Meditations for a New YearSample

Day 3 - The Next Chapter

When one chapter ends, another begins. In every chapter, one thing makes the story complete. As we study the final chapter of the Book of Matthew, the Lord Jesus shows us the way to new victory and power in the days ahead.

There are days in life that change you. God, in His providence, causes certain days to stand out in our memory as turning points. The day you are married is one of those days. It was a Friday, the 13th, for me (not an unlucky day)! The day you hold your newborn child in your arms is life-changing. On the other end of the spectrum, the day you hold the hand of a dying loved one also gives a whole new perspective on life.

Of all the special moments in life, none are more important than the days that shape you spiritually. This is because those days change your life in this world and impact eternity! They literally change you forever. Have you lived these days yet? There will be defining days for you this coming year. Is your heart open to what God is seeking to show you?

So, what are some of these life-changing days that open a new chapter for you?

• The day you realize your own mortality. This day sobers you; it brings a needed seriousness to all of life. Most people live most of their life before they live this day. The sooner we live this day, the more likely we are to make the most of every day. Spurgeon said, "The way to make the most of your life is to meditate on your death." Go to the end and work backward. How do you want to finish? None of us will live forever, and all of us will meet God with what we did with the one life He gave us. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). Live every day as if it could be the day you see the Lord.
• The day you recognize your own carnality. This day humbles you. It is not just that we are "human" - we are sinners! Hopeless, helpless sinners. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). We are so fleshly and carnal that we cannot even fully comprehend how sinful we are. Why is this important? Because it drives us to the grace of God. Sinners need a Savior; even saved sinners need their sins forgiven and cleansed. Every day we must recognize how desperately we need the mercy of Christ. No matter how long you live or how much you know about spiritual things, the flesh never gets better.
• The day you realize God's reality. This day brings all the joy and power of the living God into your present circumstances. If we dwell only on our mortality and carnality, we will live in despair! Our thoughts must go beyond ourselves to the One who is greater. Hope is found in Christ. We are indeed weak and wicked sinners, but He is bigger than all! Just last night, I told a man that one of the turning points in my life was the day I realized Christ was enough. It was liberating. "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free...If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:32, 36).

Let today be a day that changes you forever - look to the Lord! Perhaps today could be a life-changing day for someone else whose path you will cross. Point others to their need and God's sufficiency.

For those of us who know the Lord, the greatest day we will ever live is ahead! It is the day we will see Christ face to face (1 John 3:2-3). That day will change us all forever...