Here Is A Question. What Do You Do After Christmas? Does Anything Change? After Christmas, We Ought To Walk Into The New Year Differently. A New Road For A New Year & How To Make The Most Of Your New Year.
Each of us has a new road ahead of us in the new year. It’s another road, a different road than any we’ve traveled on before. We are stepping off down that road, not knowing what we may find, not knowing exactly where we’re going.
I want to share with you four keys that will help all of us get the most out of the year 2024. Keys can be used to start something or used to open doors. It is my prayer that these keys will start you off on the right foot in the right direction. It is also my prayer that you will use these keys to open the doors of opportunity that God places before you. I will label these keys A, B, C, and D.
The New Year should be one in which we are determined to think more deeply about what all of this means and tell others about our encounter with Christmas. How many "Christmas" events have you attended or hosted this past week? Different individuals showed up with different gifts at different times. The shepherds showed up with heavenly news; the magi showed up with rich gifts.
You may not arrive the same way as others. You may not arrive at the same time. The important thing is that you arrive at Christmas. More important still is that you left differently than when you came, hopefully, better. The shepherds showed up curious and left rejoicing.
The Magi went out "another way." Oh, isn't that the story of everyone who ever encountered Christ? Jacob walked away limping with a new name. Moses's face glowed like a lightbulb. Peter became a fisher of men. Saul of Tarsus, the prejudiced nationalist Judaizer became the apostle to the Gentiles. The Magi went out another way. After Christmas, we ought to go another way.
They went back to their same jobs, but they went back another way. Something was different after their encounter with the Baby King. They went back to their own country." Christmas changes everything, but some things seem to remain the same. They were still employed as magi. They still had the same houses, families, kids, or whatever else they had, but...They probably did their jobs differently. After Christmas, we ought to walk into the new year differently. I like the reality of the calendar that Christmas is the final holiday before the New Year.
As we think about the way Jesus came into the world as a helpless Babe, we ought to become a little more willing to be vulnerable. Be a little kinder. Those that are led by the Spirit. Gal 4:4 Not the law, but grace. Not the letter, but the Spirit.
Let The Spirit Lead
After Christmas, there are difficulties ahead. After the holiday season, we will return to our jobs and our ministries. The magi returned to their own country; the shepherds returned to their flocks. After the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were dispersed and the worship party was over Mary had to feed the Christ Child and change diapers. She had housework to do and the anxiety of Herod's threat. Joseph still had to provide for his wife and her Child. He still had to protect them.
The magi were "warned of God in a dream" (Matt 2:12). They were led by the Spirit to avoid Herod's threat, but the Spirit also led them back to their normal jobs. You can imagine their work was transformed. Not they did all that they did as unto the Lord! The shepherds were led by Heaven, and it changed the way they spoke!
As we leave the Christmas season and move toward walking into a brand-new year. Our visit to the manger should revive our desire to be led by God.
A new year always brings a sense of hope, doesn’t it? The previous year with all its tragedies, problems, disappointments, failures, and sadness is now behind us, and a clean slate lies ahead. For sure there has been plenty in the news to make anyone depressed. As one commentator recently wrote in a local newspaper: “Reality seems to crush [hope] at every turn: crushing economic disparities in this country, the pernicious scourge of racism, [the increase of] global warming, homelessness in our own ‘backyard’ and the plague of illicit drugs, rampant gun violence, etc., etc.
Also, many of us are feeling personal pains or anxieties this new year. Some of us are wrestling with important decisions regarding a primary relationship or a task to be done; some know firsthand the powerful effects of a disabling disease or worry about health issues in the upcoming months; some have had to deal recently with a major loss; some wonder if we can make it in the coming year without the presence of one who meant so much; some of us are feeling very lonely, despite people all around us; some of us fear growing older, or fear what the future may hold; some wonder if dreams will ever be realized, or whether the new year will be even more frustrating and filled with feelings of futility than the last. Many of us are feeling pain or anxiety this new year. What is this pain or anxiety like for you?
When we feel this way, the temptation is to stay with the familiar and the comfortable, to crawl back into bed and pull up the covers, or to sneak into the manger with Jesus, where it’s warm, safe, and secure. The temptation is to stay where we are – in the dark crevices of depression or defeat, of fear or foreboding, in the deep ruts of sameness, boredom, or lethargy.
