New Year's Eve Events

I have never been a big one at going out and celebrating New Year’s Eve amongst crowds of people.  My fondest memory of the holiday was the time in the first couple years of our marriage, when my wife and I brought in the New Year alone in our first apartment.  Through the years since then, I have many recollections of my wife and kids doing their best to drag me out of the house on the 31^st of December to attend a church event, a gathering with family or friends or even out the door to be with the neighbors as the clock struck midnight!  Come to think of it… It was kinda fun being out in the street shooting off fireworks the night the century marked turned over back in 2000!  

I thought on all this as I read from Luke 1:78-79 this morning.  In reference to the New Day that we spoke about in yesterday’s post, verse 79 declares that Jesus “will give light to those who live in darkness…(and that) He will guide us in to the way of peace.” (God’s Word ©)  I literally jumped in my seat when I looked at this verse from the Literal Translation of the Bible which describes the scene as “those sitting in darkness.”

That description immediately got me thinking about all the people I know who spend a lot of time complaining about their lives, their jobs, their finances, their health, their family or any other multitude of situations and do nothing about them.  According to this verse they are sitting around in the dark and not going anywhere!  Albert Barnes in his “Notes on the Bible” explains that “The figure in these verses is taken from travelers who being overtaken by night, know not what to do, and who wait patiently for the morning light, that they may know which way to go.”

Like I mentioned previously, when I actually got up and went out on New Year’s Eve, I would usually have a nice time and was happy that I went, but I normally wouldn’t go without a fight!  I thought that I would have just as much fun if I just sat around and stayed home.  But once the light came on and I acted on it, it was normally worth the effort.

So what does this have to do with anything… Well, I must admit that I have been getting restless with the events occurring in my life over the last few years and am beginning to sense that 2014 is going to be a year to take action and make some changes.  But nothing is going to happen until I make the first move!  I can think about how restless I have been and even talk about it (although I am not a complainer, mind you!), but until I seek for God’s light and them move out in faith to follow His directions, nothing will change!

Okay… I am going to date myself here… but these thoughts caused me to remember a favorite line from the OLD Gomer Pyle USMC TV show back in the mid-sixties when the Sergeant would get his face about one inch away from the country Private and yell at the top of his lungs: “Move it!” Move it!” Move it!” Pyle! you knucklehead!”  Sometimes we can get so comfortable and/or stuck in a certain situation that it takes a shock to get us to move!

The recent passing of my Dad, and some discussions with my older son tended to act as that kind of “Move It!” speech for me!  It definitely has got me thinking with a renewed sense of purpose and with some new direction as I look into 2014.  And I am excited about the possibilities ahead.  How about you?  What are the possibilities for you in the New Year?  Do you suddenly see Sergeant Carter approaching and preparing to yell at you?  Is it time to “Move it?”  Hopefully you won’t need the “knucklehead” part of the speech, but will listen to the light of God’s Word and boldly step out and make whatever changes, adjustments or total turnarounds that might be necessary!

I’m excited about 2014… and you should be too!  So, wherever you are, when the clock strikes midnight tonight, think about and rejoice at the movement God’s wants you to make in the months ahead!  Have a great and safe New Year’s and we’ll see ya next year (bet you’ve never heard that one before!).  And in case you forget… Keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”