2^nd. Timothy 3:1-5 and 14-17 and Deuteronomy 11:13-21

    Here we are again, facing another new year, and once again we are making “New Year’s resolutions”. In a recent poll, it was shown that 80% of New Year’s resolutions have to do with dieting. That’s not really surprising in a nation where that same poll says 70% of Americans are overweight. There are a lot of different diets a person can go on these days; low fat, low sugar, low salt, no salt, low calorie, diet with exercise, exercise only diets, and the list goes on. Of course there are the well known Jennie Craig, Weight Watchers, Slim fast and gain it back as fast diet…, Curves for women, and a host of many other “not as famous” diets. However, there is one diet that I want to talk about today that it seems more and more Christians are going on these days, and that is a “low Bible diet”. I would suggest to you today that we all make a New Year’s resolution for 2014 and that is to GET FAT ON GOD’S WORD!  I’m not talking about sitting around eating Bon-Bons and Crispy Cream doughnuts while we read the Bible; but that we would get off the low Bible diet and begin to consume more and more of God’s Word.

    If you know about dieting, you have probably seen and heard about “Anorexia”. It is the result of over-doing or being obsessed with dieting. The Dictionary describes Anorexia as “an unusual lack of appetite”. One of the consequences of Anorexia is death; and, spiritually speaking, there are consequences to a low Bible diet as well.
    One of the consequences of a low Bible diet is that Bibles begin to disappear. Many people attend Church, Sunday school, and Bible Studies, and don’t bring their Bible. Either they think we are going to teach out of the Sears catalog, or they have a photographic memory and will retain everything they hear! In our scripture, Paul says “All scripture is God breathed and useful for “teaching”. We have a text book that has within its pages “everything we need for life and godliness” and I would suggest that if we are going to get fat on God’s Word, we ought to carry God’s Word with us, and take notes in God’s Word, and highlight God’s Word, and read and meditate on God’s Word! 
    A second consequence of a low Bible diet is that doctrine begins to disappear and faith becomes weak.  Doctrine is like the skeleton or the bones in our bodies…they are the framework that holds our bodies together, and doctrine is the framework of the church.  If you are unable to list at least five of the seven basic Biblical doctrines of the Church, it may be the result of a low Bible diet. (Trinity of God in three persons –(1X1X1 = 1) God the Father and Creator – Jesus the Son of God who is the only way of salvation; - born of the virgin Mary,-died on the Cross for the sins of the world,- was buried and rose again,-  and will return as victor and judge; The Holy Spirit who is the administer of grace, giver of gifts, and the enabler of believers; - Scriptures as the inerrant and complete Word of God;  - God’s purpose for man as found in the “Great Commandment” to “Love the Lord Thy God with all, and to love Thy neighbor as Thyself” - Second coming of Christ and the rapture of the church.)
    The third consequence of a low Bible diet is that sin and discontent, dissention, and discouragement will be present in the church. Paul, once again says, “scripture is God breathed and useful for rebuking and correcting”.  It would seem Oprah and Dr, Phil have become the prophets and counselors of the day rather than God’s Word.  Selfishness rather than the needs of the church as a whole become the dominant factors of decision making.
    Fourth, a consequence of a low Bible diet is that false teachers lead many astray.  How can you know what is false if you don’t know truth? Satan can and does, cause people on a low Bible diet to believe anything! Simply look what has happened to morals and values in our society. What has happened to respect for authority?  What has happened to our nation and yes, even our churches today?  “They will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient, ungrateful, unholy, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, not lovers of good, but lovers of pleasure rather than God”… These are not my words, they are God’s Word! God would call it a “lack of holiness” and it is a direct result of a low Bible diet.
    Finally, Paul says that scripture is useful for “training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The final consequence of all these things is that there is a lack of good works; inside and outside of the church. There comes a lack of enthusiasm and energy and excitement for that which God can do, will do, and is doing!
    As we begin the year 2014, let’s resolve to get our focus back on God and spend some time getting fat on His Word!

