Resolution. The firm decision to do or not do something. Yup, it's that time of year again—the start of a new year fast approaches. Like every year, we stop and contemplate the year that we have just gone through and anticipate living differently in the one to come. Many will write down resolutions for the year. Some will be trivial, and some will be significant. Some will last, and some won't. But all will be made because the individual desires to change for the better.
Recently I have read for the second time Jonathan Edward's Resolutions. Over the course of a few years, he had written 70 of them. Desiring God Ministries compiled them under different subheadings. And it's definitely worth your time to read them all. You can do that by clicking this link here. As I read his resolutions and thought about how I wanted to enter into the new year, I came up with these resolutions. I throw down the gauntlet to all you men who follow my blog. Together let's take up the challenge that these resolutions present. Are you game? Well, here they are:
Well, there they are—ten resolutions for this coming year. Let's see what God will do as we commit to them.
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Today is Christmas Eve. It’s the day we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, our saviour, with our friends and family. Was he born on the 25th? Most likely not. Yet, it’s the day that was decided to remember the entrance of the Son of God into the world through the miraculous virgin birth. As I sit here and reflect on this holy day, I am reminded of how He came humbly as a servant into a dark and broken world.
Over the last couple of weeks leading up to Christmas, I have read a couple of articles that emphasized Jesus as a servant to others. One went even so far as to argue that Jesus gave up his rights because of his love for others; therefore, we should do the same. I’ve been thinking about that statement for a few days now and have been trying to discover what rights Jesus gave up. The proof text that people use to argue that Jesus gave up his rights is Philippians 2:5-8. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” We learn here that Jesus emptied himself. What does this mean? Well, the answer is found in the following phrase, “by taking the form of a servant.” By taking the position of a servant, Jesus laid aside temporally his position as co-equal in authority with His Father [this would later be resumed after the resurrection]. His role changed when he entered the world through the miraculous virgin birth. At that very moment, Jesus, who had from all eternity reigned with His Father as co-equal, became a servant. As a servant, he limited himself to the will of another. But unlike what people want to emphasize, that other is not us but His Father. You see, Jesus came into the world not primarily for us but out of obedience to His Father’s plan, which was decreed before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-14). That’s what we need to focus on this Christmas. Jesus was a humble servant of His Father. Remember what He said during his ministry? “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38). That, for me, makes the difference. During this crisis, we are asking the wrong question. We are asking, “How can I serve my neighbour?” The issue with this is that our neighbour’s will is not synonymous with the will of God. This is pretty evident, for example, when you compare God’s Word with what the governing authorities in our nation are instructing us to do regarding singing, capacity limits, and gatherings (among other things). The question we should be asking is this – “What is the will of God concerning how we serve our neighbour?” I hope that you are catching what I am saying. We must first be a servant of God and then stemming from that position, we serve others. What I fear has happened is that we have flipped it around and have become a servant of man and then, from that position, justify that we are serving God. You may think that this is semantics, but it’s a difference that truly matters. It’s the difference between obeying God and catering to man. Jesus never catered to man; his standard and motivation was always obedience to His Father. What about you? Are you going along with everything because that’s what you think is the best way to serve your neighbour or because you know that is what God has commanded? Take time, with your bible open, and consider what God has to say. Submitted by Aimee Hanson
Since 2020 Bible characters who obey God over earthly authorities seem to stick out. Apparently having to make this decision is a lot more common than we think. There happens to be one in the Christmas story. The wise men were instructed by Herod to let him know where Jesus was. Scripture does not say that the wise men agreed to this, but Herod must have assumed they would have obeyed his request because in Matt. 2:16 Herod believed he was tricked by the wise men. Instead of obeying this request of Herod, the wise men were told in a dream not to return to Herod and go a different way home. They obeyed the dream given by God instead of Herod. These wise men, whose role in antiquity was to provide counsel to kings, were gentiles and knew King Herod had no earthly authority over them. In North America, a lot of unwise people are having trouble understanding who we are to submit. We learn this through God's word. Romans 13:1 says to "be subject to governing authorities." There is a hierarchy of governing authorities in our nation. We are to submit to the government which ought to be complying to the Charter of Rights and Freedom (which holds authority over every form of earthly level of government in Canada). And of course both us and the government ought to be submitting to God who is the highest governing authority in our nation and the world. Wise men know who we are to submit to as we live each day and which authority are our utmost highest authority. And they know that when God gives a command, it trumps the instructions of even an earthly king. We don't know much about the wise men, one thing that can be assumed is they must have worshipped God in their mundane tasks. The other characters in the Bible who obeyed God over the government worshipped God each day, why would the wise men be any different? |
AuthorHello! I'm glad you found my blog. My name is David Hanson, and I am a concerned Christian who desires for the church of North America to become aware and begin to think biblically of what is happening around them in society. It's time for the church to awake and speak into the current events of the day. We alone have the truth to navigate life effectively. That truth is the Word of God. Archives
May 2022
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