JANUARY 26, 2021
STAND, LOOK, ASK, and WALK:
By Rev. Dr. Jack L. Daniel
The twentieth-century German pastor and theologian Helmut Thielicke observed how once a year, on New Year’s Eve, we observe time differently than we do on the other 364 days. He noted that the rest of the year, it is time that moves us. We are driven by the clock as we rush to meet deadlines and keep appointments. On New Year’s Eve, however, we become conscious that actually it is time, not us, that moves. On that last night of the year, we sit with family or friends and watch the celebration in Times Square. Thielicke writes,
“The last minutes of the old year have come. And for a moment we hear the stream of time. . . One must be very blasé or very stupid if one does not feel a little shiver going down one’s back when it happens” (Christ and the Meaning of Life, 1975, p. 30).
The rest of the year, if we don’t get something done today, there is always tomorrow. We are lulled into a sense that time is abundant. On New Year’s Eve, though, we are subtly conscious that time is slipping by. Another hash mark has ticked on the time line of our lives, and there is no going back. Maybe that is why we are naturally in a reflective mood at this time of year—why people make resolutions and set goals. We feel that time is moving, and we want to live better in the time that remains.

ARTICLES
BOOKS
Our Heavenly Father has adopted us into His family and our adoption is the foundation for our transformation. Spiritual transformation is a gradual process of change as we learn the ways of our Father. Christians want to live a victorious life immediately. Talk of being radical or revolutionary Christians excites us but these descriptions imply that other Christians are lesser members of the family of God. Many consider the normal Christian life inferior to the higher Christian life. What is a normal Christian life? The Apostle Paul describes a normal Christian life in Romans 6-8.
Is your Christian life dull and dry, full of rituals and responsibilities without any passion or joy? Has your obedience become a duty and your faith turned into an obligation? Renew your relationship with Jesus through this study of John 13-16. Jesus invites you to be His friends not merely His servants. Kindle the passion of fresh friendship with Jesus as He opens His heart to you in these chapters. His self-disclosure encourages your transparency as you explore what it means to be friends with Jesus.
Forgiveness is not easy despite the pictures painted in many sermons. We all struggle to forgive the hurts we feel. Bitterness and resentment threaten our souls if we do not release the poison to God. Pastor David Christensen deals honestly with the pain we feel while pointing us to the wonderful release we can enjoy when we give and receive forgiveness. The book uses the metaphor of faces to teach about forgiveness. The faces of those who experience healing form the backdrop for a theology of forgiveness. David lays out the practical steps we must take to experience the healing power of forgiveness.