Woodrow Kroll: Well, hello and welcome to Back to the Bible. I'm Woodrow Kroll. And you've joined Tami Weissert and me. This is the last week of 2005. I thought it would be appropriate, Tami, for the last week of 2005 to talk about New Year's resolutions. That's what we're going to do. You know, of course, Christmas is already past, Tami.

Tami Weissert: I just discovered that today. And you know, Dr. Kroll, part of me is thrilled that Christmas is over--that stressful part of Christmas: the buying all the gifts, making sure everyone's got their Christmas cards, things like that. But part of me is also sad--because Christmas really tends to bring me out of all that and focus me on Christ.

Woodrow Kroll: Yes, and that needs to be done. The thrill of all the expense of Christmas, the thrill of all the presents of Christmas, the thrill of the tree and the trimmings--there is a sense in which that detracts us from the real reason that Christmas is a part of our lives.

We have had some folks join us in the studio today. Welcome to all of you who are here today for our personal study in God's Word. As I said, we're going to talk a little bit about making resolutions. Now that Christmas is past, this is the best time for us to get into the spirit of the new year.

Tami Weissert: So, Wood, how can we keep that focus on Christ I just mentioned? How can we keep that throughout the year?

Woodrow Kroll: I think one of the things we can do is not forget yesterday--you know, not forget what we commemorated yesterday. Yesterday was Christmas Day, and as a result of that our whole year is changed. We're going to make some New Year's resolutions.

It's that wacky time of year after Christmas when we all make New Year's resolutions. And I want to suggest to you today that there are some resolutions you and I can make that are better than others. Sure, we're going to make resolutions to read the Bible this year--and we may make it to January 8th this year. We're going to make resolutions to lose weight this year--that'll work until we get to the first donut, you know.

But there are resolutions that you and I can make that are important for eternity. And I want to suggest today one of the resolutions, in order to keep Christmas going the rest of the year, is to rejoice. Now, make this resolve: In the year 2006, you're going to rejoice every day about what happened on that Christmas Day.

There are five days this week. We're going to talk about five resolutions you could make. Let me just give you a heads-up on what those are. Today we're going to talk about the resolution of rejoicing: "Resolve to Rejoice." Tomorrow it's "Resolve to Remember." On Wednesday it's "Resolve to Prepare for the Future." Thursday, "Resolve to Live." And on Friday, "Resolve to Look to the Future With Confidence." Now, that's where we're going this week.

If you'd like to take your Bible and follow along, I want to take you right to 2 Corinthians 6:4 because rejoicing is more than just what we say. If you're going to resolve to rejoice in 2006, it's going to be a lot more than what happens in your mouth. It happens also in your mind and in your heart because, let's face it, rejoicing is an attitude. It's not what we do; it's an attitude.

Now, let me start by saying what the words are in the Bible for "rejoice." In the Old Testament, the Hebrew language (the language used for the Old Testament), the Hebrew word is samach. And it simply means "to be glad" or "to be merry"--to rejoice. The New Testament counterpart to that is the word chairo. It means "to be glad."

Now, as I said, let's go to 2 Corinthians 6:4. The Bible says a lot about rejoicing and remembering the attitude of rejoicing. For example, Deuteronomy 12:7 (NKJV), "You shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand." In other words, be happy about the things God gives you to do in the next year. Deuteronomy 26:11 (NKJV), "You shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you and your house." Yes, this is good reason to rejoice.

But can we rejoice when good things don't happen to us? 2005 was a tough year, wasn't it? We had hurricanes; we had disasters; we lost a lot of good people this year. Can you rejoice when good things don't happen to you?

Well, the apostle Paul knew all about that. Let me read just a little portion to you from 2 Corinthians 6, beginning at verse 4. He says,

"But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things" (verses 4-10 NKJV).