As we embark on this new year, embodied so well in the spirit of Epiphany and the reality of life moving on, a fair question for us to ask is, “How can we move on?” “Rise and Shine.” Isaiah tells the people of Israel to “Arise, shine; for your light has come…” They no longer must live in darkness – nor do we. Rise and shine, get up, begin again – there is more to come! There are new roads to travel upon in this new year. But there are also powerful forces working against this directive. Apathy, lack of confidence, our physical or mental state, extreme caution, or timidity – all these tend to hold us back. Worse than any of these is fear –disabling, crippling, immobilizing fear.
God has promised to uphold us no matter what – believe this promise! God has promised to grant us victory over all our spiritual enemies – believe this promise! God has promised to grant us full and free forgiveness of our sins through and because of Jesus Christ, our newborn Savior – believe this promise! Don’t creep upon these promises as though they were too fragile to hold you up. Stand upon them, confident that God is as good as God’s word, and that our living, loving Lord will deliver them as promised. [v] Maybe you’ve heard the expression: “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there!” It’s true! So, in this new year, let’s get up and get going. Let us rise and shine, knowing that it is God’s light that empowers the light within us.
Millions of people today live in spiritual darkness because nobody has told them they no longer have to live there anymore. [vi] Part of giving God the glory is sharing the light of Christ’s glory with others.
Each of us has a new road ahead of us in the new year. It’s another road, a different road than any we’ve traveled on before. As we step off down that road, not knowing what we may find, not knowing exactly where we’re going, we can be comforted in knowing that for sure, the light goes with us, leading us, guiding us, showing us the way. God will be with us on our journeys down that new road ahead. Even now God is calling to each of us, whoever we are, whatever our circumstance, calling us to get up off our hands and knees, to stop creeping, and rise and shine, and continue the journey, giving God our praise, and sharing the Good News with others along the way.
How To Make The Most Of Your New Year: Proverbs 17:24
Can you believe that this year is over? It seems that with each passing year time just speeds up. We all can do one of two things this year:
We can waste it away by sitting around and worrying about the things we failed to accomplish last year, or the mistakes we made throughout the year. We can sit around and mope or have a pity party because things didn’t go the way we wanted them to. OR
We can decide to make the most of this New Year that God has granted us. This could be the greatest year you have had up to this point if you make a conscious decision to do whatever it takes to have a great year.
The point I want to get across is, that whatever we’re going to do with our lives this year, we had better get on the move because time is moving on. Time is not going to sit still until we can make up our minds about what we are going to do. One other point that I want to make is, if we’re not doing something with our lives it doesn’t matter how long the year is or how much time we have left in the year.
So, what are you going to do with 2024? How will this year be any different than last year? How many of you would like 2024 to be better than 2023? The past two years were tough. It was a year of challenges, a year of choices. It was a year of changes. It was a year of crises. The fact is for some of you the years 2020, 2021, and portions of 2022 were more of a disappointment than a joy. Some of you may have experienced a loss of some kind due to Covid. For some of you, it may have been a year of setbacks and failures.
The bad news is there is nothing we can do to change last year or previous years. The good news is we can learn from last year and today we can start over and make some changes. God brings life to us in small pieces, that we know as hours, days, and months. At the beginning of every year He says, let’s wipe the slate clean, and let’s start with a brand-new year. It’s like God is saying, “Let’s start over.” And that’s good news.
Proverbs 17:24 (The Good News Version) "An intelligent person aims at wise actions, but a fool starts in many directions."
For many the last part of that verse describes them. It says, “A fool starts in many directions.” Does that describe any of you? You start your year off in haste going in many different directions at one time with no plan of action.
Then notice the words at the beginning of this verse: it says, " An Intelligent person aims at wise actions". That means they have a goal, an objective, an aim, and a target. Have you set any goals for 2024? Or are you just going to walk into this year and hope it’s better? You’ve got to have a plan.
Here are the four keys that will help all of us get the most out of the year 2024.
A - Accept responsibility for my life.
This is hard for many people to do. Some people would rather blame someone else for the problems and difficulties in their lives. These are people who go around looking for someone who will accept responsibility for them. Someone who will accept responsibility for the way they live their lives and the choices they make. When things don’t turn out the way they hope, they have someone they can blame.
Galatians 6:5 “Each person must be responsible for himself.”