“Making the Most of 2014”
Ephesians 4:17-32 and 5:15-21

    Now, let me take from those words and create a New Year’s resolution;

    “For the coming new year - 2014 - I resolve to “be completely humble and gentle; patient; bearing with others in love; in order to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. I resolve not to live any longer as the Gentiles - or worldly - live; I will put off falsehood and speak only truth; I will not let anger cause me to sin and give the devil a foothold; I will not let any unwholesome talk come out of my mouth, but I will resolve to build others up and be an encourager; I will get rid of all bitterness in my life and attitude, and start being more kind and compassionate; As a child of God, I will imitate him and live a life of love; And, I will be the light that Jesus said I am, and learn what pleases him! I will make an intentional effort to be careful how I live, making the most of every opportunity to learn, and to understand, and to apply God’s Word to my life!
How’s that for a New Year’s resolution?
    How many would say that the Bible contains a lot of information? Is the purpose of scripture merely to inform? (No) The purpose of scripture is to (transform!)  Example -There is a sign on the road that informs me that there is a dangerous curve ahead…Unless I intentionally make some changes, I am going to go off the road and crash!  Why is it that we Christians have all this “information” - “everything we need for life and godliness” as 2 Peter 1:3 says, and yet we refuse to change?
    I think 2014 ought to be the year we start putting the information that we have to good use!  In verses 17-21 of chapter five, Paul gives us some advise as to how we can accomplish these things;
1^st. - He says; “Don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Some just don’t want to go to the trouble of finding out what God’s will for their life is. Others may know what God’s will is, but choose to ignore it, or don’t really believe it! Understanding and doing God’s will is not a bad thing! It’s the best thing that can happen to us, individually and as a church. When it comes to knowing God’s will, what we don’t know can hurt us! And, it can hurt others as well. This is just one of the reasons James tells us that “anyone who knows what is right and does not do it, sins!”
2^nd. He says we are to be “filled with the Spirit”. 
There is a parallel drawn between being drunk with wine, and being filled with the Spirit. The point of the comparison is not that Spirit filled people behave in a stupid or excessive manner, but that the person filled with the Spirit is totally and completely under the influence and control of the Spirit of God just as a person filled with wine is under the control of wine. Once again let me state that being filled with the Spirit does not mean that we have or receive any more of the Spirit, but that the Spirit has more of me! The point is one of control. If a man is filled with anger, anger controls his thoughts, his emotions, and his actions. If a man is filled with greed, greed will influence and control his thoughts, emotions, and actions. If a man is filled with love, the very same is also true. You could say it’s “control by consent”. Many people are not full of anything but themselves, and the truth be known, they are really empty!
3^rd. - He says; “speak only godly things and make music in your heart to the Lord.” 
Here’s what I think this verse means; A Psalm - as in the Book of Psalms - speaks of God’s nature, God’s attributes, God’s character, and the wondrous and miraculous things God has done; so, it makes sense then that these are the things we ought to talk about.
    A Hymn usually has something to do with our relationship towards or with God; “Yes, Jesus Loves Me”… “Leaning On the Everlasting Arms”…Standing on the Promises”…Victory in Jesus, and so on. So, our relationship with God is something we ought to talk about and sing about!
    Spiritual songs are “praises”. If you are like me, sometimes you just get a song of praise in your head, and it just won’t quit! I sing - in my mind, and in my heart - praises to God.
    If we did these things instead of talking about the weather, and talking about each other, and talking about our faults and allowing personality conflicts to dictate the mood of the church and fellowship, wouldn’t it make church a better place to be in 2014?
4^th. - We have the words “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything”.
If any nation in the world ought to be thankful, it is America. If any people in America ought to be thankful, it’s Christians.  In Romans 1:21 Paul says “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God, nor gave thanks to him.” Remember that the first advise that Paul gave was “Know the will of God”, well, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. Think about it this way; “How do you feel about people who are ungrateful?” We should never lack for things to thank God for.
    Finally, he says “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Let me explain what he means by “out of reverence for Christ”; The word “submit” is a Greek form of the word “hupo-tasso”… Hupo means “under” and tasso means “to assign”. To submit then in this case, means to be “under assignment”. Reverence for Christ means that we acknowledge that Christ was first “under assignment” to us. He left glory to live among us, to be a visible expression of the living God, and to teach us the ways of the Kingdom of God.  We then, are to submit to one another - or to be “under assignment” to one another - that assignment is to build the church and welcome all into the kingdom of God. I wonder how we will do this year?
    Back in 1967, experts predicted that by the turn of the century technology would have taken so much of the work out of what we do, that the average work week would be only 22 hours long, and that we would only work 27 weeks out of the year. As a result, one of our biggest problems would be deciding what to do with all our leisure time!   I don’t know about you, but that prediction really missed the mark in my life! In fact, most of us seem to be very busy people. We are always in a hurry. We walk fast, we drive fast, we talk fast, we eat fast… and after we eat we stand up and say “Excuse me, but I have to run!” 
    How will we do in 2014?  Will we make better use of our time? Will we be too busy, too tired, too involved in whatever is on T.V. to attend Sunday School?  Sunday night? Wednesday night? We have more than enough information…We need to make the most of 2014!

