A new millennium.
A new era.
A new year.
A new day.
A new chance.
Traditionally this is a time for new beginnings.
A time to hope half-heartedly for world peace.
A time to pray the government will get its act together.
A time to pray for wisdom for world leaders.
A moment to hope and pray that somebody will fix all the problems.
Forget those things. Don't waste your mental and spiritual energy on them!
It doesn't begin "out there somewhere." It all begins with you.
It begins in your own heart.
It begins in your own home.
Do you love God?
Do you even know God?
Do you even give God a thought?
Are you hoping and praying for love? What do you know about love?
Are you hoping and praying for peace? What do you know about peace?
We will never have world peace as long as
we are incapable of creating peace in our own little worlds.
Is there peace in your heart? Is there peace in your home?
It begins with you, not with anyone else -YOU!
Are you angry, critical, disappointed, depressed, dishonest, disillusioned, exasperated, fed up, greedy, indifferent, insensitive, judgmental, manipulative, stubborn, self-centered, selfish, unloving in anyway towards your spouse, significant other, insignificant other, mother, father, brother, sister, child, friend, boss, coworker, neighbor, roommate, or stranger?
If the answer to even one of those is 'yes', then you will never see love and peace on a larger scale. Do not expect others to do what you refuse to do.
This is a new time, a time for absolute honesty, time to 'get real'.
Don't bother asking God to do for you what He has commanded you to do:
Love others as you love yourself
It wasn't a suggestion, it isn't an option.
It is a commandment.
A simple rule.
If you can't do that,
then forget world peace
The new millenium, the new year, the new day, the new beginning
will just be more of the same for you in your world, and in the world at large.
It begins with you
It's up to
You
not governments, not world leaders, not spiritual leaders, not your spouse, not your significant other, not your insignificant other, not your mother, not your father, not your brother, not your sister, not your child, not your friend, not your boss, not your coworker, not your neighbor, not the stranger you meet.
You
are responsible for the level of love in your own heart,
in your own home, and, yes,
you are responsible for the deplorable lack of love in the world.
You are responsible.
It begins with you
Unless you change,
you have no hope, not even a prayer
of changing the world.
For believers in Jesus Christ
and for the nonbelievers too
it is easy this time of year to think of Jesus as a babe in a manger.
That was 2011 years ago!
We do celebrate the greatest gift of God to mankind -
Himself in the person of Jesus Christ to redeem us.
But, this moment in undending time in 2000-2001,
Jesus Christ is not a babe in a manger.
He is a holy, true and righteous God
who will return in justice and judgment
to clean up the despicable dump
we have made of our spiritual lives and physical home here on planet earth
because we refused to love and acknowlege Him
and refused to love our neighbors as ourselves.
He will start with the hearts of 7 billion plus people
each of whom made a choice
each of whom will have to give account for their decision
A Little Less - A Little More
A little less impatient with those we deem slow;
A little less of arrogance because of all we know.
A little more humility, seeing our worth is slight;
We are such little candles compared to stars at night!
A little more forgiving and trying to be kind;
A little more zealous the word of praise to find.
The word of praise to utter and make a heart rejoice.
A little bit more careful to speak with gentle voice;
A little more real effort to understand each other;
A little more striving to help in distress a brother;
A little more courage to each task that must be done;
These our resolutions
God help us every one.
