Reassured, Refocused, Rejoicing

Ascension Day Worship

Reassured by the Rule of Christ – Esther 6

The account about Esther is just an absolutely amazing account. It all happened when most of the Jews were still in exile after Nebuchadnezzar had taken them to Babylon. Well, the Persians defeated the Babylonians and were the ones in power. King Xerxes was the Persian king and at a large party that he was hosting asked his wife Queen Vashti to come so he could show her beauty off to all the people, but she refused to come. This made him quite upset and because they were afraid this was going to cause all the women to start disobeying their husbands, he banished Queen Vashti and went in search of a new wife. Well, it just so happened that after a sort of contest that a woman named Esther pleased him and won his favor so she became the Queen, although King Xerxes didn’t realize that she was a Jew.

Later, the king promoted this man named Haman who was full of himself to a high position in this government and he expected everyone to bow down to him. But a certain Jew named Mordecai refused to do so. Mordecai happened to be Esther’s cousin. Haman became so upset that he didn’t just want to have Mordecai killed but wanted the whole nation of the Jews to be exterminated. So, he requested that the king issue the order to have a certain people in their kingdom killed, not telling the king what people group it was. The king agreed. Haman was delighted and set out to erect the execution device.

In the meantime, one night the king couldn’t sleep, so he had his records read to him. In his records, he was reminded about a time when Mordecai a Jew had uncovered a plot and saved the king’s life. So, King Xerxes wanted to honor him. He found out that Haman just so happened to be outside his chambers and so he brought Haman in and asked him what should be done for the man the king delights to honor. Haman, thinking he meant him, suggested that he be paraded around and honored. The king says, “That’s a great idea, go and do this for Mordecai the Jew.” Haman was devastated, but went out and did it. In the meantime, Haman had been invited by Queen Esther to a banquet with her and the king. She held the banquet to request that the king not exterminate her people. Haman came to the banquet and the king asked her what she wanted, she revealed about how Haman planned to exterminate her people. The king became furious left the room, while he’s gone Haman stays to plead with Queen Esther for his life and he trips and falls on the couch she is lying on and just then the king happens to walk in, thinks he’s trying to molest her and immediately orders that Haman be put to death on the execution device he had made for Mordecai.

Wow! But here’s the lesson. We often go through life scratching our head, confused, and frustrated because life doesn’t seem to be working the way that we want or expect. We face difficulties, sickness, disappointments and problems. We wonder, “Lord, what are you doing?” Why this? Why now? What’s going on? And sinfully we forget who’s in charge.

But at Jesus’ ascension we’re reminded of an awesome truth: Jesus ascended to the right hand of God. That means Jesus, the one who became man, lived, died, and rose for you, is now sitting in the position of ALL authority and all power and is ruling ALL things for the good of His people, for the good of you and me. No, we won’t always know it or see it or understand it, but He is and He will continue guide all things to bring you to your eternal home. Jesus’ ascension reassures us of the rule of Christ. A lesson from Esther chapter 6: (read lesson)

Refocused by Being Raised with Christ – Colossians 3:1-4

Who are you? If you were asked that question, what would you respond? When you look in the mirror what do you see? What is your identity? Who are you? What would you say?

Well, as Christians we have lost our original identity. Having been born in this world we had an identity and it wasn’t a good one. God says that a sinful parent plus a sinful parent equals a sinful child. You and I were born into this world in sin, dead in our trespasses and sin, hostile to God, God’s enemies, worthless in God’s sight. By nature we had a horrid identity completely corrupted by sin.

But God did something. He sent Jesus who became human like us, identified with us in every way except He had a perfect identity. He sent Jesus who identified with our sin by taking it upon Himself and dying for our sin on the cross. Then Jesus left that sin in the grave and gloriously rose from the dead. Then gloriously ascended to the right hand of God, the place of all power and glory.

Then God did something wonderful for you. He gave you a totally new identity. How so? He killed you. You died. You see, when God worked faith in your heart He connected you to everything Christ did for you. Jesus’ death became your death to sin. Jesus’ resurrection became your resurrection to new life. Jesus’ ascension into heaven became your ascension into heaven. When God worked faith in your heart He clothed you with Jesus so that you are now hidden with Christ in God.

