Author: Tim Heischberg

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No More Regrets or Resolutions

No More New Years Resolutions ... Let's go with changes

What we should do instead of resolutions this year.

In 1969, Frank Sinatra recorded and released a song titled “My Way.”
The song starts out

So now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
,,,
Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way.

(English Words by Paul Anka. Original words of the French song “Comme d’habitude,” by Claude Francois, Gilles Thibaut, Jacques Revaux)

“The more things change, the more they remain the same.”  If you want to live life your way you will probably have more than a few regrets in the end. Living life independent of God results in a life of pain and sorrow. We see the results of it everywhere we look, even in our own lives.

Life is full of decisions and choices, and when we make the wrong ones we usually have regrets. I believe that the Holy Spirit brings conviction in our regret to lead us to repentance, even down to our final breath.

It’s been said that ” the fool learns from his mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” But I tell you, the fool never learns. The wise man learns from their mistakes. The genius learns from the mistakes of others.

The goal of life is to live it for Jesus and have as few regrets as possible. Our regrets shouldn’t define us, but refine us. Confess them to Jesus and receive His mercy, pardon, and power to overcome them and put them behind us.

I was recently  asked to comment on my biggest regret if I were to die last year?  I/we don’t like to think about or discuss our failures. It’s easier to instead talk about our successes. I would want it to be, that I have loved God, and my fellow man too much. That I have won too many souls to God’s Kingdom. That I have been a good son, brother, husband, father, and uncle.  My concern is that it would have been the opposite, that I had only marginally succeeded in those areas. 

If I have to die before Jesus returns, I want to die faithful, with my boots on, having left it all on the battlefield for my Savior and Lord. I want to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.” How about you?

In this  new year may we let Jesus redeem last year’s regrets into confirmations of His Righteousness and Grace, for His Glory. May we quit making promises –some people call them New Year’s  Resolutions – which are like “ropes of sand,” impossible for us to keep. Instead may we start believing and claiming  His promises, which are impossible for Him to break. If we do this we will have no more regrets or resolutions. I want to be better through  the indwelling power and Grace of God, because I know that I can’t do it on my own. He deserves better. If we keep doing what we have been doing, we will keep getting what we have been getting.

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:13-14 NLT)

Let’s keep pressing on in Jesus’ name! Let’s run the race this year to win it. May we experience a more abundant and fulfilling new year, as day by day we draw closer to the finish line and the return of our Lord. Amen?

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He Became One of Us

Only one Black Friday offers eternal savings | Jesus, Church signs ...

In America the day after Thanksgiving, “Black Friday,” is when retailers have some of the best deals of the year. It kicks off the holiday shopping season. However, because of the incarnation of Christ, the greatest “Black Friday Deal” is available 24/365.

Galatians 4:4 says that in the “fullness of time God sent forth His Son to be born of a virgin.” The fullness of time, refers to the time prophecy of Daniel 9:24 – 27, which is a Messianic timeline prophecy recorded by the prophet Daniel over 500 years prior. God had set a specific time for Jesus to come to earth. God had also set a manner that the Messiah would come to earth. He would come into our world in the usual way but with a couple significant twists. The mother would be a virgin because she would not be impregnated by man but by the Holy Spirit. Think of the huge risk God took by choosing to do things in this way. What if something happened to Mary during her pregnancy? What if she bailed and decided to be “pro-choice?” God puts it all on the line by entrusting the Savior of the world to a teenage girl.

DNA, (Deoxyribonucleic acid) is the “stuff of life,” the building block of all life. It’s been called the creation of God, because of its otherworldly complexity. It is both the blueprint for and the operating software of life. It carries not only one’s physical characteristics, but also their mental, emotional, and even spiritual propensities.

“Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17 ESV) In every respect? Yes, in His humanity, even down to the level of DNA. However, the “monogenes” (begotten) aspect of Jesus makes Him very unique, or one of a kind indeed. Fully human and fully God, a type of “hybrid,” if you will. Don’t ask me to diagram it because I can’t. I simply accept it by faith.

The “Son of God” was prophesied to be “the son of David,” of his lineage and DNA. Both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David, and many scholars believe that Luke gives us Mary’s genealogy, while Matthew gives us Joseph’s.

One would think that the Messiah should have come from a perfect “pure bred pedigree” family tree, but He didn’t, because none were available. Besides, fallen humanity is what needed saving. Instead, his family tree, lineage, and gene pool is a potpourri of characters – some good, some not so good. There was a liar and deceiver, a murderer and adulterer, idol worshippers, child sacrificers, polygamists, and even a prostitute. There were also faithful followers, reformers, and a kinsmen redeemer.

