In the physical world we can see and touch, we have what is called time. It is in this time that we have the thing we call years. Now that we have wrapped up another year and entered into a new year, most will make some kind of physical promise to themselves that is called a resolution. The meaning of resolution is literally “to resolve” something. So we are usually let down with the things we attempt to make New Year’s resolutions because of the simple fact that we think it is just a statement that we can make and don’t ever have to really attempt to solve anything. To resolve is only to unlock that which has already been solved at one point anyway. Where am I going with this one might wonder? Read on and you will see that it is way deeper than what we can see and touch in time!
Genesis 1:14
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;
The days we have are numbered because we are in time and not eternal. Yahweh (God) is eternal and the one he raised from the dead is now eternal sitting at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. We spend each year going through four seasons know as spring, summer, fall, and winter! Each season has its own purpose that was created by the living God to sustain this creation of His. In the spring life springs forth and blossoms to maturity. Throughout the summer it all enjoys its maturity and in the fall most things will wither away. The winter sends white snow in many places as it redeems that which was withered and in turn the next spring creation is resurrected. It is the promise of redemption inside of these seasons that gives us the truth that we also received in the Christ. Most people could care less about the natural seasons anymore unless it is just to complain that it is not suitable for them to have fun outside.
Matthew 6:26-34
26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27 “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28 “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
30 “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
31 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’
32 “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Most people are so worried about stockpiling the material things of this world in their lives and totally miss the fact that we neglect the most important treasures in our lives. The people we are given to love in each season of our life are the true treasures of life. See we are born from the womb of a woman and then we spring forth with life. For many we are loved from our parents and come to maturity through the first 20 years or so. The next 20 years we will enjoy the summer of our lives for most and then head into the withering season the next 20 years. For some people they are cut short of this whole process if life was cut short. In the winter stages of this life we are laid in the ground only to have our flesh and bones returned to where it came. What happens with the breath in your lungs though? Where will your spirit within go when your flesh is laid in the ground? As surely as I pop a balloon, the air does not just disappear, it is just relocated to somewhere we cannot see correct? We are all created in the imagination of the living God but most of us have left His presence! Look what Jesus taught us! Read it carefully!
Luke 15:11-32
11 And He said, “A man had two sons.
12 “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them.
13 “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.
14 “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.
15 “So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 “And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.
17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
18 ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ’
20 “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;
23 and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 “And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.
27 “And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’
28 “But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.
29 “But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;
30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.
32 ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’ ”
The season of maturity for most of us is also the most crucial season in our lives that usually leads us astray. For many in these end days we are never taught about our heavenly Father and we wonder very early in the first season. If we have had earthly parents that have understood the truth of our heavenly Father then we might have had easier seasons than the next but we all struggle one way or another. What the world has to offer usually depletes us of being present with our heavenly Father in each season no matter what the weather in life may be. The first son in the above text represents most people in life that have wondered from Yahweh (God). The second son represents the people who have been caught in religion taking the heavenly Father for granted the whole time. The second son sits idle in the works of religion never truly having the intimate relationship with our heavenly Father only to have it all come to life when the jealousy sets in when the prodigal son returns home. Many people squander our spiritual lives because we take for granted every breath we breathe as if this is owed to us. Jesus was born to teach us the truth!
Matthew 8:23-27
23 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.
24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.
25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”
26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.
27 The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
When Jesus calmed the physical storm in the boat with his disciples, he showed them the truth in many ways. First of all it doesn’t matter what season in life you are in, with faith in the Father the storms will have no hold on you. Every trial is a test of your faith and when you trust in your heavenly Father, you will always be fine. Second it isn’t the fear of the season that dictates your outcome, it is your faith in the one who holds the seasons that will dictate this. Third is that no matter how rough things may get, we can always rest assure that the one who controls the waters is always more powerful than the one who made the boat.