The King James Version says, “For every man shall bear his burden. ”
Here is the truth of this scripture. I am responsible for my own life whether I like it or not.
All of us face two kinds of circumstances.
Those circumstances which we have no control over. None of us here this morning knows what we will face throughout this coming year. Certain things are going to happen regardless of what you do and how you plan your year. That is no excuse for not being prepared or having a plan. (Example of some things that we have no control over We have no control over the weather, the economy, the companies that we work for, or the words and actions of others.)
There are some circumstances that we face because of our own choices, actions, or lack of actions. (Example: I’ve known people who have had financial problems because they quit their jobs and didn’t have another job to go to. The reason they quit their job is because they didn’t like it or someone made them mad. Then when things got tight, money and food were low, these people blamed their family, the church, or someone in the church because their family, the church, or someone in the church refused to accept responsibility for the decisions and actions of those people. What they wanted was someone to accept responsibility for their lives and bail them out of trouble. There are people like that in the world. I am not talking about someone who through no fault of his or her own fell on hard times. I’m talking about someone who did something without considering the consequences of his or her actions and how these actions would affect others around them.
While we may not be in control of all the circumstances that we will face this coming year, we do have control of how we will act and respond to them.
We need to understand that there are three kinds of people in life.
· There are accusers.
· There are excusers.
· There are choosers.
There are accusers. They always blame everybody else for their problems. Their favorite phrase is, "It’s all your fault." It’s never my fault. It’s someone else’s fault.
There are the excusers. Excusers are people who always have an excuse for not deciding or doing something. There’s always a reason why they can’t make the most or get the most out of their year. In the long run, they end up being the losers. I’ve discovered that whenever I want to procrastinate on something, any excuse will do. The Bible says, "A lazy man is full of excuses."
There are the choosers, who say, “I choose to accept responsibility for my own life, goals, and happiness. I’m not dependent upon somebody else. I choose the direction of my life.” I’m not depending on the crowd. If we do this, we will already be a jump ahead in 2024.
B - Believe I can change
Stop saying, "I can’t" and start saying, "I can". The person who believes that they can change with the help of God will change.
Philippians 4:13 (Jerusalem Bible) “There is nothing I cannot master with the help of Christ who gives me strength.”
Do you believe that verse? There’s nothing I can’t master! That means there’s nothing I’m going to hit in the next 365 days, no problem, no situation, no circumstance, no hassle that I can’t handle, that I can’t manage, that I’m not competent to handle with the help and strength God gives me.
Many people never succeed in life because they believe they can’t change. They never enjoy life because life to them is just one big failure after another. They face a new year with regret rather than the joy of knowing that God has allowed them to make a difference in their own lives with the help of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I believe I have discovered why there are so many New Year parties where people get so drunk, they can’t see straight. They get drunk to forget the past year and because they are afraid to face the New Year.
With the help and grace of God, I can overcome the past and face the future. I have a new handle on my own life for this coming year. I believe and know I can change. Not on my power, but with the power that Christ gives me.
The Bible is full of stories of people who changed because they believed that they could change after God touched them.
God called a man named Moses: “I want to use you to save a nation.” Moses said, “Me? I got kicked out of Egypt because I killed a guy. I’m a murderer. Now I’m out here feeding sheep. And on top of that, I stutter! I’m slow in speech. You want me to be the spokesman for a nation?” God said, "Yes. I’m going to use you."
God another man named Gideon, when the nation of Israel was overrun by the enemy: “I’m going to use you, Gideon, to save the country.” Gideon said, “Me? I am the youngest kid in the poorest family in the smallest tribe in the nation.” God said, “Yes. I’m going to use you.”
God can use me, and God can use you. The good news is God wants to use you. First, you must accept responsibility for your own life. Second, you must believe you can change, and that God can give you the power to change if you trust Him.
C - Clarify what I want
You must decide what’s important and what’s not important. God has given each of us an incredible gift called the freedom to choose, the freedom of choice. That’s one of the things that makes us like God. When God says in Genesis 1, “Let Us make man in Our image,” that gives us the freedom of choice. This is one of the ways that we are different from animals, we have the freedom to choose between good and evil. We have the freedom to choose what we want in life.
The only way can clarify what we want is to make a list and decide what is important and what is not.