It should comfort and encourage us to know that Jesus’ family tree had a few knots and nuts in it just as ours do. Yet, in spite of that handicap, the “Son of God” remained unstained by the shame, guilt, and dysfunction of his ancestors, in spite of the DNA He assumed. Consider that the Creator of DNA took on DNA that was detrimentally mutated by the fall of Adam, and He was victorious over it. Think of the sheer genius of God that, though Jesus didn’t have any paternal DNA deficiencies directly, 1. He inherited both maternal and paternal DNA weaknesses through the combined lineage of Mary and Joseph because of their shared genealogies.

The Scripture calls the incarnation a “great mystery.” In other words, it’s hard to wrap our minds around it. It’s definitely a mind bender.

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 1 Timothy 3:16.

One of my favorite authors, further expands on the mysterious nature that Christ assumed when He came to earth.

“The incarnation of Christ is the mystery of all mysteries.

Christ was one with the Father, yet …He was willing to step down from the exaltation of one who was equal with God…

How wide is the contrast between the divinity of Christ and the helpless infant in Bethlehem’s manger! How can we span the distance between the mighty God and a helpless child? And yet the Creator of worlds, He in whom was the fullness of the Godhead bodily, was manifest in the helpless babe in the manger. Far higher than any of the angels, equal with the Father in dignity and glory, and yet wearing the garb of humanity! Divinity and humanity were mysteriously combined, and man and God became one.

It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man’s nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity (DNA). What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.

Those who claim that it was not possible for Christ to sin, cannot believe that He really took upon Himself human nature. But was not Christ actually tempted, not only by Satan in the wilderness, but all through His life, from childhood to manhood?

Our Saviour took humanity, with all its liabilities. He took the nature of man, with the possibility of yielding to temptation. We have nothing to bear which He has not endured….God has adopted human nature in the person of His Son, and has carried the same into the highest heaven…. Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and humanity is enfolded in the bosom of Infinite Love. Christ bowed down in unparalleled humility, that in His exaltation to the throne of God, He might also exalt those who believe in Him, to a seat with Him upon His throne. ”

Our Father Cares Devotional – Ellen G. White, Page 75

We have been visited by God in human flesh. He is “Emmanuel,” God With Us. He has entered into our DNA, and He invites us to come to His house, and sit with Him on His throne. Today many feel depressed and discouraged during the holidays because they don’t have the means, or the family to meet the societal and cultural expectations that come with them. Away with such melancholy, for the Advent season isn’t about giving gifts. It is about receiving the greatest and costliest Gift ever given.

Christ’s Advent connects us to the cross, and the cross connects us to His Advent, and they both connect us to the heart of a loving heavenly Father that so loved you that He gave you the greatest gift. He was born into this world in the shadow of the Cross. He was born to die, so that we might live.

This year, let us not stress and obsess over giving gifts. Instead rest, destress, and be blessed, as you receive and share the gift of God. Don’t leave it unopened or unshared.

Many babies became kings, but only one king became a baby. Why did He do it?

He did it for love. He did it for you and me. Let Him be what He came to be, our Savior and Lord.

As we celebrate the Advent season, let us remember that the greatest Gift wasn’t placed under a tree but was hung on a tree. In appreciation, give Him a gift in return. All He wants is you! He wants your heart.

The most important part of the story isn’t when He came, it’s that He came. However, isn’t it amazing the way He came? It’s definitely something to ponder.

Come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

  1. The only genetic material that He received from a paternal view was the “Y” chromosome which made Him male.

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From Thanksgiving to Thanks-Living

“Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.”
Psalm 93:1-3

In America, we will soon be celebrating Thanksgiving on November 28. Thanksgiving day has become synonymous with feasting and football, with a minor emphasis on giving thanks to God for His abundant blessings. However,  Christians, conscious of God’s continuing blessings, may  live a lifestyle of thanks-living. As Matthew Henry so perfectly encapsulated that thought, “Thanksgiving is good but Thanks-Living is better”.

Science tells us that having an attitude of gratitude brings many benefits, and these benefits transcend religion. However, it can be easy to forget and get mired in the negatives that bring bring only loss. Today we want to recalibrate our minds for the practice of “Thanks-Living.”

“Nothing tends more to promote health of body and of soul than does a spirit of gratitude and praise. It is a positive duty to resist melancholy, discontented thoughts and feelings–as much a duty as it is to pray. If we are heaven-bound, how can we go as a band of mourners, groaning and complaining all along the way to our Father’s house?”
Ministry of Healing, p. 251

If we have Jesus as our assurance of salvation, then we are infinitely better off than having the winning lottery ticket. We are wealthier in true riches than Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and all the richest people in the world combined. One day the accumulation of riches won’t mean much when we walk streets of gold. We should, of all people, be the most thankful, grateful, and happiest people on the planet.

