1-2-2015

Good Morning All,

       1 Corinthians 12: 31; “But earnestly desire the higher gifts.  And I will show you a still more excellent way”

     With the New Year comes the tradition of making resolutions.  Maybe it is to lose weight or stop smoking; maybe it is to go to church more or to be friendlier to those around us; we make resolutions.  Then we try to keep them, for a while anyway.  I always think of the joke on the internet that shows a gym on December 31^st and it has one guy exercising. Then it shows January 1^st and the gym is full.  Then it shows Jan 2^nd and the gym is empty again with that same one guy.  There is more truth in that then many of us want to admit.

    One of the reasons for our failure is that we aim too high or are too ambitious.  This makes success difficult and failing to see success, even small success, can cause us to give up.  Another reason is that we tend to want success without change.  In order to lose weight might require a change in diet and physical activity.  It might mean leaving donuts alone.  It might men getting up earlier in the morning.  It might mean a lot of things we don’t enjoy.

    So as we enter the New Year, making resolutions, let’s make one that will be truly beneficial to those around us and to us as well.  Let us earnestly desire the higher gifts.  These higher gifts are faith, hope and love.  So as we face the New Year, let’s strive for greater faith.  God gives us faith.  Faith is the desire to trust God at his Word.  Faith is the desire to trust that God will do what he says he will do.  Yet we can build our faith, we can strengthen it by using it.  We can strengthen it by reading and listening to God’s Word, through prayer and through proper use of the sacraments.  These are all faith building items.

    Hope is designed to help us focus on the future.  Hope tells us to look forward to better times and not to look back at our failures and shortcomings.  Hope builds us up so that we can withstand the arrows of the devil today.  Hope builds us up so that the pain of this world can be seen as only temporary while our eternal salvation with Jesus is set and waits for us.  Hope builds us up to thrive in this life because of the certainty of tomorrow with Jesus.

    Love is the greatest because love is eternal.  Faith and hope will fade away when we meet our Savior face to face but love will always remain.  Love always builds up and makes our life better.  Love, true love, makes the lives of others better as well.  Love inspires and elevates everyone.  It lifts up the broken hearted and heals the pained soul.  Love reduces sorrow and eases heartache.

   So this year, let us earnestly desire the greater gifts.  Not a new car or a slimmer waistline but greater faith, inspired hope and godly love.  These will make for a great New Year.

Father, as we move into a new year, move us by your Spirit to live in greater faith, stronger hope and with love in our hearts which pours out upon our neighbors.  Build us up so that we may serve you with greater vigor and with an intense sense of devotion to your service.  Guide us by your Spirit.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret