New Year's 2012-- Are you Autonomous?

New Year's 2012-- Are you Autonomous?
           Are you Autonomous? Can you decide "for yourself" what is right and wrong and even what is "reality?"  Do you believe, "It's MY life; I'll do with it what I want?"
      Or to put it another way, Is Jesus "Lord" of your life--or are you? 
     The New Year is about to begin and that's when a lot of people take another look at "the basic questions of life": who am I? why am I here? where am I going? what should I be doing on this my journey through life? 
      We do well to do that because we are not self-created.  So we must take our place as a creature dependent on our Creator.  We are dependent for the very breath we breathe on God.  We know who we are.  We are creatures created in the image of God and thus of great worth, but finite creatures nevertheless. 
      That should teach us how to relate to God: accept as true and obey what He has given us in His Word because Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God." Mt.4:4
      And it should teach us how to treat other people, as fellow-creatures created in God's image--and therefore of great worth.

      The Old Testament pinpointed our problem 700 years before the coming of Christ.  The prophet Isaiah wrote, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way. . . ." Isaiah 53:5  There you have it! we've gone our own way instead of God's way.     And most people are still doing it!  The good news is that there is a way out. That scripture continues, "and the Lord has laid on Him [Christ] the sin of us all." 53:6  Christ died for us to pay the penalty for our sins.

       But Christians, too, can "go their own way."  It's something that can plague us all our lives.  Do you pick and choose which scriptures you will obey and which you will ignore?  Then you're going your own way instead of following Jesus fully.  You must submit yourself to the righteousness and wisdom of God.

      It's true of course that not all scripture applies equally to us.  We no longer follow the ritual washings of the Old testament, for example, or their animal sacrifices.  Nevertheless we can learn lessons and principles from them because "all scripture is profitable. . . ." 2 Tim. 3:16

       But I'm thinking about principles and teachings which are obviously for all of us, such as loving one another, forgiving one another, serving one another, bearing one another's burdens and others like that.  Scripture teaches forgiveness and honesty and sincerity.  It also teaches the permanence of marriage:  "what God has joined together, let not man put asunder." It teaches the principle of the assemblying of ourselves together to worship God and tells us explicitly not to forsake that principle.  It teaches the principle of honesty and devotion to truth.  It teaches us that we must feed regularly on the Word of God as the Bread of Life. "Thy Words were found and I did eat them and they became the joy and rejoicing of my heart."  Are you regularly reading and studying the scriptures?  Do you "meditate" (think about) what God has said??

    You're not autonomous, but you are responsible for the decisions you make, the thoughts you think, the attitudes you have, and your own actions.  Don't blame it on someone else; you did it.  Facing up to our own responsibilities and at the same time realizing our absolute dependence on God is the way to begin the New Year.
    


     

Return, O my soul, to your rest

Return, O my soul, to your rest.” Psalm 116:7 It's early on the Lord's Day again this morning. May God bring you rest and refreshment for your soul this day. Be quiet before Him, tranquil, and at rest in the midst of your busy life or trials or dilemma you're going through. In fact this Psalm is for “distress and anguish” (116:3) in the midst of which God can still give us His peace and you can rest in Him. ^“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not yourself. . . .” Psalm 37:7

         It is His peace that will take you through your problems and dilemmas. He's already given you that peace: “My peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 Don't block that peace and put your heart in a turmoil again by fretting and refusing to trust in and depend on the Lord. This Psalm tells you what to do: “I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.” 116:17 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart” and then you won't let your heart be troubled or afraid.

         “I will lift up the cup of salvation” 116:13 –remind yourself that God has transformed you from death to life and when you go from life through death into life everlasting, then “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” 116:15

Remind yourself, “O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds” 116:16 so that I am free in Him—and to Him be the glory. “If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36 “For freedom did Christ set you free; be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1

       Listen to Spurgeon more than a century ago: “'Return unto thy rest, O my soul.' He calls the rest still his own, and feels full liberty to return to it. What a mercy it is that even if our soul has left its rest for a while we can tell it--'it is thy rest still.' The Psalmist had evidently been somewhat disturbed in mind, his troubles had ruffled his spirit; but now with a sense of answered prayer upon him he quiets his soul [as in former days]. Even as a bird flies to its nest, so does his soul fly to his God. Whenever a child of God even for a moment loses his peace of mind, he should be concerned to find it again, not by seeking it in the world or in his own experience, but in the Lord alone. 'For the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.' . . . so let us come back to Him who has treated us with such exceeding kindness.”

       

        “Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side, I will not fear. . . . The Lord is on my side as my helper. . . . The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. . . . This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:5-7,14,23-24 ESV

                                                                --Pastor Burnside