We sometimes see pictures of ourselves and cringe or say that was a terrible picture! So, in life, if try to find our identity in ourselves, we’ll always cringe because we see our failures, our sins, our struggles. But when you look away from yourself and look to Christ you see your new identity, you see your identity as God sees it, you are perfect for Jesus was perfect for you, you have a place in glory for Jesus ascended for you! You see, your life, your peace in life, your contentment in life, your joy in life, has nothing to do with how you look, but it has everything to do with where you look.

So what do you picture with Jesus’ Ascension? Picture your new identity. In God’s sight you’re no longer a sinner, you’re a saint who since Jesus ascended into glory you too will appear with Christ in the glory of heaven. Set your mind on that, refocus on the reality that you’ve been raised with Christ! A lesson from Colossians chapter 3: (read lesson)

Rejoicing because of Christ – Luke 24:44-53

There are just so many things in life that can tear us down. What other people say about us can tear us down, the comments people make can make us feel horrible, the sarcastic replies can ruminate in our heads. Not only that, but we can also be reminded of past sins and failures that burden us with guilt. Not only that but we can so easily be frustrated by things in life that don’t turn out the way we want or expect or hope for. There’s a lot in life that can tear us down.

But the disciples weren’t much different than us, were they? They too faced a life of ridicule because of their faith in Jesus. They, too, had done some pretty horrible things – they abandoned Jesus in the Garden, didn’t believe his promise to rise from the dead, were full of fear.

But here they are rejoicing. Here they are worshipping God, praising him, and with great joy. How come? First, He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures- they saw God’s incredible faithfulness in keeping every promise. Then he led them out to the vicinity of Bethany and lifted up his hands to bless them, showing them the nail scarred hands – the proof that he died on the cross for all their sins and was now alive blessing them. And finally, they saw Jesus powerfully rise up into the sky – reminding them that this Jesus is God with all the power as God.

Those are all reason for you and I to rejoice too. Rejoice! God has given you and me the record of his faithful love for us in the Bible- there we have all we need for all peace and joy. Rejoice! Jesus hands are still up blessing us and reminding us constantly of his hands that were nailed to the cross for the forgiveness of all our sins. Rejoice! That same Jesus who powerfully rose into the sky is the one who is still in control and will remain in control and guide all things with His power to bring us home to heaven. Those are more than enough reason to rejoice always. A lesson from the Gospel of Luke chapter 24: (read text)

Is your faith alive?

4^th Sunday after Pentecost
Colossians 1:3-8

As a father shows compassion to his people, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. In the name of Jesus, who has enabled us to call God our dear and heavenly Father, dear friends in Christ, there once was a farmer who was out in his field on a tree line by a tree when he noticed that there was an eagle’s egg lying there on the ground. He looked up and sure enough way up in this tree was an eagle’s nest. But there was no way that he was going to return this egg to the nest. But he saw a different nest on the ground, it turned out to be a nest of a prairie chicken with other eggs in it. Soon the eggs all hatched. The baby eagle grew up with the prairie chickens shuffling it’s feet, picking at insects and seeds on the ground. It would look up and see the beautiful eagles flying above and it asked it’s fellow prairie chickens, what are those? Those are the magnificent eagles. Wow, he thought, to fly and soar like one of those eagles. But I’m just a lowly prairie chicken, pecking around and shuffling my feet. Then one day an owl came (who could also speak prairie chicken) and said, what are you doing? You’re an eagle, fly! No, no, no said the eagle, I’m just a lowly prairie chicken. Finally, the owl said, come with me, he put the eagle on his back and started to fly, at first the eagle thought this was great, but soon he was flying higher and higher and was getting scared, put me down! But then, the owl turned over, the eagle started to fall thinking it was going to die, but then stretched out its wings and soon it was soaring and flying like an eagle.

