FIRST THINGS

Under the category “New Year,” many traditional hymnals include one titled “Another Year is Dawning.” Its lyrics were composed by a modest, behind-the-scenes Britisher named Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879). Daughter of an Anglican clergyman, she lost her mother when only eleven years old. But poetry that honored God stirred within her, and she'd write the lyrics to some 100 hymns, including the better-known hymn of consecration, “Take My Life and Let It Be.” And that is how she lived—a lifelong single—letting God live within her until her early death at age 42.

The “New Year” hymn begins like this: Another year is dawning! Dear Master, let it be,/In working or in waiting, another year with thee./Another year of leaning upon thy loving breast,/Of even-deepening trustfulness, of quiet, happy rest.

I've never been much for staying up on New Year's eve until the clock struck twelve. Maybe it's weariness from all the consumerism that has come to characterize the whole Christmas season and how alcohol seems to reign in the holiday partying. Give me instead a cup of warm cocoa and a quiet place to think about the past and anticipate what God has planned for the future.

Maybe we can learn a thing or two from Jewish culture. Their “new year” celebration, “Rosh Hashanah,” one of seven Jewish “feasts,” is one of three in the autumn. The name comes from the command to blow trumpets, and traditionally the shofar (made from a ram's horn) sounds the call to pause and examine one's life before God.

And isn't that the meaning behind the Lord's Supper (“communion”) in Christian churches? And when “communion” is scheduled for late New Year's Eve, or even at midnight, a reverent, humble attitude toward God is a lot more meaningful than some huge glittering ball dropping above a crowd of revelers in an alcohol-fueled environment. It's not about the calendar going from one numbered year to another. It's about what the apostle Paul called “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” And in doing to, to “press on toward the call to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13b-14).

Or, as Miss Havergal put it, a fresh opportunity for “ever-deepening trustfulness, of quiet, happy rest.”

Join a congregation in singing this hymn:

Anotheryear is dawning - Bing video

One way--and don't swing it!

A series inspired by sights of Kauai (a trip gifted to us).

How do you get to the other side when there’s a river in the way?  In the early 1900s, those living around Hanapepe on Kauai’s south shore found a river in the way.  Their solution was a narrow pedestrian suspension bridge.  Damaged in 1992’s Hurricane Iniki, it was restored and reinforced, and now is a draw for tourists along with the little town’s few galleries and shops.  It swings and bumps when you walk across it (which can be fun for children, but not for this “maturing” lady).  There’s not much on the other side (except, I’m told, taro fields) but that doesn’t really matter because a modern highway goes over a bridge further south.

The bridge’s definite “one way” traffic reminded me of Jesus’ proclamation, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).  We can’t jump our way to Heaven. We can’t swim there.  We can’t wish ourselves there. One way: trust in Jesus, which means accepting His payment through His death for our sins. He also said:

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it;  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Luke 7:14)

Hundreds of years before Christ, the writer of Proverbs (probably Solomon) assembled several sayings about choosing God’s way:

I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.
When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble...
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.
(Proverbs 4:10-11, 18-19)



Another Proverbs passage certainly reflected my determination to get across the one-person-wide Hanapepe swinging bridge without falling in:

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.

Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. (Proverbs 4:25-26)

Life sometimes leads us to the entrance of a dark bridge. No matter how much we pray, we don’t know what’s really ahead.  We know that we don’t want to go further without the help of God. And we can have it:

Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:20-21). New Year’s Day is a good day to reflect on path of the past and changes for another year’s journey. It’s also a wonderful time to choose a verse that might reflect your desire for spiritual goals in 2016. I keep scripture clipped above my computer as a constant reminder of God’s call on my life.  Is this something you should be doing?  By the way, there’s no zip line adjacent to the Hanapepe Bridge.  Kind of like true spiritual life—no shortcuts.

 

Digging through the dust

I haven’t yet met a writer who didn’t have stacks of dusty stuff in the “office.” I plead: guilty, as charged. Thus, in attempts to get better organized, this week I bought a five-shelf bookcase to replace a rickety two-shelf one held up by stacks of books in front of it. As I dusted and re-stacked books on actual shelves, I discovered some I forgot I had.

Something similar happened this morning as I read to the end of Jeremiah. For a lot of people, Jeremiah is a dusty, obscure book. I understand! But little by little, it’s opening up for me.

Jeremiah’s long prophecy ends in a big swash of condemnation of nations near and far who didn’t follow God. It reminded me of the 1960s and 1970s when it seemed the continents took turns having “coup of the day.” But this was 597 B.C., and the stakes were huge, thanks to super-power Babylon and its ruthless ruler Nebuchadnezzar. He was eyeing a prize called Jerusalem and its young king, Jehoiachin.

Age 18 when he officially took over the throne, Jehoiachin wore the crown for a mere three months and ten days. The Bible’s analysis of his kingship: “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Kings 24:9, 2 Chronicles 36:9). Not too great a job evaluation, huh? He’d barely warmed up the throne when the Babylonian king marched him off to captivity with the rest of the royal family (including the Queen Mother—imagine how she felt about his job performance!) and about 10,000 fellow Jews.

In this riches-to-rags story, Jehoiachin sat in a primitive prison for 37 years! Do the math: from age 18 (barely shaving) to age 55 (definitely sagging). He’d probably lost all hope. Then Babylon’s leadership changed. Power-hungry Nebuchadnezzar died and was replaced by Evil-Merodach (how’d you like that for a name?), who freed Jehoiachin from prison.

Then the Bible records an amazing event. You don’t expect it of a ruler whose nation is known for brutality: “He [Evil-Merodach] spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon” (Jeremiah 52:32). Besides being removed from prison, Jehoiachin was given fresh clothes and invited to eat regularly at the king’s table the rest of his life.

There are several ways to look at this story. One is this: Jehoiachin got better than he deserved, though it took a while. However, he never returned to Jerusalem to resume his rule. Plus, the Bible never indicates if he softened his heart toward the things of God. The man who “did evil” in his short reign didn’t emerge from prison on fire for God. He was content to slum along in the royal dining room until he died.

Another way of looking at the passage is this. Sin and godless living can land any of us in desperate circumstances. But God, who unlike Babylon’s pagan king is absolute righteousness, sees us in the dark prison of our own making. Instead of some plebian guard, He sent His own Son to unlock the dank chamber where we rot. He bids us come with Him, gives us fresh garments, and leads us to the King’s banquet hall. There He wants to fellowship with us, forever. For me, it puts another face on that memorable verse: “I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).

As we end one year and begin the next, Jehoiachin’s story presents us with some searching truths. Have you given up hope in your negative circumstances? Would you be ready if the King called you?