by Dr. Ray Pritchard

Gospel: Matthew 6:25-34

Everyone worries about something. You might not think so, but it is true.

Even the best of us … and certainly the rest of us … have worries and concerns. For most of us, the worries are more mundane and closer to home. There is sickness. There is mental pressure and stress. There are family problems. There are job problems. There are difficulties we have with other people.

And for most people, it's not just one thing. It's many things wrapped up together. It's a job, school, money, work, health, bills to pay, your husband, your wife, your ex-husband, your ex-wife, the in-laws, the kids, and on and on it goes. Any one thing we could handle or even two things, but when you get three or four together, your knees start to buckle.

Satchel Paige

One of baseball's greatest pitchers was Satchel Paige. For twenty-four years he pitched in the Negro leagues and then joined the Cleveland Indians and later the Saint Louis Browns. In 1971 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. While he is justly famous for his exploits on the mound, he is also remembered for his Six Rules for Staying Young. I share them with you for your enjoyment.

1. Avoid fried meats which angry up the blood.

2. If your stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts.

3. Keep the juices flowing by jangling around gently as you move.

4. Go very light on the vices, such as carrying on in society. The social ramble ain't restful.

5. Avoid running at all times.

6. Don't look back. Something may be gaining on you.

(Source: The Baseball Reader, p.101)

All those things will definitely help and at the beginning of a new year most of us need all the help we can get. But some of our problems run a little deeper than fried meat.

The Big Question For New Year

This morning I would like to bring you some good cheer for the new year. My sole purpose is to be an encourager. There is plenty of pessimism going around. I would like to dispense some biblical optimism.

What we really need to know can be summed up in one sentence - Will God take care of us in the new year? Will he or won't he? If he will, then we don't have much to worry about. If he won't, then we're in a heap of trouble.

Let's be perfectly honest about that question. With our heads, we know the answer is "yes." Of course, God will take care of us. With our hearts we wonder about it. Does God know about my situation? Does he really care about me? Will he take care of me in the new year or do I have to handle things all by myself?

This is not an academic question. This is the question. Will God take care of us in the new year?

Jesus' Advice To Compulsive Worriers

Fortunately, Jesus answered that question for us. He did it so clearly that no one can miss it. For our Lord's answer, turn with me to Matthew 6. This is the middle portion of the Sermon on the Mount. It sounds like it was written for the beginning of a new year. Look at verse 25: "Do not worry." And verse 27: "Who of you by worrying?" And verse 28: "Why do you worry?" And verse 31: "So do not worry." And verse 34: "Therefore do not worry." Five times in ten verses Jesus mentions "worry." And the whole point is to tell us: "Don't worry. Don't get anxious."

What is worry? The word itself comes from the Old English wyrgan, which means to strangle or to seize by the throat. Let me give you a simple definition. Worry is excessive concern over the affairs of life. The key obviously is the word "excessive." Worry happens when you are so concerned about the problems of life that you can think of nothing else. It is an all-consuming feeling of uncertainty and fear.

And it is a sin. Worry is a sin for two reasons: First, because it displaces God in your life. When you commit the sin of worry, you are living as though God did not exist. And you are living as though you alone can solve your problems. Second, because it distracts you from the things that really matter in life. As long as you are worrying, you can't do anything else. You are strangled by worry.

But how can we tell when the legitimate concerns of life have become sinful worries? Here are three practical guidelines. You are probably well into worry …

1. When the thing you are concerned about is the first thing you think about in the morning and the last thing you think about at night.

2. When you find yourself thinking about it during every spare moment.

3. When you find yourself bringing it up in every conversation you have.

Seen in that light, most of us worry a lot more than we would like to admit!

But Jesus said, Don't worry. Don't be anxious about the affairs of life. Don't let your legitimate concern turn into sinful worry.

Let me tell you from this passage three things you shouldn't worry about in the new year.

I. Don't Worry About Where Your Next Meal Is Coming From

Verse 25 says, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink." And verse 31, "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink.'" Now that sounds okay if you've got food in the pantry; it sounds crazy if you don't.

But let Jesus explain himself. Verse 26 says, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father takes care of them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Very few birds go into farming. You hardly ever see a red robin planting some corn. But God feeds the birds. And aren't you worth more than the birds to God?

I suspect that the problem lies right there. Deep inside we wonder if we are worth anything to God. Psychologists tell us that behind nearly all emotional and mental problems lies a poor self-image. If you feel bad about yourself, if you see yourself as a loser and a flop, if you regard yourself as never quite measuring up, then you are going to have a hard time trusting God, because you will not see yourself as worthy of his love.