Now maybe you’ve heard that little story before. There’s a ton of different ways you could apply that little story. But today let’s think about this: how often in life do we forget our identity? Forget who we are? How easy it is for us to go through life pecking at the ground and shuffling our feet, wallowing in self-pity because we have this problem or that problem. How easy it is for us to fill ourselves with envy because we want the life of that person or we wish we had what that person has. How easy it is for us to dwell on our own sins, our own failures, our own problems, our own troubles. How easy it is to forget what it means to be a father, or what it means to be a mother, or what it means to be a Christian and a child of God. How easy it is to get all caught up with the things of this earthly life and forget who we really are, who God not only tells us we are, but whom He has made us to be. We can so easily be like that eagle who thought he was a prairie chicken and it reflects in they our attitudes and in our lives. But in our text for this morning God refocuses and redirects our attention. In our text, the apostle Paul was writing to believers in the city of Colossae. Today the city is in modern day Turkey and it seems like Paul actually hadn’t been to Colossae, but he had heard a lot about the believers there. Paul begins his letter with this prayer of thanksgiving to God for the believers at Colossae. In Greek its actually all one long sentence where he not only thanks God for the believers’ identity but also reminds them and us of our true identity.

He begins with thanksgiving to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul says that he always gives thanks to God when he prays for them. How important thanksgiving is to our true identity. You see, giving thanks forces us to look outside of ourselves and at what God is graciously and wondrously doing in our lives. There is always reason to give thanks. And thankfulness changes our attitude. Is it possible to be down, depressed, angry and thankful at the same time? And what more reason do you and I have for being thankful! Not just physical blessings of which you and I would never be able to complete the list, but far greater than that is the fact that God is our Father because of the Lord Jesus Christ! God redirected us from the path of sin that led only to hell and eternal punishment and by His grace has given us heaven as His gift! That gives us every reason to give thanks, always!

But notice specifically what Paul gives thanks for here: he gives thanks, “because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints.” He’s thankful because he’s heard of the faith of other believers. Their faith wasn’t something that they could hide deep within them, it wasn’t something that helped them blend in with the rest of the world, faith does just the opposite. In a world full of selfishness and self-service, faith stands out. Living faith produces a self-less love for others. Living faith can’t help but show itself in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness. And this faith and love “spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.” You see what happens? Through the gospel, the message of Jesus our Savior, the good news about how Jesus lived, died, and rose for you and me we’re brought to faith and strengthened in faith. It is through faith that God gives us a sure and certain hope of eternal life. Heaven is our home, that’s where we’re headed. We have a sure and certain hope that is unlike anything in this world, we have an inheritance that will never ever perish, spoil or fade. And that’s our identity- we are citizens of something that is outside of this world, we’re citizens of heaven! And knowing that shapes the way we live our lives. Our hope in heaven produces in us a love for others because we want others to have what we have, we want them to reach the same goal as us, we want them to enjoy the same inheritance we will!

And what is it that gives us that faith, gives us that hope, gives us that inheritance? “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.” It’s the gospel, the message of God’s grace for you in a Savior who lived, died, and rose for you that brings your faith to life and keeps your faith alive. It is the Word of the gospel as we hear about God’s love for us and what He’s done for us, it is our baptism in which we are reminded of how God adopted us into His family, it is the Lord’s Supper where Jesus gives us His body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins. Yes, there isn’t much to be seen with our eyes. We can’t see faith growing stronger, we can’t see faith increasing in someone’s heart. Faith is hidden to our eyes, but, the fruits of faith should not be. Rather, the hope hidden in us and given to us by the gospel causes us to see everything in life not as ends themselves, but as tools for expressing visibly the faith that is hidden in our hearts.

So here’s the question: Could Paul have written this letter about you or me? Could Paul have said these things about St. Mark’s congregation in Bemidji? Could he have said, “I’ve heard about your love, the love you have for all the saints, your faith and love that spring from your hope in heaven, I’ve heard about how the gospel is producing fruit in your life, just like it is all over the world, people have told me about your love in the Spirit”? Could God write that about you or me? Are the fruits of our faith visible? Are the visible things in your life ends themselves or means to express visibly you faith in a gracious God?

Too often you and I are like that prairie chicken shuffling our feet, looking for seeds and insects, pecking others if they get in our way. Why? Because we’ve forgotten who we really are. So what do we need? A reminder from God. A reminder from our true heavenly Father who tells us, “I’ve loved you with an everlasting love, I’ve removed your sins as far as the east is from the west, God is love, this is how he showed his love among us, he sent his one and only Son that we might live through Him, I have justified you freely, by my grace that came through Jesus Christ.” You are a child of God, washed, cleansed and forgiven. God’s given you a sure hope in life and in death. Heaven is your home. And God says, “Live like it.” Our faith looks at what God says, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love” and says, “Yes, I want to do that.” That’s what faith that is alive says.

