I haven’t written anything for the past few weeks because I was staying in a hotel room and with my daughter and granddaughter—since I posted my “official” Christmas blog,  I figured that I was off the hook as far as writing was concerned since I was swept up in travel and the activities of the holiday season.  The beauty of the season and the celebration of Christmas church services reminded me that Christmas is not over and will never be over for those who believe in Jesus and have entrusted their lives into His capable hands.

As the visits with friends and family, the lights and the sounds of the holidays, and the cheerful greetings surrounded me, I could not help but think of Jesus’ words when the Pharisees wanted to silence the crowds, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19:40).  No matter how the enemies of Christ seek to silence His followers, in spite of the antagonism of atheists, Christmas will continued to be celebrated, His disciples will continue to praise Him, and grateful hearts will not be silenced.

Routines get shaken up with the holidays, though quiet times are not difficult to find if one is willing to look for them.  There is something about all the activity, however, that tends to separate me from a precious awareness of God’s presence and grace while my Bible reading and prayer seem to diminish slowly, one day at a time.  Different surroundings create unique distractions and interestingly, when the focus of this time of year is, for most, intentionally Christian, I become so entangled in activities that my relationship with Him slackens—I am still saved, He is still my friend, yet the conscious time I spend with Him diminishes.

All of the holiday “activity flurries” seem to come to an abrupt end on January 1^st—and often, guilt over many of the holiday excesses form New Year’s resolutions:  More exercise, less food, new diet, better budgeting, more Bible reading, less TV, etc…  I think I wrote last year that I don’t make resolutions because I have failed at as many as I, with a firm set to my jaw, have formulated.  I do want my life to change, though, change that is initiated and accomplished by the Potter’s hand forming me, and the Holy Spirit at work in me.

After all the joyous gatherings of family and friends around dinner tables, in family rooms, or at churches, it is quite easy for me to slip into an a rather self-conscious, self-condemning analysis of what I ate, what I did or didn’t do, what I said or didn’t say instead of just enjoying the sweetness of relationships and celebrations of life.  It is easy to forget that much of Jesus’ ministry took place at dinner tables, a wedding feast where He supplied the wine, and picnics where He supplied the food—one time for 5,000 men, besides women and children (Matthew 14:21) and another time, 4,000 (Matthew 16:10).  We frequently hear teaching about Jesus withdrawing to spend time in prayer to the Father, but He also was very social—not just teaching but also dining with sinners and Pharisees.

John came fasting, Jesus came eating, and both troubled the Pharisees:  “For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘His has a demon.’  The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!”  But wisdom is justified by all her children” (Luke 7:33-35).  Both men were right, of course—Jesus, because His is also God, and John the Baptist because he was guided by the Holy Spirit.

Enjoying a fulfilling life has nothing to do with the rules and restrictions we place on ourselves, nor the permissions we give ourselves; rather, fulfillment comes from our relationship with Jesus and experiencing the fullness of His Spirit.  So instead of obviously measurable resolutions, my hope for this New Year is to continue growing in the grace and knowledge of my Lord and Savior—interesting that the Holy Spirit pinpoints through the apostle Peter growing in grace instead of better rule keeping.  Grace and knowledge of Jesus go hand in hand!

I also look forward to confronting flawed beliefs about myself, as well as faulty religious ways of thinking, with the truth of God’s Word and by “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).  My desire is “to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in [my] heart through faith; that [I will be] rooted and grounded in love, [that I] may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that [I] may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:16-19).

The new year is an excellent time to look back and acknowledge the faithfulness of God, through the difficult times and the pleasant ones; it is also a wonderful time to look forward to new adventures in faith and His faithfulness—let us anticipate the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, press on into knowing Him, and eagerly await His soon return!