Your Best Days are Ahead of You
For many of us this statement is not hard to believe as we look back upon the tribulation of the past year. The world teaches that the key to having pleasant surprises in the new year is to begin with low expectations.
When we operate in our strengths, this reveals our weaknesses to others. When we’re on a team, the team sees our weaknesses. Sometimes the team will tell you that you need a sabbatical. We often need to draw away from the world and back into the presence of God. Renewal is required to repent, to turn around and to begin with a clean slate with a new identity in Christ. A new year allows us to forget that which lies behind and to stretch toward that which lies ahead. Therefore I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
A new year gives us a clean slate to walk in the newness of life. It’s easy to take stock of the year in retrospect and to understand where we have fallen short as husbands, fathers, grandfathers, workers, businessmen, and stewards of that with which God has entrusted us. However, the new year gives us an opportunity to forsake the shortcomings that are behind in the old year.
What is the priority in the new year? Paul, who had impeccable worldly credentials, said that all my degrees, all my worldly training, all my awards and accolades I count but garbage to serve Christ. In Philippians 3:8 he writes, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ…”
2 Cor 5:17 says, “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, all things have become new.” For the best days ahead of us, we need to start with the basics. We have to turn back to God and remind ourselves of basic truths. James 2 is about these fundamentals. He brought us into the world, each with a specific purpose. This is the essence of sanctification: to be set apart for God’s specific purpose… his portion, his providence, his allotment for our lives. Faith without works is dead… For we are his masterpiece, his poem, his great work created in Christ Jesus unto good works which he hath before ordained that we should walk in it.
The understanding of God’s purpose starts with knowing the price that Jesus Christ paid on our behalf as the perfect sinless sacrifice for our sins… for our having missed the mark of God’s righteousness.
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 3 says that both blessing and cursing come from the same tongue. To whom do you pledge allegiance? For whom do you strive? Whom do you choose to serve? We must come to the realization that in climbing the ladder of worldly success, the ladder has been leaning against the wrong wall. The secret of an abundant and blessed life is to have low expectations of ourselves and high expectations of our life in Christ. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature.
How do you know a Christian? God did not call us to be judges, rather he called us to be fruit inspectors… Jesus said, by their fruit ye shall know them.
When we keep score of our own shortcomings and judge ourselves unworthy, we must approach the cross of Christ. The Adversary is the accuser. He will remind us how far short of God’s righteousness we have fallen and of our great debt of sin. However, Jesus paid the price for our sins at the cross of Calvary. He who was without sin became the sinless sin sacrifice on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Jesus Christ who knew no sin, for the joy that was set before him endured the pain and shame of death on the cross. Because of his love of God’s people, Jesus did not impute their trespasses unto them, but became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Jesus who was the sinless sacrificial lamb, became the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf to make us worthy… to balance the scales of God’s righteous judgement.
Our best days are ahead. Therefore forsake your trophies and your failures. The things of this world are fleeting… this too shall pass… that which is seen is temporal but that which is unseen is eternal. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, all things have become new. He has reconciled us unto himself and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Therefore we now have peace with God, having been reconciled back to God through the price paid by Jesus Christ on our behalf.
Our country values freedom. However, freedom isn’t free. Some say that freedom is priceless… it’s price is far above the price of diamonds and rubies. The price of freedom from sin was paid for by the precious and priceless blood of the Lamb of God, our saviour Jesus Christ.
Focusing on the problem of sin and dwelling on debt and transgression digs us deeper into the hole of condemnation. Jesus Christ is the solution to the problem of sin. Therefore look not on the things of the world. For what the commandments could not do in that they were weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. Our father has called us to his mercy, grace, and peace through the supreme payment of the sinless sacrifice of the innocent blood of his son Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 – 21
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Morning has broken, like the first morning… God’s re-creation on the new day. Our best days are yet before us.
May God richly bless you.
Your brother in Christ,
Michael