Today is my 45th birthday. When it comes right down to what an actual birthday is, it’s not that exciting because it means I’m halfway to 90. But, around our home, we like to make birthdays special and so I already know that despite any protests from me, my wife and kids will treat me extra special today and I must admit that I’m looking forward to it!
I have so much on my heart this morning in the way of thankfulness to my Savior that it is hard to recall it all coherently in one sitting. But it has served me well to purposefully remember just some of God’s mercies each birthday and to share them with those friends and family who wish me happy birthday.
Fresh in my mind today are those who I am thinking of by name today who have not experienced the kind of love that I have from the day I came into this world. God’s love has been poured out on me through others from the first day I came into this world. On their birthday no one even tells them happy birthday. They represent thousands more surrounding me in my own community who do not know the love of God. They are all sons and daughters of Adam on whom the wrath of God abides. But God who is rich in mercy for His great love that he had for me, made me alive with Christ even though I was dead in trespasses. I was saved by grace! I will not die; I am raised from the dead and am seated with God in Christ in the heavens and coming age He will display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For I am saved from his wrath by grace through faith and this faith was not from myself, it is God’s gift, it is not because I’m a good guy, I have absolutely nothing in which I can boast. I am his workmanship alone created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God before the foundation of the world prepared for me to do.
Now then, this means that those I know who have rarely known love along with Andi, who is a young lady who works at Ingles who told me that she had been invited for the first time ever to a Thanksgiving Day by her father whom she never met because he abandoned her when a baby, is as a daughter of Adam under the wrath of God as was I, but God...who is rich in mercy... perhaps has brought along a wretch named Mel to show his mercy to her by his good news of Christ’s obedience and righteousness for her.
May he use me more this year in his rescue of his sheep. He uses the foolishness of the good news proclaimed to bring this about, to call his sheep, to save his people from their sins.
This past year he has taught me more of Christ than I have known before. The book of Hebrews has been especially special to me this year as it is a book where Christ is exalted as the Savior of man who having been promised before the foundation of the world, again to the serpent in the garden, again to Abel, again to Noah, again to Abram, again to Isaac, again, to Jacob, again to Joseph, again to Moses, again to David, is lifted up as the one who fulfilled all righteousness and was the mystery to whom all of these men were pointing and bringing us. How will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?
This year, the Lord has given us a church family full of people who point us to Christ, His work, His obedience, His sufficiency, His sanctifying power. I receive messages almost daily from true brothers in Christ who are amazed at the grace of God in their own lives, and we together worship Him and praise His name alone for God’s great salvation.
I’ve learned that resolutions in a new year or in a new birthday year are not particularly helpful to me other than to teach me more of my fleshly weakness. But in this new year I do have one desire, that Christ would become more and more my everything. That I would turn less and less to the silly distractions of this world which is passing away and lean more fully on Him for all my wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification.
And if there’s one more request I would have of my God, it would be that this year he would be pleased to add to his church more of his sheep by his power, by his opening of my mouth boldly with his good news, by whatever other means he chooses to blow the wind of his Spirit giving new birth not to those who make promises to change, who repent hard enough of their outward sins, who make emotional decisions at so called “old fashioned altars”, but who are God’s workmanship, and who by God’s power are brought to Christ Himself the lamb of God to be clothed in His righteousness alone.
To finish, let me share with words from our pastor this past Sunday: “is your soul thirsty? Our God is good. He says ‘come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy, eat! Come, buy wine and milk without price.’ Friend, does your soul thirst for righteousness this morning? A righteousness you know you don’t have? Come to the one who is the end of the law for righteousness. Is your soul weary? Are you weighed down? Come to the one, the only one who can carry that burden and give you rest. Beloved taste ad see that the Lord is good, and that Christ is the Savior and that he is the friend of sinners. What a great privilege”
Thank you, friends, for warm birthday wishes. Look to Christ. Take his good news boldly to the Andis in your community. He is merciful, he will save.