Now, look at the contrasts there. He says "I'm dying, and yet I live." "I'm honored, and sometimes I'm dishonored." And he's resolving to rejoice in all of those things. In other words, it really doesn't matter what happens in your life or mine in 2006. If we have an attitude of rejoicing, we're going to make sure that we rejoice all year.

In fact, Philippians 4:4 (NKJV), says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" First Thessalonians 5:16 (NKJV), "Rejoice always." I think the intent of the Bible is to tell us that there is never an inappropriate time for you and me to rejoice--even when difficult things come to our lives: when we lose people close to us, when disasters hit our nation or hit our world. There is still an appropriate time to rejoice.

Jesus, giving His Beatitudes, Matthew 5 (:11 NKJV), He said, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you." Now, that's not the word for "rejoice," but it is the word for being happy. He said, They are going to "say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven."

When people revile you--that simply means when people say things about you that you know are not true--that's not easy to take. And you know what, the more public you are in the Christian arena; the more people are going to do that to you. And your responsibility and mine is simply to rejoice.

[In] First Peter 1:6 (NKJV) Peter mentions that the believer is kept by the power of God in salvation. And then he says this: "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials." Now don't lose this. Don't miss what all these writers of the Bible are saying--to rejoice in the face of opposition, to rejoice in the face of difficulty.

Not everything is going to go well for you in 2006; but every time you suffer, you can still rejoice. In fact Acts 5:41 records that when the early apostles of the Lord Jesus were beaten and they were dragged before magistrates, verse 41 says: "So they departed from the presence of the council [now listen to this], rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name."

Now, that simply means this: Even when things go wrong, if you and I have the attitude of rejoicing, that attitude is going to translate into a rejoicing life. It's going to translate into rejoicing lips. You and I are going to rejoice because we have the right attitude.

Well, there's a lot more about rejoicing. We haven't even talked about what you'll rejoice in.

Tami

Tami Weissert: You're talking about rejoicing as being an attitude. So, you're not saying that we can't ever be sad or be down. It seems odd to me that we would never be able to have those emotions. You're saying it's really an attitude; and while we may experience sadness, we can still be joyful.

Woodrow Kroll: Sure, let's make a distinction between pasting a plastic smile on your face--you know, a stiff upper lip kind of thing--everything goes wrong in your life and you just kind of smile and rejoice. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Paul who was in prison. I'm talking about Paul who was in the water drowning. I'm talking about Paul going through tough times in which he was not real happy about that.

But his attitude underlying all that was, I'm not going to let this get me down. I'm going to rejoice at what happens in my life--because he knew everything that happened in his life ultimately would be turned for his good and for God's glory. That's the promise of Romans 8:28.

Audience Member: I was wondering if you could help us--it's easy to say that we should have an attitude of rejoicing. But when you've had heavy load after heavy load after heavy load, what are some practical ways for us to…we can't just pull ourselves up from the bootstraps--how do we get back to our attitude of rejoicing when we've had so many sorrowful things happen?

Woodrow Kroll: I'm glad you asked that question because before I finish today I'm going to answer it. So hang on; hang on to that question. We're going to talk about that at the end of the message.

Tami Weissert: 2005 is almost over. So, are you ready for 2006? Because now is a great time to reflect on last year's journey and anticipate what's ahead.

We've got just what you need to get your new year off to the right start. It's a unique devotional called FaithWalk, a daily journey through the Bible. And it'll take you through the Bible in a year. It comes with a hardcover journal where you can write down insights from your Bible reading, along with prayer requests or maybe God's answers to your prayers. We'll even throw in a beautiful bookmark to help you keep your place as you journey through God's Word. What a wonderful package to jumpstart the new year.

So, ask for the FaithWalk Package when you make your gift to Back to the Bible today. Our phones are closed for the holiday, but you can order on-line at backtothebible.org or you can write to Back to the Bible, Box 82808, Lincoln, NE 68501.

