Granada Church Devotionals
Welcome to 2025, Tuesday, December 31st
It's New Year's Eve. We stand at the threshold of 2025. This is Tuesday, December 31. Have you made plans for the New Year? Do you have any resolutions? Among the gods of Rome was one named Janus. Janus had no temple or priest, but was often the God who began the rights for the other gods. Why so? Janus had two faces, one look wooden forward into the future, and the other looking back into the past. Janus was the God of beginnings and endings. Janus watched over gates, transitions, time, dualities, doorways, and passages. Our month of January got its name from Janus. Of course the gods of Rome were false gods, but they can help us understand how the Romans viewed their lives and viewed the world. They were attentive to endings and new beginnings. Each year for us also opens the door for a new beginning. As we are looking forward to the coming year, we stand at the threshold looking back and also looking forward. How can we grow in our relationship with God? Yesterday we began looking at developing what is called a rule of life. This is an intentional way of weaving communion with God into our lives through each day. This week we will consider two primary ways we can enjoy time with God and learn to walk with Him. These are key ingredients in the recipe for a rule of life. Here's our scripture text, Philippians chapter 4, verse 4 to 7. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice. Now, your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your request to God. And the God of peace which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Now this little letter to the Philippians was written to the congregation in Philippi boot by Paul. He's the one who helped the plant, the church there. This is called one of Paul's prison letters. Yes, that means it was written while he was under house arrest in Rome. In this letter Paul does not plead for release or show any signs of worrying about the future. What gives him peace? He tells us here. He says that in every situation we present a request to God. We do so with gratitude to God for our lives and all that He has provided to us. Now as we think about prayer this is the place to begin. Our circumstances change from day to day. We don't know what we will face tomorrow. And so how can we live with all the uncertainty? We will either become anxious and afraid or we can take our needs to God. But we know wherever we may be we can find God already present there, present with us. In prayer we find peace and also joy. It's remarkable giving the uncertainty of his condition that Paul says rejoice. He can do this because he has learned how to be content in every, any and every situation. For those who walk with God, one of the keys is communication, prayer. Of course praying is more than requesting. First it is coming to God and sharing with him where we are and what is happening to us. It's true he does know all this already but sharing our lives with him opens the way for our relationship to grow. It also enables us to rest in God. Prayer the word comes from the same root as the word precarious. Yes when life becomes precarious we want to pray. We need to pray. God is the one who calms our troubled hearts but it is more than that. Prayer helps us to see that our lives unfold before the face of God and in the presence of God. Prayer allows us to engage with God all the way through. Over time like Paul we come to discern the way of God and we learn to rest in the peace that God provides to us. Here's how the hymn What A Friend We Have in Jesus says this. Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrow share? Jesus knows our every weakness. Take it to the Lord in prayer. That's the way it's meant to work. We discover in Jesus a faithful friend, one who is there through every season and every trial and sorrow and also present to share all that we experience. I have the privilege of walking with men in discipleship, weekend and week out. We share whatever is happening in our lives and something is always happening. We walk together and encourage each other and this is what we can enjoy with God through prayer and why prayer is a key ingredient for our rule of life, the pattern of life that we live. Now as we grow with God, prayers become more frequent and less formal, less forced, more like a conversation than a presentation, more about enjoying God than about getting things from God, though God wants to hear our requests. How can you begin to create a pattern of prayer? Two ways have helped me in the beginning. First, using scripture like the book of Psalms as a spring board for my prayers. Often I found that the Psalms give words to my prayer when I did not have words of my own. They helped me know more clearly what I was thinking or feeling. They gave me permission to pray the truth of what I was experiencing at the time. And second, start small. Don't pressure yourself to produce long prayers. Begin with just a few words or a few moments. You don't have to get things right. Don't compare your prayer with others. No one has a relationship with God that is the same as the one you have. And finally learn to enjoy God and rejoice in this amazing human life that He has called you to live. Let's pray together. God of all grace, you invite us to call you Father and to come boldly to your throne of grace. Give us joy in doing so. Grant to us your peace. We pray in the name of Jesus. [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]