Introduction:
Our Gregorian calendar was arranged in reference to the ancient Roman calendar. Each month had a meaning. February was named because that was the time of the year for a feast called "Februa", which usually culminates on the 15th. Most of the months were named after the gods that the ancient Romans worshiped. March was named after "Mars", the god of war. April, after "Venus", the god of love; "Aphrodite" in Greek. May, after the goddess "Maia". June, after the goddess "Juno", the wife of Jupiter. The months of July and August were named after Gaius Julius Caesar and his successor, a distant nephew and adopted son, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus. September, October, November, and December were named for the numbers seven, eight, nine, and ten in the Latin language. The ancient Roman calendar fell in that order.
But January, in the ancient Roman calendar, had an especially descriptive name. It is derived from the Latin word "janua", meaning a door, gate or pathway. Historians say that January is also derived from the name of the god "Janus", the Roman household god of doors and beginnings. He was a god that had two faces, facing in two directions. Basically, he was looking forward and backward. As we stand at the doorway in the month of January, we usually look back where we have come from. And we also look ahead to the days of the New Year where we are heading. As we move on to this year, we look at the days that have passed and the days that lie ahead.
In the time of Isaiah, he saw how the Assyrians conquering all hostile kingdoms like falling dominoes. The northern kingdom of Israel was not spared. The southern kingdom of Judah was next in line. The people of Judah had limited options - to retreat back to Egypt where their forefathers had been slaves and form an alliance; to surrender and give up their stand to the Assyrians; or to stand their ground, get themselves armed to the teeth and fight the marauding Assyrians like a lamb fight a hungry lion. Fear, failure or faith; which to take?
Proposition:
A chilly reality is that we are facing the same life, problems and struggles, this year as we had last year. Although new innovations are introduced in the market like a drag race, sometimes we feel like life is flat and dull. The same old horse with a brand new halter. We often felt tired and depressed faintly dragging our feet to get through each day. In spite of all the new things man makes, life seems like a worn out gadget. I suggest three things that one could do to make life feels like new.
1. Look Back and Appreciate!
2. Look Ahead and Anticipate!
3. Look within and Evaluate!
It is the attitude of the heart of a person that makes old things become new and exciting. It’s not how the world around us looks. It is how we look at the world around us.
1. Look Back and Appreciate!
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past” v.18
We look back and see global recession, wars, natural calamities and political turmoil all across the globe. What can we expect to see in a sin-wrecked world? But if we only focus our eyes on those grey spots, we’ll never see and appreciate the glorious sights that happened last year. We don’t need to look far back, just look a month back. We had Christmas and New Year celebrations. There are always a number of things and truths that we can thank God for.
a. God has FED us in the past.
You only need to face the bathroom mirror in the morning and you can see the additional pounds you gained in the past month, which you are now laboriously trying to drop. Our generation is alarmingly becoming an overweight generation, of course with the exception of those living in war and famine ravaged countries. That’s the material side of feeding. Spiritually, nourishment is available everywhere. The gospel has been made a ubiquitous commodity; thanks to the ever-improving technologies. Although spiritual feeding is available everywhere, many remain critically, few others terminally, malnourished.
b. God has FORGIVEN us on the past.
We look back once again and see our numerous sins and transgressions. We breach the standard of God by committing an evil act that blatantly violates His explicit precepts. We grieve the Holy Spirit by omitting a virtuous act that could have magnified His implicit principles. But God did not leave us nor did He abandon us in our bleak dungeon of self-condemnation. We always found grace wrapped with glittering forgiveness when we come to God with a contrite confession. Humanism has obscured the definition of confession. Showbiz enthusiasts paraphrase it, "let the whole world know". The word confession, "homologeo" in Greek, simply means, "To acknowledge or to agree". The grace of God takes us by a storm of forgiveness, clothes us with protective suits of security against guilt at the very moment we acknowledge our sins.
c. God has FREED us from the past.