Mankind has always chosen the hardest path in the history of this world and it proves over and over throughout time that we are just a bunch of prodigal people defying the one who wants to teach us His true love. We neglect the relationships with each other only to long for the same thing we neglect 99% of the time. We were all created to be relational beings and to embrace this attribute with the people in each season of life. Now for most of us we know we have neglected this only to find ourselves lonely in many seasons. Over time we who have learned the error of our ways, we will try to embrace the truth in this and make up for lost time. Some of us never get the chance to see people that we knew in life from previous seasons. Then many of us have had the same people through every season but have neglected to embrace them for the treasure they are. No matter what the case may be in each one of our lives, we can all be redeemed through the truth of what the Christ (anointed one) Jesus did at that cross.
Luke 19:28-30
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.”
29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.
30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
My Lord Jesus can be your Lord Jesus if you call on his name. In the above text Jesus gave up his life as the perfect sacrifice that would redeem all mankind no matter what season we may be in at any time frame in this world. It does not matter if I am the prodigal son or the son that has neglected seeing the Father for who he truly is. We are all broken and all in need of the redemption of winter. We all need purified by the white snow that only comes spiritually through what Jesus did at Calvary! You can attempt to battle life from the physical stand point such as needing more money, a better job, a better car, a better house, and so on. Or you can let go of what you see to close your eyes and embrace that which you can’t see. We all feel love and we all feel hate but you can't see that which you feel right?
What if I told you that you can see love and hate because it shows through how we treat one another! We all know that something is deeper inside of us but we just can’t seem to tap into it. On the other hand we fall apart inside as we watch the people around us fall apart as well. This is why satan wants you to seek lies over truth. We will spend our lives searching and seeking all the things that this world has to offer only to come up empty in each season. What if what you needed all along was always there all along? What if the thing you needed was never wrapped in the word "what", but rather in the word "who"? It is the Father in Heaven that you need and it is through the finished work of Jesus that you can obtain this! Look at what you become when you embrace this!
Matthew 12:50
50 “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
Romans 8:17
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Galatians 3:29
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
The first verse above is the direct words spoken from my Lord Jesus! We are his brother, sister, or mother he says! This implies that we are able to be equal with him if we embrace him for who he says he is. Of course Jesus is the Lord of all the heavens and earth now but we have to understand that he wants the very best for all of us. Paul explains later that we are co-heirs with Christ thanks to what Jesus did at the cross. It means we inherit the eternal life with Yahweh (God) because we trust in Jesus! Then the last verse sums up all the major religions of the world in just this verse! Those who claim to be of Judaism, Muslim, or Christian all have one thing in common and that is Abraham. The only difference is the truth that follows with each ideology after the fact. The promise to Abraham was made because of his faith not because of his flesh. The Muslims focus on flesh. Those in Judaism still focus on works. Those who are truly in Christ know that it is not any of the first two, but rather it was all fulfilled in the spirit through what Jesus did in his faith in the Father! No matter who you are or where you are born physically in this world, you can become a true son or daughter of the living God! It has nothing to do with what you can see, it has everything to do with what you can’t see and who you embrace! It was this promise below that was made to Abraham all those thousands of years ago, and was truly fulfilled through the Christ who is Jesus!
Genesis 12:3
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
It was always about the faith of those who followed and it was the faith of Abraham that set the standard. Of course Yahweh was so detailed that he allowed the one who would redeem us also come from the physical bloodline of Abraham but it was also through this that we would be taught the truth of faith as well. If you are in a season in your life where you are full of shame, guilt, or just feeling alone, please reach out to the hand of Jesus. It is his hand that will lead you to the Father of creation. It is by the teaching of Jesus that you can be made free. This world will enter into further chaos this year but if you have taken the hand of Jesus and truly seek what he teaches, then you will learn that the only thing you have to fear is Yahweh Himself! Then you will truly understand that fear means “to respect” and you will quit respecting the foolish ideas of mankind. You can begin to see why God has given us His living word and why He has given all authority to my Lord Jesus. All this is a choice though that each person has to make. The beauty of it though is that you don’t have to wait for a certain season to make this choice. You can make it in any season of life you are in! May Yahweh Bless you and His Christ guide your hearts and steps in the days ahead!