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Pastor's Pen
Stay up to date on the life of our church with Pastor Gary Turk's blog, updated monthly. His blog features devotional reflections, reports, observations, and more!A New Year Of Opportunities
01 January 2010 / 05:50 PM
In his first letter to the Corinthian believers, Paul wrote: “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Cor. 16:9). Paul was writing about his work in Ephesus. The door of opportunity for proclaiming the gospel was wide open, and many people were responding to the gospel message. At the same time there were many others who were opposing Paul and the gospel message.
This text also speaks to us at the beginning of a new year. A new year is a door that stands open to offer us new opportunities . But there are never open doors without opposition. It has been said that there is an opportunity in every difficulty and a difficulty in every opportunity. We don’t know what all the difficulties or obstacles or adversaries may be in the coming year, but we do know that it is an open door or opportunity.
J. Sidlow Bacter, in his book Awake My Heart, speaks of the open door of the new year. He says, “The last day of the older year is shut against us. However much we may wish to wrench it ajar again, we cannot...As we cannot go back to re-live the old year, let us not pine amid useless regrets, but turn our eyes to the great new door of opportunity which the new year sets before us. Baxter says, “the door of the new year, by the grace of God, now swings open.” He also adds that it is “a God-given door of opportunity.”
As we look back most of our regrets have to do with what we didn’t do rather than what we did do. But we cannot go back and re-live or re-do the past. The door of the old year is shut against us. But the new year offers us new opportunities to move on and to do more and become more. Again, Baxter notes two things about this door of the new year.
First, Baxter says “it is a door to richer fellowship with God.” As Christian there should be within each of us a thirst and longing for fellowship with God. God created us to be in fellowship with Him. If our hearts are not longing for fellowship with God then there is something amiss in our spiritual life. Our adversary to us with its attractions that divert our attention from God and the things of God. And it happens very subtly.
Satan rarely uses evil things to draw our attention away from God. He uses good things that he causes us to set up as idols that replace God in our lives. These good things can be work, sports, leisure activities, hobbies or any other thing that we put before God. These are the things that so often stand between us and God. These are the adversaries that keep us from fellowship with God.
This text also speaks to us at the beginning of a new year. A new year is a door that stands open to offer us new opportunities . But there are never open doors without opposition. It has been said that there is an opportunity in every difficulty and a difficulty in every opportunity. We don’t know what all the difficulties or obstacles or adversaries may be in the coming year, but we do know that it is an open door or opportunity.
J. Sidlow Bacter, in his book Awake My Heart, speaks of the open door of the new year. He says, “The last day of the older year is shut against us. However much we may wish to wrench it ajar again, we cannot...As we cannot go back to re-live the old year, let us not pine amid useless regrets, but turn our eyes to the great new door of opportunity which the new year sets before us. Baxter says, “the door of the new year, by the grace of God, now swings open.” He also adds that it is “a God-given door of opportunity.”
As we look back most of our regrets have to do with what we didn’t do rather than what we did do. But we cannot go back and re-live or re-do the past. The door of the old year is shut against us. But the new year offers us new opportunities to move on and to do more and become more. Again, Baxter notes two things about this door of the new year.
First, Baxter says “it is a door to richer fellowship with God.” As Christian there should be within each of us a thirst and longing for fellowship with God. God created us to be in fellowship with Him. If our hearts are not longing for fellowship with God then there is something amiss in our spiritual life. Our adversary to us with its attractions that divert our attention from God and the things of God. And it happens very subtly.
Satan rarely uses evil things to draw our attention away from God. He uses good things that he causes us to set up as idols that replace God in our lives. These good things can be work, sports, leisure activities, hobbies or any other thing that we put before God. These are the things that so often stand between us and God. These are the adversaries that keep us from fellowship with God.