New Beginnings

2020 Thank God it’s over

Year in Review

I remember celebrating New Years eve last year. It was a joyous event with my daughter, my girlfriend, her daughters, their boyfriends and her sisters. We played games, and had a great time with everyone. I looked back and celebrated my first full year in full time ministry. I was like, wow, God, I can do this. Ministry is something that I can do and I looked forward to the 2020. I’m like, if God could bless me this way in 2019, yes, the best is yet to come. AND THEN 2020 HIT.

In the Beginning

I don’t know if it’s irony or coincidence that our gospel scripture is John 1:1-18. Before dealing with that, I must give some context at least about this passage. The first five verses are a prologue. John is very unique in his approach to telling Jesus’ story. John’s gospel is unique in the telling of the story of Jesus overall. John connects us to Jesus in a very special way. John’s overall motive is to remind us of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Everything that he does throughout this gospel points towards that. He is unique even in the manner of telling Jesus’ lineage. The gospels that discuss Jesus’ lineage, only point back to either Abraham or Adam. John points us to God.

In the beginning, the word was with God. The Greek work arche defines the beginning along with the word ruler, sphere of influence.

All that we need, is at the beginning, we must remind ourselves of that. Our sphere of influence is aligned with the word of God. On this day, the lectionary calendar is reminding us, that after all we have been through this past year, we are still God’s, and God is still in control

Ginamai = coming into being ... eimi, ongoing existence , my ongoing existence

Thank God for New Beginnings

I needed this reminder of who Jesus is. I needed to know that Jesus was at the beginning of everything. I needed to know that God had a plan to help me endure whatever I went through last year, as I step into this year. In 2020, the year that I thought would be hopeful, based on the year before. I had my greatest test in ministry. I’m pastoring a church, and by March, I found out that my dad was ill. At the same time the pandemic hit. My parents were living in St. Louis at the time. So, I’m pastoring, preaching and teaching. I’m having to figure out how to do this virtually. I can’t see my dad. I find out that my dad was on his last days. I can’t see my dad, even on his deathbed. Yet, I’m still pastoring. I bring my mom up, and find out she has dementia. Yet, I’m still pastoring. The only thing that kept me going was going back to the beginning.THE WORD. By the end of the year, I lost two more relatives. BUT THE WORD.

The Passion Translation: New Testament Chapter 1

4 Life came into being because of him,

for his life is light for all humanity.

5 And this Living Expression is the Light that bursts through gloom—

the Light that darkness could not diminish!

Rather than hang on the gloom, I’m thankful that the light of God has brought me thus far.

Do over vs. New Chapter

This is the glorious part for me today. We get a new start, every year. I used to say that we get a do over, like when we played video games back in the day. But, rather than get a do over, we get a new chapter in our story. It is do to resilience, that we get a new chapter.

The Passion Translation: New Testament About John

Secondly, John describes himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:7, 20). This was not a term to indicate that Jesus loved John more than the others, but rather, John saw himself as one that Jesus loved. You could also say this about yourself, “I am the disciple whom Jesus loves!” Every single believer can echo John’s description of himself, as those words must become the true definition of our identity.

Closing Illustration

Perfect Illustrations: For Every Topic and Occasion Perseverance: Parable of an Overcomer

PERSEVERANCE

PARABLE OF AN OVERCOMER

ROMANS 5:3–5; JAMES 1:2–4

Adversity; Attitude; Overcoming; Perseverance

The parable is told of an old dog that fell into a farmer’s well. After assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the dog but decided that neither the dog nor the well were worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he planned to bury the old dog in the well and put him out of his misery.

When the farmer began shoveling, initially the old dog was hysterical. But as the farmer continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back he should shake it off and step up. This he did blow after blow. “Shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up!” he repeated to encourage himself.

No matter how painful the blows or how distressing the situation seemed, the old dog fought panic and just kept shaking it off and stepping up! It was not long before the dog, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed as though it would bury him actually benefited him—all because of the way he handled his adversity.

If we face our problems and respond to them positively, refusing to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity, the adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them the potential to bless us! Forgiveness, faith, prayer, praise, and hope are some of the biblical ways to shake it off and step up out of the wells in which we find ourselves.

Citation: Submitted by Bruce Shelley