Proclamation:
"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we
will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make
money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What
is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then
vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is The Lord's will, we
will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast and brag. All
such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do
and doesn't do it, sins." James 4:13-17 (NIV)
Explanation:
James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote these Holy Spirit
inspired words to all believers to help them correct their speech and their
behavior. Here, he urges them to be careful regarding how they speak
about what they will do in the future. He encouraged them to say,
"If it be The Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."
Application:
At the end of each calendar year, a lot of people seem to get caught up in saying what we will do in the upcoming year. We seem to forget that we really do not have control over the future, or if we will live to see it. We need to remember that only "if it is in The Good Lord's will ..." would be a better way to begin any statement regarding our future plans. Additionally, we are about to celebrate the beginning of the “New Year”, a worldly celebration for which I could not find a Biblical reference. The Bible says that every day is a day for continually giving thanks to God. (Ephesians 5:20, Colossians 3:17, and Hebrews 13:15) We should praise Him and thank Him for every day, and every week, and every month, and for every year that we are blessed to be alive. Only God can make a day, (Genesis 1:1-5 and Psalms 118:24), and only God can sustain us through a day. (Psalms 55:22) Let us not get so caught up in the worldly celebrations, and our future plans, that we forget that only that which is in the will of The Lord God will occur, and we should praise and thank Him for what He has done, is doing, and will do for us.
At the end of each calendar year, a lot of people seem to get caught up in saying what we will do in the upcoming year. We seem to forget that we really do not have control over the future, or if we will live to see it. We need to remember that only "if it is in The Good Lord's will ..." would be a better way to begin any statement regarding our future plans. Additionally, we are about to celebrate the beginning of the “New Year”, a worldly celebration for which I could not find a Biblical reference. The Bible says that every day is a day for continually giving thanks to God. (Ephesians 5:20, Colossians 3:17, and Hebrews 13:15) We should praise Him and thank Him for every day, and every week, and every month, and for every year that we are blessed to be alive. Only God can make a day, (Genesis 1:1-5 and Psalms 118:24), and only God can sustain us through a day. (Psalms 55:22) Let us not get so caught up in the worldly celebrations, and our future plans, that we forget that only that which is in the will of The Lord God will occur, and we should praise and thank Him for what He has done, is doing, and will do for us.
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