A New Year Is an Old Refrain

By Kent Heaton

It was on the fourth day of creation (Genesis 1:14-19) that God placed lights in the firmament of the heavens to di­vide the day from the night; and to serve as signs and seasons, and for days and years. The sun would rule in the day and the moon would rule in the night. The design of the heavenly bodies was to give light on the earth and to divide the light from the dark­ness. “And God saw that it was good.”

Our world is not two thousand and nine years old. It is much older and no one knows the exact age of the earth. As we pass the milestone of 2009 we reflect upon the creation of time and the impact on man. The world is ruled by days and nights that have been established in a period of time since creation. “In the beginning God cre­ated the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) declares that man lives in an envelope of time. Creation itself is divided into six days with the Lord resting on the seventh day. The garden where man first lived had a “tree of life” (Genesis 2:9) that would sus­tain the years of man’s existence forever. Following the rebellion of man in Genesis 3 the Lord God drove man from the garden “lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for­ever” (Genesis 3:22).

Moses writes of Adam living 930 years and his son Seth living 912 years (Genesis 5:5, 6). The oldest man in the Bible is re­corded as Methuselah at the age of 969 years (Genesis 5:27). Throughout the pages of scripture the Holy Spirit impresses upon the pages of time the years of man’s fleeting years. Life has been measured by the ruler of time since the beginning and how many new years have passed is known only to the Creator. The reality of life is that while we acknowledge a new year it is only an old reminder of the ages past where men have walked before.

Time is a fleeting vapor that “appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). The marking of transition between years serves as a reminder that we are mortal beings governed by the clock of time ever winding down toward a final end. Re­flections are made from this past year of those whom we knew and loved that died. In that somber reflection we acknowledge that time has passed for that person. Man has a beginning and man has an end. There is no new year for them. Even if we were able to live as long as Methuselah we would find the same fate he found at the age of 969: “and he died.” Should this make us despondent or should this make us aware of our mortal­ity?

The celebration of a new year should be a time of joy to share with one another in the blessing of God’s grace. Cognitive of this fact should cause us to think soberly upon the decisions that we made last year and the decisions we shall make this year. Moses declared in Psalm 90, “So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (v12). We should number our days in the celebration of our years. The decisions made last year will find fruit in the plans we will seek in the coming year to be more keenly aware of our lives before an eternal God.

The Preacher of Ecclesiastes declared, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, and keep His command­ments for this is the whole of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good, or whether evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Happy New Year in the year of our Lord 2009. May the blessing of God’s Son be our guiding light in this new year. &

The Power of a Young Person's Influence

By Steve Klein

Over the past 10 weeks or so, the Oakland church of Christ has been blessed to see eleven young people obey the gospel. We've witnessed scene af­ter scene of joyous parents and friends hugging and congratulating new brothers and sisters in Christ still wet from the waters of baptism. God must be given all the praise and glory for making these things possible.

Naturally, a question might arise as to why all of these young people are suddenly de­ciding to obey the gospel. Could it be that some of them have been influenced by their peers? Maybe so. And maybe that is the way it should be.

Children are natural imitators, not only of their parents, but also of each other. Paul alludes to this inborn mimicry when he com­mands us to "be imitators of God as dear children." (Ephesians 5:1). So, children are "imitators." We know this. But we get so fo­cused on "peer pressure" as a negative thing that we forget that young people can and should influence one another to do good. Yes, it is possible for them to imitate good. In fact, the Bible commands it! The Bible says, "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good" (3 John 11).

There are important reasons for young and old alike to work at imitating good. For one thing, we'll have much less to fear in the way of negative consequences for our behavior. In 1 Peter 3:13, Peter asks, "And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?" It's just not very likely that you'll ever get in much trouble or be punished severely for following a good example. Besides this, the Lord will love and appreciate you if you will allow yourself to be influenced to do good. Proverbs 15:9 says that, "The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves him who follows righteousness."

The fact that young people can be influ­enced BY others necessarily implies that they can also be influences ON others. The Bible commands the young to be good ex­amples, so that others will have something worthwhile to imitate. The young man Timo­thy was told, "Let no one despise your youth, but BE AN EXAMPLE to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12).

So, to the young we say BE INFLUENCED and BE AN INFLUENCE:

* Let yourself be influenced to obey the gospel, and then influence someone else to do the same.

* Let yourself be influenced to use pure speech, and then influence someone else to do the same.

* Let yourself be influenced to dress modestly, and then influence others to do the same.

* Let yourself be influenced to reverently participate in worship (no note passing, gig­gling, whispering), and then influence some­one else to do the same.

* Let yourself be influenced to be kind to others, and then influence someone else to do the same. &

-- Via The Exhorter, August 22, 1999

“Words Fitly Spoken”

By Eddie Littrell

The Proverbs, like other books of the Bible, used to be considered a vital part of a young person’s education, but today the abrupt, pithy sayings of this inspired book are generally neglected in favor of newspaper columns giving advice on the age-old problems of the human heart and the conduct of one’s life.

This ancient book of sage counsel deserves to be better known than it is today, for its warnings, pleadings, and wisdom are as suitable and timely now as in grandfather’s day or any other period in history. Many of the precepts in Proverbs—especially its teachings on self-control, child guidance, and concern for the poor—are particularly appropriate in this unsettled time. In Proverbs, the beauty of certain expressions is carefully noted and praised thusly: “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (25:11).

This passage illustrates the truth that brevity and a fitting figure can produce enduring beauty. Thus, for ages this short couplet has been quoted to show that apt phrasing leaves a deep and pleasing impression. This little commentary on eloquence or force also illustrates a favorite device among the Hebrews: clothing an abstraction in clear, sharp, concrete terms making the idea beautiful through use of appropriate figures. Here gold and silver, the most precious of metals, are fashioned into apples [golden apples, beautiful words] and into a fine network [interlaced silver, the setting for the precious words]. &