Those tiny fingerprints would eventually stretch out on a cross.

God chose to come to earth in the most humble way, lived a humble life, and died a humiliating death. All for us. Oh, the profundity of his love.

A Prayer:

Heavenly Father, you could’ve come to earth as a king or a rich man, but instead, you chose a humble birth and life. May we remember the true reason we celebrate this season. Not to exchange gifts or enjoy Christmas light displays but to recognize the solemnity of your death and resurrection that would come 30 years after you entered this earth. Thank you for your sacrifice, Jesus. Amen.

Advent Readings - Week 2

 Advent Readings Week 2: Birth Narrative

Reading - Luke 1:5-2:52

Why read these verses this week?

You cannot have an Advent reading without reading about Jesus’ birth. Although Jesus’ birth appears in two Gospel accounts, Luke has the most extensive version of it. You’ve likely heard the story many times. Either you’ve seen your child perform as an angel in a church pageant, or you’ve seen the Charlie Brown Christmas special where Linus reads from Luke 2.

So it may seem monotonous to dive into the Luke 2 account. But this time, I encourage you to try to catch something in the story you hadn’t before. Maybe ask yourself what it would be like from the perspective of the shepherds or the innkeeper. Write your new insights and share them with your family. If you cannot come up with a new perspective, ask the Spirit to speak to your heart as you read the account in Luke.

A Prayer:

Father God, thank you for sending your Son to us in the Christmas story we find in Luke.  God, I know I may have heard this story a dozen different ways. Help me to realize the astounding truth of the miracle of Jesus’ birth. And let me pick up on the small details: why you chose shepherds to see Jesus first, why Jesus had to be born in a stable, the importance of the town of Bethlehem … the list can go on. Help me to experience the glimpses of joy everyone present at Jesus’ birth would’ve felt. Amen.

Advent Readings - Week 1

 Advent Readings Week 1: Old Testament Prophecies

Readings - Genesis 3:14-15, Isaiah 7:14, Is. 9:6-7, Isaiah 11:1-10

Why read these verses this week? 

Many people feel tempted to skip over the Old Testament prophecies (literally, hundreds of them) of Jesus’ birth. But people do so at great peril. God did not include the first 39 books of the Bible for no reason. Throughout the Old Testament, we see the story of a people needing redemption and a Saviour. As Israel found themselves falling prey to foreign nation after nation, they realized that not only did they need a physical Saviour, but a spiritual one as well.

Throughout the Old Testament, in the Psalms, Isaiah, and even in Genesis, we see the Bible foretelling a Saviour who would defeat the greatest enemy of all: sin. Jesus’ birth was not only a miracle in the sense of the virgin birth but also a miracle in terms of prophecies fulfilled centuries later.

It may seem odd to have an Advent reading that comes from the Old Testament, but we also have to keep in mind the Early Church, before they had the canon of the New Testament finished in 70 AD, preached and taught the Old Testament. All of Scripture is God-breathed, after all.

A Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we see your evident faithfulness in the entire story of the Bible. Your story of redemption doesn’t start in the Book of Matthew, but rather, we have even seen the first prophecies in Genesis 3. You always intended to save humanity, and you did so at such a great cost. May we remember your promises this Advent season. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 ADVENT

Christians today (especially those who follow the liturgical calendar) observe the season of Advent as a time of expectation, preparation and celebration leading up to Christmas or Christmastide. Many may be surprised to know that the original observance of the Advent season had nothing to do with Christmas!

 

The word Advent means “coming” and is derived from the Latin word adventus, a translation of the Greek word parousia. In the fourth and fifth centuries Advent was a season of preparation — not for Christmas but for baptisms that would take place at Epiphany. It was a season (40 days) of fasting, prayer and penance. Roman Christians in the sixth century began to tie the season of Advent to the second coming of Christ. It was not until the Middle Ages that Advent was celebrated in anticipation of Christmas.

 

In the modern-church era, Advent is a memorial of Christ’s first coming and an anticipation of the kingdom to come. In fact, the first two Sundays of Advent point to the return of Christ in judgment while the last two Sundays remember his first coming into the world.

 

Advent is intended to be a time of reflection, penance, fasting and praying. Ironically, the weeks leading up to Christmas are filled with parties, food and shopping. The secular commercialism of Christmas, which begins right after Halloween, can distract the faithful from taking time to reflect during this holy season.

 

Amid the activities of the season, reflect on the Scriptures for each week in Advent. Also, reflect each day of the week on the themes for each Sunday: hope, peace, joy and love. Reflection often prompts one to action, and many wonderful gifts of kindness and compassion are expressed during the season of Advent. This is a story of kindness shown by complete strangers.

 

As is evident in most coffee shops, baristas are trained to offer polite conversation and care to customers while they simultaneously maintain a steady focus on their primary task of preparing and serving drinks. Yet, when baristas Pierce Dunn and Evan Freeman of Vancouver, BC, noticed a grieving woman pull up to the drive-through window of their coffee shop, they did something bold.

 

They stopped what they were doing and listened to the woman tell them about her recently deceased husband. Then, together, they reached out the window to hold her hand and to pray for her. Unbeknownst to the baristas, the driver of another car also waiting in line snapped a picture of them praying for the woman.

 

The image ultimately went viral, and the crew’s story was featured across Canada and the United States. When asked about why he chose to pray for the woman, Dunn concluded that “if you can bring yourself to understand what someone else is going through, you can show them kindness and make an impact on the world.”

 

From a Christian perspective, this story is striking and startling because such a small act of kindness has been viewed by the world as a rare and special moment. Yet, in today’s world, we often find ourselves substituting a “nice” gesture for a “kind” action. A polite habit can even be used as a cop-out or excuse for avoiding deeper conversations and bolder actions. And while our intentions may be good, our nice habits are often void of value and substance, and the power of our Christian faith is subsequently held at bay.

 

The message and character of Jesus was rooted in kindness and care for others. He never allowed rules, reputation or risk to hold him back from serving those in need. He was and is the perfect example of kindness: one who puts others’ needs before his or her own. His disciples were and still today are called to the same task.

 

After all, during the first Advent, God gifted the world with a Saviour and Jesus gifted the world with salvation. The second Advent promises eternity with Christ for those who receive his gift of salvation.

Pastor Linda Douglas