The truth is, our self-images are formed in our early years. And that's why what happens at home is so important. Erma Bombeck said that good children are like sunsets. They disappear every evening and we take them for granted. Few adults realize how desperately our children want to please us and how crushed they are when they think they have failed.

I began thinking about my own boys and how proud I am of them and how the time is slipping away from me. Just recently we started a new deal where each week I will take one of the boys out for a special treat - just me and him. Joshua and I went out to Portillo's and then Mark and I went to McDonald's and yesterday Nicholas came and said, "Can we go miniature golfing?" I said, "Son, there's ice everywhere." He grinned and said with perfect five-year-old logic, "So? Let's go anyway."

Now, I'm a very imperfect father but I love my sons. Do you think God loves me any less? No, he loves me far more. I'm his son. And if I love my sons when they do wrong, am I better than God? No, he loves me even when I fail him. Let me say it this way. There is nothing you can do to make God stop loving you. Nothing. You can hate him, you can turn away from him, you can curse him to his face, but you can't stop him from loving you. Nothing can make him cease caring for you, nothing can stem the tide of his mercy toward you, nothing can hold back his kindness. And he has promised to take care of you. You are worth more than a million birds to him. After all, the birds are God's creatures, but we are God's children.

Does that mean we will never miss a meal? No. Does that mean we will always have food on the table? No. Does that mean we will never go hungry? No. It means that God has promised to take care of what we eat and therefore we don't need to worry about it.

II. Don't Worry About What You Are Going To Wear

Isn't it interesting that Jesus mentioned clothing? Listen to his words in verses 28-30: "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"

The lilies don't even work for what they have. God gives it to them. And do you think the flowers worry? You never see a lily going to the psychiatrist because he can't get his head together. Only humans do that.

And here's the point. The flowers don't even last very long. You buy some today and by Wednesday they've started to wilt. Little helpless flowers that pass away so quickly. Yet God takes care of them.

But we are not flowers. We are living souls. Your body is not you. It's part of you, but it's not the whole you. The real you is more than the sum total of your blood, muscles, bones, fat, nerves and skin. You are not just a piece of gross anatomy. You are a living soul living in a body made by God. And you are going to live forever somewhere. That's makes you infinitely more valuable than the lilies of the field. If that's true - and it is - than you don't have to worry about what you are going to wear. God will pick out your wardrobe for you. He will make sure that you have what you need.

Why Food And Clothes?

Suppose we stop right here and ask, "Why did Jesus specifically mention food and clothes as things not to worry about?" The answer is that they represent the basic elements of life. They stand for all the things we need to get along in the world, such as money, jobs, housing, transportation, and so on. By mentioning food and clothes, Jesus is really saying, "You are not to worry about any of these things."

And the reason we are not to worry about them is because worry inflates these things all out of proportion. Verse 25 says, "Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" Food is important - and you need to eat some from time to time - but it is not the most important thing. Clothing is valuable - and you ought to wear some - but it is not the most valuable thing. The whole point is, in God's economy food and clothing are of minor importance. They are so small that God is saying, "You think about the big stuff and I'll take care of the details."

There is one final thing we don't need to worry about in the new year.

III. Don't Worry About How Long You Are Going To Live

Notice what Jesus said in verse 27, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" In the Greek the phrase "a single hour" actually refers to a cubit. In ancient times a cubit was a measurement equal to the length from the elbow to the middle finger, a distance of about 18 inches. It is like saying, "Who by worrying can add an inch to his height or a single moment to his life?" The answer is, no one can. That's the funny thing about worry. It can give you an ulcer or a stroke or a migraine headache or a heart attack. But the one thing worry can't give you is a longer life. A man can worry himself to death, but he can't worry himself into a longer life.

Think for a moment about some of the people who died last year. How many of them knew in advance the time and place of their death? Hardly any of them.

The Bible says, "It is appointed unto man once to die." (Hebrews 9:27) That is one appointment we all must keep. It cannot be postponed or rescheduled.

Perhaps you've heard the story of the two baseball players, George and John. One day they were talking and John said, "Do you think they play baseball in heaven?" "I don't know," said George, "But if I get there before you do, I'll try to come back and let you know."

Well, the very next week George died suddenly. A few days later John was out walking by himself when he heard a voice call his name. He looked around but no one was there.

The voice called his name again.
"Is that you, George?" he whispered.
"Yes, it's me," said the voice.
"Well, do they play baseball up there?"

The voice answered, "John, I've got some good news and some bad news about that. The good news is, they play baseball up here all the time. The bad news is, they've got you scheduled to pitch next week."

