New Year -- New Adventure

“New Year – New Adventure”

December 30, 2012

Romans 8:18-23; 31-39

“What we are suffering now is nothing compared with the glory that will be shown in us. Everything God created looks forward to the time when his children will appear in their full and final glory. The created world was bound to fail. But that was not the result of its own choice. It was planned that way by the One who made it. God planned to set the created world free. He didn’t want it to rot away completely. Instead, he wanted it to have the same glorious freedom that his children have.

We know that all that God created has been groaning. It is in pain as if it were giving birth to a child. The created world continues to groan even now. And that’s not all. We have the Holy Spirit as the promise of future blessing. But we also groan inside ourselves as we look forward to the time when God will adopt us as full members of his family. Then he will give us everything he has for us. He will raise our bodies and give glory to them.”

“What should we say then? Since God is on our side, who can be against us? God did not spare his own Son. He gave him up for us all. Then won’t he also freely give us everything else?

Who can separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or hard times or harm or hunger? Can nakedness or danger or war? It is written, “Because of you, we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be killed.”

No! In all these things we will do even more than win! We owe it all to Christ, who has loved us. I am absolutely sure that not even death or life can separate us from God’s love. Not even angels or demons, the present or the future, or any powers can do that. Not even the highest places or the lowest, or anything else in all creation can do that. Nothing at all can ever separate us from God’s love because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.”

Well, here we are! The last Sunday of 2012. A lot of people didn’t think we would make it. A lot of people were scared to death. Some wept in fear. Some considered suicide as the solution. Some moved to safer places. Many stockpiled supplies and build bunkers. After all, the experts said,

Mayan Calendar Ends, Planet X Returns, the Milky Way Aligns with the Earth and Sun - all on December 21, 2012! There could be

SOLAR FLARES, MEGA EARTHQUAKES, GALACTIC ALIGNMENT, HONEYBEES DISAPPEARING, INCREASED NATURAL DISASTERS,

It kind of reminds me of when we went through the Y2K threat. Remember that one? The computers were all suppose to crash – the experts said. With no computers, planes would crash, power would be shut down – everything would come to a dead stop. What happened? Nothing much. Not even a little hiccup. Things continued on quite normally. But Y2K was nothing compared to the fear generated by the threat of the world ending on December 21, 2012. Movies were made about it. Businesses were started because of it. People’s lives were disrupted because of it. And what happened? Not much. Someone wrote, “The apocalypse was quite disappointing!” It sure didn’t live up to it’s billing, did it?

But don’t despair, you pessimists! The world will end. The Bible says,

“First of all, here is what you must understand. In the last days people will make fun of the truth. They will laugh at it. They will follow their own evil longings. They will say, “Where is this ‘return’ he promised? Everything goes on in the same way it has since our people of long ago died. In fact, it has continued that way since God first created everything.”

Long ago, God’s word brought the heavens into being. His word separated the earth from the waters. And the waters surrounded it. But those people forget things like that on purpose. The waters also flooded the world of that time. It was destroyed.

By God’s word the heavens and earth of today are being reserved for fire. They are being kept for the day when God will judge. Then ungodly people will be destroyed.

Dear friends, here is one thing you must not forget. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years. And a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow to keep his promise. He is not slow in the way some people understand it. He is patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed. Instead, he wants all people to turn away from their sins.