Our God is a God of “New Beginnings”. Tomorrow, we get the
first day of a brand new year. Isn't it amazing how God does things so that we
get the first day of a week, we get the first day of a month, the first day of
the new year, and in Christ, every day is a brand-new day to encourage one
another and to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today
is the first day of the last of the rest of our life. Even today, the last day
of the year, is still the first day of the rest of our life, and this is a good
day to begin thinking about how you want to live out your life in 2025. How you
want your life to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.
We get so busy these days that we're overwhelmed with busyness.
I mean being busy so encompasses our life that it takes all control of us. Over
the years we have talked about “the tyranny of the urgent”. Charles Hummel wrote
about this:
"Your greatest
danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important. We live in
constant tension between the urgent and the important. The problem is that many
important tasks need not be done today, or even this week. Extra hours of
prayer and Bible study, a visit to an elderly friend, reading an important
book: these activities can usually wait a while longer. But often urgent,
though less important, tasks call for immediate response--endless demands
pressure every waking hour. A person's
home is no longer a castle, a private place away from urgent tasks. The mobile
phone breaches its walls with incessant demands. The appeal of these demands
seems irresistible, and they devour our energy. But in the light of eternity
their momentary prominence fades. With a sense of loss we recall the important
tasks that have been shunted aside. We realize that we've become slaves to the
tyranny of the urgent.”
It seems that important things can always be put off till
tomorrow. When you look at Jesus in this passage in Luke and the His life in
the Gospels, He was always busy. Over His years of ministry, He was going and
going and going and going and coming and going and dealing with issues and
problems. He had disciples that weren't always getting along with each other. Jesus
was busy, but I want you to notice He was never in a hurry. He had one thing to
do, and that was to do the will of his Father.
Remember when Jesus was 12 years old that He said to His
parents, “Don’t you know that I must be about my Father's business.” My friend,
that's what we need to be thinking about as we get ready for 2025. The urgent
things will never quit demanding our attention! But by God’s grace we can determine
to discipline ourselves to do the important things so that we are living for
God and for eternity.
So, why not start today to plan on reading your Bible
praying and living for the Lord every day like you should. Yes, today is the
first day of the rest of your life. Start today and tomorrow have a plan to
read through your Bible in 2025. We have a schedule that is posted on our
website. There is a calendar for each month that continues through the year, so
you'll read through the entire Bible faithfully and consistently and you'll let
every word of God abide in you, so that you'll bear fruit as you abide in Him
for His glory.
Did you notice that here in Luke 9:1, the first thing Jesus
did was to “call His disciples together”. Plan on coming together with other
believers in church, in small group Bible studies, and in accountability groups,
“to exhort and encourage one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:25).
Do not come to the end of another year or your life and find out that you were so
busy you never really accomplished the important things.
Our God is a great God of “new beginnings”! Today, this
last day of an old year, is still the first day of the rest of your life. Be
encouraged to do what is important in following Jesus every day!
God bless!