Today is Father’s Day and I’ve noticed something as a father. One of the ways that children often show their love for their father is trying to be like him. So, we got back from our trip on Friday and we’re busily unpacking our van. You know how it feels so good to finally get out of the vehicle after sitting almost constantly for 4 hours? Well, here’s David and I was holding him for a while and needed to set him down so I could continue to unpack. I thought he would run around or play with his siblings, but what does David do? He climbs back into the van sits in the driver’s seat, where I usually sit because I usually drive, finds a set of keys (not the car keys) sticks one in the ignition and grabs the steering wheel with both hands and pretends to drive! He’s not even two years old!! Well, what does he see? This is what dad does. And isn’t there part of him that says, “I want to be like dad.” There’s a mutual love that exists between us, I love him and he loves me.

Well, infinitely better than my love for my son, is the Heavenly Father’s love for you. He’s loved you with an everlasting love. You are the true Heavenly Father’s child. Loved, bought, and sealed by Him. So be imitators of your Heavenly Father, be who you really are, be the redeemed child He has made you to be. See all the things and all the people of your life not as ends in themselves, but as opportunities for you to show visibly your faith in Jesus, your hope in heaven, and your love for God. That’s faith that is alive. Amen.

Picture It!

Ascension Day

Acts 1:1-11 – A Picture of True Power

A question people often ask of themselves, of their lives is, “What am I doing with my life? Is my life important? Is it meaningful?” Perhaps it’s at the time of a graduation or job change or a move. Well, the disciples had a similar thought. Here we are 40 days after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. The disciples had seen Jesus die, had seen Jesus rise from the dead, had seen all the work that Jesus did to rescue sinful humans like you and me. But they still didn’t quite get it. Notice what they asked Jesus, “Are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” They were looking for a political, earthly kingdom. And if Jesus set up an earthly kingdom, you know what that would mean for them? That’d mean that they’d be His right hand men! Talk about power, talk about meaning in life, talk about importance! Right?

Wrong. And Jesus dismisses their thoughts right away, “It is not for you to know the times and dates the Father has set by his own authority.” In other words, Jesus was telling them to forget about all this earthly power stuff! That’s not what’s important! That’s not what life’s all about.

You and I are often a lot like those disciples, aren’t we? We can so easily get this picture stuck in our minds that having a meaningful, important life has to do with earthly successes, earthly power, earthly importance. We picture making lots of money or having a lot of cool stuff or having some sort of influence or power over other people or things is what makes life meaningful, important. But that idea is just as sinful as the disciples idea here. And the reason is because all those things will go away. When we die, it’s not going to make any difference how successful we were on earth or if we had power or if we had the latest cool stuff.

What does make life meaningful, important, powerful? Jesus told his disciples, ‘It is not for you to know the time and dates…but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The disciples were going to be powerful, their lives were going to make huge differences, because they were going to do eternal things. They were going to be influencing people in the greatest way possible by telling people about their Savior, by connecting people to Jesus, and through their work God would lead people to faith and people were going to end up in heaven. That’s power! That’s meaning!

And that’s your power too. The most powerful thing in all the earth is the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. The gospel, the message about Jesus- what He’s done to save people with His death and resurrection – takes people from death to life, from unbelief to faith. Having the gospel, knowing God’s Word, reading it, sharing it, being reminded of your peace with God, your forgiveness of sins, the fact that the all-powerful God is with you to help you, guide, you through whatever – that’s powerful! True power!

When you picture Jesus’ ascension, picture true power. The power of the gospel that God has entrusted to you and to me that makes an eternal difference in our lives and in the lives of those God places into our lives. Amen.

Colossians 3:1-4 – A Picture Hidden in You

A huge problem plaguing our world in this digital age and age of information is identity theft. In fact, yesterday I received an email from Thrivent encouraging me to enroll in identity theft protection. Identity theft protection agencies thrive on these horror stories of people who have lost their credit rating, lost their savings, lost their retirement due to identity theft. So now many places are asking for a picture ID to make sure you really are who you say you are.