Woodrow Kroll: Now, we are talking about rejoicing as one of the resolutions. So, what do you have to rejoice about next year? What is it in your life that God could use in a rejoicing way?

Well, let me make some suggestions to you right out of God's Word.

First of all, you can rejoice in God. Specifically, you can rejoice in the holiness of God.

Now, that's one of the attributes of God that we don't often think about. I think God's holiness is the basis for all the other of God's attributes. If God is not holy, then His power is going to be used for the wrong things. If God is not holy, then He's going to love everything--even things that are not holy.

So, it's the holiness of God that you need to rejoice in. God's holiness is the distinctness He has from all the other gods. None of the other gods can claim to be holy like He is. He is apart from others. He's from the others: He's distant from the others. He's above the others: He's superior in character--to all the other gods of the Bible and all the other gods of the world today.

You can rejoice in the character of God. [That's] one of the things we often don't think about.

But you know what? The Bible writers thought about it all the time. The psalmist, for example, said,

"Our heart shall rejoice in Him [that's God],
Because we have trusted in His holy name" (Psalm 33:21 NKJV).

David said,

"God has spoken in His holiness.
I will rejoice" (Psalm 60:6 NKJV).

Don't lose the connection between the word "rejoice" and holiness in any of these verses.

Psalm 97:12 (NKJV) encourages us to,

"Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name."

So, it's evident that the Bible has a lot to say about you and me simply resolving to rejoice in the character of God.

Now, if holiness is the basis for all that God does, what are some of the specific things you can thank God for next year--some of the things for which you can resolve to rejoice in the character of God next year?

Now, you know the one that comes to my mind absolutely first? God's goodness.

Yes, 2005, as I said, has been a very difficult year. But difficult years come and difficult years go. And you know, the longer I live, the more I learn every year gets a little more difficult. And I have to put the attitude of rejoicing in my mind so that I can rejoice in God's goodness.

Now, Solomon did that. Solomon, the great king of Israel, prayed in 2 Chronicles 6:41 (NKJV), "Now therefore, arise, O LORD God, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let Your saints rejoice in [Your] goodness."

Now, there it is in God's Word. One of the things the saints are supposed to do is we're supposed to rejoice in the goodness of God.

You can rejoice that God has put a support system around you: maybe your family, maybe your friends, maybe colleagues at work, maybe people at church. You can rejoice that God has clothing for you and has food for you. If you have a job, rejoice in that job. If you have books to read, rejoice in those books. If you have a radio to listen to Back to the Bible, rejoice in that station that brings Back to the Bible into your car, into your home every day.

There are a lot of things for us to rejoice about: the air that we breathe, the water that we drink--all the basics of life. This all comes to us because of the goodness of God.

Now, some people curse God every day because tragedies come to their lives. They don't understand why bad things happen to good people. If you think about it, I have difficulty understanding why good things happen to bad people. And yet it's the goodness of God that brings His grace to all of us. So, we need to thank God for His goodness every day.

Here's another thing we ought to thank God for--and that's His mercy.

I think you can couple that with His goodness. You know, the mercy of God is not just the flipside of His grace. I hear people say this all the time. It's true that God's mercy is the opposite of His grace. Grace is giving us what we don't deserve; mercy is not getting what we do deserve. But mercy is a lot more than that. Mercy is the unfailing love of God that demonstrates itself in our lives every day. God is merciful to me, and I know that because God is good to me. God is good all the time; all the time God is good.

David prayed in Psalm 31:7-8 (NKJV),

"I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a wide place."

Now, I have to tell you, that's not something I would have said to God. But David did. And I understand what he means by that. He means that God hasn't boxed me in; God hasn't put me in a narrow ravine where there are shadows and where there are robbers and where there are people waiting to molest me. He has set my feet in a wide place. He has given me plenty of room to roam, and He has given me stability in my life.

All those things I take for granted every day. And you know what? So do you. When we're thinking about rejoicing in God next year, let's think about God's mercy.

