Happy New Year – 2025!
I had the privilege of preaching at my church a few days ago (Sun. 12/29/24) and I challenged the congregation to intentionally grow closer to God over the next year. In fact, I was reminded of my high school pastor who extending a similar challenge many years ago. He said, “If you cannot look back over the past year and identify ways you have grown spiritually… then something is wrong.” I tend to agree, and I’ve never forgotten his challenge.
So, I came I with the idea of “Five in 2025” for my sermon (5 ways to grow in your faith in 2025):
- Pray – talk to God daily.
- Spend consistent time reading and studying the Bible. Join a Bible study with others.
- Memorize Scripture. (For this one, I came up with the idea of memorizing at least twenty-five verses next year. I called it “25 in 2025” and we made a bookmark with 25 select verses on it for our church).
- Journal your prayers. Record what God is teaching you and what He is doing in your life.
- Fast and pray. Wait on the Lord with expectation (see Psalm 37:7 and 46:10).
As I was preparing my sermon, I thought about New Year’s resolutions and how we all seem to want to identify ways we can change at the beginning of each new year. I then pondered the story of Jesus healing the man at the pool of Bethesda in the Bible (see John 5). Injured, sick, blind, and crippled people used to hang out at this pool in Jerusalem—probably fed by underground springs–hoping the waters would bring miraculous healing. They didn’t. But apparently there was a man there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years! When Jesus saw him lying there and learning how long he had been crippled, he asked the man, “Do you want to get well?”
What an odd question. In fact, it seems kind of tone-deaf to me. OF COURSE HE WANTS TO GET WELL! Isn’t that obvious?
Well… no.
I once knew a young college student with a very serious addiction who told her parents she did not want to give up her addiction because it was working for her. She got their attention, sympathy, love, and financial help because she was “sick.” In her own words, “Why would I want to give that up?” Staying sick had secondary gains. It made sense to her on some level. (Sadly, she ignored the fact that her own behaviors were slowly killing her.)
Since then, I’ve often wondered how many of us can relate to that mentality in some way or another. For example:
- Ever choose to stay angry at someone because you want to? (silent treatment?)
- Ever knowingly choose to do something unhealthy for you?
- Or how often do you choose sin over righteousness? (To get what you want? Or to get your way?)
In other words, how often do we choose to stay “stuck” when we could choose life, health, or freedom?
The question Jesus asked in John 5:6 seems obvious, but it may not be so simple or straight forward after all.
- Just because we’re sick does not mean we necessarily want to get well.
- Just because we’re spiritually sick does not mean we want spiritual healing, either. In fact, we may be overlooking the deadliness of our sin, or we’re so comfortable in our choices that we do not want to change.
- We may even be a regular church attender AND still choose to continue in some form of ungodliness.
- Our culture has reached the place where we call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). But don’t kid yourself. Jesus sees it all!
The question is: DO YOU WANT TO STAY THERE? Or is it working for you?
Jesus healed the guy physically but later instructed him to stop sinning. He could now walk, but he was still dead in his sins. Ultimately, he needed spiritual healing more than he needed strength in his limbs. Jesus knew that because He knows what we truly need. We need spiritual healing (i.e., salvation) more than anything else. Everything else is temporary. Salvation is eternal.
And notice from the story in John 5 that Jesus did not wave His arms and heal everyone at the pool that day. He only healed this one guy. We don’t really know why He appears to ignore the others, but it does fit with His modus operandi (M.O.) Jesus has always been more interested in individual heart changes, rather than in mass movements. He cares about you, the individual… and wants to heal you. But there is a catch: He will wait for you to admit your need for Him, to seek forgiveness, and ask Him into your life (Romans 10:9-10, 13). He won’t force healing or salvation on you. You have to ask.
Therefore, I challenge you to examine your life and issues. Have you become blind to your own sin, or maybe too comfortable in it that you don’t want to change? I hope not, because the consequences are deadly, and because God want to—and is able to—free you.
If you really want to receive lasting spiritual health this year, it’s yours for the asking. God can give it to you today… all you have to do is ask Him.
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[If you’re interested in any of the “5 in 2025” resources, see Easthaven.org]
