A Song for the New Year (Read Jude 20-25)

Oh what a wonderful time of year this is.  Christmas followed a week later by the New Year (at least in many parts of the world).  As a youth it was the joy of opening gifts followed by the Rose Bowl (along with the Cotton, Sugar and Orange).  A channel surfer’s delight even before we had a TV with a remote.  You had to sit close enough to reach the knob, but far enough so those terrible TV rays wouldn’t fry your brain.

Tell me, did you sing this one this year at Christmas?

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas –

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Let your heart be light
From now on, our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on, our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days, Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us gather near to us once more.
Through the years we all will be together, If the Fates allow,
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.  

Who faces a new year with that kind of attitude?  Troubles out of sight, miles away?  And are you satisfied to let your year depend on the “Fates”, whoever they are?  I have heard (I am not concerned if it’s true or not; I’m just musing for a moment) that the original version was different, only to be changed by Hollywood (of course!) for the movie in which it was made famous, Meet Me In St. Louis.  Originally the line was, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last.”   I can see why such a blast of reality as that was cut from the script.  And then it said, “We all will be together, if the Lord allows.”  That line would have given the song some legitimacy.  

Maybe in 1944 (when the movie debuted) there was a need for fantastic fantasy given the carnage of WWII.  The problem is that same war, on the heels of WWI, was the death-knell of hoping in hope for most people.  The thought that mankind, with his innate goodness, could pull himself together up and out of the morass of war and hatred was ridiculous to most (although it is amazing that today the voices of liberalism and progressivism still are heard promoting life based on a God-less goodness of mankind, usually with the government at the center of making sure everyone gets their share of goodies).

Here, let me give you another song for your new year.  To be honest I don’t know the tune.  It’s not famous like the above ditty.  But it is all truth.  Its Jude 24-25 and I know it was a song because it’s in poetic form in my Bible (J).  As a song for your new year it will give you clarity of focus, purpose and faith.  It speaks of a God who is able on your behalf and is worthy of your trust.

And just so you know this is not just a religious thing that has no connection with reality, meditate on the verses that precede it (Jude 20-23).  It speaks of a lifestyle that is marked by continuity rather than continual fresh starts.  I am speaking of the participles (those are words that in English usually have an ing at the end).  The foundation is a command to keep yourselves in the love of God.  Do not stray from the thought of God’s love.  That’s important because your troubles will not likely be miles away this year.  They are called troubles because they are close at hand.  But believers must not forget that God loves them.  Nor can you fail to love God.  That is your first love.  That cannot change!

So to stay in His love, be continually …

·        Building yourself up in your most holy faith.  Make the word of God central to your life.  I like the old maxim, no Bible, no breakfast.  Hear God.  Fellowship with God. This is essential for a strong faith.

·        Praying in the Holy Spirit.  In other words be led by the Spirit, being sensitive to His promptings as you pray.  These two disciplines involving the Word of God and prayer must be united.  Prayer without Bible is zeal without knowledge; Bible without prayer is knowledge without zeal.  Converse with God.  That’s two-way conversation. 

·        Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.  This is your hope.  The thought that there will be troubles this year is true.  It does nothing helpful to imagine a year without them.  Instead have a focus that make those trials real but secondary.  The mercy of Christ who is coming for us is the kind of hope that rests in a God who is able and worthy!  It will even give you the ability to invest your life in those around you who will be struggling (v22-23).  God will use you to play a role in the salvation of and uplifting of others!

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,

And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

To God our Savior, who alone is wise,

Be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. AMEN!

  

On this basis we wish you a … HAPPY NEW YEAR!