Resolved
  
One of the children in church last Sunday gave us a simple but excellent definition of a New Year’s Resolution – ‘doing something different’!
 
Something different to the way we thought and acted last year, yes, that makes sense.  Less of a slave to our appetites and instincts, more in control for the better.  Less addicted to resentment and self-pity, more free to celebrate every day with gratitude!  A resolution begins with decision and resolve on the inside – we have to want to be well.
 
But it is very much doing something!  Airy-fairy dreams don’t last long.  We need to practise daily.  We need to make good things our regular way of going.  It’s easy to develop harmful habits.  Aim at nothing and you’ve already started!  New Year is a fine opportunity to begin establishing some good patterns.
 
A habit is something that has become very much the natural rhythm of our lives, like eating and sleeping.  I’m reminded of the final advice Moses gave the Israelites where he reminded them of the commandments and laws God had given to guide them.  He said, ‘These commandments… are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them …on your hands and…your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses…’  (Deuteronomy 6 vs 6-9)
 
In other words it is wise to set God and His Word as a kind of compass bearing at every point of the day, every aspect of our living!
 
Over these last years I’ve been suggesting spiritual ‘resolutions’ for members of our congregation to practise.  Here are a few of them:
 
1, Every day, before your feet touch the floor, name your loved ones to God in prayer.  One natural rhythm of life is waking up.  Before/as we get up let’s acknowledge an infinitely more powerful Being than ourselves and seek His grace and blessing for that which is most precious to us, our family and friends. 

2. Every night when your head hits the pillow (regardless of what time it is) give thanks for something.  It may have been a tough day, even heartbreaking, but it will not have been without some mercy.  The sun still rose.  There was something of beauty and virtue if we were watching for it.  Remember it, let the thought of it warm your heart and balance your mind as you drift temporarily into the dark and unconscious. 

3. With your first coffee of the day, read a little Scripture.  Maybe you don’t drink coffee but with your first food and drink of the day feed your mind with a Psalm or a passage from the Gospels.  Take just a few minutes early in the day before the tidal wave of other info starts rolling.  Consider the wisdom of the ancients.  Pay attention to what our Maker and Judge has to say. 

4. Every Sunday you’re fit to rise, come to Church.  One day of rest, refreshment and worship in every seven is a true gift for a healthy life rhythm, beneficial for body, mind and soul.  Don’t waste it.  If at all possible, include in your day a gathering for praise, prayer and fellowship with people who follow Jesus. 
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Now these things are not a guarantee of a trouble free life, or a magic formula for success.  But they are practical lessons for beginners who recognise their need to grow in relationship with God.  Little steps in the right direction.  I feel very much still in the ‘beginner class’ but have found these disciplines genuinely beneficial.  In a confused and often vicious world, seeking the counsel and comfort of One Who loves us and gave Himself for us opens a refuge of truth and wisdom and an oasis of wellbeing for our souls.
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The Good Shepherd Guides us in Paths of Righteousness
Romans 3 vs 9-25  Philippians 3 vs 4-14
 
 
A farmer who doesn’t take care and lets his sheep wander into a neighbour’s garden will get a bad name for himself.  Those sheep are in trouble, but so is the reputation of their owner!
 
Jesus Christ leads His followers in practising all that is good for this glorifies God.  It brings honour to His name.  Subsequently Christ’s name is mocked when those who profess faith in Him don’t follow in His ways.  Our hypocrisy brings our religion, and our Master, into disrepute.
 
And so to our text for today from David’s famous 23rd Psalm:  ‘He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.’  The Good Shepherd guides us in all that is pleasing to God, for His glory and for our own benefit and wellbeing.
 
The original Hebrew word translated as ‘righteous’ literally means ‘straight’, not twisted or crooked or corrupt in any way but clear, direct, running true.  This is the path God sets, we are to walk in it.  It gives extra meaning to the previous sentence, ‘He restores my soul’.  The shepherd corrects, he brings back into line, those who are straying.  He may even have to seek and save those who have wandered badly and got themselves lost and in danger. 
 
This world constantly invites people to leave God’s path and trespass into forbidden territory.   Jesus Christ, Son of God and Good Shepherd brings us back and leads us in paths of righteousness.
 
Now we shouldn’t be surprised that Almighty God desires righteousness in those He has created.  Scientists frequently express wonder at the mathematical precision we can observe in the universe.  Einstein was not conventionally religious but he drew back from professing atheism because of the amazing order he saw in the laws of physics.  It’s not surprising that many scientists come to believe in a Creator as they spend their lives exploring the evidence of His design.
 
Nor is it surprising then to discover that the same God Who created the physical order of galaxies and DNA with such meticulous care has set a moral order for His creation to follow.  His blueprint for human behaviour is set down in the 10 Commandments entrusted to Moses and recorded in the Bible.
 
We are commanded first and foremost to practise reverence for Him in all aspects of life.  It follows that we should respect for our fellow human beings who are ‘made in His image’.  So we use His name in worship and prayer, not as a cheap swearword.  We treat human life as sacred from conception to natural death.  We uphold marriage and family and sexual fidelity.  We respect other peoples’ property.  We tell the truth.  We live content and grateful rather than lustfully coveting what can never be ours.
 
These are the paths of righteousness set by our Maker.  They are paths of life and blessing and happiness for individuals, communities, societies.  Practise these things and all should be well.  But this is where the problem arises. 
 
