New Year Message

Well here we are at the start of a New Year, so in addition to my normal Bible Blog (which can sometimes be highly unseasonal!) here is my New Year message, and I would like to base it on the scripture shared at the opening of our church service yesterday:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Eph 3:20,21)

There are two key aspects to this. One is God and His power, and the second is His power and glory in the church. As churches we can go wrong if we either neglect His power (which is the more obvious of the errors) or if we neglect His power in us. We all know churches that are just trudging along, not expecting God to do anything, and I guess there are times in all our lives when that is how our own lives are. Then there are churches which can be doing things in a very professional manner, but in pursuing our own excellence we forget the power of God. We can become like the church in Sardis, having a reputation for being alive, but in reality being dead (Rev 3:1).

However, the error I want to focus on is neglecting the power of God in us. We can say we are utterly dependent upon God, and everything is dependent upon Him. This is true, but if we look at Eph 3:20,21, indeed if we look at the whole Bible, we see that God works His power through men and women who are obedient to Him. Our God is able to do immeasurably more that we ask or imaging according to His power at work in us.

Let us look ahead to this year. First of all, thank you to all of you who do read these blogs of mine. The top ten nations in terms of hits are : USA, UK, Russia, Germany, France, Canada, Brazil, Ukraine, Portugal and Poland. It is amazing how things have changed in the thirty eight years since I became a Christian. Now, in at least most, possibly all, of these nations our governments and our societies seem to be doing all they can to jettison all vestiges of our Christian heritage. This is certainly true of my nation, the United Kingdom. If things keep going in the direction they are going it will soon be illegal to proclaim God’s word. But we should not fear, for our God is able to do far more than we imagine or ask according to His power at work in us. As it says in John 1:5

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

We can and should look forward to this year with confidence, for our Lord Jesus Christ is the true light that gives light to everyone (John 1:9) and He has come into the world. Let us expect God to work through us and the churches that we are part of in ways that go far beyond what we imagine.

Our God is able!

Happy New Year