Then God did something wonderful for you. He didn’t just steal your identity, He gave you a totally new identity. How so? He killed you. You died. You see, when God worked faith in your heart He connected you to everything Christ did for you. Jesus’ death became your death to sin. Jesus’ resurrection became your resurrection to new life. Jesus’ ascension into heaven became your ascension into heaven. When God worked faith in your heart He clothed you with Jesus so that you are now hidden with Christ in God.

We sometimes see pictures of ourselves and cringe or say that was a terrible picture! So in life, if try to find our identity in ourselves, we’ll always cringe because we see our failures, our sins, our struggles. But when you look away from yourself and look to Christ you see your new identity, you see your identity as God sees it, you are perfect for Jesus was perfect for you, you have a place in glory for Jesus ascended for you! You see, your life, your peace in life, your contentment in life, your joy in life, has nothing to do with how you look, it has everything to do with where you look.

Luke 24:44-53 – A Picture to Remember

Pictures can be good reminders. We save pictures to give us reminders of special times in the past. We take them with our phone, save them in photo albums, make slideshows with them. Well, on Ascension Day Jesus gave His disciples and us an awesome picture to remember. After Jesus reminded the disciples of how He fulfilled all the Scriptures and how they are going to be witnesses of everything that He did and said. He took them out to the vicinity of Bethany, the Mt. of Olives Acts tells us.

That’s an important little detail because over in the vicinity of Bethany you can actually get a good panaromic picture of the city of Jerusalem. The disciples would have been able to see just about all the major spots of Holy Week: the garden of Gethsemane, the court where Jesus stood on trial, the place where Jesus died, the empty tomb. Seeing those could have easily reminded them of everything Jesus had done to save them and us.

And then Jesus lifted up His hands to bless them. And, of course, what would they have seen on His hands? The nail marks! The proof that He went to the cross to save them, forgive them. Then He powerfully ascended into the sky, showing that He has all power as the risen and ascended Lord of all.

What a picture to remember! Think about how that would have helped the disciples! Think about how that picture helps you in your life!

Feeling weak or alone? Picture Jesus powerfully ascend up into the sky! Feeling horrible about some sin that you committed, conscience troubling you? See the nail marks in Jesus hands, see the place where he suffered and died and rose and be assured that your sins are forgiven in full and completely! Feeling frustrated about how things are happening in your life or turning out? See Jesus’ hands still up in blessing today, remember that Jesus still rules all things for your benefit! That’s a picture to remember!

What’s New in the Bible?

New Year’s Eve Sermonettes

New Creation – Genesis 1:26-27, 5:1-3, Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:9-10

So a new year! What new opportunities, new starts, new challenges are facing you this year? Every year we mark this succession of years: the old year is gone, the new year is upon us. Well, it’s fitting for us to go back to the first new year. Time began when God first created the world and brought light out of darkness. The world in which we live was once brand new. You remember how God created the world. For the land, the water, the sky, the planets, the sun, the moon, the stars, the birds, the fish, the plants, the animals – all of those things God simply spoke and they were there, they were formed. But when God got to His final creation, the top of creation, He paused and He counseled with Himself, and then he carefully formed and made the first man and the first woman, the first you and me, the first humans. And He made them in His image and in His likeness. So what does that mean? Well, it doesn’t mean that they physically looked like God for God is a spirit. Rather, the Hebrew word image means “an exact copy of the original in some ways.” It’s like our word “photocopy.” If you take a color picture and photocopy it on a b/w copier, you get an exact copy of the original in some ways. Well, you and I were originally made like God in some ways, specifically the first humans were created perfect and holy and righteous. Their intellect, emotions, and will were in direct harmony with God. They wanted what God wanted, they hated what God hated, they loved what God loved. Out of their own free will they were in direct spiritual harmony with God. Their divine image flowed out of their bond of faith in God, out of their perfect trust in God.

And Satan knew that. So, when he came tempting Adam and Eve in the garden his aim was to attack their trust in God and in His goodness. “Did God really say…” in other words, “If God really loved you would he hold something back from you?” And then when Adam and Eve believed the lie and trusted in the devil instead of God, their image of God was shattered and lost. So, later on, when they have children, we’re told that Adam’s son Seth is born in his image, in his likeness, in sinful Adam’s image. And every human born of a sinful dad and a sinful mother has inherited that sinful image. You and me included.

