Resolving Life In 2014

Mike Hosey, Elder

Most people make some kind of New Year's Resolutions.  They either do it consciously in some quasi-formal way, or they do it subconsciously -- telling themselves quietly and in their heads what they plan to do after the turn of the year.

Some people are resolving to take better care of their bodies, and they'll start by participating in Fellowship's Resolution 5K run on January 25th.  Others will resolve to make more money, or to drink less, or to be more organized.  The list is endless, really.  .

But let me suggest some possible resolutions that are good for everyone.

Resolve To Spend Time With God:  Jesus did (Luke 5:16 and Luke 6:12). In fact, in  Matthew 6:5-6 Jesus expects us to make time regularly, because in his teaching He says "when" you pray.  This doesn't mean we have to engage in some deep and difficult bible study. Or that we must spend hours in focused prayer all of the time.  It means that we resolve to just spend time praying, studying, or even just thinking about God, or His word, or the good things that He is responsible for (Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:8; Psalm 104:34; Psalm 143:5; Psalm 119:148).

Resolve To Love God And Others: God commanded us to Love and commit ourselves to Him, as well as to love and be committed to our neighbors.  Jesus tells us that doing so is essential to life. (Luke 10:25-28). Try to find practical ways to make that happen in your life. For instance, be involved in a ministry at Church, or take a neighbor a meal.  It won't always be easy. But it will have a positive impact on both your physical and your spiritual well being.

Stop Beating Yourself Up Over Sin: It is proper to be remorseful about wronging God and others. Sin can cause serious damage to our relationship with God and to the lives of others. But once we've confessed it (1 John 1:9) and turned it over to God, and done our part to make amends, it's time to stop revisiting it.  His mercies are new every day (Lamentations 3:22-24). So start serving God with the time you are wallowing over the mistakes you've made, and go and sin no more (John 8:11).  

Resolve To Forgive Others:  God forgives you (see the paragraph above), you should forgive others.  Besides, Jesus expects it in a radical way (Matthew 18:21-22).  Holding on to negativity towards others doesn't hurt them. It only hurts you.

The Season of Meaningful Change

Nelson Plasencia, Elder (and Family)

As I look around on my travels during this season, I can’t help but notice that change is in the air; change is everywhere. The leaves falling, the grass drying, and the occasional (here in North-Central Florida) temperature drops all indicate that a new season is upon us. It is very easy to grow accustomed to such changes to the point where we stop noticing and miss the wonder of it all! Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to help us recapture that wonder. Recently I was having a conversation with one of my nephews who having lived in South Florida all of his life had never personally experienced the seasonal changes. Yes, he had seen it in pictures and in TV but seeing the trees shed their leaves up close and personal was a whole new experience for him!

Creator: Meinolf Wewel

It’s been said that times change and experience tells us that it is true. Yet, we who have put our trust in Jesus Christ, can confidently state that while times change, the time changer does not! And that is because the Bible assures us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb 13:8 NASB) And it was this same Jesus who split the calendar in two when he broke through into our world to bring salvation to mankind; to reconcile us back to God; and to show us a new way of life! During this season which we call Christmas, we recount the Nativity story and fondly remember that magical night when salvation was first proclaimed to all by angelic voices.

As the clock winds down on this year and we prepare to turn the page of the calendar we are likely to have bouts of nostalgia. Some of us may have had a good year and become sad at the thought of having to start over. For others, though, the year that is coming to an end has not been very kind. The struggles of life seem to have been magnified: financial, emotional or spiritual issues; relational problems; sicknesses. All these cause us to want to leave our past struggles behind and long for a fresh start. During his season of trial Job exclaimed “all the days of my struggle I will wait until my change comes.” (Job 14:14 NASB)  Jesus the Messiah brought meaningful change into the world. He brought love, joy, peace, hope, healing, forgiveness, restoration, reconciliation! At Fellowship Church we want to embrace Real Change; meaningful change, and thus we look forward with anticipation to a new year and in faith each proclaim “I’m Starting New”!