That's the way life is. One day you're shoveling snow; the next day you're pitching for the Angels. But it could happen to any of us. You may die next year. Nothing you can do can change that fact in the least. The whole matter is in God's hands. So to worry about terminal illness or a freak accident is pointless. Nothing you can do makes the slightest difference. You cannot by worrying add a single second to your life.

That lifts a tremendous load off your shoulders, doesn't it? You're going to die someday. Maybe today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe later this year. But maybe not for fifty years. Maybe suddenly. Maybe slowly. Only God knows how it will happen.

But that means you are living on borrowed time. Only God knows when your time is up and your appointment has come. That means you don't have to worry about dying. That's out of your hands. Therefore, you are free to relax, enjoy life, live each day to the fullest and go for all the gusto you can get. And let God worry about how things turn out.

Worry Less And Trust More

So what kind of year will the next year be? The man from the World Future Society says this will be the most worry-filled decade in world history. He may be right. In times like these, our temptation is to worry more and trust less when exactly the reverse ought to be true. We ought to worry less and trust more.

Will God take care of us next year? Yes, he will. So we don't need to worry about food or clothes or how long we will live or anything else. God is going to take care of us. Maybe not exactly the way we expect. But he will take care of us.

In light of that, what should our attitude be? Let me give you exactly what Jesus said.

I. Remember That God Already Knows What You Need

Look at verse 32, "For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them." What are "all these things?" Food, clothes, shelter, money, a job, and all the other necessities of life. God already knows about them. When you say, "Lord, "I'm out of a job," it isn't news to him. When you say, "Lord, I can't pay my bills," he checked your bank account before you did. He knows you are broke.

That's a wonderful incentive to pray. He already knows the details of every problem in your life. So go ahead, tell him the whole story. He won't be surprised. And pray with confidence … He's waiting to hear from you.

II. Put God First And Your Worries Second

This is just a way of paraphrasing verse 33: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." This means, let God solve your problems. Keep on praying. Keep on trusting. Keep on believing. Keep on doing good. Keep on serving the Lord. Keep on helping others. Keep on sharing. And God promises to take care of you. Let God be God even in the hard times. And everything else you need will be added to you.

III. Don't Worry About The Future

This is Jesus' final piece of advice in verse 34. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Don't borrow trouble. There's plenty to be thinking about right now. So many people are frozen with fear over what might happen two or three months down the road. Listen, if God could create the world in seven days, he can surely handle your problems in March or April.

Each day has enough trouble to keep you plenty busy. You take care of today and God will take care of tomorrow.

Cheer Up, Ye Saints Of God

And that brings us to the end, doesn't it? Be encouraged, child of God. Look up, Christian. Rejoice, ye saints of the Lord. Your heavenly Father has promised to take care of you. That's good cheer for the New Year.

When we were first married Marlene taught me a little chorus that we sometimes sing at our house. It seems like a fitting conclusion to this message:

Cheer up, ye saints of God, there's nothing to worry about.
Nothing to make you feel afraid, nothing to make you doubt.
Remember, Jesus never fails, so why not trust him and shout,
You'll be sorry you worried at all tomorrow morning.

Forgive us, Lord, for doubting your Word. We say we trust you … and then we try to manage our own affairs. We believe that you have the answers … but often we forget to consult you. Forgive us for our lack of faith. Please, Lord, reach down and change the gears within us, that we may go forward with you. Amen.

About The Author:

Dr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep Believing Ministries, a ministry serving Christians in 225 countries. He is the author of 27 books, including Stealth Attack, Fire and Rain, Credo, The Healing Power of Forgiveness, An Anchor for the Soul and Why Did This Happen to Me?

by Mike Pohlman

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
--Philippians 3:13-14

Thinking about New Years and what resolutions I want to make this year. I, for one, see God's grace in the close of one year and the dawn of another. This yearly cycle gives us the opportunity to take inventory of where we stand in relation to our Creator; are we seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33)?

The New Year can be a time for "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead," to recommit ourselves to "setting our minds on things above" (Colossians 3:1-4).

To help me in this endeavor I've enlisted Steven Lawson and his fine book on Jonathan Edwards: The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards. Jonathan Edwards, of course, is probably best known for his sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." But there is far more to appreciate about this eighteenth century pastor. Benjamin Warfield referred to Edwards as a "figure of real greatness in the intellectual life of colonial America." And Edwards scholar George Marsden considers him "the most acute American philosopher." But perhaps the Englishman Martyn Lloyd-Jones said it best: "I am tempted, perhaps foolish, to compare the Puritans to the Alps, Luther and Calvin to the Himalayas, and Jonathan Edwards to Mount Everest! He has always seemed to me the man most like the Apostle Paul."