Moses agreed. He said,

"Satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all of our days!"--Psalm 90 (:14 NKJV)

So, rejoice in God's goodness; it's part of His character. Rejoice in God's mercy; that's part of His character. But you know what? When I think back on 2005, one of the resolutions I want to make for 2006 is to rejoice in God.

And I want to do that because of God's protection.

Now, God protected a lot of people in 2005. What we focus on is the disaster that comes when people think God has removed His protection. And I don't think that's the right attitude to have.

See, God's protection is largely unseen. It's largely unknown. And we only take note of it when we think God has removed His hand of protection and people are injured, there's an accident--you're driving down the highway and, you know, a tree jumps out in front of you and you say, "Where was God when all of that happened?"

Well, see, God isn't responsible for all the little problems you have in life. Those problems come from sin, not from God. And even the great natural disasters that come into our life, God didn't cause those disasters. Natural disasters are caused by a planet that is groaning and travailing, the Book of Romans says, until it is redeemed. And as long as sin is a part of this planet, natural disasters are going to be a part of this planet as well.

So, we have to think about God's protection for us. And you know, that occurs every day. And it occurs unseen. So, it comes; and we don't even know it's here.

Now, what I want you to do--I want to encourage you to do next year--is resolve to thank God every night when you pillow your head for the protection He gave you that day, for the goodness He showed you that day, for the mercy He showed you that day.

See, I think the theme of God's protection is developed in Psalm 91 (:1 NKJV). Remember Psalm 91?

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

Then it goes on and it says,

"He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you [to protect you] in all your ways (Psalm 91:11 NKJV)."

Now, notice, it's "angels" plural, not "angel" singular. Hey, I gotta tell you, watching over me is more than a one-angel job. And I'm sure that's true of you too. He will give His angels charge over you to protect you. You know what? It happens every day. And because we don't see it, we don't thank God for it.

If you want to resolve to do something next year, resolve to thank God for who He is. Resolve to thank Him for His character.

Psalm 9:14 (NKJV), "I will rejoice in Your salvation." There's something you can resolve to rejoice in. Psalm 13:5 (NKJV), "My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation." Psalm 20:5 (NKJV) "We will rejoice in your salvation."

Psalm 35:9 (NKJV)

"My soul shall be joyful in the LORD;
It shall rejoice in His salvation."

If there is anything that should make you and me rejoice next year, it's the fact that we're alive in Him and He has protected us and He has been extremely good to us.

Now, as we close today our study in the resolution of rejoicing, I want to talk with you a little bit about how you can make this happen. You know, it's great for us to say, "I'm going to make a New Year's resolution." We do it every year at this time, don't we, just before New Year's comes? And then about February we're sorry because we couldn't keep those resolutions.

Well, I think there are three simple steps to make the resolution to rejoice happen. Here they are.

Number one, realize that rejoicing in the Lord has nothing to do with your surroundings.

We just talked about that a minute ago. It has nothing to do with what you have or don't have. Rejoicing is an attitude.

If you ask God to help you develop a rejoicing attitude, I think you're going to easily find things to rejoice about throughout the year. And you know, when you rejoice the most is when you don't compare what you have to what somebody else has; you compare what you have to what somebody else doesn't have. So, you can make rejoicing stick throughout the year if you recognize it has nothing to do with your surroundings.

Secondly, you can make your resolution to rejoice stick throughout the year if you make a list of the things you want to rejoice for.

You say, "Now, wait a minute. That's crazy. I mean, who makes list?"

Well, all you moms make lists when you go to the grocery store. Isn't that true? When I go to the grocery store and Linda sends me to the store without a list, it is devastating to us--because I come back with all the wrong things, you know. She says, "Where's the meat and the bread?--and things like that. And I have chips and salsa and stuff I shouldn't have.