Debunking Christmas

Mike Hosey, Elder

Every Christmas I'm reminded of how our view of the world can get out of whack if we don't examine that view to make sure it is accurate. This is because there are many things we believe about Christmas that just aint so. Churchworld for the other 11 months isn't much different. A good bit of how we practice our faith has more basis in tradition than it does in our scriptures. 

With that in mind consider this sampling of Christmas disparities that Berean-like Christians have noticed:

Christmas Is Our Chief Holiday. No, it isn't. The chief  holiday is actually Easter - which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. The Bible has no record of Christians celebrating Christmas.  It probably wasn't celebrated in any modern sense until almost 400 years after Christ. But the Lord's Supper (which honors the death, resurrection and future return of Jesus) likely was celebrated weekly. That celebration was commanded by Jesus (1 Cor. 11:24-25). Of course, there's nothing wrong with celebrating Jesus' birth as long as we keep Him at the center of that celebration.

Credit: Hans Olav Lien

Your Nativitiy Scene Is Probably Wrong. There weren't three wise men at the manger. They didn't make it in time for that. The Bible says that by the time they got to Jesus, He was a child, and not an infant (Matthew 2:11). In fact, He could have been as old as two (Matthew 2:16). And we don't know how many wise men there were. People assume there were three because there were three gifts given. Some scholars argue there was a host of wise men. But we simply don't know because the Bible doesn't say.

The Inn Probably Wasn't An Inn.  It was probably a relative's house. The Greek word for "inn" (Luke 2:7) in this portion of scripture is "kataluma" (Strongs G2646).  It means either lodging, or guest chamber.  The Bible doesn't mention (or even hint at) an inn keeper. The only other places in the Bible where kataluma is used are Luke 22:11 and Mark 14:14 to denote the room where Jesus chose to eat the Passover. Furthermore, Luke uses a different word, "pandocheion," (Strongs G3829) in Luke 10:34 to describe an inn or public lodging. That word better describes an "inn" as we would understand it. Bethlehem was a very small town, and likely wouldn't have had an inn. And since Bethlehem was his home town, Joseph likely wouldn't have needed one. The guest rooms of his friends and relatives could have been full due to the census, so Joseph and Mary would have been given the back room (often a cave below the house) where animals were kept.

All of this leads me to ask, "if we're missing all these facts on such a momentous event, what other facts are we missing?" And that leads me to encourage you all to join a small group or a Bible study class so that together we can strengthen our faith and practice it in spirit and in truth!

Do You Talk About Jesus?

Mike Hosey, Elder

If you are a follower of Jesus, and you are not talking about Him to others you should seriously ask yourself why not?

This is because when people meet Him, they talk about Him.  In fact, people who see Him face to face develop an urge to tell everyone about their experience - even when Jesus tells them not to do that (Mark 1:41-45)!

And this urge to tell others about Him was evidenced from the very beginning. Consider the very first people (other than His immediate family) recorded to have met Jesus -- the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20).

It's an awesome story! The shepherds are out in their fields watching over their flocks when an angel of the Lord appears to them and tells them that their savior has been born, and that they can find this great person lying in a lowly feed trough.  A company of angels then appear. They praise God and proclaim peace and goodwill to men. Then they return to heaven, and the shepherds begin their search for the newborn king.

Talk About Him!

After the shepherds find the baby Jesus, the first thing they do is tell everyone around them what they had been told about this child (Luke 2:17), and everyone who hears it is amazed (Luke 2:18)! Then those same shepherds returned to the fields from where they came, glorifying God and praising Him for all the things they had heard and seen (Luke 2:20). They were already spreading the gospel!

This should really be no surprise.  We naturally want to spread the word when we've experienced something great and special. We love to tell our friends about what we've seen when we get back from vacation, or when we've experienced a great movie, or even when we've found a great sale.  

There is an instinctive desire to share one's good news. And the story of Jesus in your life is the greatest news of all.  First of all, He has saved you from eternal death and made you a friend of God.  But perhaps He has also cancelled your alcoholism, or He has changed your negative perspective, or He has renewed your love for God, or any number of great things. So if you are not sharing that story, you should ask yourself, "why not?"