We don’t!
 
Human beings like to proudly imagine we know better than God.  We aim to please ourselves before Him so we make up our own rules and don’t even keep those very well. 
 
The Apostle Paul spends the early chapters of his letter to the Christians in Rome spelling this out, that when it comes to failure and guilt before God, we are all in the same boat.  People with some religious experience may have a better knowledge of what God says is right and wrong but just knowing the law doesn’t actually make us good people. 
 
‘There is no -one righteous, not even one’ Paul solemnly declares.  We’re all in trouble and this is something we can’t fix ourselves.  We all need help.  We need more than head knowledge of the rules.  We need a relationship with the Good Shepherd to help us practise them.
 
For those who trust in Him, Jesus does three profound things to make us ‘righteous’ and pleasing to God.  One He did a long time ago when He took our sins and their penalty on Himself at Calvary.  Our sin was atoned for that day so that when someone trusts in Him today they are forgiven, cleansed.  There is no condemnation for our past failure and disobedience.  We will no longer be called to account for that guilty record.
 
The second thing He does is to clothe us in His perfect righteousness before God.  This is what Paul says he desires in Philippians 3 to be ‘found in Christ’, envelope and shielded with the righteousness that comes from God.  When someone becomes a Christian they are described as being ‘justified’, declared righteous and acceptable in His holy presence.  We are given the appropriate dress for the royal court of Heaven.  God chooses to look on us kindly as we are covered, sheltered, made beautiful in the perfect obedience of His Son. 
 
This gives us a radical new status with the Creator of the universe and a whole new outlook on life!
 
Our names are moved from the file marked ‘condemned’ to the one marked ‘passed’.  We get to call Him ‘our Father’ Who was at one time going to be our Judge.  We are no longer limited to the temporary and relatively shallow pursuits of this world but are enlisted to serve the King of Kings for things that are eternal!
 
This doesn’t mean everything becomes easy.  Christians are frequently misunderstood, misrepresented, even persecuted.  Furthermore, while our past is forgiven and we have a ‘righteous’ standing before God, while in this life we are still tempted to sin.  So the third thing the Good Shepherd does is to accompany us through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  He lives in our hearts.  He is with us daily to lead us in paths of practical righteousness and blessing, if we are willing to be led!
 
The Apostle Paul knew all about it.  He had lived awhile and seen it all.  He had suffered injustice and loss and knew he still wasn’t perfect but he considered every challenge as more than worth it to know Jesus, to walk in the company of the Good Shepherd, to glorify the Lord’s name.  He writes,
 
‘Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.’
 
May that be the response of us all to God’s Word today!
 
 
 
 
 
 

​Mary  Luke 1
 
 
Her wedding plans are up in smoke.  Her fiancé may never want to speak to her again.  Her reputation in the village is about to be tarnished forever.  And she’s just been entrusted with a hugely daunting, some might say impossible responsibility.  What does this remarkable young woman from Nazareth do?
 
She praises God and submits to His will.
 
‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour…the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is His name…
I am the Lord’s servant…May it be to me according to Thy word.’
 
If we would like an example of obedient faith let us consider this godly young lady, Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.  She is willing to see more than her own personal dreams and ambitions.  She is willing to live for something greater, to glorify God and further His plan of salvation for the world, even should it mean sacrifice in the short term.  She would surrender her womb, her arms, her heart and soul, her very life to serve the One she calls her Saviour.
 
Some might think of such religious fervour as extreme.  We might imagine some of the neighbours talking, ‘Poor girl!  Do you think has she lost the plot?’  Others, publically or privately, have great respect and admiration for people of faith.  Whether it’s Martin Luther or Mother Teresa we find them inspiring and might feel like putting them on a bit of a pedestal. 
 
However godly people never want attention for themselves.  Time and again they shun personal attention, focussing our gaze on God and what He is doing, sending His Son into the world to be our Saviour, our Lord and Master, our Good Shepherd and Friend.  And that’s what Mary has done here in Luke 2 in her expression of praise we call the Magnificat.  She has pointed us to God.
 
‘My soul glorifies the Lord!’  she said, ‘His mercy extends to all who fear Him, from generation to generation.  He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.  He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.  He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.  He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants for ever just as He promised our ancestors.’
 
Mary had obviously been listening in the synagogue for this sounds so like the Old Testament, the Psalms of David or prophecies of Isaiah or Daniel.  The nation of Israel had been humbled for generations but God had promised that from these modest remains He would build a global kingdom of people redeemed by His mercy, faithful to Him and practising righteousness.
 
God, ‘the Ancient of Days’, keeps His Word and fulfils His purposes.  We do well to note - He punishes pride and rewards humble trust.  He does what may seem impossible to us, bringing His Son to the world from a virgin’s womb, bringing a Saviour King for the whole world from an obscure little place like Nazareth.
 
He does mighty things, using little people who trust and obey and want to serve Him.  Mary was willing to be part of God’s plan, an agent of His grace and she has been called ‘blessed’ ever since.
 
The question is are we willing to follow her example this Christmas and every day throughout the year?  Are we willing to trust and put God first, welcome His Son as Saviour Lord in our hearts and lives and obey the leading of His Spirit in the Bible?
 
May it be so for each one of us and may the glory be His alone.
 
Amen