If you make a list for anything, why can't you make a list to keep your resolutions? And then do what you do with the shopping list. Put it on the refrigerator where you're going to see it a hundred times a day, you know. Leave some room on the list to add things throughout the course of your year because you're going to think of other things (things that you haven't thought about right now at the end of this year). As the year progresses next year, you'll think about other things to add to your list.

Make sure that you have both preserved good things (on your list) and some bad things--because we're to rejoice always, aren't we? We're to rejoice even when bad things happen to us. Why don't you ask your spouse or your kids to feel free to add things to your list--because, you know what? People closest to you have the greatest opportunity to observe what you need to rejoice in. And some things I'll put on my list, my wife would think that's crazy. But she'll put things on my list that I ought to rejoice about that I never thought about.

So, make a list. That's one way to make it stick throughout the year. I think it'll have a dramatic effect on your ability to maintain an attitude of gratitude.

And, then, finally, let me suggest this to you: Take the time to see what the Bible has to say about rejoicing.

And I've used a lot of Scripture today. I've quoted a lot of verses. We've looked at a lot of places. David rejoiced in God's Word (Psalm 119:162). Solomon rejoiced over righteous people (Proverbs 28). Ecclesiastes 3:22 tells us to rejoice over the work of our hands.

There's just so much in the Bible that says, "This is what you ought to rejoice about." Now, I rejoice every day that God gives me the wonderful opportunity to open His Word and to take this Book--the only one He ever wrote, by the way--and help people all over the world to understand what it means to them. I rejoice in that opportunity.

God may give you the opportunity to be a billing clerk or the opportunity to be a truck driver or whatever. Rejoice in that opportunity because Ecclesiastes 5:19 says that we ought to rejoice in the opportunity to work with our hands because even that is the gift of God. The very opportunity you have to work is the gift of God.

So, Paul rejoiced when the Gospel was preached, even when it was preached to his detriment--when people preached it in a way that it didn't make Paul look very good. It's always good to rejoice!

One of the great resolutions you and I can make for next year is to resolve to rejoice. And one of the best ways I know to make that resolution stick is--Every time I encounter the word "rejoice" in the Bible, I make a mental note; I put it on the sticky side of my mind; I underline it in my Bible; I take a little pad I have next to my Bible or sometimes right on my laptop and I write down the verse about rejoicing. Why? Because I want my rejoicing to stick beyond January.

If you make a resolution to rejoice all year, just about a year from today you're going to want to check yourself to make sure you're still rejoicing as you resolved that you would.

Tami Weissert: Can you believe that 2005 is almost over? Well, 2006 is just around the corner; and we've got the perfect thing to get your new year started off right. It's a devotional called FaithWalk: A Daily Journey Through the Bible written by Dr. Kroll and Tony Beckett. It's a great tool to help you get into God's Word every day.

Now, the devotional also comes with a journal where you can record from your Bible reading or maybe reflect on key moments in your journey with God. And that's not all. You get a beautiful bookmark as a bonus. We'd love to send you these resources that are sure to get your 2006 off to a great start.

The Faith Walk Package is available with your gift to Back to the Bible today. Order on-line at backtothebible.org or write to Back to the Bible, Box 82808, Lincoln, NE 68501.

Woodrow Kroll: One word of resolution is the word "rejoice." This is only Monday, and we have a whole week to go before the New Year. That gives us a chance tomorrow to think about the word "remember."

This is a great time to remember what went on throughout the course of 2005. In the next several days a lot of the television newscasts are going to take a look back over 2005. There's a lot of news to report for 2005. I want us to resolve to remember what God has done for us. We're going to see what the Bible has to say tomorrow about the resolution to remember. Plan to join us, won't you?

Those of you here in our studio, thank you for coming by today. It's always nice to have you as a part of our study group. And those of you listening at home or in your car, thanks for joining us too. God bless you. I'm Woodrow Kroll. Have a good and godly day.

Thank you, Susan, for preparing today's Back to the Bible for the Internet.