New Year’s Resolutions are rarely kept, I think we would all agree. Why is that? Possibly because the resolve has to be carried out by our own weak wills. Just as the nation of Israel discovered but would not admit, we cannot do good things through our own strivings. As Jesus said, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)
Perhaps, rather than make resolutions, we should ask for a gift for the year. We could seek God, his kingdom, his righteousness, as Jesus charged us in Matthew 6:33, and seek his favor. That last one encompasses much territory, as the word translated favor in the Bible is also translated grace in many places.
However, when I mentioned this to my son, he said, “But Mama, as Christians, we already have the favor of God!” Naturally, I agreed with him. He shared with me Psalm 34, which encompasses all three of the words bolded below, and I Peter:3:10-14, and 5:5, which indicate that humility and holy living please the Lord and ensure answers to our prayers.
As a retired English teacher, I like alliteration, a fancy word for the practice of using several words beginning with the same letter, such as, in this case, fear, faith and favor. I heard a preacher on radio say recently that, if we never had a time in our lives when we experienced a real fear of God, we may not be saved. I don’t know if I would say that, but it is true that, in our heart of hearts, we must have a deep fear of the most Awesome and Almighty God, our Creator and that of the universe, and the savior of the world. As mortal, sinful, and frail human beings, there has to be an admission that he is God and we are not.
But, in his grace and mercy, our heavenly father grants us each a measure of faith, which we can use to be saved from eternal damnation. This also enables us to be born again into the kingdom of God, to be with him eternally in heavenly bliss. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8,9.) “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:12)
Coming back to the idea that we are making a new beginning today, I propose that we—as believers in the Christian God, his son, and his gospel as laid out in his Word—seek more intimacy with the Lord and an awareness of his favor on us in this New Year. I wish I could just send you the entire copy of the answer given on GotQuestions.org to the Question: “What is the favor of God, and how can I get it?” Just as my son declared, we who have received Jesus as their savior already have been made righteous, are in right standing with God, and are favored by God.
But, as children of God who have been born into the family of God by faith, in order to truly experience the favor of our Father, we must be able to see and appreciate all the many blessings that he has bestowed upon us. The following ideas and verses have come to my mind, after prayer and mulling the subject over. For example, to return to Ephesians, in verses 15 through 19, Paul prays for the folks at the church of Ephesus to have their eyes enlightened to be able to know and understand “the hope of His calling” and the “riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,” and “the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe.” Wow! If we chewed on all that for a while, praying for the revelation he speaks of in verse 17, we would really feel blessed!
Looking at people of God in the Old Testament, we see verses proclaiming that Noah found grace and favor “in the eyes of the Lord.” Joseph definitely lived in the light of God’s favor, even while going through the many hardships of slavery before becoming a ruler in Egypt, and the repeated phrase in Genesis is that “the Lord was with him.” Ruth received the favor of Boaz because of her service to her mother-in-law and Esther gained the favor of the king of Persia, possibly through her humility and submission to her uncle then to the eunuch in charge of her and the other women. We can’t forget King David, who was a man after God’s own heart.
Of course, in the New Testament, we are all aware of Mary, the young mother of Jesus, who was greeted by the angel Gabriel with the words, “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God.” (Luke 1:30) Later, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:47) In Acts 2:47, we read that the newly saved church members in Jerusalem “continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people.”
To receive God’s favor, to become aware of his blessings, to appropriate his promises, we need to set our eyes on Jesus and his word. I heard on American Family Radio that a recent poll shows that only 7 percent of American Christians actually have a biblical worldview. That is astounding! Yet, we should not be surprised, as saturated as we are with the secular worldview by means of all the media we experience daily. There has been a concerted effort, which has been quite successful, by the enemy’s forces to brainwash the minds of Americans, especially our youth.
God is still willing to favor us. As we study his word, looking for the promises, we see that there are things we need to do, such as seek after the wisdom of God. “For those who find me [wisdom] find life and receive favor from the LORD.” (Proverbs 8:35) Another is simply to love God and do as he has instructed us to do, which includes loving and blessing others.
Blessing others with our words and actions is paramount while seeking to enjoy a blessed New Year ourselves. Jesus told us, as recorded in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)
Let us seek first to do things God’s way, sharing his love and favor, showing others how valuable they are to us and to God, so valuable that his son was willing to give his life and take the wrath of God for us. We can share blessings, give of our time and resources, and share the gospel of Jesus—all throughout this year of 2020!
Live for Jesus! He’s coming soon!
You may contact me at lagnesrussell@gmail.com or 601-635-3282.
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