Lawson's aim with his book is "to challenge a new generation of believers to pursue holiness in their daily lives" by focusing on Edwards' seventy "Resolutions" (Amazingly, Edwards wrote these resolutions in 1722 and 1723 when he was just eighteen and nineteen-years-old).

Lawson chose to focus on Edwards' "Resolutions" given how well they demonstrate the towering virtue of his life, namely, his piety. "In short, though Edwards was intellectually brilliant and theologically commanding, his true greatness lay in his indefatigable zeal for the glory of God."

Consider Resolution #1:

Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence.

Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty, and the most for the good and advantage of mankind in general.

Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.

Edwards was resolved, regardless of the difficulty, to live for the glory of God, his own pleasure (in God) and the good of mankind generally. Profound and convicting.

Now, notice what this puritan - this relic of centuries ago - says in

 Resolution #2:

Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new invention and contrivance to promote the forementioned things.

We don’t usually associate Jonathan Edwards with "innovation" or "cutting edge thinking." And yet, here he is resolved to continually dream up ways to advance the glory of God.

I want to do that this year. I want to be resolved to live for the glory of God, to find my pleasure in Him and the good of mankind generally. And I want to do this with a determined, vigorous and biblically-wise analysis of ways I can do it better.

Intersecting Faith & Life:

What new ways can you think of to advance the glory of God, your pleasure in Him and the good of mankind? And don’t just think innovation. Perhaps what is "old" should become new again.

Further Reading

The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards (Steven Lawson)

Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different (Tullian Tchividjian)

by Cindi McMenamin

I had to start making a plan every January to ensure I didn't end the year in the same place, spiritually, as I was when the year started. Year by year, we might not notice a lack of spiritual growth in our lives. But you'd be surprised how quickly ten years can pass without having memorized one more verse of scripture, without confronting a habitual sin in your life, without having shared the gospel with an unbeliever, without having experienced a point in your walk with God that lit a fire under you and caused you to live differently.

I guess what I'm saying is that spiritual complacency isn't ever an intention, but too often it can creep into our lives unnoticed - a tragic consequence of failing to be intentional in our spiritual growth.

Instead of making "new year's resolutions" each year, I sit down with God and set some spiritual goals for the next year to ensure that during the time I am aging another year, physically, I will also be aging another year, spiritually. I want to make sure, also, that there is fruit developing from my life instead of being a sponge that continues to soak it all in, but gives little out.

Here are some examples of spiritual goals that I've set through the years, many of which repeatedly stay on my list from year to year. Try a couple of these, and maybe even come up with some of your own, so that you are one year closer to Christ - and more effective for his kingdom - by the time next January rolls around:

1. Read through the Bible in a year. There's really no reason to have never read the entire Bible if you've owned one for years. There are several good resources available to help you do this. If you've already read it from cover to cover, do it again, but in a different translation. Try teaming up with a friend, spouse, or co-worker to do this with you and hold each other accountable.

2. Choose a book of the Bible to study. The next step after simply reading the Bible is to study it, go beneath the surface, uncover the truths, principles and insights in Scripture. You may want to study one book of the Bible each quarter...or one for the entire year. Try picking up the New Inductive Study Bible which actually teaches you how to study the Bible on your own. Make sure you regularly share with others what you are learning.

3. Study a topic that will help you grow. Ask yourself where you want to be in your relationship with the Lord by the end of the year and then set tangible goals for getting there. For instance, if you want to know him better, consider a study of his names in the Old Testament and Jesus' "I am" statements in the New Testament. If you need to slow down and learn to listen for his voice, study all the Word says about "rest" or "hearing" or his "voice." If there are character traits you know you need to work on, consider an in-depth study of some or all of the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

4. Participate in a weekly small group Bible study or lead one among your friends, neighbors, or co-workers. We can grow at a faster rate in community because we are able to share our experiences with one another and hold each other accountable.

5. Read three books to deepen your devotional life. Set a goal to read a book every month, every three months, or whatever is realistic for you. Also consider reading books that will challenge and convict you...that's where the growth comes.

6. Start a weekly prayer group with others who share similar concerns on your heart. (For example, praying with other moms for your children, praying with other wives for unsaved spouses, praying during your lunch hour with co-workers, or praying with friends or church members for a specific burden God has placed on your heart.)

7. Start a journal to record your growth. Start journaling your thoughts as you read the Word. How did a certain passage compel you to pray? What changes are you asking God to make in your life? What discoveries have you made about his character or his Word? Date each page. By the end of the year, you'll have a record of where God took you and what he has shown you through the past 12 months.

