“We’re not worthy!” was the cry of the lead characters in in the 90’s film “Wayne’s World” whenever they met one of their rock heroes. At times we don’t feel worthy of things and on other occasions we feel we rightly deserve them. Last month at the Winter Olympics in Sochi medal winners were sometimes referred to as being “worthy winners”, usually if they had trained hard or overcome setbacks. Cheats on the other hand were universally decried as “not being worthy to take part in the games”. So our worth in the world and life does seem important to how people perceive us.

Followers of Christ are often considered to be “worthy”, “good” or “upstanding” people. Well according to the Bible that is how they should be:

But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. (Colossians 3:8)

But that’s easier said than done! None of us were born naturally able to live this way. We will always want to do what is in our own self-interest. Becoming a “good” person isn’t an easy process, but it is “worth” it.

Some people are put off even considering following Christ’s example as they think (to quote Wayne’s World again) “I’m not worthy!” But you are not alone. If you look at whom God chose to be his servants and disciples in the Bible, they appear to be a right motley crew:

Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sarah was impatient, Elijah was depressed, Moses stuttered, Zaccheus was short, Abraham was old and Lazarus was dead….God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called!

None of us are perfect or worthy. Paul writes to the believers in Romans:

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

And later on in the chapter he says:

“all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

But then continues

But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus         (Romans 3:10-11, 23-24)

So even though none of us are “worthy” we can see that God has put in place through Jesus the opportunity for us to be forgiven our shortcoming and start afresh. Our past is not important to God, but our future is. To find out more about God’s plan for this world and how you can be part of it, visit our “What we Believe” page, or listen/watch some of our talks on our “Sunday Talks” page.

A common expression with young people is “YOLO”.  It stands for  “You Only Live Once” and is usually used when encouraging others to live life to the max.  Not living your life to its full potential is a shame, but the sentiment of this expression is slightly misguided.

According to the Bible there is more to life than just the present.  This life is important and the Bible tells us about changes we need to make to our lives in preparation for a perfect everlasting life, which will make any adventures we have in this life insignificant.

This new life will start with the return of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  He will set up a Kingdom on earth the like of which has never been seen before.  It will be a Kingdom of peace and of love and will last forever.  We are told that when he returns (which could be any day soon) he will grant those of his followers, who he sees as being faithful, a place in that Kingdom.  Those faithful who have died will be raised and live forever in this Kingdom.  So you can see the idea that “you only live once” is a bit flawed!

However, there are conditions, which is why it is so important that you make the most of this life.  We are told that we need to face up to our shortcomings and change our lives (usually referred to as repentance) to follow Jesus’ instructions. We are also told that we need to be baptised.  Jesus instructed his disciples:

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 

 Mark 16:15-16

 If you don’t do this then YOLO is a reality.  You really will only live once, and once you die, that’s it.  So why not make this life worth living.  Read the Bible.  Because life’s too short.

Every New Year, millions of people resolve to change their lives and make a new start.  These usually take the form of New Years resolutions such as losing weight, taking more exercise, quitting smoking or

learning a new skill.  Unfortunately, by February many of us have forgotten these resolutions and have returned to same old rut which we were previously in, despondent at our lack of willpower.  So why not make a change which will be life changing….forever!

The Bible is full of people who did just that. They changed their old life and made a fresh start.  Let’s looks at just 3 examples:

Abraham

Abraham was a wealthy businessman who lived in Ur of the Chaldeees (which is where modern day Iraq is) around 2080BC.  God told him to move him and his family to a new part of the world.

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

 

Genesis 12:1-3

Abraham did just this.  Well with a promise like that you would wouldn’t you!  The thing is the promised which God made wouldn’t be fulfilled in Abrahams life.  The nation that descended from Abraham was the Hebrews (or more commonly referred to as the Jews) but the promise extends far beyond just them.  It has partially been fulfilled but will only be fully realised in the future, as we will see shortly.

Moses

In the book of Exodus we come across Moses.  Moses was born a Hebrew but grew up in the palace of the Egyptian Pharaoh in about 1500BC.  He never forgot his roots and one day made a decision that would change his life forever.  He killed an Egyptian who was abusing a fellow Hebrew (who were by this stage slaves to the Egyptians) and fled the country.

When he was in exile in the neighbouring country of Midian, God spoke to him, just like he spoke to Abraham around 600 years earlier. He said:

I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.  Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Exodus Ch3: 7-10

 So God was continuing the fulfilment of the promise made to Abraham, but wanted Moses personally involved.  If you read the rest of the chapter yourself, you will see that Moses was initially reluctant, but eventually came around and was indeed a great leader.

Paul

By the time we get to the New Testament (about 50 AD), Jesus, the son of God, has been crucified and raised from the dead.  His disciples (the Christians) were being persecuted by the Jewish and Roman (Pagan) authorities.  They were trying to quash this new belief.  One person who was the most fervent was a man called Saul who was at the execution of one of Jesus’ followers, Stephen:

Now Saul was consenting to his death.  At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.  As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Acts 8:1-3

Even he made a fresh start and an amazing transformation when Jesus himself confronted him as Paul was travelling to Damascus:

Suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.[a] It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?”

Acts 9:3-6

 From this point on, Paul became one of the most devout followers of Jesus and the majority of the New Testament is made up of his letters to believers encouraging them on their new lives.

Now it’s important to say that none of the above men had easy lives after they turned to God, but they all knew that they were working towards something greater.  It’s worth noting also how initially reluctant some of them were, but they eventually came around to understanding God’s purpose.  In fact Paul in his letter to the Hebrews (the Jews who had converted to Christianity) refers to Abraham, Moses and many other Old Testament characters in chapter 11 of the letter, often referred to as the “chapter of faith”.

What applies to these 3 men also applies to us.  The great nation that was promised to Abraham extends beyond the Jews tp the believers in Christ who also share the promise of eternal life in God’s Kingdom when Jesus returns to the earth.

So perhaps this New Year instead of just considering changing superficial aspects of our lives such as they way we look or what we know, we should consider making a real fresh start, make a fresh new life, and really start living!