Amazingly, most people never do this. They never stop and think through and write down on paper what’s important to them. Maybe some of you have never done this. You’ve never written down the things that are important to you. You must ask yourself,
“What’s important to me?” What counts? We can’t do what’s important until we clarify what’s important. Otherwise, you’re going to be pushed around by the pressures of life doing this and that then suddenly, the year is over and you’re saying, “Where did the year go?”
Your values determine your vision. Your desires determine your direction. Your roles determine your goals.
Most people have never made up their mind what they want out of life and if you aim at nothing, you’re going to hit it. Most people have this vague feeling of, “I just want to be happy.” But they’ve never really sat down and figured out what is it that’s going to make me happy. What does God want me to do with my life? Why am I here? They’ve never written out their values.
I want to challenge each of you to make a list of things that are important to you, a list of things that you want to accomplish. What do I value? What do I want to change? Put it down. Then make this your prayer list. Pin it up on a wall, review it every day, and pray about it. Then plan of action that will help you accomplish your goals for this year. Then do whatever you have to, do to make, and get the most out of this coming year. Clarify what you want. Allow God to lead. Then watch God do miracles in your life.
There are some things in life that we will do that are permissible but may not be necessary to our advantage. There will be some things that all of us will do this year that will not benefit us at all.
We are going to have to decide between what is good and what is better. Between what is better and what is best. There are many that we can do, but not all of them will be beneficial.” Some things aren’t necessarily wrong; they’re just not necessary. We don’t have time for everything. We need to clarify the two or three things that we’ve got to get done this year. What are the important things?
May I suggest two or three things that need to be at the top of your list? Before you decide to make plans for 2024. Let God Take the Lead. Invite Him into your Plans and Pray for discernment.
Your relationship with God needs to be #1. What are you going to do this year to strengthen and improve your relationship with God? What are you going to do to become more intimate with Him? You need to make your relationship with God a top priority.
2· Your relationship with your family. What are you going to do to build a stronger and better relationship with your family? What are you going to change about yourself that will help you to accomplish this?
3· Your relationship with your church and church family. What are you willing to do to improve the quality of your church? How involved are you willing to get to help your church accomplish the commission that God has given it? How committed are you going to be in your attendance and support of your church?
Clarify what’s important.
D - Don’t wait to begin.
Do it now! These three words can change your life. Do it now. If you and I wait for the right situation or the right kind of circumstances, we will miss out on life altogether. There will never be an ideal set of circumstances to start with. To make the most of 2024 and to accomplish the things you want to accomplish, start now. Don’t wait to begin.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.”
We always say, “When things settle down.” Or “When things get better.” The problem is things may never settle down or get any better. That’s called life! If you’re out there using that as an excuse, “When things settle down or get better, I’m going to start having a daily quiet time and read my Bible every day,” you’re never going to do it. You learn to read your Bible and pray when things are unsettled and not so good. “When things settle down, I’m going to spend more time with my kids.” They’ll be grown and gone!
There are a lot of people who have missed out on life waiting for the ideal set of circumstances or waiting for things to get better. While they were waiting, time just kept right on going and passed them by. We must learn to enjoy life under circumstances that are less than perfect. Whatever you’re going to do, what you want to do, start now! Because things may not settle down or get better until we’re in the coffin.
Some of you are saying to yourself, “I’m going to make the most of this New Year. I am going to set some goals and accomplish them. Right now, you are being motivated, you are pumped up to make the most of this year. However, when you walk out the door there will be no one to motivate you or to encourage you. You must determine right now that it doesn’t matter what happens or what comes your way, this is going to be the best year yet. Then with each passing year, continue to improve the quality of your life with the help and grace of God.
I had mentioned before in one of my readings, have we shared Jesus with anyone this year, anyone at all? If we haven’t things need to change going forward into 2024. This is not just something I do, as a teacher, and evangelist leader in the ministry. We are called to accomplish the mission of Jesus by sharing Jesus and inviting people into the family of Jesus Christ. You don’t worry about changing them, you catch them, and Jesus will clean them, we are all fishermen.
Conclusion: What kind of person will you be this year? Will you be an accuser, an excuser, or a chooser? Will you choose to make the most of 2024? Will you accept responsibility for your life? Will you believe you can change? Will you clarify what you want this year and what is important to you? Will you start right now? Will your relationship with God be at the top of your priority list? Will your family and church be at the top of that list? The choice is yours. What will it be?
Blessings
J.P. Olson
www.journeyintotheword.com
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