Do It Again in 2010

So here we are about to embark upon a New Year. How many of you thought by the year 2010 we’d be living a little more of the Jetson world than we are? At least our daily transportation system ought not to include driving cars on roads, right?

By the way, do people say the year, “Twenty-Ten,” or is it “Two-thousand ten”? Either way it’s hard to believe we’re a tenth of the way through the 21st century!

On the first Sunday of two-thousand nine I preached a message from John 8:12 where Jesus declared: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” The sermon title was: “Let It Shine in 2009!”

That became something of my axiom for the year, and hopefully the light of Christ has shone through my own life, through my family and through the Ridgway First Baptist Church. Jesus also said in Matthew 5:16: “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” I can’t say it’s shone perfectly, but isn’t it amazing how even a little light can dispel the darkness?

Last week several people from our church went out Christmas caroling to the homes of some of our home-bound members and others. It was well after dark, but thankfully Jerry Cathey wore this funky headband/adjustable spotlight thing and it lit up the way for us to see where we were going. It was quite a sight, actually, but at least no one tripped over cracked sidewalks or turned ankles in potholes.

When we follow the Light of Christ Jesus, we’ll not be walking in darkness. His Word will become for us “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.” His Spirit dwelling in the hearts of those who belong to Him will illuminate the truth and guide us in His ways. We’ll be able to see the way we should go, and we won’t be tripping over the obstacles that otherwise would cause us to stumble into sin.

This coming Sunday then, I hope to preach a message that serves to help steer our course for the new year. The Lord has been trying to teach me more about faith. I’m not always a real attentive student, however. All I know is that I want to have a greater level of faith in God than I have now. I read the Scriptures and see examples of men and women with the kind of faith that moved mountains, and isn’t that what Jesus said would happen if only we had faith the size of a mustard seed?

Honestly, I don’t see many mountains moving. But I’m ready to. I’m ready to trust so completely in the will of God and the power of Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit that nothing becomes impossible. Nothing! Didn’t Jesus say, too, that “everything is possible for him who believes” (Mt. 9:23)?

We trust so readily in our bank accounts, our resources on hand, our human understanding of what can and cannot be done, but do we leave room for God to act supernaturally? We’re so often just like the disciples who see the size of the task ahead of us and say, “How in the world are we going to feed this many people? All we have here are two little fish sticks and five slices of bread. What good is that going to do?”

Yet I believe that God wants to put His glory on display in ways that cannot be explained away. Jesus did it that day by feeding the 5,000 with the young boy’s lunch, and He can do it again in 2010. I believe that Jesus can still heal people with the power of His word, just as He gave sight to the blind men and opened the ears of the deaf, just as He made the lame to leap for joy and cleansed the lepers of their disease.

And even more miraculous than healing the physical body, Jesus can heal the very souls of men. He can take one who is dead in trespasses and sins and make him alive together in Christ. He brings peace to the brokenhearted and joy to the downcast. He replaces despair with hope and ashes with beauty. He even forgives sin and saves “whosoever believeth in Him,” giving everlasting life – a new life – to those who deserve the wages of their sin, which is death and hell.

I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the coming year! I can’t wait to see how He’ll put His glory on display! He’s done it before, and He’ll do it again in 2010!