Live each day at a time! We can be enlivened by the blessings of the past but we cannot, and should not, live in them. In like manner, we can be shackled and confined in the burdens of the past. We had resentments. We had worries. We had failures. Sin and selfishness are often iron chains that bind us, which only God’s consuming fire can melt. God had delivered us from all of them. But today we face new situations teaching us that it is pointless spending another minute harboring resentment, culturing worry and wallowing failure. And as God had freed us from the past, so will He do the same at the end of this year.
Illustration:
A story was told about eight men living in a small tent in the desert during the Israelites journey, led by Moses, from Egypt to the Promised Land. These eight irritable grouches cramped into their tent and daily complained to Moses of their miserable state. Three of them complained that their tent-mates snort and the others snore. In retaliation, the latter faction complained of foul-smelling feet. It perturbed their long-bearded leader. Moses, while stroking his long grey beard, told them, "Bring an aged ram and let it sleep with you in your tent for seven days, then come back to me". After seven days, all of them came to Moses looking awfully grumpy and complained in unison about the aged ram in their tent. Moses said, "From tonight take the ram out of your tent, then come back to me after seven days", and that was exactly what the eight grumblers did. After seven days, they again appeared before Moses, now looking satisfied, and were asked if they still had any complaint. For fear of having the ram in their tent again, with smiles on their shabby faces they answered Moses in unison like a kindergarten class, "No sir, not at all!" And they dashed back to their tent as friends.
Sometimes we can only learn to appreciate the life that we had after going through a great trial and after experiencing grueling situations. There are so many reasons to thank God for the past year, however excruciatingly tough we went through. A Thankful Heart is a rock foundation of Life’s Fulfillment!
2. Look Ahead and Anticipate!
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? ” v.19
We look ahead and probably unable to see a brighter year. Twelve days from the New Year, we saw Haiti devastated by a natural disaster and the aftermath was so massively horrific. Weathermen forecast the phenomenal El Nino, a climate change that would cause extreme weather - drought and floods in different parts of the world. Hardly, these days, can we find solid grounds to anchor our hope for the future. I can suggest three principles that can be solid grounds for hope.
a. Abide in the Word of God
God’s Word is our Standard. The world can offer us its own standards with articulate assurances in securing our future. It just like an eye-catchy advertisement I read promoting a certain health product, "money back guarantee", supported by testimonials. In a movie, John Travolta said, "What the eyes see, and the ears hear, the mind believes". It’s the contrary to biblical principles, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" Heb. 11.1. I would like to paraphrase it, "What the mind believes as proclaimed by God on His Word, the eyes will see and the ears will hear". There is always hope in the Word of God.
b. Acknowledge the Will of God
God’s will is our Security. I can’t believe if anyone would claim that there is one place in this planet that is trouble-free. Maybe man can make a place that is tax-free and pollution-free but I doubt that a trouble-free place can be made. Trouble stems, primarily, from within the individual. The fortress of God’s will does not always entail a pleasant ambience. It could be a place of poverty and prosperity but the presence of God is acknowledged. It could be an endeavor of gain or pain but the praise of God is magnified. There is always hope in the will of God.
c. Apply the Wisdom of God
God’s wisdom is our Strategy. Wisdom from God is best described as the appropriate application of God’s precepts and principles according to the perfect plans and purposes of God Himself. The wisest man that ever lived on this planet declares that "the fear of the Lord" is the fountain of wisdom and understanding. Any scheme and strategy that reveres God as the sovereign being who rules the entire galaxies are classified under divine wisdom. There is always hope when the wisdom of God is applied.
Illustration:
As Alexander the Great was setting out on his conquest of Asia, he inquired into the finances of his followers. To ensure that they would not be troubled over the welfare of their dependents during their absence, he distributed crown estates and revenues among them. When he had thus disposed of nearly all the royal resources, his friend General Perdiccas asked Alexander what he had reserved for himself. "Hope," answered the king. "In that case," said Perdiccas, "we who share in your labors will also take part in your hopes." He then refused the estate allotted to him, and several others of the king’s friends did the same. (Sermoncentral).
