DARREL CARSON
Many years ago, I recognized the futility of making New Year’s resolutions. Rarely was I able to get through the month of January with any of my resolutions still intact, and before the end of March, they had all fallen by the wayside and were totally neglected. But here at the beginning of 2024, I would like take a look at just one aspect of my walk with the Lord that needs some attention. No, I’m not going to make a resolution because I am still powerless to make anything I resolve become a reality in my life.
That being said, there is one thing I am able to do: I can look to Jesus, who according to the book of Hebrews, is the author and finisher of my faith. Will I do this perfectly? No, and I’m not alone. Remember Abraham? He believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Yes, Abraham—the same Abraham that lied to Pharaoh about the identity of his wife to save his own skin, and the same Abraham that got the wrong woman pregnant trying to help God fulfill his promise. Then there is David, the one who was a “man after God’s own heart.” Yes, the same David that had an affair with his neighbor’s wife and then had the neighbor killed to cover up his sin.
My point is this: the same God that worked righteousness in the lives of these Bible heroes is also able to work righteousness in the lives of His followers in the year 2024.
My point is this: the same God that worked righteousness in the lives of these Bible heroes is also able to work righteousness in the lives of His followers in the year 2024. This is the reality in which we, as born again Christians, now live.
As born again Christians, we are new creations; all things have become new. Again, this is reality; however, just as real is the fact that our old worldview is still in our heads and needs to be unpacked one item at a time to be replaced with a totally new outlook on life. I’ll give you a real life example of how our whole way of thinking needs to change.
Back in the late 70’s I was a groomsman at a friend’s wedding. Unfortunately his marriage ended and he later remarried. Some thirty-plus years later, my wife and I, along with my friend and his wife, were traveling together in the same car. Several miles into our journey I called my friend’s wife by his former wife’s name. I was embarrassed to say the least. We are all in need of a renewing of the mind. The Apostle Paul puts it this way:
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
Our worldview has to change to accommodate the new reality; the old has become new. Somehow, in my mind, my friend was still associated with his ex-wife; my “worldview” needed to change. No, we can’t live both in the present as well as the past:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Our old way of looking at things has to be replaced with the new reality.
Before becoming a Christian, I was very much work-oriented as far as salvation was concerned; it was all about sinless perfection and the need to one day be able to stand before a Holy God without a mediator. I’ve been a Christian now for just over four years, and I continually find myself slipping back into the old mode of operation. When tempted, I still find myself trying to resist the temptation. I try not to sin, and in so doing, my focus in on the sin and not on Jesus, my Savior.
So here, on the cusp of 2024, I see an opportunity to enter more fully into the rest that God has for His people.
So here, on the cusp of 2024, I see an opportunity to enter more fully into the rest that God has for His people. (See Hebrews 3 and 4.) I know that I will fall short of the mark just like I always have. But more importantly I know that Jesus finished the work of my redemption on the cross. I know that by faith I was crucified with Him, and the life I now live, I live by the grace of my Savior. (See Galatians 2:20.) I also know that in Him I have been raised to newness of life. I know that He is holding me in His hand, and no one is able to snatch me out of His hand. I know that the Father is greater than all and that He also is holding me in His hand, and nobody is able to snatch me out of His hand either. (See John 10:29,30.)
My job is simply to trust my Sovereign Lord to keep His promises. In so doing, success is not based on ability or lack thereof, but on the ability of Jesus to be true to His word. I will continue to “look to Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith” (Hebrews 12:2). And as I do, the victory will truly be His. †
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