Has writing the new year on your checks become normal yet? It seems the years are changing more quickly to me.
The resolutions for the new year are good intentions but may have already fallen by the wayside. The only one I make now and try to keep is reading the Bible through in the year. That has worked well for a few decades and is quite beneficial.
“New and improved” is an ad slogan that has been used for awhile in marketing. I used to wonder if it is new how can it be improved? Oh well, little things like that can be pondered and waste time.
My wife and I have been saying after each major purchase, “Well, that’s the last one of those we will have to buy.” One appliance installer smiled and said it might last 10 years. That’s not what we expected. I have my mother’s small freezer after she passed in 1988 and it’s still working. New things just aren’t made the way they used to be?
A lot of new things have come my way and new experiences have been plentiful. How does the heavenly Father continue to add new and good things to me? To be sure, life brings me my share of trouble and tears, but I’m thankful I have a compassionate Christ who helps and understands my circumstances. Prayer is not an act of futility but a great resource. Faith in God’s promises keeps me going when things don’t work out the way I’d like.
The apostle Paul wrote that being in Christ makes a person a new creature. Old things pass away and “behold, all things are become new.” In my walk of faith I am to let old things pass away and no longer impede my spiritual progress. I can watch and see how the Lord brings a newness of good things to my experiences and life. The ancient writings of the Bible don’t have to be “new and improved”; I just need to increase my faith to believe and live its precepts. That is something I have experienced in my walk of faith. Those changes have been amazing to behold.
While the new translations of the Bible are helpful for a clearer understanding of some passages, I prefer the King James Version. I once commented in a Bible study at the college I attended before reading my passage, “I use the archaic King James Version.” A professor quickly said, “That’s not archaic, it’s classic.” I like that description better.
I read in the Bible the Lord’s claim in Revelation, “Behold, I make all things new.” The fulfillment of that promise will be amazing to see in the heavenly realm. He promised to wipe away our tears. There will be no sorrow and crying, no pain and death. Moreover, there will be no sin or Satan. The Lord told John to write those words because they “are true and faithful.” Faithful and True were some of the names John wrote about Jesus in the Revelation. That is what he can be to us.
In this new year, let us see how the Lord Jesus makes things new for us as we trust him to do just that.
Mitch Glover is pastor of Sterling Pentecostal Church. Sunday services include Bible classes for all ages at 10 a.m. and worship service at 11 a.m. Bible study is Thursday at 7 p.m. Visit the services and sterlingpentecostalchurch.com.