Hope is a very rare virtue. Hope gives us the ability to hear in our souls a melodious harmony that would cause our faint bodies to dance into its rhythm even what is audible to our ears is a macabre howling of the afflicted. God’s Word, God’s Will and God’s Wisdom are sure anchors of hope. A Hopeful Heart is a rock foundation of Life’s Contentment.
3. Look Within and Evaluate!
"I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland…that they may proclaim my praise” v.20
If our past life was stuffed with good things, we may be dragged to remain in there and forget that there are more urgent and far more important issues of life in the present. And if we foresee great things that might happen in the future, in the same manner, we might want to rocket ourselves into the future without careful consideration of the present. The past is over. We’ve finally passed through it. Tomorrow is yet to come. We’ll be in it shortly. How about today? Do you have a clear idea about what you are today? Your life, which includes your family, job, relationships, commitments, character, integrity, etc., is just as important as our experiences in the past and our expectancies in the future. We need to have a personal evaluation whether or not the effects of the past have changed our lives, so as to gear up ourselves in facing the future.
a. Life changes should be Visible.
Life transformation is best proven in the manifestations of a changed life. The practical lives of Christian believers are living letters that the world reads. Enough for Christian parody. We need to genuinely manifest changes in our lives. Unchurched people would never clearly understand the sermons delivered behind the pulpit until they see the effects in the public. Christian believers would never have a positive outlook towards the future until they see in themselves the gradual transformation that their relationship in Christ has effected.
b. Life changes should be Inevitable.
The changes in our life are results of our salvation experience. We love to make a list of New Year’s resolutions. They are our self-imposed devices to try to improve our personalities and character. But, as we approach the end of January, we meet again with the annual proven fact – a greater number of people who made their resolutions are now finding themselves in failure of pursuing them. A crawling caterpillar will one day become a flying butterfly. That’s nature. Changes happen naturally to a person who is born in the Spirit of God.
c. Life changes should be Reasonable.
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" Eph. 2:10. I’ve heard some people talk of their old friend, "Since he joined into that born again stuff, he became a difficult person to deal with". That’s odd, and rather frustrating. We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. That’s what Christians should be in this morally deteriorating sin-wretched world. Light impacts its surroundings with illumination and warmth. It gives life. Salt, the actual salt Jesus referred into in the New Testament, impacts the earth with productivity wherever it is mixed.
Illustration:
Buddha was meditating in front of his house one day, his plump legs crossed, tiny eyes closed and his flab arms crossed and steadied on his podgy abs, when a man of ill reputation passed by. Deridingly, the man said to Buddha, "You really look like a fattened pig". Buddha opened his eyes, smiled and said to the rude man, "You look like a god". The man felt affront. "Are you trying to start an argument with me?" he asked. To that Buddha explained, "Not at all my friend. You have to understand that the pictures that a man sees on the outside are just portraits of thoughts that he ponders in the inside. I was totally engrossed meditating about good things, godly things, and glorious things. That is why when I opened my eyes all I see are the ones I envisaged as I meditate. And that includes you. Since you are seeing in me an unpleasant look, I can only imagine what the things inside of you were".
Who we are in the outside is a clear manifestation of our inside identity. You claim to be born in the Spirit of God. Let it show. God is not finished in His work transforming our lives. We are being changed from day to day. Examine your life. An examined heart is a rock foundation of Life’s Improvement.
Conclusion:
There are not many changes in our lives since the ushering in of the New Year. Actually, life is almost the same. But we can have a new And better perspective in life. A new attitude and a new heart are what it takes to make the old things of the past year to become new. Look back and appreciate. Let us accept the good with gratitude and the bad without a grouch. Look ahead and anticipate. Let us continually accumulate whatever good we can learn from life and from the church, but commit to apply them in our daily lives. But, more importantly, look within and evaluate. Let us admit our shortcomings and allow God to transform us.