I want to share a summary of a very interesting article on this subject from a Reader’s Digest article; “Health Benefits of Gratitude: Five Ways Counting Your Blessings Can Improve Your Life”, by Beth Dreher. 1

The article focused on the benefits of a grateful attitude and notes the following:

  • It helps  you sleep better. (Next time you can’t sleep don’t count sheep, count your many blessings as you talk to “the Shepherd”. As the song says, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done!”)
  • Gratitude can strengthen your willpower. (Don’t we all need more of that?)
  • Gratitude can decrease stress. It activates feel-good hormones in the brain.
  • Gratitude can help you make more friends. “In a 2015 study published in the journal Emotion, thanking a new acquaintance makes them more likely to seek an ongoing relationship.”
  • Gratitude can reduce aches and pains.

An “attitude of gratitude” can cure us of what I call “me-itis,” an unhealthy self-focus. It is the antidote to an entitlement mentality, it can ease our anxiety, deliver us from worry, and lift us out of the pit of depression. It can even help us in our grieving process.

The term “give thanks” occurs 35 times in the KJV.

It is almost always implied as giving thanks to God for doing something in the life of someone such as the following:

Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits…
 Psalm 103:2-5 

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Ps 106:1.

“Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever”. Ps. 106:1

We should give thanks to God not only for what He does but also for what He doesn’t do.

“Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
Heb. 10:17 (NKJV) also John 3:17

We can give thanks that God  exercises grace towards us, rather than justice, which is what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Jesus experienced the death that we deserve so that we can have the life that He deserves.

“Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed.” Psalm 85:10

“Christ on the cross was the medium whereby mercy and truth met together, and righteousness and peace kissed each other.”
Ellen White in  The General Conference Bulletin, April 1, 1899

Do we stop and give thanks to Jesus for all He has done? Not just once a week, or once a year, but every day? Are we living a life that testifies that we appreciate His sacrifice? Are we “thanks-living”?

The word “thanksgiving” occurs 29 times  in the KJV.

Thanksgiving is acknowledging  God as the Giver of all good gifts.

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”  Ps 100:4

In my pre-Christian and even early Christian days I used to be plagued with debilitating anxiety and panic attacks.  They were so bad it nearly drove me to self destruction. Then I committed several “mind altering” verses to memory and it helped me off that gerbil wheel. The following verses were my prescription for anti-anxiety, far better than Xanax.

We are admonished to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;” Phil 4:6(NKJV) This admonition is followed by the promise, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:7 Another powerful anti-anxiety verse for me was Isa. 26:3- “You will keep him in perfect peace,  Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”  I prescribe these verses to everyone as their daily “Gos-Pills.” Applying the Gospel to your ills is far better than any pharmaceutical pills, and no negative side effects, only blessings.

Here we are given the antidote to anxiety and worry. A thankful, grateful mind and a mind focused on Jesus, is a mind that is at peace, even in the midst of the storms of life. We need not worry or be afraid.

“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.”
Ellen White, in Life Sketches, p. 196

The word praise occurs in 218 verses.

To praise God goes along with thanksgiving. “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Heb 13:15 (NKJV)

Paul and Silas praised God at midnight in a Philippian prison after they had received a beating (Acts 16:25), and then an earthquake broke their chains. The redeemed will praise God when  they receive their crowns. God inhabits the praises of His people. Shouldn’t we start practicing now?

Even in grief, an attitude of gratitude softens the blow and eases the pain. In the sudden and unexpected death of my mother I was able to process the grief easier than expected by leaning on the Lord and His Word, thanking and praising Him for giving me such a wonderful Mother. It didn’t erase, but greatly reduced the emotional pain and grief. I didn’t get stuck in my grief because I focused my mind on my faith and the “Blessed Hope”.  Researchers have found that the “faith factor” greatly helps in navigating the difficulties of life and loss.

Let’s take a few moments at the beginning and ending of each day to stop and reflect on the goodness of God. Through it all, the good, the bad, the happy, and the sad, He’s brought us to it all, to bring us through it all. Let us share with others how the Lord has blessed us, and our hopes for the coming new year.

May God empower us to  turn our Thanksgiving into Thanks-living!

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  1. I recommend  the whole article for interesting details. You can read it by following the link: Reader’s Digest, December 17, 2020. https://www.thehealthy.com/mental-health/happiness/benefits-gratitude/, accessed, November 6, 2024 ↩