“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-19).
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline” (1 Timothy 1:7).
As I prepare this Pastor’s Blog for January-February 2024 as the pastor of Saloma Baptist Church, I am thankful for having experienced a joyous and blessed Christmas season with my family and with our church family. We have witnessed once again the eternal truth of the Christmas message and its transformational impact upon all of us who choose to profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives. The baby of Bethlehem is the same Messiah who died on the Cross for our sins some 33 years after his birth, the same Messiah who arose from the dead, the same Messiah who ascended into heaven and sits this very day at the right hand of God the Father making intercession for us, and the same Messiah who will return some day for his church. Praise be to God for this message – one that we should celebrate every day.
You will notice two verses listed at the beginning of this blog. These are the two verses – Isaiah 43:18-19 and 1 Timoth 1:7 – for the new year of 2024. As some of you may recall, I have followed this practice for many years – choosing an Old Testament and a New Testament verse for the year. These verses become a guiding light and point of meditation, motivation, and study for me throughout the year. I have long recommended this practice as one of the spiritual disciplines for the members and friends of Saloma Baptist Church.
What are the benefits in choosing a verse(s) for a year? This practice helps us to focus on the Bible and may help increase our commitment to the discipline of regular Bible study. These verses can help keep us focused over an extended period on the particular message that is given by the scripture passages. Memorization of key verses, as many of us learned as children, becomes an important source of inspiration and guidance as we face those inevitable challenges that come our way over the course of twelve months. God may be leading us in a particular direction over time and encouraging us to depend more on Him on a daily and ongoing basis. We benefit from the consistency in reading and prayerfully focusing on the meaning of the verse – it may be something that we really need in our lives and that God is speaking to us to help guide us in the right direction.
Let me offer a few thoughts on the two verses that I have been led to choose for 2024. In Isaiah 43:18-19, the Lord is reminding us that we should not look backward but that we should focus on what is yet to come. We are being reminded that should not focus on the past, and that God is “doing a new thing.” Do we see what is coming? God is “making a way” for us in the wilderness of our daily living and providing “streams” even in the wasteland of this life. He’s directing us to look forward and to not dwell on the past – to look forward to the opportunities in 2024 and that he is preparing “a new way” in the days to come.
In 1 Timothy 1:7, Paul is reminding his young friend Timothy that God did not create and save us from our sins to be timid and fearful. So often we dwell on the past and live in fear of what may happen tomorrow. We should not be anxious about what lies ahead, nor waste out time in dwelling on the past. In Jesus Christ, we are given “power, love, and self-discipline” to live boldly for the Lord.
On this day, I am once again claiming the truths stated in these two powerful verses – one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. My prayer is that I will not dwell on the past, nor worry about the future – that I will not be timid and live in fear – but that I will live with the “power, love, and self-discipline” as Paul wrote. In 2024 I encourage you to live in the same way – looking to the future with the hope and faith that are ours in Jesus Christ – living boldly without timidity and fear. May 2024 be a great year of service to our Lord.