A View of 2014

    Before each one of us is a new year. A year ripe with opportunities. With a right view of ourselves, the right view of the world around us, and a right view of the church and our part in the church, 2014 can be an unbelievable year! However, it will require three things we will absolutely need to succeed;

    First, we will need Determination. Let’s face it, we have all made some New Years resolutions in the past… we are all masters of “good intentions.” Our problem is the determination to see it through. There is an old  saying; “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” For many of us it’s more like; “When the going gets tough, we just stop going!” Whatever God has in mind for the New Year, whether for ourselves, our church, or our world, let’s face it with the determination to - follow through - and see it through - to completion.
    Second, we need Direction. It’s not enough just to have the determination it takes to reach our goals; we must also make sure we have the right goals. We need to be sure we are heading in the right direction.
    I love the story of the woman who was driving in Colorado, when she ran into a snowstorm. It was a dandy… a real “whiteout”. As she peered ahead she saw the flashing yellow light of a snowplow. “What luck” she thought, and she kept as close as she could while the plow removed the snow from the roadway. At times the heavy snow almost cut off her view completely, but the faithful plow kept leading the way. After some time, the snowplow stopped, the driver got out, and walked back to her car…”Where are you going lady?” to which she replied, “I’m on my way to Denver”…“Well”, said the driver, “You’ll never get there following me around this parking lot!” We need goals, but we also need to be going in the right direction.
    More than anything in the coming year, we need to do what our scripture for today says; “Trust the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on our own understanding; in all our ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make our paths straight.”  In God’s Word, we are given two great stories or examples about trust; The first is found in Numbers chapters 13 and 14 - Moses has led the Israelites out of Egypt, and they were about to cross the Jordan and enter the “promised land”.  The spies go to observe the land, and they come back with proof that it is just as God said it would be! But, they also said that its residents were as big as Texas and they themselves were like Aikenites in their own eyes! And, of course, we know that they did not enter the land and continued to wander in their gloom and doom attitude for 40 years.
    The second story is much like the first. It’s found in the first 6 chapters of Joshua. The people again came to the banks of the Jordan; Again spies are sent into the city; This time they come back with a different report; In 2:24 they say - “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; for all the people there are melting in fear because of us”….Oh, really? Rahab had told them that the people were melting in fear because of their God! Anyway, this time the people trust God - they even do things that make no sense whatsoever, like marching around the city of Jericho; but, because of their trust, when they shout after the seventh time around, the walls of Jericho fell!
    Trust always has the element of risk involved. The very nature of trust is that the result is dependent on someone or something else. Maybe we don’t trust because of the risks involved. Maybe we’re just all control freaks…we want to call the shots, and we are afraid something is going to go wrong. But, God says; “Trust with all your heart!” The question then is; “In 2014 will you trust God with your life? Will you let Him work through you to accomplish His will? Will you stick to it with determination by His direction; or will you call the shots?
    In 2014 will you trust God with our nation and the world? Whether good times or bad times, are you willing to trust that God is in control? Or, are you going to spend yet another year, wondering  and wandering, and worrying about what might or - might not - happen?
    In 2014, Are we going to trust God with His church? Are we going to trust what Jesus said; “I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it!” Will we trust that God wants His church to grow and reach out with determination…under His direction?…even when it makes no sense?  Or shall we approach 2014 with “Same old, same old”?
    We ought to always expect and prepare for great things from God! We can’t even begin to think or imagine what He can do in 2014 if, we seek His direction; follow through with determination; and trust Him with all our heart…oh yes, and if we have the proper view of ourselves; our world; our church and our God.