But then God did His wonderful thing in our hearts. Through the Gospel, maybe it was through hearing His Word or maybe it was at our baptism, God worked faith in your heart to believe that Jesus is your Savior from sin. That alone is our acquittal before God’s judgment seat. Yet, immediately when God worked faith in your heart He also re-created His image in you! He made you into a new creation, gave you a new self!

The image of God re-created inside of us moves us to want to be like God. As believers we again think like God thinks, find joy in what pleases God, want to conform our lives to God’s will. That’s the new creation inside of us!

Yes, however, in this earthly life, the image of God inside of us remains imperfect, it’s only partially restored. We still have a sinful flesh, an old self, that we have to continually battle against until our dying day. But the real you and me is the new creation of God’s image. And it’s through hearing and reading and being strengthened by the gospel that our new self can with the battle against our old self. So this coming year, make this a goal: feed your new self by hearing the gospel regularly, live the new self by being like God in your thoughts, words, and actions. And what’s really neat? When you live according to your new self you’ll have the most meaningful life because you’ll be living how God in Christ recreated you to be!

New Covenant – Jeremiah 31:31-34, Luke 22:19-20, Hebrews 9:11-15

Covenants are a big deal in the Bible. Covenants were kind of like treaties or pacts that two different groups would make. Sometimes it might involve a peace treaty for war, sometimes it would be between a conquered group and the conqueror, sometimes it would involve one group paying another group a certain amount of money for that group’s commitment to protect them from other invading groups who want to battle them. There were one sided covenants and there were two sided covenants. And the typical Hebrew phrase wasn’t “make a covenant” it was “cut a covenant.” Because sometimes when a covenant was made they would cut animals in half and lay them down and the two parties would walk between them in order to say, “If I don’t fulfill my side of the covenant cut me in half like these animals.” Powerful!

God had made a number of two sided covenants in the OT. One was that Israel was to follow all of God’s laws and regulations and God promised to keep them as His special people, to care for them, to fight for them. However, if they failed to keep His laws, they would also lose His protection. Another had to do with their land: Israel was to be careful to obey God fully, follow all His laws, and they could have the Promised Land as their possession till the end of time. However, if they failed, which they did, they would lose the land, which they did.

God has also made a 2 sided covenant with every human. If you live perfectly, completely perfect, don’t have one sinful thought, word or deed, you will be welcomed into heaven. If you don’t, you die. That’s exactly what Jesus told a religious teacher: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said, “Do this and you will live.” But the problem? Everyone has failed.

And that’s why we need a New Covenant. Back in Jeremiah God promised it. This new covenant wouldn’t deal with outward things, but with heart things. It wouldn’t be conditional or two-sided, it would be one sided, God would make it and make sure it happened regardless of what the human party would do. And the heart of this new covenant would be the forgiveness of sins. And Christ became the mediator of this new covenant who with his blood cleansed us of our sins. And part of this new covenant is Jesus’ own body and blood that He gives us to eat and to drink in the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is part of the new covenant in which God gives and assures us of the forgiveness of all of our sins! What better thing to do in the new year than to make more use of this new covenant by hearing more about Jesus and receiving often this covenant in the Lord’s Supper!

New Heavens and Earth – 2 Peter 3:11-13, Revelation 21:1-5

A new year brings new hopes, new goals, new excitement for this year to be better than the last. But no matter how much we might dream or hope or try to make our lives better, it will never be heaven. In this life there will always be pain, sadness, crying, disappointments, problems, troubles, hardships, death, etc. Why? Because this old world that we live in has been corrupted with sin. Even nature itself suffers from the consequences of sin- hurricanes, tornadoes, natural disasters, sicknesses, disease. All of nature is longing to be freed from its bondage to decay. So what problems are awaiting us in this new year?

Thank the Lord that this world is “old” and that we have a new world to look forward to! Thanks to Jesus – His life, death, and resurrection – you have a wonderful new heavens and new earth to look forward to! God will make a new heaven and a new earth – the home of righteounsness. A place where everything will always be right and good. Where God will dwell with us, where there won’t be any more tears or death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things will pass away!

So, how should we live in this new year knowing that this world is “old” and is “passing” and one day will be destroyed? Should we cling to the things of this life at the expense of treasuring heavenly treasures? No way! In the new year focus the new heavens and new earth, arrange your priorities knowing heaven is your home, and rejoice for you have an awesome heaven to look forward to!