New Year's Dissolutions

There is so much focus this time of the year around new year's resolutions -  things we have been meaning to do that we plan to start doing in January.  Much of the talk has to do with the full expectation that a New Year's resolutions is something we do at the beginning of the year, buy then fades quickly, ie the reduced number of cars in the gym parking lot in February.   This year, I have spent some time thinking about new year's dissolutions.  What are the activities/habits from last year that I could change or quit to make life a little better this year.  It didn't take me long to come up with quite a list.  The first thing I thought about was television, and that is a good one, but so far my best one is to stop thinking so much about how people can serve me thereby making room for me doing something for someone else.  What's your top new year's dissolution?

Slipper church

My church closed its doors on 1/1/17 to give the volunteers a break.  Some may wonder if the church leadership might have just been giving themselves a break.  Not at my church.  The Vine took the opportunity to launch our first online service and encouraged everyone to tune in at 11am on New Year's Day.  Caroline and I joined from Lake Hartwell in our bedroom slippers.  As usual, I was impressed by the attention to detail that our staff used in putting together great music and a great message.  There is no doubt the online service was much more difficult to pull off than just showing up on Sunday morning.  That being said, there is nothing like gathering together to praise our great God all in the same room.  Joining together online will always be second best.  If you don't have a church home, we would love to have you join us in person or online.

Resolve

Another year under the belt - literally.  With my weight being at a life-time high, I am resolved to make changes to fix that.  My son and daughter-in-law gave my a fitness tracker watch for Christmas, and the novelty of the gift has helped me with some early wins - my first run in six months, more walking breaks during the day and a realization that the staircase in my house provides 90% of the exercise I need to lose weight - if I use it.  My other resolution this year is to attempt to enjoy the moment I am in as opposed to anticipating (or worrying about) what will come next.  I don't have any electronics to help me with that one, but I will keep you posted.

Something From Nothing

I saw this video on facebook.  You may have also.  I thought it was well done, and it reinforced for me how small and insignificant we are relative to the vastness of all creation.  The complexity of space is matched by the intricacy of the human body.  My tag for the post was: "must have been a pretty big bang."  One of my friends had this reply: "Indeed. And Nothing caused it. That Nothing is some powerful stuff. Well, it's not stuff exactly, because it's Nothing. But how Nothing can make something is one of the great mysteries of science. The phenomenon of Nothing making something has never been repeated (as far as we know), but I've got an experiment going with my wallet."  It reminded me of the words of the great Billy Preston - "Nothing from nothing leaves nothing...".  Merry Christmas

Nothing More

Our small group wrapped up our study of Colossians last night.  I was encouraged by the author, Paul, who despite being in prison, wrote a letter to a church that he had never visited to instruct them and encourage them.  Apparently, some of the people in Colosse were confusing ideas from other philosophies and religions with the deity of Christ.  Paul reminded them (and us) that Christ is fully God and fully man, and that his grace is sufficient to cover us.  Nothing more is needed. 

Reward Levels

Last night our small group from church got off on a spirited tangent talking about different "levels" of heaven.  All of us had heard in the past about the idea that the more obedient we are on Earth, the higher the level we would be assigned in heaven.  All of us also agreed that this seems counter to the idea that all that is necessary for entrance to heaven is belief in Jesus as God's son and our personal savior.  We did a little digging to find this reference in 2 Corinthian 12:2 where Paul says:  “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.”   Our study sources revealed that the word translated as heaven, could also be translated as "realm".    If Paul was describing the "third realm", he was likely just been describing the one and only heaven.   Revelation 22:12 states: “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” .  This could also be interpreted as higher rewards for cleaner living on earth.  I prefer to think of it this way.   I love music.  Another person may love visual art.  I believe that in God's infinite generosity, he could reward us with those things that mean the most to us.  One gift isn't better than another, it is just "according to what we have done."  This may or may not be the way it will be.   But I feel strongly about two things.  1) God loves that we are curious about him and desire to know him more.  2) Anything great or beautiful that we could imagine about heaven while on earth will be dwarfed by the surprises God has in store for us when we meet him face to face. 

82 Years of Faith

Billy Graham celebrated his 98th birthday last month.  After declaring Jesus as his Lord and Savior at the age of 16, his unwavering faith has impacted more people than any other mere human.  Over 215 million people have seen and heard his message in person and 100's of millions more through books, television and other media.  Over 3 million people have documented that he was responsible for their new life in Jesus.  I never had the chance to hear him speak in person, but YouTube gives us glimpses of his brilliance.  Happy belated birthday Billy.  Your message will be with us forever.