8. Record your blessings and answered prayers. Keep a "blessing book" in which you record every blessing that comes your way throughout the year, adding a prayer of thanks or praise. In addition, write out your prayer requests and record the answers as they come. By writing out these types of things, you will not only be more keenly aware of how God is working in and around your life, but you will be able to see your progress in becoming one who does "everything without complaining or arguing" (Philippians 2:14) and a person who gives thanks "in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

9. Disciple a young believer. We learn the most when we teach it to others. And seeing someone grasp a truth for the first time gives it a fresh impact on our lives as well. Pick up the One-to-One Discipleship manual from Multiplication Ministries and take a young believer through the adventure of living the Christ-directed life.

10. Pick a 'theme verse' for the year. Say it aloud every day. I guarantee if you do this, by the end of the year - and probably a lot sooner - you will have memorized that verse. And that's one more verse in the Word of God that you will have memorized during your lifetime. Choose from Psalm 90:12, Psalm 119:32, Psalm 119:133, Galatians 5:16, Philippians 1:27, Philippians 4:6-7, or find one of your own.

Make some of these action points priority in your life this next year and hopefully, by the end of 2014, you'll be not only another year old in your body, but another year older in your faith and walk with Christ. That's my goal for the year. How about you?

About The Author:

Cindi McMenamin is a national speaker and the author of several books including When Women Walk Alone, When a Woman Overcomes Life's Hurts, and Letting God Meet Your Emotional Needs. See her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.

By Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros

Gospel: Luke 4:14-19

The first speech of Jesus was in the synagogue. It is an explanation of a passage from the Prophet Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives,
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed be free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Jesus explained this text by simply saying: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Today we start a new year. What do we expect from it? We ripped off all the pages of the last year's calendar, and we have, before us, a new calendar and its fresh pages. Each page of the new calendar with its day or week, is innocent and beautiful. We move through time by sullying each page, tearing and discarding it.

What does 'time' mean for us Christians?

Is it only a movement of days, weeks, months and years according to a calendar with pages to be torn and tossed? If it is only that, it gives us a feeling of disconnectedness, as if the events of our life cohere no more than one page does to another.

In speaking of time, the Greeks distinguished between chronos and kairos.

The chronos is the chronological time, which spans the surface of life, with its events, good and bad, sometimes meaningful some other times meaningless.

The kairos is the contemplative time which goes down into the depths of wisdom and true knowledge.

The kairos is the contemplative time.

The word contemplation has a Latin root, suggesting "time with". The Kairos is the time of the Kingdom of God. As Christians, we believe that time is a time with God, because it is the time of God with us. When Jesus came, he was called "Emmanuel", that means "God with us". With the coming of Jesus, "God with us", the chronos became kairos, the time became filled with the presence of God. That is why when St Paul spoke of the coming of Jesus Christ, he spoke of the fullness of time. St. Paul said:

"When the fullness of time has come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir through God"
(Gal. 4:4-7)"

So contemplative time is time in which connectedness is perceived as essential. There is no fully human knowledge unless it is knowing "with"; And "knowing with" is the meaning of "conscience", from the Latin "con" (=with) and "scientia", means "to know".

To be a Christian and to live one's time as Christian is to move more and more every day, every week, every month, every year, from mere chronology to contemplation, to move from events following each other as if randomly to events filled with conscious choices.

Our choices are the seat of connectedness; they are conscious choices we make in connection "with" God our Father, with Jesus our brother and Savior, and with the Holy Spirit who inspires us. In this way the Christian time becomes the realm of morality, as well as of meaning. In choosing, we choose with God and at the same time with freedom and responsibility.

When we live our time in a contemplative way with God, there will be no more room for fear. When Jesus came the angels proclaimed glory to God and peace to men. And Jesus, before leaving his disciples, told them: "I will give you my peace". It is the inner peace.

When we live our time in a contemplative way with God our Father, with Jesus our brother and Savior, and with the Holy Spirit who inspires us, we will live it without fear but with inner peace. And inner peace will always be compromised until we recognize and affirm that we cannot be ruled by our fears but only by our faith, our hope and our love.

Inner peace comes from the faith that God loves us and sent us his Son Jesus Christ as savior. Inner peace does not come from stoic endurance or even heroic resistance, but from being "with God" who is "God with us", and from doing with hope and love what God wants us to do, in spite of the various difficulties we will encounter in our daily life.

We read in the Book of Job "God does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number." (5:9). In Jesus we believe that he did marvelous things and, based on this faith, we hope that he will keep on doing marvelous things in our life and, through us, in the life of the world. He will keep on bringing good news to the poor, proclaiming release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, and letting the oppressed be free, and proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor."