Some thoughts for the New Year: NEW BEGINNING, BUT THE SAME OLD CIRCUMSTANCES

Long ago I took my family to a Christmas show, as an extra we were given tickets to see a light & water show. Computerized fountains, with colored lights; my children asked me where I got the new tickets, I said: “They were thrown in for free”. My youngest immediately asked, “Are we going to be thrown in also?” How many times I am reminded how important mind set is in properly understanding things.

Our mind set affects even how we approach circumstances. Reminds me of how an optimist is described: “He was the sort of man who would go after Moby Dick with a row boat, a harpoon, and a jar of tartar sauce.”

Jesus delivered a man that was demonized, people’s reactions were surprising and the command Jesus gave that man tells us a lot about God’s priorities:

Mark 5:1-20…When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him…No one was strong enough to subdue him…When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid…As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

Change happens all the time – the question is what do we do with it? If we seek to be different because circumstances have changed, we will repeat the same mistakes because change from without never makes a difference! Just read about Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8. Real change comes from inside! Then the circumstances do not matter!

Most times God does not deliver us from our circumstances but from ourselves.

Take these points into the New Year with you:

1. Look for what has happened inwardly - What new thought patterns? What new desires?

2. Do not expect circumstances to change immediately. See it as a time for maturity and growth.

3. Inward change will speak for itself! Say nothing, just live it!

Luke 5:37  And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.

The So What? What is your plan for 2019? Write it down and bring it before the Lord.

Heart reactions to Christmas – Meditative

Consider Mary:  

Luke 2:16–20, 49-52…And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart…Jesus said, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them…and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

Mary believed God, yet still had a hunger for more than only knowledge, she desired to consider the deeper truths that God is communicating.

Adrian Rogers said; “Knowledge is needed to pass the test in school, but wisdom is needed to pass the test in life. Knowledge is learned; wisdom is given. Knowledge comes by looking around; wisdom comes by looking up. Knowledge comes by study; wisdom comes by meditation with God. Wisdom teaches one how to apply His knowledge."

The Meditative Heart Understands:

1. The path to success – Finding God’s best!

Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

2. The path to real esteem – What God thinks of me is the most important!

Psalm 119:23–24 Even though princes sit and talk against me, Your servant meditates on Your statutes. Your testimonies also are my delight; They are my counselors.

Psalm 119:78 May the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me with a lie; But I shall meditate on Your precepts.

3. The path to wisdom. Knowing HOW to use knowledge is the key!

Psalm 119:97–99 O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.

4. The path to Strength. Understanding Who your God is, renews your hope, which is the key to strength.

Psalm 119:48–50 And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love; And I will meditate on Your statutes. Remember the word to Your servant, In which You have made me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me.

Proverbs 24:5–6 A wise man is strong, And a man of knowledge increases power. For by wise guidance you will wage war, And in abundance of counselors there is victory.

How many times do you think and then rethink Scriptures you have read?

How can I make 2019 a more meditative year?

Is there a book of the Bible I can pick to spend 2019 on?

How much time am I willing to invest this year to learn about Him?

* Remember - You NEVER find time – you MAKE it.