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The Keeper of the Keys

As we approach another New Year we are again aware that the future holds many mysteries for us. Will it be a year of poverty or prosperity? Will it be a year of happiness or sorrow? Will it be a year of life or death? Who knows? While we do not know what the future holds, we can know who holds the future. The future is in God’s hands.

The Romans named January for Janus, the Roman god of portals. He was depicted as a two-faced, one-headed being who could look forward and backward at the same time. In his hand are keys for according to their superstitious mythology he is in charge of all doors, entrances, and gates.

If they had only known it, the Keeper of the Keys is not Janus but Christ. In fact, the Bible often describes Christ as “He that hath the keys.”

Christ holds the keys of life and death. Your life is continually in his hands. He alone has the power to give life or to take it away.

Christ holds the keys to heaven and hell. He alone has the power to open to you the door of eternal life. No person reaches heaven except through him.

Christ holds the keys to future opportunities. It is Jesus who is “He that openeth and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.”

If the English word for doorkeeper “janitor” is a derivation from Janus, why not Christianize the idea this January by making Christ himself the "janitor" of our lives at the opening of every day and every door of the year? 

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Paul W. Powell - www.PaulPowellLibrary.com

Today's Devotional

Senseless Tragedies

Once we buried a young lady who was only 21 years old. She was killed in a head-on collision while on her way to church. The night before the funeral, my daughter asked why God allows things like this to happen.

I wish I knew. Things like this have puzzled saints, wise men, and philosophers since the world began.

There is simply no one easy answer as to why tragedies like this happen. The answer may lie in the fact that God made us free. He created us with the ability to make our own choices, and choices always involve consequences. If we are careless or foolish in our choices, or if others are, we may suffer because of them. If God did not allow us freedom, we’d be less than people. We’d be robots.

This may be the only explanation we will ever have for some suffering. However, we do not have to know why things happen in order to be victorious over them. On the cross Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) But the heavens were as brass. God was silent. He didn’t even answer his own Son. Jesus might have despaired and become bitter against God. But instead he said, “Father, into thy hands I commend [entrust, hand over] my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

This kind of faith is far more important than any answer we might receive. In our lives, as in the life of Jesus, it is faith that makes the difference between victory and defeat.

So keep believing in God no matter what. Commit your life to him and regardless of what happens, God will help you.

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